Beverly Glenn-Copeland

A rediscovered cult icon visits Oslo World.

There’s nothing quite like the career arc of the legendary Canadian singer, composer and transgender activist Beverly Glenn-Copeland. His voice moves listeners deeply. They take his songs to heart, and allow them to become the soundtrack to both struggles and joyful moments. His concert activity, greatly increased in later years, breathes rarefied air. But for the bulk of his fifty year recording career, defying categorisation and genre, his music lived in obscurity. His masterpiece Keyboard Fantasies (1986), an ahead-of-its-time synth exploration which combines the essence of new-age minimalism, early Detroit techno and the warmth of traditional songwriting, sold a few dozen copies on cassette. A lot of his music remained unreleased, and in Canada, he was more known for his participation in a children’s television show. 

And then, something happened. Keyboard Fantasies and the extraordinary folk-jazz explorations of his self-titled debut album from 1970 were rereleased, and all over the world, enraptured listeners wondered where this music had been all their lives. His participation on several breathtaking tracks on the seminal trans rights compilation album Transa (2024) brought him into the lives of even more listeners. 

A couple of years back, after returning to the concert stage, he was diagnosed with a rare form of dementia. The doctor advised him to solve crossword puzzles to keep it at bay, but he found out he didn’t like it. Instead, he opted for doing even more of what he loved: singing and performing music for his ever growing audience. "This is the time that I’m supposed to do this," he has said. It has to do with the fight for transgender rights, which he has kept on fighting ever since he came out to the world at large in 2003. It also has to do with the deep joy of music. “The audiences I’m playing to now are so loving,” he has said. “That’s what’s knocking me out. They put out such a beautiful energy, and that’s going back and forth between us onstage and them.” We are proud to be able to present Beverly Glenn-Copeland at this year's festival. l.

Image