Music & Concerts

Catching up with Chely Wright

Out country singer returns to region for concert with Amy Ray

Published

8 years ago

November 23, 2016

Chely Wright, gay news, Washington Blade

Chely Wright says she was ecstatic to hear her new album compared to classics by Carole King and Roseanne Cash. (Photo courtesy Wright)

Chely Wright and Amy Ray

Monday, Nov. 28

7:30 p.m.

The Birchmere

3701 Mount Vernon Ave.

Alexandria, Va.

$29.50

It’s been six years since Chely Wright, a country singer known for hits like “Shut Up and Drive” and “Single White Female,” came out as a lesbian.

Her last album was 2010’s “Lifted Off the Ground,” which coincided with her coming out. Since then she’s gotten married, gave birth to twin boys and has spoken out for LGBT rights.

Now that her life has settled, Wright is back to the business of releasing music and touring. Her eighth album “I Am the Rain” was released in September and she plays the Birchmere on Monday, Nov. 28 in a co-headlining show with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls.

The always-loquacious Wright darts around to many topics during a Tuesday afternoon phone chat.

On touring with Ray: “Amy and Emily knew before I came out that I was coming out and they were incredibly supportive. … I was so pleased and honored that they recorded a song I had written called ‘It Really Is a Wonderful Life’ and asked me to come on stage at a couple of their shows with them. Any time an artist can get in front of an Indigo Girls audience, which is a highly informed, highly evolved, very loyal fan base, I said, ‘You betcha.’”

On losing fans by coming out: “You know, it’s hard to tell. Of course I lost some fans, but I also gained some, right? There have been a couple hundred new ones supporting me and coming to my shows that may not have known me before. It’s kind of a wash.”

On being a fan-friendly artist: “I think fans enjoy it, but I think I enjoy it nearly as much as they have. It’s just what makes country music special and it’s just part of who I am. Just like being an Americana artist and less commercial, I guess that’s something I’m always going to do.”

On possibly singing with Ray: “(The tour) didn’t sneak up on us, but we didn’t really have the time to get something together to come up with what would make sense to collaborate on, so hopefully as the tour goes on we can work something out. I love to sing harmony so hopefully she’ll let me sing harmony with her on a couple songs.”

On her set: “I’ve just been focusing on the new music and then a couple of the hits, because I really wanted to, selfishly, play this new music and bounce it out there. As a live performer, there’s nothing more gratifying than playing new music and seeing the response.”

On coming out strategically: “I wanted to come out in a smart, productive way. I wanted to use my voice in a way that kinda moved the needle. I know a lot of people have been touched or comforted by my book, my movie or my coming out or they’ve been … well, enlightened by it. Whether they were a person who thought they never knew and loved a gay person and then their favorite country artist comes out, well if that’s what got them to read my book or watch “Wish Me Away,” well that’s a mission accomplished.”

On her new album: “When you listen to it as a body of work with my older records, it doesn’t seem so different like, ‘Oh my God, that doesn’t even sound like her.’ I’ve said this before, but if ‘Lifted Off The Ground’ was steps away from ‘The Metropolitan Hotel,’ then ‘I Am The Rain’ is a marathon away from ‘Lifted Off The Ground.’”

On working with producer Joe Henry: “When one is lucky is enough to have Joe Henry pirate the ship, an artist — a smart artist — will get out of the way and let Joe Henry do what he was hired to do. One of the multitude of skills Joe brings to the table is his sensibility about which songs should be recorded. Obviously, it’s my record, but his vision for it was critically important or I would’ve just produced it myself. It’s like a ghost artist — some books have a ghost writer, but he’s like a ghost collaborator, but we call him producer. I’ve often said, he’s the rising tide that lifts all ships so he just makes you better and more vulnerable and more emotional and more triumphant. That’s the thing that Joe does that nobody else that I know of does.”

On duetting with Emmylou Harris: “That song, just to hear Emmylou Harris singing notes and words that I authored and composed just kind of blows me away and she did it so beautifully. She said when she was recording that, ‘I just want to be where Chely is emotionally,’ and boy, did she.”

On belonging: “I had high hopes that the gay community would have a place for me and that the straight community would have a place for me and the country music would have a place for me. I don’t know if the country music industry has acknowledged that they have a place for me, but they do have a place for me because I claimed it. I think what I was feeling that day when I was begging for a couple of different groups to validate me me is that looking at it now I realize the power I had that I didn’t know I had. I don’t need a group to grant me entrance. I, by the nature of who I am, I have my entry.”

Related Topics:Amy Ray Chely Wright I Am the Rain Joe Henry Lifted Off the Ground The Birchmere The Indigo Girls

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Kylie brings ‘Tension’ tour to D.C.

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2 weeks ago

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Aussie pop icon Kylie Minogue brings her acclaimed “Tension” world tour to D.C. next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Capital One Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.

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Erivo, Kylie, Sivan, and more headed our way this spring

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Cynthia Erivo plays WorldPride in D.C. on June 7. (Photo courtesy of World Pride)

One sure sign of spring’s arrival is the fresh wave of live music coming to Washington. With more than 10 venues and a diverse lineup of artists, the city offers no shortage of live performances for the new season.

In addition to this impressive list, don’t forget the many artists coming to town for WorldPride, May 17-June 8. In addition to headliner Cynthia Erivo performing on Saturday, June 7 at the two-day street festival and concert, many other performers will be in town. Jennifer Lopez, Troye Sivan, and RuPaul are among the featured performers at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds, June 6-7. Visit WorldPrideDC.org for a list of other performers.

MARCH

Grammy and Emmy Award-winning Mary J. Blige will take the stage at Capital One Arena on March 26 for her For My Fans tour. Two days later, on March 28, J Balvin will also perform at Capital One Arena for his Back to the Rayo tour.

The Lincoln Theatre will host the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington for three performances—one on March 15 and two on March 16.

If dance parties are more your vibe, you’re in luck. DC9 is hosting a series of themed dance parties this month, starting with Poker Face: 2000s + Dance Party on March 14, the ever-popular Peach Pit ’90s dance party on March 15, H.O.T.S.: A Sapphic Dance Party on March 22, and RageRiot!—a burlesque and drag revue featuring a lineup of local drag kings, queens, and everything in between on March 29.

APRIL

Australian queen of pop Kylie Minogue will bring her Tension tour to Capital One Arena on April 8, with British dance artist Romy as her special guest.

Indie singer-songwriter mxmtoon will stop in D.C. for their Liminal Space tour on April 4 at the 9:30 club, followed by indie rock band Gossip on April 5. The 9:30 club will also host two dance parties in April: Gimme Gimme Disco – a dance party inspired by ABBA on April 11 and Broadway Rave on April 18.

The Atlantis will feature Brooklyn-based indie rock band Pom Pom Squad on April 2.

Comedy duo Two Dykes and a Mic will bring their Going Hog Wild tour to the Howard Theatre on April 19.

DC9 has two dance parties lined up this month: Bimbo Night on April 4, hosted by Baltimore’s “premier red-tattooed Filipina diva” Beth Amphetamine, and Aqua Girls: A QTBIPOC Dance Party on April 5, celebrating “queer transcendence through music, movement, and community.”

The Anthem will welcome a lineup of big names in April, starting with Alessia Cara on April 8. Lucy Dacus will take the stage on April 18 and 19 for her Forever Is a Feeling tour, while funky pop artist Remi Wolf will headline on April 27, joined by special guests Dana and Alden.

MAY

Indie-pop artist Miya Folick will bring her Erotica Veronica tour to The Atlantis on May 1, followed by multi-genre musician SASAMI on May 2. Pop artist Snow Wife will close out the month at The Atlantis on May 31 as part of an official WorldPride 2025 event.

Queer rock band Lambrini Girls will perform at the Howard Theatre on May 4, while rock trio L.A. Witch will take the stage at DC9 on May 12.

Union Stage will feature Rachel Platten on May 3 for her Set Me Free tour, followed by Femme Fatale: A Queer Dance Party later that night.

The popular DJ festival Project Glow will return to RFK Stadium grounds on May 31 and June 1.

JUNE

Pride month kicks off with “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Trixie Mattel, who will perform at Echostage on June 3 as part of a series of official WorldPride 2025 events.

Queer icons Grace Jones & Janelle Monáe will take over The Anthem on June 5 for a WorldPride 2025 event performance.

Perfume Genius will bring his signature sound to the 9:30 club on June 7 as part of WorldPride 2025 festivities. Later in the month, Blondshell will hit the 9:30 club for her If You Asked for a Tour on June 24.

Music & Concerts

Pride concert to take place at Strathmore after Kennedy Center rescinds invitation

International Pride Orchestra ‘heartbroken’ event ‘would no longer be welcome’ at DC venue

Published

2 months ago

February 27, 2025

Jaylon Curry-Hagler

The Kennedy Center (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The International Pride Orchestra has announced its Pride concert will take place at the Strathmore Music Center on June 5 after the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts disinvited the group.

Since President Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center during his first month in office, LGBTQ events and performances have been banned with community allies withdrawing in solidarity.

The Kennedy Center has cancelled “A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride,” a May 21 concert that was to feature the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. The International Pride Orchestra on Monday said its concert will now take place at the Strathmore.

“We were heartbroken when we learned that our concert would no longer be welcome at the Kennedy Center,” said International Pride Orchestra Founding Artistic Director Michael Roest in a statement released by the orchestra’s media page. “The Kennedy Center has long been a symbol of artistic excellence, inclusivity, and freedom of expression. However, we are profoundly grateful to the Strathmore Music Center for opening their doors to us. Their willingness to host our Pride Celebration Concert ensures that our message of love, pride, and resilience will be heard on the doorstep of the nation’s capital.”

The Pride concert is among the events that have faced uncertainty since the Trump-Vance administration took office on Jan. 20. Many, however, are fighting back and looking for ways to push back against the bans and cancellations.

“We aim to create a powerful and positive representation of the queer community through music,” said Roest. “We want to show the world who we are, celebrate our queer identities, and amplify the work of organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community.”

WorldPride is scheduled to take place in D.C. from May 17-June 8.