Queering Country Music: Conceptualising LGBTQIA+ Voices in a Contested Genre
Thursday 25th April 2024, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (London Time)
Country music is a genre that is sometimes assumed to lack LGBTQIA+ participation. Over the past 30 years, scholarship (Rich, 1992; Dickinson, 1999; Hubbs, 2014; Goldin-Perschbacher, 2022; Royster, 2022) has begun to challenge these assumptions and shone a spotlight on the long history of LGBTQIA+ people’s engagement with the genre, as both artists and audiences. This course builds on this emerging field of research to consider the way LGBTQIA+ artists use country as a storytelling medium with potential to represent a broader range of experiences and narratives than the country music industry has historically recognised.
Country music has a self-referential conceptualisation of itself as a genre that is heavily invested in notions of authenticity. On the one hand, this holds potential for the expression of LGBTQIA+ voices. On the other, authenticity is heavily policed by the country music industry who wields this notion to construct and enforce exclusionary ideas of who country music is, marginalising women, people of colour and LGBTQIA+ people, erasing these histories of participation in the genre (Bishop and Watson, 2022; Goldin-Perschbacher, 2022; Moss, 2022; Pecknold, 2013; Royster, 2022; Watson, 2019). At the same time as this discriminatory industry context, LGBTQIA+ people continue to engage with country music and push the genre forward.
This course considers the way songs by LGBTQIA+ artists navigate country music aesthetics and definitions of genre, looking at the voice as a medium for articulating and reworking ideas of authenticity and genre identity. The presentation explores particular songs in depth covering the period from the 1970s until the present day, featuring artists such as Lavender Country, Chely Wright, Namoli Brennet, Indigo Girls, Jake Blount, and Allison Russell.
There will be a consideration of how each song navigates the genre, which has both potential and risks for LGBTQIA+ artists, dedicating particular attention to the way trans artists engage with precarious notions of authenticity. Through paying close attention to these songs, this course aims to showcase LGBTQIA+ voices in country music and to suggest ways that these artists challenge our understand of who and what country music is.
James Barker
James Barker (he/they) is a PhD candidate in Music and Media at Newcastle University, UK. His PhD research explores the potential of queer reading as a strategy to assert LGBTQIA+ belonging in country music, using Dolly Parton as a case study.
Sorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.
Tuesday 16th December 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
Inspired Sound: Unlocking the Science of Choral Acoustics
Professor Helena Daffern
In this session, Professor Helena Daffern will explore the fascinating science behind choral sound, offering choir singers and directors valuable insights into achieving a cohesive and expressive ensemble, no matter what their standard. The concept of choral blend will be examined —what it is, how it can be cultivated, and the roles of intonation and vibrato will be analysed. The decisions that have to be made around intonation when tuning thirds or dealing with modulations over the course of an a cappella piece will be explained in the context of existing research and different singing styles such as barbershop singing and solo voice ensembles.
Tuesday 16th December 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Unclenching the Jaw: Options from the Physio Lens
Walt Fritz
“Jaw tension” is one of many potential problems facing the singer, and can cause a direct negative impact on the performance in both direct and indirect ways. The underlying cause of jaw issues is attributed to numerous factors (technique, posture, strength, range of motion, etc.), making it often difficult to identify common denominators. Join Walt Fritz as he examines the evidence supporting stretching, strengthening, and manual therapy interventions to address jaw-related concerns in vocal performers, taking into account their unique needs.
Thursday 18th December 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Improving Lyric Italian Diction for Classical Singers
Professor Conroy Cupido
Join Professor Conroy Cupido as he offers an in-depth exploration of the most frequent pronunciation errors made by classical singers in Italian lyric diction. Designed for both emerging and advanced singers, the course provides a structured and practical approach to mastering Italian pronunciation as used in opera, oratorio, and art song.