At a performance this weekend, the Austin Gay Men’s Chorus laid down a marker to all who oppose gay rights: They Cannot Erase Us! This concert is a bold choice, a clear (and welcome) break from the happy-go-lucky tunes that have been a staple of gay choruses across the country for years. This was not the concert to hear Over the Rainbow for the millionth time.
They Cannot Erase Us was the title of one of the songs the Chorus performed in a concert entitled Freedom Unfinished, which directed its fire at both gay rights and racial equality. The words Freedom Unfinished were on prominent display in the lobby of First Austin church on Trinity Street (photo below), along with memorials to four of the people killed recently by police action. These four were linked directly to a 2022 composition entitled The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, by Joel Thompson. Of the seven commemorated by Thompson, the Chorus performed a selection of the four whose names and faces feature in the church lobby.
I asked two people their opinion of the Thompson composition. “I think the piece that was in four parts was amazing. Heavy, heavy stuff. The arrangement is super cool: bringing in rap, for example, and being in character etc. It’s all a good mix of who’s up there.”
Another person said “I thought that it was really powerful that we got to hear the last words of black men that were victims of police brutality. And really take the time to listen to them. It was very profound to know that someone’s last words on earth are now incorporated into a body of art. And that maybe in that way they can live on.”
The concert was more a performance of skill and ability than recognisability: I’m sure few in the audience had previously heard many of the selections. Most were new to me.
The performance that received the loudest approbation from the audience was Rise Up, sung by the duo of Scott Wallace and Justin Florie. With background vocals from the Chorus, this 2015 song by Andra Day was written as a personal prayer for perseverance. In 2021, it became an anthem during the Black Lives Matter protests. The voices of Wallace and Florie tressaged beautifully through the verses of pain and resilience.
A rousing rendition of The Dog Days Are Over (a 2009 number by Florence and the Machine), enhanced by several members dancing in front of the Chorus, joyfully ended with the tableaux pictured in my lead photo. Another standout performance was Douglas Hallam, whose voice and tall presence dominated the stage in the song We Shall Be Free. Flanked by the other members of Take Note!, the Gay Chorus ensemble that also performed Bellow by Moira Smiley, We Shall Be Free was a 1993 release by Garth Brooks. The lyrics, advocating for racial equality and LBGTQ rights, was so controversial it sparked a historic Super Bowl standoff when the network initially refused to air its provocative music video. So sad that a music video promoting equality and gay rights caused such a furore in a country that was ostensibly founded on the “all men are created equal” principle. While many in the audience were eager to embrace the notion of hope, others will have recently concluded that the 250-year experiment in equality has dismally failed as culture wars have consumed the Republic. Even books written by Presidents Obama, Clinton and George W. Bush have now been banned by at least one school district in Texas: New Braunfels, not far from here.
Dr. Thomas Rinn, Artistic Director of the Chorus, quoted Thomas Jefferson: “I shall not die without a hope that light and liberty are on a steady increase.” Rinn said he acknowledges that in “250 years in the pursuit of freedom in America, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that every human being reaps the benefits of this country. I invite you to breathe in the air of this place, to reflect, so that when this concert is over you take the memories of these human beings with you, and to work beyond the walls of the concert hall towards a society that allows every human being to be included in the privileges of freedom.”
The concert will be performed again today: May 16, 2026
Photos: Lead photo, ending scene of the song The Dog Days Are Over
Second photo: Scott Wallace and Justin Florie sing Rise Up
Third photo: Dr. Renn expressing full force of the chorus
Fourth photo: The words Freedom Unfinished, on display in the church lobby
Fifth photo: One of several memorial tributes on display, this one for Trayvon Martin
For tickets to future events, visit the website: www.atxgmc.org
To read my report on the recent ATXGMC fundraiser in Austin, follow this link: