Paisley Fields
Photo by Megan Rainwater
“Limp Wrist is epic in scope — not a concept album, exactly, but it tells its story carefully and intentionally. At the end of the day, though, its power is Paisley’s renewed commitment to peeling away his own defenses to create emotionally charged, authentic country music.
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“CMT’s artist to watch (2022)
OUT MAGAZINE - Queer country artist you need to know (2022)
Nashville Scene artist to watch (2022)
Festival Appearances:
South by Southwest
Mile of Music
Sled Island
AmericanaFest
Seattle Pride Fest
Motor City Pride
Nashville Pride ”
“His writing here impressively threads the needle; it’s so theatrically declarative that you can imagine a spotlight hitting him as he sings the first line, but he incorporates vignettes and images with dexterity and subtlety. He contrasts the mainstream narrative of rural life – one of freedom, open spaces, and community – with his own experience as a queer person, in which the natural beauty that surrounds him is also isolating and dangerous. ”
“The song marks a departure from Paisley’s wry sense of humor and chug-a-lugging honky-tonk. Here, Paisley’s voice achieves a fragility reminiscent of choir boys and a strength that comes from righteous fury. It’s one of their most vulnerable songs yet, and it reminds us that queer country artists have a wide range of unique experiences to contribute to country and Americana music.”
“Over the half-dozen years that he’s been recording as Paisley Fields, James Wilson has steadily increased the camp in his music so that his forthcoming set, Electric Park Ballroom, is a scruffy, over-the-top, cabaret country affair. Raised in Iowa, but lately splitting his time between Brooklyn and Nashville, he makes mischievous use of down-home symbolism on his frolicsome tune “Ride Me Cowboy,” upending the conventions of stoic, range-riding masculinity with winking, queer flirtation. ”
“Paisley Fields brings a roguish cabaret-style sensibility to “The Other Boys,” from his upcoming album Electric Park Ballroom. …describing the often-solitary experience of many gay men with a knowing mixture of humor and sadness.”
“It’s emblematic of Fields’ unapologetically queer country music, which uses razor sharp wit to navigate the loneliness and tenderness of the LGBTQ+ experience.”
“Fast rising queer country star Paisley Fields has assembled a talented herd of backing musicians for their sophomore album Electric Park Ballroom (Don Giovanni Records). Coming two years after their debut Glitter & Sawdust, this album shows an artist growing by leaps and bounds, with plenty of high heel stomping honky-tonk grit and a few lonely ballads along the way.”
“Paisley Fields is an act that deserves to go big, with enough charisma for pop crossovers and enough authenticity for the country scene.
4/5 stars
-Indie Pulse Magazine”
“Fields’ queer country offers a refreshingly unapologetic vision that swings at times bold, bitter, bawdy, and tender behind his cool, coy croon. Behind his keyboard at the 13th Floor in a star-spangled vest and assless chaps, the Brooklyn songwriter leaned mostly on last year’s third LP Limp Wrist, which streamlined the tradition of Lavender Country through Eighties neo-trad and Seventies women country icons into a compelling contemporary sound. “Plastic Rosary” and “Junkyard Angel” bloomed earnest ballads and the small town escape of “Iowa” swooned achingly, if brutally, beautiful. “It’s not gay country if it’s not a little sad,” he offered. Fields is far from mere gimmickry though, and an exciting, vital voice in expanding what country music can encompass. ”
“With respect to queer country, Lavender Country, may be the genre’s Chuck Berry, perhaps not the inventor but surely an original innovator. However, there was a crassness to the seventies-era band’s material that drew the focus away from any meaningful satire or commentary on the underlying country tropes. At the Don Giovanni Records showcase at The 13th Floor, Paisley Fields, a former member of modern-day version of the band, offered up a more nuanced version of the genre. Setting aside the flat-out humor of “Ride Me Cowboy,” Fields deftly brought subtlety to his material, making “Jesus Loving American Guy,” a song about religious intolerance, and “Iowa,” a song about hometowns not always being a home, much more powerful. Utilizing a raised limp wrist as a middle finger, Fields may be at the forefront of making queer country the new punk rock.”
“One of the mainstays of the Queer Country Quarterly is Paisley Fields, whose first album Not Gonna Be Friends debuted to critical acclaim in 2014, and latest album is this year’s Ride Me Cowboy. Paisley, who grew up in the Midwest where he was a church pianist as a teenager, remembers country music, and specifically line dancing, as a means of expressing (if covertly) his sexuality in a conservative setting. “When I was line dancing I could just dance around and be a little gay boy and no one would judge me for it,” he recalls. Along with touring with his own band, Paisley is also a member of the reactivated Lavender Country”
““I love them and they give me a thrill – that kind of heart-to-heart connection that we all search for in our music. It’s a powerful. engaging album. Glitter & Sawdust proves that queer themes can and should belong in the classic country canon.” - Wide Open Country”
““Glitter & Sawdust is gorgeous Nashville pop with a honky tonkheart, from the hillbilly jam ‘Winchester’s Gun’ to a phenomenal cover of Little Big Town’s pot-stirrer “Girl Crush”. -Noisey ”
“Paisley’s voice brings new dimension to the genre. Far from the tried and true baritones of your Waylons and Merles, he evokes something slightly punk rock. Imagine Blink 182’s Tom Delonge was raised on Hank Williams, and you’ll get the idea. It’s kind of like Jack White singing “Jolene”. Yeah, it’s a man singing to a man, but if you can squash the homophobia, it just sounds like a good, passionate song. - Skope Magazine”
“But ultimately the varied sonic palette Fields is exploring here is what makes ELECTRIC PARK BALLROOM an exciting listen, from the theatrical piano bar drive of the near-disco cut “Shuffling Fool” to the fiercely witty murder ballad “Time’s Up, Brad.” Highlights include the triumphant, live-or-die nature of “Thunder Road” (which does the namesake proud) and there is a hooky pop punk stomp to “Winter Night.” There hasn’t been a shortage of fascinating, exciting under-the-radar country artists over the last several years, and Fields should unquestionably be on any list of performers helping to redefine the genre.”
“About to drop their newest album, entitled “Glitter and Sawdust”, Paisley has created a strong buzz in the country music industry.
-Vents Magazine”
“Paisley embraced his Midwestern roots for these songs, and the songs shine with those complicated emotions: nostalgia, happiness, heartbreak, isolation. Oh These Urban Fences is a labor of love that demands your attention. - No Depression”
“I love Paisley Fields. He has that great Parton pop sensibility with Parsons whole country rock feel, before it was Californialized. - AudioFuzz”
