Trans Pioneer Beverly Glenn-Copeland Announces Final Album 'Laughter In Summer,' A Love Letter Created With Wife Elizabeth

Beverly Glenn-Copeland, the 81-year-old transgender pioneer whose influence spans generations of musicians, has announced "Laughter In Summer," a nine-track album that serves as both a celebration of enduring love and a profound meditation on loss, memory, and the sustaining power of music. The record, scheduled for release on February 6, 2026, through Transgressive Records, marks a poignant chapter in the career of an artist whose rediscovery in recent years has cemented his place as one of music's most vital and visionary voices .

"Laughter In Summer" represents a true partnership between Beverly Glenn-Copeland and his wife, eco-poet, theater actor, and producer Elizabeth Copeland. The album emerged from their nearly half-century relationship, with Elizabeth now taking her place as producer alongside music director Alex Samaras. This collaborative approach reflects a shift necessitated by Glenn's diagnosis of LATE, a type of dementia that has affected his executive functioning while leaving his musical abilities remarkably intact .

The couple describes the album as "a tender ledger of shared devotion, memories, grief, and joy," capturing both the challenges they face and the profound connection that sustains them . The album's title itself originated during Glenn's cognitive decline, when he composed a piece that struck Elizabeth deeply. After hearing the phrase "laughter in summer" while by a lake, she provided the emotional lyrics that would become the title track .

The creation of "Laughter In Summer" was serendipitous rather than calculated. In 2024, before a Montreal performance, the Copelands were invited to spend a few days at the iconic Hotel2Tango studio, working with producer and engineer Howard Bilerman, known for his work with Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Vic Chesnutt, and Wolf Parade. There was no initial plan to make a record; they simply wanted to capture the songs they had been performing on tour .

The recording process itself embodied the raw, present-moment awareness that characterizes the Copelands' approach to life now. They were joined by a choir of Montreal voices gathered by Alex Samaras, none of whom had rehearsed with Glenn and Elizabeth beforehand. As the engineers set microphone levels, the group loosely rehearsed their first song. This unrehearsed rehearsal became "Let Us Dance, Movement 2" on the final album. Every other song was recorded in Glenn's preferred style: one take only .

Accompanying the album announcement, the Copelands released a double single featuring "Let Us Dance (Movement One)" and "Children's Anthem," two songs that bookend different periods of their shared creative journey. "Let Us Dance (Movement One)" opens the album's nine tracks and represents a choral reworking of a song originally published on Glenn's cult classic "Keyboard Fantasies." The Copelands describe it as holding "deep personal meaning for us as a couple," explaining that "it's a gentle reminder that life invites us to embody joy through movement, no matter the circumstances, no matter how difficult the path" .

"Children's Anthem" carries its own historical weight, dating back to 2007 when it was one of the couple's first creative collaborations. Originally written for an anti-bullying conference and teachers' workshop on bullying, the song returns on this album with a fresh arrangement dedicated to their granddaughter Freya. In their statement about the track, the Copelands expressed hope that it "will serve as a rally cry to support and protect all the children of the world. At a time when violence has become endemic, this song and its message is more critical than ever" .

The making of "Laughter In Summer" has become another way for the Copelands to remain present with each other as they navigate the realities of Glenn's condition. Elizabeth has spoken candidly about their practice of sitting together at least once a week to name what is being lost. "Because when you deny an emotion," she explains, "it becomes frozen within you" .

Yet even as Glenn's executive functioning diminishes, Elizabeth notes that his musical being—"and I would say his heart self"—only grows stronger . This paradox speaks to the mysterious ways music can transcend cognitive decline, accessing parts of consciousness and emotion that remain vital even when other faculties fade.

Elizabeth has reflected on the existential dimensions of their journey with profound acceptance. "From the moment we are born, we are walking towards our deaths," she says. "And that's okay. In order for there to be birth, there must be death" . Glenn has told her that when he passes, he will be able to be with her even more than now—a thought Elizabeth describes as both comfort and pain. What sustains them both is Glenn's refusal to stop giving. "Sometimes he'll hold my hands and say, 'I have so much more to give. I've got so much to give these young people,'" Elizabeth shares .

The nine tracks on "Laughter In Summer" reflect the intimate, collaborative nature of the project:

1. Let Us Dance (Movement One)
2. Ever New
3. Laughter In Summer (featuring Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland)
4. Children's Anthem (featuring Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland)
5. Harbour (featuring Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland)
6. Middle Island Lament (featuring Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland)
7. Shenandoah
8. Prince Caspian's Dream
9. Let Us Dance (Movement Two)

The track listing reveals Elizabeth's prominent role throughout the album, with five of the nine songs explicitly featuring her contributions, underscoring the collaborative spirit that defines this work.

"Laughter In Summer" arrives as Glenn embarks on what is expected to be his final tour. The album represents his first release since 2023's "The Ones Ahead," and the tour includes dates across the UK, Europe, and North America . The October 2025 tour dates include performances in Dublin, Cardiff, London, Manchester, and Brussels, with additional shows scheduled in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver through January 2026, culminating in an appearance at Primavera Sound in Barcelona in June 2026 .

Beverly Glenn-Copeland's journey from obscurity to recognition is one of contemporary music's most remarkable stories. After decades of creating groundbreaking work in relative anonymity, his 1986 album "Keyboard Fantasies" was rediscovered in 2015, sparking a renaissance that introduced his visionary synthesis of folk, jazz, electronic, and spiritual music to new generations. His identity as a transgender man, which he has spoken about with characteristic grace and wisdom, has made him an important figure of representation and resilience for LGBTQ+ communities .

Throughout his career, Glenn has drawn together diverse musical practices toward what he describes as "a single, luminous conviction: that music can shake us loose from what closes us off from each other." His body of work "surrenders to the beauty, pain, and great capacity for healing that courses through life; in its unguarded sincerity, it invites you to share in its courage" .

"Laughter In Summer" embodies this philosophy completely. The album is not simply about dementia or loss; it is about presence, love, and the ways music can hold what words cannot. The songs are testaments—not just compositions but living documents of two people choosing to remain open to beauty and connection even as they face profound change .

As Glenn and Elizabeth continue their journey together, "Laughter In Summer" stands as a powerful reminder that art can emerge from the most challenging circumstances, that vulnerability can be a form of strength, and that love can sustain us through the most difficult passages of life. For fans who have followed Glenn's remarkable late-career resurgence, the album offers both a gift and a farewell—an invitation to witness the courage it takes to keep creating, keep giving, and keep dancing, no matter what lies ahead.

The album will be released on February 6, 2026, through Transgressive Records, and is currently available for pre-order .