Member-only story

17 Queer Artists You Haven’t Heard Of

Zoey Milford
13 min readJun 25, 2019

--

I’m always on the lookout for more queer artists to listen to, however even with streaming and auto-recommendations it can still be hard to find them.

There are some good queer-artist lists around online, but they’re often filled with (much-loved) musicians already well known to the community.

So to promote more LGBTQ voices, I’ve compiled a selection of 17 queer, female and non-binary artists you may not have heard of.

Alex the Astronaut

Folk Pop, Folktronica, Indie

IMAGE: Minkowski Records, alextheastronaut.com

Alex the Astronaut is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Sydney, who was studying physics in New York when they released their first EP To Whom It May Concern. Their lyrics centre around storytelling: tales about friends, about suburban living, and personal stories about grief, identity, and relationships.

Their song “Not Worth Hiding was released during the Australian Same-sex Marriage Survey and was unofficially considered part of the ‘yes’ campaign.

After Alex the Astronaut’s 2018 Space Tour, they released a tour album titled The Space Tour Live, which showcases their on-stage charisma and relaxed, living-room-style of performance.

YouTube | Spotify | Amazon | Apple Music| Web

Courtney Barnett

Alternative Rock, Indie, Psychedelic Rock

IMAGE: Milk! Records, milkrecordsmelbourne

Back in 2013, Courtney Barnett caught everyone’s attention with her single “Avant Gardener”, released as part of her double EP A Sea of Split Seas. She became instantly known for her humorous lyrics and deadpan delivery. She founded the label Milk! Records as a way to produce and distribute her music.

After Barnett released her debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit in 2015, the singer-songwriter rose to true acclaim and won four ARIA awards.

Barnett released her second solo album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, in May 2018, with a strong personal focus on emotional headspace in the current world.

--

--

Zoey Milford
Zoey Milford

Written by Zoey Milford

Queer writer. Avid chaser of representation.

Responses (2)

Write a response