On the evening of February 24th, beginning at 9:00 pm, Hambones’ backroom will be filled with the soulful sounds of Jude Benedict Music and his two special guests, Tai Chirovsky and Amy Linette.

Jude Benedict is a Pittsburgh-based musician who has strived to create safe spaces for any and all people, creating warm atmospheres and being accommodating to any modifications needed for others, working with organizations such as Proud Haven and AmeriCorps. He has had music in his life from a young age, with strong musical influences coming from his parents, soul music (citing Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Ray Charles, and the Blind Boys of Alabama to note some), and Anglo Saxon choral music for its beautiful chordal sound. Now, he calls himself an experienced collaborative artist. Rock n’ Roll and Soul are still main focuses, but he also has a deep appreciation for covers. “I’ve taken focus on the instrumentation side of music, recently switching to electric guitar from acoustic (14 years). The idea that music is the manipulation of sound, turning inward and finding my special music…making the music I like.”

Trans.Gender Queer.Musician will be the first show where Jude reveals his experience as a transgender individual, a piece of knowledge that not everyone is aware of. Given the tumultuous times we live in, Jude wanted to put his hand out to show that this is what he does and who he is.

Conversations about gender expression, especially with those who are new to the issues, can be exhausting and can leave the person explaining their experience feeling worse than when the conversation started. “The hardest part of coming out is that once you come out once, you never stop coming out. You will ask yourself over and over why must I keep explaining who I am, why did this happen to me? You want to give the information, while also feeling that you are silently sacrificing yourself. You usually don’t feel good after the conversations are over.” These conversations can involve anything from inappropriate questions about one’s genitalia, to comments erasing the person’s entire experience, such as “You pass so well, I would have never known!” or “You are doing so good.”

Jude believes that genuine curiosity should be nurtured, for that is the only way that more knowledge and understanding can be spread for the generation that are dealing with issues now, and the future generations of children who will deal with gender expression issues and dysphoria. This show is a step towards creating a place where one day, people won’t have to explain who they are, but will be allowed to just…be.

Amy Linette is a local Pittsburgh artist who describes her music as Indie-Folk(ish) – describing it as the singer-songwriter style of herself and an instrument. Tai Chirovsky is an independent folk singer/songwriter based locally in Pittsburgh.

Show is from 9pm to Midnight. Tickets are 10 dollars (accommodations can be made for those who cannot afford it) at Hambone’s. For deets, hit this facebook page for the event.

Sidenote: This is the same night at QueerPGH’s Happy Hour, so once you’re done with drinks at Franktuary we can flood the gates of Hambone’s with a wave of queerdom.