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Friends, Queer Country West Coast has a very special spring show in San Francisco  that we are so excited to share with you!

Paisley Fields will be here from New York, celebrating the release of their fabulous new album Glitter & Sawdust. They are regulars at Queer Country Quarterly in Brooklyn, and we can’t wait to have them here in California.

As if that weren’t enough, our headliner is Lavender Country! Lavender Country was the first the first openly gay country band, founded by Patrick Haggerty in 1973. They recorded a self-titled collection of gay radical country music, and though all of the records sold and the project was celebrated in a small portion of the gay community, Lavender Country proved too extreme for the music industry of the 70s and the project fizzled.

40 years later, independent record label Paradise of Bachelors reissued Lavender Country to rave reviews and a much more accepting public. Patrick and his music became the subject of an award winning short documentary, Cryin’ These C*cksuckin’ Tears, and Lavender Country went from being a lost obscurity to an underground legend.

I’ll be hosting a performing some new songs to open the show, accompanied by Alina Fox on viola.

This show is sponsored by Bluegrass Pride. Founded on the principle that bluegrass is for anybody and everybody, the California Bluegrass Association created Bluegrass Pride in 2017, an initiative to become the first ever bluegrass association to take part in an LGBT Pride celebration. The CBA and Bluegrass Pride were officially named the Best Overall Contingent in the 2017 SF Pride Parade, the first time in parade history that a first-time entrant has won the top prize. Now in their second year, Bluegrass Pride is continuing to grow and spread the word that bluegrass is for everybody, by hosting regular beginner-friendly jams, sponsoring a local concert series, and marching in the 2018 SF Pride Parade. They’ll be with us selling t-shirts and accepting donations for the 2018 float.

We can’t wait to see you there!

-Eli

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Join us for the Summer Edition of Queer Country West Coast celebrating the release of host Eli Conley‘s new album Strong and Tender! He’ll be joined by Conrad Sisk on cello and Maia Wiitala on bass.

We’re so glad to be returning to the east bay with a show at The Back Room, an intimate new venue for acoustic music in downtown Berkeley.

This show is also a part of the 2017 National Queer Arts Festival!

The Secret Emchy Society opens with a preview of their new album “The Stars Fall Shooting Into Twangsville,” out 7/21! They play foot-stompin,’ heartbreakin’ queer cowboy songs about good friends and hard times. Front-person Cindy Emch uses her unique voice to sing deeply personal Americana music for modern times.

Please note that this is a matinee show — Doors are at 1 pm, Music 1:30 pm. Tickets are $15 — available in advance online or at the door the day of the show. Cash only at the door.

RSVP and get more info here

See you soon!

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Hey y’all, it’s time for the Spring Queer Country West Coast this Friday night! We have the wonderful Annah Anti-Palindrome, who uses her looper to make rough and beautiful sounds using kitchen utensils, gas-masks, raw eggs, blood pressure cuffs, found objects, and her body (mostly her throat). For many years Mya Byrne performed with roots-rock band, The Ramblers, a festival Americana act, opening up for such bands as Levon Helm starting in the late aughts. Recently relocated to the Bay Area from NYC, she comes to the Queer Country stage this month with her new band, and that’s something you don’t want to miss! Your host Eli Conley is back from a songwriting residency in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, and will be opening the show sharing some new songs, accompanied by Danny Morris.

WHEN: Friday, May 27th, 7:30 pm Doors, 8 pm Show
WHERE: El Rio, 3158 Mission St, San Francisco, CA
DOOR: Free! Secret Password: Miss Major
ACCESS: Wheelchair accessible, 21+

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California country fans, mark your calendars for Friday, May 27th! Queer Country West Coast returns to El Rio with a spring show in San Francisco.

We are excited to feature the optical sound-smithing of queer/femme antagonist Annah Anti-Palindrome, and the blues and rock-flavored Americana of poet, award-winning songwriter, and proud trans activist Mya Byrne.

 

Your host Eli Conley will be returning to the Bay Area fresh off of a songwriting residency in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, so you can expect some new songs. Please save the date and we’ll see you soon!

WHEN: Friday, May 27th, 7:30 pm Doors, 8 pm Show
WHERE: El Rio, 3158 Mission St, San Francisco, CA
DOOR: Free! Secret Password: Miss Major
ACCESS: Wheelchair accessible, 21+

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Mark your calendar now, cause Queer Country West Coast is coming back for show number two on Friday, February 26th, 2016! We’re at a new venue this time around, the wonderful El Rio bar in San Francisco’s Mission District.

The show will feature the sweet porch music and three-part harmony of The P’s & Q’s, prolific and hilarious songwriter Denise Dill AKA Dillbilly in a new collaboration with Dempsey Wolf, and your host, Eli Conley, with new band members backing him up.

WHEN: Friday, February 26th, 7:30 pm Doors, 8 pm Show
WHERE: El Rio, 3158 Mission St, San Francisco, CA
DOOR: Free!
ACCESS: Wheelchair accessible, 21+

Can’t wait till February? Come see Eli play Friday, January 28th at Dolores Park Cafe in San Francisco with award-winning songwriter and fellow queer and trans country artist Mya Byrne. Lukas Papenfusscline headlines the night with his contemporary folk take on traditional mountain melodies.

See you soon, queer country fans!

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Queer Country West Poster
Hey y’all, big news! This summer we’re proud to welcome to the family Queer Country West, hosted by Eli Conley in the Bay Area! Eli is an Americana singer-songwriter originally from Virginia, now living in Berkeley, California. He performed at Queer Country Monthly and had such a good time he decided to bring the fun back to the west coast.

We’ve got some great queer country music for you at this kickoff show that you won’t want to miss. Julian Brolaski’s band The Western Skyline will bring their queer country western goodness. Julian’s previous band Juan & the Pines played at the very first Gay Ole Opry, so we are so pleased to have them with us for the first Queer Country West! Country singer-songwriter Shane Fairchild of The Goat and the Feather will grace us with her beautiful songs, and Americana trio Sugar in the Salt are playing their last show with banjo/accordion/fiddler extrordinaire Koralie Hill. Please come help us send her off with love!

WHEN: Thursday, June 25th. 7:30 pm Doors, 8 pm Show
WHERE: La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA
DOOR: $8 in advance, $10 at the door, No one ever turned away for lack of funds
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/373229736202491/
TICKETS: http://lapena.org/event/queer-country-quarterly-kickoff-with-sugar-in-the-salt/
ACCESS: All ages, kids welcome! Wheelchair accessible.

Please come *scent-free* so everyone can come and stay! More info on how and why to be scent-free at http://eastbaymeditation.org/accessibility/scentfree.html.

For other access needs, questions, or requests, please contact Eli at eli<at>eliconley.com.

Read more about the bands below. We can’t wait to see you!

-Eli

Country singer-songwriter Shane Fairchild of The Goat and the Feather. A bit of the dustbowl, the surreal, and the countryside with a smattering of power, sex and wilderness for good measure.

The Western Skyline is a San Francisco-based country western honky tonk band, featuring Julian Talamantez Brolaski (lead vocals, guitar), Mei Jardstrom (harmony vocals), DJ Gray (upright bass), Marco Baroz (electric guitar), Rob Davis (drums), and Andy Waegel (pedal steel).

Sugar in the Salt is an indie folk trio featuring songwriters Eli Conley (guitar, vocals), Koralie “K Sugar” Hill (accordion, banjo, fiddle, vocals) and Maia Papaya Wiitala (upright bass, guitar, vocals). With their luscious three-part harmonies and swelling strings, these three friends serve up songs that will touch your salty heart and sugar up your funny bone. Members of Sugar in the Salt have graced stages across the Bay Area including the Freight and Salvage, Cafe du Nord, and the San Francisco Trans March, not to mention countless livings rooms and protest rallies. Now they are joining forces as a queer folk band that just wants to have fun! When Sugar in the Salt gets together to play, you can always count on a sweet time.