This story is featured in CityBeat’s May 29 print edition.
With a string of brilliant singles, and a fierce determination to bring her queer pop music into the ever-changing music industry, Bershy (AKA Brea Shay) heads into the summer with energetic confidence and optimism.
Bershy began her musical journey as a folk artist, drawing influence from household names like Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. Shay began honing her songwriting skills and searching for a voice of her own at an early age, but, over time, became disenchanted by the traditional folk singer/songwriter approach and eventually began exploring other genres. Discovering the unique sounds of Bjork and drawn in by the classic ‘80s production and style of Kate Bush, Shay decided to take a new musical path, and found her way into the world of pop.
One of the first things Shay chose to do in entering into this new chapter was to create the name Bershy. Cleverly merging her first and last name, Bershy created a catchy and energetic moniker that has become synonymous with her music, which they herald as queer pop. From her first single, “Say Fire,” released in 2019, Bershy has embraced and championed queer pop. Every synth-driven gem, since her first release, is a testament to her pop sensibility, and with every song Bershy continues to build a colorful monument to the queer community here in Cincinnati and beyond.
For Bershy, it has been an exciting year, and for the first time in her career, she has an entire team behind her. The move from releasing music on her own to joining up with the indie label Between Records has made a major impact on her momentum. And with the full support of the label, as she continues to write new material, she’s confident the songs will be backed properly and given the full attention they deserve. With local talent like Multimagic members Coran Stetter and Kyle Kubiak working diligently on her behalf, Bershy feels she has all the support she needs to keep her musical career moving forward.
“I have all of these incredible people working behind the scenes, who believe in my music — I just feel very honored to be at the place I am now,” Bershy told CityBeat.
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“4U” is Bershy’s latest single, released in late March. Already streamed thousands of times, “4U” is yet another leap forward for her. After the release of her single, “Radio,” another massive streaming success, Bershy began working on the follow up single, “4U,” a song that has been a personal favorite of hers for over two years. Because of her deep love for the song, Bershy, along with co-producers Stetter and Kubiak, worked on “4U” obsessively, re-working it until they felt it was as perfect as possible.
“It’s [“4U”] this big explicit gay love song, and I love to play it live!” Bershy said.
For Bershy, queer pop is art made by queer people. When she sits down to write a song, focusing on her life and penning lyrics with complete and authentic honesty, she hopes that people feel like they can connect with her and her experiences as a queer pop artist. A proud lesbian, Bershy strives to contribute to and promote queer experiences, using her music and live shows as motivating inspiration in creating inclusive spaces.
“Music gives us an opportunity to create these spaces wherever we go, and I feel very determined to make all of my shows feel like that — a giant celebration of sexuality and queer joy,” Bershy said.
Citing queer artists like Japanese House and Blood Orange as influences, Bershy also has great admiration for Beverly Glenn-Copeland, a trans composer from Philadelphia, whose album, “Keyboard Fantasies,” means a great deal to her both musically and personally.
Finding inspiration and hope inside the music of queer people who came before her gives Bershy a sense of belonging in the world and a place in the music industry as a queer artist. Bershy also feels it’s incredibly important to remember and celebrate people like Glenn-Copeland and similar artists who have bravely carved out a path for her generation to follow.
Though she feels like it’s an exciting time in the music industry — a time where queer musicians are able to break into mainstream music, and into pop culture in general — Bershy believes it’s very important to communicate that to be queer is to be subversive, and that queerness simply can’t be commercialized.
“Queer music and queer art will always be for us.” Bershy said. “Your typical major record label executive will never understand that. They aren’t the ones that get to decide if queer pop music is good, or worthy of mass consumption. It has always been good enough.”
In Cincinnati, Bershy feels respected and supported by the local queer scene, as an artist and as a lesbian. And though she’s looking forward to more inclusive spaces to emerge in the coming years, Bershy is excited and proud to be a queer artist in Cincy’s thriving and ever-growing queer community.
Bershy’s latest single “4U” is streaming now on all platforms. She’s currently at work on a new EP, release date yet to be determined. You can catch the premiere of the “4U” video on May 31 at Alice.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 11, 2024.
