“I am thrilled to welcome my wonderful and dear friend Tanya Tucker to the show. All her kids call me ‘Uncle Ty,’” said Herndon. “I have known Tanya’s heart for many years. She is truly one of the most talented, kind and generous souls on the planet. She is adored by all of us in country music, and we’ll all be watching to learn a little something about how it’s done.”
“My first ‘forty-five’ growing up in South Carolina was Tanya Tucker’s ‘Delta Dawn,’ so I have been a fan for a long time,” said Zeke Stokes, GLAAD’s Vice President of Programs and Executive Producer of the 2018 Concert for Love & Acceptance. “I’m so excited that we have reached a time when the country music community is standing up for love and acceptance for LGBTQ people, and young children everywhere who feel different can know that we’re all on their side.”
The inaugural Concert for Love and Acceptance was held in 2015 to kick off GLAAD’s Southern Stories Tour and the second iteration was held in 2017. The event has been supported by artists like Reba McEntire, and Dan + Shay, with a lineup of performances that has included Chris Carmack, Crystal Gayle, Billy Gilman, Dana Goldberg, Kree Harrison, Mickey Guyton, Levi Hummon, Runaway June, Ryan Kinder, Meghan Lindsey, Street Corner Symphony, and Trent Harmon. GLAAD's Southern Stories initiative tells the stories of LGBTQ people and their allies in the South to create a cultural shift towards LGBTQ acceptance and understanding in the region.
In recent years, country music has become a more affirming environment for the LGBTQ community with chart toppers like Luke Bryan’s “Most People are Good” following in the footsteps of Garth Brooks, Kasey Musgraves, and The Dixie Chicks sharing inclusive messages through their lyrics. In January 2017, CMT host Cody Alan came out publicly in People magazine with the help of GLAAD and received an outpouring of support and love from the country music community and his fans. Stars like Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith, and Dierks Bentley all voiced their support on social media. Ty Herndon, a Grammy nominated and Dove Award winning artist with album sales of more than 4 million, was the first major male country music star to come out, when he shared his story with the world in 2014.
