Yo La Tengo perform in drag in protest of anti-LQBTQ+ laws
Halfway through their recent performance in Nashville, Tennessee, Ira Kaplan and James McNew of Yo La Tengo came out dressed in drag. While they didn’t directly address the anti-LQBTQ and anti-drag laws currently sweeping America, the move was clearly intended as a form of protest.
Kaplan and McNew’s drag performance comes shortly after the state of Tennessee passed two anti-LGBTQ+ laws. The first of these places restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors; the second seeks to police gender expression in public spaces. The Tennessee bill restricts “adult cabaret performances” in public or in the presence of children. It also bans performances from occurring within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks or places of worship.”
The bill is part of legislation recently signed into law by TN governor Bill Lee. It prohibits and criminalises “adult-oriented entertainment” on public property with a particular emphasis on “male and female impersonators.”
Yo La Tengo aren’t the only ones up in arms about the bill. During his Oscars acceptance speech, Everything Everywhere All At Once co-director Daniel Scheinert said: “This one is dedicated to the mommies of the world, to our moms, specifically my mom and dad, thank you for not squashing my creativity when I was making really disturbing horror films or really perverted comedy films or dressing in drag as a kid, which is a threat to nobody!”
Elsewhere, Yo La Tengo recently released their brilliant This Stupid World album. In a five-star review of the record, Far Out’s Jordan Potter described it as “not far from perfect”: “It combines an array of familiar styles into a nuanced platter of immersive ear candy with textural depth demanding eternal relistens,” he wrote. “Wielding the instrumental and compositional virtuosity fans have grown to expect, this talented trio have expertly marshalled epoch-spanning influences into a well-balanced diet plan essential for those who like their music melancholic and transportive.”
See footage of the band’s performance, below.
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