The Queer Country Quarterly is back! I recognize that technically this makes it monthly, but QCQ is more fun to say so I’m sticking with it. Livestreaming with you in April was so lovely, I can’t wait to do it again. And it’s a really special line-up: We’ve got mandolin superstar Maddie Witler! And Nadine Hubbs, author of the secret queer fourth verse of Jolene and everybody’s favorite book, Rednecks, Queers & Country Music, will be playing Cajun accordion! Plus, I’ll be your host as usual and play a few songs for you, too.

Please contribute to the musicians if you can! Venmo @karenandthesorrows and your tips will all go directly 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

More about the musicians:

Maddie Witler hails originally from LaCrescenta, CA, and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Maddie picked up the mandolin when she was 14 and fell in love with the instrument and bluegrass music. She attended the Berklee College of Music from 2010-2014. Maddie has been a member of the Lonely Heartstring Band since it began in 2012. Over the years she has also performed with folks like Peter Rowan, Darol Anger, Michael Daves, Tony Trischka, Molly Tuttle, and she is currently touring full time with Della Mae.

By day, Nadine “Dean” Hubbs is a musicologist and gender, sexuality, and class scholar whose writings on these subjects include Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music, described by NPR’s Jewly Hight as “one of the most important scholarly discourses on country music of this decade” and by PopMatters as “invaluable.” She discussed “Jolene” on last fall’s Dolly Parton’s America podcast and premiered a new fourth verse, letting the straight world in on what queer listeners had long assumed. Dean teaches at University of Michigan and was bassist, vocalist, and accordion player for the Ann Arbor Cajun-zydeco band The Pittsfield Ramblers.