Adam Mac is like no one else you know … and if he’s honest, he likes it that way. A true Southern Spectacle and one of queer country’s leading voices, the inspiring singer-songwriter is brave enough to truly be himself. And with a fast-growing career, he’s helping others do the same. 

Mac’s third album Southern Spectacle is a loud-and-proud soundtrack for those who break the mold, mixing the joyful energy of pop and funk with a down-home heart. Because nobody is just one thing.

“People want things to be like ‘this’ or like ‘that,’ and there’s not lot of space for ‘both,’” Mac explains. “But I can be glamorous and flashy, and also raised on a Kentucky farm, with all the same values you have. I have just decided to embrace the full spectrum of who I am.”

“I’m making music that I wish I had growing up – that I wish I could have seen myself in,” he goes on. “And I feel like we’re doing something right.”

Once you know his story, it’s hard to disagree. Raised in Russellville, Kentucky, about an hour north of Nashville (and a world away from Music Row), Mac’s contrasting core memories go deep. A farm-and-church kid who loved The Spice Girls and Shania Twain and couldn’t stop singing, he soon moved on from bedroom vocal clinics to Sunday services and talent shows, and started writing songs after losing a dear friend in high school. “I realized I had a lot of things I needed to put somewhere,” he says.

But Mac also realized he was gay, and that was something to put out of sight. Enduring the typical pressure to “fix” his “unacceptable” truth, he had fully internalized the message by 22, moving to Nashville to write songs he thought the mainstream would accept. By his own admission, nearly 10 years of struggle led nowhere – Mac’s agile vocal just wasn’t enough to overcome his vanilla vision of country pop. But with the pandemic, Mac realized he was doing “three chords and the truth” all wrong.

“I was trying to appease the masses and not ruffle feathers, or even hint at the fact I was a queer country singer. There would be an ounce of truth in it, but it would never go all the way,” he explains. “Then I decided to do what I loved, and write songs without anything other than just being honest. With hindsight it’s like ‘Well, duh. That’s obviously what you should have been doing the whole time!’”

The creative epiphany worked wonders. Fusing vocal soul with a danceable country-funk mix (and the full fabulousness of his personality), 2023’s breakout hit “Disco Cowboy” set Mac free. The rapturous music video held the #1 spot on CMT’s 12-Pack Countdown for four weeks, leading to a full album of the same name and many conversations. … Although not always for good.

When Mac proudly signed on to headline a hometown music festival, a small group threatened to disrupt the event. Fearing things could get ugly, he canceled the show with deep disappointment – but the bullying backfired. The story went public bringing waves of support, including Kelsey Ballerini and Maren Morris, who invited Mac to open her Lunatic Tour in Chicago. The national media also took notice, with Mac’s music hailed by Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Out, GLAAD, and PEOPLE, who called the talent “country music’s very own Elton John.”

The end result is Southern Spectacle, a definitive intersection of country music and queer identity. With The Streisand Effect in full play, 12 songs co-written by Mac with close friends (including at least one other queer creator on each track) mark a work of cloud-nine courage, with a resilient, revelatory sense of self acceptance. Louder and prouder than ever, and with a true community in his corner, Mac dives further into the world he established on Disco Cowboy. “It’s so autobiographical to me, and also the starting point of where we left off,” he says. “This is the most honest I’ve been in any music – I really held no filter on it.”

In large part, that meant finally embracing his own story, contrasts and quirks included. Mac’s work might invite the scorn of a few, but also give his fellow Southern Spectacles permission to strut.

“This album is a journey through a multitude of feelings – from feeling like you stand out in a small town, to growing up with an older sibling who was the epitome of everything your father wanted,” he says. “It feels like the complete story of where I’ve been, especially after the past two years.”

Mac starts out in high gear on “Dust Off Your Boots” – a saddle-up blast of pulse-pounding country funk, built for dance floor euphoria. The track has already inspired a viral TikTok dance, and was sampled on the hit video game Fortnite. “I just wanted an uptempo ‘bitch, I’m back’ anthem,” he jokes.

The energy continues on “Southern Spectacle,” fusing steel guitars and “backwoods banjo” to a grooving digital thump. Mac dedicates his swaggering vocal flow to anyone who’s “a lot to handle.” “For me, this song is embracing the full spectrum,” he explains. “The message is to embrace your contradictions and not be afraid of them.”

Produced mainly by Jason Mader (with additional production by Sean Trainor, Warren Riker and HALLIE), the danceable fusion of country and modern pop was recorded over two days at Nashville’s Black River Studios. Packing a funky punch, tracks like “Rhinestoned” and “All Dollars, No Sense” hit like a club-ready mashup of Bruno Mars and Brooks & Dunn, laced with no-holds-barred lyricism. “It had to be all or nothing for me – I think because I spent so much time watering everything down,” he admits.

Indeed, tracks like the epic romantic anthem “Last Rodeo” marry Mac’s soaring vocal power to a pronoun-correct soulmates standout. The tranquil twang of “Daydream” finds a calming respite from the hurricane of heartland hard knocks. And while the striking falsetto in “Problem Child” leads a roots-pop smackdown of romantic game players, the album closing ballad “Golden Boy” opens old wounds, as Mac admits he felt less-loved because of who he was. But with the spirit-swelling sway of “The Outside,” hope reigns. Featuring fellow queer country star (and good friend) Chris Housman, the duet explores what it means to belong, for a community-building roots-country anthem.

“It’s so easy to feel like we’re not invited to all the cool-kids things because we’re the weird queer outsiders, and we just found the power in that,” Mac explains. “We were trying to remember that we’re better together – and it’s more beautiful on the outside anyway.”

To Mac, that’s the central message of his work. A lifelong outsider who’s learned to make his own space, the rising star wants everyone to know they matter, even if they’re complicated. So have a little fun.

“I hope that my community feels seen and represented and safe, and they have words for things they felt but were never able to explain,” he says. “For people outside of our community, I just hope they feel the joy – because that’s the way to make change. How do you argue with someone’s happiness?”