{"id":11925,"date":"2024-04-29T20:54:08","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T20:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=11925"},"modified":"2024-05-20T16:50:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T16:50:29","slug":"a-more-inclusive-nashville-inside-durhams-queer-country-music-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/04\/29\/a-more-inclusive-nashville-inside-durhams-queer-country-music-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A more inclusive Nashville\u2019: Inside Durham\u2019s queer country music scene"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0<\/span>On a recent Tuesday night, the Pinhook bar in Durham looked more like a honky-tonk. The venue was dimly lit, but a small disco ball overhead illuminated a jumble of cowboy boots, hats and fringed vests. Over the bar, a flag read, \u201cThis ain\u2019t no goddamn country club.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A pink-haired woman took the stage alone, wearing an oversized graphic tee and fishnet tights tucked neatly into a pair of black cowboy boots. She bent over the mic, belting \u201cGoodbye Earl\u201d by The Chicks \u2014 her favorite song. Not once did she glance back at the lyrics displayed on the screen behind her.<\/span><\/p>\n This was no ordinary night at the Pinhook, an LGBTQ+ bar better known for its emo aesthetic and drag performances. It was \u201cQueer Cosmic Country Night,\u201d and over 50 patrons packed into the venue for a night of country karaoke and line dancing.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWelcome to country night! That\u2019s queer as f\u2013\u2013\u2013 everybody!\u201d shouted Kym Register, a country folk artist who owns the Pinhook, as the line dancing commenced.<\/span><\/p>\n