Previous studies that examined the roles music plays in homosexual life focused on how it was used after "coming out." In the present study, we qualitatively examined whether music played special roles before and during the "coming out" process. Seven gay men of varying ages and cultural backgrounds were interviewed and asked to describe their "coming out" process and to specify whether music was somehow involved in the process. An analysis of the transcribed interviews revealed three main roles: music as a companion (music offered the support that a friend might have provided); music as a means for concealing and exposing (music helped to regulate the extent of exposing homosexuality); and music as means of making change (music served as a catalyst for "coming out"). The results are discussed in light of Cass’s (1979) model of homosexual identity formation and suggestions for further studies are provided.