Mya Byrne and Paisley Fields release a surprise duet called “Burn This Statehouse Down” in response to the current slate of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation happening across the country. Released just hours after Byrne took the stage at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the Love Rising benefit concert, the song opens by directly addressing Tennessee Governor Bill Lee before illustrating the hypocrisy of the GOP’s attacks on the queer community. “Burn This Statehouse Down” was written by Byrne and Fields with Sandy Loam, produced by multi-instrumentalist Chris Kelly, and features vocals from Loam and Kelly, in addition to Aaron Lee Tasjan, Swan Real, Kym Register and Scott Wolfson. 

“Paisley and I aren’t just songwriter pals, we’re chosen family,” says Mya Byrne. “As trans people who came from backgrounds of trauma, seeing the work we’ve done translate into younger folks finding themselves and being supported because of our work is such a part of what makes our siblinghood special.”  

Paisley Fields adds, “Mya and I are outlaws. Not by choice, but because this is what our country is making us. We wrote this song with a shared rage, but also with hope that we can change things for the better. When I’m feeling helpless about the state of the world I channel that fury into my music.” 

Byrne continues, “No one deserves to be hurt this way by a government sworn to protect them — whether it’s trans rights, abortion rights, or gay marriage rights, it’s all the same — and all of us need to be turning over the tables. They’re on the wrong side of history, and my hope is this song can illustrate what we’re angry about to folks who wanna understand. Folks like Lee and DeSantis and Abbott are burning the pillars of our houses of democracy. And when you mess with the bull, you damn well get the horns.”