Kym Register + Meltdown Rodeo

Kym Register + Meltdown Rodeo (formerly Loamlands) is a transgressive and distorted country music outfit based in North Carolina that places queer storytelling at the forefront. Their music intimately grapples with identity, retribution, reconciliation and queer existence in both modern-day and historical (inclusive of mostly all) southern culture.

According to NOISEY, Meltdown Rodeo’s music is “written to directly address North Carolina, the people in the Durham DIY scene, and the area’s long history with LGBT communities and police violence, the themes lead singer Kym Register… wrestle[s] with throughout—queerness, police violence, bigotry and general intolerance to those who refuse to adhere to any kind of binary—are poignant no matter where you live.”

“It’s a narrative-heavy — and proudly queer — record, channeling both the South’s folksy past and the crunchy protest music of the modern Merge roster, sporting a genre-defying sound as courageous as the issues breached: institutionalized bigotry, body dysmorphia, the agonies of love and loss.”

“Even if you don’t know Register’s backstory, you can still hear that Sweet High Rise is a compelling, beautiful, and starkly political record.” – Bitch Media

“…a lush guitar pop sound that pulls from the late ’70s rock and country.” – Brooklyn Vegan