Country singer-songwriter, Brooke Eden, celebrated Pride month with a project dedicated to showing the world everyone has a place in Country music.
LISTEN NOW: Brooke Eden joins Sabrina from Queens
The 34-year-old, who came out as queer in January 2021, released an EP, Outlaw Love, earlier this month and was eager for it to help grow the safe space for the LGBTQ community in Country music. “I think that because I was closeted for as long as I was, I’m just so happy to get to tell my truth and I want to share my story because I know that it’s a lot of people’s story,” she told Audacy's Sabrina during a recent interview at Hard Rock Hotel in New York.
“I want them to be able to see themselves in Country music. I want that inclusion so badly that I had butterflies — I’m not kidding you — for like, two weeks before this EP came out because I was so excited to get it out to people.”
The EP features four songs, all written by Eden, including the emotional, "All My Life," an autobiographical piece she wrote specifically for herself and wife, Hilary Hoover. The pair used it as the first dance song at their wedding in August 2022.
Admitting a lot of her songs are inspired by she and Hoover’s relationship, Eden said this song was extra-special as she specifically sat down to write a song for their first dance. “I wanted something that felt like us,” Eden shared, saying her wife was hesitant to listen at first. “It took two days for us to finally sit down and listen… I actually videoed it. It’s on TikTok,” she laughed. “By the first chorus she was crying and looked at me and goes, ‘OK, I get it. This is it.’”
Hoover isn’t the only one who “gets it.” Eden went on to share her messages have been flooded with other individuals impacted deeply by the song. Many thanking her for “writing my story in Country Music,” and stating they “feel like I have a place here now.” Others have taken to the DMs to share they’ve also used the song at their same-sex weddings.
“My messages are literally full,” Eden said with gratitude. “This one girl reached out to me and she was like, ‘I just listened to ‘All My Life’… my wife and I have decided that’s going to be or first dance song. We were just listening to the EP and just looked at each other crying and knew that would be our first dance song.’”
The impact Eden has made with the EP is just the beginning. She plans to turn it into a full album.
“I would love to turn this project into an album because I feel like there’s more to this story," she said. “I’ve already written a few of them that need to be a part of this.”
Hear more from Brooke by pressing play on her conversation with Sabrina above and make sure you listen to Outlaw Love, available now.
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