Blackberry Rose And Other Songs & Sorrows From Lavender Country

Vinyl LP pressing. Led by principal songwriter Patrick Haggerty, this album marks the band's return after nearly fifty years. Their debut self-titled album, released in 1973, is widely acknowledged as the first country album by an openly gay artist. Despite being relatively unknown beyond the Pacific Northwest and having only self-distributed one album in 1973, Lavender Country achieved a significant milestone by releasing the first openly gay country album. With sponsorship from the original Stonewall activists of the Gay Community Social Services of Seattle, Lavender Country's self-titled release was spearheaded by Patrick Haggerty. Drawing from his experiences as a gay liberation activist during the Stonewall era, Haggerty emerged as a resilient political figure. Challenging the traditional norms of country music, Haggerty sought inspiration from Seattle's gay community to address a spectrum of political and social issues, including institutionalized oppression, class divides, as well as intimate and personal struggles related to sexual identity. This album served as a pivotal moment in the inception of the queer country movement, which has since flourished with artists like Lil Nas X, Orville Peck, Brandi Carlile, Paisley Fields, and more.