By Jon Freeman, Rolling Stone | Texas country-punk band Vandoliers are standing in solidarity with drag performers and the LGBTQ+ community. On Thursday night, the group performed their set at the Shed in Maryville, Tennessee, with all six of its members wearing dresses in protest of the state’s newly enacted law on public drag performance.
“Fuck a drag bill,” they wrote in an Instagram post. “Gonna auction off the dresses we wore onstage in Tennessee tonight and donate the money to a couple of LGBTQ charities in this state.”
Suffice it to say, the heavily tattooed, impressively hairy group may not be making a Drag Race runway debut anytime soon (or maybe they will, who knows!), but the image of them in their show wear suggests they came ready to party and kick a little homophobic ass.
“As a band our core mission has always been to be a positive force of energy,” singer Joshua Fleming tells Rolling Stone. “What is happening in Tennessee is a blatant attack on a marginalized class, and we wanted to show all of our friends and fans in the LGBTQIA+ community our unwavering love and support. We see you, we stand with you, and we’ll fight alongside you. Vandoliers is for everyone. Forever.”
Tennessee’s new bill, adopted by the legislature and signed by Governor Bill Lee this week, aims to re-classify some drag performance as “adult cabaret” that violates obscenity laws by being “harmful to minors.” Performances will supposedly be restricted in public spaces or in places where children might see the act, though just how much remains unclear. Opponents of the bill are promising legal action.
The law goes into effect on July 1, shortly after Nashville Pride takes over the Bicentennial Mall in downtown. Some legal professionals have questioned whether it can actually be enforced or if it’s just designed to scare people. Artists including Kacey Musgraves and Cassadee Pope have voiced their opposition to the law, and a group of Tennessee businesses that includes Sony Music Nashville, Red Light Management, and Warner Music Nashville all signed a letter urging Lee not to sign the bill.
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Read the rest of the story here:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/vandoliers-play-tennessee-concert-dresses-163349103.html
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Bonnaroo Promises ‘No Changes’ At This Year’s Festival Despite Tennessee’s Drag Ban
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https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bonnaroo-promises-no-changes-festival-210206323.html
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3 reasons why Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee should veto bill targeting drag shows
Opinion: Editor, The Tennessean
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Why invite an unnecessary legal challenge?
Finally, our member and allied businesses do not want our state to waste hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in legal fees defending a bill that is so vague as to render it unconstitutional. This bill is drafted in such a broad way that it either restates existing law, in which case it does nothing, or it’s so vague that it’s designed to limit speech and artistic expression without anyone ever getting prosecuted. One is unfair to your constituents, and the other is unfair to the state’s LGBTQ+ community, who are also your constituents.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/3-reasons-why-tennessee-gov-110340038.html
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Tennessee Governor Signs Felony Drag Show Bill, Bans Gender-Affirming Care
Christopher Wiggins, The Advocate
https://www.yahoo.com/news/tennessee-drag-show-ban-heads-154634114.html
Photo: The Vandoliers in “drag” – from their Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/Vandoliers/
Vandoliers Play Tennessee Concert in Dresses to Protest State’s New Drag Bill
