Because Nashville is Music City, USA ... not Country Music City, USA. And I get so sick and tired of people overlooking all the other amazing music, of ALL genres, that is generated in this wonderful town I call home. That's why I respect bands like Kings of Leon (which I think I've mentioned before in this blog), and even Paramore, or tours/projects like Ten out of Tenn (aaaamazing ...) for getting some great press out about the Nashville music scene (even though Paramore tries to obliquely ignore the fact that they're from the greater Nashville area, when I would appreciate them shouting it from the rooftops). Annnyway, as often as I possibly can, I like to expose people to these other amazing artists that call Nashville home, or even just the live shows you can experience here on a nightly basis.
One great example is merely the story of my Thursday night this past week. I went to three (yes, count them, three shows) that night, and not one of them was anything like the others. Three completely separate and unique experiences.
First on the list, Steve Moakler and Andy Davis (the latter of whom is 1/10 of Ten out of Tenn, conveniently enough) at Exit/In. Steve is a student at Belmont here in Nashville, and an amazing singer/songwriter of the John Mayer sect of artists ... only, in my opinion, better looking, with a better stage presence, and better lyrics. And he's only 21 years old ... so much time to become even MORE amazing. He's one of my favorite undiscovered artists right now, and I think you should check him out immediately ... because there's going to be a lot of "I told you so"'s in the future if you fail to do so. ;) Here's clips of two of my faves. :-)
"False Alarms"
"Where You Belong"
He is just so freaking cute. I want to have a miniature version to carry around in my pocket and pull out to sing to me any time I want. /sigh A girl can dream ...
Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay for Andy, because it was also KingBilly is Your Friend night, a monthly gig our friends have over at 12th and Porter, and they started a little early this month (we had people texting us updates), so we had to skip over there. This is an amazing event because not only do you get to see KingBilly once a month, a group of six of the most talented musicians I have ever had the honor of knowing, but they also work hard to showcase a lot of other local talent. There are usually 2 or 3 other Nashville artists that open up the show and jam with the KingBilly boys all night long. KBiYF night is almost always the last Thursday of the month, starting at 8 pm, and best of all, it's FREE. There's really no excuse to miss it.
And if you're lucky, in addition to the amazing live music, Crazy Dancin' Guy will be there for your viewing pleasure! I need to be friends with this dude:
After KingBilly, we ran over to Cannery Ballroom, and caught a good hour at the end of Cross Canadian Ragweed's set ... Now, Ragweed isn't from Nashville by any means, but they're welcome here any time. I'm glad I made it over for at least part of their show, because I make it a point to attend every one of their concerts possible, as they are one of my favorite live acts ... ever (which is also demonstrative of how loyal I am to my KingBilly boys).
There is simply no other concert experience that compares to a Cross Canadian Ragweed show ... it is full of redneck, pot-smoking, Texas rock country-loving, DRUNK-ass people. And the music just brings them together in this drunken, singing, dancing, mass of mutual musical appreciation. You just ... have to go once to understand. And it's pretty much a decision I can't imagine anyone regretting. It is a night of great entertainment. Not to mention that Cody Canada is just ... beautiful. He was even wearing the cutest little vest (pictures to come ... ) !!!
Unfortunately, my camera died and I have no video documentation of Ragweed's show, but trust me when I tell you that it was incredible, as always.
So in one Nashville evening, I went from an acoustic, singer-songwriter alt-rock show at Exit/In, a very mellow evening of fantastic music, to a rocking, hazy, extremely loud country-rock bonanza of fantastic music at 12th and Porter, to a hot, sweaty, even louder Texas country haze of MORE fantastic music. And the most amazing part? All the other shows filled with fantastic music that were going on in Nashville that night that I didn't get to go to. One girl can only do so much in one evening, and my heart ... not to mention the laws of the space/time continuum ... dictated that three phenomenal shows were all I could handle on Thursday. Music City, however, knows no such limits.
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