Folk music is often portrayed as rural, heteronormative, and deeply connected to tradition. However, a new wave of artists, such as Ethel Cain, are reclaiming the folk tradition. They  demonstrate how ballads and folklore have historically embraced fluid identities and potentially coded desires.

Ballad Lines places this notion at its forefront. By reinterpreting traditional songs through a contemporary queer lens, the show challenges the perception of folk as a straight, static tradition. Instead, it portrays it as a dynamic, evolving cultural form.

You can read the QX feature by Finn Anderson. Finn discusses the queering of the folk music tradition and the five-year collaboration with director Tania to develop the musical.

Finn recently shared his insights:

“Our ambition with Ballad Lines was to blend the raw, timeless power of folk music with the sweeping emotional drama typical of the musicals we both admire. By reimagining traditional ballads in the context of a modern-day queer relationship and integrating contemporary styles, we hope this show reclaims folk music as a platform for diverse, intersectional storytelling—a space where more of us can see ourselves reflected. Ballad Lines delves into how songs travel: how they shift, evolve, and change hands over time.”

Finn Anderson is a Scottish composer, writer, and singer-songwriter. He fuses folk-rooted songs with bold theatrical elements. His breakthrough show, Islander, toured Scotland, moved to London, and ran off-Broadway in New York. At the same time, he releases his solo albums, Until the Light and Into the Arms of Ghosts.