Since emerging onto the scene in the early 2010s, Wrabel has appeared on fan favourite tracks such as Resentment with Kesha, Brian Wilson and Sturgill Simpson, as well as 90 Days with P!nk. He says he still has “a hard time believing” he has worked with such icons and he tries “to never lose the awe and the gratitude” for having these kinds of opportunities. Just last year, he released his debut album ‘these words are all for you too’, which he describes as “a culmination of 10 years of life and 10 years of work” that took several different forms throughout the last decade.
Despite the atmosphere at Miami Beach Pride being one of community and hope, this year’s event took place against a backdrop of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation advancing across the US. According to the Human Rights Campaign, there have been more than 540 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced across 34 states this year alone – something Wrabel says is a reminder of why Pride is so important to the community. “It’s disheartening, but at the same time, going back to that sense of celebration, that sense of a fight, we as a queer community, we’re going to show up and we’re going to be there regardless and we’re going to fight regardless,” he continues. “It makes me more, ‘excited’ is definitely the wrong word, but it makes these events so charged with such beautiful energy just reminding us that we’re there for a reason and we’re there to share ourselves, to celebrate each other and fight for each other and to really, you know, link arm in arm and hand in hand with the queer community, as well as allies.”
Here, Wrabel talks to GAY TIMES about his music, the importance of Pride and what it was like to work with icons like Kesha and P!nk.
Your new album came out last year, what can you tell us about it?
Yeah! It’s my first album, which is kind of crazy to me. It took me, you know, about 10 years to finally get it out which was quite a feat and a journey. But yeah, it’s kind of a culmination of 10 years of life and 10 years of work, really. I’m so happy, I had plenty of resentments and bitterness over how long it took and the process that led me there, but it really ended up being such a positive thing and I’m so proud of it in a way that, you know, had it come out the first time I thought it was going to 10 years ago, I don’t think it would have been what it became. I think I was able to really pick, not just the best, but the most special moments and stories to share and I’m just so proud of it.
You’ve always spoken out in favour of the LGBTQ+ community be it through interviews or your music. Why is it so important for you to use your platform for that in the way you do?
Yeah, you know, in the past I’ve called myself an “accidental activist”. I think, not to be like, overly dark, but I never thought that I would make it out of the closet alive. It was a really difficult thing for me, as it is for so many. So, I think, sort of because of that, I never allow myself to forget that feeling and what it feels like to think you’re the only person in the world going through this and that there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. And, so, I sort of feel like we’re all given some sort of platform. Some people that have changed my life in the biggest ways did so just by being themselves, it’s not even necessarily with a megaphone or a sign or a celebrity or something like that. It’s just simply by being yourself, you can change the world around you, so I have tried to take that on and at the same time, I say “yes” to pretty much anything that supports the queer community because I just feel like it’s the most important thing I can do with any platform that I am lucky enough to have.