Another year, another Pride Month. As someone who has known they’re queer for nearly 20 years now and been out just as long, this is a month for joy. It’s a month for celebrations and self-expression. It’s also a month for safety and comfort and never ever forgetting that our favorite parade of the year is always a protest first. 

Growing up queer and in the scene I always felt safety, even without loud representation. It was in the little things these bands did that cultivated an environment where you could be queer and it wasn’t a problem. Yes you had the big ones like Green Day having openly bisexual band members since we were all in diapers or not even a twinkle in our parents eyes, but then you had homemade “homophobia is gay” t-shirts. You had initialisms as song titles that stood for “Gay Is Not A Synonym For Shitty.” These bands, these small actions, allowed us all to simply be ourselves. Eventually it led to more open and brash representation –- queer music by openly queer people in this scene we’ve called home for so long. We have an environment where both bands and fans can be open and free among each other. It’s a trend I hope to see continue, no matter what the rest of the world throws at us.

This is our little soundtrack of all of that —- the songs that made us feel known, safe, and celebrated. The songs that eased the journey of self discovery and the ones that help us revel in it now. We’re here. We’re queer. Happy Pride.