Curtis M. Wong – We The People

Brandi Carlile Opens Up About The Power Of LGBTQ Representation In Music

Curtis M. Wong February 9, 2019

Brandi Carlile says she “can’t wrap her head around” being the most-nominated female artist at this year’s Grammy Awards, but she’s keenly aware of the overall significance of those accolades.

The folk-rock singer-songwriter’s latest album, “By the Way, I Forgive You,” saw her talking a stance on a number of contemporary issues, like addiction, immigration and bullying. Released in February 2018, the album received massive critical praise and helped Carlile score six Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year (for lead single “The Joke”) and Album of the Year.

“I feel like I’ve always been on the fringes of mainstream acceptance like that, but it means the most that I’ve received this honor at this point in my life,” she said in a new interview with Variety. “Being a 38-year-old mom, with two kids, who’s gay and lives on a farm, and is nominated alongside Janelle Monae and Cardi B, it’s kind of unbelievable.”

Carlile isn’t taking that newly expanded platform for granted, either. She went on to explain why she feels it’s more important than ever for LGBTQ artists to be open about their sexuality in spite of the professional risks that may arise.

“Representation can be kind of life or death for a kid in a small town,” she said. “At the very least it can give someone hope.”

The Washington state native, who cites Elton John and Freddie Mercury as influences and recently teamed up with Sam Smith for a duet version of her hit, “Party of One,” is about to kick off an action-packed Grammys week. In addition to Sunday’s awards ceremony, she’s due to perform at a MusiCares tribute to Dolly Parton on Friday and appear at Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy gala the next day.

And though Carlile may be lauded by LGBTQ fans and advocacy groups for being so frank about her sexuality, she’s quick to credit other queer female artists, such as the Indigo Girls and k.d. lang, for having paved the way.

“They were made fun of for being frumpy or not dressing right or not walking right,” she said. “Me and Courtney Barnett [a gay Australian singer-songwriter] are a product of the fact that they took those hits for us and now, nobody thinks it’s acceptable to say those things about us.”

Arts & Entertainment/ Music

Bluegrass Artist Justin Hiltner Wants New, Queer-Inclusive Music To Smash Barriers

Curtis M. Wong August 14, 2018

Justin Hiltner (left) is hopeful his new album with Jon Weisberger will be “the beginning of true representat — Justin Hiltner (left) is hopeful his new album with Jon Weisberger will be “the beginning of true representation for queer people in bluegrass.”

Banjo player, singer and songwriter Justin Hiltner touches on many time-honored themes on his new bluegrass album, “Watch It Burn.”

Loneliness, heartbreak and nostalgia are cornerstones of “Watch It Burn,” due out Friday. But the album, which Hiltner wrote and recorded with fellow musician and pal Jon Weisberger, is poised to shift listeners’ long-held perceptions of bluegrass, too. Nowhere is that more apparent than on its second single, “I’m Not in Love With You.”

HuffPost got an exclusive first listen to “I’m Not in Love With You” (see below). If the song feels traditional in its denial-of-heartbreak motif, consider this: The 26-year-old Hiltner, who is openly gay, says the lyrics were inspired by his “horrible habit of falling in love with straight men.”

“There’s a lot of autobiographical content on the album,” Hiltner told HuffPost. As “I’m Not in Love With You” demonstrates, however, references to his sexuality come through as “Easter eggs” scattered throughout the record’s 12 tracks. So while “Watch It Burn” doesn’t necessarily relay an overt message about diversity or LGBTQ inclusion, its co-creator is hopeful it will be “the beginning of true representation for queer people in bluegrass.”

“I want this to be a moment where anyone who doesn’t feel like bluegrass is a place where they can be themselves can feel there is a community here where they can be celebrated for who they are,” Hiltner said. “That’s what this record can accomplish.”

Though Hiltner and Weisberger have performed together for years, they began writing material for “Watch It Burn” a year ago. Initially, their plan was to make a “songwriter album,” or a collection of demo tracks they’d pitch to other artists to perform and record. In the end, however, the project “took on its own artistic perspective,” Hiltner said, and with the help of a crowdfunding campaign and Mitch Collman of North Carolina’s Robust Records, the men decided to record the album themselves.

“I never thought that a 26-year-old gay banjo player and a 65-year-old Jewish bassist would be friends and co-writers,& — “I never thought that a 26-year-old gay banjo player and a 65-year-old Jewish bassist would be friends and co-writers,” Hiltner (left) said of his kinship with Weisberger. “But we are, and it works.”

In some respects, “Watch It Burn” marks the latest chapter in a creative journey beset by personal challenges. Like many aspiring artists, Hiltner relocated to Nashville ― coming from Newark, Ohio, in 2011 in hopes of establishing himself as a singer-songwriter. But he had another impetus in fleeing his hometown, too ― namely, his evangelical Christian family’s refusal to come to terms with his sexuality after he came out.

“I literally packed up all [my things] and left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye,” Hiltner recalled. Though he’d been playing the banjo since age 7, he also feared coming out meant he “wouldn’t have the same ownership of the music as I did before. Bluegrass is so intertwined with cultural and social aspects of the [traditional] South, where being queer overtly isn’t really a thing.”

Once in Nashville, however, Hiltner began building a circle of “really supportive people … strong allies and friends of queer people,” including Weisberger, whom he described as a fellow “scandal-maker and rabble-rouser.”

Hiltner and Weisberger's "Watch It Burn" is out Aug. 17. — Hiltner and Weisberger’s “Watch It Burn” is out Aug. 17.

“I never thought that a 26-year-old gay banjo player and a 65-year-old Jewish bassist would be friends and co-writers,” he said. “But we are, and it works.” On Aug. 9, Weisberger scored two International Bluegrass Music Awards nominations for Songwriter of the Year and the Mentor Momentum Award, while Hiltner received a nod for Industry Involvement.

Meanwhile, the musician’s relationship with his family has improved in the seven years since his move.

“Being 400 miles away was enough to realize that we missed each other, loved each other,” he said. “Getting to have that clarity was a fortuitous side effect of me moving to Nashville. It’s not like they’re PFLAG chapter founders or anything, but … they’re very supportive of the record and of my career choices. We’re on good terms.”

Looking ahead, Hiltner would like to follow up “Watch It Burn” with a number of singles with his vocals and banjo accompaniment, to be released over the course of next year. He’d like to take his act on the road, too, with a series of “one-man, one-banjo shows” that illustrate his unusual story.

I want this to be a moment where anyone who doesn’t feel like bluegrass is a place where they can be themselves can feel there is a community here where they can be celebrated for who they are. Justin Hiltner

Noting that the best forms of art can transcend the barriers of politics, Hiltner hopes that being an outspoken member of the LGBTQ community in a musical genre most associated with the country’s most conservative regions can “bridge a few gaps” along the way.

“Divisions like urban vs. rural, ‘coastal’ vs. ‘flyover’ are not as black and white as we think they are, and I think it’s important to remind people that queer people will always be here in these communities,” he said. “If my literal existence stands for anything, it’s that people can stand at the center of these kinds of disparate halves and hold them together in a way that honors themselves and humanity.”