Sammi’s Favorite Things: Queer Choir of K-Town’s Updated Michael Row The Boat Ashore
On Sunday, October 11, when the LGBTQ community and allies observe National Coming Out Day (NCOD) — an annual LGBT awareness day observed to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people “coming out of the closet” — it willl done with a context much different from when it was first celebrated in the U.S. in 1988. From a pandemic and ongoing protests demanding social justice to a critical election being decided by voters in just a few weeks, National Coming Out Day amplifies the current battle for equality and protections being fought by LGBTQ . Providing the soundtrack for these unprecedented times is the Queer Choir of K-Town fronted by songstress Ellary Allis. Members of the talented, diverse group met on the frontlines of protests earlier this year and is made up of Los Angeles-0based LGBTQIA+ activists, members of the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, members of the Los Angeles Eco-Village, and a veteran Freedom Rider of Freedom Summer, 1964. The Queer Choir of K-Town sings to honor the legacy of protest music as a form of resistance and a tool for Movement building.
Inspired by Harry Belafonte’s version of “Michael Row The Boat Ashore,” an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement, the Queer Choir of K-Town recorded the timeless track as an udpated Freedom Song for Los Angeles in 2020. The Queer Choir of K-Town featuing Ellary Allis’ “Michael Row The Boat Ashore” uses the container of the original song with lyrical changes that reflect the political landscape of today’s social justice Movements — they express solidarity with the controversial Defund Police efforts and in support of Black Trans Lives Matter. “MIchael Row The Boat Ashore” releases Friday, October 9, 2020 on iTunes, Spotify, and other digital music retailers, and is the first single from their self-titled debut EP releasing later this year. The music video — filmed socially-distanced in Los Angeles’ K-Town (Koreatown) — will be released for National Coming Out Day (Sunday, October 11).
https://www.queerchoirofktown.
“Michael Row The Boat Ashore”
Queer Choir of K-Town Featuring Ellary Allis
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