while i can mainly only speak for sapphic playlists, ive noticed in general that the lgbt playlists were making are really white, cover heavy and… straight?
so heres a (very unabridged) list of lgbt musicians that deserve to be on your playlists way more than that cover of lego house.
in alphabetical order:
Against Me!
if youre trans & alternative and dont know abt against me - lead by trans frontwoman and punk rock mum laura jane grace - then idk what youre doing. ik theyre p well known, but i still never see them in playlists.
Angel Haze / Raen Roes
black & native american two-spirit rapper with the brilliant freestyle rewrite of ‘same love’
Ashby and the Oceanns
cute midwestern singer/songwriter with a tmg influence
Be Steadwell
super cute butch singer/songwriter
Beth O'Reilly
irish youtube singer whose gay ukelele songs arent covers
Bloc Party
indie rock band from east london led by kele okereke, coolest man on earth, ended oasis w his snark (seriously)
Chris Garneau
french-american indie singer reminiscent of spektor’s anti folk, often discusses trauma with very sad, floaty music. very androgynous voice
Christine and the Queens
french synthpop by pansexual singer héloïse letissier
Coeur de Pirate
french-canadian singer with a more folky vibe reminiscent of of monsters and men. oh, and shes dating laura jane grace. put them both in the same playlist. please.
Daskinsey4 (warning for nsfw imagery in the link)
fuzzpedal britpop from bristol with a fun, bouncy tone
Doria Roberts
90s american folk singer/songwriter. political and confident. put ‘honey jar’ in your playlist please just do it.
Ezra Furman
gay american alternative rock singer similar to neutral milk hotel
Ferras
indie pop singer with a strong bowie influence vocally
Frank Ocean
yes, you know who he is. have you listened to him? have you? i dont care if you only listen to harsh noise folk backwards - listen to frank ocean.
Gerard Way
we all know gerard fuzzpedal emo king friends with ljg way and still i see more artic monkeys in these gaylists (gay playlists)
Grace Petrie
folk singer from the midlands, england whose bbfsies w billy brag. has two modes: angry gay, sad gay. what more do you need?
Hayley Kiyoko
ok ok ik we all know her shes the token woc in your playlist im putting her on the list anyway because im in love with her
Honeywater
has a dubious place on the list due to the other fella but.. this is amandla stenbergs band. amandla. they make music. remember that.
the Hoosiers
the british indie band behind ‘goodbye mister a’
Indigo Girls
this is fucking lesbian heritage right here. Old Skool lesbian country singers right here.
the Internet
classique gay triphop led by my dream girlfriend, syd the kyd
Jasmine Kennedy
soft sad indie folk from the north of england. her sweet, quiet music ranges from melancholic to happy ending bliss. shes stage buddies w grace petrie too. put ‘cardigan sweater’ in your playlist. do it.
JD Samson & MEN
nonbinary dance music officianado JD Samson and her new band after le tigre. loud and fun and gay
Jussie Smollet
he plays jamal in empire. admittedly, he hasnt brought out his own stuff yet, but his music for empire is beautiful soulful R&B
Kaytranada
a gay music producer whose worked with all the big names, including collaborating with the internet. gay squared.
Le Tirgre
lesbian feminist dance music
MIKA
the fella behind ‘grace kelly’ and outspoken mga singer whose broached gay/bi topics in his peppy, flamboyant pop since the beginning
MNEK
brand new pop sensation making waves with his smooth, energetic love songs
Mr. Twin Sister
american indie pop band from long island
Neon Hitch
bisexual rroma indie pop singer from the uk
Rachael Yamagata
melancholic, blues inspired folk-pop with a smooth, deep voice
Shamir
nonbinary synthpop singer known for his androgynous voice and catchy, light hearted tunes such as ‘on the regular’ and ‘make a scene’
Sia
bisexual pop-ballad queen who sings often abt trauma, mental illness, and abuse
Soko
kristen stewarts girlfriend. indie singer with a high, airy voice whose music ranges in topic from trauma to homophobia to the surreal. put ‘who wears the pants’ on your playlist.
Spoonboy
genderqueer punk singer from washington dc. try ‘sexy dreams’
Teenage Kitchen
airy kidcore ukelele folk from bandcamp
Tegan & Sara
look, ok, i know everyone knows abt tegan and sara. the lesbian band. so why are they never on sapphic/lesbian playlists? why?
Thao & Mirah
folk/country lesbian mirah teams up w thao, who afaik is also sga, for an album of soft, sweet folk music
Tracy Chapman
seriously ok this is History. this is the woman behind ‘fast car.’ very political american folk singer from the 90s. i love her. shes amazing.
Tunde Olaniran
R&B / hiphop singer from michigan with a loud, take-no-shit style
Willow Smith
yes, the willow smith. she wrote two love songs dedicated to marceline from adventure time. thats all you need to know. shes perfect.
Younger Lovers
fuzzpedal energetic indie punk
this is also a list of trans women on bandcamp (check the notes for additions)
also, yknow what, spoken word poetrys getting quite popular now. heres a few lgbt spoken word poets to put in the start or end of your playlist to shake it up:
andrea gibson, toby campion, venus selenite, dia davina, aislinn evans, denice frohman, ollie renee schminkey, jade anouka
note: ive bolded the names of poc to emphasise our lgbt playlists are too white. trans musicians are italicised for similar reasons.
please feel free to add your own!
vaporwave
pixelskylines
stormborns
jacobvanloon
amandla
andulkaphoto
gummygunk
tangentwithtanner
