\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhy can\u2019t you love me, like a woman can?\u201d Lzzy Hale<\/a> sings in Halestorm<\/a>\u2019s forthcoming single, \u201cLike a Woman Can,\u201d a highlight of the Nashville-based rock band\u2019s new album, Everest<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tHale, who came out as bisexual in 2022, has never been shy about her sexuality. She\u2019s written and sung about it often, leaving little to the imagination in songs like the 2018 romp \u201cDo Not Disturb.\u201d<\/a> In a new interview with Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2019s Nashville Now<\/a><\/em> podcast, Hale and guitarist Joe Hottinger say they\u2019ve witnessed Halestorm\u2019s audience grow to include a broad swath of LGBTQ+ fans. According to Hale, she\u2019s approached for advice.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI don\u2019t have all the answers\u2026, but you get kids coming up saying, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m trying to come out to my parents, what do I do?’\u201d Hale says. \u201cI didn\u2019t even talk to my parents about any of this stuff. I came out inadvertently over Twitter because I was doing an \u2018Ask Me Anything.’\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHottinger is often there to witness it and says many fans hand Hale letters, compelled to tell her their story. \u201c\u2018I don\u2019t have time to tell you everything; this says everything,\u2019\u201d Hottinger says, adding that Hale is sort of a heavy-metal role model to young fans.\u201c Watching little girls look at Lzzy, because she\u2019s such a force onstage\u2026they\u2019re like \u2018Wait, I can do that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHalestorm\u2019s diverse fan base is another sign of the expanding worldview of hard rock, which has been maligned for a history of misogyny and male gaze. At a 2023 show by Greta Van Fleet at Nashville\u2019s Bridgestone Arena, fans waved rainbow flags in front of the band, a show of support of GVF singer Josh Kiszka, who publicly came out<\/a> that year.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou can look out at the audience any given night, and it\u2019s all walks of life,\u201d Hale says. \u201cThe rock show doesn\u2019t care who you like to kiss, what you like to wear, what you do for a living. We\u2019re all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n