Featuring some of today’s most exciting queer country artists, including the legendary Lavender Country, the world’s first gay country band, The Round Up Tour will arrive in New Orleans for one night at the Carnaval Lounge on Monday, March 21. This revue-style tour will also feature Paisley Fields, Austin Lucas, Ever More Nest and Joy Clark.
Seattle-based band Lavender Country is an American country music band formed in 1972, whose self-titled 1973 album is the first known gay-themed album in country music history. While the band was little known outside the Pacific Northwest and only released one self-distributed album, they created a genuine cultural milestone. After sitting stagnant for four decades, indie label Paradise of Bachelors discovered the album, reissued it in 2014, and shot Lavender Country into newfound fame. With a new rotating lineup of musicians, frontman Patrick Haggerty began performing to a new generation of Lavender Country fans drawn to the band’s timeless message of queer liberation and revolution. Haggerty, now approaching age 77, is stronger than ever. His shows are a unique combination of good country music, sharp Marxist political critique, and a huge lineup of incredible backup musicians from across the country.
Active since 2013, Paisley Fields is a singer, songwriter, and bandleader splitting time between Brooklyn and Nashville. As a songwriter, Fields is mindful of tradition, but deeply informed by his singular background—as a teenage Midwestern church pianist, a Manhattan piano-bar survivor, and a touring member of Lavender Country.
Austin Lucas is an American indie artist best known for his blend of folk punk. Releasing albums since 2006, Lucas has become a fixture in the alt-country and folk-punk scenes for nearly two decades, having toured with everyone from Willie Nelson and Ray Price, toBrent Cobb, Face To Face, Frank Turner, Chuck Ragan, Dawes, Langhorne Slim, Joe Pug, John Moreland, Lucero and many others.
Rooted in Southern musical traditions and infused with confessional ’90s-era angst, the music of Ever More Nest can likewise lull and rock you right off a front porch. Ever More Nest’s dynamic, homegrown voice—hugged by lush, church-pew harmonies—is complemented by ghostly, effusive guitars, spirited mandolin and banjo, mournful fiddle, and a rhythm section steady as a country train. The follow-up album to its celebrated 2018 debut, The Place That You Call Home, is forthcoming later this year.
Joy Clark’s musical artistry feels like a warm, fresh twist on the fervently familiar. Her tranquil yet ardent original creations are a heady mix of her major influences. Think Tracy Chapman, Lizz Wright, Maxwell, Anita Baker, Stevie Nicks and Chris Eaton. Now add a bluesy bayou vibe with a splash of folk sensibility and a dash of alternative appeal, and you’ll understand why this homegrown New Orleans singer, songwriter and guitarist transcends both age and the ordinary.
Tickets for the Round Up Tour are $8 and may be purchased in advance here. Carnaval Lounge is located at 2227 St. Claude Avenue. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show will start at 8 p.m.
