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Amy Ray Feeling Kinder with New Solo CD

I have lived in Atlanta forever.  Well, not forever, but longer than anywhere else, including my home town.  I’ve been following the Indigo Girls since before their days as the house band at the Little 5 Points Pub. All these years later, I still have it bad for Amy Ray.  She has a new solo CD out called Didn’t It Feel Kinder that is getting great reviews.  Her previous solo effort, Prom, is one of my favorite CDs.  Amy also has a DVD in the works, and has posted several videos of live performances and intimate acoustic versions of her solo work on Kyte.  If you are one of the few Atlanta-area lesbians who does not have a crush on this Indigo Girl, watch the video below.  That should do it for you.

Get Exposed to Queer Music During Atlanta Pride

Southern Exposure, the successful weekly live music series at Blake’s on the Park, will give Atlanta’s LGBT community a chance to hear the group’s established roster of LGBT musicians – renowned, rising and underground – in the first annual Southern Exposure Gay Pride Music Festival, scheduled to coincide with Atlanta Pride. The event will be held at Front Page News (Midtown location) on Friday, July 4th & Saturday, July 5th, The festival will feature 14 local and two national musical acts. Solo artists and full bands, all fronted by GLBT performers, will perform their uniquely queer approach to folk, spoken word, electronic, punk, country and rock music.

Southern Exposure Pride Schedule (Subject to change)

Friday July 4th
Doors open 6 p.m.

Richard Solomon, Barb Carbon + Hollin Gammage + Arrie Bozman, Miss Xanna Don’t, Mike Rickard, Jessica Dunnagan, The Sexual Side Effects, Jet Blk Joy featuring: Emily Kate Boyd, Angela Motter and West, Eric Himan

Saturday July 5th
Doors open 6 p.m.

The Wayne Fishell Experiment + Amy Lashley, Julia Carroll + Corey.E.Houlihan, Guyton Maurice, Mr.B, Sean Kagalis, Flat Cat, Tracy Rice, Richard Bicknell & the Shameless Lovers

Representatives from Chriskids.org “Rainbow House Program” will be on hand both nights to accept contributions for homeless and displaced GLBT youth in Atlanta. This is a grassroots effort to raise awareness and create a positive impact in the community.

Get exposed to gay and lesbian music at The Southern Exposure Gay Pride Music Festival. There is no cost to attend this event. Get your gay and lesbian music fix at:

Front Page News, 1104 Crescent Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: (404) 897-3500

Ample off street parking is available, as well as a full parking deck across the street from the venue. The festival is all ages until 9 p.m., 21 and over after 9 p.m.

MondoHomo Chock Full O’ Great Music

MondoHomo’s Chock Full O’ Nuts concert at Lenny’s was chock full ‘o fun. Bigg Nugg made a return appearance this year. A genuinely nice bear of a guy, Bigg Nugg’s homo hop is as contagious as his friendly approach to his fellow MondoHomies. His album La Revolucion (2007) is full o’ catchy rants that seem to spur us to action. The title track talks of a gay revolution that seems both in-your-face angry and uplifting. It’s an interesting mix. The track I Remember is one of those songs that took me days to get out of my head. If I could stop playing it several times a day, that might help.

After seeing Bigg Nugg at MondoHomo 2007, I had befriended him on myspace. I remember getting a thank you that struck me as written by Bigg Nugg directly — canned “marketing” by an agent or manager does not usually seem that genuine and gracious. His comment to me on myspace was the same as his autograph on the La Revolucion CD I bought at MondoHomo 2008: “Thanks for the support.” Bigg Nugg’s second thank-you was punctuated with a genuinely warm hug and smile. I like this guy, and his music.

Also performing at Lenny’s was DaLyrical, Atlanta’s own HomoHopper. I first saw her perform at Black Pride a couple of years ago. She struck me then as very talented onstage and almost painfully shy offstage. A couple of years later, she seems to be growing into the increasing attention. I did not have the chance to talk with her offstage, but her onstage performance was more connected and more confident that I remembered. DaLyrical is getting sexier, and her performance with Ohio’s Unecc got many of us hot from more than the Atlanta spring heat. Before her performance, DaLyrical shared that family tragedy had her distracted, but she put aside personal worries and gave the MondoHomo crowd all she had.

If you missed MondoHomo, you still have a chance to experience the triple threat of Bigg Nugg, DaLyrical and Unecc. They are touring together in a Unity Tour this year. Keep an eye on the Unity Tour ‘08 schedule so you won’t miss the chance to experience these talents in a city near you. With luck, maybe they’ll warm up Hotlanta again.

MondoHomos Meet at Mary’s

MondoHomo Dirty South ‘08 got off to a great start last night. The Homo-a-rama Dance Party at Mary’s in East Atlanta immediately followed the art opening at the Tilt Gallery downtown. Many of the artists and musicians performing at the event appeared at Mary’s for some social time with the MondoHomo team, other artists and the rest of us. When I woke up this morning still feeling a little tipsy, I knew MondoHomo was definitely underway.

I asked Kiki, one of the organizers of the alterna-queer arts and music festival, about her expectations for MondoHomo v. 2. Kiki says she anticipates an increase in attendance this year, and hopes it will continue to grow in popularity, scope and impact every year.

The first MondoHomo last year was held the weekend after Atlanta Pride. But with the drought-induced re-arranging of Atlanta events this summer, I suppose it doesn’t make much sense to tie another event on Pride’s coattails. Besides, MondoHomo deserves its own time and attention. It’s focused on queer art and music just to the left of the mainstream. Okay, make that way, far left of the mainstream. A lot of Pride’s purpose has always been inclusion and acceptance. MondoHomo is more about celebrating our differences–including the many differences within the queer community itself. The MondoHomo’s moved the festival to Memorial Day weekend, where it will stay for future festivals, according to Kiki.

The music starts tonight at 8:00 p.m. at Lenny’s Bar with MondoHomo HipHop.  See you there.