Queer, Grammy-Nominated Group Harlem Gospel Travelers To Make Aussie Debut

After becoming the first openly queer gospel group to be nominated for a Grammy with their album Rhapsody, the Harlem Gospel Travelers are ready to keep making history as they come to Australia for the first time in May.

Joining their long-time partner and producer Eli “Paperboy” Reed on his 20th anniversary tour alongside Aussie soul band The Meltdown, the gospel trio composed of Ifedayo Gatling, Dennis Bailey, and George Marage are set to be part of a tour celebrating the power of soul, blues and gospel music.

“We are very, very excited,” says the Travelers’ non-binary extraordinaire Ifedayo Gatling to City Hub, calling in from New York. “It’s been very hectic, and we’re really excited to make our debut there especially after what’s happened this year. It’s going to be amazing to meet a whole new group of fans, introduce ourselves and set Australia on fire!”

“A lot of my friends and people in the industry that have been working longer than me had been talking about how amazing it is to tour in Australia, and then in the summer I get a call from our management saying ‘Hey, so we have an offer to go to Australia.’ And I’m like, the Lord was listening!”

Harlem Gospel Travelers’ Ifedayo Gatling on attending the Grammys

The shock call from their manager to come Down Under was only surpassed by Ifedayo and the group’s shock at being nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album at the most recent Grammys.

“We were having a lot of successes, but also a lot of losses,” Ifedayo explains. “Though we’d done a lot to promote this last album, it was getting to a point where we were quite down on ourselves, so the day the nominations came out we weren’t even talking about it. So I’m just looking for Beyoncé, looking at the rap category and asking ‘Where’s Megan Thee Stallion?’

“Then I get an email and it says congratulations and I’m like whatever, I’m still mad about Megan. But I clicked on the email and it said that we’ve been nominated, and I was screaming with my friend. And I called both my group members – one was at work, one was moving – and said ‘Just wanted to let you know you’re nominated for a Grammy.’ So then we were all screaming!”

That nomination made them the first ever openly queer gospel group to attend the Grammys, which Ifedayo was elated to see was the Blackest Grammys in a long time – and of course, the group went all out on their outfits for the ceremony. However, they are quick to point out that queer people have always existed in the gospel space.

“We might be the first openly queer [gospel] group, but we’re not the first of our kind”

“There’s a lot of queer gospel artists that are not open, and that’s no shade to them,” Ifedayo says. “And some of the great gospel composers are queer men and women, whether or not we want to acknowledge that’s part of the history. We might be the first openly queer group, but we’re not the first of our kind, and we won’t be the last.”

“We were all raised with religion and God in our lives, and then as we evolved as people, we also discovered our ability to love more than one gender. These are things that were always a part of us, and to neglect either side is to literally cut off your ability to be yourself and to live life freely. We have to find the balance to allow people to see the God in us, but also see who we are as people.”

Ifedayo promises that when you buy a ticket to see the Harlem Gospel Travelers in a triple feature show with Eli “Paperboy” Reed and The Meltdown, you’ll be seeing HGT at their most electrified. “I’m going to see Beyoncé right before this tour, so you’re gonna see me on 10! But you guys are getting the post-Grammys tour, and we’re really on fire right now.

“I’m so excited for these audiences to see this evolution, and especially for it to be the first time. When myself, George and Dennis are all locked in, we call it the three-headed monster, and Australia is about to experience that. It’s going to be insane!”

Catch the Harlem Gospel Travelers in Sydney on Sunday May 11th, or throughout Australia from May 8th to 18th.