Out artist Jessie Standafer has a new song and video with a message and she’s premiering it here exclusively on AfterEllen.
“Love takes bravery, and I think the AfterEllen community is especially aware of this,” Jessie said, “as women, and also as women in the lesbian community. Because of the ways I have had to tap into this bravery, just to unabashedly love the women who’ve made my heart and other places burst into a thousand shades of glitter, I feel really prepared, and in a way responsible, to be a voice for social evolution, gender equality, and women’s empowerment globally. All of my songs reflect this responsibility.”
The video for “Love Shines Out” is part of a new project where the song and video are recorded together, live with a team of “mostly women who are on the lesbian/bi spectrum.”
“This song is really important to me,” Jessie said. “It’s a loud declaration that, in order to be a catalyst for any sort of positive change in the world, we have to first acknowledge the ways our love is ignited and let that love out. So often we feel this heart-bursting, all-consuming love about something, anything. And because of fear-fear of being ostracized from family, fear of societal discrimination, fear of loss-we keep it bottled up. I wrote this song to say: Now is the time. Come out. Share your heart. The way you love is perfect, gorgeous, and so very important.”
Find out more about Jessie at jessiestandafer.com and follow her on Twitter @jessiestandafer. You can find “Love Shine Out” on Spotify and iTunes. If you’re in NYC, catch her at the Rockwood Music hall on March 12th.
