LGBT Entertainment Preview 2016: What music to hear

Each year in honor of Pride month, Entertainment Weekly celebrates the LGBT community through its boldest and most fearless creative forces. In our new issue, available now, we honor the TV shows, music, movies, and books that help promote a better understanding of LGBT culture.

BARBRA STREISAND

Encore, Aug. 26

Streisand returns to Broadway with an LP of duets from classic shows with Hollywood stars like Daisy Ridley and Anne Hathaway. The LP follows the gay icon’s 10-date tour, where she’ll perform for two nights in her hometown of Brooklyn.

ALASKA THUNDERF—

Title TBD, Late Summer

After her 2015 debut peaked at No. 3 on the dance charts, the RuPaul’s Drag Race season 5 star is returning with another set of hilarious and raunchy club-wreckers that she describes as “frivolous and fun and a little filthy at times.”

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BIG FREEDIA

Title TBD, Fall

The Queen of New Orleans Bounce has gone mainstream with a Fuse TV show and an appearance on Beyoncé’s “Formation,” an experience she describes as “one of the best moments forever.” She’ll return with a new genre she’s calling BDM, a.k.a. bounce dance music.

TROYE SIVAN

The Suburbia Tour, Starts Oct. 16

The 21-year-old synth-pop wunderkind is touring this fall to support his excellent debut album, Blue Neighbourhood. A portion of ticket sales will go to the Ally Coalition, which funds LGBT causes. “We’re trying to make the experience more LGBT-friendly,” Sivan has said.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE

MEmphis Rock and Soul, Fall

The iconic lesbian singer-songwriter will honor her roots with this set of tracks paying tribute to Memphis’ Stax Records label. She’ll include interpretations of songs by the Hodges Brothers and Otis Redding.