AWARD-WINNING DIGITAL SERIES.

W T TW NEWS EXPLAINS ON OUR WEBSITE.

THERE IS A COUNTRY MUSIC MOVEMENT THAT IS GETTING LOUDER WITH CHICAGO LEADING THE BAND, THE COWBOY BOOT WHERE IN SOUTHERN DRAWL HAVEN'T SWING IN THE SWING.

AND JOHN ROWE HAS BIG ROOTS IN THE WINDY CITY AND THIS PRIDE MONTH IS PROVING IT ALSO HAS A DEEP CONNECTION WITH THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY.

JOINING US NOW, OUR ALEXA STEIN, AN ORGANIZER AT SOCIAL CLUB, RACHEL GORDON, GERMAN JOURNALISM PROFESSOR AT NORTHWESTERN AND MEMBER OF HASHTAG COUNTRY BAND WAGON.

IRIS MARLOW, A LOCAL OUT COUNTRY MUSIC ARTIST AND ANDREW SAW A CHICAGO BASED SINGER-SONGWRITER AND COUNTRY CROONER.

WELCOME, EVERYBODY.

I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE SEGMENT.

AS YOU CAN ALEXIS, LETS START WITH YOU.

POLICE YOU'RE THE FOUNDER OF SOCIAL CLUB.

YOU HELP ORGANIZE SWAPPING BOOTS IS A POPULAR TO STEP NIGHT FOR CHICAGO'S LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY.

WHAT IS IT?

HOW DID IT START?

SO SWAPPING IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE SAME EVERY TIME PEOPLE COME.

THEY HAVE A LITTLE HOUR-LONG TO SUP LESSON WITH BILLINGSLEY AND OR WHO ARE AMAZING MUSICIANS THEMSELVES.

AND THEN WE GET THE BAND GOING AND THERE'S COVERS OF COUNTRY SONGS AND THEN PEOPLE START DANCING ACTUALLY, ANDREW AND ROCHELLE HAVE BOTH BEEN PERFORMERS.

YEAH, IT JUST IT GOT WHEN LOCAL UNIVERSE AND DECIDED THAT WE WANTED TO COLLABORATE WE HAD A CONVERSATION.

2 STEP CAME UP AS A AN EVENT POSSIBILITY AND I WAS LIKE YEAH.

YOU MENTIONED RACHEL.

YOUR BAND OF COUNTRY BANDWAGON.

IT HAS PLAYED AT SWAP AND BOOTS.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IT LIKE THIS IS SO POPULAR IN A CITY LIKE CHICAGO?

ONE THING THAT I HAVE DISCOVERED IS THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS IN CHICAGO GREW UP IN A PLACE WHERE COUNTRY MUSIC WAS ALL AROUND THEY DON'T NECESSARILY MIND THE SOUND OF IT.

EVEN LIKE THE SOUND OF IT.

THEY JUST DON'T LIKE THE SLICE THAT GETS PAID PLAYED COUNTRY RADIO WHEN I MEAN, I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS STARTING THIS FAN FOR ABOUT A YEAR TO OTHER LGBTQ PEOPLE.

IT IS AMAZING HOW MANY TIMES WHEN I SAID I WAS WORKING ON THAT PROJECT, THE RESPONSE WAS F. YEAH.

AND I THINK YOU KNOW IT IT.

THERE'S LIKE THIS IS A GREAT CITY, TOLERANT CITY, INCLUSIVE CITY TO LIVE IN.

AND THIS IS A REALLY FUN EVENT WHERE YOU CAN HANG WITH OTHER PEOPLE THAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH.

AND I CAN TELL YOU AS SOMEONE PLAYED ON STAGE AND LOOKED DOWN, IT IS SO DELIGHTFUL TO SEE ALL EVERY FLAVOR OF HUMAN BEING CAN IMAGINE DANCING WITH EVERY OTHER FLAVOR OF HUMAN BEING ON THE DANCE FLOOR.

IT'S MUCH FUN.

INJURIES LIKE SAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON IN MANY COUNTRY WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT THE DRAW THAT FOLKS HAVE TO COUNTRY MUSIC.

DRAW WELL, THE ONE THING THAT I WOULD REMARK ON IS THAT BEEN SURPRISED EVERYWHERE I'VE GONE.

THERE IS A DROP AND A LARGE SOLD OUT SHOWS WHERE BEEN AND IT SOLD OUT BECAUSE MY NAME IS ON THE BILL AND SOLD OUT BECAUSE CLEAR COUNTRY IS ON THE BILL.

I HAVE A COUPLE OF IDEAS.

US AND RACHEL KIND OF SPOKE ON I THINK FOLKS, YOU KNOW, GENDER ROLES ARE SUCH A BIG PART OF COUNTRY MUSIC IN ITS HISTORY.

THAT PEOPLE.

WE LIKE TO MESS WITH IT MIGHT BE ONE OF THE FINAL FRONTIERS TO DO SO IN THE MUSIC WORLD.

COUNTRY MUSIC, IT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST REPUTATION.

AS RACHEL SAID WHEN IT COMES TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, AT LEAST IN THE MAINSTREAM, IT'S TYPICALLY DOMINATED BY CISGENDER HETEROSEXUAL WHITE MEN.

LAST YEAR WE SAW HOW JASON TRY THAT THE SMALL TOWN CAUSED A BUNCH OF CONTROVERSY HAVE YET TURNED UP, YOU KNOW, STOOD AT SOME PEOPLE CALLED IT OUT FOR ITS, YOU KNOW, AS NATIONALIST RHETORIC, IRIS, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU RECONCILE YOUR LOVE FOR A GENRE THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ACCEPTING OF YOUR IDENTITY?

THAT'S A GREAT QUESTIONS.

SO I GREW UP IN A SMALL TOWN LESS THAN 1000 PEOPLE AND GROWING UP.

THERE WAS A LOT OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS OF DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE BECAUSE THERE WAS NO REPRESENTATION.

SO MEAN, SO MUCH TO ME TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING THAT HAS TWISTED THAT NARRATIVE BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES OF COUNTRY MUSIC.

IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IT.

BUT THERE'S A HUGE VARIETY OF PEOPLE THAT ARE BRINGING NEW NARRATIVES TO THE FRONT AND BRING NEW SOUNDS AND MAKING A SPACE AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THEY BELONG BEFORE.

SO, YEAH, IT IS REALLY SPECIAL TO BE FROM A SMALL TOWN THAT HAS THAT INTO A BIG CITY WHERE THAT'S NOT REALLY PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THAT MESSAGE AT ALL AND WE CAN MAKE NEW ONES MAKE PEOPLE FEEL WELCOME.

AND I TALK ABOUT I DISCOVERED THAT THE SPACE EVEN EXIST BECAUSE BECAME A FAN ANDREWS SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

I NOTICE THAT THERE WAS THIS THING CALLED THE COSMIC COUNTRY SHOW.

AND CAME TO REALIZE THAT COSMIC PEOPLE'S CLEAR AND INITIALLY I THOUGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, COUNTRY MUSIC WAS JUST AN ANDREW THING.

AND THEN I DISCOVERED THERE'S THIS HUGE COMMUNITY THAT REVOLVES AROUND ANDREW.

AND THAT ALSO IS IN THE SPACE AND I WAS JUST A CHICAGO THING.

AND THEN I DISCOVERED NO, ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, LITERALLY I SAID I STRETCH HASHTAG OR COUNTRY ON INSTAGRAM AND FOUND THIS AMAZING DEEP DIVE OF STAFF.

AND I KNOW MEAN, I THINK THERE ARE SO MANY ARTISTS IN THE SPACE THAT ARE MAKING GREAT MUSIC WHO ARE GENDER OR SEXUALITY NONCONFORMING EVERYTHING, GREAT MUSIC, NOT USUALLY DEALING WITH THE SAME SUBJECT MATTER THAT COUNTRY RADIO DEAL.

SO WHAT I WANT TO HEAR SOME OF THAT MUSIC BECAUSE FROM ANDREW YOUR THROWBACK TO SOME OF THE EARLIER A CLASSIC COUNTRY.

SOUNDS LIKE PATSY CLINE LORETTA LYNNE.

SO HERE IS A CLIP OF YOU COVERING LINDA RONSTADT, BLUE BAYOU.

TALKED ABOUT SORT OF DISRUPTING GENRE.

HOW WOULD YOU SAY YOUR ARTISTRY?

DOES THAT SUBVERTS THE NORMS?

WHAT CLEAR?

OUR DOESN'T SUFFER THE HOW I TRY IS I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO CRY.

100 NEED TO DO THAT A LITTLE BIT.

ABSOLUTELY.

BUT I ESPECIALLY FOCUS ON MEN.

WHAT I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.

I THINK IT DOES.

I THINK IT IRA, SIMILAR QUESTION TO YOU.

HOW DO BECAUSE WE'RE ALMOST OF TIME.

I WANT TO GET TO MORE AND BUT HOW DO HOPE TO CONTRIBUTE TO SORT OF THIS CULTURAL SHIFT THAT WE'RE SEEING IT WITH OTHER, YOU KNOW, WITH OTHER ARTISTS AS WELL LIKE BRANDI CARLILE AND OTHERS.

SO I LIKE TO MILAM HORROR FILMS AND KIND OF LIKE SCARY MOVIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

WHICH PEOPLE LOVE POOR AND SCARY MOVIES.

AND I WANT TO INTERTWINE THAT WITH PART OF MY HISTORY AND MY PAST.

AND THAT'S COUNTRY MUSIC.

SO THAT'S ALSO QUEERNESS AS WELL.

SO THAT'S MIXING ALL THAT TOGETHER IN MY OWN KIND OF VERSION OF WHAT COUNTRY MUSIC IS TO MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN.

YEAH.

ALEXIS, WHAT YOU GET US OUT HERE.

WE'VE GOT A FEW SECONDS LEFT.

BUT YOU CREATED SOCIAL CLUB BECAUSE YOU SAW NEED FOR A COMMUNITY IN CHICAGO FOLLOWING THE PANDEMIC.

WHAT'S NEXT?

WELL, THERE ARE BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS ON THE HORIZON.

ANDREW AND I ARE WORKING ON SOMETHING VERY EXCITING TOGETHER THIS A CLEAR AMERICANA FESTIVAL.

SO STAY TUNED FOR THAT IS WHERE WE'LL HAVE TO LEAVE IT.

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