Latest news with #MUNA
Sydney Morning Herald
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘You need to let people know where you stand': Maren Morris on being country music's most outspoken star
'Sitting on the fence feels good between my legs' sings Maren Morris on Push Me Over, the best song on the country star's new album Dreamsicle. Co-written and produced by the queer pop band MUNA, the song is a flirtatious statement of intent for Morris, who publicly came out as bisexual last June. For someone who's made a career out of righteously aggravating country music's conservative base, it's also typically provocative. Singing so slyly about same-sex lust in Nashville, the heart of the country music establishment, where Christian values still reign supreme: does it still feel taboo? 'I mean, less so than it used to. But maybe that's just because I've removed myself a bit from the machine of all that,' says Morris from her home in Nashville. Despite the assumptions of outside onlookers, Nashville is more than just the 'mechanism of mainstream country music,' the 35-year-old says. 'It is that, but there's also so much diversity here and it's always been that way. It's a progressive dot in the middle of a really conservative state, and it has to be because it's a music town. It has to lend itself to open-minded ideals, because we're making music here and we're empaths and we feel deeply.' It's why Morris has never left the city, even if country music's more conservative forces have tried hard to excommunicate her. 'There's a heartbeat here that's very free and accepts people, and that's why I've chosen to remain here and make this my home. I have my community here that I love, but I also want to help make it better and redefine what people maybe think of the South or of country music.' The same sentiment that seeps through Chappell Roan's The Giver, her '90s-flecked country hit about sapphic generosity, lives in Morris' Push Me Over. More than just a lavender moment for mainstream country, it's country outcasts staking their territory. We're as country as Mr All-American Blue Jeans, they seem to be saying, you can't tell us we don't belong. 'I'm such a fan [of Chappell] and I think what she's advocating for and doing musically is so important,' says Morris. 'You just know when you're watching a true artist be themselves, fully be themselves, and not follow a script or a paradigm. I don't want perfection from the artists I love; I want real, I want authenticity, and she's definitely that.' I'm speaking to Morris over Zoom, but with some foresight I might've caught her in person. Last month I noticed a Reddit commenter wonder aloud if they'd really just spotted Morris in Sydney. 'Yeah, that was me, I was on vacation,' Morris laughs. 'I had a week off and I was like, I really want to have a little adventure before all the tours and album stuff kicks in. I'd always wanted to go to Sydney and just explore, be a random person. The only plan on the schedule was to get a tattoo.' She lifts her forearm to show me the martini glass inked there by Sydney tattooist, Lauren Winzer. In a recent interview, Morris had mentioned it was her favourite drink. 'It is now. It's my 30-something cocktail. The dirtier, the better.' The local souvenir, one she hopes to add to when she returns on tour next summer, is also a symbol of her lively new era. Dreamsicle – her first album since her divorce from longtime partner, country singer Ryan Hurd, with whom she shares a five-year-old son – finds Morris blending her pop sensibilities with her country DNA. For each Push Me Over, there's an emotional barnstormer like This is How a Woman Leaves, written with Madi Diaz. (The song ends on a pure country couplet: 'You have the nerve to ask why I'm not crying/ I did all my crying lying next to you'.) 'They're songs tackling all these feelings of liberation – sexual, personal, vulnerable, angry,' says Morris. 'That's kind of the through line of this record, it's someone in a mess finding themselves and finding their power again.' A decade since her major label breakout, 2016's Hero, Morris remains one of country music's more intriguing figures, at once both insider and outsider. A Texan native, she started playing country fairs and rodeo circuits when she was 10 years old. After flunking at every reality TV singing competition (American Idol, America's Got Talent, The Voice, et al), she eventually made the move to Nashville and became a hired gun in the songwriting machine, before becoming a star in her own right with Hero 's smashes My Church and '80s Mercedes, and 2018's crossover EDM hit The Middle with Zedd. In the intervening years, she also became one of country's loudest progressive voices, speaking out often and unequivocally against racism, misogyny and homophobia in its ranks. (In one memorable instance, responding to transphobic comments from Brittany Aldean – the wife of country star, Jason – she labelled her 'Insurrectionist Barbie'.) Loading In an interview with New York Times ′ Popcast in 2023, Morris decried an ugly strain of 'hatefulness' in country music at the time, a period dominated by MAGA-fied culture wars around Jason Aldean's Try That In a Small Town, Oliver Anthony's Rich Men North of Richmond, and Morgan Wallen's post-slur comeback. That same year she told the Los Angeles Times she'd 'take a step back' from the country industry amid conservative backlash and death threats. With some dust settled, does country feel less hateful now? 'I mean, I'm so out of the loop. But the people I hang around with here in Nashville and make music with are my best friends for a reason,' says Morris. The backlash just let her know who's really onside, anyway. 'I've always been rebellious and risky, and it's totally fine if people don't get it, not everyone is supposed to. Of course, you're going to lose some people along the way, that's life. But you need to let people know where you stand. 'That's why the fan base I do have is so diverse and safe,' she adds. 'It's because I've stuck my neck out for them and vice versa. It's not been me just towing the line and keeping my mouth shut to keep coins in my pocket. I really believe in what I'm saying and what I'm writing, and I think that's only been a benefit to my work. I've just never had it in me to be a fence-sitter.' Pun completely unintended.
The Age
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘You need to let people know where you stand': Maren Morris on being country music's most outspoken star
'Sitting on the fence feels good between my legs' sings Maren Morris on Push Me Over, the best song on the country star's new album Dreamsicle. Co-written and produced by the queer pop band MUNA, the song is a flirtatious statement of intent for Morris, who publicly came out as bisexual last June. For someone who's made a career out of righteously aggravating country music's conservative base, it's also typically provocative. Singing so slyly about same-sex lust in Nashville, the heart of the country music establishment, where Christian values still reign supreme: does it still feel taboo? 'I mean, less so than it used to. But maybe that's just because I've removed myself a bit from the machine of all that,' says Morris from her home in Nashville. Despite the assumptions of outside onlookers, Nashville is more than just the 'mechanism of mainstream country music,' the 35-year-old says. 'It is that, but there's also so much diversity here and it's always been that way. It's a progressive dot in the middle of a really conservative state, and it has to be because it's a music town. It has to lend itself to open-minded ideals, because we're making music here and we're empaths and we feel deeply.' It's why Morris has never left the city, even if country music's more conservative forces have tried hard to excommunicate her. 'There's a heartbeat here that's very free and accepts people, and that's why I've chosen to remain here and make this my home. I have my community here that I love, but I also want to help make it better and redefine what people maybe think of the South or of country music.' The same sentiment that seeps through Chappell Roan's The Giver, her '90s-flecked country hit about sapphic generosity, lives in Morris' Push Me Over. More than just a lavender moment for mainstream country, it's country outcasts staking their territory. We're as country as Mr All-American Blue Jeans, they seem to be saying, you can't tell us we don't belong. 'I'm such a fan [of Chappell] and I think what she's advocating for and doing musically is so important,' says Morris. 'You just know when you're watching a true artist be themselves, fully be themselves, and not follow a script or a paradigm. I don't want perfection from the artists I love; I want real, I want authenticity, and she's definitely that.' I'm speaking to Morris over Zoom, but with some foresight I might've caught her in person. Last month I noticed a Reddit commenter wonder aloud if they'd really just spotted Morris in Sydney. 'Yeah, that was me, I was on vacation,' Morris laughs. 'I had a week off and I was like, I really want to have a little adventure before all the tours and album stuff kicks in. I'd always wanted to go to Sydney and just explore, be a random person. The only plan on the schedule was to get a tattoo.' She lifts her forearm to show me the martini glass inked there by Sydney tattooist, Lauren Winzer. In a recent interview, Morris had mentioned it was her favourite drink. 'It is now. It's my 30-something cocktail. The dirtier, the better.' The local souvenir, one she hopes to add to when she returns on tour next summer, is also a symbol of her lively new era. Dreamsicle – her first album since her divorce from longtime partner, country singer Ryan Hurd, with whom she shares a five-year-old son – finds Morris blending her pop sensibilities with her country DNA. For each Push Me Over, there's an emotional barnstormer like This is How a Woman Leaves, written with Madi Diaz. (The song ends on a pure country couplet: 'You have the nerve to ask why I'm not crying/ I did all my crying lying next to you'.) 'They're songs tackling all these feelings of liberation – sexual, personal, vulnerable, angry,' says Morris. 'That's kind of the through line of this record, it's someone in a mess finding themselves and finding their power again.' A decade since her major label breakout, 2016's Hero, Morris remains one of country music's more intriguing figures, at once both insider and outsider. A Texan native, she started playing country fairs and rodeo circuits when she was 10 years old. After flunking at every reality TV singing competition (American Idol, America's Got Talent, The Voice, et al), she eventually made the move to Nashville and became a hired gun in the songwriting machine, before becoming a star in her own right with Hero 's smashes My Church and '80s Mercedes, and 2018's crossover EDM hit The Middle with Zedd. In the intervening years, she also became one of country's loudest progressive voices, speaking out often and unequivocally against racism, misogyny and homophobia in its ranks. (In one memorable instance, responding to transphobic comments from Brittany Aldean – the wife of country star, Jason – she labelled her 'Insurrectionist Barbie'.) Loading In an interview with New York Times ′ Popcast in 2023, Morris decried an ugly strain of 'hatefulness' in country music at the time, a period dominated by MAGA-fied culture wars around Jason Aldean's Try That In a Small Town, Oliver Anthony's Rich Men North of Richmond, and Morgan Wallen's post-slur comeback. That same year she told the Los Angeles Times she'd 'take a step back' from the country industry amid conservative backlash and death threats. With some dust settled, does country feel less hateful now? 'I mean, I'm so out of the loop. But the people I hang around with here in Nashville and make music with are my best friends for a reason,' says Morris. The backlash just let her know who's really onside, anyway. 'I've always been rebellious and risky, and it's totally fine if people don't get it, not everyone is supposed to. Of course, you're going to lose some people along the way, that's life. But you need to let people know where you stand. 'That's why the fan base I do have is so diverse and safe,' she adds. 'It's because I've stuck my neck out for them and vice versa. It's not been me just towing the line and keeping my mouth shut to keep coins in my pocket. I really believe in what I'm saying and what I'm writing, and I think that's only been a benefit to my work. I've just never had it in me to be a fence-sitter.' Pun completely unintended.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Maren Morris isn't backing down on her bisexuality, 'I've always known'
With her fourth studio album Dreamsicle dropping this Friday, Maren Morris is entering a new era marked by freedom, vulnerability, and the kind of self-expression that doesn't ask permission. In a new interview with The Zoe Report, the Grammy-winning singer opened up about how embracing that part of herself has helped her feel more connected than ever. Whitten Sabbatini for TZR Maren Morris in her interview with The Zoe Report 'I've always known that I am attracted to men and women,' Morris said. But after 15 years of being in heterosexual relationships and navigating a career rooted in Nashville, she never felt 'brave enough' to talk about it publicly—until now. 'That was just a facet of me that I didn't think I wanted private anymore,' she added. 'I wanted to be able to connect with my fans and my queer community.' That connection has been more than personal—it's been life-saving. Following her 2023 divorce and departure from mainstream country music, Morris said she found comfort and strength through queer community and creative collaborators like MUNA, with whom she co-wrote the sultry, synth-forward track 'Push Me Over.' The song, which features the cheeky lyric 'sittin' on the fence feels good between my legs,' is already ruffling feathers—and she knows it. Whitten Sabbatini for TZR Maren Morris in her interview with The Zoe Report Still, Morris isn't backing down. 'Especially in a time where you're in this free-for-all post-divorce reckoning,' she says, 'being honest and being vulnerable is the only way that you find community.' Morris has long been known as a dedicated activist and ally, so much so that GLAAD honored her with the Excellence in Media Award back in 2023. She ultimately departed country music the same year, saying the genre was 'burning itself down' without her help and that the biases shown during Trump's first presidency showed people's true colors. 'It just revealed who people really were and that they were proud to be misogynistic and racist and homophobic and transphobic,' she told the Los Angeles Times at the time. Then, in June 2024, Morris came out in a since-deleted Instagram post (everything on her page prior to March 21, 2025, has also been deleted, so this is not an anomaly or backtrack.) At the time, she posted a photo of her holding Pride flags during her RSVP Redux Tour stop in Phoenix, Arizona, captioned, 'happy to be the B in the LGBTQ+' and wishing everyone a 'happy pride.' As Dreamsicle promises to usher in a new, more liberated version of Morris, one thing is clear: she's no longer interested in fitting any mold. Catch the album when it drops on May 9.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lucy Dacus and Katie Gavin recreated THIS lesbian iconic magazine cover
Lucy Dacus and MUNA's Katie Gavin are taking us right back to the '90s with a recreation of an iconic magazine cover from sapphic history. Gracing the April 2025 cover of Alternative Press, Dacus donned menswear as she relaxed in a barber's chair. Meanwhile, Gavin, in a swimsuit and boots, held a razor to her neck, prepared to give the "Best Guess" singer a shave. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lesbianly online (@sapphic_sandwich) If this feels familiar, it's because it's the same cover Vanity Fair did 32 years ago — only with k.d. lang and Cindy Crawford subverting gender norms. This modern take is a cheeky, gorgeous callback to a truly iconic moment in queer pop culture. The original made space for butch-femme imagery in a mainstream magazine in a time when "lesbian" was still treated as a dirty word and years before Laura Dern's career took a temporary dive for even guest starring as one in the infamous coming out episode of Ellen. Now, three decades later, this recreation reminds us how far we've come while also providing an almost surreal sense of déjà vu considering the current political climate. Both artists have long been beloved for taking up space in the music world while being unapologetically queer. Seeing them channel Crawford and lang feels like more than just homage. It's a continuation of a conversation about gender, attraction, and presentation that never really stopped. The fact that this cover dropped in 2025, amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation, makes it hit even harder. It's a visual reminder that queer art, queer history, and queer joy aren't going anywhere — no matter how loudly some might wish otherwise. And on top of everything else, it's proof that a good suit, a bold lip, and a delightful bit of subtext will always be in style.
Telegraph
28-03-2025
- Telegraph
How to connect with Tenerife's culture
Tenerife has been shaped and influenced over generations by many cultures. You'll still find remnants of the original Guanche people (thought to be Berber tribes from North Africa), plenty of sights of interest remaining from the Spanish colonisation of the island in the early 15th century, plus hints and highlights from people who have passed through this strategic point, from northern European tourists to South American travellers. What remains in Tenerife – and is still evolving – is an intriguing mosaic of cultural legacies, innovative arts and heritage projects, and an events and festivals calendar to rival any of the world's major cities. As you stroll up to the mighty Basilica de Candelaria on Tenerife's north-west coast, you'll be under the watchful eye of nine large bronze statues, created in 1993 by the renowned Tenerife sculptor José Abad. These are the menceyes, the aboriginal 'kings' of Tenerife before the Spanish came. Before the conquest, the island was split into nine kingdoms, the names of which are still present today in places such as Adeje, Anaga and Güímar. The city of Candelaria is famous for the Cueva de Achbinico, a cave believed to have been a place of worship for more than 3,000 years. To learn more about the Guanches, head to the Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA) in Santa Cruz where you'll discover more about these cave-dwelling people, their ways of life and their beliefs – such as in the figure of Guayota, the devil-like spirit believed to reside in El Teide volcano, unleashing flames and devastation when angered. El Teide – Spain's highest mountain – has huge historical significance for the people who have called the island home. Nowhere more so than in the pretty, quiet town of Garachico. It was once the busiest place on the island and the most important port, where produce – particularly wine – was exported all over the world. That all came to an abrupt and devastating stop in 1706 when a volcanic eruption demolished the port and part of the town. In La Orotava, a handsome town with impressive mansion houses that were once the homes of the island's wealthy nobility, you'll find the Casa de Los Balcones, an extraordinary house with many intricately carved Canarian pinewood balconies, a traditional architectural flourish that can be seen around the island. It's a similar tale in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (La Laguna for short), which was the island's capital before Santa Cruz, and is one of Tenerife's two Unesco World Heritage Sites. Its cobblestone streets are lined with grand mansions and radiant, brightly coloured houses, and its grid format was used as the blueprint for towns and cities across Latin America, including Havana in Cuba. There are many guided walks around the historic centre, and you can also find many traditional restaurants. In the (new) capital of Santa Cruz, the area of La Noria is also both historic and gastronomic. It's where the city was founded back in 1494 by Alonso Fernández de Lugo. The streets leading out from Iglesia Matriz de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción have an Old-World-meets-New-World vibe and come alive when the sun goes down. Nearby, you'll find a host of cultural hotspots that make up part of Tenerife's exciting arts scene, encompassing music, painting, sculpture and architecture. Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA) is a sleek and modern gallery and library with contemporary art exhibitions, in stark contrast to the classic MUNA museum next door. Down along the seafront the shimmering, gravity-defying white arc of Santiago Calatrava's Auditorio de Tenerife is hard to miss. This opera house and music venue has a popular programme of events year-round. In the city centre, the Museo de Bellas Artes offers a cooling respite from the sun and a fascinating collection of art and artifacts dating from between the 16th and 19th centuries. Don't miss the intricate façade of the Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero at the end of the street. Visiting the island in February? You'll be forgiven for thinking that bright costumes, music and dancing are everyday life in Tenerife – and to some extent, you'd be right. But when carnaval comes to town, everyone takes part. From street parades and parties to fancy dress competitions and comparsas (groups of traditional singers, musicians and dancers), Santa Cruz de Tenerife carnival is the largest outside of Rio de Janeiro. Be sure to book accommodation early, because it's hugely popular. If you're not lucky enough to join the party in February, a trip to La Casa del Carnaval, will give you the chance to get a flavour of the spectacle by seeing the many carnaval extravagant costumes on display. For something a little less raucous, make a beeline for the Baile de Magos in May. This is a traditional Canarian affair with typical food, music and dancing and revellers in classic Canarian dress – you can attend for free if you dress like the locals. Alternatively, head to La Orotava for Corpus Cristi in May and June to witness the incredible flower carpets that cover the town hall square in spectacular detail. Tenerife beyond the beach With multiple airlines flying direct to Tenerife from the UK every day, it's time to find out more, plan your travel and book your trip with the Tenerife Tourism Corporation
