Božo (Bozho) Vrećo
Božo (Bozho) Vrećo and his band Halka are playing to sold out audiences all over the Balkans. He is a unique and gifted singer who takes sevdalinka back to its pure unaccompanied roots. Vreco is a very androgonous singer / sometimes performing as a man, sometimes as a woman, which is breaking down long held deep prejudices. He has talked about how sevdah allows him to live as both a man and a woman, and how he sings and writes sevdalinke that are in male and female voices because they are true to both ‘parts of him’. He has hinted that his next solo album will consist of sevdalinke that come from ‘female’ characters and points of view. He has expressed a fluid, bi-gendered identity, saying that he overcomes male-female binaries and differences because he believes that we all embody both genders but are kept from living them out because of shame and discrimination. For him, it is sevdah itself that allows him the space and the freedom to be both a man and a woman.
– Sarah Greer, MCTC Voice Faculty
Božo Vrećo – Aladža (acapella)
Božo Vrećo – Pašana (feat Marko Louis)
Božo Vrećo Article http://balkanist.net/queering-sevdah-with-bozo-vreco/
CN LESTER
CN Lester is a British musician, writer and activist. Lester is a mezzo-soprano, specializing in castrati and travesti opera.1 Their website can be found here: http://www.cnlester.com
CN Lester – Aether
Lucas Silviera
Lucas Silviera is lead singer for The Cliks. Silviera is the first transgender male to be signed to a major recording label.2
There is a great interview of Silvieri in Curve Magazine. Find the article here: http://www.curvemag.com/Curve-Magazine/Web-Articles-2013/The-Evolution-of-Lucas-Silveira/.
The Cliks – O Yeah
The Cliks – Savannah
Ryan Cassata
Ryan Cassata is a singer-songwriter, LGBTQ activist and actor. More about Ryan can be found on his website: http://www.ryancassata.com.
Breanna Sinclairé
Breanna Sinclairé is the first transgender graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s vocal program.3 You can find an interesting feature article on Breanna here: http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/the-making-of-diva. Another article on Breanna: http://www.out.com/music/2015/6/17/opera-singer-breanna-sinclaire-1st-trans-woman-sing-national-anthem-professional.
Breanna Sinclair – The Star Spangled Banner
Mari Esabel Valverde
Mari Esabel Valverde is a singer and composer. Her website can be found here: http://marivalverde.com.
Mari Esabel Valverde – Still wie die Nacht
Laura Jane Grace
Laura Jane Grace is an American musician who founded and fronts the punk rock band Against Me!4 For a link to the band’s website: http://www.againstme.net. A brief biography of her can be found on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Jane_Grace
Against Me! – I Was a Teenage Anarchist
FOOTNOTES
- Wikipedia contributors. “CN Lester.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Oct. 2016. Web. 3 Oct. 2016.
- Steinfeld, Dave. “The Evolution of Lucas Silviera.” Curve Magazine, 7 Sept. 2013. Web. 7 Sept. 2013. [http://www.curvemag.com/Curve-Magazine/Web-Articles-2013/The-Evolution-of-Lucas-Silveira/].
- Murrow, Lauren. “The Making of a Diva.”San Francisco Magazine. 28 Apr. 2016. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. [http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/the-making-of-diva].