Uplifting diverse voices in music is always important, and pride month serves as a good occasion to draw extra attention to queer musicians who deserve to be heard. On the cusp of June ending, writers on the Melomaniacs team tell you about a favourite queer artist they want to highlight. 

Born in Dallas, Texas but currently based in LA, Grant Knoche is an American singer-songwriter and producer who has been making his own music since age 11. As the singer is now 21 years old, this means he’s been working on his repertoire for a decade now. Knoche taught himself how to produce as a kid and hasn’t looked back since. A former Kidz Bop Kid, the singer has been releasing music since 2017, including several singles and three extended plays. While his first few songs were released while he was still a kid, he has heavily matured since – which was already apparent in his 2020 single ‘COLOR ME BLUE’. Knoche’s deep vocals and synth-driven pop sound make for amazing songs that are both intimate and catchy.

In 2022, Knoche participated and came fourth overall in the American Song Contest with his track ‘MR. INDEPENDENT’. Not too long after, he came out on social media through the release of his song ‘FIRST HELLO’ which he wrote as a coming-out letter to his dad. Knoche said that he’d realised he felt a similar way to guys as to girls ever since age 12 and finally felt the courage to tell other people that he identifies as bisexual. ‘FIRST HELLO’ is a beautiful track about being scared to tell the world about who you are, yet allowing yourself to let it out now that you’re ready. Since its release, Knoche has performed at several pride events and released the FIRST HELLO and I COULD DIE JUST THINKING OF US EPS. The latter includes a wide array of tracks, including the break-up ballad ‘APRIL TENTH’ and the club banger ‘LOOK AT ME RIGHT NOW’, which is about imagining seeing your ex out in public and letting them know you are doing better than ever. Another honourable mention is Knoche’s sensual track ‘INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS’, a queer pop anthem à la Troye Sivan. Knoche’s power lies both in his vocals as well as in the fact that his music is clearly his own – he is confident in his craft no matter if the release is an upbeat one or rather more emotional.

If there is one word to accurately describe Cloudy June’s music it is unapologetic; the alternative pop artist from Berlin does not hesitate to share her experience as a bisexual woman. Her lyrics deal with topics like love, heartbreak and mental health but also thrive to empower her listeners and this concept is clearly working. Ever since her first tour, Cloudy June has managed to create a safe space for queer people at her shows. Songs like ‘Unthinkable’ and ‘DNA’ prove that she is not afraid to show off her true identity. If you like honest, empowering and slightly chaotic pop songs by a bisexual singer-songwriter, Cloudy June will be your artist!

At only 24 years old, Victoria DeAngelis, who mainly goes by her first name Victoria, has cemented herself as a rock icon of the new generation and also successfully launched a solo career as a DJ. In her home country Italy, the bassist with Danish roots gained recognition with her band Måneskin when she was still in school. In 2021, the band skyrocketed to worldwide fame, making them one of the most successful Eurovision Song Contest winners of all time. While completing world tours and releasing music with her band, Victoria simultaneously launched her DJ career and embarked on a solo tour in spring. She has proven time and time again that she marches to the beat of her own drum, wearing what she wants, doing what she wants, and loving whom she wants.

Throughout her career, Victoria has always been outspoken about her bisexuality and opened up in interviews about what it’s like to be a queer woman in Catholic Itay. Apart from being a brilliant bassist, a successful DJ and a proud member of the LGBTQ community, she is also considered a fashion icon. Overall, she is one of Gen Z’s most beloved musicians.

Claire Pommet, best known as Pomme, is an award-winning French singer-songwriter born in 1996. Since 2015, she has been performing French pop-folk and has 4 full-length albums under her sleeves. In her lyrics, she touches on love, death and mundane situations that she turns into romantic experiences. Her music is often unapologetically about queer and specifically sapphic love such as in ‘On brûlera’, which she performs live regularly, dedicating it to her queer audience.

Her third album Consolation is a direct ode to all the women who have inspired and emotionally moved her such as Barbara (iconic French singer), Nelly Arcan (author from Quebec) or even Chihiro (character from Hayao Miyazaki’s movie). Another song from this album, ‘very bad’, mentions a complicated past relationship and travels through Pomme’s experience with self-discovery and acceptance with a sense of irony and humour. Her activism goes beyond the LGBTQ+ movement and she frequently spreads awareness about important present causes, organising multiple donations and charity concerts.

She is currently married to Canadian (Quebec) singer Safia Nolin, and you can often hear them sing duets and covers together in perfect harmony. What is extremely enjoyable about Pomme is that she is comfortably casual in every subject she sings about and it’s easy to be drawn to that familiarity. Softness, frankness and eloquence are words that describe her music very well and diving into it feels like a healing and comforting experience.

If I were asked to name some of the most remarkable artists in the indie music scene, Ethel Cain’s name would be among the first I’d name. Her ability to weave raw emotions and haunting, yet beautiful melodies into each of her songs, makes them deeply personal and still relatable. A lot of her songs reflect her experiences of growing up as a queer trans woman in a rather conservative and religious environment in Florida and thus explore themes of finding oneself, religion, queerness, trauma and politics, offering a raw insight.

She blends elements of indie rock, dream pop and dark ambient into her music and thus creates a sound that is a variety of genres, which she is rightfully often praised for. As inspirations for her music, she names Karen Carpenter or Florence Welch, but also some Christian music due to her upbringing. Her debut album Preacher’s Daughter (2022) highlights the mentioned themes and most people will probably recognize ‘American Teenager’. Not only does her unique sound stand out to me, but also her ability to create a somewhat cinematic atmosphere with her songs through her excellent storytelling. Ethel’s songs are not only pure entertainment to the listeners but also manage to criticize and challenge old norms and therefore inspire to start important conversations. She is a powerful example of how important a diverse representation in the music industry is, lyrically and artist-wise. Here are five songs I’d recommend to check out if you aren’t familiar with Ethel’s music yet: ‘Crush’ (Inbred), ‘Family Tree (Intro)’ (Preacher’s Daughter), ‘Strangers’ (Preacher’s Daughter), ‘Golden Age’ (Golden Age), and ‘Hard Times’ (Preacher’s Daughter).  

Leith Ross is a singer-songwriter born in a small town in Canada, known for their soft folk/indie-pop. Their debut album To Learn was released last year. What makes them most unique is their honest and vulnerable lyrics, describing themes that resonate with many in poetic and intriguing ways, never shying away from difficult topics. Over mostly acoustic guitars, soft strings and beautiful harmonies, Leith Ross does an excellent job at finding just the right words to discuss a range of experiences of growing up, even more resonating growing up queer, weaving themes of gay and transgender identity, love and loss, self-doubt and anxiety into their discography, their authenticity being both a breath of fresh air and source of great comfort for many listeners.

Their most popular song, ‘We’ll Never Have Sex’, has raw unfiltered lyrics talking about sexual trauma, asexuality and being queer, described in a way only they can. Other songs such as ‘(You) On My Arm’ and ‘Music Box’ feel almost magical looking on the joyous side of things, the variety in songs showing the capabilities Leith Ross has for capturing the human experience in its full range. 

Ross is also an inspiration in showing the value of community, they are always cheering for other (young) musicians, for example by singing with their opening acts and inviting their band members to perform their own songs during the shows. Next to this, they are not afraid to speak up for what is right, dedicating much of their platform to community care and activism. 

27-year-old Jake Wesley Rogers is slowly paving a grand career for himself as an established singer-songwriter. Music is not an unknown phenomenon for this artist as he learned to play the guitar at age 6 in his home in Ozark, Missouri. At age 11 he started songwriting and by 12 he learned piano and vocal training. Musical Theater became his creative outlet and formed the base of his musical journey that has shaped him into the artist he is today. In sixth grade, Jake came out as gay and although his family have been supportive, he still felt the need to hide his true self due to his town’s views of the LGBTQI community.

Jake recalls one of such moments, as inspiration to keep writing about love, loss, feeling alone and different and other struggles that he and his fans are dealing with: “I was in Missouri with my mom, in a very small town, and someone started heckling me, asking if I was a man or a woman,” he says “I felt this conviction in my heart, took out my phone, and recorded a response to the question ‘am I a boy or am I a girl?’ with, simply: ‘I’m neither. I’m a moment! I’m a journey, I’m a destination, I’m a cross between a leaf and a cloud and a heavy piece of machinery. I am!’” 

The moment reminded him and so many others that we all want to feel a bit better and a bit more loved and appreciated in life. Jake states “Most people, like me, are fluid,” “We’re all contradictions. We’re all learning to love ourselves – me especially.”

In 2022, Jake released his latest EP, LOVE, which contains songs like ‘Lavender Forever’, ‘Modern Love’, and ‘Dark Bird’, songs that tackle the above-named topics of homosexuality and acceptance perfectly and are fan favourites for that specific reason. In 2023 Jake released his newest single ‘Window’, headlined a run of North American dates at the start of 2023, and was on the road with Kesha on her ‘Gag Order’ tour. Although no tours have been announced for 2024, Jake has plans to release his debut album in the near future.