Fairy Cowboy: Drag Troubadour
FAIRY COWBOY
music that unites the fairies and the cowboys
Fairy Cowboy is Keltie’s latest project; an alternative-country interdisciplinary act, combining tongue-in-cheek protest songs with drag artistry. Taking a page from Willie Nelson’s book, Keltie seeks to unite the fairies and cowboys. With deeply emotionally-charged lyrics influenced by Leonard Cohen and Fiona Apple, Fairy Cowboy highlights the beauty and heartache of a gender-diverse life experience, with a fun-loving cowboy spirit. Playing bluesy acoustic sets with finger-picking guitar, Fairy Cowboy brings empowering, raspy vocals and the stage presence of a whimsical saloon show passing through. The act draws inspiration from cowboys such as Lee Hazelwood, Orville Peck, and Trixie Mattel, taking the characterization of these acts and bringing to it anecdotes from the tenderness and hardships of a trans lived-experience. Bold, unapologetic, and of course, camp, Fairy Cowboy brings country music into a new realm of queerdom, playfulness, and of course, glitter.
COWBOY MAGIC!
Six strings and fairy wings
Pleased to introduce you to my cowboy drag troubadour act Fairy Cowboy, singing alt-country queer protest songs with the magic of fairy dust (glitter)
Since starting testosterone, I’ve found a new obsession with the textured baritone cowboy vocals of country classics like Lee Hazelwood, Blaze Foley and Waylon Jennings, among many others. The rambling spirit of their music wrangled me into the poetry and simple truths of Townes Van Zandt, John Denver, and Hank Williams. It soon sparked a fascination with cowboy culture in its entirety, and how unquestionably masculine we perceive a cowboy to be- especially in a time where the hard work, steadfastness and self-sufficiency required of a cowboy compliments our patriarchal norms. As a transmasculine person, I wanted a taste of that normal. As a twink, I HAD to add glitter. Pairing the softness of queerness with the tough sincerity of cowboy culture helped me find the right balance of grit and compassion to bring the conversation of gender diversity to the country music sound. That being said, though I’m from Alberta, I’m much more fairy than I am cowboy. But hey;
Like Willie Nelson said, it’s high time we unite the hippies and cowboys. How about the fairies and cowboys too?
As a recovering Catholic and late-in-life man, drag has been a behind-closed-doors outlet to a gender affirmation previous versions of myself would only dream of feeling publicly. But the closet door is wide-open now, and the dream is becoming real.
Keep your eyes peeled for new music soon! I’m cooking up a storm, just you wait!
CARE FOR SOME COWBOY MAGIC? CATCH ME IF YOU CAN AT THE EVENTS BELOW!