Pete Yorn 4/16 at 12pm

Our LGBTQ artist playlist keeps Pride going after June

Courtney Barnett by Eli Pitta


June is coming to an end, that doesn’t mean Pride has to. Here at KFOG, we have quite a few LGBTQ artists on our airwaves and in our studio to celebrate. More recently, Courtney Barnett, who Brandi Carlile recently cited as a personal inspiration – “She’s brave. No makeup, no bullshit, incredible lyrics and brilliant guitar player.” – and a vocal advocate who actively gives back to the community, recently gave an interview and played several of her songs in front of a KFOG listener audience. 

Get to know some of the best LGBTQ artists reminding us of the importance of visibility, authenticity, and inclusive community – plenty of reasons to celebrate.

Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear

Coming out at the age of 21, Ed Droste has been unapologetically open since his beginnings in music. In an interview with Out Magazine, Droste describes the reaction of gay youth to his openness and music. “I remember when we used to sell our own merch, teens would come up to me shaking and say, ‘You made me feel better about being gay.’ Especially in the indie world, they felt there were no gay people.”

Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees

Glenn uniquely defines what being gay and religious means in today’s terms. Growing up in the Mormon church, he told Rolling Stone Magazine he still identifies as Mormon. “I worry about people not understanding that he’s neither angry at the church nor distanced himself,” fellow bandmate and active LDS member Elaine Bradley said.

Annie Clark AKA St. Vincent

Although St. Vincent has previously given interviews on her gender and sexual fluidity, her relationship with Cara Delevingne made headlines in 2015.  When asked by Rolling Stone in a 2014 interview if she identifies as either gay or straight, St. Vincent responded, “I don’t think about those words… I’d rather the emphasis be on music.”

SIA

SIA publicly came out in an interview with Attitude U.K. when revealing love problems with her female partner. In a completely SIA fashion, she burst out in singing, “I’m coming out! Bum, bum!” and added, “It’s fun — it’s like a whole new sort of subject to study now.” She came out again in August 2013 via Twitter where she identified herself as queer.

Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit

Angelakos first publicly discussed his sexuality on Bret Easton Ellis’ podcast B.E.E. in 2015. Discussing his marriage, divorce, and the subsequent aftermath, the singer came out as gay and talked about the journey he took to that realization. “I just decided it might be best to talk about it here. I don’t really know what happened, but it’s just one of those gut feelings. It’s the same gut feeling I had when I said, OK, I kind of just need to talk to people about the fact that I am. I’m gay. And that’s it,” Angelakos said to Ellis.

Courtney Barnett

Barnett has been with musician Jen Cloher since 2011, and described her as a “huge constant influence” to The Guardian. In terms of figuring out her sexuality, Barnett told Rolling Stone in an interview, “I liked boys and had boyfriends, but those kinds of feelings were just what I’d read about. It wasn’t really me.” She had her first girlfriend in the last year of high school. It was only upon breaking up did she tell her parents, who responded with a ‘Yeah, we know!’ according to Barnett.

Tove Lo

Swedish pop singer Tove Lo spoke to Out Magazine in 2017 and said, “I see myself as bisexual, but I’ve never actually had a relationship with a girl.” However, she followed up her comment by saying, “Do we need to define, why are we defining?” Most recently, Billboard asked Lo, among other pop culture luminaries, to write a love letter to the LGBT community. In doing so, Lo described her experience growing up different but never feeling ashamed. Despite the differences in adolescence between herself and other LGBT members, she recognized “how much bravery and strength it takes every day, in a society that is filled with so much hate, just to be free to love. Free to be you.”

Playlist

  1. What I Need – Hayley Kiyoko (ft. Kehlani)
  2. Neon Trees – Sleeping with a Friend
  3. Janelle Monáe – PYNK (ft. Grimes)
  4. Kehlani – Get Like
  5. Tove Lo – Cool Girl
  6. Demi Lovato – Cool For The Summer
  7. St. Vincent – And Then She Kissed Me
  8. Disclosure – Latch (ft. Sam Smith)
  9. Courtney Barnett – Pickles from the Jar
  10. Grizzly Bear – Mourning Sound
  11. Vampire Weekend – Diplomat’s Son
  12. Passion Pit – Somewhere up There
  13. SIA – The Greatest
  14. Years and Years – Desire
  15. The Internet – Girl
  16. Gia – Only A Girl
  17. King Princess – Holy

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