This singer/songwriter is challenging the music industry and society to be more inclusive.
Before there was Lucy & LaMer, there was Billie Joe Armstrong and David Bowie–bi icons creating music that awakened and healed the invisibilized bi+ youth of the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
“Everything I write is bisexual, because it all comes from me and my life experiences,” explains Lucy LaForge (she/they), the creator behind Lucy & La Mer. Her road trip-ready folk-pop jolts listeners–even first-time listeners–into a nostalgic trance as if hearing a favorite song from the past. Think Green Day’s “When I Come Around” or Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel,” but with a distinctly whimsical backdrop.
Lucy & La Mer’s discography features the ukulele, such as her 2013 debut “Just Friends” and their more recent single “Blue Dress”, which earned Lucy the honor of presenting Fender’s Billie Eilish Signature Ukulele in 2021. Her lyrics challenge fans to live authentically, while recognizing that coming to understand one’s truest self is a process of discovery. For example, “Blue Dress” is about that “lightbulb crush” as Lucy explains it. The song reminds any sapphically-inclined listeners of the dual feelings of excitement and confusion that often arise when you realize you are falling for a woman for the first time:
“I know it’s quite strange, not sure what I’m thinking
If I got you alone would I even know what to do?
Cause I don’t know what it is
There’s something about that Blue Dress”
Their music video for the song was produced by an all bi+ team, including bi actor-director Sheena Midori. “We hadn’t realized it until the actual shoot day, but the whole team consisted of bi+ folx,” exclaims Lucy as we sit down with two matcha lattes at the Alcove Bar in her hometown of Los Angeles. “The makeup artist, dancers, choreographer, hair, assistants, actors. It was incredible. Our lead actors were bi-cons Gabe Dunn, Connor Manning, and Nicole Pacent. It felt so good to have a community of folx who could personally relate to the song on set.”
Lucy was not always vocal about being bi. In fact, as is the case for many bi people, they came out to themself later in life. Growing up in Temecula in the early 2000’s, they do not remember anyone ever talking about bisexuality. “I would have started playing music a lot younger, and also come out much earlier. But no one used the word ‘bisexual’ when I was growing up, unless it was a punchline.”
Outed by a major music media outlet à la Billie Eilish’s outing by Variety, Lucy remembers feeling scared and exposed. “It was my first interview with a major music media outlet. I hadn’t realized that everything I said could be used for the story. I was terrified when I hung up and realized they might mention it in the story. I called a few family members the next day to make sure they heard it from me first. And by the time the article came out, so had I!”
These days, Lucy is not afraid to put her identity front and center in her music and her advocacy. Named One of Billboard’s “Top 10 LGBTQ Artists to Fall in Love With,” Lucy & La Mer sings about loving more than one gender in their 2019 collaboration with YouTuber Jessie Paege “Not a Phase”: “She's got what I need / He got what I need / They got what I want.”
“Once in a while, I make the lyrics explicitly bi because I feel it’s important to do so,” says Lucy, who is preparing for a trip later this month to play at various Pride events in Australia. “Even if I’m singing about a girl in one song and a guy in another, people don’t really put that together. People will make assumptions that you’re straight or gay, and being bi is rarely their first assumption. It’s important to say it.”
On stage, Lucy speaks out against biphobia, and her concerts are often fundraisers for local LGBTQ+ youth centers. In Los Angeles, she started the “Love is Gay'' Valentine’s annual benefit concert to raise funds for the LA LGBT Center. She also is challenging the music industry to be more inclusive. “The ‘B’ is definitely not a priority, and it’s because of biphobia that people wrongly believe that bi+ folks have the privilege of ‘passing’ or ‘choosing straight relationships.’ There’s room for all in the community, and we’re finally starting to see some lineups reflect that and create space for bi+ representation in LGBTQ+ spaces.”
While more and more musicians are coming out as bi–including Lil Nas X, Frank Ocean, and Tove Lo–it still takes an incredible amount of bravery. “I think to be so clear, and so unapologetically bisexual is powerful and creates a safe space for others to come out as well.”
Fans can follow Lucy on Instagram and TikTok @LucyAndLaMer, catch her next domestic concerts at the Santa Barbara County Fair on July 13th and at the Dinah Shore Festival in September in Palm Springs, and check out her newest song “I Love My Dog” that dropped this month.
