Gay Welsh singer Rod Thomas, better known as Bright Light Bright Light, plans to shine at City Winery in Chicago in April. Joined by Drag Race Brasil host Grag Queen, The Cosmic Light Tour touches down in the Windy City for the first time.
Bright Light Bright Light has crafted pop records for years and won Album of the Year for Choreography at the 2016 WINQ Magazine Awards. His most recent endeavor, Enjoy Youth in 2024, had him collaborating with singer Ultra Nate and Babydaddy of Scissor Sisters, among others.
Bright Light shared a few stories shortly before the duo’s arrival for their upcoming City Winery appearance.
Windy City Times: You are based in New York City?
Bright Light Bright Light: Yes, that’s where I live.
WCT: Your moniker is from a quote in the Gremlins movie?
BLBL: Yes.
WCT: Are you a film buff?
BLBL: I am. I grew up in the middle of the countryside, so movies were a way for me to learn about the world. It opened a whole universe to me because I lived in a coal mining town. It was very tranquil, to be kind.
WCT: Do you have a favorite movie of all time?
BLBL: I have a top four: Addams Family Values, Knife + Heart, which is a 2018 French horror film, Blade Runner 2049, and Blow Out, which is a Brian De Palma film from 1981.
WCT: My favorite movie is Moonstruck. How was touring with Cher?
BLBL: It was mind-blowing. I had toured with big artists before her, but it was hard to think of her as a real person because she has done so much in music and as a movie star.
She has conquered every phase of media you can imagine, so it was very surreal to be associated with her. I had actually seen the same concert before I was booked for the European leg.
It was amazing to be in her presence and it was also a bit overwhelming.
WCT: How did you meet Grag Queen for The Cosmic Light Tour?
BLBL: We share a booking agent. I wanted to make a joyful LGBTQ+ tour at a time when America really needs it. Our agent gave us this idea and we both liked it, so we are going for it.
WCT: Is it space-themed?
BLBL: Grag’s new album is called Cósmica and it comes from that. I don’t have a new record at the moment, but we combined his title and my name.
It’s two queer people coming to town to bring audiences joy until we get caught. [laughs]
WCT: What is on the gay agenda for people to expect at your show?
BLBL: Joy, really. I love using my shows to create community. One thing I love about America is how warm people are. Obviously, people are very divided at the moment and fractured across the states, but this is an opportunity to bring people together with a live show.
I hope to create a bit of respite from world news, whatever that might be. I want people to feel emotions attached to lyrics to songs and hear stories behind the words.
The show is focused on bringing people joy for the night.
WCT: I saw you are going to Nashville’s City Winery, where I grew up. City Winery is not usually a dance venue, so how will that play out with your catalog?
BLBL: No, it’s not a dance venue, but I do play the piano and will have a section for that in the middle of the set. With my more sentimental songs, I do a little medley there where I dive into the more pensive side and then I will switch into my dance side after that.
WCT: Do you encourage patrons to strip off their clothes like in the video for “Boys Etc.”?
BLBL: Why not? Whatever, within reason and consent, gives a person joy, then they should feel free to do it.
WCT: Did you ever think that starting as a busker, you would be where you are today?
BLBL: No, I didn’t and to be honest, the music industry in London told me that I never would. The reason I have become what I am is spite. Ambition, drive and positivity are all important, but enver under estimate the power of spite. If I didn’t have people telling me that I would never get anywhere, then I wouldn’t have been fired up to do all of these things.
I truly never thought anyone would listen to my songs, much less have this many people across the world.
I have always been self-driven and self-employed, other than my first job. I am somebody that doesn’t like waiting around for something to happen. I know a lot of people who operate like that and it’s incredible what you can achieve if you don’t like sitting down to wait for things to happen.
There’s a huge cross-section of things that need to happen to enable those things. I feel very lucky to have ended up in situations where things have collided and taken off to galvanize what I have been doing.
It is not a given. I truly didn’t think that half of the things I did would work. It’s a constant surprise that the next day does not have me living on the streets.
WCT: Music with queer lyrics is a form of rebellion, so your open representation is more important than ever.
BLBL: I see the quote “joy is an act of resistance” all the time, but I think it’s deeper than that. It’s not about just doing things that make you happy, but instead it’s about how to cultivate joy for other people. I want people to stop being so self-focused. I wish the fact that we all live in the same world and we are all connected would resonate more with people.
I don’t have a career because I want to make money or have a number one single. I want to make music. I love singing and performing, which allows me to connect with other people across the world when they come to a show.
The most fun part of the whole process is singing a song in a roomful of people. I don’t write the songs to be played in an empty room.
For me, the act of joy as resistance is to allow others to feel it themselves. It’s to remind people that there is joy in the world. If someone reads the news cycles, they would think the earth has no happiness. That’s not true and I want to use whatever platform that I have to show people that at least an hour of each day should be filled with happiness.
WCT: After the pandemic, it has been crucial for audiences to enjoy communal experiences at concerts.
BLBL: COVID made us think that there might never be live music again. It took a long time to come back from that. I don’t think small shows have come back in the way that people predicted it would.
People have less money available now, and there’s a huge cost-of-living crisis going on right now in the US and UK.Many people are saving their money for a big blowout concert and they don’t have money for the smaller independent venues.
Artists are struggling to sell tickets and get booked. If they don’t sell enough advance tickets, then promoters won’t take a chance on them and they won’t be booked to play in new cities.
It can be difficult and great at the same time to be able to do it in whatever capacity one can.
WCT: Are there songs that you wanted to play on this tour in particular?
BLBL: Yes, “Boys Etc.” is my anthem. It is not my best-selling single, but it’s the one most people enjoy hearing live.
That one and “All in the Name” are cut from the same cloth with empowerment themes. I enjoy playing them for crowds and they are both cheeky.
Those songs allow me to show parts of my personality that I enjoy dipping into. They make me feel seen and heard.
Those two songs open and close the set. The songs in between will shift and change a bit.
WCT: What do you enjoy about collaborating with artists like Elton John and Scissor Sisters?
BLBL: It is the most fun part of the recording process. I make a lot of music by myself in a room alone. It is a solitary experience and when musicians don’t do studio sessions, they feel the same way I do. It is hard to get the energy needed when you are by yourself.
For me, bringing other people into the mix is great because there’s a second set of ideas from the other person. Another person’s brain will unlock my brain in a way that I couldn’t do alone.
The energies feed off each other and doors are opened together. It is really cool to have the opportunity to collaborate with so many brilliant people.
I am very fortunate to have made a network with friends who not only are quite famous and talented, but also have excellent ideas.
WCT: Have you visited Chicago often in the past?
BLBL: Yes, and I was just there this past December. Unfortunately, the show was during a snowstorm and it was cold.
I love Chicago and it’s always included when possible when I am on tour.
WCT: What are your plans after the tour?
BLBL: I am working on the next record. It will take a while because I have many things going on from now until next year.
In July, it is the 10th anniversary of Choreography. I will celebrate that with events and a reissue for fans with physical copies. I want to have a small nostalgia tour surrounding that.
WCT: Are you performing at any Pride festivals in 2026?
BLBL: No, I haven’t been booked for any so far. In 2015, I played at Market Days in Chicago and it was incredible. I played at the 7-Eleven parking lot stage in direct sunlight. Everyone in my band was missing notes because the instruments were hot to the touch. My keyboard player had to wear sunglasses to see the laptop screen and songbook.
It was wild, but really fun at the same time.
WCT: City Winery will be a much easier gig in comparison. See you then!
Prepare for a gay ‘ol time at City Winery Chicago’s Main Stage, 1200 W. Randolph St., on April 2 at 7:30 p.m. Click here for tickets and more information.
Bright Light Bright Light prepares to ignite queer joy at City Winery
