6 Queer Folk Artists to Add To Your Playlist
By Anne Gregg
Folk music is a broad term, and any music listening app that has generated folk playlists would probably agree. American folk music usually refers to music with traditional song structures, live instruments (in particular banjo, guitar, fiddle, and strings), and lyrical storytelling that often invokes folktales or religion. What is considered folk music today is a broad spectrum as the genre is an imperfect thing that can never truly define an artist’s work. The queer musicians below are only a fraction of the wonderful artists (a few more recommendations are Allison Pontier, Amythyst Kiah, The Army The Navy, Brook Annibale, and Kevin Atwater) who at least have a few songs that fit comfortably in the folk genre. American folk music is eclectic with roots in African American spirituals, Appalachian music, and traditional work songs from Great Britain and Ireland. Because of the history and storytelling embedded in these songs, it’s important to listen to and celebrate queer stories in the genre as well. Through music we share our experiences and embed ourselves in a shared history.
Apollo Flowerchild
Apollo Flowerchild is a nonbinary multi-instrumentalist musician based in NYC. Their music dips into a variety of genres: jazz, funk, rock, R&B, and folk. Each song is different and exciting, broadly drawing inspiration from music that inspires. Apollo Flowerchild’s music is not united through a specific sound. Instead it is made cohesive by stirring vocals and divine lyrics. There’s a renaissance quality to their lyrics, drawing on mythological and biblical references. Falling in love and heartbreak are rendered as poetic epics in Apollo Flowerchild’s song. While their album DRAWING 101 is a fantastic mix of genre with some wonderful indie folk ballads, their EP While No One’s Watching is perfect listening for anyone looking for soft guitar tunes. Each of their songs are wonderful, new, and delightfully cinematic.
Songs To Get Started: Bloody Hands, A Delicate Reminder, Mother I Know I’m Guilty
The Crane Wives
The Crane Wives are a Grand Rapids based band made up of Emilee Petersmark (guitar/vocals), Kate Pillsbury (guitar/vocals), Dan Rickabus (drums/vocals) and Ben Zito (bass). Their fifth studio album Beyond, Beyond, Beyond is set to come out this year. Emilee Petersmark is openly queer and her experience is embedded into the band’s songs including “Nobody” a toxic queer love anthem and “The Garden” which is about growing up bisexual in a catholic community. The Crane Wives songs are filled with driving strings, beautiful harmonies, and gorgeous poetic lyrics. The band celebrates rage with songs like “Take Me To War” and “Steady, Steady”, which are perfect for screaming in your car. The Crane Wives discography is vast with songs about love, trauma, anxiety, doubt, and hope. Their songs voice feelings that are almost impossible to express.
Songs To Get Started: Curses, Nobody, The Garden
Jake Blount
Jake Blount is a queer banjo player and fiddler based in Rhode Island. His music is rooted in history and folk tradition. Blount is a historian through his music. He retells and rewrites traditional African American folksongs for a modern era, realizing the anger boiling under the music. Blount’s music is intricate, a toe-tapping mix of fiddle, banjo, guitar and vocals. His cover of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” is a haunting reimagining informed by his identity as a queer black man. His album The New Faith tells an afrofuturist tale told after the catastrophic climate change. Blount’s music is a perfect storm of exciting dancing music, driving string anthems, and mournful ballads.
Songs To Get Started: The Man Was Burning, Where Did You Sleep Last Night, Once There Was No Sun
Olive Klug
Olive Klug is a Nashville based nonbinary musician whose music is a sweet blend of classic country-folk instruments and modern bedroom pop production. Their voice has a warm twang singing over guitar and banjo picking and country strings. Klug’s lyrics are specific and highlight the quiet moments that make up life. Their songs tackle everything from growing up, mantras to themself, and love. Even though their songs are often quiet, there’s an easy listening quality in most of them and a country chorus that encourages you to sing along.
Songs To Get Started: Raining In June, Spirit In Disguise, Coming of Age
Rabbitology
Rabbitology is quickly becoming one of my new favorite artists in the indie folk scene. Rabbitology is a Michigan based artist who uses she/they pronouns. Their songs are filled with dark beats, whispery vocals, haunting harmonies, and eerie nature sounds. Their voice casts a spell over you by drawing you into their witchy and ethereal world. The production on their songs has the intimate experimental quality of a Billie Ellish record but with a unique folk twist.
Songs To Get Started: Millie Warm The Kettle, FOXCRY, The Bog Bodies
Sammy Copley
Sammy Copley is an trans male irish singer-songwriter and self described “paul simon wannabe.” His songs are stripped down and intimate, the wishes of a teenager in his bedroom. Most of his songs are characterized by the soft picking of an acoustic guitar and sweet harmonies. His lyrics recall the feeling of being a teenager and experiencing first love and first heartbreak. The song “Elizabeth” is about his first queer love and is filled with cute metaphors and heartache. Memory and melancholy run through his songs, but there’s also a heartbreaking kindness to his past and to himself that makes you feel like you’re wrapped in a hug.
Songs To Get Started: To The Bone, Marsha, Growing Pains
About the Author
Anne Gregg is a poet and writer from Northwest Indiana. She is an English Writing major at DePauw University and is the editor-in-chief of her campus’s literary magazine, A Midwestern Review. She is a Media Fellow at her university and loves dissecting how LGBTQ+ people are portrayed in film and tv.
