Kyle Dean Massey talks about the ground 'Nashville' is breakg through his new, openly gay character.
Contents:
- KYLE DEAN MASSEY OPENS UP ON GAY ‘NASHVILLE’ CHARACTER
- COUNTRY MIC HAS NEVER BEEN MORE GAY
- THE GAY SONGWRERS WHO SECRETLY LED THE UNTRY CHARTS ARE READY FOR THE SPOTLIGHT
KYLE DEAN MASSEY OPENS UP ON GAY ‘NASHVILLE’ CHARACTER
Broadway vet jos the show as an openly gay songwrer a storyle that reflects real-life stggl the entertament dtry. Life the closet is about to get even more plited for Nashville‘s gay untry heartthrob Will Lexgton, thanks to the arrival of one Kev Bicks. As Rollg Stone Country revealed last month, actor Kyle Dean Massey has joed the ABC drama, playg an openly gay sger-songwrer who llaborat on songs wh Will, played by Chris Carmack.
” He himself is an openly gay entertaer, as well, havg appeared several Broadway and televisn shows. Even livg New York Cy, where really is [accepted] as far as beg an actor, I know a lot of gay people who are not openly gay bee of the stigma, or the prenceived ia that may e along wh that label, ” says Massey.
A lot of people are OK wh their brother or their uncle or their bt iend beg gay, but they don’t really want their untry star to be gay. “Then to be around my character, who is totally chill about , pletely open about and succsful while still beg openly gay, I thk the storyle addrs a lot of thgs.
COUNTRY MIC HAS NEVER BEEN MORE GAY
It asks a lot of qutns: Can people accept this [person who] creat somethg that is mascule, and do beg gay mean that you’re sudnly not? And while he don’t have to image what ’s like for his character to be openly gay, he do have to work to properly portray another of Kev’s tras, nfsg that he has no personal aptu for songwrg.
There was my ia of the people who listen to untry, and then there were the gay and queer people over there the other rner, ” says Jobi Ricc, a Colorado-born Amerina-untry sger now based Nashville.
THE GAY SONGWRERS WHO SECRETLY LED THE UNTRY CHARTS ARE READY FOR THE SPOTLIGHT
From the gay honky tonk group that have joed the old guard at theEast Nashville Amerin Legn for two step on Tudays to the folk-punk acts that brg down Basement East, and the thrivg sger-songwrer muny sharg their stori, LGBTQ+ micians Nashville are beamg the cy’s longstandg tradn of untry, folk, and Amerina storytellg through their own unique lens. “I me out right when I moved here, and my iends and I would go to a uple of gay plac that almost felt solate. Spac existed for gay people to gather, but a ago, Nashville was nowhere near as progrsive of a place for queer people to thrive, let alone for LGBTQ+ micians to prosper profsnally.
It wasn’t ol to be gay that world yet. hen Brandy Clark lnched a untry-mic rerdg reer 2013, there wasn’t any template to follow for an openly gay artist Nashville. Clark has been at the foreont of that shift and creds her iendship wh Shane McAnally — one of Nashville’s most succsful songwrers, who is also gay — wh givg her the nfince to pursue a solo reer.
“Who knows who’s gog to be listeng to me the flyover stat that’s gog to draw strength om ‘Oh, she’s gay too? Man, if she’s gay and dog that, maybe I uld do that.