As we settle into this new normal, it seems as if nearly every aspect of our daily lives is disrupted. The virus and the efforts to contain it are having major effects on many peoples livelihoods and lives. E2TG is a music blog, so my focus, but I want to make it clear that I am not dismissing what many, many people outside of music are going through.
We are all faced with difficult decisions. I mentioned last week that my favorite regular hang out made the decision on Thursday to close for at least a month. This was not an easy decision, and it would have been understandable if they had chosen not to do so. On Sunday, the Metro Nashville Health Department and Mayor - declared a health emergency and asked music venues to close and restaurants to reduces capacity. A group of downtown honky-tonks decided to file suit to remain open.
Now, I have friends who make a living playing music on Broadway, however, I do find it interesting that one small venue made the decision to shut down voluntarily - while other (larger) venues are fighting in court to stay open. To me, it is further evidence that the tourist parts of Nashville are not really a part of our community. Maybe that is harsh, and I do acknowledge that many Nashvillians work and perform at these venues.
I don't know - I think trying to reduce the number of deaths, trying to protect vulnerable parts of our community is important and I applaud those who are doing their part, and to the best of my ability I want to support those folks. I will share again the GoFundMe for The 5 Spot.
Many artists are starting to do virtual shows on-line with venmo, paypal etc for tip jars. Check those out. If you hear your favorite artist doing a show - consider a tip - even if you aren't able to tune in. As I mentioned before, buy merc, buy physical copies of music (even if you plan to keep listening on a streaming service). Find a way to support these independent artists and venues at least to the extent you would if the venues were open. And for goodness sake, stay in if you are able, practice all of the guidelines if you do have to go out.
Music is my primary community, and I hope my community sticks together and supports each other through this time. Meanwhile, E2TG will keep doing what we do. Enjoy.
In case you missed it, we premiered a new song and music video this morning from Nashville band Ghost Town Remedy. It's a fun video and a great song. Check it out HERE.
Anyway, it's good to be back. I was under the weather on Friday. It's time for a Music City Monday Shuffle. These are all artists who are or have been associated with Nashville.
Back in the early 1990s, before blogs and social media, I used to change my outgoing answering machine message every day. On January 14, 1993, I used a portion of this song from the self-titled debut album by Cracker. Since then, it has become a (not exactly annual) tradition. Twenty six years after the first time I used this song, here is "Happy Birthday to Me" by Cracker. I remain, "Thankful for the Small Things Today".
I will be celebrating tonight at the Radio Cafe with a show featuring Ryan Sobb, Jeremy Ivey, and Darrin Bradbury. Three of Nashville's finest - a great way to spend the evening.
We have our weekly Music City Monday shuffle. This is a good one! Let's get to it!
I am sometimes asked (not really, I just wanted to tell you) why "Wild Wednesday"? Well, to my way of thinking, we've made it this far through the week and that is worth celebrating. So, on Wednesday, we open up and shuffle music from all the songs saved to my phone. The songs on my phone include current and previous featured music, songs from legacy E2TG favorites, other music from my personal collection, and random music files that came my way but didn't meet the criteria to be featured music. The shuffle always ends up being a lot of fun and usually a little wild. The "wild" in wild Wednesday, however, is a reference to a "wildcard" in that this shuffle be anything.
All of this happened a long time ago when the world was a very different place. Of course, none of us knew that at the time. (From The Drift - A Novel by Joe Wolfe-Mazeres) Available at Amazon.com (Kindle edition also available)
I am continuing to work on my Spotify playlists for E2TG. So far, I have completed three - January - March 2018. These are meant to be a cross-section of music I featured during those months - not necessarily music released in those months. If you are interested, you can check out the playlists (links below) and follow my personal profile to find out when new playlists are created.
Running late, but I love Music City Monday - so I didn't want to miss. It's funny how a random shuffle of the same mix of songs can yield a different mix of results. Today's shuffle is heavily weighted toward recent and fairly recent music. But, you can see for yourself...
I'm a bit short on time. Tonight is the CD Release Show for Julie Christensen and Stone Cupid's new album A Sad Clown. At the Basement. Renee Wahl is opening. Recommended.
It's Monday, so we fire up our Music City Monday playlist and shuffle it up. Here's what came up today.
FRIDAY! First off, I have some big news! Last year, E2TG hosted a month-long residency at The 5 Spot in East Nashville to celebrate our sixth anniversary. Well, we are doing it again this year for seven! Mark your calendars for Thursday evenings in JUNE! If you attended any of last year's shows, you know you will not want to miss this! Details are still being worked out, but we have some awesome music in store for you.
Stay tuned for more details.
Now, it is Friday and every Friday, we focus in on the music we are currently featuring on E2TG. (Okay to be honest, the playlist is the same for Trending Tuesday and Thursday and for Featured Friday, but humor me). We have an incredibly wide selection of songs in that playlist (almost 500 tracks), and it is always interesting to see what comes up.
It was great to see the East Nashville music community coming together to support one of their own last night. Rod Picott turned week two of his July residency at The 5 Spot into a benefit for Megan Palmer who is recovering from surgery following a diagnosis of breast cancer. In addition to medical bills, she recently released an amazing new album and is unable to tour in support of it. The show was live streamed on Concert Window. If you were not able to attend or watch, you can still help. Visit the GoFundMe page and give what you are able.
As for the music, it was - as could be expected - nothing short of spectacular. Picott opened with his awesome band for a few songs. Then, he did a round with Wild Ponies and Amy Speace. After that, Tim Easton, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and Allen Thompson did a round. Amazing music all around.
Highlights (among many) - Aaron Lee Tasjan's "East Nashville Song About a Train" complete with train whistles provided by Rod Picott and Stacie Huckeba (one of the organizers of the event) and new East Nashvillian, Steve Poltz who absolutely killed it with his song, "Folksinger".
In other news, it is release day for the long awaited new album by long-time E2TG faves, Valued Customer of Toronto. The album is called Hugecup, and I have heard it and it is easily added high on my list of favorites for 2016. More to come from me about this album soon. Valued Customer are playing a release show in Toronto - if you are reading this and happen to be in that city - here are the details.
It is Thursday and we throw it back like usual - just not as far as usual. We throw it back to Monday and shuffle up the Music City Monday playlist...
I hope everyone in America had a happy fourth of July. I know that other countries don't celebrate the fourth of July - I'm not sure, but I think it just jumps from July 3 to July 5 in those other countries... ;-)
I had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating Nashville's independent spirit as embodied by the amazing folks of WXNA-LP. The Family Wash and Garage Coffee was a great host location. From all indications the event was a complete success. I was there for nearly twelve hours and got to meet so many wonderful folks. The night ended with a group of us lighting sparklers in the parking lot and watching the downtown fireworks from an East Nashville alley. WXNA DJs were spinning cool tunes all day, and it was wonderful to see so many friends and supporters come out. Hopefully a few Family Wash patrons learned about the station.
In the one month that WXNA has been on the air, it has been really exciting to see the energy level surrounding the station, and I am more than proud and pleased to play even a small part. A gap has been filled and Nashville has been improved. I've heard people talk about buying a radio or downloading the TuneIn App (including some who never download apps).
If you haven't had the chance, tune in to 101.5 FM (inside the Briley - as I have heard people say) or via wxnafm.org or via the TuneIn app. There are 52 original, local programs playing music selected by the individual DJs - not selected by a marketing firm or a corporate entity. The music runs an amazingly wide range of styles, genres, eras, etc.
Onward, it is Tuesday. We play songs that come from the Trending Tuesday playlist.
And we are back after a long holiday weekend! Working hard to prepare for the launch of Double Shot with Joe and Sue on WXNA Nashville which we can now announce will officially begin on Saturday June 11 and every Saturday from 11a.m. - 1p.m. (Central Time). If you are in Nashville, you can tune us in on your radio at 101.5, elsewhere it will stream live at WXNAFM.org, and via the TuneIn App on your favorite device. The Station will go live on Saturday June 4 at 10:15a.m. with previews of all the amazing shows, and the regular schedule kicks off Monday June 6.
Tonight, an all-star Nashville cast will be recreating Ryan Adam's legendary Heartbreaker album in its entirety at The Basement East (a short distance from where the album was recorded). A ton of cool people on in on this. Doors at 7:30, Music at 8. Here is the Event Page. Get your tickets and come out!
We jump into the Trending Tuesday topic with a wide-ranging set of songs that have some kind of mini-themes built into it.
Last night, I made my first visit to Little Harpeth Brewery (I love their beer) which located just about five minutes from where I park for work. It was a fun night of good beer, cheap friends, and music (to paraphrase an obscure Darrin Bradbury song lyric). Speaking of which, the music for the evening was provided by the aforementioned Bradbury and Hushabye Baby (who I saw for the first time and really liked).
It is Friday! Time for some Featured music... via the shuffle function...
Hey! It is Tuesday night, I have been catching up on laundry and trying to catch up on e-mail. My inbox has been flooded with a ton of great music - some of which you will be hearing here on Ear to the Ground, so of which will be coming your way soon.
In the midst of the excitement of scrolling through pages of unopened e-mail (sorry), I got a call from the 2015 E2TG Artist of the Year, Jon Latham. That is how he is tagged in my phone by the way... "2015 E2TG Artist of the Year, Jon Latham". He filled me in on a project he has in the works.
Returning to Fort Dakota Studio, Jon has recorded five solo acoustic songs all of which were also recorded on video. The recordings were a reunion of sorts with Fort Dakota's mastermind, Josh Morris who produced Jon's album, Real Bad News.
Look for an EP of those sessions coming your way soon, in the meantime, I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to present the very first video from that session.
When Jon and I talk, we often talk about music. As I have said before, Jon is extremely knowledgeable about a pretty wide variety of music genres - including some bands that I would not expect someone his age to know (thank you Michael Latham).
Inevitably, we talk about songwriters. Names like John Prine, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark come up quite often. We have discussed the importance of Guy Clark to much of the best music being played in songwriter rounds around this fair city.
"LA Freeway" has long been one of my favorite Guy Clark songs, and I really like Jon's cover of that song here - recorded at Fort Dakota.
A little trivia: Steve Earle sang background vocals on Guy Clark's recording of this song from his debut album, Old No. 1. Steve Earle, as you may recall, is prominently referenced in the opening seconds of Real Bad News.
Without any further ado: Here is "LA Freeway" by Jon Latham
I really happy with the response and the outcome of the first week of our new "themed" shuffles. I am especially pleased that each day there was a pretty wide range of musical sounds and styles represented within each theme.
So, we are back with our second Music City Monday - songs (old and new) that are somehow connected to Music City USA - aka Nashville, Tennessee.
Well, guess what? I'll tell you what, we have reached the end of this weird week... and that means it is time for the ever popular* feature here at E2TG, Featured Friday. Where we cut out all the classic, obscure prior year tracks from our playlist and just spin songs of a more recent vintage. These are either tracks that were submitted to me or just newer music that I wanted to feature.
Let's get right into the shuffle which takes some interesting twists and turns....
Here we are! The final regularly scheduled shuffle of 2015. (I'm not ruling out a shuffle tomorrow but no promises). But first, we have one final bit of business to wrap up the debut edition of the "Earie" Awards. Remember: The "Earies" it sounds strange, but it's not really. The final award is the Golden "Earie" Award (aka the E2TG Artist of the Year).
Since we have a bunch of new readers, I thought I would indulge in a brief history of the award.
I began writing the blog in May 2011. That year, I named a "Band of the Week" every week. As the end of the year approached, I thought it would be fun to have a Readers Poll to select a "Band of the Year". So, I created an on-line poll that included all of the Bands of the Week. Being new to on-line polls, the poll was wide open meaning you could vote as many times as you wanted. The polling was spirited and fun with several artists really getting into it. At the end of the poll, The Mobbs (a UK band) flooded the ballot box and were named Band of the Year. Howard Rabach's band Ubiquity Machine finished second and Don Ryan from New Jersey finished third.
Because the poll was so much fun (and brought a lot of page views to the blog), for 2012 I decided to have a Band of the Month poll - which I did. At the end of 2012, all of the Bands of the Month plus some "Wildcards" competed for Band of Year. The now defunct but totally awesome Skeletons in the Piano from upstate New York were the second Band of the Year.
By 2013, I had kind of grown tired of the polls. It seemed like some artists were more into it than others plus I kind of decided it was a distraction from what was really important - being the music. When 2013 year end came up, to me there was one obvious choice for Band of the Year. The End Men, of Brooklyn, remain to this day the most tagged artist on #E2TG. Beyond that they are really wonderful people. They had a big 2013 and (as I expected) they had an even bigger 2014.
In 2014, once again the choice was obvious. Darrin Bradbury emerged from a Wal-Mart parking lot and began to conquer Nashville. He dominated Ear to the Ground - at one point I think there was at least one DB song in the shuffle everyday for almost a month. In 2014, I probably saw Darrin play life on average 2 or 3 times a week. Also, as expected, in the year that followed (2015), he continued to excel and made me very proud to have him as my Artist of the Year (I had to rename it because he wasn't a band).
Which brings us to the 2015:
The choice this year became pretty clear to me early in the year. my anticipation of Jon Latham's debut album was so high. But, anticipation does not equal awards. Real Bad News managed to exceed my very high expectations. My review can be read HERE. And the album alone is almost enough to make Jon a lock for Artist of the Year. But, there were several great albums released in the past 12 months. But wait, there is more! Jon is one of the kindest people I know. Some people may say that has nothing to do with music, but I would disagree. Grant it, there is long list of really amazing artists who happened to be assholes, however, in the case of Jon Latham, his kindness comes through in just about every song. Beyond that, Jon's knowledge and interest in a wide variety of music is almost encyclopedic. Again, at least in the case of Jon Latham, that depth of knowledge is, I think, crucial to his craft as a songwriter.
As 2015 rolled along, people began to take notice of Jon Latham. The Sin City vs. Guitar Town Eastside Throwdown was a turning point. Jon Latham backed Aaron Lee Tasjan in one of the most electrifying sets I have seen all year. Playing acoustic guitar and singing bgv, people took notice. Since then, Jon has opened shows for Aaron Lee and for the legendary Malcolm Holcombe. Real Bad News has garnered international acclaim and made some best of 2015.
You have one more chance to see the 2015 Artist of the Year in 2015. Jon will once again be joining the incredible Aaron Lee Tasjan in an opening slot for Christ Knight at the Exit/In on New Year's Eve. On Monday, you can catch 2014 Artist of the Year Darrin Bradbury as he kicks of his residency at The Basement East. 2015 Artist of the Year Jon Latham is on the bill for that night. I, for one, am excited!
Basically, those who get it, will understand right away why Jon Latham is my Artist of the Year. If you don't get it, check out the video playlist below and you probably will. Some of Jon's best moments (plus if you look closely in one video you will see the jean shorts clad leg of 2014 winner Darrin Bradbury). A couple of bonus clips that I came across: one is a clip I had heard about but not seen, Jon doing a song that does not often make it to his playlist these days. The touching and tender, "Put It in Your Butt" plus so that we didn't end on that note, a rare clip of the Latham Family Band doing a Dawes cover.
Congratulations Jon! Terry Rickards take note: 2013 Band of the Year, The End Men played the 2014 Post-Americana all-day marathon show at The Basement, 2014 Artist of the Year, Darrin Bradbury, played the 2015 Post-Americana all-day marathon show at The Basement East. I'm just sayin' American Fest will be here before we know it.
Now the last shuffle of the year.... a short commute and walk, and some longish songs means only 5 songs in the shuffle
Hopefully, Lemmy is having a celestial beer somewhere... RIP
DISCLAIMER: For one of the first times (if not the first times) in E2TG history, I actually composed part of this post in advance. Over the long holiday weekend, I took time to go over the "Earies" and tried to figure out a game plan for my last three posts of the year (two "Earies" and Artist of the Year). When I figured out what I wanted to do for today's final "Earie" before the AofTY, I knew it was going to be time consuming and so I wrote the next bit in advance.
FURTHER DISCLAIMER: Both yesterday's and today's shuffles produced head smacking moments of remembering artist deserving of "Earies". I can only beg forgiveness for any and all omissions. Despite how it may appear, I do most of #E2TG posts by the seat of my pants. *I know shocking* and to boot, I often have a very disorganized mind. It's part of my charm... Anyway, let's jump right into the last "Earie" before the "Golden Earie"....
(this next bit was written on Sunday and editing since then)
Now, we have reached the penultimate E2TG 2015 Award. Tomorrow, I will unveil the 2015 Artist of the Year. As I frequently write and say, I find it very fortuitous that through a series of unfortunate events that I would have never volunarily chosen to end up in the place I am at the moment I arrived. Arrived without travelling… sure, but it has been a journey. Finding myself smack in the middle of the East Nashville music community in the middle part of the second decade of the 21st Century, I am keenly aware of what a moment I am experiencing. You might think I would be jaded or disillusioned by now, and you would be partially correct. I have been jaded and disillusioned many times, and certainly if you look for them or focus on them, there are plenty of reasons to be jaded and disillusioned by the state of music. But, there are causes for hope. The obvious examples that people will mention - Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson… sure but it goes way deeper and way beyond that. The level of excellence here is incredible. Songwriters, guitar players, bassists, drummers, pedal steel players, photographers, music writers, bookers…. the list goes on,
Now, do not get me wrong East Nashville (or maybe more precisely the other side of Nashville) is not a perfect situation. I have made off-hand (kind of) joking comments about the Nashville Conundrum - referring to the sheer volume of incredible volume of awesome live music and the impossible choices this creates. Choices between two or more shows going on at the same time, choices between going out or staying in to get my own work done or to rest and recover. For a music fan, it is an excellent problem to have - for musicians - not always. It is, I think, a pretty well known fact that some of our community’s best spend a significant amount of time on the road because that is where there is money to be made. Nashville/East Nashville is home base and the spirit of collaboration and community keeps them coming back, but shows that would be events in another city are easily overlooked or passed over here in Nashville.
I do not propose or make any claim to a solution to the monetary issues facing the musicians these days. It seems to me to be a complicated equation. The amount of artistic freedom and autonomy made possible by advancements in technology vs. the increasing difficulty of getting music fans to spend money on independent music. Honestly, it can be discouraging even for someone not directly impacted by it. But, for me it just drives me harder to spread the word about music of substance that needs to be heard more widely and supported.
All that wordiness to say, I am giving the final “Earie” before Artist of the Year to the community of artists who have become a part of my life over the last year and a half. I am going to call out a few people by name, and ommissions are inevitable. In a hypothetic sense, this last “Earie” will be represented by a giant sized “Ear” right smack dab in the middle of 5 Points. You know, that weird intersection of 11th and Woodlawn and those other streets.
1. Aaron Lee Tasjan - I had to single out Aaron Lee for reasons which should become obvious if they are are not already. I had heard about Aaron Lee Tasjan before I actually heard him. The first time I heard him play guitar was on the same day that I met Darrin Bradbury. He was backing up Tim Easton at The 5 Spot. Later, he did a residency at that bar, and I finally got to hear him do his own songs. To say, I was blown away would be an understatement. In fact, I think it took me some time to fully grasp how amazing he was as a songwriter. His mixture of humor, cultural references, and emotional resonance is incomparable. Over time, I learned more about his history and got to meet him and found him to be a really nice guy. The other thing he is - which to me typifies this community, is generous. In 2015, as he began to garner more and more (well deserved) attention, ALT (as he is known) seemed to work even harder at lifting up his fellow musicians and writers. His album, In the Blazes, was one of my most highly anticipated releases and yet it still managed to surprise me. It is a rock and roll record, it is a alt-folk record, it is a alt-country record - it shows off his abilities as a songwriter and as a guitarist.
2. Tim Easton - the mentor and a driving force behind the Campfire Propaganda movement. His experience and wisdom has helped to push these younger songwriters forward, and their influence seems to have revitalized this long-time East Nashville presence. The celebrate his 100th published song, Easton began posting a song a day for 100 days. He is at the tail end of this marathon project.
3. Zach Schmidt - One of the brightest lights in the East Nashville community. Schmidt has an album in the can that will be released in 2016. He has all the attributes of a classic male country music star, and his songs manage to deftly walk the line between tradition and innovation. Watch for Zach Schmidt in 2016.
4. Nellie Marie Clay - Originally from Oklahoma, Clay made her way to Nashville after spending a few years in the far reaches of Alaska. Like Zach Schmidt, she brings a new energy to traditional sounding roots music. Her distinctive drawl and the twanginess of her music made her a force to be reckoned with. Her new album I Never Did What I Shoulda Done is excellent,
5. Megan Palmer - Besides being a go to side musician for the likes of Darrin Bradbury, Tim Easton and others, Palmer is an excellent songwriter in her own right. Her performace of one her best songs, “Knife Twister” backed by an all-star backing chorus that included Julie Christensen, Nellie Marie Clay and others was a highlight of the year. She has a new album ready to go in 2016. It will be worth your while to check it out.
6. Brian Wright - Probably a half dozen of my favorite musical moments of 2015 involve Brian Wright. A powerhouse guitar player, an unequaled songwriter, and a supporter of his fellow musicians. If you ever get the chance to see Brian Wright live - in any configuration, do not miss out!
7. Carl Anderson - Anderson came to Nashville by way of Charlottesville, VA. His album, Risk of Loss, is one of the best of 2015. Such amazing songs.
8. Other songwriters: Andrew Leheay, Lilly Hiatt, Tim Carroll, Tommy Womack, Kiely Schlessinger, Luella Wood, Bob Lewis, Allen Thompson, Russell Thompson, Amelia White, Adrian+Meredith Krygowski, Dave Coleman, Ariel Bui, Yosi Mesbah and so many more. Covering music that can be described as country, alt-country, folk-country, not country, roots rock, alt-folk, rock, blues-rock, jam band….etc. I tend to shy away from putting labels on music (though I understand that for artists it is a necessity sometimes). I think of it as excellent music. Traditionally, Nashville has been known as a town of songwriters, and even though the quality of writing on “the Row” can be called into the question - that tradition lives on around campfires, on porches, and in clubs around the city but concentrated in East Nashville. (And by reference, I include some of the amazing writers who have already won “Earie” Awards)
9. The musicians - once you have a song, the next step is to bring that song to life. And, although that can be done by just the writer and an acoustic guitar, when the song is developed and augemented by the help of some of the best musicians in the world, the results can be amazing. Many of the writers I mentioned are also amazing musicians who frequently back up other writers (Brian Wright, Megan Palmer, and ALT stand out). When you go out and hear music in Nashville, one thing you begin to notice is some of the same faces showing up again and again playing behind a very diverse mix of musical styles. Justin Amaral, Aaron Shafer-Haiss, Steve Ebe, Raun Shultz, David Strayer, Daniel Seymour, Cameron Carrus, Adam Kurtz, and many many more. Some of the above named front their own projects and some do not, but they are all part of the lifeblood that makes this new Music City what it is.
10. The non-musicians - Musicians and songwriters are the reason this scene exists but it would not run if it were for the photographers, managers, bookers, writers, publicists. and behind the scenes folks. I want to call out Stacie Huckaba, Mary Sack, Terry Rickards, Sue Havlish, Karen Leipziger (who is also a songwriter and musician as I recently learned), John McCollum. Skip Anderson, Heather Lose, Randy Fox, and many more.
11. Bands - I should probably mentioned some of the amazing bands who call Nashville home. Covering an incredible diverse range of syles and sounds, Year of October, Dogs of Oz, Turbo Fruits, Blackfoot Gypsies, Humming House, Benchmarks, Fendrick and Peck, and many more.
2016 is going to be an amazing year, and the “Earies” will be back for their second season. But, I’m not quite done with 2015. The Artist of the Year for 2015 will be revealed tomorrow. Stay tuned.
back to live posting
Now for the penultimate regularly scheduled shuffle of 2015!
Well. here we are on a Monday. I'm posting this late because I have been in a conference for work all day and will be tomorrow and Wednesday. In addition, being a Monday, my bluetooth earphones decided to act all weird. That along with the fact that we have a very long song in the shuffle means only four songs.
But first, time to hop back into the 2015 "Earie" Awards. To recap, last week we handed out virtual statues to Darrin Bradbury, Paul Zografi, Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau, Mark Robinson Band, and The Foresters.
I couldn't decide what to call this award, but I knew who the winners would be... three way tie on this one... How about we call it, the New York State of Mind Award. All of winners are excellent songwriters on the Nashville "scene" who moved her from New York, and who to me represent the best of "New Nashville". By that I mean, they really seem to "get" what this town is about and they bring a fresh perspective and new voices.
The "New York State of Mind" Award goes to: Lindsay Ellyn, Sara Syms, and Jeremy Nash.
Lindsay released her Out of Road EP earlier in the ear. Surrounding herself with some of Nashville's best, she made one of my favorite records of the year, and her live shows are always amazing.
Sara released Way Back Home recently. The album was recorded in New York, but here in Nashville, she has also embraced some great local players and has become a fixture on the local music scene.
Jeremy, like Sara Syms, recorded his recent album, Getaway Driver in New York, and I think he may be the freshest face of the three in Nashville.
The three albums are among my favorites, the three songwriters are, I believe, net gain assets for the Nashville music community. I am happy to let them fight over the one, invisible award.
Moving on...
Finally, I have to say that I learned a lesson this weekend. When you post something on the internet about how you don't dance, you are just setting yourself up. This weekend, I found myself dancing not once but twice at two different venues on Saturday night. Thanks to the person at the Basement East who I don't know who convinced to dance during Sadler Vaden's set and Mary Sack for convincing me to dance during Ballhog! (I think).
It was another amazing weekend for live music kicking off with Jon Latham who killed it opening for the out of this world Malcolm Holcombe. Holcombe's band included Darrell Scott and Ken Coomer, and Mary Gauthier joined in for one song. After that I got a good reminder of the awesome friends I have made over the last year or so. Helping some friends celebrate their new house, singing loudly and badly to Bob Seger, and being a part of a conversation that moved naturally from the lack of necessity of the powder on Doritos to the films of Werner Herzog,,,,
Saturday, Sadler Vaden was amazing and Drvin' 'n' Cryin' were every bit the legends they are - with Warner E. Hodges on guitar, they played for around 2 1/2 hours including playing nearly an hour long encore that included Warner leading the band through "Absolutely Sweet Marie". Then, I made it to the 5 Spot very late to catch the tail end of the Get Behind the Mule: Tom Waits Tribute and Benefit for Second Harvest Food Bank. I know the whole night was fabulous, but at least I saw Shane Tutmarc, Bone Machine, and Ballhog!.
Well, it is time for the last shuffle before the long Thanksgiving weekend. I hope if you are travelling that you have safe travels, I hope you find a place of gratitude, I hope you remember those for whom the holidays are a painful or difficult time. I hope you do all the things you want to do. For my Canadian friends, you can like, #tbt tomorrow to Canadian Thanksgiving or whatever...
We have one more awesome featured music shuffle to see this work week off in style.
And so it goes, and we reach the end of another work week here at #E2TG. Heading into the weekend just ahead of Thanksgiving here in the United States. There is a ton of great music happening this weekend at different venues. Choose your poison and get out there.
Among the shows coming up today and tomorrow (and no I cannot make it to all of these): Today: Joey Kneiser of Glossary is releasing a new record, and he will play this evening at Grimey's. Will Kimbrough is also he releasing a new record, and he will be playing The Basement at 7:00 with Nellie Clay opening. Today is Tommy Womack's birthday, and we will playing around 9:00 at The Family Wash. Also tonight, the East Nashville Underground: A Magical Reunion is going on at The Basement East. Plus there is the weekly, Tim Carroll Rock and Roll Happy Hour at The 5 Spot. Plus probably tons of other stuff.
Tomorrow night: One of this blog's favorites Mark Robinson Band will be playing an early show at The 5 Spot (6:00 start). Joey Kneiser will be playing that venue after that. Meanwhile, over at the Family Wash - Knoxville poet and songwriter R.B. Morris will be playing. Plus the aforementioned East Nashville Underground event continues at The Beast. and More...
We have a Featured Friday Shuffle that I am really happy about today... let's take a gander...
Well it's Friday and it is All Hallows Eve Eve and it is sunny today and did I mention it is Friday!
Last night I completed my punch card and made it to all five of the Campfire Propaganda residency shows. This week Megan Palmer and Brian Wright were back, and Darrin Bradbury was out of town on tour. Great sets of music by Tim Easton, Brian Wright (who covered Darrin's "Blue Highways"), Megan Palmer, and then Nellie Clay played with a full (and awesome) band for her CD Release show. She even brought up a horn section for the last two songs.
After that I decided to enjoy the crisp Autumn evening and made my way to Drifter's BBQ to watch Tim Carroll and Luella before heading home to do some preparation for a meeting this afternoon which should help me set a course to make 2016 the best year ever for #E2TG.
We have a featured Friday shuffle that is sure to provide a multitude of treats with a minimum of trickery.
