Pet Door Show’s Independent and Underplayed Trans and Non-Binary Artists You Should Know in 2023

8 min readApr 1, 2023

March 31st is International Transgender Day of Visibility! We dedicate this day to celebrating trans and non-binary people and their accomplishments and joys, and also to recommitting ourselves to secure the rights of trans and non-binary people to self-determination, gender affirming healthcare, access to gendered spaces, housing, employment, education, sports, dignity, respect, and self-expression. Especially as transphobic representatives continue to pass hateful and disingenuous legislation persecuting trans and non-binary people, none of us can afford to be quiet in our support, no matter where we live. Trans and non-binary people have always been here, in every culture, and deserve to be celebrated and flourish as their true selves.

If you‘re cisgender and have questions about what it means to be trans or non-binary, the National Center for Transgender Equality has a good place to start. Also check out their Action Center for specific ways you can take action in the fight against anti-trans discrimination.

On the Pet Door Show (on Shady Pines Radio, Thursdays 2–4pm Pacific / 5–7pm Eastern / 10pm-12am UK), I exclusively play new music by independent and underplayed artists with fewer than 5,000 instragram followers, from all over the world, and that includes a whole bunch of incredible music by amazing trans and non-binary artists and their bands. In celebration of International Transgender Day of Visibility, I would like to share some of my favorite independent and underplayed trans and non-binary artists who have released music in the past year that I’ve played on the Pet Door Show.

I would also like to acknowledge that although I do play artists from all over the world, this list disproportionately features artists from North America and Western Europe. Trans people are everywhere, but not everywhere is safe yet for trans people to be visibly out. If you are a trans or non-binary artist who would like to be played on my show, please DM me on instagram! I want to listen to your music.

If you are cis, support with your bucks and buy some music from this list.

Please enjoy the Pet Door Show’s Independent and Underplayed Trans and Non-Binary Artists You Should Know in 2023, arranged below alphabetically by artist’s full name. Social and purchase links are provided. Also, here’s a handy dandy Spotify playlist to make browsing easier, but I highly encourage you to purchase any music that you like on bandcamp or similar in order to support the artists. If you enjoy this list, check out Pet Door Show’s Favorite Bandcamp Releases by Trans and Non-Binary Artists!

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26 BATS!

Indie pop. New Orleans, LA.
Favorite track: Sleepy Hollow, single released October 11, 2022.

A

alexalone

Indie rock. Austin, TX.
Favorite track: Rainbow (Boris & Michio Kurihara), single released May 6, 2022.
alexalone was also featured in Pet Door Show’s Favorite Bandcamp Releases by Trans and Non-Binary Artists!

Amelia Cry Til I Die

Indie rock. Philadelphia, PA.
Favorite track: country girl, from the album high on my own supply, released September 17, 2022.

angel apricot

Indie bedroom pop. Toronto, Canada.
Favorite track: gender envy, from the album the pink sunset over you, released November 25, 2022.

Arthur Moon

Indie pop. Brooklyn, NY.
Favorite track: Ghost Ranch, single released March 1, 2023.

augchamp

Alt folk. Minneapolis, MN.
Favorite track: Chapped Lips, from the EP Leftovers, released January 4, 2023.

B

Bdwthr

Hip hop. Milwaukee, WI.
Favorite track: F.B.T., single released August 13, 2022.

Bells Larsen

Folk. Montréal, Canada.
Favorite tracks: Sweater Weather and People Who Mean So Much To Me, from the album Good Grief, released September 9, 2022.

Blankslate

Alternative indie folk. Denver, CO.
Favorite track: 2301 S. High Street, from the album Summer on a Salt Flat, released October 28, 2022.

Bloomsday

Indie folk. Brooklyn, NY.
Favorite track: Howl, from the album Place to Land, released June 10, 2022.

Blues Lawyer

Indie rock. Oakland, CA.
Favorite track: Chance Encounters, from the album All in Good Time, released February 17, 2023.

Bly Wallentine

Experimental indie pop. Salt Lake City, UT.
Favorite track: Murky Water, from the EP Sun Brighter, released April 28, 2022.

C

Cake!

Hip hop pop. Austin, TX.
Favorite tracks: moonstone (ft. robin’s ghost, Mondo The Alien) and rainbow quartz, from the EP hidden gems, released August 5, 2022.

CJ Run

Hip hop R&B. Chicago, IL.
Favorite track: abouthefamily, single released May 27, 2022.

Creekbed Carter Hogan

Folk americana. Austin, TX.
Favorite track: Full Time No Benefits (ft. Asher Ford), from the album Split (with Large Brush Collection), released March 24, 2023.
Creekbed Carter Hogan was also featured in Pet Door Show’s Favorite Bandcamp Releases by Trans and Non-Binary Artists!

Crooks & Nannies

Indie alt pop. Philadelphia, PA.
Favorite tracks: No Fun and control, from the EP No Fun, released January 13, 2023.

Crush Fund

Post-punk. New York City, NY.
Favorite track: Seeing Stars, from the EP Drama, released November 11, 2022.

The Crystal Furs

Indie pop. Portland, OR.
Favorite track: Miss Hughes, from the album In Coastal Light, released September 23, 2022.
The Crystal Furs were the Pet Door Show’s highlighted artists on September 9th, 2021, and were also featured in Pet Door Show’s Favorite Bandcamp Releases by Trans and Non-Binary Artists!

D

Doki Doki

Alternative rock. Oakland, CA.
Favorite track: I Can’t Stop This Crazy Anymore, single released October 13, 2022, on Asian Man Records.

E

eevie echoes

Folk punk. Brooklyn, NY.
Favorite tracks: Off Grid (ft. Bergie & The Magic Bag) and I Feel Okay Today (ft. She/Her/Hers), from the EP Self Care, released November 15, 2022.

F

F.A.B.L.E

Hip hop. Chicago, IL.
Favorite track: We Goin’ Places (ft. Dre Izaya), from the album Green Room, released July 31, 2022.
We Goin’ Places by F.A.B.L.E ft. Dre Izaya was one of the Pet Door Show Best of 2022!

file sharing

Hyperpop electronica. IL.
Favorite track: BIG ASS TRUCK (ft. CILC, starflye), single released March 17, 2023.

Flummox

Alternative rock. Nashville, TN.
Favorite track: Hummingbird Anthem, from the album Rephlummoxed, released April 1, 2022.

H

Hi-Fi

Downtempo. San Diego, CA.
Favorite track: Valtiel, from the EP Blue Creek Apartments, released December 17, 2022.
Hi-Fi was featured in Pet Door Show’s Favorite Bandcamp Releases by Trans and Non-Binary Artists!

Hybrid Rose

Electropop. Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa.
Favorite track: Dial Tone, from the album Ultrakunt, released December 16, 2022.

I

imbi

R&B neosoul. Gadigal land.
Favorite track: Mannish Boy (Muddy Waters), from the compilation album Everybody Knows I’m Here, released May 6, 2022.

Izzy Heltai

Indie folk. Boston, MA.
Favorite track: Running Out, single released February 24, 2023.
Izzy Heltai was featured in Pet Door Show’s Favorite Bandcamp Releases by Trans and Non-Binary Artists!

J

Jess Kallen

Indie folk. Los Angeles, CA.
Favorite track: A Garden Bed of Thistle Weeds, single released November 29, 2022.

June Henry

Alt folk. Kansas City, KS.
favorite track: sweet time, from the album sweet time, released November 5, 2022.

Jungheim

Indie rock. Chicago, IL.
Favorite track: Sisters (ft. Erin Hirtzig) and Yonic Sooth, from the album Yonic Sooth, released August 5, 2022.

Junk River

Indie alt folk. Malmö, Sweden.
Favorite track: Changing, from the EP There is a Dog, released October 28, 2022.

Justin Arena

Indie folk. Rockland, MA.
Favorite track: Laundry List, from the split album with Chris OG & the Dopameanies, Literal Jazz, released November 17, 2022.