“You will not hear Top 40 acts on my show…nor will you hear any CIS-gendered men,” says Boyfriend, New Orleans’ rising queen of what Rolling Stone called “high-concept booty bass.” “Every week, I will play music and feature an interview from women or nonbinary musicians and activists who I think are making the world a more bearable place to live.”
The show to which Boyfriend is referring is her brand new weekly guest slot on Amazing Radio. Between segments ranging from Boyfriend’s unsolicited advice to ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) to a guuided yoga Pose of the day, Boyfriend will weave in tunes from her favorite musicians and interview segments as part of what she calls “a mid-week date with your most reliable Boyfriend, bringing you musings and muses of the femme persuasion.” The show will air every Wednesday from 8-10 p.m. CST at amazingradio.us.
Boyfriend is a songwriter (Big Freedia, Charli XCX, Pussy Riot, Mykki Blanco, Slayyyter, Mala Rodríguez), producer, and performer. A festival darling (named “Bonnaroo’s Best Find” by Bob Lefsetz and one of the “Top 10 Performances of Outside Lands” by Rolling Stone), Boyfriend is best known for her over-the-top live show which blends components of cabaret, pop music, and theatrical elements such as costume changes, props and interactive set pieces.
Boyfriend’s first show aired on Wednesday, October 13, and featured an exclusive interview with Los Angeles-based artist and activist Faye Orlove. Orlove is the founder of Junior High, a nonprofit community arts space and magazine that prioritizes the safety and expression of female, queer, nonbinary, and POC artists.
“I am so excited to be working with Amazing Radio because they truly champion independent artists,” says Boyfriend of her newly minted partnership. “I’m here to be your Boyfriend, to take you on a genre-spanning midweek date night to release what the week has brought you and prepare for what it will bring.”
“Here at Amazing Radio, we live to champion new music and new artists. We love the shock of the new; that moment when you hear a wonderful track for the first time, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you just know you’ll remember where you were standing that exact moment, every time you hear it again,” says Amazing Radio founder and CEO Paul Campbell. “We have that experience with Boyfriend’s music, when we hear it on Amazing Radio and when we see those incredible stage performances. Boyfriend is a great artist, in the widest sense of that word. So we are thrilled to welcome her to our station, to surprise, thrill and shock. You’ll hear music and ideas that will live with you. It’s going to be memorable radio, with important messages about how we live and how we treat each other, too. One thing’s for sure: you’ll remember where you were, when you hear these shows.”
Amazing Radio has given artists their first break since 2007. Founded by Campbell, the British new music radio station was the first to spin Alt-J, Haim, The 1975, Dua Lipa, and many more. With a continued commitment to new and emerging artists, it’s free for musicians to sign up and upload a song for airplay consideration. Fans can also sign up for an account for free and can like their favorite artists, create their own playlists, and pledge money to musicians, with 100 percent of proceeds going straight to the artist. In May 2020, the company launched their North American counterpart Amazing USA, along with the acquisition of beloved radio festival CMJ.
