Paisley Fields

Paisley Fields
Born
Hudson, Iowa, U.S.
OriginBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres
Years active2013 (2013) – present
Label
  • Don Giovanni Records
Member ofLavender Country
MembersJames Wilson
Websitethepaisleyfields.com

James Wilson, known professionally as Paisley Fields, is a queer country music artist based between Brooklyn, NY and Nashville, TN.

Background

Wilson grew up in Hudson, Iowa where their grandparents owned a farm. They grew up listening to country music, but resisted performing in the genre until they reconnected with their country roots while living in Japan.

Wilson is queer and non-binary.

Career

Wilson assembled an alt-country band which performed their first show as the Paisley Fields in Brooklyn on New Year's Eve 2013. After the release of their first EP Oh These Urban Fences in 2015, Wilson adopted the name Paisley Fields as a stage name. Their first full-length album Glitter & Sawdust, released in 2018, is an exploration of the duality of the masculine and feminine.

The next two albums Electric Park Ballroom and Limp Wrist were released on Don Giovanni Records. Electric Park Ballroom is named after a dancehall they visited in childhood but the songs center on present-day urban narratives while Limp Wrist focuses on the realities of rural queer life.

In 2019, Paisley Fields toured with queer country pioneers Lavender Country and Lavender Country later guested on Paisley Fields' "Stay Away From My Man." They played keyboards on Lavender Country's 2022 album Blackberry Rose.

"Burn This Statehouse Down," a duet with Mya Byrne protesting Tennessee's anti-trans legislation, was chosen as one of NPR music critic Ann Powers' favorite songs of 2023.

As a songwriter, Wilson has written with Bob the Drag Queen ("Purse First") and Scarlet Envy ("Feeling Is Mutual," "Press On," "Is It Me?").

Style

Paisley Fields combines country, rock, pop, and disco while their lyrics include explicit queer themes, ranging from gay sex ("Ride Me Cowboy") to being outed ("Blackhawk County Line") to referencing Matthew Shepard ("Iowa").

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 "LIVE MUSIC IN ARKANSAS: Groundbreaking Paisley Fields plays Little Rock tavern | Arkansas Democrat Gazette". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. 2022-09-22. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  2. ↑ "Meet four queer artists helping to shake up country music". NBC News. 2023-07-19. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Domenighini, Annalise (2018-04-10). "Paisley Fields' New Album 'Glitter & Sawdust' Is One For The Queer Country Books". Vice Media. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Collo-Julin, Salem (2020-07-15). "Paisley Fields makes out and open country music". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  5. ↑ "Paisley Fields, Sug Daniels, and Sean Barna kick off their journey to Texas at Ortlieb's". WXPN. 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  6. 1 2 Isobel, Leah (2022-08-28). ""A Straight Line is No Guarantee" Paisley Fields - Limp Wrist". Left Of The Dial. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  7. 1 2 "ALBUM REVIEW: Paisley Fields Explores Place on Campy, Confident 'Limp Wrist'". No Depression. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  8. ↑ "The Boot's Weekly Picks: Mya Byrne + Paisley Fields, Summer Dean + More". The Boot. March 23, 2023.
  9. ↑ Powers, Ann (December 16, 2023). "ANN POWERS' FAVORITE SONGS OF 2023".
  10. ↑ Emch, Cindy (2019-06-20). "Scarlet Envy Drops Divine Dance Track • Country Queer". Country Queer. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  11. 1 2 "SXSW Music 2023: The Best Things We Saw on Thursday". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-12-22.