Hello Community,

I am so happy about the outpouring of support from these musicians who are choosing to stand on the right side of history, either standing against the festival and vowing never to play again or pulling out of the festival altogether. I want to make it clear that these people deserve our support, our attention and our thanks.

Now, you might be asking me, why should we thank people for doing the right thing? Shouldn’t people do this already? Well, yes, people should do the right thing without prompting or positive reinforcement. But the fact of the matter is that not enough people know that this is the right thing to do, so a little positive reinforcement goes a long way. In a world where trans* people are disowned by family, harassed when they transact business around town and even killed - a little positive reinforcement when people get it right goes a long way.

Because of the actions of Andrea Gibson and Sick of Sarah, I am very interested in their music and I have deepened my fandom of the Indigo Girls and their music. Conversely, because of the lukewarm words of Jill Sobule, her music is starting to become anathema to me.

So, I urge people to thank these artists, even if you have no interest in their music - just write them a thank you note, telling them that you appreciate what they do. Let them know that we appreciate their actions, because I am certain people will yell loudly about how these musicians are “betraying” their bigotry.

Love,

Jessica