The lesbian ‘Same Love’ singer headlines Boston Pride 2014
Given that Massachusetts is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of same-sex marriage, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting Boston Pride headliner than Mary Lambert. (She’ll command the stage at the Festival on City Hall Plaza on Saturday, June 14.) After all, the out artist had a special role in the music industry’s most high-profile wedding this year: a 2014 Grammy Awards performance of “Same Love,” her equal rights hit with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, that culminated in a mass matrimony for three dozen diverse straight and gay couples. From the Massachusetts State House to the prime time stage, what a difference a decade makes!
Meanwhile, Mary Lambert is in the middle of her own major evolution: from Seattle-based singer-songwriter to marquee performer with a new national platform. She recently released her first major label EP, Welcome to the Age of My Body, and is in the midst of recording her full-length album for release later this year. But as she prepared for Pride, Lambert gave us a call to say why she loves Boston, the beauty of (and backlash to) “Same Love,” and launching a body image revolution.
[SPIRIT] We’re excited to have you in Boston! Have you spent much time here in the past?
[ML] Boston is one of my favorite cities. It goes Seattle, New York, Boston. It’s one of the places I’ve been to the most. I’ve traveled a lot for poetry competitions and they’d often take me to Boston. It’s beautiful and I love the vibe of it. I remember the first time I came to Boston: I got off the train in Cambridge, sat down in the park, looked around and everyone was reading. I was like, “everyone is reading? This is the best day ever!”
[Spirit] As a lesbian and an artist, how did the Grammy Awards performance make you feel?
[ML] It was such an honor to be nominated and performing, but that emotion was compounded by the fact that this was something so close to home. For me to be able to sing a song on a mass platform that was produced in such a beautiful way—it was so emotional for me. I never thought of myself as a spokesperson, but to be a lesbian standing there and singing with female pronouns about love so obviously and honestly, it was really moving. I had to work to pull it together and get in performance mode!
[Spirit] Most loved it, some right-wingers hated it—but there was also a specific backlash within the LGBT community that questioned whether the song and performance was an example of “straight privilege” at work. What did you think of that?
[ML] I’m still processing what it all means. I think I understand where that radical perspective is coming from. And I do believe that mentality is radical, the idea of “straight people can’t talk for us.” I don’t think it was a matter of the boys wanting to speak on behalf of the gay community. I think this was an anthem for allies. I don’t believe there’s a trace of Ben [Macklemore] or Ryan appropriating this struggle. They’re coming from a completely genuine, caring place, inspired by Ben’s uncle. We can’t tackle gay rights alone as the gay community, or we’d fail miserably. Mobilizing the ally community is crucial to furthering the movement and our rights. I think the criticism is unfortunate.
[SPIRIT] Also, last time I checked, there was a lesbian on that stage too.
[ML] Yeah, I understand where people are coming from, in terms of the concern. But I’m also like “It’s also me! I’m here!” I’m like, waving in the background. You know, you can’t win. You have to wonder why we’re criticizing people who are trying to do something right because some feel they don’t do it all-the-way right. It’s like when a child is learning to walk. You don’t yell at them if they stumble on their first step. They’re going to get better. And this is a massive step in the right direction.
[SPIRIT] You talk a lot about wanting to see more lesbians represented in the media. Why aren’t we seeing more?
[ML] I don’t know. I just know that from my experiences, I deal with a lot of difficulties with mass media in terms of being plus size and a lesbian. I would like to see my demographic represented accurately—or represented at all! That’s an agenda in what I do. But at the end of the day I want to create music that has universal appeal. It’s a fine line of wanting to communication your own experiences and values, but—even if your agenda is subversive—you don’t want to alienate anybody.
[SPIRIT] What can we expect from your upcoming album?
[ML] I’m so excited for it! I’m fresh out of the recording studio and I’m excited to be working with Eric Rosse. He produced Sara Bareilles’ “Little Voice.” The sounds we’re creating in the studio are unreal. It’s beautiful, authentic and genuine, but with somewhat of a commercial mindset. I want to make soulful, beautiful music that resonates with me, but I want to be commercially viable. I want to make money! [Laughs] But I want to do it in a genuine way. We’re also still promoting the EP, Welcome to the Age of My Body. And I’m filming the “Body Love” [song] music video. That’s a whole other subset of what I want to do: change body image culture.
[SPIRIT] Do you feel you receive more discrimination for being a lesbian, or plus size?
[ML] It’s different. If I’m going on YouTube comments alone, people don’t care about the fact that I’m a lesbian. When we were working on the “She Keeps Me Warm” video, I knew that the mean comments were not going to be homophobic; they were going to be fat shaming comments. But you know what? I went to high school. Bring it on! I’m seasoned at this point. Throw things at me. What’s most important to me is to provide that visibility. That means a lot to people and I’ve received an overwhelming positive response.
[SPIRIT] Besides Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, of course—who are your dream collaborators?
[ML] I was jealous of Sara Bareilles for her duet with Carole King at the Grammys! I love Feist, I’d love to do a song with her. And Drake.
[SPIRIT] “Same Love” became an anthem. What’s an anthem that always touches you?
[ML] There’s a great song by a girl I’ve done some shows with, Nicole Reynolds, called “Revolution.” It’s really, really poignant and talks about a host of issues. It makes me weep. On a broad level, Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Writing a socially political song is really daunting. Given my identity as a lesbian and a Christian, I’ve tried on both ends for years to write a song about gay rights and I’ve also tried to write a worship song for prayer. I couldn’t do them, everything I tried felt really contrived to me. I never intended to write a gay rights song. I wanted to, but I didn’t see how it would fit in to what I did. Then this song came. So, thanks universe! [x]
