Your Austin Pride soundtrack: 10 queer artists to celebrate all year long
From the ribald rap stylings of Mama Duke to the wistful indie rock of Ramesh, queer musicians in Austin are part of every genre, every scene. Over the past few years, as political rhetoric targeting LGBTQ+ people has escalated in Texas and around the country, these musicians have responded with acts of resistance and expressions of humanity and joy. They've also been making fantastic music. Here are 10 artists to add to your Austin Pride playlist (and keep bumping all year long),
Gina Chavez
When the Latin Grammy nominee met her wife at the University of Texas Catholic Center, they began a relationship, “behind closed doors,” she told the Statesman in 2020. “We had no one to talk to. We didn't have anyone to confide in. We couldn't be together,” she said.
This spring, Chavez, took to center court during a UT women’s basketball game for a performance that set the details of her courtship to a medley of tunes from the hit musical, “Hamilton.” Surrounded by a dance team with rainbow flags, she unwound a beautiful story of campus romance.
“Give it up for love is love,” she shouted at the end of the performance. “Whoever you love you are beautiful just the way you are and the world needs you just the way you are.” More info at ginachavez.com.
More: Austin LGBTQ musicians talk ‘living authentically’
Trouble in the Streets
Nnedi Agbaroji, singer for the electro groove outfit, was disgusted by bills restricting drag performances and gender affirming care to transgender youths that moved through the Texas legislature this year. “I'm queer. Most of my friends are queer, and it's just kind of this crazy thing that you don't realize is such a blatant disregard of human rights,” she told the Statesman in March.
The band’s recent single “Mother’s Tongue” is a gorgeous ode to resilience that taps into Agbaroji’s Nigerian heritage. The video, directed by her bandmate Andy Leonard and featuring Austin dancer Sade Jones, draws on the traditions of Igbo masquerade. “I kind of did a gender-bending, nonbinary vibe where I was encapsulating the maiden but also encapsulating the chief,” she says. More information at troubleinthestreets.com.
Sabrina Ellis
The flamboyant lead singer of Sweet Spirit and A Giant Dog came out as non-binary in late 2019. Accepting “gender fluidity and not trying to tame it” was a transformative experience for Ellis, they told the Statesman in 2020.
“When I look at myself in the mirror, I don't hate anything about myself,” they said. “There's nothing that I just, you know, want to change or wish was different and I remember struggling with that feeling throughout most of my life until recently.”
Longtime fans will be stoked to know there’s a new AGD album coming in August, but if you want to catch Ellis as you’ve never seen them before, they are doing a special presentation as part of Queer Freakshow (presented by QueerMusicians ATX) at Sahara Lounge on June 29. Follow Sabrina at @pinata_person on Instagram.
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Caleb de Casper
On his 2022 release “Femme Boy” Austin's (self-proclaimed) “prevailing rock and roll glamour boy” delivers a collection of synthy dance club bangers with titles like “Too Many Boys.”
“Don't let them take you away from yourself. This month we need to be stronger than we've ever been. Be yourself and don't let anyone diminish your light,” he wrote on Instagram at the beginning of Pride month. “They can ban our books and healthcare and threaten to throw us in jail over self expression for money and political gain. They can paint us as monsters to the ignorant and wave weapons and signs outside of our events — but they don't understand that they're telling a group of people to be quiet who promised to themselves that they would never be quiet again.” More information at calebdecasper.com.
Blakchyl
On her latest single, “White T-Shirt” — out in time for Pride on June 27 — Blakchyl smooths any hard edges as she whisper-raps over a sexy summertime ode to girl on girl love. The lifelong Austinite, who got her start rapping with the high school hip-hop crew The Cipher back in 2009, will appear at Austin City Limits Festival in October. Listen at blakchyl.bandcamp.com.
Mama Duke
The trap queen who tempers hard-hitting bars with sing-along hooks called her 2021 full-length debut “Ballsy,” a title that truly encapsulates her essence as an artist.
“Did this (expletive) with three whammys/ To make it up I need three Grammys/ because I’m Black, female and gay and somehow still found a way,” the Native Texan raps on the penultimate track “Found a Way,” her voice rising triumphantly as she bridges into the hook. Follow @mama.duke on Instagram for updates.
Ramesh
Over the past few years, the lead singer of Voxtrot has become very vocal about his sexuality.
“Growing up gay in TX was often a terrifying experience,” he wrote in March in an Instagram post featuring an acoustic performance of his song “Search For God.”
“For me the word ‘god’ simply means the mystery of life. I have spent decades trying to understand why I am the way I am, and while I tried to wish away my queerness in my teenage years, ultimately it has been a tremendous catalyst for growth and independence, and I understand it as a gift,” he wrote. More info at rameshinspace.com.
More: 13 ways to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Austin in June
p1nkstar
As an art student at UT, p1nkstar decided she would become “a hyperqueer pop superstar,” because (obviously) the world needed one.
“That is something that I hadn't seen growing up in Mexico,” the singer told the Statesman in 2021. Over the past few years, she has taken the queer dance scene by storm and in 2022, she became the first openly transgender artist to take home a trophy at the Austin music awards. More information at p1nkstar.com.
We Don’t Ride Llamas
Austin’s queer and proud Afro-rockers dropped their debut EP “The Oracle” in 2022 to widespread predictions of looming greatness. At the Punk Black showcase during SXSW 2023, the Gen Z sibling band led a masterclass on how to be both ferocious, scatting over a soundbed of barely restrained drums and slow-building guitar. They played with the presence of arena stars and leaders of a necessary movement. More info at wedontridellamas.com.
Tje Austin
The R&B singer was out and proud when he arrived at UT, but when he entered the music industry in the late ‘00s, he was encouraged to “tone down” his queerness, he told the Statesman in 2020. About five years ago, the former contestant on the hit NBC singing competition show “The Voice” decided he wanted to “live more authentically” and made a big coming out announcement on social media.
These days, he’s happily married and creating music with his new pop R&B project the Midnight Snack.
“There's a lot of toxic masculinity within the Black community on how men should be. And it's so crazy to me because I know there are so many stories and folktales in a lot of other cultures that involve dual-natured people,” he told the Statesman in 2020. “When did it stop being something that was normal? And when it did start to become unnatural?” Follow @haveamidnightsnack on Instagram for updates.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 10 LGBTQ+ Austin musicians to listen to in Pride month (and beyond)
