Allison Russell, Jason Isbell, Tons More Sing Out for LGBTQ Rights

A star-studded roster of local and national talent took the stage at Bridgestone Arena on Monday, all in service of one important goal: to counter the hateful anti-LGBTQ laws passed by the Tennessee state legislature in recent weeks. When word went out that bills targeting drag performers and gender-affirming care for transgender youth had passed, phenomenal singer-songwriter Allison Russell and other musicians and music-biz folks quickly got to work coordinating the energizing event Love Rising: Let Freedom Sing (and Dance). Heaps of artists joined their efforts — Maren Morris, Jason Isbell, Yola, Hozier and Brittany Howard were just a few of the musicians who gave their time. The lineup of drag queens and kings participating in Love Rising was just as impressive, with Obsinity, Jaxson Stone, Aura Mayari, Trey Alize and many others appearing throughout the show.

Emcee Asia O’Hara kept the proceedings lively, taking the stage between sets to introduce performers and educate the audience about the nonprofits Love Rising would support: the Tennessee Equality Project, Inclusion Tennessee, Out Memphis and the Tennessee Pride Chamber. Ticket sales benefited these organizations, while the Looking Out Foundation matched additional donations up to $100,000. The Rainbow Coalition Band, featuring top-notch players who perform regularly with Russell, backed most artists, showing a masterful versatility — and seemingly having a hell of a lot of fun — as they switched between genres and moods. 

Nashville-based pop ace Jake Wesley Rogers kicked off the night’s performances with his song “Pluto,” a standout from his 2021 EP of the same name. East Tennessee’s Adeem the Artist followed, with their powerful ballad “For Judas” from their recent LP White Trash Revelry. Introducing the song, Adeem commented on the mood in the room: “It’s a weird juxtaposition of jubilance and fear.”

Sheryl Crow performed an acoustic take on “Everyday Is a Winding Road,” one of her earliest hits. “This song is 30 years old,” Crow said. “It’s strange how it rewrites its meaning all the time. Sometimes I do feel like a stranger in my own life, when I have to explain to my little boys that some of us don’t get to live like we want to live because it doesn’t line up with someone’s political beliefs. I just tell them, ‘Every day is a winding road, baby.’ You have to look around and ask, ‘Where can I show up to push humanity forward?’”

The show ran several hours, and magical moments just kept coming. A few of them included Brittany Howard serving up a particularly potent rendition of her fan favorite “Stay High,” Yola singing her own dynamic “Stand for Myself” as well as a cover of Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman,” and Joy Oladakun’s mash-up of her song “Somehow” with Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle.” Among Russell’s contributions onstage was a trio rendition of Alicia Keys’ “A Beautiful Noise” with Ruby Amanfu and Shea Diamond.

Before Hayley Williams and Becca Mancari teamed up for a striking cover of Deana Carter’s “Did I Shave My Legs for This?,” Williams decried the imbalance between how much energy Nashville focuses on catering to tourists and how much it spends on its own citizens. Izzy Heltai played his tender single “All of This Beauty,” set for release March 24, while Hozier did his defiant 2018 song “Nina Cried Power.” Though there have been some other popular covers in recent years, Jason Isbell reminded the packed house who wrote “Cover Me Up,” performing his signature Southeastern tune alongside Amanda Shires. Not all of The Highwomen were able to be there, but Shires’ Highwomen bandmate Maren Morris led a massive sing-along to the supergroup’s “Crowded Table.” That’s in addition to Morris bringing the house down with “Better Than We Found It” and “The Middle,” as well as delivering one of the best quotes of the night: “Yes, I introduced my son to some drag queens. Fucking arrest me, Tennessee.”

Another powerful moment came when Cidny Bullens took a few minutes onstage to consider his trailblazing career, sharing his story of coming up as a musician and songwriter as well as his coming out as a transgender man in 2012 and his subsequent transition. Bullens called singer-songwriter Mya Byrne to the stage to perform “It Don’t Fade,” and Byrne delivered a message to the audience in the room and watching the livestream at home.  

“Tell every cis person, tell every person who can and who is able to show up to these rooms — to these statehouses, to the courthouses, to the places where people are being protested and hurt,” Byrne said. “Show up and make your voice heard. We have to vote, but we also have to show up. We have to tear down the pillars of the thing that they are trying to build around us, because we will not be put in cages again.”