Yo La Tengo Protest Tennessee’s Drag Law at Nashville Show

In response to Tennessee’s restrictive new law around drag performances, Yo La Tengo staged a protest at their recent Nashville show with part of the band playing a portion of the gig in drag. The beloved Hoboken, New Jersey, indie-rock band played the first of two nights at Nashville’s Basement East on Monday.

As reported by the Tennessean, the band performed a first set and then took a brief intermission. For the second set, singer-guitarist Ira Kaplan and bassist-keyboard player James McNew returned in women’s clothes — singer-drummer Georgia Hubley remained in her usual clothes — and played some of their best-loved work, including “Stockholm Syndrome,” “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House,” “Sugarcube,” and “The Story of Yo La Tango.”

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There was no mention of the law by the band members, who recorded several of their albums in Nashville including 2000’s And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out and 1997’s I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, which included the track “Return to Hot Chicken.”

Through a representative at their label Matador Records, the band commented, “What we did last night couldn’t have been clearer, and requires no further comment.”

Tennessee’s drag law, signed by Governor Bill Lee in early March, isn’t a total ban of drag but instead aims to restrict it to adults-only establishments by defining it as “adult-oriented cabaret.” Proponents of drag argue that the art form is not obscene and can be tailored for all-ages crowds, and people who work in the legal field have pointed out that the law essentially just references existing obscenity laws. Still, some worry the uncertainty about what will and won’t be considered punishable may have a chilling effect on performers, businesses, and other LGBTQ individuals in Tennessee.

The drag bill is but one of several pieces of legislation aimed at the LGBTQ community in Tennessee. Governor Lee has also signed a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender teens, while there is another bill aimed at preventing trans people from changing their gender on their driver’s licenses. And yet another allows officials to refuse to solemnize marriages on religious grounds, opening the door for challenges to gay marriage.

In response to the controversial laws, Jason Isbell, Allison Russell, Maren Morris, and Paramore’s Hayley Williams will perform a benefit concert in support of LGBTQ rights, dubbed “Love Rising,” on March 20 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Earlier this month, Texas band Vandoliers played their Maryville, Tennessee, concert dressed in drag to protest the law.

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