Brandon Stansell Shares His Journey as a Queer Country Artist at Billboard

Rising country artist and LGBTQ advocate Brandon Stansell shared his own story with Billboard on the red carpet at GLAAD + Ty Herndon's Concert for Love and Acceptance last night (June 6) in Nashville.

Brandon Stansell performed his critically-acclaimed single «Hometown» along with his new track «Top Shelf», which will be released later this month. Grammy.com also released an acoustic cover of «Hometown» earlier this week for Pride month as a part of their PRESS PLAY series.

When CMT premiered the video for Brandon’s last single «Hometown» in November 2018, he instantly became what they called «living history». The premiere of this video, addressing LGBTQ themes, is a first for the home of country music videos. The video then went on to be named one of Rolling Stone’s 10 Best Country Music Videos of 2018.

«Country music may not be known for being inclusive to LGBTQ artists, but rising musician Brandon Stansell is redefining the genre one soulful song at a time», says Billboard. His is a bold new voice in the genre, as comfortable making you tap your foot as shed a tear – a singer-songwriter with something to say, and a voice to remember.

A Chattanooga, Tennessee native, Stansell’s first show was on the Grand Ole Opry stage at the age of 6. He spent his earliest years earning his chops as a performer and dreaming of making it big in Nashville. After moving to the Music City to attend Belmont University, Stansell snagged a spot as a dancer on Taylor Swift’s Fearless tour. After moving to New York and putting a short pause on his musical career, Stansell headed to Los Angeles where he took a deep dive into exploring the world of songwriting, channeling his life experiences into his first EP, 2015’s «Dear John».

Stansell hit his artistic stride with the release of his 2017 LP «Slow Down», which earned praise from Billboard, Rolling Stone, CMT, The Huffington Post and more. Now, he’s gearing up to share a new side of himself with his fans. Stansell’s new single «Top Shelf» is an infectious, summer-ready track all about savouring the moment when the right one comes along. With his new single, Stansell is showing off a more evolved sound he developed alongside frequent co-writer and first-time producer MYLEN.

An active advocate for the LGBTQ community, Stansell has committed to playing a series of Pride festivals in June. With his performance at LA’s Pride Festival last weekend, an active touring schedule and the release of «Top Shelf», Stansell is set to once again make the country music world take notice.

Catch Brandon Stansell on tour…

June 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe
June 21 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Saloon
June 22 – Nashville, TN @ Nashville Pride Festival