When country singer/songwriter Jaime Wyatt announced she was queer with the release of her second album, 2020's Neon Cross, she was convinced doing so would destroy her career. Instead, something shifted — not only was she more free to be herself and to date women openly, but many fans reacted positively, too.

"Several times on the road I've had fans come up to me with their same sex partner, and they're like, 'Hey, we feel safe here. It's so awesome because we both love country music, and we're not out of the closet, and we're not out to our families, but we can be here,'" Wyatt says.

Modern country music is generally perceived as a conservative genre, and deep-rooted cultural and industry biases have long excluded LGBTQIA+ (and BIPOC) artists and stories from the genre. For example, in 2010, when successful mainstream country artist Chely Wright came out, her career stalled and record sales halved. Kacey Musgraves was criticized for lyrics supporting same-sex love in her beloved anthem, "Follow Your Arrow." More recently, even, Wyatt walked out of a recording session after the owner of the space asked if she was singing "'some gay s—.'"

But Wyatt is also one of a growing number of country artists who, in recent years, have blazed a trail through country music and toward acceptance. Among them, Adeem the Artist, Mya Byrne, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Mary Gauthier, Lizzy No, Orville Peck, Lily Rose, and Allison Russell. Together, they're celebrating queerness alongside their love for the genre, and pushing it into diversity with patience, tenacity, and darn good country music.

"If you listen to popular music, or if you listen to hip-hop music, it feels like there's a broader diversity to a lot of subcultures as far as what you're able to access," nonbinary country singer/songwriter Adeem the Artist says. "Whereas with country music, it's very linear, it's very myopic, and singular in its expression."

By way of broadening country's storytelling, Adeem plays a honky-tonk blend of classic and '90s country music that's sonically aligned with the deep musical traditions in Tennessee, where they now live. Lyrically, though, their propensity for gorgeous, frankly worded songs complicate stereotypical southern narratives in rare and provocative ways. On White Trash Revelry, their 2022 studio album, they grapple with racism, economic entrapment, gun violence, and family heritage. And their latest, Anniversary, released in May, includes songs about mental health, the poignance of parenthood, and the pain and fear of being a queer person in a world that threatens their existence.

Indeed, some of the places in the U.S. with the strongest ties to country music remain the least hospitable to queer people. Just last year, Tennessee, home of Nashville, the country music capital of the world, passed a total of 10 bills aimed at LGBTQIA+ people, while Texas, perhaps country music's second-best known state, passed 20 percent of all anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation in the U.S. What's more, LGBTQIA+ people and culture have been targeted by numerous attacks around the world — including the Pulse nightclub and Club Q shootings stateside — in the last few years alone.

For many, the consequences of not coming out, of not sharing their full selves with the world, are risky, too. Growing up, Wyatt had no role model to show her it was okay to be queer. She struggled for years with mental health and substance abuse and was convicted of robbing her heroin dealer as a young adult. "I needed to see someone who looked like me when I was a young child," Wyatt says. "And maybe I wouldn't have been a dope fiend in jail."

But while straight white men comprise most of country music's standard slate of forebearers, women and people in the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities have contributed to the genre since its beginning. Notably, it was Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a queer Black woman, who in the 1950s introduced reverb to gospel and rhythm and blues music — and in doing so, she forever changed guitar playing, and inspired some of country music's biggest trailblazers, from Elvis to Johnny Cash.

In 1973 — four years after the Stonewall uprising kickstarted a widespread gay liberation movement — Patrick Haggerty and his band Lavender Country released what is generally considered the first gay country album. But after it sold out its first pressing of 1000 copies, the album was mostly forgotten until 1999, when the Journal of Country Music published an article hailing Haggerty as "the lost pioneer of out gay country music." Haggerty began performing again and in 2014, indie label Paradise of Bachelors reissued the Lavender Country album, securing Haggerty status as a grandfather figure to queer country.

Haggerty's reissue landed in a different world than the album's original run. In the interim, a handful of artists released more queer country music, including Jeff Miller, aka "John Deere Diva," known for his George Strait parody, "Not Really Strait," as well as Doug Stevens and the Outband's When Love Is Right and Sid Spencer's Out-N-About Again, which put lyrically gay songs to country music.

In 2011, shortly before the Lavender Country reissue, queer country singer/songwriter and music scholar Karen Pittleman convened the first Gay Ole Opry in Brooklyn's now defunct Public Assembly performance space, launching more than a decade of queer country events, tours and a far-reaching network of performers and supporters. And in 2015, gay marriage became legal nationwide.

As progress has accelerated culturally in the near decade since, it has in country music, too. In 2018, Paisley Fields' debut album Glitter and Sawdust merged cowboy grit with queer raunch. In 2019, Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" provoked country music to re-consider the nature and identity of country music. In 2021, T.J. Osborne of the Brothers Osborne became the first openly gay male artist signed to a major record label; a year later, the duo's song "Younger Me" — which was written in response to T.J.'s coming out — became the first country song with an LGBTQIA+ theme to win a GRAMMY. And this Pride Month, longtime LGBTQIA+ supporter (and GLAAD's 2023 Excellence in Media Award recipient) Maren Morris declared on Instagram, "happy to be the B in LGBTQ+."

Read More: 9 Times Queer Artists Made History At The GRAMMYs: From Elton John's Collab With BSB To Kim & Sam's "Unholy" Union

"We as queer fans deserve to have songs that speaks specifically to us," says Rachel Cholst, a queer writer and educator. "And if that means putting in same gender pronouns, then we deserve that too. And if that makes a straight person uncomfortable, I don't know what to tell you. I've grown up my entire life having to internally change the pronouns to the love songs that really moved me."

Cholst started writing about music when she realized she couldn't be the only queer country fan out there. Her work aims to make queer country music accessible, and she has run the Adobe and Teardrops blog for more than a decade. In 2022, Cholst launched Rainbow Rodeo, a zine about queer country music, which appears bi-annually in print and regularly online.

"Everyone just assumed that country music is this one thing, and it never occurred to them to go look for it. That tells you a lot about how country music wants to present itself as an industry," Cholst says. "If we erase anyone who's not straight, anyone who's not white, then what you're saying is, you want those people to be erased from the conversation, from the culture."

Beyond using she/her pronouns in love songs (which she didn't get to do on her first album, Felony Blues), Wyatt's powerful, steely queer country music complicates social consciousness. Incisive and elegant in her delivery, she's equally compelling chronicling her conviction and jail time on Felony Blues, confronting demons and figuring out who she is on her Shooter Jennings-produced second album, Neon Cross, and outlining her hopes and frustrations for the world on her third album, 2023's sultry, groovy, Feel Good.

Wyatt's knack for catchy and advocacy-laced country bangers is clearest in "Rattlesnake Girl," one of her most popular songs. In it, she offers an anthemic celebration of joy unfettered: "I see my sweet friends out on the weekend/ They all look happy and gay," and a barbed warning to anyone who might impinge on that happiness: "Thank you kindly, don't walk behind me/ I've seen people slip that way/ And if you try me, boot heels beside me/ I might have to make your day."

Queer country music means something a little different to each artist. For many, it's about much more than simply being a queer person performing country music. Adeem the Artist considers queer country its own genre, complete with specific rules — many of which have nothing to do with sexual or gender orientation.

"It is explicitly political in nature. It is often kind of raunchy," they assert. "There's an element to queer country that is confrontational, that is willing to create discomfort for the sake of a relief that leans towards some greater social awareness."

To some degree, raising awareness and representation — which is essential for inclusion and acceptance — requires a bit of self-tokenization, Adeem says. "The very, very basic act of referring to me as a person who is queer, who is trans, who is nonbinary, who is whatever, those labels only do good as much as they illuminate the differences between us and the fact that I am more difficult for some people to relate with."

Adeem and Wyatt both operate within the alt-country scene, which has been marginally more inclusive than mainstream country over the years. Recently, though, rising country musician Lily Rose cracked through with her viral breakup single, 2020's "Villain." On her latest EP, Runnin' Outta Time (which she released in May), she sings a high-octane pop/country mix about her values and relationships. It's a well-worn country music landscape that has been almost exclusively dominated by heterosexual white men.

"To be one of the first to literally [and] figuratively, carry the flag... it makes me really proud. And it has its heavy moments for sure," Rose says. "Night after night, when I get to meet fans and see comments on social media that they feel seen for the first time in the genre, it's really special and it makes every single second of hard work to get here worth it."

The day after Runnin' Out of Time dropped, Rose made her Grand Ole Opry debut with two songs from the album, "Back Pew" and "Two Flowers"; Adeem and Wyatt also played the Opry for the first time in the last year as well. The Opry, one of country music's oldest and most lauded tastemakers, has welcomed a number of queer artists in the last few years, signaling a subtle shift toward a more inclusive country music institution. (In addition, all three artists recently scored high-profile touring spots: Rose with Shania Twain and Sam Hunt, Adeem with Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit; and Wyatt wrapped up her first headlining tour.)

For Pittleman, an essential part of making music is ensuring space for anyone who wants to make music to do so, regardless of how they look or identify. "Most people who like country music, they just want to hear country music," Pittleman says. "I want to have a good time, too. But you have to ask at a certain point, 'Who is invited to the good time?'"

As she insists, there's a long way to go. In a digital world, radio play doesn't offer a complete picture, but it remains a dominant force in country music. For decades, women have been played sparingly on country radio and artists of color and queer musicians featured far less, a shortcoming which SongData's principal investigator, Jada Watson, spent years studying. Her research concludes that women country artists are played roughly 29 percent of the time, Black artists 5 percent, and other artists of color 7 percent. Queer artists, Watson estimates, make up less than 1 percent of radio play.

"The real problem is who's making those decisions; who has the power and as a result, who has the power and the resources to record their music, to distribute their music, to get it out on a broader scale," Pittleman suggests. "We have to make sure that everyone who's called to make the music has the resources and the power to make it and bring it into the world."

And in spite of multitude setbacks and naysayers, queer artists are creating country music. As Pittleman wrote in a 2020 essay in the Journal of Popular Music Studies titled "You're My Country Music," one of the joys of singing queer country music is making country music, plain and simple. "The point is to mark the deepest moments of human connection, our truest hopes and heartbreaks, and turn them into a sound that gives us joy and strength," she says.

"Because sometimes you love a culture that doesn't love you back," Pittleman continues on the Gay Ole Opry's about page. "We do it because we love the music and want to build a community to support queer country musicians. We do it because everybody needs a honky-tonk angel to hold them tight. We do it because we believe in country music for all."

Why 2024 Is The Year Women In Country Music Will Finally Have Their Moment

When Jimmy Buffett passed away on Sept. 1, 2023 at age 76, the decorated singer/songwriter, performer, author and entrepreneur left behind a legacy that unified a swath of musical genres and people.

The man behind "Margaritaville" — the song and later the brand — and so many other tunes that bridged folk sensibilities with country and rock touches, sometimes called "Gulf & Western," was much more than the beach-obsessed character he played in song. Although he had plenty of industry successes, notching 13 Billboard Hot 100 hits, a pair of GRAMMY Award nominations, while selling more than 20 million albums, his fans loved him for how he made them feel.

In song, he was a true storyteller that was clever, funny and introspective; in performances, he was the quintessential Parrothead to the core. As the ringleader of the party, he was generous enough to share the spotlight with members of his Coral Reefer Band as well as the fans who dressed up, tailgated outside the venues and spread their joy to others.

Both sides of Buffett were crucial building blocks in the business empire he built around his persona as the laid-back, casually philosophical beach bum. The Margaritaville restaurant and resort chains, his Landshark Lager beer and many other ventures made him a billionaire, while his storytelling prowess made him one of few authors to top both fiction and nonfiction bestsellers' lists. While his legacy may be both musical and merchandisable, the endearing qualities of the Parrothead personality he created is the real reward for his fans.

Below, remember Buffett's illustrious career through 15 classic songs — just a glimpse of his genius that made it okay for country singers to loosen up, for rockers to pick up an acoustic guitar, and for the Parrotheads to while away their days in the sun.

While Buffett's first two albums showed glimpses of the celebrated artist he would become, his songwriting largely hewed close to the earnest observations typical of early-seventies folkies. By his third album, though, he had grown into his winking style of satire and breezy, Nashville-meets-Key West flair.

This cut from A White Sports Coat and a Pink Crustacean combined both, and created the template for hundreds of bleary-eyed sing-alongs to follow. "The Great Filling Station Hold-Up" may have been the proper album single, but "Why Don't We Get Drunk," its controversial B-side, became the bigger tune — and the one featured on his seven-times Platinum compilation, Songs You Know By Heart.

As Buffett pulled away from his folk sensibilities, Nashville-style balladry became a big part of his sound. "Come Monday"  brings orchestral strings into the mix to help express the yearnings he felt while stuck in "a brown L.A. haze," pining for his love back home. The song resonated with new fans, becoming his first Top 40 single, as it peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"A Pirate Looks at Forty," 'A1A' (1974)

It probably wasn't a stretch for Buffett to sing so convincingly from the perspective of a seafaring, modern-day pirate. He considered his own later entrepreneurial forays an adventure on the high seas of life. But back in '74, he was so inspired by the real-life stories of a Key West smuggler and rapscallion he befriended that he wrote "A Pirate Looks at Forty" from his perspective. 

A key cut on his second long-player of '74, A1A, "Pirate" is empathetic to the dashed dreams and yearnings of a man looking back at his wins and losses. And despite the eventual billionaire fortunes of Buffett himself, his narrator determines the balance is a draw.

Buffett's next album, Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude, launched his music career into the stratosphere — and its success had a lot to do with "Margaritaville," a Top 10 hit and the basis of the global brand he later built.

Essentially, "Margaritaville" established the beach-boho lifestyle as an aspiration for millions. Against a backdrop of tropical instruments like steel drum and marimba, Buffett sang of the quiet pleasures of an unhurried life, unconcerned with the tides and buoyed by his favorite blender drink. In 2016, the tune was voted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame, while the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry in April 2023. 

"Son Of A Son Of A Sailor," 'Son Of A Son Of A Sailor' (1978)

Whether Buffett's soft and breezy music can be considered "yacht rock" is a subject of debate, but he certainly rocked a yacht or two in his day — and he dressed the part for the cover of his album Son Of A Son Of A Sailor. The title track is a definitive take on his love of the wandering life, untethered from the anchors many cling to and always in search of the next port of call. A master of ballads whimsical and wistful, Buffett manages to be both at once here.

Before it was a menu item at his Margaritaville-branded restaurants and resorts, "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was a mirage Buffett dreamed about while marooned at sea. As the story goes, a misadventure in the Caribbean left Buffett with only meager rations to survive. And when he finally struck a landing on dry ground, his first meal inspired one of his most enduring songs: an easy-rockin' Top 40 hit about cheeseburgers that somehow isn't a novelty cut — a hat trick only Buffett could pull off.

"Fins," 'Volcano' (1979)

As the lead tune from his 11th album, Volcano, "Fins" entered the pantheon of Buffett concert staples immediately and helped inspire plenty of Parrothead ephemera, as well as the title of the 1990 live album Feeding Frenzy and his Landshark Lager brand. But none of that would be important if not for Buffett's song about a hapless woman who travels to the beach to relax, but instead is encircled by "sharks that can swim on the land." With "fins" to the left and right of her, she's "the only bait in town."

Buffett had a knack for coining phrases — and "Boat Drinks" certainly qualifies among the best. What makes a boat ride better? Boat drinks, of course.

An album cut from Volcano (also featured as a B-side to the single "Survive"), Buffett ironically wrote the song while on a winter sojourn in Boston, exiled from his native habitat and wishing the city's fresh blanket of snow were the sugar-white sands of Florida. Musically, the tune is a quintessential cut from his whirlwind late-seventies period, when Caribbean themes and sonic textures became his calling card.

"It's My Job," 'Coconut Telegraph' (1981)

Long before Mac McAnally joined Buffett as a sideman in the Coral Reefer Band, Buffett sent the young artist a note praising his songwriting. Then, for his 1981 album, Coconut Telegraph, Buffett boosted his new friend's fortunes by recording "It's My Job," a tune McAnally wrote about taking pride in your work — however menial or miserable it may be — while working on a hot Mississippi highway in the summertime. The tune reached No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Buffett's last appearance on the chart until 2003 (more on that later).

The 1980s were the beginning of Buffett's transition from chart champion to blockbuster concert draw. But he still had plenty of gas in the songwriting tank, as songs like "One Particular Harbor" proved.

Inspired by his travels in Polynesia, Buffett sings in Tahitian about the "abundance of the sea" after leaving behind the mainland. While the song was a minor hit on Adult Contemporary radio, it became a fan favorite and a mainstay of live shows from the era. 

"Jamaica Mistaica," 'Banana Wind' (1996)

Like on "Cheeseburger in Paradise," Buffett's penchant for seeing the humor in the unfortunate dustups of his real life shines on the Banana Wind cut "Jamaica Mistaica." In this case, Jamaican police opened fire on his plane, believing he was a smuggler or criminal straight out of his own song "A Pirate Looks at Forty." Set to a reggae beat, though, Buffett lets listeners in on the joke — an endearing quality that earned him the love not only of Parrotheads, but also an official apology from the Jamaican government.

By the dawn of the new century, Buffett's beach-bum aesthetic had conquered Nashville, the town he left in the early '70s to find his identity as an artist in Key West. And "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," recorded with country star Alan Jackson and featured on his Greatest Hits Volume II, was exactly the new Buffett-style anthem Music City needed.

It was also what Buffett's 21st century career needed: "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" earned the veteran singer his first No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart as well as his first GRAMMY nomination (in the Best Country Collaboration With Vocals Category) and his first Country Music Association Award (for Vocal Event of the Year). Later, the song notched the No. 3 song of the decade on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, proving Buffett's staying power amid shifting musical trends.

"Bama Breeze," 'Take the Weather With You' (2006)

After Hurricane Katrina made matchsticks of Buffett's home territory in 2005 — the beachfront bars of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida where he cut his teeth — he responded with the album Take the Weather With You and its leadoff track, "Bama Breeze." The country-rock tune extols the virtues of the so-called "Redneck Riviera" and coming of age as the sun came up outside the dive bars of the Gulf Coast, many of which were now ruined. The song also nods to the fans who have stuck by him since the beginning: "At the Bama Breeze, you're one of our own down there/ You'll never drink alone down there/ Good god, I feel at home down there."

One of the most rewarding markers of a mature career in music is the respect paid by each successive generation of musicians. Newly minted country star Zac Brown paid homage with "Knee Deep," which was written with Buffett in mind and borrows heavily from his long-established beachbound, escape-by-tropics aesthetic. But it truly takes off when Buffett himself takes the second verse and then harmonizes the choruses with Brown. And the combination proved sweet for both acts: the song was certified triple Platinum and landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.

Although the public wasn't aware at the time, Buffett was dealing with the effects of Merkel cell carcinoma — the disease that claimed his life — throughout his final years of touring and recording music. Released two months after he passed, Equal Strain On All Parts, his 32nd and final album, arrived like a comforting voice from beyond to Parrotheads and casual fans alike.

On "Bubbles Up," Buffett was in a particularly reflective mood, facing his own mortality in his most measured, reassuring manner. The title phrase came from his survival training — if he were to find himself submerged in water, either from a boat or plane wreck, his trainers advised him to follow the bubbles up to the surface. "They will always point you toward home," he sings, "no matter how deep or how far you roam." 

For a songwriter and performer who spent his life showing the world how to relax, enjoy life and see the humor in life's challenges, the reassuring sentiment — to quote the title of his 2004 album — underscores that a License to Chill has no expiration date.

As the leaves begin to turn and the evenings draw in, the GRAMMY Museum is preparing to host an exciting lineup of in-person events this September in downtown Los Angeles and New York City. 

Featuring a diverse array of artists from Big Sean to Steve Aoki, the Museum offers fans unparalleled access to intimate discussions and performances. Whether you're a fan of indie vibes, soulful melodies, or the pulsating rhythms of global pop, there's something for everyone in this season's programming.

Check out the comprehensive list of must-attend GRAMMY Museum public programs for September 2024:

A Conversation With Big Sean

August 30, 2024 at 6 p.m.

L.A.

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While not actually in September, Big Sean kicks off the fall season in a big way. The legendary rapper joins guests at the Museum’s intimate 200-seat Clive Davis Theater for an evening of conversation discussing his latest album, Better Me Than You, his creative process, and more. 

Spotlight: Faye Webster

Tuesday, September 3, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A.
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Join Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Faye Webster as she discusses her latest album and creative journey in an intimate setting.

Global Spin Live: I.M

Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A.

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Dive into the world of K-pop with I.M, the lead rapper of Monsta X, as he discusses his solo career trajectory and upcoming music, capped off with a live performance.

Read more: Monsta X On Why They Are 'One Of A Kind,' Staying Creative And Being "Tough On The Outside And Soft On The Inside"

The Drop: Lainey Wilson

September 5, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A.

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Join country music great Lainey Wilson at the Museum’s 300-seat Ray Charles Rooftop Terrace for an evening of conversation celebrating her career, latest project, WHIRLWIND, and more, with a performance to follow. 

Read more: Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Lainey Wilson On How Her Stardom Is A Testament To "Believin' And Receivin'"

A New York Evening With Ingrid Michaelson

September 5, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

N.Y.C.

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The GRAMMY Museum and 92NY are thrilled to host Ingrid Michaelson for an intimate conversation about her album, For the Dreamers, composing music for The Notebook, her creative process, and more, followed by a performance.

A New York Evening with Tierra Whack

September 6, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

N.Y.C.

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Join Tierra Whack at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, NY to celebrate her debut project, Whack World, with a discussion about her creative process behind the release, her career, and more, with a special performance to follow. 

Read more: The Recording Academy Philly Chapter Celebrates 30 Years With An Inaugural Block Party & Fireside Chat With Tierra Whack

An Evening With Kate Hudson

Monday, September 9, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A.

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Actress and singer Kate Hudson will share insights into her musical expression showcased in her latest album Glorious, followed by a performance.

Read more: Kate Hudson Is A Singer Now — And She Doesn't Care What You Think

An Evening With Sleater-Kinney 

(Moderated by Molly Neuman)

Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A. 

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Celebrate 30 years of Sleater-Kinney as they discuss their enduring influence, latest music, and personal trials, accompanied by a live performance.

Read more: On 'Little Rope,' Sleater-Kinney Still Wear Their Hearts On Their Sleeves

A New York Evening with Chris and Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes

September 11, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

N.Y.C.

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Join Chris and Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, NY to celebrate their 10th studio album, Happiness Bastards, with a discussion about their careers, their creative process behind the project, and more, and a special performance to follow. 

A Conversation With Don Toliver

(moderated by Charlie Wilson) 

September 11, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A.

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Join Don Toliver and Sickamore to the Museum’s intimate 200-seat Clive Davis Theater for an evening of discussion about Don Toliver’s album, HARDSTONE PSYCHO, their collaboration, careers, and creative process. The conversation will be moderated by R&B Icon and 13 time GRAMMY Nominee Charlie Wilson. 

A New York Evening With Hermanos Gutiérrez

September 12, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

N.Y.C.

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Join Hermanos Gutiérrez at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, NY celebrating their latest album, Sonido Cósmico, with a discussion moderated by WNYC’s John Schaefer about their creative process, career, and more, with a special performance to follow. 

Spotlight: John Summit

(Moderated by Jason Bentley, KCRW / Metropolis) 

September 12, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A.

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Join John Summit at the Museum’s 300-seat Ray Charles Rooftop Terrace for an evening discussing and celebrating his debut album, Comfort In Chaos, and his creative process and career, with a performance to follow. Attendees will also have an opportunity to enjoy rooftop views and a cash bar prior to the program.  

Read more: Finding 'Comfort In Chaos': John Summit On The Journey To His Debut Album

Sensory Friendly Saturdays

September 14, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

L.A.

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Experience Sensory Friendly Saturday on the second Saturday of every month. Families can enjoy our space with less crowding, quieter sound levels and lower lighting on the second Saturday of every month from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Guests can purchase tickets when they arrive at the Museum or they can purchase online for the applicable Saturday.

The Drop: Orville Peck

September 17, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A.

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Join Orville Peck at the Museum’s Ray Charles Rooftop Terrace for an evening discussing his latest and third studio album, Stampede, his creative process, and more, with a special performance to follow. Attendees will also have an opportunity to enjoy rooftop views and a cash bar prior to the program.  

Read more: Orville Peck's Road To 'Stampede': How The Masked Cowboy Became Country Music's Most Intriguing Anti-Hero

Spotlight: The Marías

(Moderated by Suzy Exposito)

September 18, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A.

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Join GRAMMY-nominated group The Marías to the Museum’s Ray Charles Rooftop Terrace for an evening discussing their latest album, Submarine, their multiple GRAMMY Award-nominations, their creative process, and more, with a special performance to follow. Attendees will also have an opportunity to enjoy rooftop views and a cash bar prior to the program.  

Read more: The Marías Plunge Into The Depths On 'Submarine': How The Band Found Courage In Collective Pain

Spotlight: WILLOW

September 20, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

L.A.

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Join WILLOW at the Museum’s intimate 200-seat Clive Davis Theater for an evening celebrating her latest release, empathogen, her rising career, and creative process, with a performance to follow.

Read more: Willow Embraces Herself On 'COPINGMECHANISM': How The New Album Encouraged Her To "Be More Vulnerable Than I've Ever Been"

An Evening With Steve Aoki

September 23, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

L.A.

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Join two-time GRAMMY nominee Steve Aoki at the Museum’s Ray Charles Rooftop Terrace for an evening discussing his latest album, Paragon, creative process, and more, with a special performance to follow. Attendees will also have an opportunity to enjoy rooftop views and a cash bar prior to the program. In addition, fans will have the opportunity to see some of Steve’s most important artifacts, on display for one night only, such as his original DJ laptop and more!  

Read more: On 'Paragon,' Steve Aoki Keeps Pushing: "This Is By Far The Most Innovative Dance Album I've Ever Done"

A New York Evening With RAYE

September 26, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

N.Y.C.

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Join RAYE at The Loreto Theater at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in New York City celebrating her latest work, “Genesis”, with a discussion about her rising career, her creative process behind the project, and more, plus a special performance to follow. 

Watch: Watch RAYE Open Up About Her Prized Songwriting Notebook | It Goes To 11

Reel To Reel: Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan and T. Rex

September 26, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

L.A.

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Enjoy a special screening of Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan and T. Rex in the Museum’s intimate 200-seat Clive Davis Theater with a post-screening panel discussion featuring Marc Bolan’s partner and musical collaborator Gloria Jones, his son Rolan Bolan, director Ethan Silverman, recording engineer Marc Urselli, and musician/author Richard Barone to talk about the creative process behind the film. Following the screening, there will be an acoustic performance featuring Barone and Rolan Bolan to close the evening.

SUNDAY BRUNCH with Ben Platt

September 29, 2024 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

L.A.

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Join the GRAMMY Museum for Sunday Brunch With…, a fundraising event series in support of our GRAMMY In The Schools education programs. 

The Museum is thrilled to team up with the incredible Ben Platt and the renowned VERSE LA, located in Toluca Lake, for an afternoon of great music and food. Guests will dine on a delicious 3-course brunch while enjoying live music performed by GRAMMY In The Schools education program alumni. Following the meal, guests will be treated to a rare, up close, and personal 45-minute performance from GRAMMY, Tony, and Emmy Award winner Ben Platt to close out the afternoon.

Read more: Inside Ben Platt's 'Honeymind': How Queer Love, Live Performance & More Led To His Most Authentic Album Yet

For more details and to secure tickets to these events, visit the GRAMMY Museum website. We look forward to welcoming you to these inspiring sessions!

Warren Zeiders has a whiteboard in his house where he writes himself daily reminders. But there's one that always stays: a quote that reads, "Nothing changes if nothing changes."

That sentiment couldn't be more fitting for the 25-year-old, whose life has changed drastically over the last few years. After an injury derailed his plans to pursue a career in lacrosse, Zeiders pivoted to music in 2021, and immediately made waves with the viral single "Ride the Lightning." Just three years later, he's one of country music's most unique new male voices, who has already scored a No. 1 hit and headlined multiple sold-out tours.

"I'm a firm believer, in three years of doing this, that this is what I was put here on this Earth to do," Zeiders tells GRAMMY.com. "I couldn't envision myself doing anything else. It's so funny how things have a way of working out."

What's perhaps even more remarkable about Zeiders' country music success story is that he had never even written a song prior to 2021. Stats aside, it's undeniable that he's a star — from the compelling grit of his voice and his candidly emotional lyrics, to his onstage swagger. Music clearly comes naturally, because Zeiders has already released his second album.

Relapse, the follow-up to 2023's Pretty Little Poison, offers a deeper look into Zeiders' artistry, from the racing, pop-tinged title track, to the impassioned ballad "High Desert Road," to the harrowing confessional "Devil I Know." It further proves he's equally unafraid to be raw in his storytelling and to push his vocal ability, both attributes that have helped him break through in the booming country music scene.

Just four days after Relapse arrived, Zeiders hit the road with Jelly Roll on The Beautifully Broken Tour. The Pennsylvania-born singer will serve as direct support on the two-month trek, which will hit arenas around the United States including New York's famed Madison Square Garden — adding more huge milestones to his already stacked resume.

"It does nothing but motivate me and want me to push that much harder," Zeiders says of the tour. And with The Relapse Tour already set for the spring of 2025, he's ready for things to only keep getting bigger. "I'm a personality that always likes to be growing, expanding and trying new things. So we'll see what the future holds."

Ahead of releasing Relapse, Zeiders reflected on his major achievements over the past year. Below, hear from the budding star himself about landing a No. 1 hit with "Pretty Little Poison," winning his first award and more.

I think a lot of people forget I was an athlete my whole life. I was playing lacrosse for 12 years. That was my livelihood, that was my passion, that was everything to me. Obviously I love music and I love what I get to do, but music wasn't a lifetime goal when I was a little kid. It wasn't until COVID had hit where I started posting videos on social media, and things started to kind of snowball.

I firmly believe that the good Lord always did have music on my heart, because I always loved to sing and play guitar, but it was just nothing that I ever thought was worth pursuing. That all to be said, I think I did have a healthy chip on my shoulder [about my first album]. I did want to solidify myself [as] not a flash in the pan, not just a dude who had a viral moment on social media. I took that and kind of just ran with it, and was like, I know the gift that I believe that the good Lord gave me, and my fan base is growing, and people are showing up to these shows. 

So when it came to making my debut record, I really did take my time on that. I was very selective with the songs, and [tried] to make my first cohesive body of work. It was one of the most stressful times of my life, because I was so hard on myself — and always have been, whether it was in sports or now doing this — but I really did want to prove it to myself, and want to prove it to the people that were already believing in me. 

When that album finally came out, I felt so much relief for a moment. [I also know] that now is the time to continuously push the record and let people know it's out. But it's made me grow so much in my artistry and have more faith in myself.

I actually got really, really sick when my album dropped. The following day, I was like, deathly sick signing thousands of records for fans. I wasn't contagious, but it was just a fun story to look back on. It's God's sense of humor, just letting you know you're still alive.

I remember posting it for the first time on Instagram. I can vividly remember the clip; it was of me in the vocal booth singing. That song, I must have sang over 100-plus times [in the booth]. I was beating myself up so much to the point of, like, I'm not believing the person singing this song right now. I was having to get myself back into that headspace [of] when I wrote it.

I took that clip and threw it up on social media. It got a decent amount of views, but it was nothing crazy. It wasn't until almost a week later, when I posted another video of me in the studio, sitting with my engineer at the time, in the studio, listening back. And I remember texting my manager, being like, "Um, this thing's going uber viral right now," and he was like, "I think we got one." 

We were seeing the thing unfold before its release, and then when it came out, through the streaming numbers and the interactions on social media, we knew that we had something special. I had faith in it from the beginning, and seeing what it was doing performance-wise, on the streaming side, I was like, This is a great piece of art to take to country radio… It'll be my first kind of splash into the scene. And lo and behold, 34 weeks on the charts, and it's a No. 1 — a pretty fast climb. 

The night it officially went No. 1, I had my dad out on the road, which was super cool. We were playing a place called Emo's in Austin, Texas. I vividly remember popping off a bottle of champagne after the show and giving a speech, and then we went across the street and played a couple rounds of pool. [And] my momma surprised me when I got home that weekend. She made me breakfast and had number one balloons and everything. 

Shout out to my CEO, Aaron Bay-Schuck, over at Warner L.A. When we first met, he was like, "You get about one victory lap for each win." I'm a firm believer in that, just from my athletic background. It's one thing to soak the win in for a second, but the reality is, the job's never done. As a guy who has been doing it for a short term, but I plan to be for a long time, and I have very high goals for myself — that is, stepping into arenas and stadiums one day myself. It's gonna take time, a lot of effort, but the job's never done.

It wasn't that I was nervous, it was just a new experience, and it was trusting in my ability and trusting in my gift and being like, This is another day in the office. The song was officially already  No. 1, and that gives you a little bit more confidence when you're singing it for the first time on live television.

I was actually supposed to play "Kimmel" the year prior, but the writer's strike had occurred. Once they got back on the air, it lined up almost a year to year to the date, of me finally getting onto Jimmy Kimmel. Rather than playing it on live television when the song had recently just come out, ["Pretty Little Poison" was a] No. 1 song, and [had] hundreds of millions of streams, and [it was] double platinum. 

Unfortunately, Jimmy wasn't there by the time we got in to record. And we waited as long as we could to hopefully see if he was going to be back, but, you know, I can relate — we all have our busy schedules. We had to catch a flight. We were flying back to Nashville, and me and some of the guys on my team, we got to watch [the performance] on our Southwest flight. It was super cool.

Winning His First Award, The CMT Music Award For Breakthrough Male Video

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Two days prior, I did some interviews, and they were like, "How are you feeling about your first nomination?" I was like, "I'm excited to accept my award on Sunday night." The only moment of doubt I had was when it finally came down to the nominees for my [category]. I was like, Man, you're up against great competition here. Those few moments were up, and they said my name. And I was like, Okay, that's right.

My mom, dad and sister were all at the CMT Awards — mom and sister were, like, 10 rows behind us, but me and my dad were in the seats with all the artists. My dad has always been my best friend and my biggest supporter, and I attest a lot of my success to how he and my mom raised me — my work ethic, my drive and my faith, and how I view life and what I want to achieve. 

That being said, I did get emotional when I accepted my award. I stood up and gave [my dad] a really big hug, and I could already see him tearing up. And when I went to take the stage, I was like, Just make sure you give thanks to God, and keep it short and sweet. I want to make sure I thank the fans a lot. And it was second nature to say something about my dad.

I have a wall dedicated for "Pretty Little Poison" plaques, and then I have some mantles in my kitchen/living room space. I've got the CMT award next to my first vinyl of the Pretty Little Poison album, my Opry sign from when I played it for the first time, my letter that I wrote to my fans when the Pretty Little Poison album dropped. Just a lot of cool, fun stuff. It's the inner athlete of me. [Laughs.]

I was [still] learning my voice. Your voice is a muscle. [Singing is] my daily grind of working out — the time and the energy, and just putting in the hours of work. My voice had developed so much from posting videos on social media to then going out and singing night after night. You're constantly growing and figuring yourself out.

The same applies to the writing mentality. The more you do it, the more you know what you want to say. It's been a lot of fun, and I've really gotten a good grasp on what I wanted to say on that first record, and now, this new one.

I like to say there's a lot of different facets to [my] artistry. I'm really excited about this album, but there are definitely other things in the works for the near future. So let's just say what's coming out in August is a great sampler — some tastes and flavors of what's to come. 

Obviously, there's music in this new [album that's] a reincarnation of Pretty Little Poison, lyrically and musically. But then there's stuff that's acoustic driven, like "Addictions," [which is] meant for you to soak in the words that I'm saying. But then there is stuff like "Relapse" that fits more into that modern — I don't even know if I want to say pop, but it's a different side of me.

I've been very hands-on with my producers on this music. And whether somebody likes this song or doesn't like this song, they can find something in this project that they like. It's gonna keep the fan base that's already pre-existing and it's going to bring in a new side too, which I'm really excited for.

Hitting The Road With Jelly Roll

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Here's what I'll say: it won't be new to me in numbers. What'll be new to me is the atmosphere.

I've been doing the whole headlining thing since I started hitting the road, minus, obviously, festivals and stuff like that. But these will be the biggest arenas I've stepped into, and being direct support for Jelly Roll, who is having an iconic year, I think it just was a match made in heaven for us to come together and hit the road.

The rooms are getting bigger, but it just gives you that much more of a taste to be like, Let's go put on a hell of a show. Before you know it, you keep working your ass off, and we'll be playing these places and headlining them ourselves.

I've gotten a chance to talk to Jelly Roll and his bandmates quite a bit, and they're just good people. I'm sure there'll be a bunch of fun going on behind backstage and in the parking lots — I guess he's bringing a portable gym, ice baths and saunas. And I'm like, "Dude, you're speaking my love language." So I'm sure there'll be a lot of stories to tell — and not tell.

Thomas Rhett married his wife, Lauren, in 2012 — the same year he launched his career in country music. Naturally, the majority of his catalog has been inspired by their relationship. Over a decade into their marriage, Rhett has officially dedicated an entire album to the love of his life, the aptly titled About A Woman. And is she surprised? Absolutely not.

"A lot of people are like, 'Oh my gosh, does she just melt when she hears these songs?' And I'm like, 'Maybe back in the day, but not anymore,'" Rhett tells GRAMMY.com with a laugh. "It's actually gotten to the point where she's like, 'How do you continue to write about me?'"

But unlike Rhett's GRAMMY-nominated ballad "Die a Happy Man" or his 21st country radio No. 1, "Angels (Don't Always Have Wings)," About A Woman is largely full of upbeat tracks — something that did surprise his wife. "That was her favorite part," the singer adds. "She wants to know there's some fun that can be had with a love song."

From the racing, pop-tinged melody of "Fool" to the bluesy, howling hook of the title track, About A Woman is a feel-good celebration of love. Thomas and Lauren's love story — which dates back to grade school — is most vividly reflected in "What Could Go Right," a retelling of the night they went from friends to lovers. Other personal touches are scattered across the album, including "Church," an ode to their favorite artist, Eric Church, and "Overdrive," which features an anecdote from a high school party.

Of course, there is one ballad on the album, the heartfelt closer "I Could Spend Forever Loving You." But while Rhett was making About A Woman, he knew that the best way he could accurately portray their relationship was with uptempo songs.     

"It kind of feels like we're 21 again — there's a lot more flirting going on, there's more dates, there's more adventure. Even though we have four children, our love level today feels very young and wild and reckless," Rhett says. "That was a fun thing to get to capture on a lot of these songs. I was writing from this giddy phase."

Ahead of About A Woman's Aug. 23 arrival, Rhett sat down with GRAMMY.com for an in-depth chat, well, about a woman. Below, hear from the singer himself on how his wife inspired some of the songs on the album.

I've been trying to write this song for, like, five years. There was a moment when I was 21 years old — and if you don't know anything about me and Lauren's story, we grew up knowing each other, and I always was head over heels for her. We dated a little bit in high school, but it was kind of a young, dumb high school relationship.

We still remained best friends — she would date somebody else, I would date somebody else, but we would always double date with each other. And I think that she was fully over me in her mind, but there was like this little part of me in the back of my mind that just never got over her.

Right before her last semester of college, I texted her, and I was like, "Hey, this is gonna sound really awkward, but I don't know that I can be your friend anymore, because I'm actually, like, in love with you." I think she didn't know how to respond to that. 

So I called her dad, and I was like, "You think I should tell her?" And he was like, "Well, if you don't tell her tonight how you feel about her, I'm gonna tell her." And I was like, "Well that would be even more awkward."  

The night her sister graduated high school, the crowd had started to die down, and Lauren's dad looked at me and he said, "Now's your time." I remember walking out there and kind of just laying it all out. And she looked at me, and she was like, "I feel like you just ruined our friendship." And I said, "Well, I would rather ruin our friendship today knowing that we can be friends later, rather than pretend to be your buddy, but I really just want to make out with you." 

I pulled the cheesiest line ever — it felt like Ryan Gosling out of The Notebook — I was like, "I dare you to kiss me. And if you don't feel any fireworks, if you don't feel any butterflies in your stomach, then let's just move on." And she was like, "Alright, we'll give it a shot." So we kissed, and that was the beginning of everything. We started dating the day after that, and six months later, we got engaged, and, nine months after that, got married, and here we are with four children, 12 years later. And it all started because of that night. 

That's why that song resonates with me so much. It kind of reminds me of [my song] "Life Changes" — it's just so vividly detailed that it could only come from my mouth. For me and Lauren both, that song holds such a special place in our hearts.

It was my junior year, and my wife was the homecoming queen — everybody in our school wanted to date Lauren. She was just so breathtakingly gorgeous, and her heart was so real and authentic.

I remember driving to this party that everybody was going to, and Lauren texted me, like, "Can you pick me up and take me to this thing?" So it was this feeling of being 16, 17 years old, just like, Man, I know that it's your boys before everybody else, but in this case, I'm dropping y'all. The hottest girl in my world just asked me to pick her up to take me to this party, so I'm getting there as fast as I possibly can. 

I think the only line that does not directly correlate to my wife is in the second verse, when it says [something] like, I had to put you on my shoulders because you're wearing high heels to a bonfire party. My wife would rather die than put high heels on and/or put makeup on.

If I'm being completely honest with you, it is the only track on the record that does not directly relate to my wife. When I listened to that chorus, I was like, Man, our genre is having such a massive moment. And there's so many stories I've heard of girls or guys from the city meeting a girl or a guy from the country, and falling in love with the simplicity of the lifestyle.

At the end of the day, I didn't need it to fit the rest of the story. I couldn't get enough of the song, so I was like, You know what, I'm gonna let this one slide a little bit.

My wife is as country as crap. [Laughs.] When I played this for her, she's like, "This is not about me, right?" I was like, "No, this is about people just really wanting to be inundated in the country music culture."

We're pretty dadgum equal [when it comes to being country]. I was born in Valdosta, Georgia, which is a real southern part of Georgia, but I grew up in Nashville. My dad's probably the biggest redneck that I know, alongside Lauren's dad. But we both grew up hunting, fishing, riding four wheelers, catching bream out of some stale pond and frying them in Crisco, eating biscuits and gravy for breakfast. She would say that she's more country than me, but I'm just going to let her believe that. Happy wife, happy life.

"Beautiful As You" (The Instagram Version)

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Our whole relationship has been based on picking on each other. Even in middle school when I first got to know her at church camp, she would always look at me and be like, "You're shorter than me." That was how we started our friendship, and that's kind of how we flirted with each other.

It's a really good feeling to know that we have never lost that bit of our relationship. We both have the same humor — like, on Instagram, when we see memes and we show them to our whole family, and me and Lauren are dying laughing. That's how you know that you're made for each other, in a certain way.

It's always fun to kind of slide one in that's unflattering of Lauren — because the irony of that is, there's really nothing that's unflattering about her, and there's so many things that are unflattering about me. So when she wants to get me back, it's such a more in-depth getting back than me getting back at her. [Laughs.]

I can list like, five to 10 moments — even in the last six months — where that was our story of just like, "Hey, the kids are down. Let's go build a fire and let's sleep outside tonight." Whereas, even two years ago, it was like, get me to my pillow as fast as humanly possible, because life was just so fast and chaotic.

Last year, we did this road trip out West. We did Zion National Park, went all over to the National Parks in Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. Those nights where we were hiking all day, and our kids are so worn out — that was when me and Lauren would go grab some random craft beer out of the fridge, [sit] on the back porch, and get out our star app and try to find as many as many constellations as we possibly could. And [we'd] get to reminisce about the week, and laugh, and flirt, and kiss. Those things sound really normal for a newlywed couple, but when you experience a lot of years of marriage and start to have kids, you realize those moments can be very few and far between, if you don't make a diligent point to make those nights happen.

Lauren loves to play board games. [When] the rest of our family is, like, dead tired, Lauren looks at me, she's like, "What game are we gonna play?" and I'm like, "Are you not exhausted?" And she's like, "Yes, but this is where my cup gets filled up for the next day." 

As sort of PG as all of that sounds, that is sort of my rendition of "After All The Bars Are Closed." I had this conversation with Julian [Bunetta, Rhett's longtime co-writer/producer] a lot, but it's like, "Man, how do you take things that are actually happening in your life and have them apply to an 18-year-old kid?" 

So "After All The Bars Are Closed" was just like, "Everyone's down for the count, but me and you still have energy to keep this party going" — which can relate to people in their mid 30s and 40s, but also can relate to kids going to the bar when they're 18 years old and wanting to go find the field to park in afterwards.

I was about to headline Stagecoach for the first time, and I got this chorus and verse sent to me by a couple of guys that I've written with a ton. Me and these co-writers really bond over being Eric Church nerds. When I heard this hook [with] all these super inside Eric Church references, I knew from that moment that this was going to be — besides "What Could Go Right" — the [song] that [Lauren] goes back to the most.

The majority of me and Lauren's high school and college really revolved around two people: Corey Smith and Eric Church. So I have all these memories of seeing Eric Church with my wife, or her buying me a copy of "These Boots," and me buying her a copy of Chief, and just spending our days memorizing these words. It was always my mission to learn so many Eric Church songs so that I could play them around bonfires and parties.

As I've been in this career for 15 years, me and Lauren have gotten to know him and his wife pretty well. I remember finishing that song and sending it to Eric, and getting his stamp of approval on that song was one of the biggest highlights of my career. His music meant so much to our love story, and I have so many memories that are attached with Lauren to his music, that this song just had to be on the project.

It was like, 1 o'clock in the morning after a show. I'd learned these random jazz chords that day that I started kind of playing. My bus driver's name is Rhett — he's 82 years old, and he drove buses for, like, Mötley Crüe and Dolly Parton — and I looked at Rhett, and I said, "What should we write about?" And he just looked at me, and he said, "I don't know. I guess something about a woman." And this song fell out in 30 minutes.

I love this track so much because it's something I've been trying to write for a long time, but it's never really come out in a unique way. This song has such a vibe, so much sauce. It's like, Steely Dan meets the Rolling Stones meets my love for R&B. It's kind of my best attempt at doing what Chris Stapleton does every day.

We went into that session not even thinking we were writing a song for this record. Our ultimate mission was to try to write a song we could get in the "Yellowstone" [TV show] soundtrack.

I'm obsessed with love films that end with the couple being old together. I'm obsessed with nostalgia, and I'm obsessed with things working out in a positive light. I cannot wait to be 40. I can't wait to be 50. I can't wait to be 60. Because it's just sort of like, "Hey, we made it another decade!" 

I dream about sitting on the front porch in the middle of the country with Lauren, in a rocking chair, watching our kids who we raised, and looking at our grandchildren. I'm obsessed with the thought of knowing that we're gonna finish this race really strong. 

That's where the inspiration of "I Could Spend Forever Loving You" came from. It's like, there's gonna be ups and there's going to be downs, but we can kind of weather any storm — because we've already weathered plenty of storms.