There was a time when queerness and country music went together like, well, hippies and hillbillies.  

But as the soon-to-be-80-year-old Bob Dylan once sang, “the times, they are a changin.’” And these days, country music boasts a solid roster of openly queer artists like Brandy Clark, Chely Wright, Amythyst Kiah and Canada’s own D’Orjay the Singing Shaman.  

Now, no less than the venerated Canadian Country Music Association is getting in on the queer bandwagon, hosting conversations about queer issues and raising money for queer causes.

The CCMA has teamed up with lifestyle brand Live Country to release a limited-edition Country Pride t-shirt, which you can pre-order now.  A hundred per cent of the proceeds will go to the LGBT Youthline, a queer, trans, two-spirit youth-led organization that affirms and supports the experiences of youth across Ontario.

The organization is also hosting a series of Pride Month conversations featuring the aforementioned D’Orjay – as well as Bronwyn Parks of Feisty Creative, Tara McLeod from the band Nice Horse and Steven Banks from ET Canada Pride.  The conversations will be available on all of the CCMA’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.  Keep an eye on their Facebook page for details. 

Four hooves up from the moose, CCMA. Keep up the good work.

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