Country Queer

Lifting up LGBTQ+ voices in country and Americana.

First Annual OUTLaw Pride Fest Set to Go Off in Austin

Jaime Wyatt. Photo By Magdalena Wosinska.

Pearlsnap Music Group has just announced the lineup for the first annual OUTLaw Pride Fest, scheduled for October 23rd in Austin, TX. Jaime Wyatt tops a stellar bill of LGBTQ+ country artists that also includes queer country pioneer Lavender Country, breakout star Adeem the Artist (fresh off a tour opening for American Aquarium), Julie Nolen, Buffalo Gals (Melissa Carper), Devin Jake, Emily Herring & the FM Band, Jett Holden, Hardened and Tempered, and Alden Hedges. Country Queer is a proud media sponsor of the event.

The brainchild of Pearlsnap’s founder Julie Nolen, OUTLaw Pride Fest is Austin’s first queer country festival and may well end up being America’s largest-ever gathering of LGBTQ+ country artists and fans. It will be held on two outdoor stages at Austin’s renowned country bar Rustic Tap with full COVID safety protocols. The event is sponsored by AmptUp, Music Speaks to Me, and Country Queer, with proceeds from ticket sales benefitting queer youth group OutYouth.

“I started putting this together in my mind about two years ago when Country Queer became such a great place for all of us queer country musicians to find each other,” states Nolen. “I had no idea how many beautiful queer stories were being told in country music. I wanted to create a real-world space where we could all be together.”

On the name OUTlaw Pride festival, Nolen asks, “Is there anything more outlaw than being queer in country music? The outlaw country movement started the early 70s when Kris, Willie, Waylon, and Jessi rebelled against the clean sound and image of Nashville, and discovered they had even more success being authentically themselves. We all find more success and happiness when we’re true to ourselves. Nobody knows that better than the queer community.”

Tickets are available at the door on the day of the show, or in advance at outlawpridefest.com. Suggested donation is $15. For those unable to attend, the event will be streamed at https://www.facebook.com/RusticTap/