Flint Eastwood Celebrates Pride with New Single REAL LOVE

Detroit-based artist Flint Eastwood (Jax Anderson) is celebrating Pride with her new track "Real Love." Flint Eastwood hit the stage at Fireflylast weekend, will open for GRiZ at Red Rocks next month, and is heading out on a solo US tour this fall. "Real Love" marks Jax's first release directly addressing the LGBTQ+ community, her personal orientation and identity.

Anderson's religious roots run thick - her great grandmother, both her grandfathers, her uncle, a cousin and her older brother are and were all pastors. Her parents even met in church when her father was part of a traveling choir. Church was also the place she first learned how to play music. It was mostly the place where she was forced to repress her own identity.

As an adult, she was hired as a videographer and content creator by her childhood church, intentionally enrolled as an independent contractor. The thought being, if anyone found out she was gay, they could quickly cut ties with her as she was never truly employed by them. The first story they asked her to cover was about a young woman they had "saved" from being gay. This became her tipping point, and forced her to walk away from the church.

Despite shedding her religious affiliation, years later she was offered a record deal by the industry's most well-known Christian label. After learning of her 'alternative lifestyle,' the contract was withdrawn.

Finally, a few weeks ago, Jax learned that her childhood pastor received an award for a workshop which intentionally targets females ages 11-13 who are questioning their sexuality. These 'conversations' are a new language for gay conversion therapy and were met with much backlash and protest, causing the church to continue with the classes in secret.

"Real Love" is a celebration of Jax finding all the things that the Christian Church told her she would never find because of who she is: a gay identifying female.

In her own words, she wrote this song "because no kid should be made to feel as lonely and broken as I was convinced to feel. I want people to know that there is hope and that there is a happy life out there for them. You are worthy of the most spectacular love and you will find it being exactly who you are."

The release of her EP Broke Royalty in 2017 via Neon Gold Records(Christine and the Queens, Charli XCX, Tove Lo) gave Jax critical acclaim leading to festival appearance and a tour run supporting PVRIS. Last year, Jax played 4 successful Lollapalooza shows (incl supports for Phantogram and Sylvan Esso), had a huge set at Bonnaroo and was the youngest artist invited to join the "Superjam" to perform "Get Up Offa That Thing" by James Brown with Preservation Hall and Jon Batiste as her backing band. On top of it all, she sang backing vocals for Chance The Rapper's version of "Hey Ya"!

Jax has always been carving out her own path. In 2015, she helped co-found Assemble Sound, a collaboration studio space for Detroit musicians to meet, find resources, and ultimately create good art. They raised funds, purchased a church from the 1870's, and renovated it as a community. This is the space where Flint Eastwood writes and records her music, the space that sparked the idea for Broke Royalty.

Photo credit: Goodpals - hi-res here

Flint Eastwood Tour Dates:
Sat 6.23 - Iowa City, IA @ Downtown Iowa City Block Party
Sun 6.24 - Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Arts Festival
Fri 6.29 - Detroit, MI @ Summer at the MOCAD Homestead
Sat 7.07 - Minneapolis, MN @ Basilica Block Party (w/ Third Eye Blind, BØRNS)
Fri 7.13 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Fri 9.14 - Ottawa, CAN @ CityFolk Music Festival
Sat 9.15 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Middle Waves Music Festival
Tue 9.18 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
Fri 9.21 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Back Room @ Colectivo
Sat 9.22 - Saint Francisville, MO @ Kranzberg Arts Center
Sun 9.23 - Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
Thu 9.27 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
Sat 9.29 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Wed 10.03 - Vancouver, BC, CAN @ Fox Cabaret
Fri 10.05 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Sat 10.06 - Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar
Wed 10.10 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Fri 10.12 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Moroccan Lounge
Sun 10.14 - Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Wed 10.17 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
Fri 10.19 - San Antonio, TX @ 502 Bar
Sat 10.20 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's BBQ
Sun 10.21 - Fort Worth, TX @ Main At South Side