Adam Mac Delivers 'Southern Spectacle'
Rising country singer/songwriter and self-proclaimed "Southern spectacle" Adam Mac continues to pave his own lane as one of the genre's most dynamic new voices with the release of his new album "Southern Spectacle."
"Southern Spectacle has been two years in the making," shares Mac. "It's bold, vulnerable and the most authentic I've ever been on a record. Every track is drawn from a lived experience, stories that shaped me - triumphs and setbacks. It's my queer country experience seen through a technicolor neon lens. This album is me stepping into my power as a true 'Southern spectacle,' and I hope it helps folks find that same courage in themselves."
Unafraid to sparkle in the spotlight - or speak his truth, Mac captures hearts with his Southern flair, raw truth and glitter-soaked twang. Southern Spectacle was produced by Jason Mater (with additional production by Sean Trainor, Warren Riker and HALLIE). The danceable fusion of country and modern pop was recorded over two days at Nashville's Black River Studios and cements Mac's reputation as one of the genre's most original voices.
"People want things to be like 'this' or like 'that,' and there's not a lot of space for 'both,'" Mac explains. "But I can be glamorous and flashy, and also raised on a Kentucky farm, with all the same values you have. I have just decided to embrace the full spectrum of who I am.
"I'm making music that I wish I had growing up - that I wish I could have seen myself in," he shares. "And I feel like we're doing something right."
Mac was raised in Russellville, Kentucky, about an hour north of Nashville (and a world away from Music Row). A farm-and-church kid who loved The Spice Girls and Shania Twain and couldn't stop singing, he soon moved on from bedroom vocal clinics to Sunday services and talent shows and started writing songs after losing a dear friend in high school.
Mac also realized he was gay, and that was something to put out of sight. Enduring the typical pressure to "fix" his "unacceptable" truth, which he had fully internalized by age 22, he moved to Nashville to write songs he thought the mainstream would accept. By his own admission, nearly 10 years of struggle led nowhere - Mac's agile vocal just wasn't enough to overcome his vanilla vision of country pop. But with the pandemic, Mac realized he was doing "three chords and the truth" all wrong.
"I was trying to appease the masses and not ruffle feathers, or even hint at the fact I was a queer country singer," he explains. "Then I decided to do what I loved and write songs without anything other than just being honest. With hindsight it's like 'Well, duh. That's obviously what you should have been doing the whole time!'"
The creative epiphany worked wonders. Fusing vocal soul with a danceable country-funk mix (and the full fabulousness of his personality), 2023's breakout hit "Disco Cowboy" set Mac free. The rapturous music video held the No. 1 spot on CMT's 12-Pack Countdown for four weeks, leading to a full album of the same name and many conversations.
Southern Spectacle is a definitive intersection of country music and queer identity. Twelve songs co-written by Mac with close friends (including an additional queer creator on most of the album's tracks) mark a work of cloud-nine courage, with a resilient, revelatory sense of self-acceptance. Louder and prouder than ever, Mac dives further into the world he established on Disco Cowboy. "It's so autobiographical to me, and also the starting point of where we left off," he says. "This is the most honest I've been in any music - I really held no filter on it."
In large part, that meant finally embracing his own story, contrasts and quirks included.
"This album is a journey through a multitude of feelings - from feeling like you stand out in a small town, to growing up with an older sibling who was the epitome of everything your father wanted," he says. "It feels like the complete story of where I've been, especially after the past two years."
As a visible queer voice in country music today, Mac's journey has not been without challenges. When he was scheduled to headline the Logan County Tobacco and Heritage Festival in his conservative hometown, backlash from local pastors sparked national headlines. His strength in the face of hate drew support from fans, hometown friends and celebrities alike - including Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini and Brandy Clark - and led to a guest appearance on Morris' Lunatics Tour in Chicago.
As a lifelong outsider who's learned to make his own space the central message of his work - he wants everyone to know they matter, even if they're complicated. So have a little fun.
"I hope that my community feels seen and represented and safe, and they have words for things they felt but were never able to explain," he says. "For people outside of our community, I just hope they feel the joy - because that's the way to make change. How do you argue with someone's happiness?"
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