As we were photographing The Cowgays for the cover of this issue, Brooke Eden held up a tiny Progress Pride flag on a toothpick and quipped: “This is what it feels like celebrating Pride this year.” She’s right. In a time of mounting anti-immigrant and anti-trans rhetoric and violence, it’s hard to feel particularly celebratory — and in a state where the legislature recently mandated tracking transgender healthcare data and decreed that Pride Month is “Nuclear Family Month,” actually, it can feel downright dangerous. This year, the United States government removed online references to trans people and a Pride flag from the site of the Stonewall National Monument in New York, which commemorates the site of LGBTQ resistance led by Black trans women that gave rise to Pride as we know it.
But queer people have always flourished in opposition, and there are lessons from Stonewall for all of us today. In this week’s Pride issue, stories of queer resilience stand next to ones of queer joy. We’ve got a lineup for this year’s Nashville Pride festivities from Brittney McKenna — this year’s Pride Parade grand marshals will be Lipstick Lounge founders Christa Suppan and Jonda Valentine — and a look at Nashville’s gay basketball team the Peacocks from staffer Logan Butts. Reporter Hannah Herner speaks with the queer Christian leaders working to repair religious trauma created by churches, and I explore the Gay Farmers Market, a Music City PrEP Clinic initiative that’s building vital bridges. And of course, there’s contributor Cameron Beyrent’s profile of The Cowgays — a queer country supergroup with the rallying cry “I don’t wish I wasn’t gay no more.”
I hope these stories nourish and motivate you. Read on, and happy Pride. ANNIE PARNELL, AUDIENCE EDITOR
The Pride issue is sponsored by Cares360/Nashville Cares.
The queer trio on reclaiming ’90s country, healing religious trauma and spreading queer joy like wildfire
Your quick-reference guide to the music lineup for Nashville Pride 2026
Queer Christian leaders offer communion and show unity at Nashville Pride
In just three years, Music City’s gay basketball team has become a national contender
Now in its second season, the Music City PrEP Clinic initiative challenges misconceptions and builds vital bridges
The Cowgays
