Giving Compass' Take:

• Heidi Lux explains how singer Brandon Stansell is changing country music through LGBTQ representation in his music video “Hometown.”

• How can funders work to support representation across a variety of mediums? 

• Learn more about the importance of representation in the arts. 

The face of country music is changing as LGBTQ country fans are finding representation in the genre.

Singer Brandon Stansell is leading that change by being open and honest about his sexuality. “10 years ago there was no way you could be LGBTQ and in country music,” Stansell said in an interview with GOOD, adding he felt like “an island” growing up as an LGBTQ country music fan in Tennessee. “There was never a question that I was going to not talk about who I was.”

Stansell got personal with his new single “Hometown.” In the video for the song, Stansell is depicted coming out to his mother played by Janet Ivey.

The video isn’t an exact recreation of what happened to Stansell, but captures the emotion of his real-life events. “I was really nervous with how we were doing that but I think it came out exactly right,” he said.

Read the full article about Brandon Stansell by Heidi Lux at GOOD Magazine.