Rainbow Rodeo Magazine

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social

Rainbow Rodeo is a site, zine, and podcast devoted to promoting queer country artists. Edited by @rachelcholst.bsky.social

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 4:01 PM

PREMIERE: Chicago's #QueerCountry Bandwagon celebrates National Coming Out Day with a simple but eternally true message: it's never too late to be who you are.

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A group of four people stand in a wooded path. They are wearing pearl snap shirts and jeans while waving rainbow pride flags and smiling into the camera.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 5:44 PM

As a genre, Americana is vulnerable to being ill-defined, vulnerable to those who want to make a quick buck, and – perhaps the most taboo in the entertainment industry – Boomer-coded. Here's how it happened.

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A white man in a white cowboy hat bends over an acoustic guitar, strumming. His face is hidden by the hat.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 4:15 PM

I Walked with a ZomBee reviews Hope Is a Heavy Thing, the urgent new album from Joy Oladokun. "It's long overdue to actually listen to Black women about brutal reality," writes Dolores.

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A Black woman stands with her hands in her pockets against a blank backdrop. The backdrop is lit with green and teal lights. Her hair is in shoulder-length twists. She wears a baseball cap, a gray t-shirt with a mushroom on it, and green cargo pants.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 4:15 PM

Every week, Rainbow Rodeo editor Rachel Cholst picks the three best queer country albums of the week. This week features sumptuous Appalachian explorations, tragicomic patriarchal characters, and a tidy little package to describe all of our messiness.

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An illustration of a naked woman with a harp as the figurehead of a small boat containing a unicorn, mushrooms, a fox, a bird, and a dogwood tree. The border is yellow flowers. The text on a banner across the tree reads Jude Brothers, Dogwood Maiden Voyage

A photograph of a man in a trucker hat slumped over on a table covered with plates of food. The text on top reads The Male Pattern presents I Was Shot in the Heart! The text below the photograph are the song titles on the album.

A white woman lies in a field at sunset with the sky stretching out above her. Airbrushed onto the clouds are the words: Fools For the Fleeting, Katie Pruitt

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 7:10 PM

CC Trubiak pays tribute to the country divas who didn't just make him gay -- they made him him. Learn how Dolly, Olivia Newton-John, and Tanya Tucker reached out and touched a boy growing up in Flin Flon, Manitoba and helped him to flourish.

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@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 30, 2026, 4:15 PM

INTERVIEW: Kam Franklin owns her space on her recent album Land of the Neon Sun. In our interview, Franklin talks about that process...and singing with Kermit.

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#QueerCountry #Americana #CountryMusic #RootsMusic #LGBTQMusic #QueerMusic #LGBTQMusician #lgbtq

A black-and-white photo of a Black woman with natural hair stretching her arms over her head. She looks directly into the camera while wearing heavy lipstick, a fur coat, and a lacy bustier. The background behind her is an abstract pattern of black and white lines.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 30, 2026, 4:15 PM

Following the release of her first full length album for Anti-, the Minnesota-raised, Nashville-based songwriter Brennan Wedl is moving into a new chapter where authenticity reigns. Natalie Kunce takes us into Wedl's neo-Southern rock...and Wedl's freakazoid tendencies.

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A white woman with short, bleached blonde hair, smiles and looks to the lower right. She wears pink lipstick and wears an open tan windbreaker. Her chest is exposed, revealing an eagle tattoo. In the background is a chain link fence.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 29, 2026, 10:12 PM

ALBUM REVIEW: Fiver spans the distance between jazz, country, and prog on the singular album Cleaning House -- showing vision that the band fearlessly explores, writes Richard Marcus

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A group of four people dance in a frenzied circle on a clifftop while the sun sets in the background

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 28, 2026, 6:14 PM

ALBUM REVIEW: Jake Blount closes out a decade and a half in traditional string music with Single-Footing Horse, a wily, political, and seductive tribute to the work and mentors who have helped shaped him, writes I Walked with a ZomBee

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A thin Black man stands on a beachw ith his hands in his pockets. He wears black jeans and a black lace shirt. He has a tidy beard and short, wispy hair. His head is back as if he is inhaling deeply.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 25, 2026, 4:15 PM

ALBUM REVIEW: Mary Gauthier's new album reckoning is a lived-in, compassionate collection of songwriting a la Bruce's Nebraska, writes kate fishman

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#QueerCountry #Americana #CountryMusic #RootsMusic #LGBTQMusic #QueerMusic #LGBTQMusician #lgbtq

A black and white photo of a middle-aged white woman with spiky white hair. She stands in the middle of a wheat field with an acoustic guitar. She wears a black shirt and nez pierce sunglasses. Stormclouds are rolling in overhead.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 24, 2026, 10:35 PM

INTERVIEW: Jude Brothers has always insisted on being nothing more than themself, and inviting others to join them. In our interview, Brothers discussed their approach to their new album, Dogwood Maiden Voyage, and what it means to hold live music as a sacred space.

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An AFAB white person with fringe bangs and shoulder-length dark hair lies in a blue lagoon, half-submerged. They have one arm over their had, lying on a rock, and staring at the camera. In the other hand, they hold an antique harp. They wear an old-fashioned high-necked white dress.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 24, 2026, 4:15 PM

ALBUM REVIEW: Lawrence Rothman caps off their country music trilogy with Here Lies Love / Stardust to Sawdust, an intimate and deeply relatable exploration of Rothman's full talents as they continue to explore themself, writes Stefanie 🏳️‍⚧️

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A nonbinary white person leans on a wooden fence in an open meadow. They wear a black cowboy hat and studded black leather jacket. There is a light stubble on their chin. They also wear heavy silver and turqoise rings.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 23, 2026, 10:15 PM

REVIEW: Arend (they) reviews Everything All the Time -- the stunning new queer exvangelical album from Maddie Zahm, which teaches us that living is an art, not a dogma.

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A white woman with long blonde hair leans over the back of a couch, smiling into the camera. The couch has a yellow blanket and black and white checked fabric. Over her shoulder is a purple-painted living room and a traffic light. The camera is pointed slightly up, revealing that the room is actually a TV set.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 23, 2026, 4:00 PM

PREMIERE: New Orleans band Ever More Nest gently gets rid of that lover's ex who won't let it go on the wry country waltz "Mine to Love"

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@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 22, 2026, 5:15 PM

Our editor Rachel Cholst guides you through the best of queer country past, present, and future in our monthly podcast series Queer Country Forever. This month:

Roselit Bone
Kam Franklin
Chris Housman
bailey dogllhunt

And more!

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A rainbow stretches into infinity on a lavender background. Purple text above it reads: Queer Country Forever. Black text reads: Episode 3

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 18, 2026, 6:27 PM

The Ratskin Family Band are the world's first all-drag country band -- but they're just doing what every mainstream country singer has always done, they explain in our interview.

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A group of six drag queens in hair metal wigs face to the left with their hands folded in prayer. They stand against a '90s photo studio-style cloud backdrop

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 17, 2026, 10:30 PM

ALBUM REVIEW: On their debut album, Aubory Bugg explores nostalgia at the tender age of 21 on i think i had something once. Steve Roberts notes that it's a promising debut, and a showcase for Bugg's crystalline voice.

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A white AFAB person with shoulder-length brown hair sits at a dining room table with their hands clasped. They are laughing and looking at someone off-camera. They wear glasses, a brown checked buttondown, and a gray t-shirt.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 17, 2026, 3:54 PM

If you're heading to Music City for Americanafest, we heroically highlighted all the best queer happenings to make your week more fabulous -- especially tonight's Queer Roots Showcase!

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A concert poster for the Queer Roots showcase tonight at the Lipstick Lounge in Nashville

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 16, 2026, 7:32 PM

INTERVIEW: Maddie Zahm was born to sing -- and in her upcoming album she's reconciled her past as a youth faith leader with her LGBTQIA+ identity. Also, she would love your sweet treats.

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A white woman with long blonde hair and khakis smiles at the camera above her. She is standing on a TV set similar to Mr Rogers' Neighborhood with a traffi clight near the door, an armchair, knit rug, and wooden floor.

@rainbowrodeo.bsky.social Sep 15, 2026, 10:37 PM

It's soooo smart!

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