Rachel Cholst of Rainbow Rodeo on Creating, Documenting, and Preserving Queer Country Canon

I spoke with Rachel Cholst, a music journalist from New York City who has been writing about the queer country music community for the last 9 years. You may have already seen her work in magazines like No Depression, The Boot, and Wide Open Country. Currently, she is the editor of Rainbow Rodeo Magazine, and as far as she knows, Rainbow Rodeo is the first print publication devoted to queer country music.

There are interviews, reviews, critical essays, and some podcasting. Something I think that is amazing is that Cholst talks about creating, documenting, and preserving history for queer artists in country music. And it makes me think, man, how often do people try to create history and preserve it, and how often is it erased? There is an essay she wrote in Rainbow Rodeo a couple of months ago called “Building the Queer Country Canon in Real Time,” where part of that thread can be seen. We talked about this idea in the interview, too. And it seems, Cholst is continuing to create these threads through Rainbow Rodeo as a platform and as a community.

I did ask her about Beyonce’s album that people contend is country because ownership and tradition are often hotly contended in the realm of music.

And if you think, but Jonah, I don’t like country. Well, well, I have a gateway album recently released that you could check out, and that’s S.G. Goodman’s Planting By the Signs.

Check out Rainbow Rodeo! https://rainbowrodeomag.com/

Review on Rainbow Rodeo: "S.G. Goodman -- Planting By the Signs"