Paisley Fields // Hopie Jo // Ray Bro

Paisley Fields is a singer, songwriter, and bandleader splitting time between Brooklyn, New York and Nashville, Tennessee.

A touring member of the newly reformed queer-country icons Lavender Country, Paisley also played keyboard on their 2022 album Blackberry Rose.

On Limp Wrist, Paisley draws inspiration from queer icon Andy Warhol and a myriad of drag artists with whom he’s collaborated. His years of experience in Manhattan piano bars did not diminish his love for country music, and he has already released two albums that pay homage to the music of his youth.

Limp Wrist is an exploration of where rural queerness intersects religion. Paisley’s family were devout Catholics, and he served as the official church pianist in his parish throughout his teens, playing every Sunday.

The songs on Limp Wrist are deeply personal, and often touch on what it was like to grow up closeted and queer in rural Iowa in the early 2000s. “Black Hawk County Line” tells the story of Paisley being outed by a former friend his senior year in high school, “Dial Up Lover” is about logging on to gay AOL chat rooms to find other queers in the area, and “Plastic Rosary” recounts the experience of being told he’ll never get into heaven while praying the rosary.

The most personal and biographical moment comes during “Iowa”, which recounts the tragic murder of Matthew Shepard, and the visceral fear he had to wrestle with since he was already aware of how different he was.

The album ends on an uplifting note, sharing a message of friendship and hope with “Tomorrow Finds a Way”.

The stories are his, but the feelings they convey – love, loneliness, lust, fear – are still universal.

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Hopie Jo is a singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist who has been performing regionally since 2011. Named appropriately for her fun and quirky stage presence, Hopie’s music is expressive and whimsical, with streaks of dark vulnerability; inviting the listeners to enjoy the beautiful dynamic between pain and joy. You will find her finger picking guitar and ukulele right into your heart!

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Ray Bro moved to Kalamazoo in August of 2021 and is blown away by the acceptance they’ve received from the community here. They are a talented singer, songwriter, and performer with a Bachelor of Music from Baldwin Wallace University. They host the open mic at Dormouse Theatre the last Wednesday of every month, and they’re the Music Promoter at Dormouse Theatre. Ray’s music genre can be described as folk/indie/pop, which for now is fronted by Ray on guitar and vocals. In the near future, Ray is looking forward to getting their band, “Ray Bro and the Bush Administration,” back up and running! Ray wants to thank Lucky Wolf for having them!

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***THIS SHOW IS IN THE THEATER, WHICH IS ON THE 2ND FLOOR & ACCESSIBLE ONLY BY STAIRS. We would love nothing more than to be able to welcome every human into the theater and are working really hard to have an elevator built in the near future.***