Bimini talks drag bans, break ups and balancing light and shade on new single ‘Rodeo’

Bimini is back with that classic tongue-in-cheek and sassy attitude we love them for as they give us a sparkling new single, ‘Rodeo.’

The song sees Bimini take us on a ride as they confront a former partner and find the strength to move on. It follows Bimini’s last single, ‘God Save the Queen’.

Over a pulsating beat, Bimini sings: “You tell me that you love me, but lately it doesn’t show.”

After sharing that “last night in your sleep you called someone’s name. And I been broken before and I’ll break again,” Bimini states: “Yeah, this cowgirl don’t wanna play your game.”

The song builds to a crescendo broken by Bimini singing: “This ain’t my first rodeo.”

Attitude caught up with the self-defined “genre-bender” ahead of the single’s release to discuss the song.

“It’s one of those sayings,” Bimini told us. “I feel like everyone’s said it before or it’s one of those things that we’ve used to saying. It’s quite a tongue-in-cheek saying.”

“The song comes from a place of pain. It comes from going through quite a dark time in my life. A lot of great things were happening but there was also the darker side, so it’s bringing that light and shade into the song.”

As always with Bimini, though, there’s a healthy portion of sass and attitude. (We love that here!)

After enquiring, Bimini reveals they’ve never done a rodeo. “I’d love to,” they comment before noting that many parts of the US haven’t made themselves welcoming for queer people right now.

Turning to the recent drag ban introduced in Tennessee, as well as the mounting levels of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation, Bimini lamented the situation.

“It’s not for the protection of children, as much as it’s being painted as that,” they said. “I think there’s a lot more that they could be doing if that’s the case. Banning this just doesn’t make sense to me. It’s taking away the freedom of speech as a performer.”

“I hope that we can keep fighting together and stand up”

Bimini argued that legislators using the examples of parents taking their kids to drag shows designed to be family-friendly is nonsensical as the parents have decided to be there.

“At the end of the day, it’s the parents that are taking a baby to the show. I’ve performed in public spaces before, and we’ve been briefed on what to do and what not to wear.

“As a performer, I know how to blend myself and mould myself in certain scenarios. It’s really quite scary how they’re going about it.”

Ultimately, the legislation and targeting of the LGBTQ community are all a distraction from the real issues at hand.

“I hope that we can keep fighting together and stand up,” Bimini continued. “It really does worry me when I see the tactics that are used. It’s so manipulative.”

Finally, they called on the rest of the LGBTQ community to stand up and fight off drag bans and anti-trans legislation.

“Allyship now extends further than just people on the periphery. It really goes to everyone in the community that enjoys drag enjoys performance, or has friends that are trans and wants to support trans people.

“Now is the time for gays and lesbians and everyone to come together. I hope we can band together and stand up against it. It’s worrying that our rights are so fragile that they can be taken away at any point.

“If it happens at this level, it can happen to any level. If they’re taking away the rights of trans people and drag performers or artists, they can take away the rights that we’ve fought for many years to have.”

On a cheerier note, Bimini promised that more music is on the way. They also teased a big collaboration is in the works…

“I’m off to LA to work on music, and I’m working with some really amazing people,” they said. “I can’t really say [much] right now, but you’ll hear the music very soon.”

We’re already looking forward to it!

‘Rodeo’ is available to stream now.