Yo La Tengo Play Nashville Show in Drag to Protest Tennessee Bill

Yo La Tengo performed in drag at their live performance yesterday in Nashville, Tennessee, in an obvious protest of the state’s restrictive new drag regulation, The Tennessean reviews. After opening with their typical set, the band members returned in drag to play the remainder of the present, with Ira Kaplan sporting “make-up, a crimson gown, and a protracted black wig,” in keeping with The Tennessean. They made no touch upon the regulation through the present, and stated in a press release, “What we did final night time couldn’t have been clearer, and requires no additional remark.”

Tennessee’s governor, Invoice Lee, signed the laws final month, drawing condemnation from across the nation. Although the invoice doesn’t outlaw drag exhibits, it limits the place they will happen, and invitations cynical interpretations by conservatives who would equate any drag present to obscenity, campaigners have stated.

In a press release reported by The Tennessean, Stella Yarbrough, the authorized director of ACLU’s Tennessee department, stated, “We’re involved that authorities officers may simply abuse this regulation to censor individuals primarily based on their very own subjective viewpoints of what they deem applicable, chilling protected free speech and sending a message to LGBTQ Tennesseans that they aren’t welcome in our state.” Governor Lee signed the invoice in the identical swoop as he outlawed gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youngsters, aligning the invoice’s restrictions on “female and male impersonators” with a wider assault on queer rights. 

Subsequent Monday, a number of artists will protest the regulation with a profit live performance, Love Rising, at Nashville’s Bridgestone Enviornment. Brittany Howard, Sheryl Crow, Maren Morris, Jason Isbell, Hayley Williams, and Julien Baker are amongst these on the invoice. Proceeds will profit Tennessee Equality Challenge, Inclusion Tennessee, OUTMemphis, and the Tennessee Satisfaction Chamber in partnership with Wanting Out Basis, which can be accepting donations. The Tennessee Equality Challenge encourages Tennessee residents to register to vote.