Paisley Fields

Last updated
Paisley Fields
Born Hudson, Iowa
Origin Brooklyn, New York
Genres
Years active2013 (2013) – present
Labels
  • Don Giovanni Records
Member of Lavender Country
MembersJames Wilson
Website thepaisleyfields.com

James Wilson, known professionally as Paisley Fields, is a queer country music artist based between Brooklyn, NY and Nashville, TN. [1]

Contents

Background

Wilson grew up in Hudson, Iowa [2] where their grandparents owned a farm. [3] They grew up listening to country music, but resisted performing in the genre until they reconnected with their country roots while living in Japan. [3]

Wilson is queer and non-binary. [4]

Career

Wilson assembled an alt-country band [4] which performed their first show as the Paisley Fields in Brooklyn on New Year's Eve 2013. [3] After the release of their first EP Oh These Urban Fences in 2015, Wilson adopted the name Paisley Fields as a stage name. [4] Their first full-length album Glitter & Sawdust, released in 2018, is an exploration of the duality of the masculine and feminine. [3]

The next two albums Electric Park Ballroom and Limp Wrist were released on Don Giovanni Records. [5] Electric Park Ballroom is named after a dancehall they visited in childhood but the songs center on present-day urban narratives [6] while Limp Wrist focuses on the realities of rural queer life. [7]

In 2019, Paisley Fields toured with queer country pioneers Lavender Country and Lavender Country later guested on Paisley Fields' "Stay Away From My Man." [4] They played keyboards on Lavender Country's 2022 album Blackberry Rose. [1]

"Burn This Statehouse Down," a duet with Mya Byrne protesting Tennessee's anti-trans legislation, [8] was chosen as one of NPR music critic Ann Powers' favorite songs of 2023. [9]

As a songwriter, Wilson has written with Bob the Drag Queen ("Purse First") and Scarlet Envy ("Feeling Is Mutual," "Press On," "Is It Me?"). [10]

Style

Paisley Fields combines country, rock, pop, and disco while their lyrics include explicit queer themes, [11] ranging from gay sex ("Ride Me Cowboy") [11] to being outed ("Blackhawk County Line") [7] to referencing Matthew Shepard ("Iowa"). [6]

Discography

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References

  1. 1 2 "LIVE MUSIC IN ARKANSAS: Groundbreaking Paisley Fields plays Little Rock tavern | Arkansas Democrat Gazette". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . 2022-09-22. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  2. ↑ "Meet four queer artists helping to shake up country music". NBC News . 2023-07-19. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Domenighini, Annalise (2018-04-10). "Paisley Fields' New Album 'Glitter & Sawdust' Is One For The Queer Country Books". Vice Media . Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Collo-Julin, Salem (2020-07-15). "Paisley Fields makes out and open country music". Chicago Reader . Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  5. ↑ "Paisley Fields, Sug Daniels, and Sean Barna kick off their journey to Texas at Ortlieb's". WXPN . 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  6. 1 2 Isobel, Leah (2022-08-28). ""A Straight Line is No Guarantee" Paisley Fields - Limp Wrist". Left Of The Dial. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  7. 1 2 "ALBUM REVIEW: Paisley Fields Explores Place on Campy, Confident 'Limp Wrist'". No Depression . Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  8. ↑ "The Boot's Weekly Picks: Mya Byrne + Paisley Fields, Summer Dean + More". The Boot . March 23, 2023.
  9. ↑ Powers, Ann (December 16, 2023). "ANN POWERS' FAVORITE SONGS OF 2023".
  10. ↑ Emch, Cindy (2019-06-20). "Scarlet Envy Drops Divine Dance Track • Country Queer". Country Queer. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  11. 1 2 "SXSW Music 2023: The Best Things We Saw on Thursday". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved 2023-12-22.
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