Imagine for a moment that you are young once again – say a teenager or young adult. Now imagine you have been invited to a gathering of other young people where one of the coolest adults in the entire county, a well-known jazz and R&B singer, is there with her backup musicians singing for you—just for you and the other members of your group. She’s pretty and she’s elegant and she can sing like a bird, belting out popular old songs with style and vitality.
Her name is Lorraine Gervais. Adults you have spoken to know her from her many Nevada County Center for the Arts performances, nightclub appearances, weddings, County Fairground appearances, benefit gatherings —wherever county people gather to appreciate the magic of music. And they speak kindly of her. And my oh my, can she sing.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true
This business of imagining you are young again should not be too hard to do, should it? For in our adult lives, we are all carrying around a double, are we not? Inside is a younger version of ourselves, with the same blood pumping through the same veins, the same eyes perceiving the world around us.Yet our younger selves are ever so vulnerable to hatred or to kindness, to shame or to pride, to rejection or to acceptance; they are full of self-confidence one moment, consumed by doubt or embarrassment the next.
Lorraine Gervais is an adult who remembers well how she started singing at public events when she was just five years old; how she followed in the footsteps of her musician mother and grandmother; how, by the age of 15, she was performing in nightclubs on the West Coast, after living in Europe and in the Midwest. And inside her, even as she grew and began singing at clubs, festivals, concerts, parties, weddings—as headliner or as backup—was, and is, that young girl who was raised in her early formative years by a same sex couple, leading to a lifelong acceptance of others.
“Growing up as a young performing artist with my upbringing was actually not easy,” says Lorraine. “My mother had serious mental health issues, and we did not remain in any one place for very long. I was naturally drawn to creative and interesting people with whom I had a lot in common, regardless of where we were living.”
As we sat and talked recently on a sunny but cool afternoon in Nevada City, Lorraine recalled fondly past friends and associates. “I moved to Nevada City in the early 80’s.” says Lorraine. “I was attracted to the County’s dynamic cultural community. The founders of the American Victorian Museum (later renamed the Miners Foundry) and then Music in the Mountains helped attract a vibrant gay community to the area. Like most of the artists I have known over the years, they were very inclusive. What a rich and generous contribution they made– and continue to make– to our Nevada County culture.”
So, when the Nevada County Pride organization comes calling, asking Lorraine to headline a celebratory fund-raising event at the Foundry or perform at a backyard patio party, she welcomes the opportunity and enjoys the good will shared by all.
Yet in 2024, hundreds of new anti-LGBTQ laws are pending across the country, with 44 states already enforcing bathroom bans, healthcare prohibitions, ID restrictions, and book bans. And the incoming Trump administration is proposing Federal regulations to allow employers, based upon their religious beliefs, to disqualify LGBTQ job applicants. The impact of all this targeted discrimination? A recent survey of 30,000 representative LGBTQ young people between 13 and 24 years old revealed that 41% seriously considered suicide last year, according to the Trevor Project.
Where does Lorraine Gervais, an ally of the Pride community, find hope for the future? “I have faith in the younger generation,” says Lorraine. “One of my young family members has struggled with his trans journey to become who he was born to be, and we are all happy for the acceptance in his life at this point—his friends are so supportive. Young people in general today accept divergent gender preferences. Good for them—we all need to find our own path in this world. I hope my grandchildren will find theirs, wherever that path may lead.”
To support our vulnerable LBGTQ youth, the Trevor Project affirms that one supportive adult, one ally, can significantly ease the existential crisis our young people are experiencing. This ally might be a friend, a parent, or a mentor. Someone who simply takes a young person into their heart and accepts them for who they are.
Which brings us back to Lorraine Gervais, singing her warm and soulful versions of classic songs at Nevada County Pride gatherings.
I’m on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
So, here’s to you, Lorraine Gervais. Someday in the not-too-distant future, the next generation of Americans will rescind all this hostile legislation. Until then, kind artists like Lorraine will be helping some of our most vulnerable young people bridge the troubled waters ahead.
Editor’s note: Contact timothymay49@gmail.com to suggest someone in our community for a ‘Here’s To’ article.