Pride Family Rainbow Party, a just-released EP collection from queer family music project Strawbitty Yops, is joyous, affirming music that kids (and their adults) will enjoy during Pride or any time of year! A new single from the EP is about unapologetically taking up space—see the music video here.
The Strawbitty Yops are Cindy Haws and Woody Hill, Austin-based queer artists and activists who have performed together for many years as musicians and as drag kings, plus Cindy’s grown daughter Autumn Haws. Their new EP compiles six of the Strawbitty Yops’s Pride-themed songs from previous albums, along with a brand-new single, “Sorry Not Sorry,” done in partnership with Philadelphia-based queer family band Ants on a Log and New York-based climate rock kindie artist Esther Crow.
The new single “is a celebration of taking up space,” said the band in a press release. “Societal norms teach girls and women to apologize in many places where no apology is needed. All the musicians on this track were socialized as girls—we are cis women, trans and nonbinary musicians, coming together to tell girls that they can state their opinion, play a wrong note, ask a question, and proudly take up space!”
Here’s the music video:
The entire extended play collection was born from the Pride Family Rainbow Party kids’ music “supergroup” that plays a series of family music shows every Pride Month, with live music, art, and dance parties. This supergroup consists of the Strawbitty Yops and other award-winning artists, including Suzi Shelton, Lavender Blues, Ants on a Log, and Esther Crow. While most of the songs have been previously released, they come together here with “Sorry Not Sorry” to make a terrific collection for Pride:
- “Show Up to Glow Up,” also with Crow, about showing up for ourselves, friends, family, community, and world.
- “What Does Love Look Like?” with a fun beatbox section and harmonies that drive this song as it explores the titular question.
- “Rainbow Superpowers” is an expression of pure queer joy, created in partnership with Julie Be (from Ants on a Log), Lavender Blues, Carrie Ferguson (The Grumpytime Club), and Jam Phelps. Hill explained in a press statement when the song came out in 2023, “Being exactly who you are in this world and finding community to celebrate that uniqueness with IS a superpower, and we wanted to spread that message to the world.”
- “All the Colors” is an ode to all the colors and an encouragement to anyone that they can wear any color that they love. (My suggestion: Pair it with the picture book Make Your Own Rainbow: A Drag Queen’s Guide to Colors, by Lil Miss Hot Mess.)
- “I’m Marvelous” is a dance song of self-awareness and joy in which the singer asks the audience to “Look at me, I’m marvelous, I’m fabulous, splendiferous,” and affirms, “Express myself,/Gender is bent,/I live my truth,/I represent.” The song was done in collaboration with Iwalani Music, with production by Dean Jones.
- “Welcome Home,” created with Crow, Suzi Shelton, Lavender Blues, and Dean Jones, grooves along as it explores what makes us each feel welcome and why being welcoming is important.
The music incorporates various genres and styles, with catchy tunes and fun beats. It’s eminently listenable, even for adults, and “Full of great concepts to talk about with your children,” said the band. Whether you’re discussing those concepts, dancing in your living room, or listening in your car, these tunes will put you in the mood for Pride and carry the Pride spirit into the rest of the year.
Check out the whole EP on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube.