What does it take to make it in music? In Los Angeles, it’s a competitive and challenging industry to figure out.
From booking a concert venue to building a fanbase, young performers often have to do it all themselves. That’s why on Tuesday, Jan. 30, Queer LA is exploring what it’s like to navigate L.A.’s music scene with LGBTQ+ indie artists at the Crawford, our events space in Pasadena.
We’ll have live performances, an honest conversation and delicious food from Fat Boys. Get your tickets now here, and follow below to meet our special guests.
Mermaid
Brittany Campbell and Candace Quarrels are the engaged couple behind Mermaid, a Los Angeles-based music group that isn’t tied down to a particular genre. Their music dips into quite a few, like soul, R&B and a combination of alt-rock and jazz.
The pair have been all over the country. Campbell was raised in New York and Quarrels grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas. While they met in the Chicago production of Hamilton, L.A. was calling their names.
Candace Quarrels and Brittany Campbell of Mermaid.
In 2019, they moved out here to see what could happen for them with the television and film industries. But there was another motive to the move: music. In that same year, they started getting their feet wet with Mermaid by putting out a few songs and playing at open mic nights in L.A.
Lately, they’ve performed at popular LGBTQ+ music events, like Queersound and Out of Mind Fest. They recently released a debut album called Iridescence.
Quarrels had only done Broadway before Mermaid. Campbell is a signed songwriter under Warner Chappell Music who writes for artists and shows like Rise of the Pink Ladies on Paramount+. While Mermaid isn’t a signed band yet, they enjoy the autonomy that creates for their musical identity.
“I think it was important that we were like, ‘no, Mermaid is Mermaid,’” Campbell said. “There’s really no input you, anyone, could ever give us except for signing a check.”
That confidence is clear in Iridescence, which crosses multiple genres, while keeping tone and voice distinctively defined. Campbell even creates custom animations for their music videos.
“The doodles, the animation, it ties stuff together,” Quarrels said. “It’s like with the genres. Even though we’re bouncing through these genres, we always, always sound like us.”
Campbell and Quarrels will join LAist on Jan. 30 to perform new songs and give us a larger peek into their musical ethos: To leave no stone left unturned and break out of societal boundaries.
“You were born into this vessel, and yeah, that comes with lots of things because of many different gazes on you, but it’s important to push out of that so you can really reach the fullness,” Campbell said.
Danielle Lande
Lifelong Angeleno Danielle Lande is a crooner at heart and creator of Queersound, a monthly queer music showcase at the Silverlake Lounge. They first got into music as a choir kid, but as they got older, it became an avenue for navigating life.
“It’s like a journal entry equivalent for me,” Lande said. “It’s helpful for sorting out my emotional life.”
While they’ve been writing for years, Lande began performing live in 2018. Part of the late-blooming is because growing up, Lande says artists couldn’t self-release music in the same way that they can now with streaming.
Danielle Lande, an artist and creator of Queersound.
Courtesy Danielle Lande
)
“One really cool thing I think especially for queer artists — and other artists who might not be cherry-picked by the old men on top —it’s cool that we can [self-release], without anyone telling us what we can and cannot do.”
Lande wants their style to be soothing to others, just like it is to them. They do ballads, explore jazz (with some scatting) and dig into that crooning music aesthetic.
“People started saying Carole King a lot when I first started playing out,” Lande said. “I do think there is a little bit of a quality to my writing that evokes like the ‘70s singer-songwriter.”
Lande wears multiple music hats as the creator and producer of Queersound. When it began in 2018, there were only a handful of recurring LGBTQ+ events that were not geared toward gay men. It stopped for a bit and came back in 2023.
“The return of Queersound has come at a time when there’s a very different queer scene than there used to be. I think a lot of it is just that we were so starved for community,” Lande said, referring to the rise of LGBTQ+ events after COVID-19 closures.
They make sure talent is booked, venues are safe and that social media gets the word out. While it keeps Lande very busy, they enjoy creating a way for LGBTQ+ musicians to get stage time without the stress that comes with it.
“Every artist is expected to produce their own shows every single time, so it’s a relief as an artist to be asked onto a show,” Lande said. “Normally, an artist is doing a million things and it’s a steep learning curve.”
But the idea for Queersound goes a little deeper. At one point, they wished for a music night to go to where they would meet other queer artists and play for a room of people who would be more excited about what they’re doing. Lande will join LAist on Jan. 30 to perform and explore the makings of Queersound.
DJ Funky Caramelo
For Graciela Lopez, who goes by DJ Funky Caramelo, music has always been a safe haven. She immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico City at 11 years old and settled in the Historic Filipinotown area. Music has been a part of Lopez’s life since she was very young.
“I always grew up with the love of music,” Lopez said. “My mom used to always work and I used to always listen to the radio. And that’s how I learned English, through music.”
Graciela Lopez, whose stage name is DJ Funky Caramelo.
Courtesy Graciela Lopez
)
Lopez grew up listening to stations like Power 106 and watching the music channels of VH1, BET and MTV. Lopez fell in love with music so much that she dropped career plans to become a lawyer, and eventually took a 6-month class about DJing and music theory.
She says her different identities — encompassing her life as a DACA recipient, family and sexuality — come together to guide her work as a DJ. Lopez describes her sound as global beats, but she believes in curating her set lists to bring unrepresented sounds to the front.
“Female-identified DJs were very rare. And then when it happened, at least for me, I was like, ‘hey, I can do that,’” Lopez said. “I feel a sense of responsibility to pay it forward.”
For Lopez, DJing is more than just playing sounds while everyone else dances. When she puts events together, she makes sure to invite other women Djs and makes a point to play sounds emphasizing artists of color and LGBTQ+ people.
“I have the power to command the room and I have the power to play the voice that people are not used to hearing,” Lopez said. “I want to be able to use that time and shout out other artists that other people would probably not listen to because they’re not mainstream.”
Lopez will join LAist on Jan. 30 to perform and explore more of how she got started.
What questions do you have about LGBTQ+ life in L.A.?
LAist wants to help you make the most of LGBTQ+ life in L.A., from finding friends to the basics of name change paperwork. Share your questions below.
