The fabulous Dear Bertrand is a dynamic Irish alt folk-rock duo consisting of songwriters: Mz. Read Dear & Erin McVeigh. The band have been making and releasing music for many years and their new song and video Friends of Dorothy is a heartfelt homage to LGBT+ pioneers Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson.
Dear Bertrand was one of many special musical guests who participated in our dynamic digital broadcast The Road To Recognition that took place in early July to honour and celebrate the Irish trans community. Hosted by Alexis Riva, The Road to Recognition saw Campaigners, performers and the LGBT+ community come together and to celebrate the passage of world-leading Gender Recognition legislation.
The song is a tribute to the memory of LGBT+ rights pioneers Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson and their legacy – S.T.A.R: Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries: A refuge for homeless transgender people.
It is widely acknowledged that Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson were key players in the birth of the modern LGBT+ rights movement, both of whose activism only started with the Stonewall Riots.
Activists Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera will soon be commemorated with a monument in the city of New York. It is expected that the monument will be placed down the street from the Stonewall Inn, where the 1969 Stonewall Riots took place.
Statues of LGBT+ individuals are virtually nonexistent among New York City’s monuments, and the city says the dedication to Johnson and Rivera will be one of the world’s first for transgender people.
‘Friends of Dorothy’ is stepped in queer references and celebrations including the tracks title which references a coded way LGBT+ folks once signalled their identities to one another. The song’s hook references Aunty Em from the Wizard of Oz in the lyrics.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afKqnDM-eQ8[/embedyt]
Stay tuned in future releases. You can Dear Bertrand on Facebook and YouTube.
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