Rose Gray has spoken to NME about working on some “wild” new music, as well as her love of Wolf Alice, and unwavering appreciation for her LGBTQ+ fans.
The recent NME Cover star caught up with us backstage at the Trans Mission show in London at Wembley Arena on Wednesday (March 11), where she appeared on the bill alongside Wolf Alice, Beth Ditto, Adam Lambert, Beverley Knight, Sugababes, Olly Alexander, HAAi, Jasmine.4.T, Kae Tempest, Kate Nash, MNEK, Romy, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Dubbed “A Night of Solidarity For A Lifetime Of Change”, the one-off concert was organised by Olly Alexander and Mighty Hoopla’s Glyn Fussell as a “statement that trans people are loved, valued, and celebrated, and that the entertainment industry stands proudly with them”.
Guest speakers included Sir Ian McKellen, Jordan Stephens, Munroe Bergdorf, Nicola Coughlan, Russell Tovey, Tia Kofi, Zack Polanski and more, and profits raised were split evenly between the Good Law Project and the transgender charity Not A Phase.
Towards the end of the night, Gray took to the stage to break out two songs – ‘April’ from her 2025 debut album ‘Louder, Please’, and a brand new, currently unreleased single called ‘Straight From The Club To Your Heart’.
Before then, she caught up with us backstage and revealed that she wanted to be a part of the Trans Mission line-up because of her deep connection with fans from the LGBTQ+ community.
“I have played a few Mighty Hoopla events with Glyn and they’re always my favourite shows, my favourite crowds, and my favourite community. I love playing to LGBTQ [crowds], they are my people. They’re my friends,” she said, adding that she “definitely wants to be involved in more events like this” in the future.
“I feel really blessed and lucky to have a voice and to be able to speak out [at events like these],” she continued. “A lot of the music I write is for my friends and about my friendship group. Not all of them are writers or musicians, but I almost feel like I’m being their voice a little bit [in my music].”
When asked about which acts on the line-up she was looking forward to seeing perform, Gray named Imogen Heap and Olly Alexander as two big sources of inspiration for her, and added that she was also a fan of Wolf Alice and their latest album, ‘The Clearing’.
“I’ve listened to their music for years, but the last record really hit a chord with me,” she said. “It really felt like it captured the pop artist questioning whether to move to LA or to stay in London, and the late ‘20s confusion. I loved it.”
When asked about what she has planned after the Trans Mission gig, Gray shared that she is gearing up for her upcoming UK headline tour (find tickets here), and also writing some new music that sees her lean into “wild” new avenues.
“I’m bringing out a new single, which I’m actually debuting tonight,” she said, referring to ‘Straight From The Club To Your Heart’. “I’m still a bit nervous playing new stuff [because] it feels like I’m about to open my diary in front of thousands of people.”
- READ MORE: Here’s what went down at the ‘Trans Mission’ Wembley gig, with Wolf Alice, Adam Lambert and more
When asked about what fans can expect from the new material, the singer added: “I’m not departing my ‘Louder, Please’ world. It’s still electronic, it’s still pop, and it’s still very anthemic. But I am definitely transitioning into a different world. I have some guitars, which is wild for me, and I’m still in the thick of making the new record.”
Last January, ‘Louder, Please’ was given a four-star review from NME and praised as incorporating an “enigmatic cutting edge into her upbeat dance-pop sound”. It was also named as one of NME’s best albums of 2025, and saw Gray shortlisted for the 2026 BRITs Critics’ Choice shortlist. The latter was later awarded to Scottish singer-songwriter Jacob Alon.
As well as Gray, other performances on the night came from Rahim Redcar, who performed Christine And The Queens’ tracks ‘Full Of Life’ and ‘Deep Holes’, Kate Nash who played fan-favourite ‘Foundations’, and Wolf Alice who showed up after their win at the BRITs to break out acoustic versions of ‘Leaning Against the Wall’ and ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’.
Olly Alexander ran through some Years & Years songs too, and was introduced to the stage by Sir Ian McKellen, who also recited Shakespeare’s The Strangers’ Case speech from Thomas More to the crowd – having also done so on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
The xx’s Romy also played a brief DJ set with HAAi, and Jasmine.4.T brought out Jacob Alon as a special guest. Find out more about what went down at the show here.