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‘The 21st century is queer. Accept it’: the Harlem Gospel Travelers on prejudice in the church – and singing for Joe Biden

Inspired by Beyoncé and admired by Elton John, the talented trio are proud of their sexuality, but have been cold-shouldered by the gospel scene as a result. They explain their message of universal love

The young trio’s fervent voices are astounding, making them one of the most exciting new acts in US gospel – Elton John is a fan and has hosted HGT on his Apple Music radio show, and they performed on Joe Biden’s 2020 election campaign trail. Gay and lesbian gospel singers have always existed, yet homophobia forced these pioneers to remain closeted: Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight were creative and rumoured romantic partners, while Alex Bradford and Clara Ward were known to pursue same-sex relationships. Songs such as We Don’t Love Enough and Searching for the Truth work as religious and secular parables and HGT perform them with great conviction; by going back in gospel history, the trio are championing the genre in the way that Sharon Jones’ Daptone recordings did with classic R&B.

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