Boygenius performs in drag to protest anti-drag laws in Tennessee

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 01: (FLR) Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus of boygenius perform onstage at the 36th Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert & Gala at Carnegie Hall on March 1, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Tibet House US)
(Noam Galai/Getty Images for Tibet House US)

Boygenius performs in drag to protest anti-drag laws in Tennessee

Christi Carras

June 27, 2023

After the governor of Tennessee tried but failed to ban public drag shows in the state, Boygenius performed in drag Sunday at the group’s concert in Nashville.

The indie rock band played on the Great Lawn in Centennial Park less than a month after a federal judge passed a law criminalizing drag performances in Tennessee, the first law of its kind in the United States.

American neighborhood

right

Thomas Parker

determined that the legislation was “unconstitutionally vague and substantially too broad” after Tennessee Gov.

Bill Lee

signed it into law.

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“Today I’m so thankful for my life, not because I get to be on stage with my best friends…but because I’m happy with the person I am,”

Julian Baker

of Boygenius told the crowd

on

Sunday.

“I’ve found that I have a lot of anger towards people who have made me feel small and made me feel like I’ve been obliterated. And I’ve found… a really powerful and humbling tool to scare those people off. I would be like yelling loud enough for Governor Bill Lee to hear you.”

Following Baker’s lead, the crowd began chanting “F Bill Lee!” while the musicians of Boygenius raised their middle fingers in defiance.

The supergroup Boygenius is happiest making sad music together

At one point during the show

Lucy Dacus

introduced herself and her bandmates by their drag names:

Lucille Balls

(Dakus)

Shanita Tums

(Baker) and

Queef Urban (Phoebe Bridgers)

. Dacus wore a glittering black dress and red platform shoes; Baker wore a silky purple suit and an Elvis-esque wig; and Bridgers wore a cobweb bodysuit and voluminous gray hair.

Boygenius traveled to Nashville this weekend as part of his ongoing tour, which kicked off earlier this month in San Diego, Los Angeles and Stanford. In April, the three singer-songwriters known for songs like “Not Strong Enough” and “Cool About It” played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.

Boygenius isn’t the first musical act to speak out against Tennessee’s anti-drag law, which was intended to prohibit “adult comedians” (widely interpreted as code for drag performers) from performing in public and/or in the presence of children to perform. The law was met with outrage from opponents who considered it discriminatory and oppressive to the LGBTQ+ community.

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In April, Lizzo protested the law by inviting more than a dozen drag queens, including

Aquaria, Kandy Muse, Asia OHara and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo

to join her on stage in Knoxville.

Why not create a safe space in Tennessee where we can celebrate Pride entertainers and celebrate our differences and celebrate fat black women? Lizzo said on the show.

What people in Tennessee are doing gives hope, so thank you so much for standing up for your rights, protecting each other, and holding accountable the people who are supposed to protect us.

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