Celebrated singer-songwriter Mya Byrne shares “Lend You A Hand,” the latest single off her forthcoming album Rhinestone Tomboy, which releases April 28 via Kill Rock Stars Nashville. The new song comes as Byrne makes history this week with the music video for her previous single “It Don’t Fade” (feat. her girlfriend Swan Real, of SiriusXM’s 99% Invisible) added to rotation on CMT Music (CMT’s 24-hour channel), marking the first nationally broadcast kiss between two trans lesbians.  

“I wrote this song in a plowed-under cornfield one June day a decade ago, right when I was uncovering my trans identity,” says Byrne. “I intended it as a love song, and in many ways it is, but it took me years to realize that, in part, the woman I was writing to that day was me. In that sense, it’s a song of protection and liberation. Sometimes we queers have to protect ourselves before it’s safe to come out, and then after, too. This is so much of what ‘Lend You a Hand’ is about, and my ideal of what healthy love can look like. To support each other while fostering each others’ autonomy. To hold each other as we would like to be held. To watch the sunset while in each others’ arms.” She continues, “I recorded this vocal in one take, the most emotional I’ve ever been on record. Afterward, my friend and engineer Gregory Lattimer and I burst into tears. It was a powerful moment.”

Produced by Grammy-nominated songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan, Rhinestone Tomboy finds Mya Byrne at the forefront of a movement propelled by a much needed burst of fresh air. A queer trans woman playing Americana steeped with potent branches of blues, rock, glam and country music, she is every bit the voice of the outsider that built the foundation of the genre. Her new album is a 12-song journey into redemption and a masterclass at world building, as she gives life to stories from her times of joy and challenge. 

In 2022, Byrne helped launch the KRS Nashville imprint with her single “Autumn Sun,” receiving widespread acclaim. She celebrated the track’s release with several performances at AmericanaFest, prompting The Boot to declare “The authenticity and vulnerability present in Byrne’s songwriting is a kind that all artists try to mimic in their art, but only few can match.” Recently featured on Reba’s Top Ten remix of “I’m A Survivor” (on mandolin & lap steel), Byrne was named a 2022 Artist to Watch by Nashville Scene/CMT, and wrote and performed the theme song for Amazon Music’s Country Heat podcast hosted by Kelly Sutton.

Photo Courtesy: Niki Pretti