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The summer Queer Country Quarterly is coming on Saturday, July 10th at 8:00 pm ET! And I’ve got so much gorgeous music for you with longtime Gay Ole Opry favorite Ganessa James, new star Jett Holden, and Mo(u)rning People, a brand new supergroup from Lara Americo, Apollo Flowerchild and Steph Durwin. Plus I have a bunch of new songs to play for you!

We’ll be streaming on the Karen & the Sorrows facebook page and on youtube, so you can watch wherever you like to watch! And RSVP here for all the updates!

The show is free but please contribute if you can! Venmo @karenandthesorrows and all your tips will go straight to the musicians.

And if you’re in Brooklyn, you can still order delivery from Branded! Or order cute Branded merch from wherever you are! Check out www.brandedsaloon.com to support our favorite bar.

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This QCQ is gonna be such a special one! The amazing DeLila Black is joining us all the way from London!!! Plus we have one of my favorite Queer Country Quarterly regulars, Franky and the Momos. And I even wrote a new song to sing you. Come be our queer country date on Saturday, March 6th at 8:00 pm ET! We’ll be streaming on the Karen & the Sorrows facebook page and on youtube, so you can watch wherever you like to watch! And RSVP here for all the updates!

The show is free but please contribute if you can! Venmo @karenandthesorrows and all your tips will go straight to the Franky and DeLila.

And if you’re in Brooklyn, you can still order delivery from Branded! Or order cute Branded merch from wherever you are! Check out brandedsaloon.com to support our favorite bar.

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Hi friends! Don’t forget that this Friday is the Queer Country Quarterly! I know you may be thinking, wasn’t there just one in April? Does Karen know what quarterly means? But we had to make a special extra addition because Tina & Her Pony are coming in from from Asheville, NC!  

You probably heard about how Tina & Her Pony melted everyone’s hearts last time they were here, so you might as well get ready to go all melty again. Plus, Paisley Fields will be our fabulous guest host! And Mylo Choy will get things started with their gorgeous songs. It’s gonna be a super magical night, so don’t miss it.
WHEN: Friday, May 17th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave at the corner of Bergen St, Brooklyn
DOOR: $8 but no one ever turned away for lack of cash
ACCESS: Accessible entrance and bathroom, please email me if you need reserved seating or have any other questions 
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/2415729315322235/

Tina & Her Pony VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/6RPn9EamRoU
“Tina & Her Pony deliver a gentle folk music that inexorably swells into a powerful wave. The songs themselves carry a gentle wisdom that invigorates the listener. Tina & Her Pony truly commit to a kind of chamber folk that feels as timeless as it does timely.”
– Rachel Cholst, NO DEPRESSION

Paisley Fields
www.thepaisleyfields.com

Mylo Choy
www.mylochoy.com
Mylo Choy has spent much of their life between contrasting environments. Growing up in Wisconsin, they also maintained a strong connection to Hawai’i where their mother is from; for years they worked in outdoor education, living between the woods and Brooklyn where they currently live. Finding consistency has been an ongoing journey. Drawing inspiration from nature’s ability to offer peace and perspective, Mylo creates songs that reflect without dwelling and soothe without escaping. Their bedroom-folk sound, influenced by ‘60s folk, ‘70s Hawaiian music and ‘90s indie rock, can be described as Joni Mitchell meets Death Cab for Cutie or Yo La Tengo. Embracing chaos and quiet, Mylo cultivates a landscape that feels like home no matter where they are.

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Queer country quarterly returns this spring with not one but two shows!

Karen is in the studio hard at work on a new record, so our first spring show on Friday, April 12th features Elías Elena as guest host. Elías brought their beautiful, gentle songs to Another Country this summer and we are so pleased to have them back.

Eli Conley hosts our sister show Queer Country West Coast in the Bay Area, and he’ll be in town all the way from California! Joel Price joins him on mandolin, violin, and sweet harmonies. Expect songs about queer love, growing up trans in a small town, and grappling with the fact that we’re all going to die (it’s uplifting, we promise).

Franky and the Momos will bring their songs and stories for your head, heart and hiney.

It’s all going down at Branded Saloon in Brooklyn. The show is wheelchair accessible and $8 at the door but as always, no one is ever turned away for lacks of funds.

Save the date for when Karen & the Sorrows return for the second spring Queer Country Quarterly with Tina and Her Pony and Paisley Fields at Branded May 17th!

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Friends! I’m so excited! Cindy Emch is gonna be here all the way from California! Her band Secret Emchy Society is one of my favorites and I’ve been wishin’ and hopin’ to get her here for a long time. I can’t wait for you all to fall in love with her too!
Also, VIVA. If you’ve seen Viva before then I don’t need to tell you why you need to see Viva again. If you haven’t seen Viva before then what are you doing with your life? You need to fix it by immediately seeing Viva. 

Also, my band will be there with sad songs, as usual. There will be lots of new ones because I’m working on getting ready to record a new album! We’re on first, so make sure to get there at 8:00 if you want to catch our set.

WHEN: Saturday, October 20th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave at the corner of Bergen St, Brooklyn
DOOR: $8 but no one ever turned away for lack of cash
ACCESS: Accessible entrance and bathroom, please email me if you need reserved seating or have any other questions 
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/557727347990211/

More about Secret Emchy Society: 
Cindy Emch is Oakland’s First Lady of Queer Country. She plays foot stompin’, heart breakin’ americana music about good friends and hard times. You’ll be haunted by her band’s dark, sexy, boozy ballads and off-kilter anthems and cowboy songs.

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Dearest queer country friends, this Saturday’s show is gonna be seriously special.
Tina and Her Pony will be here on tour from Asheville, NC, and you do not want to miss your chance to hear their gorgeous, powerful music. Plus, more heart-melting beauty from our opener Mo Pepin. And I have been working hard on a whole new set of Sorrows songs that I can’t wait to share with a striped-down band of just guitar, banjo and fiddle. It’s gonna be one of those huddle-close-with-the-ones-you-love-and-share-your-heartbreaks kinda nights.

WHEN: Saturday, July 7th, 8:00pm
WHERE: C’mon Everybody
325 Franklin Ave bet Clifton Place & Greene Ave, Brooklyn
G To Classon Avenue
Accessible entrance and all gender accessible bathroom, email me if you need seating or anything else I can help with! 
TICKETS: $10 in advance, $13 at the door
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/249357052482094/

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Hey there, friends. Thursday, April 12th is gonna be a very special Queer Country Quarterly—we’re celebrating the release of Paisley Fields‘ fabulous new record Glitter & Sawdust! Plus Mylo (a solo project from one of the stars of queer country fave Small Talk) will be opening. And it’s also my birthday show, so c’mon to C’mon Everybody and bring me a little birthday love! 
WHEN: Thursday, April 12th, 8:00pm
WHERE: C’mon Everybody
325 Franklin Ave bet Clifton Place & Greene Ave, Brooklyn
G To Classon Avenue
Accessible entrance and all gender accessible bathroom, email me if you need seating or anything else I can help with! 
TICKETS: $10 in advance, $12 at the door
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/164706724187180/

Paisley Fields
Paisley Fields are a queer country band, unapologetic about pushing boundaries and seeking inspiration in the unexpected. Though lead singer James Wilson is inspired by country musicians like Dolly Parton and Gram Parsons, he wanted Paisley Fields’ lyrics to reflect a modern world. Pittsburgh City Paper writes, “While Paisley Fields have a good bit in common with contemporary country — rich production, songs with pop bones and twangy accents — the band probably won’t be touring with Toby Keith anytime soon. They’re a refreshing change from country radio.” Paisley Fields tour frequently, and their latest album, Oh These Urban Fences, is described by No Depression as “a labor of love that demands your attention.”

Mylo
Mylo is a musician and artist living in Brooklyn who began writing songs privately when they were 11 years old. Mylo admires the healing power of music and, now playing to a wider audience, aspires to create music that keeps people company when they are lonely and encourages connection when people are together. As a gender non-conforming and mixed-race person, Mylo envisions creating spaces where people feel like they belong.

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I’m so excited for this Saturday, friends! Humble Tripe will be here from North Carolina to celebrate their beautiful new album The Beginning. AND we have the amazing Ganessa James. There’s something especially joyful that both Ganessa and Humble Tripe bring to making music, so if you’re trying to find some happy in the hard times, this show will help. Plus, long-time friend of the Opry Nadia Bourne will be doing a special opening set. And it will be The Sorrows’ 100th show!

When: Saturday, April 15th, 9:00 pm

Where: Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave at the corner of Bergen St, Brooklyn

Door: $5 but no one ever turned away for lack of funds

RSVP and more details

Access: wheelchair-accessible entrance and bathroom, please email me if you need reserved seating or have any other questions

And make sure to save the date for the Sorrows’ record release party on Sunday, July 2nd at Littlefield in Brooklyn. We’re goin’ all out and putting together a big day-long festival called Another Country, featuring queer, trans and/or people of color country and americana musicians. Come help us turn that fucked-up holiday inside out and reclaim the music we love for resistance!

xoxo,
karen

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Friends, this Winter QCQ is all about the hard-rockin’, guitar-slingin’ tough femmes of queer country. Barbara Endes’ Girls on Grass is perfect badass twang and jangle. And Julie Cira, coming to us from Northampton, MA, brings the dark, gritty siren songs you need. Plus, the Sorrows have been working hard in the studio, getting our second album ready, and we’ve missed playing you our songs about everything falling apart!

So come soak up some queer country love and community, eat free candy and drink a little too much, howl along with the pedal steel, and get what you need to get ready for another day of resistance.

When: Friday, February 24th, 9:00 pm (Note: that’s Friday for this one, not our usual Saturday!)
Where: Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave at the corner of Bergen St, Brooklyn
Door: $5 but no one ever turned away for lack of funds
Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1085807831529881/
Access: wheelchair-accessible entrance and bathroom, please email if you need reserved seating or have any other access questions

xoxo,
karen

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fall-queer-country-quarterly__facebookDearest cowpeople, I know we could all use a little extra music and queer country love right now. So if you can, come on over to Branded Saloon this Saturday night because we’ve got a really special Queer Country Quarterly for you.

First of all, Sam Gleaves is magic. He and his super-talented sweetie Tyler Hughes are coming to play for us as a duo all the way from Kentucky. Sam made my whole band cry with his amazingness when we played together this spring on our tour, and fine, maybe it’s not that hard to make me cry, but you know that Tami and Elana are tough cookies. And then, MY GAY BANJO! I don’t have to tell you that My Gay Banjo is the best because I know you already know. Plus, our Elana Redfield will be doing a special opening solo set. And the Sorrows not only have more new sad songs to play for you, but after this we will be heading into the studio to record our second album, so it’s your last chance to see us for a while.

When: Saturday, November 19th, 9:00 pm
Where: Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave at the corner of Bergen St, Brooklyn
Door: $5 but no one ever turned away for lack of funds
Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1214825421925821/
Access: wheelchair-accessible entrance and bathroom, please email if you need reserved seating or have any other access questions

And also, as usual, free candy. Because we love you.

xoxo,
karen