Adam Mac and His Courageous Brand of “Queer Country”

Adam Mac and His Courageous Brand of “Queer Country”

From Rolling Stone All Access by Rolling Stone

May 6, 2026 · 47 min

About this episode

Adam Mac discusses his journey in queer country music, facing discrimination, and his band's origins.

Adam Mac is leading a proud, new charge for queer country music, but getting to this point wasn’t without its challenges. The Russellville, Kentucky, native joins us in the Nashville Now cabin to talk about the discrimination he’s faced, including harsh public words from a pastor in his hometown, and how he’s overcome it. Mac also shares the origin of his band the “Cowgays”, with Brooke Eden and Chris Housman, and how he approaches his version of masculinity. And in a candid display of courage, the singer opens up about rewriting a homophobic song by Hank Williams Jr. He’s a new face of country music, only on Nashville Now. Country is Here…Nashville is Now. Check out our Hear Now playlist on Spotify, updated weekly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Rolling Stone

Guest: Adam Mac

Topics covered

  • queer country music
  • discrimination
  • masculinity
  • music origins
  • courage
  • Hank Williams Jr.

Keywords

  • queer country
  • discrimination
  • masculinity
  • Hank Williams Jr.
  • music
  • Nashville
  • Cowgays

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Russellville, Kentucky, Nashville

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