Brandon Stansell Redefines Country Music with LGBTQ Voice

Country music has been known for not being inclusive to the LGBTQ community, but fortunately, artists and fans are beginning to see more representation.

Brandon Stansell is a rising musician who continues to push boundaries to redefine the genre. In November 2018, CMT premiered his single, “Hometown,” which made history as the first LGBTQ-themed video to be seen on the country video platform. Named one of Rolling Stone’s Top 10 Country Music Videos of 2018, the video offers viewers a painful snapshot of a young man coming out to his mom, only to be thrown out of the house to find his own way.

Since “Hometown,” Stansell has gone on to release several music projects, as well as a documentary called Three Chords and a Lie. The film chronicles his trip back to his hometown of Chattanooga, TN, where he invites his estranged family to hear him perform for the first time. Being ostracized from his strict Southern Baptist family resulted in Stansell spending the past decade healing from pain, finding a new support system, and building a name for himself in the industry with his bold, authentic voice.

This week, Stansell released a brand-new song called “Pick Up Where We Left Off,” which is the first single of his upcoming album, This Must Be the Place. The album is available September 3.

Stansell took some time to talk with OFM about the new single, how country music is becoming more inclusive, and why he wanted to tell his story with Three Chords and a Lie.

Can you begin by telling us about the concept and inspiration behind your new single, “Pick Up Where We Left Off?”
The whole record that is coming out in September, it has this pop-country, 80s vibe sort of thing. It is the first thing I have ever co-produced because I really wanted to do the pop-country thing. Being inspired by this late 80s, early 90s big synth pop sound, I wanted to see if I could bring that into my style. So, I got my hands on an amazing producer, and we have been working on this record together since the end of last year.

“Pick Up Where We Left Off” is the first single to come out. The song itself, I wrote it with my good friend Mylen, who has co-written a lot of stuff with me over the years, but we just wanted to write something that was fun. We got together six or seven months ago when I first started writing this record, and we threw around ideas. We were in the middle of the pandemic, so we were writing remotely, and I think we were both just itching for the end of this crazy year. Yearning for that restart for our normal lives. So, that is kind of where the song came from. We sort of built this relationship around it.

What do you hope listeners take away from the song?
Like I said, I want to have fun with it. I had a blast writing it, even more producing and recording it. It is a song that I feel we all kind of need right now. It’s one of those songs that I hope people can roll the windows down, enjoy, and sing along to. It has a fresh feel to it, and it’s me. So, I think you have liked my stuff prior to this record, then you are really going to like this one.

Have you always had a passion for singing and songwriting?
Yes. I have been singing my whole life and started when I was a little kid, when I was about 6 years old. I did my very first show at the Opry stage in Nashville, which I went back to last weekend. I haven’t been to the theatre for a while, but I went and saw my buddy, Leslie Jordan. He had his debut, so I went down there to see him. I have been singing for a long time, but I did not actually start writing until I moved out to the west coast about seven years ago. I put out my first project in 2015 and I have been plugging away ever since.

Why did you want to pursue country music?
Growing up in Tennessee, country music was always coming through the radio [laughs]. It was the thing that was dialed in. I grew up singing in the church, I belonged to a small Baptist Church out in the middle of Georgetown, TN, but when we would leave church, it was country music on the radio. I fell in love with all the women of country music and those were the shows I went to see.

Some of my first shows were Reba and Amy Grant. It was always the women who really inspired me. When it came time to make music on my own, it almost felt like I did not have a choice. Country music was what I was going to do, but I also love the genre at its core. It is basically just storytelling, and I had a story to tell. It felt like a fit to me.

The country music industry has not always had the greatest views towards LGBTQ people. Do you believe those attitudes and opinions are changing?
I do. I believe the landscape of country music has changed a lot, even in the past few years. Last year, I participated in CMT’s very first Pride writers round at their offices, and they were nice enough to premiere my video, “Hometown,” back in 2018, which was basically the first time they have ever had a queer storyline on the station. That was really big, not just for me, but I think for a lot of queer people who do not really see themselves in this space.

I felt like that was kind of a turning point, but I also feel like we went from a time where you felt like there was no representation at all to there being quite a few very high-profile queer artists. Anyone from Brandie Carlile to TJ Osborne, to Cody Alan hosting his own show on CMT, to Brooke Eden, who just put out this great summer EP. The song “Sunroof” has her girlfriend in the video and it’s getting airplay. This has all happened over the past few years. So, it does feel like the sands are shifting.

Even from being a spectator last weekend and seeing Leslie Jordan and TJ Osborne singing together at the Grand Ole Opry and having the entire crowd go crazy. You would not have seen that 5-10 years ago. So, I do feel like things are changing, and I feel like they are changing for the better.

Last year, you released an emotional documentary called, Three Chords and a Lie. How has it been received, and why did you want to film a documentary about your story?
The title came from an old Harlan Howard quote. He said, ‘the best country songs are basically three chords and the truth.’ However, for queer people, we have not always been able to tell our stories. We have always been asked not to, and I felt it was important to kind of shine a light on where we’ve been and where we’re going. I think we are in a very transitory phase in this genre, and in the world in general. I think people are more willing to recognize that we are more alike than different, and that is a great thing, but because we are still living in this transition period, there is still a lot of hurt. Things happening to queer people that shouldn’t, and for no reason.

When I started writing music, I started writing about my experiences as a queer person. I started writing about what it was like coming out in the south and watching relationships with my parents, siblings, and family members just disappear all in the name of religion. I have always felt like music is this great healer and this great connector. I had written this record that was basically all of my hard stories to tell, and I was approached by the great people of OUTtv about producing it as a documentary. I initially said no; I did not think that would be fun for anyone.

It was a tough thing to make. The premises, going to Chattanooga and playing “Hometown” for the first time. That was tough for me because this was the place where my life fell apart in a lot of ways and where the genesis of those songs came from. That is where all the hurt lived, and to go back and play songs in that place was pretty tough. I feel like we were able to make something that I am really proud of, but I think it has also helped people. Not just queer people, but families and friends of queer people. A part of the documentary is interviewing kids and this charity that I work with called Launch Pad Nashville, who take in homeless youth, and the majority of them just happen to be queer. So, we interview a lot of them.

Yes, this is my story, but it is not unique. It happens to a lot of people all the time. When it was all said and done, I hope it made people like myself feel like they are not alone, and they are not the only people who have ever walked this path. This is the experience. When someone comes out to you, it is a very vulnerable time for them. It is malleable and life-defining in those moments. My hope is that this documentary would be a bridge and light to this experience of what it is like to be queer and from the south.

You talk a lot about being ostracized and the hardships between you and your family. Did this film help you move forward to help mend those relationships?
I think that anytime you are honest about your experience and you are willing to kind of confront those demons in whatever way you do, mine is through writing music, I think there is a healing that comes with that. I know I have experienced that, and I have to imagine that other songwriters have too. I have experienced a lot of healing just by creating art around it. The idea and goal is to make something good out of the bad and try to do great.

You also host a podcast called, I Love This Country. How has that been going, and why should we check it out?
The podcast is on Spotify, and I have had a blast doing it. We are on our 11th episode this week, and it is a combination between a radio show and a sit down with people who I think are shaking shit up in country music [laughs]. I have interviewed a handful of people, including Leslie Jordan, Fancy Hagood, and Harper Gray, who is part of CMT’s Next Women of Country class this year. Cam is coming on the show this week, which we are going to talk about the one-year anniversary of our song, “Hurt People,” that came out this time last year.

So, that is going to be exciting, but all these people are not only queer or queer allies. It is about breaking the mold of what is traditionally known in country music. Being queer, being an ally, being a person of color, being a woman—all these things I want to talk about, and I think people will want to listen. I think it is very interesting because this genre has been so locked up, and people like us have been locked out. Now, there’s this shift where that is not happening. We are kind of coming in, and I think with that, comes all these different perspectives and all this great new music. That is very exciting!

I was curating a playlist on Spotify called “I Love This Country” for years because I had just gotten so tired of the same mundane songs that were coming out of major label Nashville. I started curating it every month, and then decided to turn it into this weekly podcast. Every week, I pull songs from the playlist, talk about them and why I love them, and why I think you will too. It has been a lot of fun and we are going to keep it going for as long as we can.

What more do you hope to accomplish with your platform?
At the end of the day, I am a musician, and I want to make music that I am proud of and think people want to listen to. That is kind of the hope for this next record. Obviously, I have a real passion for advocacy work, and I think music plays a big part of that. I also just love to go play shows, see people, and have a good time. That is how I kind of cut my teeth. Learning how to not just be a singer, songwriter, dancer, or performer, but be an entertainer.

I want people to have a good time and really enjoy themselves when they come see me. I am looking forward to getting this new music out into the world, and hopefully, people will like it. If you don’t, just hush. Don’t tell anyone! I don’t know where we are going, but I hope as I go along this crazy path, I am doing things that make a difference and make people happy.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?
The first single is out, the title track of the record comes out at the end of June, the third single comes out at the end of July, and the full record comes out September 3. Along the way, we are going to do weekly episodes of the I Love This Country podcast, so tune in. We have a lot of stuff planned for the rest of the year.

Stay up-to-date with Stansell by following him on Twitter, Instagram, or visit his official website. His music is available on all digital streaming platforms.

Photos Courtesy of David Dinette and Social Media