Gay Ole Opry Nashville Brings Queer Country Joy

Gay Ole Opry 030826 Lauren Horbal-21.jpg — At The Basement for Gay Ole Opry Nashville, 3/7/2026
Photo: Steve Cross

Country music speaks to an incredibly broad range of people, and everyone should feel welcome. Over the past two decades, artists and fans have increasingly become organizers, fostering community among those who love country music but have rarely felt represented (let alone welcomed) in the mainstream country world. Gay Ole Opry Nashville, which launched in 2024, is one such organization working intentionally to make space for LGBTQ country musicians and fans in Music City.

Saturday’s show at The Basement, which included everything from Chappell Roan sing-alongs during a set change to a lesbian rewrite of RaeLynn’s song “God Made Girls,” carried on with the mission. Proceeds from the show went to Trans Aid Nashville, a mutual aid collective that provides assistance, community and building power for trans folks in the Nashville area. Trans Aid Nashville has been invaluable in Middle Tennessee, particularly at a time when LGBTQ programs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been gutted and state lawmakers continue presenting legislation that targets the rights of LGBTQ Tennesseans.

The evening’s host, drag queen extraordinaire Kennedy Ann Scott, took the stage to open the show with a rendition of Wilson Phillips’ “Hold On.” She immediately made it clear that the evening would serve as a much-needed celebration of queer joy and solidarity.

“Our trans community has been fighting on the front lines since the beginning, fighting for all of us,” Scott said from the stage. “It is our turn to fucking fight for them.”

Gay Ole Opry 030826 Lizzie No-18.jpg — Lizzie No at The Basement for Gay Ole Opry Nashville, 3/7/2026
Photo: Steve Cross

Lonely Hunter followed Scott with a stellar set of dreamy, richly layered alt emo. That led into a stirring acoustic performance from singer-songwriter and relatively recent Nashville transplant Lizzie No. “It’s such an honor to be invited to play at the Opry,” No quipped. “I’ve never been invited to the Opry before — gay, straight or otherwise.” Their “Pity Party” felt particularly apt for an evening about finding joy through art. “Every time I play my songs for a couple of friends,” sang No in the gem of a folky tune, “it lights a match for a dark time to come.”

Two other highlights of their performance both featured guests: Quinn Hills joined in on the gorgeously tender “Annie Oakley,” and Mercy Bell came up for “The Heartbreak Store,” a tune about “when you’re sad and have to go to the club and see the girls.” “I’m Lizzie No — Lizzie with an ‘ie’ and ‘No’ as in ‘no fucking tolerance for transphobes or Nazis,’” No said, introducing a song from a folk compilation album that’s due out in the summer.

Gay Ole Opry 030826 Again and Again-35.jpg — Kennedy Ann Scott assists Again and Again with the Wheel of Misfortune at The Basement during Gay Ole Opry Nashville, 3/7/2026
Photo: Steve Cross

Following a scorching set from drummer and singer-songwriter Lauren Horbal, who previously performed with Nashville pop-rock band Fame & Fiction, Again and Again took the stage. The self-described “friendly neighborhood lesbian comedy band” follows in country music’s rich tradition of humor and razor-sharp wit. They dipped into their catalog for observations about cougars, “straight cis men who won't accept that you're a lesbian” and more, all while extolling the virtues of checkered Vans and carabiners.

The evening ended on a comedic high note as Scott returned to the stage to take part in the band’s “Wheel of Misfortune” bit. This time out, the wheel tasked a band member with performing the aforementioned “God Made Girls (Lesbian Version).” The whole band participated, and the riffs brought the house down as they sang: “Somebody’s gotta wear a backwards hat / Somebody’s gotta own a rescue cat / Somebody’s gotta work with their hands / So God made girls.” Eat your heart out, Weird Al.

Gay Ole Opry 030826 Trans Aid-4.jpg — Alexandria Danner (left) and Maxine Spencer speaking on behalf of Trans Aid Nashville at The Basement during Gay Ole Opry Nashville, 3/7/2026
Photo: Steve Cross

Time and again throughout the evening, we got reminders of how important it is to band together in tumultuous times. During the show, Trans Aid Nashville co-founders Maxine Spencer and Alexandria Danner took the stage to encourage attendees to share in the duty of caring for one another.

“Mutual aid is not charity,” Spencer said. “It is a duty to each other to be able to help make sure that we have everything we need to live. In a city that has a $3.8 billion budget, we go too often without the things that we need as trans people. So it’s up to us to carve out the things that we need and to make sure that we have all the things that we deserve for a healthy and happy life. [At Trans Aid Nashville], we see ourselves as stewards of funds and support and resources [provided] by our community. I want to invite you all to share in that journey with us — to share in the duty of that with us, to help be your siblings’ keeper for folks that you may not ever know. But because you understand that their life and their liberation is tied up in yours, you give a fuck about them.”