Not exactly renowned for its inclusivity or progressive views on the spectrum of sexual identity, country music has nevertheless been a source of inspiration for numerous LGBTQ artists over the years, from Lavender Country and Peter Grudzien in the ’70s to Orville Peck and Brandi Carlile today.
With the May 31 release of Blood In Her Dreams, it’s time to give the pioneering Shawna Virago her wildflowers. In the early ‘90s, well before the fight for trans inclusivity and representation entered mainstream discourse, she was one of the very few openly transgender musical performers in America.
After years of performing solo and in a band, Virago released her debut album, the mostly acoustic Objectified, in 2009. While the flavor of Los Angeles punk pioneers X has always inspired Virago’s (comparatively quieter) music, Blood In Her Dreams finds her adding an electric jolt of cowpunk adrenaline to her lyrically detailed, emotionally resonant Americana. Songs like “Ghosts Cross State Lines,” “Eternity Street” and “Climb to the Bottom” paint empathetic, vivid portraits of hard-luck types who’ve been battered but not beaten by life; like Lucinda Williams, Virago finds a dusty beauty in the rugged troublemakers living a country mile from polite society.