European queer & flinta* music — coming soon
Today is the second day after Pride month 2026.
It's also four days after the planned release date of the first iteration of this site.
The reason why I chose that day is because it's the 28th of June, which is the 57th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and I like connecting goals and deadlines to meaningful dates. It pushes me to finish stuff.
Instead, you're reading this. A death in the family, an almost apocalyptic heatwave and some other reasons caused a delay in the development. It's a one-very-busy-person project at this point and I don't want to rush myself into anything. But I want to at least put out something. So how about some background and mission statements?
As a trans woman with a 25 year active history in mainly metal (and passive in other diy/underground genres), coming to terms with being trans obviously involved music. Against Me!'s Transgender Dysphoria Blues was pivotal at that and it made me realise that maybe there are people with similar experiences walking the same venues, navigating the same online spaces and playing in bands I might just enjoy.
Turned out there were indeed bands.
So. Many. Bands.
And they actually delivered. To the point that I dare say that this is one of the most important aspects of music these days.
It also turned out there was a lot of history already, dating back to the early 80ies in Canada and the USA. I started reading books on those movements and by people involved in it, found some documentaries (of varying quality) and kept discovering bands, both new and old.
But there was a small issue, all of it was extremely USA and Canada oriented and finding info about how all of this materialised in Europe was almost completely absent. Sure, we had Genesis P-Orridge in the UK and there were some documented connections to Berlin, but that was about it. There probably will be some zines that gathered that exact information, but I haven't encountered those yet. Finding out more would be a quest in itself.
So, I wanted to go step by step and start blogging about my findings.
For instance, do you know the Netherlands already had a gay punk band called 'Tedje en de Flikkers' (Tedje and the Faggots) from 1977 to 1980 that originated from the gay rights movement in that country? Well, that's the kind of information I wanted to collect, piece together and put out there.
But then I bumped into Clitteband's request to send in bands for a list of Dutch FLINTA* bands they were curating. I messaged them to ask if I could steal their idea and do the same for Belgium. They loved that and gave me their blessing. Almost at the same time, I got contacted by Antwerpian Queer collective 'The Clit Pit' asking me if I knew some queer bands for a show they were organising. I did, but it took some digging.
There had to be an easier way. I was already somewhat aware of the queer scenes in the UK, Berlin, The Netherlands and some things slowly emerging in Ghent, but to an outsider, they seemed to be confined within those nation's and city's borders. The state of the world being what it is, I'm convinced that shining a couple more lights on these scenes and connecting/collecting them will be beneficial to all of us. Both music obsessed 'elders' and young people discovering a world where the can hopefully find their passions reflected in their identities.
Step one will be a list of bands and organisers, both queer and FLINTA*. It will not follow any strict definition of what is considered 'queercore'. I find the politics of such bands existing more important than purity testing about a definition that only a fraction of them will fit in.
It will mostly consist of bands, artists and organisers that come from underground, diy and/or countercultural movements within Europe. But pop artists may even fall under these categories. Like I said, no purity testing. If it fits, it fits.
The dream is to expand this project to cover the entire world, but that inflates the scope and I have safety of people in other parts of the world to consider. In Europe, we are in the stage that needs visibility. In other parts of the world, visibility might be lethal, so that is something I really have to consider in the future if there ever comes a point to expand and I will need to be in contact with folks from those parts if I ever were to expand in such a way. This is not because of Eurocentrism.
I will at some point keep a list of shows and festival, and these will include non-European bands that visit these parts. For instance, did you know, The Iron Roses are touring Europe in October? Wel now you do. Worldwide solidarity and support is and will always be a core value.
The history of Queercore in Europe is also something that will be explored, maybe in the form of a blog, zine or a podcast, I don't know yet.
Right now, it's just me, but I hope to find some partners in crime in the near future, as long as we're on the same page and can help each other in meaningful ways. If you are interested, contact me at info@queercore.eu
At this point, the cost of running this is next to nothing. If this changes I will see how I'll handle this. Friends warned me about how something like this can grow fast, but this will never be about making a profit.
And finally, no support for genocide and no AI art.