** This month's episode is sponsored by Damon Beirne of Post-Transition Media Management Company. Damon can clean up your media files for $300 per terrabyte -- mention Rainbow Rodeo for a 75% discount! ** Flamy Grant is a Christian drag queen. Now, at Rainbow Rodeo, we know to revel in the contradiction of gloriously queer life and traditional expe…

Liv Greene checks in about her album Deep Feeler, out on October 18th. We also discuss how her coming out process has reinforced her artistry, moving past imposter syndrome, and putting down roots in Nashville. For Patreon subscribers, we also get into a little astrology and a secret that's about a confession. Pre-save or preorder Deep Feeler here.…

Rising Appalachia has always been a mission-driven, social justice-focused band. On their recent album Folk and Anchor, however, the band decided to take on a more light-hearted project. The sister duo of Leah Song and Chloe Smith went back to their roots and picked out a collection of songs that influenced them -- including some that might surpris…

Hey, there cowpokes -- remember when I did podcasts? Me, too. So...I'm thrilled that I get to interview Chris Housman for episode 22! Chris's new album Blueneck is a raucously fun and aggressively queer pop country album. Chris has been in Nashville for 16 years, and we talk about how it's been to be a queer artist in the mainstream country machine…

Hey there, cowpokes! This time around I interview River Shook about their new album with Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, Revelations. What’s that now? Well, we get into River coming out as nonbinary, changing their name…and still touring under their given name. We’ll also talk about their growing confidence as they continue into sobriety, taking the…

Howdy, cowpokes! This is a special bonus episode of Rainbow Rodeo to celebrate two different queer country shows next week. The online festival Country Soul Songbook, which is pay-what-you-can. It's a great weekend of conversations and concerts that celebrate radical intersectionality in country music. On Friday March 15th from 12 PM - 5 PM IN AUST…

Cidny Bullens is not just a rock'n'roll lifer -- he's a survivor. He toured with Elton John and Bob Dylan and was nominated for two Grammys for his own solo work. If you've listened to the Grease soundtrack, you've probably heard him -- but this is all before he transitioned. Cid's been through quite a bit as well, and not just a rock and roll life…

This isn't Jessye DeSilva's first Rainbow Rodeo! The non-binary singer-songwriter was the very first guest on this podcast, and we're thrilled to have them back. In this episode, we talk about how DeSilva is setting intentions and seeing them through, their album Renovations as a document of coming into their own, and what's next as they tackle bei…

Howdy, cowpokes, and welcome back to Rainbow Rodeo! This month, I interview artist and podcaster extraordinaire, Jenny Owen Youngs. I think you can hear in the interview that I’m a little bit starstruck, but of course Jenny was a pro. (We’re on a first-name basis now.) We talk about her return to solo music with her new album, Avalanche, and how it…

Hey there, cowpokes, and welcome back to Rainbow Rodeo! This month, I speak with veteran Maia Sharp about her album Reckless Thoughts, which came out in August. I also interviewed her for the Nashville Scene. In that interview, we discussed the divorce that caused her to move to Nashville and how she brought together a trusted band to create Reckle…

Julian Talamantez Brolaski is a poet and country crooner but, above all else, is a careful curator of traditional country music. Brolaski's album It's Okay Honey comes out today, replete with yodeling, cowboy guitar and, of course, heartbreak. Brolaski was also on the ground floor of Brooklyn's queer country scene in the 2010s. They're too modest t…

I'm excited to introduce you to Beau Wheeler. Beau's latest album, Flying Colours, reveals a huge generosity of spirit. They wrote these songs while they were undergoing cancer treatment -- and coming out as non-binary. We also discuss hacking it in the Canadian indie rock scene -- and, for Patreon subscribers, just what they would risk to go see M…

Hey there, cowpokes, and happy Pride! We are in a real treat this month with our conversation with Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, old time music legends. In our interview, Cathy and Marcy said they haven't done much -- but they're just being modest. They have performed with Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, Tom Paxton, Patsy Montana, Riders in the Sky, an…

The Refugees (Cidny Bullens, Deborah Holland, Wendy Waldman) talk about our new 2023 California album--our celebration of the great '60s-early '70s California-sound harmony groups. You can buy the physical CD or the digital songs at therefugeesmusic.com "THE REFUGEES – CALIFORNIA (ROCK): Combining three stellar singer-songwriters and great classic …

Get to know Mya Byrne now, because she is going to become a household name. Her newest album, Rhinestone Tomboy, is out now on Kill Rock Stars Records. KRS is the legendary riot grrl record label, and Rhinestone Tomboy is the first record off its brand new Nashville imprint. As I wrote in my profile in the Nashville Scene, that's not the only first…

Hey, cowpokes! This week I joined queer baseball podcast Batting Around to speak with Bryan Ruby. Bryan is the first professional baseball player to come out while actively playing. Now that he's getting ready to hang up his cleats, he's picking up his guitar and kick-starting his country music career! This episode goes more into his time in baseba…

Howdy, cowpokes! This month I speak with Zoe Boekbinder about their recent songs, "Cut My Heart In Two," and "I Am Yesterday." Both of these songs were produced by Gracie and Rachel, whom I interviewed on my previous podcast, Adobe and Teardrops. Zoe Boekbinder is a veteran, singer songwriter, born in Canada and raised in a string of Buddhist commu…

Howdy, cowpokes! Thanks to an audio snafu, this month's interview did not go as planned but that means I get to LARP as an NPR DJ! This month's episode reviews the fantastic queer country releases from February, as well as a preview of what's to come this spring. Sunny War, Anarchist Gospel, “Swear to Gawd” John-Allison Weiss, The Long Way, “Differ…

I interviewed Canadian alt-country singer Mariel Buckley back in August. And you can tell this was a few months ago because we talked a little baseball -- little did we know how badly the Blue Jays would implode. Buckley's album Everywhere I Used To Be is a distinct departure from Buckley's acclaimed Driving in the Dark. The sound is more spare, mo…

Hey, there, cowpokes. It's episode 8 of Rainbow Rodeo and I'm speaking with Adeem the Artist. We spoke two days after the release of their breakout album White Trash Revelry. This episode is a little odd because we were both in kind of weird headspaces and spent a looong time talking about the music industry and how Adeem feels about hitting their …

Hi, everyone. I'm popping in with a sort of mini-sode here. Patrick Haggerty, the lead singer and songwritier of Lavender Country, passed away on Halloween. I meant to post this shortly after his death, but between my midterms and the holidays, I just didn't get around to it. The real reason, though, is once I post this, well...then it means he's r…

Hey there, cowpokes! I just got hitched, which meant I got a liiiittle behind working on the podcast. But, I think this interview with Violet Bell is well worth the white. The North Carolina duo, consisting of Lizzy Ross and Omar Ruiz-Lopez, just released their gorgeous new album, Shapeshifter. The album retells the ancient story of the selkie from…

This month, we're going to hear from Whitney Fenimore as she tells us about her EP, Leaving Ashwood, which came out on September 23rd. Whitney's story starts out familiar: she grew up in Oklahoma, devoted to church life in spite of the psychic pain it caused her. But not everyone in that situation moves on to sing in The Voice, or to marry an Olymp…

Sylvia Rose Novak hates expecations. That's why they've torn down their Americana image and set stakes in the alt-rock world with their blistering album A Miss/A Masterpiece -- not coincidentally, breaking out of the Americana genre has coincided with Novak coming out as non-binary. We talk about the album, Novak's coming out experience, and how th…

Heya, cowpokes! I got a little off-schedule thanks to vacation, so we'll have two episode this month! (Yeehaw!) This time around, I interview Shana Goldin-Perschbacher, author of the book Queer Country. It's the first scholarly work about the genre and it gets into the history of queer country -- as well as what it all actually means. You can get a…

Alex (formerly known as al) Riggs and I spoke in early June about their latest album, themselves, right when it was released. We discussed the current situation in the queer country scene, the anxieties of releasing a record and receiving little press, and how coming into herself has changed her approach to music. Two days later, themselves got a r…

Howdy and welcome to the very first episode of Rainbow Rodeo! I'm your host, Rachel Cholst. In this episode, we talk with Jessye deSilva about their debut album Landscapes, growing up non-binary in a Christian household, discovering Elton John, Jessye's work teaching vocal pedagogy at Berklee College of Music, and so much more! Learn more about Rai…

In this episode, Josh Hyde talks about the supplements he takes to maintain creativity and balance in 2022. The supplements include: 2 forms of magnesium, turmeric, USP fish oil, vitamin A and D from cod liver oil, broccoli extract (sulforaphane), CBD, and a regular movement practice like tai chi or walking. --- Support this podcast: https://podcas…

This Crack The Sky episode is in collaboration with Wendy Waldman's podcast From The Longhouse -- Wendy welcomes her bandmates Cidny Bullens and Deborah Holland from The Refugees to come together for this special episode. Tune in and listen to the trio discuss life, music, and more. The trio of artists that is The Refugees emerged on the music scen…

Dick Gregory, Richard Claxton Gregory, (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights activist and spiritual leader. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the African-American communities in the southern United States with his "no-holds-barred" sets, poking fun at the bigotry and racism in the Uni…

The Gender Line is about a transgender rock star, Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens) who once sang in Elton John's band. Cidny is fortunate to have been both a wife and husband in the same lifetime. He reflects on having lived both sides of the gender line. Cidny Bullens is an American singer-songwriter, who is best known for serving as backup …

On this episode, the host/filmmaker, Josh Hyde discusses the failure of set etiquette on the film "Rust", improper Hollywood budgeting practices, and why Alec Baldwin needs to go to jail for murder or manslaughter. ABC News Article On Alec Baldwin Shooting - Link To Article Jeffrey Epstein And Alec Baldwin Connected - Link To Article Court Evidence…

Megan Ponder is an accomplished public policy professional, researcher, and a producer of the Emmy Award-winning documentary The Story of Plastic. Megan’s work is focused on plastic pollution including global recycling systems and the impacts of petrochemical production on communities. She has consulted for global and national plastic pollution cam…

For the past 9 years, Hannah's mission has been to learn firsthand the many languages of filmmaking so she can communicate with her cast and crew and create engaging stories. This challenge has seen her working with a variety of storytelling mediums including live-action, hand-painted and computer animation, stop motion, and puppetry. Hannah has di…

Alana Waksman is an Ashkenazi writer, director, producer, and first generation descendant of Holocaust survivors from Poland. She is an alum of the USC School of Cinematic Arts MFA in Film & Television Production, and Connecticut College BA in Theater and English. As an actor, she trained at Shakespeare & Company, Berkshire Theater Festival, St. Pe…

A native New Yorker, Maggie is most recognized as an independent writer and director, Greenwald’s most notable films include Sophie and the Rising Sun (2016), Songcatcher (2000), and The Ballad of Little Jo (1993). She also directed an adaptation of Jim Thompson's The Kill-Off and the film debut of Jorja Fox. Throughout her career, Greenwald has sh…

Peter Ralston is world renowned photographer whose work I have admired for the 30 years I've known him. Peter and I have a wonderful conversation about his idyllic upbringing in rural Pennsylvania as the fortunate neighbor of the great 20th Century painter Andrew Wyeth and his equally creative and influential wife, Betsy. We talk about how they dem…

Cracking The Sky with host singer/songwriter Cidny Bullens, is a podcast featuring creatives from around the world talking about their experience with their own creative process and what it takes for them to make something out of nothing. Son of classical musicians and formally trained as a violinist, at age 18 David Mansfield joined Bob Dylan's ba…

Twice Grammy-nominated Nashville based, Beth Nielsen Chapman has released thirteen solo albums and written seven #1 hits and songs recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Bette Midler, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Michael McDonald, Keb Mo', Roberta Flack, Waylon Jennings, Indigo Girls, and Faith Hill's mega-hit This Kiss, ASCAP'S 1999 Song of the Yea…

From San Francisco via NYC, Mya Byrne is a poet, award-winning performing songwriter, and activist. A proud transwoman, she established her solo folk/Americana career in 2012, releasing several solo albums, after years of performing in with the Roots-Rock band, The Ramblers. Mya often mentors developing artists and beginning writers, hosting worksh…

The host of the American Filmmaker Podcast, Josh Hyde, is taking a 3-week break to find work, start some new projects, and practice more tai chi. The first 52 episodes represent 3.4 million hours of human creativity in storytelling, composing music and sound design, drawing comic books, acting, producing news, telling stories, and filmmaking in the…

Jason DaSilva is a director and writer known for When We Walk (2019), When I Walk (2013), Olivia's Puzzle (2002) and From the Mouthpiece on Back (2008). In 2006, 25-year-old Jason DaSilva was on vacation at the beach with family when, suddenly, he fell down. He couldn't get back up. His legs had stopped working; his disease could no longer be ignor…

Actor Mark Metcalf made his reputation playing the "angry white man" as a tightly spun authority figure, most famously in National Lampoon's Animal House and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now in his 70s, Mark examines his creative journey through theatre, film, tv, dance, and becoming a father in the short documentary film Character by Vera Brunner-Sun…

Vera Brunner-Sung is a filmmaker who uses experimental, documentary, and narrative techniques to explore the relationship between place and identity. Vera's documentary short film, Character, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The child of immigrants from Korea and Switzerland, Vera grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Early on, her intercult…

Peter Hutchison is a critically acclaimed filmmaker, NY Times Bestselling author, educator and activist. Based in Brooklyn, his experience in film and TV production – as a documentary director, producer, writer and NYU Faculty member - spans nearly two decades. He produced & directed Requiem for the American Dream: Noam Chomsky and the Principles o…

The original soundtrack for Tuscaloosa was created by the composers, Joshua Mosley and Matt Hutchinson. The soundtrack was released by Lakeshore Records. Joshua Mosley is an award-winning composer and producer for film, television, video games, and recording artists. His work can be heard on projects for studios such as 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictu…

As a film and video game composer, Sam Hulick, saw a huge need for a better way to share demo reels. Frustrated with the process, Sam coded a little hack to notify him when people opened the demo reels he sent. Eventually composer buddies of his were asking for the same hack. A couple years (and many lines of code) later, ReelCrafter was born. Afte…

Greg King started King Soundworks when he was 21. His hope was to create a place that would be home to the most creative sound people he could find, and feels lucky to say he’s reached that goal. Greg has been the sound designer and/or re-recording mixer on over 70 films including The Founder, Hancock, Friday Night Lights and The Insider, which rec…

Ashley Melzer is a producer, filmmaker and writer based in Durham, NC. She grew up in North Florida, the youngest daughter of a small town dentist and nurse. Growing up, Ashley was a wannabe beatnik who loved music, wrote bad poetry and annoyed her older brothers. Her brothers grew up to become dentists. Ashley either missed or threw away the famil…

Filmmaker and cinematographer Lucas Millard has found his niche shooting narrative and documentary features, collecting myriad awards for his work along the way. With a master of fine arts in film production from the University of Texas, he has over a decade worth of experience in the industry working as director of photography, camera operator, & …