It’s THE Pride Month anthem for these f*cked up times. Two Essential Queer Voices Remind Us What “Real Wealth” Looks Like. Full Q&A on Untethered Southerner. open.substack.com/pub/untether... @raeisla.bsky.social

Even more thoughts on @amygrantofficial.bsky.social. open.substack.com/pub/untether...

Yesterday, a new generation of civil rights activists marched from Selma to Montgomery to fight for voting rights. As states across the country try to make it harder for citizens to be heard, we need to learn the lessons of those who came before us and refuse to take our democracy for granted.

We’re excited to announce our endorsement of @justinjpearson.bsky.social! Justin is a frontline fighter for Tennesseans who has led in and outside of the State House on environmental justice, civil rights, and gun safety legislation. #TN09

Meeting @amygrantofficial.bsky.social at the Tennessee State Capitol. Her new song with Ruby Amanfu reminds us to show up when change feels impossible. New piece on Untethered Southerner. untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/meeting-am...

reskeet if you’re radically pro-transgender

Once an Emily/aspiring Miranda. Now a proud Andy Sachs.

“On multiple occasions in the past year, members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated, according to information supplied to Justice Department and White House officials.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Ella Langley just released the most daring thing I've heard from country music this year. It's a cover of a 70-year-old song. It still feels very necessary, which is both exciting and maddening. Essay below.

Talking with @jonbern.bsky.social , Justin Townes Earle's biographer, about the reader response to his book. There are hard things in those pages, things he didn't want to learn as a fan himself. Full conversation on Untethered Southerner. untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/what-do-yo...

Talking with @jonbern.bsky.social , Justin Townes Earle's biographer, about JTE's early stage persona — slightly campy, nodding to Vaudeville and the rhinestone flash of the Grand Ole Opry. Full conversation on Untethered Southerner. untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/what-do-yo...

Thanks to the great @hunterkelly.com for having me on to talk about Justin and addiction. untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/what-do-yo...

MAGA country singer Nate Smith wants us to come together and love each other. I went through conversion therapy. The Supreme Court just made it easier to put more kids through it. The day those two things landed in the same afternoon is the day I wrote this piece. open.substack.com/pub/untether...

Amen!

Enraged and yet empowered to keep fighting for the kids like me.

One gave me my first recording session fee. Another gave me my first byline. My thoughts on this year’s all-male Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Paul Overstreet,The Stanley Brothers, and Tim McGraw on Untethered Southerner.

My remembrance of K.T. Oslin is up on Untethered Southerner. open.substack.com/pub/untether...

K.T. Oslin came to Nashville in her 40s, played by nobody's rules, and changed country music forever. She also changed this little southern, gay boy’s life. A remembrance.

Essential reading! www.dontrocktheinbox.com/meet-the-cow...

Now that they're trying to pretend their war is not a war, they've gone back to calling it the Defense Department.

August Ponthier’s album, Everywhere Isn’t Texas, is healing my inner child, and reminding me of my queer country origin story.

Broken clock…

oops. White nationalism is a helluva drug.

Country singer Lee Brice is betting big on anti-LGBTQ+ grievance. Is it paying off? Looking at the numbers on Untethered Southerner.

QUEER JOY IS RESISTANCE! GAY LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL AND TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS! LET’S KEEP FIGHTING FOR OUR COMMUNITY! 🌈✨✊

Woah! My Substack, Untethered Southerner, is #25 on the Rising in Culture chart!! I’m right above my shero, @annelamott.bsky.social!!!

Thank you for your service, Hunter

As ever, our pal Hunter is a real one. And it's not the first time Hunter's called an artist on something like this.

I left a voicemail for Lee Brice asking why he only went after queer kids in new song “Country Nowadays” at TPUSA. Here’s what happened. open.substack.com/pub/untether...

Just called and left Lee Brice a voicemail asking why he singled out queer people in that song he sang at Turning Point’s halftime show. It’s amazing the numbers I forget I have in my phone.

“Renee was not the first person killed, and she was not the last,” Becca Good said. “You know my wife’s name and you know Alex’s name, but there are many others in this city being harmed that you don’t know — their families are hurting just like mine, even if they don’t look like mine.”

Feels like a good time to revisit this re: Jelly Roll. www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/...

One year ago, I started Untethered Southerner as a way to keep going—and to make room for conversations about queer musicians and music history. I’m proud of the work that’s taken shape here. Here’s to another year of staying in the conversation. 🔗 open.substack.com/pub/untether...

How could I possibly be having an affair with Erika Kirk when I was busy getting my wife pregnant?

The “prosecute the former regime at every level” candidate has my vote in 2028.

I am so proud to see @chrishousman.bsky.social nominated for @glaad.bsky.social Media Awards Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist! I also want you to notice that Chris is doing this all by himself with an indie team. Non country nomonees all have major music industry backing… you know why.

How did a roadside sign lead Grammy-winner Brent Maher to uncover the forgotten story of the Orphan Train—and create an entire ‘musical novel’? A few quotes here. Full story on Substack. open.substack.com/pub/untether...

I’ve known Brent Maher for years through my work on The Judds, but his new musical novel Night of the Orphan Train is the most personal project he’s ever shared with me.
 The full piece is up on Untethered Southerner. open.substack.com/pub/untether...

This World AIDS Day, look back on the star studded 1994 COUNTRY album Red Hot + Country raising funds and awareness for AIDS research! Brooks & Dunn, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton… yes, it happened! thebluegrasssituation.com/read/1994-ai...

“The Outside” isn’t just a duet — it’s a lifeline. @adammacmusic.bsky.social breaks down the his duet with @chrishousman.bsky.social a song for anyone who’s ever been told they don’t belong in country music… or anywhere. Watch full conversation: untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/adam-mac-t...

@durbin.senate.gov just sold us out. What a fool to think the Republicans will keep their word on anything. apple.news/AhNi9xK8fTvW...

“Kirk & I were on different sides of most political arguments. We were on the same side of the continued possibility of American politics.” So it’s personal? B/c if you were a Black woman or transgender, Kirk would not imagine you having any role in the future of American politics.

Lots of awful layers to this, but I keep coming back to the horror of little girls going to a place where they’re supposed to be safe and carefree, and this happening. It’s just so awful.

Budapest: At least 100,000 people defied Viktor Orbán’s ban & to marched in the largest LGBTQ+ Pride event in Hungary's history

Before Garth Brooks, there was Randy Travis. Diane Diekman’s new biography, Randy Travis: Storms of Life, traces the country icon’s multi-platinum rise and legacy. We dig in on Untethered Southerner. @illinoispress.bsky.social

They've got enough money to throw us into another war, but not enough money to fund the suicide prevention hotline. Very "pro-life." Very "pro-family." So "GREAT."

@thekygentlemen.bsky.social deliver the summer’s sexiest country song — “Denim on Denim.” The duo tell me all about creating the track in a new interview on Untethered Southerner! untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/thekentuck...

St. Louis. #STL

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Walz announces that Rep. Melissa Hortman is dead as a result of a "politically motivated assassination"