ART ROCK RISING STAR BURSTS FORTH AS THEIR TRUE SELF ON QUEER ANTHEMIC SINGLE “CHEERLEADER”
May 18, 2023
LIZA ANNE IS REBORN!
ART ROCK RISING STAR BURSTS FORTH AS THEIR TRUE SELF ON QUEER ANTHEMIC SINGLE “CHEERLEADER”
LISTEN HERE
SHARES POEM AND NEW MUSIC VIDEO STARRING LIZA ANNE + EVA VICTOR IN A QUEER CINEMATIC JOYRIDE THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL TROPES – SILVER POM POMS, PROM PHOTOS, CHOREOGRAPHED ASS SHAKES ABOUND
WATCH HERE
ON TOUR SUPPORTING ALEX LAHEY, STARTING NORTH AMERICAN RUN ON MAY 19TH AT CONSTELLATION ROOM, SANTA ANA, CA
“‘Cheerleader’ positions Anne in an exciting space between the worlds of pop and punk, with a bright melody and larger-than-life horns all dancing on the funky foundation of more alternative rock instrumentation.”
PAPER
“Jubilant and funky, with a strutting groove and a brass-blasted shout-along chorus.”
STEREOGUM
May 18, 2023 – Today, singer-songwriter Liza Anne redefines themselves with a queer anthem for the ages, “Cheerleader,” accompanied by an epic music video starring comedian/actor Eva Victor that shatters old tropes of high school popularity and spotlights queer culture and anyone who has been othered. The video was premiered with PAPER, who hosted an accompanying poem written by Liza, also included below. Watch here HERE, Listen to the song HERE.Watch here HERE, Listen to the song HERE.
On the track, Liza said, “With Cheerleader, it was so important to me to create a space of healing in a physical place where before, I wasn’t fully free. To return to an actual high school gymnasium with a queer cast feeling euphoric and fully celebrated felt so important – we were all physically in a place that smelled like being bullied and reminded me of stuffing who I was so far down I could hardly reach them. To return joyful and fully ourselves was powerful. It went beyond a visual or an aesthetic or a creative choice and became a therapeutic catharsis for all of us – I don’t even think I knew how much lighter I was going to feel. Being gay is a fucking miracle and I feel so surrounded by love and support right now, it’s almost overwhelming. Queerness is so beautiful, I feel like I am home. I am so happy to be here.”
This is Liza Anne’s first single since coming out as gay and non-binary, proof that embracing oneself magnificently yields creative magic. Liza Anne, who previously made their artistic home in Nashville, moved to New York and found their truest self in a city that embraces all people.
“Cheerleader” opens with a Van Halen-esque guitar shimmer – an eye-wink to late 20th century high school nostalgia – and quickly launches into a sonic confection that alchemizes pop, punk, shimmering disco funk and art rock into a queer anthem for the ages.
The accompanying music video was directed by Jacq Justice, and stars Liza Anne and comedian/actor Eva Victor as our main characters. It reimagines prototypical high school experiences – prom, cheerleading squad, pep rallies and a late night makeout sesh on the football field – through a queer lens that embraces misfits, and anyone who has been othered. “Cheerleader” reframes high school tropes and reclaims what has been dominated by heteronormative culture all with a sexy wink, choreographed ass shake and a big smile.
This is the first of more music to come this year, and a career re-defining song that should have everyone watching this space. “Cheerleader” is the first single since 2020’s Bad Vacation, which received praise from NPR Music, PAPER, American Songwriter and more for Liza Anne’s clever lyrics and unique sound. Since the pandemic, Liza Anne has been curating ABBA themed DJ nights to raise money for abortion access, as well as writing and collaborating, and finding themself.
The Gay Miracle – a poem by Liza Anne
There is so much found in a sacred beginning.
Maybe the most sacred thing is when you realize it’s not a beginning at all.
My nose pressed to the glass of all the moments in yesterday when
my body, my love, my spirit, my language, my perspective, my emotions
all hinted at, nearly screamed towards, what I only recently had full context for.
The miraculous slow uncovering of what has been pulsing in me since birth
The slow melt into oneself – finally and on time.
That is the gay miracle …
to notice – and deeper, still … to recognize
not because it is new but because it is ancient.
As known in your earthly body as breath and a window into the great celestial
A promise that everything everywhere is expanding and healing and there are seconds
Second chances, second winds, second childhoods.
We are the conscious plant, aware of their growing, blooming from the soil of those around us saying
“I see you and when you are ready, you will, too.”
That patient, generous holding that comes from a community who understands – with a sobering weight – the process of becoming.
I am here now because I have been loved in a way that makes sense to me.
I am not scared anymore – I am comforted by the context that comes with the miracle of being gay.
Every second that goes by, I understand more.
The grief I felt, the discomfort, the itchy skin because clothes felt wrong
How hugging my friends flushed my face pink and gave me a fever
How many times I felt almost, not quite – othered within either.
And all of the sudden I look around at the piles of pain
Cataloguing what didn’t seem related
And I am healing.
Being gay is a miracle.
Wherever there has been loss, ten fold it is recovered in the undeniable sense of belonging that comes with it.
Leaning into the parts of myself that felt other and finding a deeper sense of home – that is the gay miracle.
Coming around the corner to a second childhood – that is the gay miracle.
Holding each other in a way that can only bloom from what has been historically and secretly shared – that is the gay miracle.
It is the quiet self being given a megaphone, finally.
It is another childhood but this time with what you needed, tenfold.
It’s the truth put on and danced around in.
It is the constant wonder of softening, lightening, opening, widening – it is the conversation I want to be having over and over again.
My movement towards joy holds hands with, is twisted up with and completely meshed with being gay.
One couldn’t happen without the other. I am so happy to be here.
LIZA ANNE ON TOUR (opening for Alex Lahey):
May 19th – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
May 20th – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon
May 21st – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
May 23rd – Portland, OR – Polaris Hall
May 24th – Seattle, WA – Madame Lou’s
May 26th – Salt Lake City, UT – Kirby Court
May 27th – Denver, CO, Lost Lake Lounge
May 30th – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry
May 31st – Chicago, IL – Schubas
June 2nd – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups
June 3rd – Lakewood, OH – Mahall’s
June 4th – Toronto, ON – Velvet Underground
June 6th – Boston, MA – Crystal Ballroom (Crystal Restaurant)
June 7th – Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right
June 9th – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
June 11th – Washington, DC – Songbyrd Music House
June 12th – Durham, NC – Motorco Music Hall
June 13rd – Atlanta, GA – Purgatory at The Masquerade
June 15th – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
June 16th – Austin, TX – Parish
June 17th – Dallas, TX – Dada Dallas
June 20th – Phoenix, AZ – The Rebel Lounge
June 21st – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
ABBA Disco for Abortion Care w/ DJ Liza Anne: