this year, and it’s brought to you by
some of the biggest names in the music
industry that are near and dear to gay ears.
And the fun starts now. Make that the
“Funplex,” the name of the latest release
from Georgia’s own gay-inclusive ‘80s party
band, the B-52’s. The band is still hand clapping
and bopping after almost three
decades, and their latest effort hits store
shelves and online retailers March 25.
Georgia music fans won’t have to wait
long for more new music from an Athensbased,
queer-inclusive band. One week later,
on April 1, R.E.M., whose frontman Michael
Stipe finally confirmed being gay just this
month (See Dish on Page 23), releases
“Accelerate.” The same day, bring on more
gay with George Michael’s retrospective
“Twenty Five,” and gay-popular diva Kylie
Minogue’s highly anticipated “X.”
Did someone say diva? Apparently, April
is the month for several to bloom again.
Mariah Carey drops “E=MC2” on April 15;
April 29 finds Madonna fans chewing “Hard
Candy,” and Bette Midler devotees glance
backward with “Jackpot! The Best of Bette.”
Not too far behind, disco queen Donna
Summer doesn’t plan a “last dance” any time
soon. Her “Crayons” comes out on May 20.
But spring music is far from all about
the pop/dance crowd. The ladies who croon
are back as well. Check out Sarah
McLachlan’s “Rarities, B-Sides and Other
Stuff, Vol. 2” on April 29, Rachael Sage’s
“Chandelier” on May 6, and Jewel’s
“Perfectly Clear” on June. 3.
Don’t fret; several of them, and many more,
take an Atlanta stage near you in the coming
months. The B-52’s are part of the
biggest thing in gay concerts since, well,
ever. Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Tour
returns to benefit gay organizations on
June 16-17. The whole shindig is hosted by
“Queer Eye” Carson Kressley. At press
time, the Atlanta line-up was set to include
Lauper, Kressley, The B-52’s, Rosie
O’Donnell, Tegan & Sara and The Cliks.
And by the time Sheryl Crow gets here
in May and R.E.M. in June, you’ll already
be loving their new CDs.
Luckily, we don’t have to wait that long
for great live shows. Just a few in the
spring bouquet of Atlanta concerts from
now through Pride include a queer hip
hop explosion at Eyedrum Gallery on April
1, and Atlanta’s own national country phenom
Sugarland on April 3-4.
Get out your calendar now, because
the concerts just don’t stop in April and
May with something to please our many
splendid tastes. Start booking now for
Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood,
Otep, Dolly Parton, Patti LaBelle,
Duran Duran, Kanye West, Avril
Lavigne, Alicia Keys, the Cure and so
many more.
bookend the spring season. The Atlanta Gay
Men’s Chorus presents “Divas & Dilemmas:
Opera OUR Way” on March 29 at the new
Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, joined
by tenor John Wesley Wright and soprano
Wanda Yang Temko. The Gay Men’s Chorus
also plans a June show, “They Had it coming”
the weekend before Pride.
Atlanta’s gay and lesbian chorus,
OurSong, offers its Coming Out CD concerts
on the last day of spring and first day of
summer, June 20-21. The shows at Emory
University’s Canon Chapel celebrate the
release of its new retrospective CD.
