But I certainly don’t lump them together in a scene.”īut Devin, who identifies as pansexual, is excited to play the Rain concert series, because he does find something special about having the LGBT community respond directly to his art. “If you’re playing indie rock or dance music or drunk bar music, sure, I might know which member is gay or trans or queer. “I don’t really identify bands as who’s singer is gay or who’s drummer is gay,” says Devin Usher, who writes songs in The Blonding Dandelions. Maybe it’s better that Austin treats its music as a whole, instead of regimented niches. In some ways, blending everything together isn’t a bad thing. “You’re more likely to find out lesbians artists in Austin than out men, and some of those men are more studio artists and don’t play live too often,” he says.
His next will be occurring during SXSW next year, and those have always come with their share of complications. Martin has organised LGBT music festivals before. But we are the “live music capital of the world,” and we have a reputation to uphold. Austin’s demographics aren’t too different from your average mid-size city, and that will always come with limitations. We don’t have the physical density to produce something like the queer hip-hop movement in New York. Of course, Martin is quick to point out that for a lot of gay bars, live music just isn’t there clientele. For Fourth Street – which is where the majority of the gays go out – it’s unique that we have something at Rain. “When I first started going out in Austin and seeing the social side of gay Austin it was different,” says Chase Martin, who runs the Central Texas LGBT lifestyle website, The Republiq, “for one we’re the 'live music capital of the world,' but we didn’t have much going on for gay artists. Barbarella’s TuezGayz stands as one of the most popular nights in the city, but look at Mohawk, or Beerland, you’d never call these clubs prejudiced, but why haven’t we seen dedicated queer events at some of the spaces closest to the heart of the scene? Diaz is quick to point out that he’d never call the Red River stretch of clubs homophobic in any way, but to me, it still seems like we could be trying harder. Cheer Up Charlies – A few blocks north of the Fairmont, Cheer up Charlies is a cozy vegan bar, offering a great selection of local beers, wines, and kombucha on tap.There are some spaces, sure.Barkin’ Creek – Pamper your pooch at Barkin’ creek, Austin’s premier dog kitchen and bath.Rain on 4th – Get your drag bingo fix at Rain on 4th, and get to know the locations’ amazingly talented resident Queens.