Out Artists on the Rise

Hip-hoppers to country crooners, this year’s up-and-comers are here, queer and ready to entertain

Kitty Rose

Classic country singer/songwriter Kitty Rose can croon with a fervor evocative of preceding top shelf country queens Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline.

Though she’s received acclaim for her country debut, ironically titled, Greatest Hits, the singer began as Katharine Chase, an active musician serving as bassist in various punk and rock bands. It wasn’t until her arrival on the San Francisco “twang scene” in the mid-‘90s when she revisited the country-western sound that was part of her
childhood in Texas.

“It’s unique to be female and be in a bus traveling cross-country—walking into biker bars and not knowing what’s going to happen.” She studied the road lives of her female country idols, and says, “I could identify completely with them.”

Rose has been met with ample support as an out lesbian musician, and she blatantly mentions sexuality in her songs. “Even still, the queer stuff flies over their heads.”

After winning the Outmusic Award for Best Debut Female Artist of 2005, Rose wasted no time in developing her act past cover songs. Her newest album Live at the Rhyman (named as an homage to the legendary Nashville venue) demonstrates her sharp capacity as a songwriter with her signature brand of humor.

When she’s not slinging a guitar, the singer lives true to her cowgirl persona: herding cattle on horseback at her Hopland, Calif. ranch community.

So how does the alter-ego Kitty Rose deviate from the humble pie girl from Texas? “She’s funnier and she dresses better.”

To learn more, visit kittyrose.com. –PC


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