Amy Ray + Rita Houston = “Subway”
Amy Ray and Rita Houston (photo by Laura Fedele)
Dear Rita,
If you ever doubted how much you'd be missed here on Earth, here's evidence that the energy you put out there is still coming back around: Amy Ray, one of your all-time favorite artists going back through years of Indigo Girls show pilgrimages, has a song on her new solo album, If It All Goes South, that she dedicates to you.
In "Subway" she calls you "the maverick queen of our galaxy," and remembers playing songs for "you and your golden ears." The song paints a portrait of the New York you ran around for years, hopping from show to show.
“I met Rita in the ’90s and she was so dynamic — at a time when there was so much homophobia, she rooted for artists in the queer community and ended up driving a lot of people’s careers,” Amy says on her website. “I wrote ‘Subway’ thinking about Rita and New York City, and how liberated I always felt there as a young queer person just starting to get comfortable with myself.”
And who sings harmony with her on the album? Your pal Brandi Carlile, of course.
It's a love song to New York City, especially the parts of it that you made better. See you on the other side.
— Your FUV family
