Boygenius deliver iconic performance in drag to protest Tennessee governor Bill Lee
"I’ve found it’s a really powerful and humiliating tool to make those people f**k off."
Boygenius took to the stage in Tennessee in full drag to protest the state’s recent drag ban.
The indie rock supergroup – comprised of queer artists Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers – performed in Nashville, Julien’s hometown, on Sunday (25 June).
For one night only, on the last stop of their tour, Bridgers was Queef Urban, Dacus was Lucille Balls, and Baker was Shanita Tums.
With a band full of queer performers, Boygenius were direct and deliberate in condemning the voices of hatred in the state.
Tennessee planned to pass a drag ban into law in February, alongside a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.
The bill, backed by Republican state govener Bill Lee, was met with backlash and drag group Friends of George’s sued the state to prevent the law being enacted.
“I would like you to scream so loud that Governor Lee can hear you”
Earlier this month, a judge ruled in favour of Friends of George’s case and overturned the drag ban.
On stage, Baker, from Memphis, expressed she was “so grateful for my life, not because I get to stand onstage with my best friends… but because I’m content with the person that I am.”
“I have a lot of anger for the people that have made me feel small and feel erased,” she also said.
“I’ve found it’s a really powerful and humiliating tool to make those people f**k off,” Baker noted with a grin.
“I would like you to scream so loud that Governor Lee can hear you.”
Boygenius then encouraged the crowd to chant “F**k Bill Lee” while holding up their middle fingers.
Boygenius aren’t the only artists who have loudly spoken out. In May, Hayley Kiyoko shared she was threatened with legal action before a performance with drag queens in Nashville, Tennessee.
Despite the warnings, Kiyoko took to the stage with drag queens LiberTea and Ivy St James anyway.