Nashville Scene 10-13-22

Blair Big Band Ryan Middagh, director

SEPTEMBER 27

p.m., Ingram Hall

OCTOBER

A Celebration of Schubert and Brahms

Nies, piano

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1

p.m., Turner Hall

the 225th anniversary of Schubert’s birth and 125 years since

death

NOVEMBER

29

Collaborative

10 Contemporary Music Ensemble

Le Boeuf, director

NOVEMBER 10

p.m., Turner Hall

Concerto Competition Finals FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11

p.m., Ingram Hall

3

Flute

MONDAY,

Mirabelle

6

Vanderbilt Opera Theatre presents Cendrillon

Shay, director

Jennifer McGuire, conductor

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6 & SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8

p.m., Ingram Hall

21

The

12

The violin students of Stephen Miahky

NOVEMBER 12

Choral Hall

Vanderbilt Chorale and University Singers

Tucker Biddlecombe, director

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 8 p.m., Ingram Hall

The

13

7

Jared Hauser, oboe

Utley,

Blair Composers Forum: Guest Recital

15

Blair

Combos

Vanderbilt Community Chorus

David Binns Williams, director

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13 2 p.m., Ingram Hall

The piano students of ChiHee Hwang

NOVEMBER 13

p.m., Turner Hall

Bruce Dudley, piano SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13 8 p.m., Turner Hall

29

p.m.,

DECEMBER

Jazz Choir

The piano students of Amy Dorfman

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 7:30 p.m., Turner Hall

Vanderbilt University Orchestra Robin Fountain, director

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 8 p.m., Ingram Hall

Chamber Music Spotlight

Hall

and faculty composers

to present new works.

Vanderbilt

AT

Fluid and ever-changing yet grounded and historic, growing and flourishing yet never losing its sense of community and comfort, there is much to be said about this amazing slice of southern heaven called Nashville.

Maybe it’s the music on every street corner that brings this city to life and makes us feel so connected, or perhaps it’s that touch of Southern charm we know and love. But one thing is for certain, Nashville feels like home. It always has and it always will.

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CRITICS’ PICKS

VODKA YONIC Hot Flash

BY KELSEY BEYELER

BY JOY RAMIREZ

STORY

Best of Nashville

MUSIC

BY DARYL SANDERS

BY RON WYNN

BY JASON SHAWHAN

BY ELI MOTYCKA

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

PET OF THE WEEK!

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Editor-in-Chief D. Patrick Rodgers

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PARENTHOOD ADVOCATE WALKS ACROSS THE STATE AS ‘PROTEST AND PILGRIMAGE’

BY HANNAH HERNER

It’ll be a long road to gaining more access to abortions in Tennessee. In August, the reversal of Roe v. Wade put in place a trigger law that all but banned abortion in the state, a limit that is deeply enshrined in state law.

“We’re in it for the long haul,” says Fran cie Hunt, executive director of Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood.

Hunt is taking that ethos literally. She’s walking 538 miles across the state, from Memphis to Johnson City, in support of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and Northern Mississippi and the organization’s advocacy arm, which she heads. Through Walk for Our Lives, as she’s named her jour ney, Hunt says she wanted to do something different from the typical protest. She calls it a pilgrimage for abortion rights and bodily autonomy.

“We’ve become familiar with the mass protests and doing direct actions and turn ing out thousands and thousands of people at a moment’s notice,” Hunt says. “In this moment, it felt like it required a different energy. One that reflects the way to move forward.”

According to data from the Pew Re search Center, a 61 percent majority of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 37 percent think abor tion should be illegal in all or most cases.

Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. women will have an abor tion by age 45, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute.

Hunt started in Memphis on Sept. 26 and is set to reach Nashville Oct. 17, where she plans to complete a walk from the State Capitol Building to a supporter’s house in East Nashville before heading to her own home in Hermitage. She intends to wrap the Walk for Our Lives in Johnson City on Nov. 14. Throughout the entire trip, like-minded people can join in and walk alongside her, donate supplies or money per mile, help drive a support vehicle or even allow Hunt to stay in their homes.

Hunt says she hopes to not just run into like-minded people in the oft-ignored rural areas of the state, but also those who may oppose the work she’s doing. She’s using “deep values canvassing,” as she calls it — a way of attempting to untangle morality and policy when talking about abortion.

“It is not about trying to persuade people to think the way we think, but really helping them properly articulate their own values,”

Hunt says. “What we find is usually when they do that, they’re more aligned with what [those at Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood] believe.”

Hunt says that in red states like Ten nessee, nonprofits face more pressure to denounce access to abortion to preserve

funding, even for organizations that just provide contraception. And this goes for in dividuals too, she says — because the rheto ric surrounding abortion is so strong, they will feel pressure to say it’s wrong, even if it’s not exactly what they believe.

“If the government were to say we will only give you a state grant for contracep tion if you don’t work with immigrants, or if you don’t work with Black people?” Hunt says. “We wouldn’t say that’s OK. But why is it OK to say, ‘We’re just not going to work with people who have abortions’? That’s just wrong. And so that’s what I’m saying in terms of the abortion stigma. It’s so deeply embedded, and I believe that’s why we’re in a situation now.”

Hunt is also a former executive for advo cacy group Walk Bike Nashville and has a background in child advocacy.

“That’s my core self-interest in all of this,” she says. “That’s why I was attracted to Planned Parenthood, because I think that planning of parenthood is a great way to take care of children.”

Hunt says as more children will presum ably be born under this ban, state and local governments should start providing im proved health care, prenatal care, education and financial support for families. As a good first step, she recommends setting up meet ings with local legislators.

“You have to know your legislators, and you have to let them know what you think,” Hunt says. “We would never go to Starbucks and be like, ‘Just give me whatever,’ right? You would tell them exactly what you want. And that’s what we’re not doing — we’re not going to our legislators and saying, ‘This is exactly what we want.’ ”

For more information or to sponsor Hunt’s walk, visit weareplannedparenthoodaction.org.

“IT IS NOT ABOUT TRYING TO PERSUADE PEOPLE TO THINK THE WAY WE THINK, BUT REALLY HELPING THEM PROPERLY ARTICULATE THEIR OWN VALUES.” —FRANCIE HUNT

BY KELSEY BEYELER

According to Metro Nash ville Public Schools’ open data portal, of Nashville’s roughly 82,600 students, 22,069 — about 27 per cent — are active English learners or have transitioned out of the district’s English Learners program within the past four years. These students bring 129 languages to the district and represent 145 countries. The top five most-spoken non-English languages are Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish, Somali and Burmese.

But multilingual students represent much more than numbers and data points. They and their families have a lot to offer to the district. Former English learners include MNPS student board member Abenezer Haile and former student board member Angelie Quimbo. Quimbo was also a co-vale dictorian at Hillwood High School — one of the 18 2021-22 valedictorians and salutato rians who, at some point in their education, received services through MNPS’ Office of English Learners. MNPS’ executive director of English Learners Molly Hegwood tells the Scene that many students who exit the EL program outperform their peers whose primary language is English.

Audrey Sika Mvibudulu-Feruzi was an EL student who later became an EL teacher, though she’s since moved out of the district. “Initially, when I went to college, I just wanted to be a general teacher,” MvibuduluFeruzi tells the Scene via Zoom. “After two years and a half in, I just told myself, ‘No, let me work with the EL population, that’s where my heart is at, that’s where I came from.’ ” Drawing from needs she had as a student, Mvibudulu-Feruzi created an af terschool program that helped EL students take charge of their education.

There are many roles within the district that support EL students, from immigrant youth transition specialists to EL teachers, parent outreach translators, student am bassadors and more. There’s also the more targeted Students With Interrupted Formal Education program for those who have large gaps in their education — typically refugees or asylees. The state requires a ra tio of one EL teacher for every 35 students. MNPS has only 67 in-person interpreters to serve the thousands of students who are ac tive or recent English learners — along with their families — but the district also utilizes an over-the-phone interpretation service, which it was able to expand using federal COVID-19 relief money. Those dollars also provided more opportunities for teachers to get EL certifications, but whether those resources will continue at this level when

those dollars run out remains to be seen.

As is the case throughout MNPS, EL students could certainly benefit from more staff support. Though the district was not able to provide exact vacancy numbers in time for the publication of this article, Hegwood tells the Scene: “I wouldn’t say our staffing is any better or worse than any of the other areas. It’s very similar in the sense of trends across the district.” Efat Welson is an MNPS interpreter and a trans lator for the special education department. She tells the Scene she’d still like to see the district hire more interpreters — a request she made directly to the board of education in April.

EL teachers who work with students are not interpreters, and they don’t necessarily speak the languages of the students they serve. “Teacher fluency in the students’ na tive language is not required for strong Eng lish language instruction, but it certainly is a plus,” says former school board member Gini Pupo-Walker, who directs equitableeducation advocacy group Education Trust in Tennessee. “That said, hiring bilingual staff at all levels is important and should be a priority for districts.”

Serving multilingual families means more than providing interpreters and classroom assistance. It takes a spectrum of wraparound services to truly support students — EL and otherwise — but those services aren’t always executed perfectly. While the district has interpretation ser vices, for example, it can be difficult for some families to know how to access them.

“I think there’s a lot of information that’s available — I don’t think there’s enough information that’s accessible,” says Maria Paula Zapata, director of programs at com munity nonprofit Conexión Américas. “And that point of, ‘How does it become acces

sible?’ I think is a greater question that we would need to involve families to really get at, like what does that mean?”

Conexión Américas has a Parents as Part ners program that allows Spanish-speaking parents to connect with one another and learn about the school district. Zapata de scribes the program as a “really beautiful peer-to-peer model, where it’s not just a staff member saying, ‘Here’s what you need to do.’ But it’s actual parents saying, ‘Hey, I’ve gone through this program as well. I’ve had chil dren in the school system … and here’s some things that we think can be helpful.’ ”

While programs like these are often help ful, they don’t exist in all languages spoken in the district.

MNPS leverages outside support through its Community Achieves initiative, which connects students and their families with services that can tend to a range of needs. There’s also a collaborative effort from local organizations, led by Nashville’s teachers’ union, the Metropolitan Nashville Education Association, to implement their own com munity schools model.

Zapata notes that details matter. Bilingual signage and friendly staff can be the differ ence between a positive experience with the district or a negative one. “The warmth of your front office? It is a really big indicator of whether families feel included in your school,” she says.

Like many students, English learners could benefit from more support. This can mean donating resources, donating money to organizations that support them, tutor ing kids and responding to schools’ specific needs. Also, as Mvibudulu-Feruzi points out, “Just take the time to learn where children are coming from. … I know that when I was younger, when I had an educator … who was interested in my culture or interested in where I came from, or even interested in me having a different accent than the Southern accent … that brightened my day. That made me feel safer at school. [It’s also important to make sure you’re not] looping everyone into one culture because we don’t all have one culture, and even within a cul ture, there are subcultures.”

“We need to start seeing EL students not for the additional supports that they may need, but how much potential they have to shape and contribute to our community — if we give them all the things they need to be successful,” says Zapata. “If you want [a] multicultural, multilingual, diverse work force … you need to invest in them now. Oth erwise, we’re losing out on everything that we say we want for the future. And I think that that’s the most important [thing]. We’re not talking about poor little kids who don’t speak English now, we’re talking about the future of a multicultural workforce.”

MARIA PAULA ZAPATA

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

A lot has changed here in Music City over the past three-and-a-half decades. Skyscrapers have risen. Restaurants have opened, closed and opened again. The national media has turned its eye on our humble burg, christening us an “It” city before moving on to the Next Big Thing. Publications have launched, others have folded. Floods. Tornadoes. Pandemics. James Beard Awards. Stanley Cup runs.

But for all that’s changed, we here at Nashville’s alternative-weekly newspaper have made sure one thing stays the same: Every year for 30-plus years, we’ve compiled our whopping Best of Nashville issue, rounding up everything that makes our city great with both our readers’ poll and our writers’ choices. In these pages, you’ll find who Nashvillians voted the city’s Best Band, Best Restaurant and Best Barbershop. You’ll also find who our team of writers christened the Best Collegiate Athlete, Best Chef and Best Pop-Up Market. All that and much, much more.

Read on and celebrate the Best of Nashville — all the things that make our city out of this world.

DANIEL MEIGS

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We’re glad to be known for a few things: low and slow smoked BBQ, great food, soulful music, and treating total strangers like family.

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BEST RESTAURANT

LOCUST

Locust is the brainchild of chef Trevor Moran, an affable Irishman with a solid restaurant résumé that includes time at Copenhagen’s Noma (sometimes cited as the best restaurant in the world) and at The Catbird Seat, the much-loved pioneer in Nashville’s culinary evolution. All that proved he had the chops to open his own place, Locust, which does nothing but amaze. The menu changes a lot, which merits exciting exploration — but don’t miss two of Moran’s obsessions: his steamed dumplings, which are deliriously succulent, and kakigōri, or Japanese-style shaved ice. The ice is as fluffy as snow and is decorated with whatever pleases the chef’s palate that evening. Locust is indeed a gem along the bustling 12South corridor, but word has gotten out nationally. In September, Food & Wine named Locust its Restaurant of the Year.

DANA KOPP FRANKLIN

BEST CHEF SEAN BROCK

If you haven’t yet eaten Sean Brock’s food and you’ve read all the accolades, perhaps you’ve asked yourself, “Can he really

be that good?” The answer is yes. We’re naming Brock our Best Chef — a category he also won last year and again this year in our readers’ poll — not just because of his food. (Although it is delicious, from the savory prime rib cart at The Continental to the rich, chocolatey soft-serve at Joyland.)

BEST NEW RESTAURANT, WRITERS’ CHOICE: DRUSIE & DARR

It’s about Brock’s commitment to pushing himself, pushing those in his kitchens and pushing us as diners to continually try new things and to respect our food and those who grow it. We’ve seen it in his multi-concept building on Meridian Street, with Audrey, The Bar at Audrey and June, where dinner means learning the stories behind the seeds and the greens that comprise the dishes. A meal or a drink at these places is a curated experience, timed for thoughtful reflection about the ingredients, their history and the tastes. When you see Brock in his restaurants, you almost hear the wheels grinding in his brain as he excitedly explains his newest idea, and shows off the library where he and the staff are brainstorming what’s to come next. He pauses by the glass doors of The Lab at Audrey, revealing processes of fermentation and experimentation. His laugh is almost a giggle, as he delights in details, be they the barley koji underway for foie gras at June or the sashiko repair methods on the bench near the bar. Brock could live and cook anywhere in the world. He’s invested in Nashville, saying Audrey and June are where he wants to cook for the rest of his life. And because he’s helped

launch the careers of so many others — Kisser’s Brian Lea, pastry goddess Lisa Donovan, just to name two — he elevates all of the city’s dining. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST NEW RESTAURANT DRUSIE & DARR

In the past year, Nashville saw many notable restaurant openings — a trend that doesn’t seem to show signs of slowing anytime soon. But when the Scene staff and contributors debated the issue, one name was mentioned time and again: Drusie & Darr. The flagship restaurant of the historic Hermitage Hotel not only marked world-renowned chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first foray into the South, it also brought a new superstar to Nashville’s culinary scene. The menu at Drusie & Darr is full of JeanGeorges classics — including his beloved crispy sushi, warm shrimp salad and black truffle pizza — but it’s all executed brilliantly by executive chef Kelsi Armijo. Armijo oversees breakfast, lunch and dinner service seven days a week with all the coolness and professionalism of a chef twice her age, and she brings Vongerichten’s recipes to life with elegant flair. Both Drusie & Darr and Armijo are feathers in

PHOTO: ALEX BOERNER

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

for

Nashville’s culinary cap, and we hope they stick around for years to come. NANCY FLOYD

BEST BURGER BAD LUCK BURGER TRUCK

In a city full of great burgers, why does Bad Luck always have a long line at a pop-up or their food truck? Close your eyes for a second. You’ve been waiting in line for a few minutes and you’re a little hungry. Suddenly, that smell comes floating down to your spot. It’s that scent of when ground beef has been smashed onto a flat-top and has just begun to turn from red to brown to blackened. Scientists call the exterior that’s forming at that moment a Maillard reaction, a chemical combination between the amino acids and the reducing sugars. But you can just call it char. It’s no sin to prefer a big, juicy burger, but you will have a hard time finding more flavor than

two smashed, charred patties, dripping in cheese from Bad Luck, wherever they’ve set up shop. They’re simple, delicious and perfect. STEVE CAVENDISH

BEST BAKERY BRIGHTSIDE BAKESHOP

I am not a morning person or a pastry person, so the fact that I’m at Brightside Bakeshop weekly should tell you something. Their seasonal fruit tarts are simple perfection, as are their cheese-stuffed brioche. (Microwave those for 10 seconds, thank me later.) At Thanksgiving, my family legitimately fought over who got the last sea salt chocolate chip cookie. (At eight months pregnant, I won.) But the best part? Their online ordering means you can snag all the specials the night before and still sleep in. Bless you, Brightside. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST BURGER,

BAD LUCK BURGER TRUCK

PHOTO:

BEST PASTRY CHEFS KEATON VASEK AND MICHAEL WERRELL

When it comes to the pair behind the des serts at The Continental and Audrey, I’ll put it to you plainly: I’ve yet to have a bite of theirs that was anything less than perfect. Take The Continental’s cream-ice cart. I could spend a hundred words (and have) talking about the pure nostalgic bliss that is their frozen vanilla custard, their take on chocolate and bananas, or their apple-butter beignets with cider and sherbet. But my favorite thing about their dishes isn’t their ingredients — it’s the way they balance the cutting-edge and the classic. They start with something you know — vanilla ice cream, apple cider — and they fancify it in wild and wonderful yet still purposeful ways. There’s cranberry ice on the custard, yuzu granita on the banana foam, and cucumber and olive oil on the spring-herb sorbet. While you’d never imagine these pairings yourself, sud denly you can’t imagine why they aren’t everywhere.

The reason? Most people can’t pull them off. Keaton Vasek and Michael Werrel can because they have skills. Both are graduates of the Culinary Institute of America. Both are veterans of Eleven Madison Park. Both moved to Nashville in 2020 to work with Sean Brock — but the similarities stop there. Growing up in New Jersey, Michael Werrell learned about food from his family. His grandfather was a cook in the Korean War, and his mother taught him to bake. At age 5, he knew that he wanted to be a chef. Keaton Vasek, on the other hand, didn’t get his start in hospitality until later in life. During a trip to Spain, he dined at Michelin-starred restaurants and decided he could do that. And while he made his way to Nashville via Europe and New York, he’s actually closer now to where he came from: a military family in Clarksville, Tenn. Now, do you need their full résumés to enjoy their desserts? Absolutely not. But it’s even more fun to revel in their goodness when you know the tradition, travel and foundation of family all their food stands on. Let’s hope they stay awhile. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST PIZZA

SMITH & LENTZ

There’s a moment in the oven when good pepperoni, with the help of several hundred degrees, begins to curl on top of a pizza. Slowly, each slice of meat starts to render just a little, leaving tiny pools of pork fat in the bottom as the sides form little bowls. If the pizza is cooked properly, it will stay under the heat until the very top edges of the meat begin to blacken just a touch. This is what has happened on every Pepperoni Pie I’ve ordered at East Side brewery Smith & Lentz. It’s a sublime combination of simple, classic flavors: crushed-tomato sauce, garlic, mozzarella and oregano. A small drizzle of hot honey adds an occasional sweet note. Pizza inspires passions, and everyone has a favorite. But no one is making a better pie right now than Smith & Lentz. STEVE CAVENDISH

BEST NEW ITALIAN TUTTI DA GIO

Growing up in the Tri-State area (that’s New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), I

suffered no shortage of modestly appointed suburban trattorias that packed explosive flavors into handmade pasta, slow-cooked marinara and crusty garlic bread. In my memory, there was always a sweaty mustachioed Italian guy in the kitchen (just like my dad) and his mother, wife or sister at the register who’d stuff extra Parmesan packets into the side of your pizza box. Just thinking about it usually makes me homesick. Reader, I’ve been saved. In May, a Sicilian family opened Tutti Da Gio, a traditional trattoria that is a class above every other Italian joint in town. Chef Giovanna serves up the dishes my family loves best — homemade gnocchi, antipasta, eggplant pizza with shredded fresh ricotta, shrimp pesto over fusilli, to name just a few. Located on Old Hickory Boulevard in Hermitage, of all places, the trattoria sits behind a Shell station and next to billiard hall Shooter’s. The owners and staff are welcoming and quick to make recommendations. Make the trek out there and thank us later. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST BREWERY FOOD LAUTER AT SOUTHERN GRIST

Late last year, local brewery Southern Grist upgraded its East Side digs with a move to a bigger spot on Douglas Avenue, bringing in executive chef Andrew Coins and his sous chef Kenji Nakagawa to head the restaurant concept they christened Lauter. The restaurant’s rotating menu is constantly loaded with impossibly tasty snacks, salads

BEST BREWERY FOOD, WRITERS’ CHOICE: LAUTER AT SOUTHERN GRIST

and entrées, from cavatelli to crab claws, bao buns to crispy vinegar potatoes and an outstanding dry-aged burger. Even considering how impressive brewery menus are getting around these parts (shout-out especially to Smith & Lentz’s excellent lineup of pizzas), calling Lauter great brewery food is an understatement. It’s some of East Nashville’s best food, period.

D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST NEW BREWERY FAIT LA FORCE

This award is more than a default recognition that this Wedgewood-Houston brewery was basically the only one to open in the past year. Fait la Force co-founders Parker Loudermilk

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST NEW BREWERY, WRITERS’ CHOICE:

and Zach Sowada have created a cozy third space that looks like it was decorated by a deranged grandma. They serve fantastic European-inspired beers that they create in a tiny brewing system tucked in the back room, and you can also order beers by the half-yard. Those glass vessels are fragile and expensive, so you’ll have to give them one of your shoes which they will hang from the ceiling in a wire basket until you return the glass. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST NEW BAR

LE LOUP AND PLANE JANE (TIE)

The beauty of the velvet-clad Germantown oasis that is Le Loup is that it makes the mere act of sitting at the bar and sipping a cocktail feel like a special occasion. From the care taken in crafting each cocktail (the historic “forgotten classics” are the must-drinks here) to the attentiveness and pride of the team behind the bar, each detail is intentional. Le Loup’s location, tucked above The Optimist in Germantown, makes it feel like a secret you want to share with all your friends.

MARGARET LITTMAN

For years, Nashville cocktail bars have been engaged in an escalating arms race, fighting to top each other with dense tomes of drink menus, whiskey lists the size of your arm, and a “we’ll make anything” attitude. Plane Jane bucks that trend entirely, focusing on just seven great cocktails, numbered on the board behind the bar, one per spirit. It’s a refreshing change, which lets drinkers spend more time chilling in the vibed-out hangar space and less time crippled by decision fatigue.

LANCE CONZETT

BEST NEW ARCADE BAR UP/DOWN NASHVILLE

In August of last year, Up/Down joined the city’s ever-growing list of fun adults-only gaming spots. Located on Woodland Street in East Nashville, the two-story bar offers 80-plus arcade games, a wide selection of pinball machines, classic Skee-Ball, Nintendo 64 console gaming and more, not to mention an extensive beer list and a decent little lineup of house-made pizzas. Tokens are a quarter apiece (except on 10cent Tuesdays and Saturdays’ 2-for-1 token nights), and non-gamers can escape to Up/ Down’s rooftop patio for a more laid-back

BEST WINE BAR BY THE BOTTLE

I’ll admit: I was bummed when Kate Cunningham took her delightful wine pop-up By the Bottle across the river, leaving Van Dyke in Five Points for the Fairlane Hotel. Cunningham has history on the East Side, having gotten her start at the gone-but-notforgotten wine refuge Rumours East, and her ability to make the even most esoteric wines accessible to the average Bota Box drinker was a welcome addition to a neighborhood that’s seemingly gone all-in on sports bars. Even if you don’t fancy yourself an oenophile, By the Bottle is more than worth the trek downtown. LANCE CONZETT

BEST SPECIALTY BAR RICE VICE BY PROPER SAKÉ

It was a bummer when sake expert Byron Stithem closed his downtown-adjacent Proper Saké Co. space. But Nashville’s sole sake distillery has risen from the ashes with Rice Vice, Stithem & Co.’s East Side brewery and bar, which offers Proper’s own sakes as well as a curated selection of delicious Japanese sakes and some refreshing cocktails. Proper also hosts pop-up food events from the folks behind Scene faves Kisser, Xiao Bao and more,

BEST NEW BAR, WRITERS’ CHOICE: LE LOUP (ABOVE) AND PLANE JANE (TIE)

BEST SPECIALTY BAR,

offering the perfect excuse to come in and check out the cozy, vibey digs — tucked away in East Nashville’s Talbot’s Corner neighborhood. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST CREATIVE COCKTAILS THE HART

The city’s cocktail scene overfloweth. So when The Hart opened within the BentoLiving hotel in Chestnut Hill, the focus on Pacific island cuisine poured over

into the cocktails as well. Opening night presented Shogun Notions, an umamiinfused elixir garnished with mushrooms. And the twists on Asian cocktails continue to create a stir. From the classic Old Fashioned made with Japanese whiskey and black sugar to the Game Set Matcha, a concoction of gin, cacao, matcha, lime, egg white and mint. Raise a glass or three to one of Nashville’s newest originals. MELISSA CORBIN

BEST SHOT THE BUBBA BACK AT ARNOLD’S AFTER DARK

Hot take: Picklebacks suck. While I adore both whiskey and pickle juice, they do nothing to complement each other, and that’s why I offer you the superior Bubba Back. It’s your choice of Tennessee whiskey, chased by a full shot of Arnold’s au jus, which is carnivorous liquid joy. Because the jus is warm and full of salt and fat, it coats your throat and takes the sting out of the whiskey. While early iterations used just a dropper of jus, head bartender Courtney Lomando made the crucial decision to fill that sucker up. This Bubba’s for you, Court.

ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST FROZEN DRINK CAMPARI LEMONADE AT NICKY’S COAL FIRED

In a wasteland of sickly sweet frosés, you have to do your homework to find a refined

experience with a great view. Perfect for big birthday celebrations. D. PATRICK RODGERS

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

frozen beverage. Look no further than the frozen Campari Lemonade at Nicky’s in The Nations. When you’re deep into the dog days of summer, lemonade always hits the spot. The only thing that can make it better?

A little bite, which you get from Campari, a bitter, bright-red Italian aperitif. Put together, you get a sophisticated, grown-up frozen drink that’s as striking as it is sippable. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST ECONOMICAL WAY TO GET DRUNK YEE HAW MOONSHINE TASTING

Yee Haw is the type of place that will be sought after by your visiting loved ones — but there’s something in it for locals, too. The moonshine tasting is $10 and includes a series of samples in communion-style cups, plus a beer. Tasting the alcohol (even those that taste like hand sanitizer or worse) is a bonding experience that’ll catch you by surprise in taste and tipsy levels, and will ready you for a Broadway jaunt. HANNAH HERNER

BEST NONALCOHOLIC BEER SOUTHERN GRIST’S COMPANY PILS

When I first attempted to quit drinking back in the early Aughts, I’d awkwardly order a watery, lifeless O’Doul’s at the bar and pretend to have fun. Let me tell you — nothing will make you crave a real pint like forcing down an O’Doul’s. I’ve been sober for 16 years now, and I never found another nonalcoholic beer worth trying. I resigned myself to my signature sober drink — a seltzer with lime. Thanks. But Southern Grist’s Company Pils is a whole other story. It’s light and smooth with a crisp finish. It packs punch without being bitter — and without the buzz. A word to the wise: Nonalc beers still do have a very small amount of alcohol. I’m confident enough in my sobriety that I can enjoy one from time to time. It’s for you to decide. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST NASHVILLE SC PREGAME SPOT M.L. ROSE AND JACKALOPE (TIE)

We Nashville SC fans are simple folk when it comes to a pregame destination. All we want is good drinks, available grub (food trucks are fine) and to be within, say, a 20-minute walk of Geodis Park. Discounts for wearing NSC gear is also appreciated. M.L. Rose and Jackalope both fit the bill nicely, and the convivial attitude of fellow supporters gets the blood pumping long before the first kick. Sure, you could sit in traffic and hope to find a yard to park in for $20 or play Uber roulette to find an intrepid driver willing to fight that traffic, but why? CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST STADIUM FOOD GEODIS PARK

Nashville SC fans rejoiced when Geodis Park, the permanent home for the team, opened in May. The stadium still has quite a few kinks to work out — for the love of God, pave the road and deal with the parking — but they knocked it out of the park with the food options. Yes, you can get generic stadium fare if that’s what you’re into, but Geodis Park is stacked with local restaurants and beverages. You’ll never look at stadium hot dogs the same way again after a visit to Daddy’s Dogs, and not surprisingly, the tacos and nachos at Strategic Hospitality’s Alebrije are borderline life-changing. Other notable additions to the concessions lineup are Prince’s Hot Chicken and Fat Bottom Brewery (which makes the official NSC lager), among many others. NANCY FLOYD

BEST NEW COFFEE SHOP FLORA + FAUNA

As more and more workers have started standing up for themselves via unionization efforts, demanding that employers finally treat them with dignity and respect, it’s refreshing to see local business owners

BEST FROZEN DRINK, WRITERS’ CHOICE: CAMPARI LEMONADE AT NICKY’S COAL FIRED

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

who grasp the responsibility they have for the people they hire. In fact, Flora + Fauna — the new coffee shop and cafe that opened in East Nashville’s Highland Yards in March — has made stewardship of their employees and the earth the foundation of their business. They roast their own coffee in-house (on a roaster named Iris) and offer a full menu of delicious treats, snacks and dishes while keeping sustainability at the heart of all they do. JONATHAN SIMS

BEST POUR-OVER CREMA

Crema has the cutest and tastiest pour-over game around. I’m a sucker for a tiny wooden tray, which is what Crema serves each pourover on, and each comes with a tiny li’l bread snack. It sort of feels like hipster communion. I also always appreciate their suggestions for which coffees to try, even if it’s because I’m terrible at pronouncing the names of all the good ones. (Here’s lookin’ at you, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.) AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST HOT CHOCOLATE FATBELLY PRETZEL

If you want to know if something’s rich, it’s gotta be semi-solid at room temperature. A sauce, a soup, a beverage — if you can turn it upside-down while cool, you are in for a treat. Such is the reality of chef Levon Wallace’s hot chocolate at Fatbelly Pretzel. Somehow, this dish contains no dairy, as it “would mute the rich, fruity chocolate” (his eloquent

BEST NEW COFFEE SHOP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: FLORA + FAUNA

explanation, not mine). There are only four ingredients: sugar, water, 67 percent chocolate and rich black cocoa, which is basically cocoa powder that’s magically had all its bitterness removed. Think Mexican hot chocolate in simplicity with Belgianchocolate indulgence. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST CAFE-AND-BAR MINI EMPIRE HEADQUARTERS AND OTTO’S

Among the myriad things the pandemic reminded us was to support local businesses you care about seeing on the other side — as long as they themselves aren’t totally out to lunch. In May 2020, Sylvan Park denizens were blindsided by the owner of longtime standby Star Bagel posting a bunch of QAnon rhetoric on the business’s site. By taking SB out of the equation, the area becomes a coffee chasm, with the exception of the sleepy, slow branch of Dose right off I-440. I’ve always preferred Headquarters — over on Charlotte Avenue, across from Richland Park — which turned 10 years old this year. A gem hiding in plain sight, it’s not much of a spot to post up at, but the coffee never disappoints. Call me a basic millennial, but the avocado toast rules too. A couple blocks east on Charlotte sits the Headquarters folks’ nighttime endeavor, Otto’s, a refurbished auto shop (hence the name) and welcome new destination for West Siders and visitors to catch up over cheap margaritas and tacos.

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST CANNABIS BAR BUDS & BREWS

OK, fine. It is also Tennessee’s only (for now) cannabis bar. Germantown pub

Buds & Brews serves beer, wine, cocktails and food, just like any other sports bar. However, here the food and mocktails are paired with hemp-infused condiments. The menu suggests pairings with nearly 24 THC-infused options, such as canna-butter, hot sauce, caramel, marinara and ranch. Dip your wings, fried pickles and pretzels in them using dosing spoons that control portion sizes. In a state where traditional marijuana is still illegal, this spot serving legal cannabis products makes things feel a little more modern. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST NEW BARBECUE BRINGLE’S SMOKING OASIS

Pitmaster Carey Bringle has always vowed that there would never be another Peg Leg Porker restaurant, but he never said he wouldn’t expand his barbecue empire. In addition to opening Pig Star at the airport, he has created a full-on Texas barbecue emporium in The Nations with Bringle’s Smoking Oasis. Featuring more beef dishes than pork, it’s a completely different experience from PLP, plus the expansive outdoor area for watching games on huge televisions, plenty of al fresco seating and yard games are bringing all the boys (and girls and their kids and dogs) to the yard.

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST BRUNCH, WRITERS’ CHOICE: MOTHER’S RUIN

BEST NEW BREAKFAST SPOT SNOOZE A.M. EATERY

I love a fancy brunch as much as the next middle-aged woman, but sometimes you just want a hearty, reasonably priced, classic breakfast. Enter Snooze A.M. Eatery. The large breakfast diner opened in East Nashville earlier this year, serving up heaping plates of elaborately topped pancakes, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast platters, towering mimosas, make-your-own omelets, a variety of Benedicts and more. They don’t accept reservations, but the space — which includes a huge patio and wraparound bar — keeps the line moving quickly. NANCY FLOYD

BEST BRUNCH MOTHER’S RUIN

If you’re a longtime Nashvillian, you know brunch no longer belongs to us. It belongs to the bachelorettes, the bros and their beer-bongs of man-mosas. One exception: Germantown bar Mother’s Ruin. The atmosphere is upbeat and unstuffy, they serve up gluttony (waffle fries and queso) alongside the healthy (Thai Brussels sprouts), and there’s always a diabolical frozen drink on tap. Tack on the fact that it’s dog-friendly and has a killer new backyard and you’ll forget brunch ever involved a tractor full of hos (their word, not ours!) or bros on Broadway. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST SQUARE MEAL, WRITERS’ CHOICE: BREAKFAST CUBES AT THE BUTTER MILK RANCH

you’re harnessing from the day melt straight away. Can’t deal with all that sugar?

I get it. For something savory but just as decadent, try a Breakfast Cube, which is literally what it sounds like. A cube of breakfast, a square croissant toasted and cut in half and stuffed with eggs, cheese, chives and, if you want, bacon. It is a lifechanging invention for anyone who clamors to get the edge piece of anything (me), as there are eight crunchy corners that burst into delicate buttery flakes with each bite. Fantastic. MEGAN SELING

BEST NEW STEAKHOUSE HALL’S CHOPHOUSE

BEST SQUARE MEAL BREAKFAST CUBES AT THE BUTTER MILK RANCH

The specialty croissants at The Butter Milk Ranch are unmissable. Worth the 12South traffic, worth the parking headaches. One bite of pastry chef Alyssa Gangeri’s enormous, indulgent sweet croissants — available in flavors like babka, salted honey butter, churro and raspberry pain au chocolat — will make whatever stress

BEST STEAK DINNER FOR LESS THAN $25, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ARNOLD’S COUNTRY KITCHEN

The folks at Hall’s Chophouse know a thing or two about presentation. One meal there feels like a crash course in how to run a fancy steakhouse. The showmanship includes elaborate presentations of the meat you’re about to be served and multiple servers coming out to deliver your meal — it feels like a big deal to eat there. The food is delicious, the meat perfectly cooked, and the sides varied. Also, if you’re in the mood for dessert, try any cheesecake that might be on the seasonal rotation. It might be even better than the prime cuts. CORY WOODROOF

BEST STEAK DINNER FOR LESS THAN $25 ARNOLD’S COUNTRY KITCHEN

In addition to daily stalwarts like fried chicken, catfish and roast beef, the menu at “Arnold’s After Dark” features a few additional dishes that allow chef Kahlil Arnold to really show off his culinary chops.

PHOTO: ERIC

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST NEW ICE CREAM SHOP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: SARABHAS CREAMERY

nitrogen and spread out onto a frozen metal plate and rolled into papery tubes. I knew ice cream; ice cream knew me. Then came Sarabhas Creamery, the new Indian ice cream shop near Vanderbilt. Gursharan Singh and Manpreet Gill sell ice cream and other frozen treats that remind them of their childhoods. The Indian-style ice cream — mango, saffron, coconut, Indian coffee, chai spice — is churned more slowly than most American ice cream, leaving little room for air and ice crystals. There are sundaes and drinks, too. Shahi gulab is butterscotch ice cream served alongside hot gulab jamun, and falooda is a refreshing textural masterpiece, loaded with vermicelli noodles, basil seeds, ice cream and nuts. Never have I been so happy to be schooled. MEGAN SELING

BEST NEW SOFT-SERVE SOFT SERVICE STATION

I would have frequented a new soft-serve spot in my neighborhood regardless. But what Austin Bauman has created with the trifecta of businesses at Porter Road and Greenwood Avenue has been transformative. An ode to the gas station that once stood on this site, Soft Service Station (along with the adjacent Tabla Rasa Toys and Cecil’s Skate Shop — more on those in our Kids & Pets section) is a place for neighbors to gather and hang and eat delicious ice cream. The fact that Soft Service Station has rotating options and toppings, such as crumbled brownies and seasonal cakes from the beloved Sweet 16th Bakery? Well, that’s just the cherry on top. MARGARET LITTMAN

A particular standout is the “chef’s special,” a sliced hanger steak served over creamy jalapeño gouda grits and your choice of two from Arnold’s legendary roster of side dishes. Hanger steak is referred to as “a butcher’s cut,” because it’s one of the parts of the cow that meat cutters traditionally set aside for themselves. This particular hanger comes from Bear Creek Farm, and it’s spectacular. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST OVERALL STEAKHOUSE EXPERIENCE CARNE MARE

Chef Andrew Carmellini opened Carne Mare in the Gulch last winter with the intention of creating a night out, and that he did. From the interior’s old-school Italian steakhouse vibes to the wine list largely focusing on Italian varietals, you might swear the cast of Goodfellas just rolled up in the joint. But it’s Carmellini’s open-fired steaks that really steal the show: prime rib roasted in a porchetta-spiced rub for 12 hours, 40-ounce tomahawks and gorgonzola Wagyu strips, to name a few. And the baked spumoni for two flambéed tableside? Consider yourself served! MELISSA CORBIN

BEST PRIME RIB SPERRY’S AND THE CONTINENTAL (TIE)

If you haven’t yet seen a video of luscious jus being lovingly poured over The Continental’s prime rib, congrats — you’re the only person alive who hasn’t ruined

your brain with Instagram. It is, in one very overused word, epic — crisp on the outside; pink on the inside; and meaty, salty and savory all over. The best part? You’ll also find epic prime rib at Sperry’s, and that does my heart (and I’d wager Continental chefowner Sean Brock’s) good. Sometimes new and old Nashville live in perfect harmony. This is one of those times. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST MAGICAL ICE CREAM SHOP LA MICHOACANA

The next time you’re having a bad day, stop by La Michoacana Premium, and I guarantee you’ll be feeling better the second you set foot in the door. This enchanting ice cream shop on Nolensville Pike is a colorful emporium of sweets and treats that dazzle all the senses. A rainbow of creamy, dreamy ice cream fills the displays in over-the-top and often unusual flavors like tamarind or queso. There’s also an assortment of paletas, packed with huge chunks of fresh fruit and other fillings, towering sundaes and refreshing agua frescas. The only challenge is deciding what to order, but regardless of what you choose, I promise you won’t be disappointed. NANCY FLOYD

BEST NEW ICE CREAM SHOP SARABHAS CREAMERY

I thought I knew everything there was to know about ice cream. I’ve had it soft and swirled and scooped and stacked. I’ve had it made before my very eyes with liquid

BEST NEW SOFT-SERVE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: SOFT SERVICE STATION

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST SORBET

HUSK

Is it fair to stack a sorbet-based dessert that includes both miso and pork fat against all the basic-bitch sorbets in town? Absolutely not. Am I doing it anyway? You bet. Pastry chef Rachel Rathgeb takes chocolate sorbet and levels it up to another planet with accouterments. There’s buttery, crumbly shortbread; there’s a savory and salty pecan miso; there’s a pork-fat caramel that runs right over decadence all the way to obscenity. Get into it before it’s gone. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST COOKIE PINK DOOR COOKIES

Last year, when I gave both Pink Door Cookies and HiFi Cookies a Best of Nashville award for Best Cookie, I thought

I knew what each shop was capable of. They were equally amazing, though different in their own ways. This year, both shops found their stride. HiFi leaned into its ice cream sandwich offerings (more on that later), and Pink Door Cookies’ menu benefited from some fine flavor tuning and experimentation from pastry chef (and Chopped champion!) Mathew Rice. Rice uses an array of mix-ins, toppings and extracts to create flavor combinations that are at once nostalgic and innovative. Fried apple pie, blueberry pancake, peanut butter and grape jelly, cotton candy — the fact that Rice manages to encapsulate our memories of all those familiar flavors into a cookie is nothing short of magical. The only way you can truly understand that wizardry is to eat one. More good news: Pink Door now ships

BEST ICE CREAM COOKIE SANDWICH, WRITERS’ CHOICE: HIFI

nationwide so you can show out-of-towners some of what they’re missing in Music City. MEGAN SELING

BEST ICE CREAM COOKIE SANDWICH HIFI

HiFi Cookies has good cookies. Great cookies, even. But this year, owner Sean Newsome upped the shop’s game when he made cookie ice cream sandwiches a permanent part of the shop’s menu. The sandwiches — HiFi’s big, loaded cookies stuffed with a sizable scoop of ice cream — were something owner Newsome experimented with when the shop first opened in the spring of 2020, but for whatever reason, they never seemed to take off. Let’s blame our collective dumb pandemic brains for that; these ice cream cookie sandwiches are a marvel. Get the Marvin with salted caramel ice cream or the Buddy with strawberry ice cream. And it doesn’t stop at cookies! At one point Newsome even offered a Fruity Pebbles Rice Krispie Treat ice cream sandwich because there are no rules and no limits to what’s possible at HiFi Cookies. For extra indulgence, add a side of caramel or chocolate sauce to turn your sandwich into more of a sundae and embrace the messy cookie chaos. MEGAN SELING

BEST VEGAN RADICAL RABBIT

Mariah Ragland really does believe that introducing people to plant-based food that is soulful and delicious is a revolutionary act, and she spreads her gospel by serving up plates of natural, cruelty-free cuisine at farmers markets in East Nashville and Richland Park. Order ahead online or just

show up to see what’s cooking. Hopefully, the menu will include RadRab’s amazing Carolina Gold fried jackfruit or lentil-based cheeseburger “egg” rolls. Don’t forget to order a side of vegan mac-and-cheese and banana pudding for dessert. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST BAR DIRECTOR

JON HOWARD

The bar programs at Sean Brock’s Audrey, June and The Continental are arguably some of the most innovative and interesting in town, and bar director Jon Howard is the mastermind behind them all. He’s taken the martini to an art form at The Continental and its bar-within-a-bar Vesper Club, which offers martini tastings and caviar pairings, and he’s concocting truly original chemistry-experiments-turned-cocktails at June. But perhaps the most creative — and delicious — bar program in town can be found at Bar at Audrey, where mixologists are crafting three-ingredient cocktails where fresh produce takes center stage. Offering just five recipes per week, based on whatever fruits or vegetables are in season, the Bar at Audrey presents guests with a basket of produce that serves as the “menu.” Pro tip: Ask them for a tasting and they’ll prepare small pours of all five drinks.

NANCY FLOYD

BEST MARTINI THE VESPER CLUB

As a martini lover, I’m thrilled to see the classic cocktail having a renaissance in Nashville in recent years, but no one is doing it better than The Vesper Club. Located inside The Continental at Grand Hyatt Nashville, The Vesper Club is a one-

BEST SORBET, WRITERS’ CHOICE: HUSK

BEST COOKIE,

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

of-a-kind tasting experience centered on the iconic libation. For $100, guests are treated to five martini tastings, each paired with a different caviar. Each martini is prepared a different way — frozen, shaken, stirred, thrown — and served in vintage-style cut glassware. Best of all, you don’t see the menu until the very end, so you can set aside your preconceived notions and just enjoy the journey. NANCY FLOYD

BEST RESTAURANT REBOOT AFTER A MOVE TAILOR

It takes serious confidence to close a successful restaurant location and go a year without revenue while you build another one, but that’s exactly what chef Vivek Surti did with Tailor last year. Together with manager Heather Southerland, Surti had established a vaunted reputation for his chef skills and hospitality — but working out of another cook’s kitchen and seating guests in the backroom of someone else’s restaurant was limiting his creativity. With the new incarnation of Tailor, Surti and Southerland have created their dream kitchen and a much better environment for patrons to join them on their culinary journey. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST BAR REBOOT AFTER A MOVE JANE’S HIDEAWAY

After being ignominiously displaced from its popular Printers Alley location by a landlord who wanted to rent to a new tenant (a strange whiskey bar/laser shooting gallery named The Whiskey Shot), Jane’s Hideaway vowed to reappear forthwith. Fortunately, industry pro John Peet brought his excellent cocktail list, elevated Southern food menu and dedication to nightly live music across the river, where he backed into the former home of No. 308 on Gallatin like a hermit crab finding a new home. The Americana and bluegrass plays on, and the food and drinks are still topnotch. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST NEW WHOLE-ANIMAL BUTCHER SHOP OPTION SMOKIN’ OAKS

While legit butcher shops where talented meat masters actually cut portions from whole animals instead of from boxes of frozen parts are pretty much dying out, Nashville has been blessed with a few professionals who still practice the arcana of butchery. In addition to old favorites Porter Road and Bare Bones, there’s Smokin’ Oaks, which has opened a storefront in Melrose where staff processes cows, pigs and chickens that they raise on their own farm. The front of the shop features shelf after shelf and coolers filled with locally produced products from other farmers and artisans, plus prepared meals to go.

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST HOT CHICKEN RETURN PEPPERFIRE

As more of hot chicken’s old guard staples continue to fly the coop, it’s refreshing to see the long-awaited return of one of our favorite poultry purveyors. It was touch and go for a couple of years, but despite numerous obstacles, Pepperfire Hot Chicken has finally reopened. And while the establishment has jumped the river and

BEST REUSE OF A FORMER WAFFLE HOUSE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE WAFFLE TACO

resituated in The Nations with brand-new digs and a refreshed look, not much else has changed — and that’s exactly the point. The same unique spice blend that long set the restaurant apart from its peers is as flavorful as ever. And this bone-in bona fide doesn’t just offer leg and breast quarters — the deep-fried grilled cheese sandwich known as the Peppercheese still finds its way onto multiple dishes, and classic Southern sides like poppyseed slaw and sweet cinnamon apples are a complement to every dish. MATT FOX

BEST BROADWAY REVAMP CASA ROSA

Since I moved to Nashville, Crazy Town has been a Broadway standout for me — especially the top level, with its devotion to pop music and terrace for cooling off and views of the Broadway madness. I was saddened to see that my favorite place to get lost in the crowd closed before the pandemic. Now reopened as Miranda Lambert’s unabashedly pink Casa Rosa, the space has maintained its third-floor energy while offering a great restaurant on the second and a more chill bar experience on the ground level. It’s about time a country music lady had a spot on the main drag among all the bros. HANNAH HERNER

BEST REUSE OF A FORMER WAFFLE HOUSE THE WAFFLE TACO

My fiancée and I don’t usually eat breakfast out, but The Waffle Taco — which opened

in late 2020 in a former Waffle House location near I-24 on Bell Road — is changing our minds. The food is delicious, freshly prepared, generously portioned and reasonably priced. Just as important is the fact that the management and staff, many of whom are Latinos, embrace and reflect the rainbow array of cultures that make up Antioch. Too often, fun and charming breakfast spots represent gentrification in

one way or another. The Waffle Taco is a fine example of how they can be a form of crosscultural community engagement instead.

STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST REPURPOSED CAR WASH THE WASH

Gallatin Avenue’s many car washes — both abandoned and functional — are part of what makes the East Nashville thoroughfare distinctive. Developer Tyler Cauble disrupted it all when he transformed one into a collection of five restaurants and one bar, each in a former bay of the car wash at Gallatin and McKennie. The common patio space — for sharing tacos, pho, poke, Peruvian and Cuban dishes and cocktails — created an instant neighborhood gathering place, and allowed restaurants to open with just 380 square feet of space. That’s urban density at its finest. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST RESTAURANT RESCUE MANGIA

I may not get the scoop on every single restaurant opening in town, but I’m often asked to break the news of impending closures. Maybe it’s because Derek Zoolander would describe me as a good “eugoogalizer,” but I’ve written more than my share of restaurant obits. None of them hit me harder than sharing that Nick Pellegrino planned to close out his festive Italian dinner party at Mangia after New Year’s Eve. Fortunately, I also got to announce that the weekend fests were starting up again after what turned out to be a brief interregnum. Nashville needs Pellegrino’s Italian comfort food and his ebullient personality. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST BANH MI EAST SIDE BANH MI

Here’s the thing: I’m a vegetarian. So am I really the best person to praise a banh mi sandwich shop when so often the best part of a banh mi sandwich is the meat? YES, because East Side Banh Mi, which opened in August 2020, is just as good for us herbivores as it is omnivores, thanks to the tofu, eggplant and Impossible meatfree meatballs on the menu. Seriously! The bread is baked in house, and all sandwiches are topped with fried shallot mayo (or sub

BEST BANH MI, WRITERS’ CHOICE:

SIDE BANH MI

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

vegan), pickled veggies, cilantro, cucumber, jalapeños and Maggi seasoning — so meat or no meat, it’s packed with so much flavor you have to pause after each bite to fully appreciate every delicious detail. Not ready to make the full-time leap into a plant-based world? Owners Gracie Nguyen and Chad Newton work with local vendors — Bear Creek Farm for beef and pork and Gifford’s for smoked bologna — to ensure that their carnivorous offerings are of the highest quality. But seriously, give the chili crisp tofu a chance. MEGAN SELING

BEST FRIED RICE CHICKEN FAT RICE AT TKO

When COVID finally breached our family’s vaxxed-and-boosted borders, we needed comfort food. The Chicken Fat Rice at TKO delivered. While there is no chicken meat in this rice, that’s kind of why it feels so illicit. Since the East Side restaurant uses chicken fat to flavor the rice, your taste buds zero in on the richness and umami that only schmaltz can provide. TKO finishes it with scrambled egg, hot sauce, zingy scallions and crispy skin — lord, the crispy skin! — to make a dish that hits all the warm-hug notes of fried rice with the snackability of pork rinds. Simple and brilliant. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST TORTILLAS

MAIZ DE LA VIDA

Julio Hernandez has garnered both local and national acclaim for the tortillas he serves out of the Maiz de la Vida food truck — and rightfully so. Maiz de la Vida, parked outside Chopper Tiki in East Nashville, provides a variety of Mexican offerings from tacos to flautas, quesabirria and more. What makes these dishes particularly special are the nixtamalized tortillas they’re served in. Nixtamalization is the traditional process of soaking dried corn in a mixture of water and calcium hydroxide and then processing it through a mill to make masa. Hernandez uses this technique to create tortillas that are as gorgeous as they are delicious. With a new tortilla shop and a restaurant on the

BEST PHO KIEN GIANG

New isn’t always better. Just as inferior ramen spots popped up after Otaku, slicker pho spots have opened in the past 28 years. But none has better pho than longtime spot Kien Giang. It comes down to the broth. Perfect pho requires a flavorful, spiced, balanced broth that’s deep yet delicate. In years past, you’d be forgiven for ordering inferior pho because you were too lazy to get cash or get in your car. But today’s Kien Giang takes credit and they deliver, so everyone’s out of excuses. If the newbies can do it better, they’ve yet to do so for me.

ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST WINGS KING MARKET

We all know King Market for its top-notch spicy Thai and delicious pho, but the Antioch spot also makes my favorite wings in town. They’re lightly breaded, which I don’t normally go for in a wing. They also serve these super juicy bad boys full-wing style. I

BEST LOBSTER ROLL, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE OPTIMIST

like to throw a bit of salt on there and go to town, but a good chili sauce for dipping or spinning never hurts either. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST QUICHE COCORICO

If I had to guess, I’d bet few folks move to Nashville from Nantes, France. Lucky for us, Elodie Habert is one of them. Had she not, would I be thinner? Sure! But I’d also be much sadder, because her quiche Lorraine

is the stuff of legend. Flaky crust, salty ham, melty cheese, and fluffy eggs are combined with what I’m guessing is so much butter it shouldn’t even stay together. Yet, magically it does, resulting in a meal that is downright magnifique. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST POKE BOWL

SALMON POKE AT RED PERCH

Poke places are a dime a dozen, but the best poke bowl in town? It’s at an Australian fishand-chips shop. In Hawaiian, poké means “to slice” or “cut into pieces,” and that means you need someone with knife skills to do it. At Red Perch, chef Cameron Payne has the fine-dining bona fides to do it right, as well as a knack for balancing flavors. He takes freshly sliced salmon, dresses it with a piquant, umami-packed mayo, and pairs that with tart, crunchy pickled cucumbers, a savory seaweed salad, and fluffy furikaketopped rice. I eat it twice a week, and that’s not enough. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST LOBSTER ROLL THE OPTIMIST

While our area New Englanders might disagree, Nashville really might have a lobster roll to rival the best of the bay. The Optimist’s lobster roll “twins” are served with really crunchy fries, with the freshly imported lobster on their signature house

way, there will be plenty of opportunities to try them out. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST QUICHE, WRITERS’

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

FOOD

WRITERS’ CHOICE

rolls. Unlike the normal buns you’d get at a lobster joint in Maine, you get two delicate sliders with flavor for days. While the whole menu at The Optimist is worth multiple dives, if you’re making your first visit, try the New England classic. CORY WOODROOF

BEST ADDICTIVE APPETIZER TAYLOR CHILI JASMINE RICE

AT INTERNATIONAL MARKET

Named for the International Market server who made this spicy chili garlic rice for staff meal so often that IM put it on the menu, the Taylor Chili Jasmine Rice (aka Taylor’s Rice) is so addictive it should be regulated as a controlled substance. But skip the fried egg — it’ll only dilute the salty, spicy power of some of the most flavorpacked rice you’ll ever eat. LANCE CONZETT

BEST MOUNTAIN OF CHEESE PANEER VEGGI SANDWICH AT SURATI INDIAN STREET FOOD

There’s an infinite number of ways to make a really good grilled cheese sandwich. It could lean sweet, it could lean savory; it could be low-brow, it could be high-brow. No grilled cheese is the best grilled cheese, because the best grilled cheese is the one you have yet to make. But the grilled cheese at Surati Street Foods is definitely a contender — it’s less a sandwich and more a mountain. Hunks of marinated paneer sit between slices of toasted bread, and they’re given a flavorful boost with spicy chutney and shredded vegetables (onion and carrot, if I recall correctly — I ate it too quickly to take good notes, tbh). Potato chips come on the side, and that would be enough to be a comforting, cheese-lover’s dream, but there is more! It’s all topped with shredded mozzarella. THEY PUT MORE CHEESE ON THEIR GRILLED CHEESE. If you’re smart, you’ll tuck a few of those potato chips into the sandwich before you take a bite. MEGAN SELING

BEST TAPA TUNA GILDAS AT LOLA

The Gilda is a bite that’s as interesting in taste as it is in origin. The popular pintxo, which means “spike” in the Basque language, is a Spanish snack that’s served on — you guessed it — a cocktail spike. It’s named for the “spicy” femme fatale of the 1946 film Gilda, who was played by Spanishdescended Rita Hayworth. Lola’s tuna Gilda is every bit as enticing as that sounds. The delicately marinated, zingy tuna is perfectly paired with pickled peppers, making it a bold, saucy way to wake up your tastebuds for a meal. Sadly, the Gilda was recently removed from Lola’s menu, but here’s hoping they bring it back. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST FALAFEL KING TUT’S

I hate to reveal that I’ve never been much of a falafel fan. In fact, I always thought I just didn’t like it at all. King Tut’s, the colorful food truck and patio on Nolensville Pike, changed my mind. Their bright-green version is full of herbs on the inside and light and crunchy on the outside. Get it with the vegan platter, which is one of the best and most beautiful plates in town: sour slaw, pita, hummus, fried eggplant and, of course, the falafel. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST MOUNTAIN OF CHEESE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: PANEER VEGGI SANDWICH AT SURATI INDIAN STREET FOOD

BEST CONCHAS PANECITO

Biting into one of Dora Martinez’s freshly baked conchas — sold at her booth Panecito at the East Nashville Farmers’ Market — is like biting into a sugar-coated cloud. The dough is melt-in-your-mouth airy, while the sweet sugary topping — in flavors like chocolate, vanilla, cookies and cream, churro, and strawberry — fills your mouth with flavorful crumbs. You will want another bite almost immediately, but don’t you dare, not without taking a big sip of Martinez’s horchata or agua fresca. Only then can you go back for more. Bite, sip, bite, sip, bite, sip, until the last delectable crumb. MEGAN SELING

BEST SAVORY BREAKFAST BITE THE HORN’S SAMBUSAS

Typically, if I’m grabbing something quick during a morning out, my mind thinks sweet, like an almond croissant. But for those days when something savory calls, The Horn is the spot (though they have plenty of great sweet treats, too). I’m a big fan of the hot chicken sambusas, but the veggie and the cheese and the potato go better with a big cup of coffee or chai.

AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST HAPPY HOUR BLACK RABBIT

It’s always a good time to visit Black Rabbit, chef Trey Cioccia’s speakeasy-inspired restaurant and bar on Banker’s Alley downtown. But 4 to 6 p.m. every Monday through Saturday is an especially opportune time to drop in. Happy hour deals include $5 cocktails, 2-for-1 cans of beer plus bar snacks cooked over an open fire in the building where the feds bugged Jimmy Hoffa’s lawyer (as seen in The Irishman)?

Count me in! CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST HAPPY HOUR DEAL FIVE POINTS PIZZA

Five Points Pizza figured out how to make some of the best pizza in town even better — they made a sweet happy hour deal with it. On weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., you can grab a slice and a beer for an unbeatable price. You can go simple with a slice of cheese or pepperoni pizza, paired with a Miller High Life or Pabst Blue Ribbon, for $5. Or, if you’re willing to splurge a bit, you can order any slice and any draft for $8. I can’t think of a better way to end a weekday. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST DOWNTOWN LUNCH SIXTY VINES

The addition of Fifth + Broadway did wonders for downtown dining, providing tourists and locals alike the opportunity to dine at establishments that aren’t affiliated with bro-country stars. When it comes to lunch meetings, the crown jewel of the development is Sixty Vines. Located above the Assembly Food Hall, Sixty Vines has everything you want in a lunch restaurant — good food, reasonable prices, quick attentive service, ample seating and, best of all, the ability to make a reservation. (The 60 wines on tap aren’t bad either.) Plus, the space is filled with light and offers great views of the Ryman nearby. NANCY FLOYD

BEST POPCORN KERNELS

Popcorn is popcorn is popcorn. It’s light and crispy, salty and buttery. Delicious! But is it special? Can one popcorn really be better than all the rest? At East Nashville’s familyowned popcorn shop Kernels, the answer is undoubtedly yes. Whatever their flavor of the month is, get it. In February it took me just one day to down a whole bag of the best popcorn I’ve ever had, a cherry and chocolate mix where the fluffy corn puffs were coated in the ideal amount of vibrant red and fruity coating and finished off with a generous drizzle of dark chocolate. April was lemon-glazed cake, and September was caramel corn drizzled with sunflower butter and dark chocolate. The limited-edition flavors are always daring, but familiar enough to crave. Kernels’ Nashville hot popcorn — a menu mainstay — is a must for visitors hoping to fully experience Nashville’s most famous food, but a warning to the weak: It’s spicy enough that I have to cut it with some of the buttery caramel corn to cool down the heat. Even when I have picked all the caramel kernels out of the bag I can’t resist — at times it’s punishing, but always worth it. MEGAN SELING

BEST POP-UPS REDHEADED STRANGER

When Bryan Lee Weaver brought in acclaimed NOLA restaurant Turkey and the Wolf for a pop-up, I knew he’d peaked — and then came Dan Dan. Weaver brought in the pair of chefs from Wisconsin, and the Dans Brought. It. All. The mapo-tofu walking taco (a bag of Fritos drenched in scallion-studded tofu and addictive sauce); the Taiwan birria quesadilla (scallion pancake, queso); the pig-ear nachos that introduced me to two new obsessions: fermented black beans (douchi) and kimchi crema. And that’s all before I had the shrimp-toast torta with hot mustard-mayo. Bottom line: If there’s a pop-up at Redheaded Stranger, I’ll be first in line. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST PIZZA POP-UP PIZZA LOLO

You know what rules about Pizza Lolo? It’s run by a guy who just loves pizza and wants to share it with the world. And you know what else? Steven Anthony is damn good at making pizzas. Fired on portable pizza ovens at any courtyard or sidewalk that’ll have him, Anthony’s classic Neapolitan pies have just the right amount of chew and char to them. Even the Yankees in my family agree — he’s got the goods.

LANCE CONZETT

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

BEST HOLIDAY POP-UPS

L27 ROOFTOP LOUNGE

Holiday pop-ups popped up all over Nashville last year, starting with Halloween, when The Mansion Halloween Party at L27 was dressed to the nines in ’90s Versace-inspired black-and-gold designs, Greek statues and lots of greenery, with an extravagant event featuring paparazziworthy supermodels and music by Lady Gaga collaborator DJWS. Then L27 moved mountains to tranform into Ski Chalet, which featured a monochromatic winter-white oasis with Swiss Alps energy everywhere, including cocktails and bites. You could almost hear the yodels bouncing off Nashville’s skyline. MELISSA CORBIN

BEST CHEF COLLABORATION

FIVE LOCAL LGBTQ CHEFS COME TOGETHER FOR PRIDE DINNER

First of all, I can’t believe Arnold Myint, Margot McCormack, David Andrews, Brian Riggenbach and Star Maye have never cooked together before, or that we’ve never recognized the important LGBTQ chefs in the community. Once their special Pride Month event was announced, it sold out almost instantaneously. Proceeds went to support Nashville Launch Pad, a worthy organization that works with at-risk LGBTQ youth to help them get off the streets and creates safe spaces where they can be treated with dignity. Kudos to all involved!

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST NEW COOKBOOK LIFE OF FIRE BY PAT MARTIN

Pat Martin’s first book represents a six-year labor of love. It’s also the rare cookbook that tells the real story of a chef building a small empire, both the good and bad sides of the process. The photography is a highlight, including the food and cooking process shots, but mainly because you can

BEST (AND HIGHEST) MERINGUE PIES, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ELLISTON PLACE SODA SHOP

of meat for backyard grillmasters to cook correctly. Its irregular shape and grain, plus the hours needed to prepare it properly, make it the Mt. Everest of home barbecue. Let BrisketU help you scale that peak with their series of cooking classes held at local breweries so that you can enjoy a pint and some brisket samples while you learn in class and on the smoker. They’ve also added a new ribs class if you’re still not ready to risk it for the brisket.

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST FOOD AND WINE CLASSES MIEL

BEST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION MARGOT’S 21ST BIRTHDAY

life, and they have created partnerships with doctors, dentists, banks and pharmacists to streamline assistance when needed. The Worleys definitely live by the “love” in their restaurant’s name.

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST NEW NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET THE SILO MARKET

For too long, Dollar General has been the only “local market” in The Nations. So when The Silo Market opened, it easily outkicked its coverage. Owned by brothers Drew and Luke Watson (whose grandparents owned a Nolensville grocery years back), Silo is cute, quaint and upscale without being unreasonable. Grab a local draft beer or a snack, refill your water bottle, use their very fine bathroom, and take home a bottle of natural wine from a selection nobody sees coming. Bonus: Their cold brew is just $3.50 and the fifth one is free. If that’s not cause for celebration in New Nashville, I don’t know what is. (P.S. Follow GM Daniel on Instagram at @d27anderson and thank me later.) ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST PLACE TO GO WITH $10 EL HORNITO BAKERY

This place is a staple for picking up a huge amount of food for a small amount of money. Need some treats for a book club or work meeting or bonfire? You’ll look like a queen rolling up with $10 worth of sugar-crusted breads. Of course, El Hornito has more than that, but all of its pan dulce is priced super low. The toughest part is choosing from all the cookies, cream-filled puff pastries and conchas. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST BREAD MAD SCIENCE DOZEN

actually witness the passage of time as Pat and his family grow older in the industry. A refreshingly honest account of the passion it takes to open and run a restaurant, it’s really a great read — even if you don’t want to cook anything out of it.

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST WAY TO UP YOUR GRILL GAME BRISKETU

Brisket can be a pretty intimidating piece

Seema Prasad, owner of Miel, never sought her sommelier designation, because she says that she’s more concerned with achieving excellence at her craft. A craft she indeed has perfected, earning her top honors by the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico in the motherland. This year her series of dinners featuring wines from renowned regions such as Chianti and Loire Valley sold out for good reason. So did executive chef Jason Lalacona’s sustainable seafood classes, where guests learned how to choose, butcher and cook eco-friendly fish. It’s a true cornerstone of Nashville’s culinary pride, so cheers to Miel for always raising the bar. MELISSA CORBIN

I’m as guilty as anyone else of getting distracted by the shiny new spots, the celebrity chefs parachuting into our humble food scene, the Modernist Cuisine worshiping menus. But there’s something to be said for longevity. Margot, the East Nashville staple that’s now old enough to drink at its own well-appointed bar, celebrated in style with simple, seasonal dishes that dazzle with every bite. Old favorites and new twists were trotted out over four days, with the star of the menu when I visited being a simple watercress soup that knocked me sideways with flavor.

LANCE CONZETT

BEST RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE CARE BISCUIT LOVE

Sarah and Karl Worley have always viewed the health and stability of their employees as the most important aspect of running Biscuit Love. In addition to the day-to-day operations of their small empire of biscuit houses, the Worleys employ two staff members dedicated to providing employee care for both Englishand Spanish-speaking team members. Therapists offer anonymous support for issues of substance abuse, mental health, financial education and other challenges in

When the bread wizards at Dozen aren’t churning out baguettes for consumption at a huge chunk of Nashville’s restaurants and grocery stores, they’re experimenting with new flavors and styles to keep gluten fans guessing. How about a Dill Pickle Sourdough? Or a Yazoo Sly Rye Pumpernickel? Would you fancy a Farro, Parmesan and Black Pepper Porridge Bread? Hell yeah, you would. Is there such a thing as a high-carb diet? Because I’m on it now. LANCE CONZETT

BEST (AND HIGHEST) MERINGUE PIES ELLISTON PLACE SODA SHOP

The first time I saw one of the meringue pies at Elliston Place Soda Shop, I thought it was a prop. It’s not hyperbole to say the meringue stands about 5 inches high, with perfectly bruleed swirls on top — the coconut is a fave, but they have a few different flavors. They’re lovingly made by Miss Linda “Pie Lady” Melton, and they’re as tasty as they are fun to look at. All hail Miss Linda. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST CSA BLOOMSBURY FARM AT RADISH

If Guys and Dolls is the only time you’ve ever heard the phrase “a bushel or a peck,” let Bloomsbury Farm enlighten you. Pick a $55 half-bushel (16 quarts) or a $35 peck (8 quarts); opt in for summer, spring or fall; pick up weekly or every other week at seven locations across town; and cancel anytime. Enjoy lion’s mane mushrooms, sprouts and eggplant, and then tomatoes, corn and cucumbers, plus extras like roasted salsa or pesto. You’ll have to brave a little repetition

BEST CUTE PRODUCE SHOP THE PRODUCE PLACE

The Produce Place on the West Side is a tiny oasis of yummy fruits and vegetables and gorgeous flora of all kinds. They try to keep their supply as local as possible. Stock is based on what’s in season, and everything is always high-quality, whether it’s from down the street or not. It’s a quick stop on the way home from work, and a lovely place to remind yourself there are still small, great things. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST PLACE TO TRY NEW SNACKS ALEKSEY’S MARKET

Most people go to Berry Hill’s Aleksey’s Market to stock up on savory European goods, like meats and cheeses available by the pound and frozen pierogies stuffed with a dozen different fillings. But I go to Aleksey’s for the snacks. I don’t need caviar or smoked fish — though they have plenty

of it. Just give me an array of Russian and Ukrainian candies, sold in bulk by the pound, so I can fill my basket with a little bit of everything. Two must-haves: Minky Binkys, which are soft, creamy, fruitjelly-filled caramels, and Roshen truffles, decadent chocolates individually wrapped in brightly colored paper. They look like little presents, from one popular Ukrainian confectionery to you. MEGAN SELING

BEST FANCY AFTERNOON OUTING TEA AT THE HERMITAGE HOTEL

The Hermitage Hotel has been a jewel in Nashville’s crown since 1910, but recent upgrades and additions have breathed new life into this beloved Beaux Arts landmark. Drusie & Darr and The Pink Hermit are certainly reason enough for a visit, but if you want a truly decadent afternoon, book a spot at Afternoon Tea. The current iteration, Spillin’ Tea With Draper James, is a partnership with Nashville native Reese Witherspoon’s lifestyle brand and is offered every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Start the festivities off on the Hermitage Hotel’s sun-drenched veranda with a glass

BEST FANCY AFTERNOON OUTING, WRITERS’ CHOICE: TEA AT THE HERMITAGE HOTEL

FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE

of bubbly or a signature cocktail before snacking on tea sandwiches, scones and bite-size desserts inspired by Witherspoon’s Southern cookbook. Pinkies up, ladies!

NANCY FLOYD

BEST OUTSIDE HANG MONDAY NIGHT BREWING

Beer is cool, but what’s more important is where you get to sit and drink it. Escaping to Monday Night Brewing’s outside seating is an ideal way to share conversation with friends (or a date). Bring a dog — it’ll add to the connection. The strings of Edison bulbs and the industrial shell of a building without a ceiling invite you to look at the stars (if you can see them from the heart of Germantown) and savor the evening.

HANNAH HERNER

BEST UNOFFICIAL DOLLY TRIBUTE DOLLY’S LEMONADE STAND AT DINO’S

Nashville is absolutely obsessed with Dolly Parton. And for good reason. In addition to being an incredibly prolific writer of all-time-great songs, a fashion icon and a famously good boss, the East Tennessee native is also a philanthropist and the founder of illiteracy-fighting nonprofit Imagination Library. Thusly, folks all over town regularly and happily honor the queen with murals and statues and more, and the latest outfit to join the chorus of homagepayers is beloved East Side watering hole Dino’s. This year, Dino’s put up an unofficial “Dolly’s Lemonade Stand” in its patio out back — a massive lemon-shaped pop-up bar where patrons can skip the inside line to get their drinks and food. It’s the same old rocksolid bar food and drinks we’ve come to expect from Dino’s, but served from a giant lemon! With a giant Dolly on top! And she is … anatomically correct! You’ve gotta see it for yourself. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST DRIVE-THRU SIPS!

Sips! (with an all-important exclamation point) picks a few things and does them well. It has smoothies and juices made with real stuff, a huge selection of shaved ice and coffee drinks. Its Hermitage location offers a nice respite from the never-ending lines of many Nashville spots. Shaved ice is a favorite, and they don’t skimp on the syrup. Likely to leave you with a brightly colored tongue, Sips! is always a bright spot on a gloomy day. HANNAH HERNER

BEST QUICK LUNCH THE GUMBO BROS

It’s no Bro’s Cajun Cuisine (IYKYK), but The Gumbo Bros in the Gulch serves up a decent gumbo and Cajun waffle fries. It’s easy to get in, sit down, order and eat within 45 minutes, which is great since there’s an hour of free parking in the nearby lots. And there’s not a gumbo on their list that I don’t like, from the vegan version to the more traditional chicken and sausage.

AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST SUBURBAN COMFORT FOOD LAGNIAPPE BAYOU KITCHEN AND LYNCOYA CAFE (TIE)

Guy Fieri came through Hendersonville a few years back to check out Cafe Rakka,

the Mediterranean joint that expanded suburbanites’ palates and even spawned an autobiography from Syrian-born founder Riyad Alkasem, about his circuitous journey to finding his niche here in Middle Tennessee (2020’s The Road from Raqqa, with Jordan Ritter Conn). Fieri is due for another visit to the area. First stop: Lyncoya Cafe, at the corner of Main Street and Sanders Ferry Road in the heart of H-Town. The vibe: a throwback to late-’70s “fern bars” with comfy booths, quality thrifted decor, classic rock on the speakers, and soft lighting above it all. The cuisine: comfort food par excellence. The Firecracker, Lyncoya Cafe’s signature item, is like Popeyes’ game-changing spicy friedchicken, pickle and secret-sauce sandwich, but bigger, better and — unlike at the fastfood spot’s terrestrial locations — always available. Next up: On the northernmost fringes of Davidson County in neighboring Goodlettsville, Lagniappe Bayou Kitchen nobly counters the age-old matter of New Orleans cuisine failing to translate outside Orleans Parish lines. The place opened inauspiciously at COVID’s outset. That gave the folks at Lagniappe time to get their shit down, from classic fare like po’boys and muffulettas to increasingly ambitious seafood (gator, etc.). Show up at dinnertime, and the dining room will be packed — but don’t be deterred. Unlike most New Orleans things, it’ll move quickly. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST HOT SAUCE BLISTER HOT SAUCE

I recently wrote a roundup of local hot sauce brands, and I thought it’d be easy to pick a favorite. I was wrong. There are so many delicious, unique options it was a challenge to place one above the rest. But if I had to, I’d choose Blister Hot Sauce. Run by brothers Jeremy, Richie and Jonathan Lister, the brand boasts three flavors — Original, Carolina Weeper and Jalapeño Business. What makes them special is that the peppers are smoked, which really enhances the flavor. The Original flavor pairs well with all kinds of dishes, but especially grilled food. You can order them online or find out which local shops carry Blister Hot Sauce at blisterhotsauce.com. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST REASON TO BOOK AN AISLE SEAT HOT CHICKEN AT THE AIRPORT

Don’t get me wrong. I’m really happy for 400 Degrees and Party Fowl earning the recognition and revenue that comes with having locations at BNA. But you know what? I don’t want to sit next to someone who is eating hot chicken on a plane. I don’t want to sit next to someone who just ate hot chicken before they boarded a plane. You know how you have to show a boarding pass to an international destination before you can shop at Duty-Free? I think you should have to show an inbound boarding pass before you eat hot chicken at a damn airport!

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

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BEST SHOE SHINE (LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT) PERCY’S SHINE SERVICE

In a 2022 story about Nashville’s downtown Arcade, Robert “Percy” Person lamented that the Scene no longer included Best Shoe Shine as a Reader’s Poll category. “Shoe shine gotta make a living just like everyone else,” he said. In his eponymous little shop in Nashville’s oldest mall, Percy — who has been shining shoes for more than 70 of his more than 80 years — still slaps on the polish. So beloved is his shop, which has been in The Arcade more than three decades, that it’s one of a select few businesses whose leases will be renewed by The Arcade’s new owners. The shop’s walls are lined with honors from his devoted customers — and yes, BON certificates. Times — and fashion and shoes and The Arcade and Nashville itself — they are, as the man said, a changin’. And that’s inevitable, but it sure is nice to know that a shine can still be had from deft hands, backed with a bright smile and a hearty life and a good conversation. Sometimes, we need to slow down and get a shoe shine. And when we do, Percy’s there for us. So no, we no longer ask readers to tell us who gives the best shoe shine. The answer is the same as it ever was. J.R. LIND

BEST POP-UP MARKET BE GOOD MARKET

A Be Good Market feels like a super fun party that you get to shop at. The group — created by Taylor Small, Claire Brandon and Sofia Carlson — organizes occasional markets that benefit a good cause, taking place at a different location every time. There was a pool party at White Limozeen that benefited Oasis Center, and a market at Hearts for Abortion Care Tennessee. Vendors include a tight curation of favorites like The Green Ray, KIN to SKY and April Rugs, and there’s always great music — both live performances and DJ sets. Follow Be Good on Instagram to keep up with when and where the next market will be. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST WAY TO SUPPORT BLACK BUSINESSES

NASHVILLE BLACK MARKET

Racism has tormented people of color for

decades. But it’s getting easier for people to support Black businesses in Nashville — Nashville Black Market is a monthly event hosted at the Nashville Farmers’ Market and New Hope Baptist Church on the first Friday and third Saturday of every month. At least 60 vendors — offering everything from soap and baked goods to books — rent booths and participate. Visit thenashvilleblackmarket.com to find out when the next one will be. KATELYNN WHITE

BEST ONE-STOP SHOPPING SHOPS AT PORTER EAST

If you need it, the Shops at Porter East have it. There are more than a dozen businesses tucked away in the shopping center on East Nashville’s Porter Road. Need new underpants? Hey Mavens! carries a variety of fun and sexy panties, bralettes and other accessories for sizes XXS to 10X. Need butter? Lots and lots of butter? Brightside Bakeshop has impeccable sweet and savory pastries, from croissants to brioche rolls stuffed with berries and cream. Need a banner to hang on your wall to remind yourself you’re a totally capable badass, or maybe a trucker hat that lets your Springsteen fandom shine? N.B. Goods has you covered. Gunner & Gabby sells clothes and gifts for new babies and kids up to 6 years old; Porter Road Grocery has all the locally produced food and drink you need for tonight’s dinner; and Dirty Livin’ has both new and vintage clothing. MEGAN SELING

BEST STORE FOR COOL TOURISTS

TENN GALLON HAT

Tenn Gallon Hat is the sister store to another favorite in the Shoppes on Fatherland: Gift Horse. Both shops sell lovely gifts, but Tenn Gallon Hat focuses on Tennessee memorabilia and Nashville-themed cuties. The best part of the store is its vintage wall, which looks like a beautiful curation of the best items from a peddler’s mall. We’re talking Conway Twitty records and Dolly Parton shot glasses galore. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST PLACE TO TREAT YOURSELF

A SHOP OF THINGS

A Shop of Things feels like a visual representation of everything that lives in my brain. Full of super feminine trinkets and accessories, the store invites

to

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

BEST SHOE SHINE (LIFETIME

WRITERS’

PERCY’S

make regular things cute — like cooking supplies, keychains and places to stash your weed. I hit up the store often for gifts for friends, but typically buy something for myself too. There are so many welcome options of teeny trinkets that are perfect for that dopamine hit. And you always deserve a treat! HANNAH HERNER

BEST NEW BOOKSHOP NOVELETTE BOOKSELLERS

When an independent brick-and-mortar bookshop thrives, it’s a sign of a healthy community. Joining local stalwarts Parnassus Books and The Bookshop is

Novelette Booksellers, an East Side outpost that is cute as all get-out and stocked with carefully curated titles. Novelette’s coowners Jordan Tromblee and Deezy Violet recently told the Scene that part of their mission is to create a place where LGBTQ people feel accepted and affirmed. The stacks are full of books fit to this purpose and much, much more. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST SPECIALTY BOOKSHOP THE GREEN RAY

Listen, we love Parnassus around here, but let’s face it — it’s not the place to go to find, say, a collection of skate photography shot

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

in dried-up suburban L.A. swimming pools called Party in the Back. The Green Ray’s doing for art books what Parnassus did for novels. They’re not just bringing cuttingedge photography houses like TBW within reach to art lovers across Nashville, but also supporting locals, like publisher Sunnyside, to lift up Nashville artists while they’re at it.

LANCE CONZETT

BEST MAKER HAPPENING FREE NASHVILLE POETRY LIBRARY’S SHOW & SELL: A MAKER’S BAZAAR

Matt Johnstone’s monthly event — Free Nashville Poetry Library’s Show & Sell: A Maker’s Bazaar — has a very long title that reflects the broad appeal of the monthly Arts and Music at Wedgewood-Houston staple. The bazaar is a meeting place for small-press publishers and zine authors, and readers who love independent, shortrun, weirdo press of all kinds. Plus, gallery wine just tastes better while having conversations about post-situationism or DIY tattooing and saying “What Would John Ashbery Do?” And the bazaar’s 4 p.m. start time just outside The Packing Plant builds a perfect bridge between the daytime gallery’s open house hours and the nighttime gallery receptions. JOE NOLAN

BEST VINTAGE SHOP BACKSLIDE VINTAGE

Vintage shopping can be fun, but the sheer volume of options can also make it feel intimidating. There’s a wide selection of great vintage shops all over Nashville, many of which have been featured in our pages before. But if you ever feel overwhelmed, I’d recommend starting at Backslide Vintage in North Inglewood. The shop, owned by Zack Smith and Caitlin Doyle, features a wide range of vintage clothing at affordable prices. It’s also next to Speakeasy Vintage, Vintage for All and High Class Hillbilly, making it an ideal spot to spend some time. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST PLUS-SIZE VINTAGE VINTAGE FOR ALL

There just aren’t a lot of options out there for plus-size vintage clothing. When you find it, normally it’s because you’ve dug and dug for one cute item in a pile of several terrible

mumu-style floral-print dresses. Located inside Speakeasy Vintage off Gallatin Pike, Vintage for All does all the digging for you. They often post the best pieces on Instagram (@speakeasyvtg), which is great because then you know they have something for you before you even walk in the door.

AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST ADDITION TO THE PLUS-SIZE MARKET THE EXTENDED SHOP

My whole life, the options for plus-size clothing were relegated to a dim corner of a department store — tent-like tunics, billowing pleated pants, blazers with bizarre proportions, and a monochromatic palette of gray, light gray and charcoal gray. No more! In Nashville, plus-size folks like me can walk into The Extended Shop and try on every garment. The shop covers an array of styles and moods up to size 5X, and owner Amy Skerratt is thrilled to help you find that little black dress, business-casual suit, flowing caftan or whatever you’re looking for. No sorting through straight sizes. No eye-rolling sales associates. No “Our plus sizes are only online.” And the lighting in the dressing room is great. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST SUSTAINABLE CRAFT SHOP TURNIP GREEN CREATIVE REUSE

Turnip Green Creative Reuse makes reusing items fun. At the store on Houston Street, you can pick up everything from bubble wrap to boxes to beads, but what I really love is that they always have very cool booths set up at various festivals around town. Sometimes you can make prints right there with someone from the store, and they’ll often have take-home art project bags for kids, which come in handy for quick activities that don’t involve a screen. Check out the shop’s Instagram account (@turnipgreencreativereuse) for alerts on special sales on weird items. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST HEIRLOOM ANTIQUE FURNITURE STORE

PATINA + CO.

When you step inside Patina + Co., you’ll see dressers, chests and long tables, which all look like they were rescued from some wealthy grandmother’s home. The shop is

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST

MARKET, WRITERS’ CHOICE:

SHOP

BEST VERY SPECIFIC PRODUCT LINE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: TENN PRAIRIE

full of solid, intricate furniture that you can imagine passing down through generations. Even if you’re not in the market for a fine armoire, pick up a few enormous cutting boards, already weathered and looking like Martha Stewart’s been using them for years.

Carefully curated vignettes of pottery, books and candles sit atop the furniture, completing the aspirational home look.

ELIZABETH JONES

BEST VERY SPECIFIC PRODUCT LINE TENN PRAIRIE

Tenn Prairie makes just one thing: match holders. But let me tell you, these match holders are perfect. Husband-and-wife team Klanci and Evan Gauthier make these small concrete containers at their home, and the designs are intentionally simple. The holders are small enough to stay out of the way on a cluttered desk — I have the original octagonal shape that is about 2-by-2 inches — but stylish enough to give that mess of yours a little flair. What’s more, Tenn Prairie sells matchstick refills in a variety of colors — pink, black, green, yellow, orange, rainbow — so you can match (haha) your matches to your container, or go for a complimentary color. And OK, I lied — Tenn Prairie makes candles too, but just

three different scents. Nothing wild. There’s something to be said for keeping things simple and doing them right. MEGAN SELING

BEST GIFT

THE NASHVILLE BLANKET PROJECT BLANKET

Searching for a gift for a best friend, or even someone you just met? A cozy blanket never disappoints, and the Nashville Blanket Project even gives back — for each blanket you buy, they’ll donate one to local nonprofits to help the unhoused. Made from recycled fabrics, their blankets are all machine-washable — no high-maintenance gifts, please. Take it on a picnic! Throw it across a chair! It’s decor and it’s practical. Plus, each blanket comes in its own tote bag, so there’s no wrapping paper required. Christmas is covered. ELIZABETH JONES

BEST CANDLES FORESTDALE

For something fairly small, a good scented candle can set a whole room’s mood. The one I’ve kept reaching for this year is the cabin candle from local home fragrance company Forestdale. They’re well-priced, locally made by prolific pedal-steel ace Luke Schneider, and they have those fat wooden

wicks that crackle a little and ensure that the candle burns all the way to the edge. And the scent — earthy with just a smidge of eucalyptus — is made from only essential oils, so it’s warm and woodsy without being overpowering. Buy them online, or pick one up at a growing number of local spots — from the Turnip Truck to Grimey’s. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST HAND-DYED INDIGO CLOTHING GARNER BLUE

Garner Blue is technically located in Jackson, but the company sells its gorgeous hand-dyed indigo pieces at several of the craft and art festivals in Nashville, including the Scene’s own Crafty Bastards. The shop has a wide range of sizes and often mixes up the patterns and clothing styles. One of Garner Blue’s staples is an exceptionally cute smock that can be worn all kinds of ways. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST STICKERS FOR PEOPLE WHO’VE HAD ENOUGH EYEDOT CREATIVE

The world has gone to hell. It can feel futile — sometimes impossible — to feel genuine sparks of happiness while a pandemic rages on, human rights continue to be rolled

back, inflation grows to record highs and global warming brings floods, fires and drought. Enter Eyedot Creative, a sticker and greeting card line that Gets It. Lindsey Turner’s creations say everything that is on your mind as you doomscroll through the daily headlines, and she delivers her supportive one-liners and sarcastic jabs with bright colors and cute illustrations that give your brain a little boost of much-needed serotonin. Her stickers are just as good — there’s a zombie hand giving a thumbs up and promising “Everything’s fine,” and a Michael Myers-David Bowie mash-up that’ll please every glam-rock-loving horror fan. My personal favorite, though, is the “Killer Clown” sticker with Gov. Bill “Kids Do Not Get Sick From COVID” Lee drawn up as a terrifying jester. Ha! I feel better already.

MEGAN SELING

BEST FLOWER SHOP FLWR SHOP

Whether it’s hanging 10,000 tulips over a dance floor, filling Cheekwood’s loggia with 1,000 roses or creating the perfect arrangement for your dinner table, FLWR Shop’s Alex Vaughn gives the same amount of passion, planning and attention to detail to every order. Since first opening

BEST HAND-DYED INDIGO CLOTHING, WRITERS’ CHOICE: GARNER BLUE

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST FLOWER SHOP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: FLWR SHOP

a1hemps.com

her storefront in East Nashville in 2016, Vaughn and her team have changed the way we think about florals by giving us gorgeous and unique blooms, clever ideas and designs, and a new level of customer service. (The shop has since moved to Belle Meade Galleria.) While Vaughn is well known for producing big-budget weddings and events, she is now offering something for the rest of us. Her “petite collection” of budget-friendly and equally appealing arrangements will brighten anyone’s day, including your own. HOLLY HOFFMAN

BEST PLACE TO LEARN A NEW HOBBY NASHVILLE SKATING ACADEMY

I imagine Nashville Skating Academy gets a surge of students (like me) who are inspired to try to join the sport after watching the Winter Olympics. The academy’s adult sessions are really wellattended, and the coaches do a stellar job accommodating different comfort levels, offering challenges while keeping it fun and chill. You’ll have teammates from the start, and an opportunity to move into higher levels if you really get into it. I see the appeal — being on the ice makes you forget the world’s stresses, if only because you’re suddenly more stressed about falling on your ass. HANNAH HERNER

BEST MECHANIC RANDY TRUE

When Don Sadler Car Care Center closed, I was apoplectic. Where was I supposed to go the next time my car made a weird noise? The kind you can only trust a grizzled elder statesman of auto repair to fix? Now I know: Go to Randy True. While Randy’s too young to be considered grizzled or elder, he checks all the other boxes: He’s quick, thorough, keeps an immaculate workshop, used to work at Sadler, and never makes you feel dumb for not knowing what a brake booster is. Plus, his last name is “True,” so honesty’s baked right in. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST HATMAKER GAGE SPEAS, DAISY

MAY HAT CO.

Gage Speas first learned to make his own hats when he was a bull rider. At Daisy May Hat Co., his East Nashville studio and creative community hangout, Speas and his team handshape one-of-a-kind beaver felt hats. Each hat is hand-dyed, then branded with a signature (and trademarked) lightning bolt. Speas’ creations start at $650, and have caught the attention of artists like Post Malone, for whom he even crafted a custom hat box with hand-forged buckles.

PHOTO:

x LOU is a one-of-a-kind permanent jewelry experience founded on connection + sentiment, custom-creating memorable pieces that are made to stand the test of time. Our mission to make a positive impact throughout Nashville starts with partnering with like-minded small businesses that align with our ethos, whether sustainable, local, female-founded, or just plain fun.

SIMPLE. SUSTAINABLE. SENTIMENTAL.

REPORTER

BEST SPORTS RADIO SHOW OR PODCAST

BEST TV NEWS STATION

BEST SPORTS WRITER

BEST TWITTER ACCOUNT

TWITTER ACCOUNT,

BEST RADIO SPECIAL FEATURE

WPLN’S THREE CASTLES AND THE MUSIC CITY — 150 YEARS OF THE FISK JUBILEE SINGERS

Last October, Fisk University celebrated the 150th anniversary of the storied Fisk Jubilee singers. Nashville Public Radio executed a special radio program unlike anything the station has undertaken in recent memory. Fisk is the oldest institution of higher learning in Nashville — opening nine months after the Civil War to recently freed men, women and children — and the one-hour radio program melds music, poetry and first-person historical accounts to document the history of the singers whose contributions funded Fisk University and kept it afloat. Narrated by poet, novelist and Fisk alum Destiny O. Birdsong and written by poet and Versify host Joshua Moore and 91Classical host Colleen Phelps, Three Castles and the Music City documents the proud history and the faith-rooted spirit of the singers and their impact on the world. It includes contributions from blueswoman Adia Victoria, activist Jackie Sims, current Jubilee singers and Fisk alumni — along with fantastic archival recordings and readings from the personal accounts of Fiskites from the past. As I listened to the special on the radio in real time, I felt that, even as a Nashvillian from New York, I was connected to this history. You can listen at wpln.org and feel it, too. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST SPECIALTY RADIO SHOW

SOUL OF THE CITY ON WXNA

Among WXNA’s immense collection of invaluable programs, the brilliant Soul of the City on Thursdays, from 4 to 6 p.m., ranks at the top for several reasons. The first is its blend of the finest in current offerings

from the vast array of sounds that make up what some call “neo-soul” and others “contemporary R&B.” But the show offers a wide range of the best in the field, from familiar staples by Prince and Chaka Khan to recent offerings from Beyoncé and Nikka Costa. The second is its marvelous host Erica Schultz, who offers both informative tidbits about the songs and insights that accurately evaluate where each number belongs in the modern pantheon. Third, Schultz makes the show resonate for fans of older soul and R&B by showing how a song from Janelle Monáe is every bit as soulful as something from the ’50s or ’60s, while also reminding the audience that there are still veterans out there like Charlie Wilson and Mary J. Blige making exciting and relevant music. The lament you often hear from fans of past eras is that no one’s making real soul or R&B anymore. Each week Soul of the City provides definitive proof that while the songs may not sound like the way O.V. Wright or Aretha Franklin used to do it, there’s still plenty of wonderful and delightful soul and R&B being made by today’s gifted artists. RON WYNN

BEST RADIO VOICE CELIA GREGORY, WNXP

Commercial-free WNXP has been a gamechanger for lovers of indie pop, alternative rock, left-of-center hip-hop and all manner of local music. I enjoy all the station’s DJs but feel a particular kinship with morning host Celia Gregory, a fellow Pavement and Almost Famous devotee who I seem to run into at nearly every show. Tune in between 6 and 10 a.m. on weekdays to practically hear Gregory smile over the airwaves as she describes tunes she plays and the stories behind them. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST PODCASTER

ALEX STEED

Maybe you know him as the guy who moved here and started a podcast to demystify his new city. Or maybe you know him through the podcast You Are Good that he co-hosts with Sarah Marshall, where they talk about movies as a way to talk about feelings. Alex Steed is tender and funny and makes one hell of a podcaster. And don’t just take my word for it. Alex and You Are Good have been written about in The New York Times and Marie Claire. Not long before we went to press on this issue, Steed relocated to Los Angeles. But we’re going to give him this award as a parting gift — because these days everyone has a podcast, but not every city gets to have an Alex Steed, even if it’s for a short time.

KIM BALDWIN

BEST YOUTUBE SERIES DEEP DISH CONVERSATIONS

Jerome Moore’s YouTube interviews are premised on his giving an accessible platform to Nashvillians who otherwise don’t get the time, space or questions to talk openly about their corners of the city. After a year in the business and two seasons of his YouTube series Deep Dish Conversations, Moore has established an archive of firstperson histories and become the kind of community changer he set out to celebrate. He is also a Black Nashvillian media member who grew up in Middle Tennessee, an underrepresented perspective that informs thoughtful and endlessly valuable interactions that are essential viewing for anyone interested in seeing the city as an ongoing collaboration between wellmeaning residents who aren’t yet, but could be, fast friends. ELI MOTYCKA

BEST ASMR-TIST TINY LITTLE WHISPERS

On her YouTube channel Tiny Little Whispers, Jess Owens, an Ohioan living in Nashville, brings together a pair of niche-turned-mainstream interests: true crime and ASMR. I followed TLW long before even realizing its creator was local, but considering her videos’ high fidelity and concise run times (25 minutes, on average), combined with Owens’ measured delivery and, most of all, her ability to tell a compelling story, this is autonomous sensory meridian response with quintessential Nashville professionalism. Like, subscribe and reach back into the vault to learn about Summer Wells, Tabitha Tuders, Nieko Lisi, Laresha and Wanda Walker, and other missing persons with Tennessee ties. Owens may be at her best, though, when tackling cases from her home state. The saga of 29-year-old Tyler Davis’ disappearance from a suburban Columbus mall is both gripping and baffling, and the crimes of serial murderer Shawn Grate are particularly appalling. In an early video explaining the channel’s premise, Owens mentions how, as a kid, she dreamt of being a detective. Hey, it’s never too late for a career change. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST DAILY NEWS SHOW

THIS IS NASHVILLE WPLN needed a news show like This Is Nashville in its lineup. And so far, it seems like the hourlong daily program has really paid off. The station brought on some locals (points!) as producers on the show, and

they’ve done a solid job with filling such a hefty timeslot. It’s surely really tough to find panelists each and every day for a show like this, and I’ve been impressed at the mix of known and regularly interviewed Nashvillians and new voices. I also love to apply the show’s title to any small thing I encounter in the city. Coffee takes a little longer because the throng of tourists in front of you can’t decide what they want?

Host Khalil Ekulona voice: THIS IS NASHVILLE. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST BEAT REPORTING MARTA ALDRICH, CHALKBEAT TENNESSEE

Marta Aldrich is one of the most experienced reporters in Tennessee. She spent more than 17 years with the Associated Press earlier in her career but now is the senior statehouse correspondent for Chalkbeat Tennessee, a nonprofit newsroom focused on education issues. In recent years, Gov. Bill Lee and his allies in the Republican-dominated legislature have completely rewritten the state education funding formula, instituted a new voucher program and begun to limit the types of ideas teachers can introduce to their students. Having someone like Aldrich around keeping an eye on these fundamental but at times complex issues is crucial.

STEPHEN ELLIOTT

BEST WATCHDOG JOURNALISM ANITA WADHWANI’S MASON, TENN., COVERAGE

Since starting up in 2020, the Tennessee Lookout has established itself as a sharpeyed observer of how the state exercises its power in urban and rural areas. Anita Wadhwani’s coverage of Mason, Tenn., exemplifies this mission: Her story on how the Tennessee comptroller tried to convince the majority Black town — located near the future sight of a Ford Motor plant — to dissolve its charter quickly attracted national attention, which continues as the story develops. Photographer John Partipilo also deserves a shout-out for driving out to West Tennessee to document the residents alongside Wadhwani. ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

BEST FOIA FINDS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Seeking public records from the government can be challenging and both time- and resource-intensive. Most news outlets in Tennessee have had a handful of public records wins, but in recent years the leaders in prying secrets free from the government have been Jonathan Mattise and Kimberlee Kruesi of the Associated Press’ Nashville bureau. This year, that has included the discovery of major lapses in the state’s oversight of its execution program and further insight into the relationship between Gov. Bill Lee and Hillsdale College. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

BEST MEDIA COLLABORATION PLEASE VOTE NASHVILLE AND THE CONTRIBUTOR

It’s hard to get out the vote in local elections compared to national ones, and this year’s ballots have been dense — with new congressional districts, partisan school board elections and numerous judicial races. It’s a lot to sort, but one of the best guides in the city came out in the July 20

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issue of The Contributor. The local street paper, which is sold by uhoused Nashvillians and formerly homeless folks, teamed up with Please Vote Nashville to release a Ballot Breakdown in the paper’s pages, a detailed and illustrated guide to voting assembled by a team of volunteers. Picking up the issue made for a great way to support two worthy causes. ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

BEST HISTORY INSTAGRAM

@NASHVILLEHISTORYX

One of the joys of my adulthood has been having friends who also enjoy studying and talking about history. Instagram account @NashvilleHistoryX is like that friend in virtual form. I’ve enjoyed seeing what this account pulls up in recent and not-sorecent history: You’ll see everything from aerial images of late, lamented theme park Opryland USA to shots of beloved stores of yore like Lucy’s Record Shop. It’s neat to see archival material used on a modern platform — and like me, you might delight in finding something like a badass photo of your college professor standing in Printers Alley, going undercover as a cab driver while a young reporter. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST SPANISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA

NASHVILLE NOTICIAS

We’ve previously profiled Veronica Salcedo, the mastermind behind Nashville Noticias, in the Scene. But her venture has since expanded from a popular (and still informative) Facebook page into a timeslot on Univision while the outlet’s partnership with WPLN continues. Salcedo and her team are seemingly always on site for breaking news and business openings, and they often profile the notable individuals who make up Nashville’s Spanish-speaking communities. ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

BEST FOOD INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT WINGDOM

After a Scene profile in August and a featured spot on WPLN’s This Is Nashville a few days later, Adam Kurtz’s status as Nashville’s choice chicken-wing pundit is no

longer a charming secret of Nashville food Instagram. A pedal-steel musician by day, the self-proclaimed wingfluencer has been dealing out brutally honest narratives of his chicken wing consumption for more than four years. As Kurtz eagerly points out, the secret to a good wing — and therefore a glowing review — is no secret at all: fry them crispy and sauce generously. ELI MOTYCKA

BEST TWITTER ACCOUNT EAST NASHVILLE URBAN DESIGN

If you like cars, parking lots and large setbacks, avert your eyes. East Nashville Urban Design (@UrbanEastNash) is the Twitter account to follow if you’re a curious and engaged resident of East Nashville or, truthfully, anywhere in the city. Along with a related Facebook page, the account takes followers on mini-tours of Nashville neighborhoods, with photos and commentary about the government and business forces that combined to create the urban fabric of Nashville. If you want to know why our city looks the way it does (or why you can’t get a bike lane in your neighborhood), this is a good place to start.

STEPHEN ELLIOTT

BEST TWITTER TROLLING FOR GOOD 12SOUTH BIKE LANE

Almost daily for five months, this account tweeted that the “fully funded, life-saving” bike lanes it’s named for had not yet been designed. Until, finally, on a day in late April, they had. “I am born,” declared @12SBikeLanes on June 9, its most recent and possibly final tweet. The account failed to reach 100 followers but succeeded in its primary mission: to Twitter-shame into existence the inexplicably stalled Metro project along one of the city’s most bikeconducive corridors.

ELI MOTYCKA

BEST POLITICAL TIKTOK ACCOUNT SANDRA SEPULVEDA

District 30 Metro Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda’s TikTok account doesn’t boast a large library, but she makes up for it in

quality videos that balance the fun of the attention-span-killing platform with sneaky nudges to get viewers civically engaged. At the very least, it helps Nashvillians know what some of the city’s 40 councilmembers look like. And more importantly, it lets us know who among them knows where Usher was at 7 o’clock, or which ones you can trust in a zombie apocalypse.

ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

BEST AVANT-GARDE MEME PAGE @THETENNESSEETIMES

Every alt-weekly’s biggest fear is that, despite painstakingly researched articles and years spent cultivating citywide perspective, most people prefer their entertainment, news, sociohistorical understanding and cultural critique in the form of a relatable meme. Fully aware that mustachioed local Jacob Huff is coming for the Scene, we would like to recognize the contributions of @thetennesseetimes to Nashville’s media landscape. Masterpieces like “Hillsboro Village Dad does not know which Magnet School to send his Subaru to” and a homemade montage about the hypothetical commercial development of Shelby Park set to Bastille’s “Pompeii” will elicit a visceral reaction from any greenway-enjoyer. ELI MOTYCKA

BEST PUBLIC COMMENT KELLY, ON NASHVILLE’S HOUSING CRISIS

Public hearings at the Metro Council can be a monotonous affair. I would know — I’ve watched hundreds of them. But every so often, a speaker is so engaging that you can almost feel the room buzzing with electricity. This year, that speaker was Kelly, a former employee of the People’s Alliance for Transit, Housing & Employment. Channeling the frustration of housing advocates attempting to support displaced residents in a city whose meteoric rise belies deeply rooted inequities, Kelly put the council and the mayor on notice for their failed policies and misplaced priorities. May the next year of public hearings bring fewer NIMBYs and more KELLYs. NICOLE WILLIAMS

BEST METRO NASHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS PUBLIC COMMENTER HONEY HERETH

The Metro Nashville Public Schools board has seen all kinds of parents come and go to speak on hot political talking points like masks or books. Longtime MNPS paraprofessional and Service Employees International Union Local 205 member Honey Hereth, however, has consistently

advocated for herself, her fellow MNPS employees and students. She has acknowledged her appreciation of the board — the lineup of which has since changed, following the recent election — and director of schools. But she has also held them accountable to take care of the people they represent by increasing support staff pay. Hereth extended her advocacy to a Metro Council meeting and a state education funding town hall that was held in the MNPS board room, and she wore a tiara while doing it — a true queen. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST FLOOR DEBATE LICENSE PLATE READERS

The Feb. 1 floor debate over license plate readers saw a group of progressive councilmembers band together to fight against a drastic expansion of the surveillance state that, like most police interventions, will likely have a disproportionately negative effect on communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. As devastating as this legislative loss was, I couldn’t be prouder of the eight councilmembers who spoke out against the bill on the floor and the 14 who voted no: Bob Mendes, Sharon Hurt, Zulfat Suara, Kyonztè Toombs, Sean Parker, Emily Benedict, Nancy VanReece, Ginny Welsch, Colby Sledge, Freddie O’Connell, Mary Carolyn Roberts, Brandon Taylor, Sandra Sepulveda and Dave Rosenberg. NICOLE WILLIAMS

BEST RESPONSE TO BOOK BANNING NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY’S FREEDOM TO READ

Some not-so-great Tennessee news this year came from parents, politicians and school board members who successfully advocated for and passed censorship laws, and removed some books from public school curricula. These titles, which weren’t removed in Metro Nashville Public Schools district but rather in other districts across the state, include Art Spiegelman’s Maus, Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons, Nic Stone’s Dear Martin and Laurence Yep’s Dragonwings. Thankfully, public libraries still carry these books, and the Nashville Public Library showcased its commitment to “intellectual freedom” through its Freedom to Read campaign. The campaign produced library cards that boldly declare “I read banned books.” According to the NPL website, what was supposed to be a limited-run batch has turned into an ongoing option for local library-goers. I haven’t been so excited to use a library card since snagging one of my own. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST DAYCARE

DOG PARK

BEST DOG-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

BEST KIDS CLOTHING

BEST PET GROOMING

BEST PRESCHOOL

BEST PET STORE

BEST MIDDLE SCHOOL (PUBLIC OR PRIVATE)

BEST PLACE TO ADOPT A PET

BEST PRIVATE SCHOOL

BEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (PUBLIC OR PRIVATE)

BEST OUTDOOR FUN

BEST PLACE TO HAVE A BABY

SUMMER CAMP

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

BEST PEDIATRICIAN

BEST PLACE TO HAVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY

BEST SWIM LESSONS

BEST TEACHER

BEST TOY STORE

BEST PET BOARDING/DAY CARE

BEST PLACE TO TAKE KIDS WHEN IT’S RAINING

BEST VETERINARIAN

BEST HIGH SCHOOL (PUBLIC OR PRIVATE)

BEST PLAYGROUND

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY MUSIC FESTIVAL MUSICIANS CORNER

Centennial Park is always a great spot for family festivals, but this year’s Musicians Corner was just about perfect. The free music fest is laid-back enough that toting the kids along is a cinch, and the food ven dors and seating are set up among the trees, which keeps things shady and cool. Plus, seeing singer-songwriter Leigh Nash per form brought me back to being a kid myself.

AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST RAINY-DAY ACTIVITY PLAZA MARIACHI SATURDAYS

Plaza Mariachi is a feast for the senses. There’s great food, music, dancing and shop ping, plus a killer indoor playground — it should be a regular stop for your rainy (or extremely hot) days. On Saturdays, there are often special kids’ events like story time, face-painting, dancing and more. And if it does happen to be nice outside, Plaza often expands the festivities out into its front park ing lot. But even without a special event, a trip to Plaza Mariachi is worth the drive on any day of the week. ELIZABETH JONES

BEST NEW YOUTH WRITING PROGRAM THE THEATER BUG’S THE PLAYGROUND

The Theater Bug has always provided a safe haven for local youth to connect and discover their own voices. But in April, this remarkable nonprofit launched an excit ing new writing program called The Play ground. Designed specifically for middle and high school students, The Playground offers year-round educational programming to help young writers tell their own stories onstage. Directed by Nate Eppler, The Play ground already has hosted successful work shops, and future plans include a short play festival and a fully realized production of a student-written play, all presented as part of the Bug’s regular season. AMY STUMPFL

BEST RESOURCE FOR LGBTQ YOUTH JUST US AT OASIS CENTER

There are several great organizations serv ing LGBTQ youth in Nashville, but one that’s particularly worthy of a shout-out is Oasis Center’s Just Us program. While Oasis Cen ter provides a variety of support systems for young people, its Just Us program fo cuses on those who identify as LGBTQ. Just Us provides lots of resources for LGBTQ youth and their families, from group meet ings to individual support and more. These resources are free, and while some are inperson, others are available online, meaning more young people can connect with the support they need. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST GROUP SWIM CLASSES YMCA SWIM

Swimming is an important skill for every kid to learn, and the classes offered through the YMCA are both fairly affordable and available throughout most of the year. Even though it can get competitive to grab a slot, the classes are the perfect size for my 5-year-old. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST TOY SHOP

TABLA RASA TOYS

The coolest shop to open in Nashville this year just happens to be for kids. Tabla Rasa

Toys is the cherry on top of the cluster of storefronts at the intersection of Porter Road and Greenwood Avenue, which also includes Vinyl Tap and Cafe Roze. There’s an artificial-turf front lawn, a skate shop and mini skate park (Cecil’s Skate Shop), a modernist-looking seesaw, and a window for ordering some incredible soft-serve ice cream with plenty of sprinkles (Soft Service Station). And that’s not even mentioning the actual toy shop itself, which is stocked with high-end and midrange toys, puppets, board games, craft supplies and more. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST KIDS’ UNDERWEAR UNDERS

UNDERS makes gender-neutral underwear for kids in fun patterns and soft, breathable fabrics — the company’s slogan is “every kid deserves to feel comfortable and confi

dent wherever they go.” Each pair is hand made in Nashville by Monica Mullen, and the designs vary from dinosaurs to neutrals to unicorns and rainbows. And what matters most is that they’re the underwear my kiddo always reaches for. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST ENCOURAGEMENT FOR YOUNG ARTISTS THE FRIST’S MARTIN ARTQUEST

The Frist Art Museum’s Martin ArtQuest encourages a lot of free play for kids. There are options for shy kids, and also several activities and chances for kids to connect while making art. There’s a 16-foot interac tive light display with color-changing dials, a textile-weaving installation, fun stop-motion animation centers, video installations and more. Little ones always get in free at the Frist, but opting for a family membership is well worth it — you can see the exhibitions

with the promise of a place to play at Art Quest at the end. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST MUSICAL FOR FAMILIES NASHVILLE REP’S MARY POPPINS

Mary Poppins is one of those classic titles that has been handed down from genera tion to generation. So it was lovely to see so many families coming together to experi ence Nashville Rep’s gorgeous staging of this charming musical adaptation, which is based on the popular Disney film and the stories of P.L. Travers. Anchored by smart direction from Micah-Shane Brewer, eyepopping design elements, magical flying effects and some truly heartwarming per formances, Mary Poppins was indeed practi cally perfect in every way. AMY STUMPFL

BEST OFFBEAT ART FOR KIDS

THIS LITTLE LIGHT

Glass and kids might not seem like the most ideal combination, but you’d never know it after a visit to This Little Light, a small artglass boutique and workshop in Old Hick ory. The space is lovingly operated by owner Betty Turney-Turner, and offers classes for all ages and skill levels. Everything from stained-glass panels to art-glass Christmas ornaments are available to create — visit thislittlelightartglass.com to make an ap pointment for you and your kiddo to visit.

LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST FAMILY DAY TRIP THE GENTLE BARN

FOR

ARTISTS,

Located less than an hour southeast of down town Nashville, animal-rescue outpost The Gentle Barn is home to an array of special critters, many of whom were rescued from situations of abuse or neglect. The Chris tiana, Tenn., grounds are open to visitors on Sundays ($20 for adults, $10 for kids ages

BEST TOY SHOP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: TABLA RASA TOYS

BEST

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

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2 to 12), meaning you and your brood can rub shoulders with Lolli the disabled goat, say howdy to Luke Skywalker the turkey, and give tummy scratches to big, beautiful Henry the pig, an absolute unit. The Gentle Barn also offers a variety of private tours and field-trip programming — see gentle barn.org for details. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST KIDS/ANIMALS STORY TIME TIE: CATIO AND MACC

Possibly the cutest, most memorable ex pression on a child’s face is pride. That’s all I saw when I brought my daughter to a story time at Metro Animal Care and Control and watched her read her favorite books to the kittens, as if she were the teacher and they were all her fuzzy, mewing students. She counted down the days until her appoint ment, and considered what books she would bring along days in advance. If you have a young reader who’s also a cat lover, I cannot

recommend these events enough. MACC and The Catio both offer regular story-time events — check their websites for details.

LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST NEW NONPROFIT FOR ANIMALS AND PEOPLE PAWSTER NASHVILLE

In the animal-rescue world, people like to scrunch their noses at folks who surrender their pets. But the reasons they do so are of ten complex and heartbreaking, like losing housing, fleeing domestic violence, falling ill, receiving treatment for addiction and be ing temporarily incarcerated. That’s where crisis-fostering comes in. Pawster Nashville was formed in 2020 to help people facing a dramatic life change avoid surrender. The organization relies on volunteers to provide temporary foster care for dogs and cats, and connects their owners to resources to help them through a difficult time. When

these pet parents are settled again, they take their beloved animals home. Pawster is committed to inclusivity and has a Spanishlanguage interpreter — so they can help more Nashvillians (and their animals) who need it. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST DOG GROOMER GABBY THE GROOMER

Gabby Dumais’ growing mobile grooming service is so beloved you must book months in advance, but it’s worth it. Gabby sees the good in every pet she grooms — she’s laidback, efficient, and has a calming presence that furballs (and owners!) can feel. If your dog is your baby, Gabby is your groomer.

ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST PET PHOTOGRAPHER STRAYS TO BAES PET PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

Lacey Maloch of Strays to Baes Pet Por trait Photography has the uncanny ability to capture the essence of your pet. I have three cats who are all very different. None of them is too keen to hang out in a pho tography studio, even if it is just their own living room transformed. But with some toys, a lot of treats and some tricks of the trade, Maloch brought out the goofy, trust ing nature of Frittata, the sullen teenager of Sunnyside, and the tenderhearted spirit of Jasper. Here’s the best part: With Strays to Baes, animals up for adoption are always free. Maloch works with local organizations like SOARescue, Wags and Walks and Sav ing Stevie to capture adoptable cats and dogs — and sometimes snakes and bunnies! — in their best light. Her bright, colorful portraits pop on social media and pet adop tion sites, helping people and pets find each other.

ERICA CICCARONE

BEST ZOO BABY

SPOTTED FANALOKA PUP

Nashville Zoo has been busier than usual with several new zoo babies joining their growing family. Playful caracal and clouded leopard cubs, a spider monkey and even a tiny king vulture have all recently arrived with the collective goal of melting our hearts into oblivion. But there was one pintsized pup with a perpetual grin and brightblue eyes the size of shooter marbles that won us over this year. The spotted fanaloka — also known as a Malagasy or striped civet — is a lesser-known mammal native to Madagascar whose appearance lands some where between the frame of a ferret and the coat of a leopard. And Nashville Zoo’s new est fanaloka is more than just our current obsession — he is also the very first of his species to ever be born in the United States. This precious pup and his parents are not currently available for public viewing, but there are plenty of adorable pictures and videos online to hold us over until we can all meet face to tiny face. MATT FOX

BEST NEW PLAYGROUND PROMISE PARK AT NASHVILLE ZOO

The Nashville Zoo’s old playground was great — a wooden maze of playground equipment — but it was not very inclusive for kiddos with disabilities. The new Promise Park includes options for everyone, including adequate seating for parents. If you don’t have the annual membership, get it: This playground alone is worth the cost.

AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST PET STORE THE MODERN DOG COMPANY

When The Modern Dog Company opened its first brick-and-mortar location across from West Park, my picky pooch dragged me there daily to try treats from the free testing table. The shop is clean, curated and full of adorable stuff owner Danielle Hurme could easily charge three times as much for. The only thing cooler than that? The fact that Hurme ditched a career in finance to do it.

ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST CHICKEN DOCTOR DR. CORWIN AT AIRPORT ANIMAL CLINIC

The coronavirus pandemic arrived just in time for hatching season, and people across the country added backyard chickens to their families. These fluffy-butted birds are more than egg layers. They’re pets, and they happen to be susceptible to a variety of ill nesses — not to mention being on the menu for beasts of all stripes. Still, most family vets don’t see chickens, and owners are often stuck with suspect YouTube videos to man age injuries and illnesses. I’ve had my own flock for several years, and as my girls enter their golden years, I’ve finally found a vet erinarian who knows chickens. Dr. Corwin at Airport Animal Clinic has practiced veteri nary care in zoos, so his knowledge extends beyond that of our beloved vet who cares for our cats. He can treat your bird to excellent care and give you tips for overall flock main tenance and health. He’s informal, smart and straight-talking — just what my ridiculous flock of hens needs. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST DOG GROOMER, WRITERS’ CHOICE: GABBY THE GROOMER

BEST PET PHOTOGRAPHER, WRITERS’

STRAYS

PET PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

Are you the type that loves adventure? A vista hunter? With a dreamcatcher kinda eye? See what we see. Love what we love.

one of us.

No camera could do this justice.

BEST BACHELORETTE ATTRACTION/ACTIVITY

BEST CULTURAL CENTER

BEST PARK

BEST DAY TRIP

BEST PLACE TO PEOPLE-WATCH

BEST PLACE TO SWIM

Priest

BEST PLACE TO TAKE OUT-OF-TOWNERS

Jackson’s

BEST PLACE TO WORSHIP

the King

BEST PREDATORS PLAYER

Roman Josi

Forsberg

Saros

BEST RELIGIOUS LEADER

Father Dexter Brewer

Soccer Moses

Stevens

SPORTS MASCOT

Moses

the Coyote

BEST TITANS PLAYER

Derrick Henry

Kevin Byard

Simmons

BEST TRANSPOTAINMENT

Extreme Party

BEST WATER ACTIVITY

River Queen Voyages

BEST WEEKEND GETAWAY

Chattanooga

Gatlinburg

BEST COLLEGE SPORTS TEAM

BEST NASHVILLE SC PLAYER

BEST PLACE TO RIDE A BIKE

BEST COMMUNITY ROLE MODEL

ON

BEST ADVOCATE GROUP

HEALTHY AND FREE TENNESSEE

Healthy and Free Tennessee is a coalition of diverse organizations dedicated to sexual and reproductive freedom across the state. The group uses an anti-racist lens to view reproductive oppression where it meets other marginalizing factors. HFTN worked with lawmakers to draft a bill that bans the shackling of pregnant people in Tennessee jails (that one passed in March), as well as another bill that requires the state to study doula programs, improve doula access and expand doula health insurance coverage. This year, the group is ramping up its work to educate folks about safe self-managed abortions and fight punitive policies for reproductive outcomes — we need all the help we can get to navigate the legal quagmires of the post-Roe world. Healthy and Free Tennessee is on the job. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST ADVOCATE FOR ARTISTS

DANIEL JONES

The performer you see onstage almost always has someone dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s in the wings. In the case of Daniel Jones, he’s the one building the damn stage to begin with. In 2018, he and

collaborator Jessika Malone saw the need for more queer-friendly stages that were not tied to institutions with a lukewarm donor base. They founded the fantastic Kindling Arts Festival, where Nashville’s most talented performers take risks to create bold new works and incubate ideas. Jones is a logistical wizard, rushing back and forth to venues throughout the fest and planning events on a shoestring budget throughout the year. He also acts as manager of artistic programming at OZ Arts, connecting international artists to our local community. With infectious enthusiasm and professional know-how, Jones pumps up artists in our community like no one else. He’s a gem. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST HISTORIC STEWARD DEE PATEL

As the longtime general manager of the Hermitage Hotel, Dee Patel spent the pandemic overseeing a complete interior restoration of the historic hotel. Her team overhauled everything from guest rooms to the lower-level bathrooms to the lobby’s painted glass ceiling. Part of the goal was to preserve and honor the hotel’s role in the suffrage movement. The team developed educational displays in the lobby and worked with Draper James on a uniform

design sporting yellow flowers as a nod to the iconic yellow roses suffragettes wore. In August 2020 — the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment — the hotel unveiled the culmination of the preservation work: achieving National Historic Landmark status. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST LIFETIME OF SERVICE CLARE ARMISTEAD

Nashville lost a fashion icon and philanthropic legend this summer when Clare Armistead passed away at age 93. Even if you never had the opportunity to meet this Southern dynamo, you’ve likely benefited from her generosity. A champion of countless causes, she was pivotal in bringing Nashville Ballet to the city, helped start the fundraising arm of Warner Parks, and was a patron of local institutions including Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, the Tennessee State Museum and the Nashville Symphony. The epitome of grace, style and Southern charm, Clare left a legacy of beauty and benevolence that has changed Nashville forever. NANCY FLOYD

BEST LIBRARY DIRECTOR KENT OLIVER

After a five-decade career in public libraries across the country, Nashville Public Library director Kent Oliver recently announced his retirement. And if you’re thinking “library director” sounds like an abstract figurehead position, Oliver made it everything but. His 10 years overseeing NPL’s 21 locations made it clear he had a sharp focus on intellectual freedom long before it became a debatable philosophy. He was also more than willing to roll up his sleeves and duke it out when necessary, recently launching a citywide campaign to advocate for “banned” books as politicians and activists throughout the state and the South were attempting to remove certain reading material from school curricula. During Oliver’s tenure, NPL also increased equitable access far beyond its stacks, developing a robust digital literacy program and becoming the city’s go-to resource for citizenship and civic literacy training through its Pathway for New Americans initiative. MATT FOX

BEST HISTORIC STEWARD, WRITERS’ CHOICE: DEE PATEL

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

BEST RENAMING (LOCAL HISTORY) DIANE NASH PLAZA

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was made possible by the work of American civil rights activists including former Nashvillian Diane Nash. One of Nash’s many contributions to the fight for racial justice took place in 1960 on the steps of Nashville’s courthouse, where she confronted Mayor Ben West about segregation. Those same steps are now part of what is known as the Diane Nash Plaza. The bill legislating this renaming was penned by Councilmember Nancy VanReece and approved in December by the Metro Council. Nash’s work also garnered the living legend a Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was given to her by President Joe Biden this summer. MELISSA CORBIN

BEST RENAMING (SPORTS) TERRY CRISP RINK AT BELLEVUE’S FORD ICE CENTER

As the Nashville Predators age, it’s become inevitable that fans and franchise have to start saying goodbye to people who have become institutions. The cathartic fete of Pekka Rinne, arguably the most beloved pro athlete in Nashville’s not-so-long prosports history, was one such memorable moment. But in 2022, the team also said so-long to Terry Crisp, one of 14 people to have won a Stanley Cup as a player and a coach. Of course, to Nashville, Crispy was the longtime sidekick of Pete Weber, serving as the guide to the game in the early years and an equal-parts enthusiastic and acerbic analyst as the city embraced the team. For all the toughness honed as a member of Philadelphia’s Broad Street Bullies, Crisp was really just a big old softy, beloved instantly by generations of young Preds fans. During Crisp’s retirement celebration, the team announced that one of the rinks

at Bellevue’s Ford Ice Center, the one used most often by youth hockey leagues, will be renamed the Terry Crisp Rink. Of all the honors and accolades Crisp received that night, it was obvious from the look on his face that this was the one that meant the most to him. J.R. LIND

BEST NONPROFIT SUPPORTER RIVERSIDE REVIVAL

At the corner of Porter Road and Riverside Drive, the site of a former church, now sits one of the city’s best-kept nonprofit secrets: Riverside Revival, a striking music and event space. Funds from rentals of the venue for concerts and other performances help fund programming for community groups and nonprofits on its 2.5-acre Boedecker Foundation Collaborative Campus. In addition to Riverside Revival, the East Side campus also houses an earlychildhood learning center, a culinary training kitchen used by groups such as Café Momentum, and office space available at below-market rates.

MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST NONPROFIT REDUX SMALL WORLD YOGA

When the building where Nashville’s first nonprofit yoga studio operated was sold, founder and executive director Liz Veyhl was tasked with finding a new space. Despite a pandemic and soaring real estate prices, Veyhl and her team turned lemons into lemonade. In May, SWY reopened at the corner of Edgehill and 12th Avenue South in a space double the size of its old Music Row digs, now with two separate rooms. That means there’s more room for teacher training, community events and both heated and nonheated yoga classes. Classes for the public are offered at a suggested donation of $10, which helps fund SWY’s work bringing yoga to prisons, libraries, recovery

centers and other places where folks might not otherwise have access to the practice.

MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST GROUP ACTIVITY CURLING AT TEE LINE

If your last group outing involved trust falls or tee boxes, you need to update your playbook. Tee Line, Nashville’s first dedicated curling venue, is a fun, unique, literally cool way to entertain a crowd. They’ve got Golden Tee, TVs, a full bar and kitchen, three bowling lanes, cornhole and fire pits. And obviously, they’ve got curling lanes — three of them — which come with free lessons. Book online a week out, and in no time you’ll be bonding with your colleagues over how ridiculous your boss looks trying to do deep lunges ... on ice ... in slacks.

ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST PLACE TO ESCAPE COVID AND GLOBAL WARMING EDWIN WARNER PARK

Something magical happens when you step onto the winding trails in Edwin Warner Park. The temperature drops, the humidity fades, and life feels … lighter. There are a lot of great parks in Nashville — the neighboring Percy Warner Park rightfully gets a lot of praise, and Shelby Bottoms is a delightful critter-filled paradise — but there’s something about Edwin Warner’s thick woods, dirt paths and lack of crowds that makes all the city noises and daily stress melt away. There are no CrossFit fanatics grunting loudly while sprinting up and down stairs between sets of one-armed push-ups. There are no cyclists whizzing by. It doesn’t hurt that the forest is so thick throughout that you’re barely touched by even one ray of sunshine the whole time you’re wandering around — making it easy to, at least temporarily, escape summer’s most brutal days. MEGAN SELING

BEST LOBBY HERMITAGE HOTEL

If you’ve visited the Hermitage Hotel in the past 100 years, you know what it’s serving: history, luxury and Beaux-Arts beauty. (For my fellow decor neophytes, that means fancy, 19th century and French.) But recently? The old gal was looking a bit bedraggled. Well not anymore! Thanks to interior design firm ForrestPerkins, everything’s been restored, from the Tennessee marble to the hand-painted glass ceiling. There are new lights, new fixtures and new colors (blue and silver!) to balance out the ornate details. There is also (finally!) a lobby bar, which means you can go from coffee to cocktails without ever leaving your velvet couch. Move over, men’s room — the lobby has arrived. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST NEW NEO-TRADITIONAL BUILDING CALDWELL HALL AT BELMONT UNIVERSITY

Caldwell Hall at Belmont University ranks among the most elegant of the approximately 50 traditionally designed high-profile buildings Nashville has landed since 2000. The symmetry of the 11-story residential building is a highlight, with its brick-and-stone skin and its vertical elements paying tribute to the pre-modernist era of architectural design.

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BEST

Nashville-based ESa (design) and R.C. Mathews (general contractor) effectively delivered the goods with this building. WILLIAM WILLIAMS

BEST UNIQUE APARTMENT BUILDING HARLOWE

The Gulch tower apartment Harlowe offers both traditional and contemporary design materials, forms and functions. With a dark brick base and metal main section (charcoal-colored, no less), the 16-floor, 300-unit building strikes a commanding — even somewhat menacing — presence on its Division Street site. A Harlowe highlight: The building curves. South Carolina-based Greystar Real Estate Partners nailed this development. WILLIAM WILLIAMS

was for the sliver of land along I-65 that was once home to a hilariously bad statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest. The property listing helpfully includes a photo of what became of the weird and offensive statue — it resides, or at least did at the time, fallen and broken in an empty warehouse, with Forrest’s head nearly up his horse’s ass. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

BEST NATIONAL SHOWING NOLENSVILLE LITTLE LEAGUE

For years, for reasons based on both geography and the horrors of segregation, Tennessee youth baseball wasn’t tied to Little League. Sure, there were a few teams over the years that opted for Little League over Dixie Youth or one of the other organizations, but Little League just wasn’t a Southern phenomenon. That all changed when Goodlettsville advanced to the Little League World Series in 2012. Both Goodlettsville and South Nashville had runs to Williamsport in the ensuing years — it was enough for Middle Tennesseans to become adepts at the quirks of Little League: keeping up with who on the roster had met the organization’s everyone-mustplay rule and monitoring pitch counts. The plucky kids from Nolensville made it to Pennsylvania this year, providing an entertaining brand of baseball that seemed to rely on come-from-behind wins and the kind of enthusiasm only preteens are capable of. Though the team ran into a Hawaiian buzzsaw, they, like their predecessors, captured Tennessee hearts in the sweltering heat of late August. J.R. LIND

BEST HIGH SCHOOL HOOPER JALONI CAMBRIDGE, ENSWORTH SCHOOL

BEST RECRUIT, WRITERS’ CHOICE: MORGAN PRICE, FISK GYMNASTICS

BEST RECRUIT MORGAN PRICE, FISK GYMNASTICS

BEST NASHVILLE SOUNDS MOMENT ALEX JACKSON’S INSIDETHE-PARK GRAND SLAM

BEST MIXED-USE PROJECT HOTEL FRAYE AND FALLYN

Owned and developed by South Carolinabased Greystar Real Estate Partners and managed by Raleigh, N.C.-based Concord Hospitality, the upscale 200room Hotel Fraye is located in Midtown at 1810 Broadway. It marks Hilton’s Curio Collection brand debut in Nashville. Hotel Fraye stands 15 floors and offers a distinctive entrance and street-level presence. Fraye is joined by Fallyn, a 26-story apartment building that fronts 19th Avenue North. Washington, D.C.-based R2L Architects gave the two buildings (which share a base) a cobalt-blue color scheme, interesting signage and a mural. WILLIAM WILLIAMS

BEST REAL ESTATE LISTING

701 HOGAN ROAD

With the rise of Zillow and the related advent of the Zillow Gone Wild social media accounts, people have found a new way to obsess over keeping up with the Joneses. Being a nosy neighbor grows easier by the day thanks to professional photo shoots posted on the real estate listing site. There have been some true gems in Nashville of late, like the East Nashville home full to the brim with vintage Vols merchandise (and branded hot tub). But the listing this year that took the cake (on Loopnet, not Zillow)

Middle Tennessee has long been a high school girls’ basketball hotbed, and Ensworth junior Jaloni Cambridge is fast on her way to etching her name alongside the Midstate’s all-time greats. Coming from a family full of hoopers, Cambridge has already earned a gold medal with Team USA at the U-17 FIBA World Cup, led Ensworth to two state titles, and was twice named Tennessee’s Miss Basketball. Considering she’s the nation’s No. 2-ranked player for her class, it’s safe to say Cambridge will have plenty of options to choose from for her next stop.

LOGAN BUTTS

BEST COLLEGIATE ATHLETE R’LAZON BRUMFIELD, TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY TRACK AND FIELD

Those who know their Music City sports history know that Tennessee State University’s track and field program is one of the best Nashville has to offer. Historically, it has been the Tigerbelles — the women’s team, which has seen such legends as Wilma Rudolph — who earned most of the limelight. But recently, the men’s team’s R’Lazon Brumfield has been the Tigers’ — and Nashville’s — shining star on the track. The triple-jump specialist has stacked accolades at the conference and regional levels. And his five national championship qualifications, including a runner-up finish at this year’s indoor event, earned him widespread recognition in the sport.

LOGAN BUTTS

Nashville’s Fisk University is the only HBCU with a scholarship women’s gymnastics program, officially beginning competition in 2023. It’s an incredible moment for the school and for a sport that’s regarded as steeped in privilege and wealth and hasn’t always been welcoming to athletes of color. Breaking that symbolic ground is a big enough deal — but it gets better. Morgan Price, a five-star gymnastics recruit, announced in June she’d decommitted from Arkansas, an SEC program that’s won nine NCAA regional championships since 2006 and is coached by Olympic champion Jordyn Wieber, and would instead matriculate at Fisk. It’s basically the gymnastics equivalent of a top-ranked high school quarterback saying he no longer wanted to play for Nick Saban at Alabama, but instead would strap ’em on the other side of Tuscaloosa at Stillman. Obviously, bringing in Price was a major coup for Fisk coach Corrinne Tarver, but it was a bigger statement about HBCU athletics and opportunities at HBCUs in general. Plus it generated a significant amount of attention for the upstart program — the kind of attention that builds on itself and may get other top recruits to take a look at Nashville’s oldest university. J.R. LIND

BEST POST-SEASON GAME VANDERBILT VS. BELMONT BASKETBALL

In the first six-and-a-half minutes of Vandy vs. Belmont in the second-on-our-dancecard-but-first-in-our-hearts National Invitation Tournament in March, there were five three-pointers — including one by each team’s center — a breakaway dunk by the Bruins’ Ben Sheppard and a sweet alley-oop from the Commodores’ Scotty Pippen Jr. to Myles Stute. It was end-to-end action, with players diving on the floor and bodies flying through the paint. We’re on the record as saying they should play this game every year, and this game proved it — the city’s two best programs went toe to toe for 40 minutes, and it was entertaining as hell. Now do it again without a tournament committee making you. STEVE CAVENDISH

Grand slams are rare. Inside-the-park home runs are rare. Moments at April minor league games that get national play are rare. Nashville Sounds catcher Alex Jackson touched ’em all. On April 23, Jackson came to the plate at First Horizon Park in the bottom of the third with two out, the bases juiced and the Sounds clinging to a 1-0 lead. He laced a low-cut fastball down the left-field line into the corner, where it bounced off the wall and ricocheted into the Sounds bullpen. The relievers scattered as the ball rattled around and Charlotte’s left fielder threw up his hands in the international sign for “Please, for the love of God, call this a ground-rule double.”

The umpires — perhaps adhering to the video-review era principle of letting things play out and fixing it in post if necessary — did nothing. The Sounds on base smartly played to the metaphorical whistle. The Charlotte players, on the other hand, looked perplexed and flabbergasted and didn’t bother throwing the ball in until Jackson — as a catcher, not exactly the fleetest of foot — had crossed home. Despite pleas from the visitors, the umpires ultimately decided the play would stand. A most unusual occurrence earned the Sounds and Jackson some SportsCenter time. J.R. LIND

BEST PREDATOR ROMAN JOSI

Setting career highs in points (96), goals (23) and assists (73) in the 2021-22 season, Roman Josi had the best individual season for an NHL defensemen in nearly 30 years. He broke five Predators franchise records, including single-season points, singleseason assists, single-season shots, assists per game and total goals on-ice for. Josi led all defenders with 26 multi-point games, four four-point games and 12 three-point games, and he was the only defenseman to lead his team in scoring. Norris Trophy snub notwithstanding, there’s arguably no blueliner more important to his team’s success than Josi. Sorry, Cale Makar.

MICHAEL GALLAGHER

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

BEST UNIQUE APARTMENT BUILDING, WRITERS’ CHOICE: HARLOWE

BEST ROOKIE TANNER JEANNOT

In July 2021, Predators GM David Poile shocked Smashville when he chose to protect unknown rookie Tanner Jeannot over veterans like Colton Sissons and Calle Järnkrok in the NHL’s expansion draft. Seattle, wisely, nabbed Järnkrok, and if I recall correctly, #FireDavidPoile briefly trended on Twitter. Poile either knew something no one else did (likely) or was the luckiest GM this side of the Mississippi, because the leftwinger quickly became a fan favorite thanks to his unrelentingly physical style of play. The fact that he didn’t win the Calder Memorial Trophy, let alone get a nomination, is a goddamn shame — not only did Jeannot net more goals than any other rookie in the league (24), but he also set a new franchise record for number of hits in a single season (318). A Best of Nashville Writer’s Choice award isn’t as pretty as the Calder, I know, but Smashville’s really glad you’re here, Jeannot. This BON’s for you. MEGAN SELING

BEST RE-SIGNING FILIP FORSBERG

There were a lot of shake-ups in Smashville prior to the 2021-22 hockey season. Everyone’s favorite goalie, Pekka Rinne, retired; fan favorite Viktor Arvidsson was traded to the L.A. Kings; and associate captain Ryan Ellis was shipped off to Philadelphia. Further inciting uncertainty was the fact that Filip Forsberg’s contract was set to expire at the end of the season and no one knew whether or not the mustachioed forward had plans to stick around. Rumors, speculation, gossip — Forsberg’s future was all anyone could talk about, and he stayed notoriously mum, flashing that trademark smirk anytime someone asked about his plans during postgame pressers. Finally, on July 9, exactly two months after the team’s last postseason game, the Nashville Predators announced No. 9 was here to stay; Forsberg signed a $68 million eight-year contract with both a no-movement and a notrade clause. MEGAN SELING

BEST PREDATOR RIVALRY YAKOV TRENIN VS. ZDENO CHARA

Brobdingnagian defenseman Zdeno Chara has played in the NHL since 1998.

Feisty Nashville Predators forward Yakov Trenin was born in 1997. Chara stands 6 feet, 9-inches tall and weighs 250 pounds; the Russian Trenin gives up seven inches and 50 pounds to the big Slovak. Chara played 1,680 NHL games, the most of any blueliner in league history. Yakov Trenin has played 146. There’s no real reason for the plucky Trenin and the stalwart Chara to hate each other. Heck, they don’t even play in the same conference, let alone division, where interpersonal contempt in the NHL is forged with the familiarity of regular meetings. Nevertheless, it was all but guaranteed the two will square off for fisticuffs every time the puck drops between Nashville and Chara’s New York Islanders, even if it’s impossible to understand the reasons why. The first battle came Jan. 7, 2020, when Nashville hosted the then-Chara-captained Boston Bruins.

It was Trenin’s ninth NHL game. And he dropped Big Z like a new mixtape. Maybe we should have seen it coming as Trenin has a college degree in — I swear — boxing. (And doofy congressional Republicans think art history is a silly major!) Anyway, Trenin and Chara met again Dec. 9, 2021, mixing it up less than seven minutes into the game. Big Z retired this summer — and at age 45, nobody can blame him for that — so this rivalry falls victim to Father Time, but it forged plenty of memories for the Smilodon-wearing faithful. J.R. LIND

BEST ANTHEM PERFORMANCE

‘SHCHE NE VMERLA UKRAINA’

BY DIANA NALYVAIKO WITH MICHAEL W. SMITH

When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, there was a nearly universal outpouring of support for the latter and condemnation for the former, but it was hard to contemplate what beyond thoughts and prayers anyone could offer. It was and is a fraught geopolitical situation, but the need to support a burgeoning liberal democracy against the forces of a hulking autocracy stirred something within many American souls that most of us perhaps believed had withered in the cynicism of the age. In the weeks following, people did what they could: We changed Twitter backgrounds and hung the blue and yellow of Ukraine from our flagpoles. We wore their colors (not a tough ask, since the combination is

virtually identical to Nashville’s unofficial civic colors). And on March 8, joined by Michael W. Smith, Vanderbilt student and Ukrainian national Diana Nalyvaiko stood in front of 17,000-plus Predators fans — mostly clad, of course, in her nation’s colors, if for no other reason than the Predators had the good fortune of wearing similar ones — and gave a soul-stirring rendition of her country’s anthem. Nashville, rightly, boasts of having the best anthem performances in pro sports, but this one wasn’t just about the art, though the art was great — it was about the moment. J.R. LIND

BEST RIFF KEB’ MO’

Some of the new traditions surrounding MLS franchise Nashville SC can be, as the kids say, cringe. There’s the Judah & the Lion-penned team anthem, for one. And the special guest guitar riff that follows the national anthem and directly precedes kickoff can be a little awkward, with the guitar player using a branded team guitar rather than their own and trying to fill a massive stadium, all as 22 professional athletes stand around waiting for them to finish. But sometimes it completely rips, like when blues musician Keb’ Mo’ wielded the highlighter-yellow Gibson in early August. Honorable mention: Daniel Donato in late July. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

BEST SPORTS PARTY GEODIS PARK’S GRAND OPENING

Sure, the 2022 NHL Stadium Series was a heck of a celebration in its own right. But the prize for Best Sports Party unequivocally has to go to the grand opening of Geodis Park. I’ve seen Bridgestone Arena at the height of a Stanley Cup run, and I’ve seen Nissan Stadium packed to the gills for Titans home playoff games, but I’ve got to say, seeing 30,109 fans pack Geodis Park on May 1 to celebrate the culmination of a project three years in the making — one that was completed only after cutting through miles of red tape — rivaled the atmosphere of both.

MICHAEL GALLAGHER

BEST TITAN JEFFERY SIMMONS

For our Best Titan Writer’s Choice, we could have easily gone with Kevin Byard

BEST TITAN, WRITERS’ CHOICE: JEFFERY SIMMONS

or Derrick Henry, and few would have likely disputed either. But it’s time to give Simmons his due. Among NFL executives, he’s considered the next best thing to Aaron Donald, and he’s likely looking at a contract extension that says the same. Making his first Pro Bowl and finishing with the thirdmost All-Pro votes among defensive tackles last season, Simmons tallied a career-high 8.5 sacks to go along with 25 QB pressures, 16 QB hits, 12 tackles for loss and 10 QB hurries. Simply put — he’s a game-wrecker. And the scary part is, he’s just 25 years old.

MICHAEL GALLAGHER

BEST COACH MIKE VRABEL

A strong case could be made that Titans head coach Mike Vrabel did more with less than anyone else in 2021, as is evidenced by the team’s use of 91 players — an NFL record for a non-strike season. If there was any question as to how valuable Vrabel is to Tennessee, look no further than the job he did from Week 9 through 18 last year. Without Derrick Henry for nine games, Julio Jones for four games and A.J. Brown for three, and with the offense scoring 10 points fewer per game, Vrabel still guided the Titans to a 6-3 record and the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. His .631 win percentage is the best in Titans

PHOTO: CASEY GOWER

PHOTO: DONALD PAGE

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST SPORTS PARTY, WRITERS’ CHOICE: GEODIS PARK’S GRAND OPENING

- 3 years running -

HENDERSONVILLE, TN

Forrest P. Allen, DO

Interventional Pain and Spine

Matthew D. Beal, MD, FAOA

Total Joint Replacement and General Orthopaedics

John R. Burleson, MD

Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon

Adam R. Cochran, MD

Hand, Wrist, & Elbow, and Trauma

Jonathan P. Cornelius, MD

Arthroscopy, General Orthopaedics, Hip, Knee, Shoulder, Sports Medicine, and Trauma

Benjamin P. Debelak, DO

Arthroscopy, General Orthopaedics, Knee, Shoulder, and Sports Medicine

Robert P. Fogolin, MD

Arthroscopy, General Orthopaedics, Knee, Trauma, and Orthobiologics

Christopher M. Jones, MD

Arthroscopy, Foot & Ankle, General Orthopaedics, Hip, Knee, Orthobiologics, Shoulder, Sports Medicine, and Trauma

Christopher P. Kauffman, MD

Orthopaedic Spine Specialist

William C. Mayfield III, MD

General Orthopaedics, Hip, Knee, Shoulder, and Sports Medicine

Tiffany Feltman Meals, DO

General Orthopaedics, Hip, and Knee

William N. Melton, MD

Hand, Wrist, and Elbow, Wide-Awake Surgery, Orthopaedic Trauma and Fracture Care

Gregg A. Motz, MD

Arthroscopy, General Orthopaedics, Knee, Orthobiologics, Shoulder, and Sports Medicine

Shawn P. Mountain, DO

Arthroscopy, Foot & Ankle, and Sports Medicine

WHITE HOUSE, TN

R. James Renfro, Jr., MD

Arthroscopy, General Orthopaedics, Hip, Knee, Shoulder, and Sports Medicine

Lucas B. Richie, MD

Arthroscopy, Foot & Ankle, General Orthopaedics, Hand, Wrist, & Elbow, Knee, Orthobiologics, Shoulder, Sports Medicine, and Truma

Todd A. Rubin, MD, CAQ

Hand, Wrist, & Elbow, and Trauma

Joseph C. Schaffer, MD

Arthroscopy, General Orthopaedics, Hip, Sports Medicine, and Trauma

Michel A. Taylor, MD, MSc, FRCSC

Foot & Ankle, Knee, and Orthopaedic Trauma

Marc A. Tressler, DO

Foot & Ankle, Hip, Orthobiologics, Shoulder, and Trauma

NASHVILLE, TN

SMYRNA, TN

franchise history of coaches with 10 or more games, and his 41 regular-season wins are fourth-most all-time in franchise history.

MICHAEL GALLAGHER

BEST WAIVER CLAIM

ZACH CUNNINGHAM

The Tennessee Titans defense had already reversed its fortunes and reputation by the time the team hit its bye in Week 13 of the 2021 NFL season. One of the league’s worst and most frustrating units in 2020 had reemerged as a game-winning force for the eventual AFC South champions, particularly useful after Derrick Henry was injured. So when divisional rivals Houston waived former Vanderbilt star linebacker Zach Cunningham, sure, he seemed like he’d be a nice addition. (Why the Texans waived one of the league’s most consistent inside linebackers and a guy averaging more than eight tackles a game is an unanswerable question, just like most every decision the Texans have made over the past few years.) It just didn’t seem plausible he’d fall all the way down the waiver ladder to Tennessee. And yet, Cunningham went on to be an extremely useful contributor on an already stout front seven for Tennessee and earned himself a new contract with the team. Houston, by the way, is projected to finish last in the division again. J.R. LIND

BEST WRESTLING EVENT SUMMERSLAM

If there’s one thing Nashville knows how to do well, it’s put on big events that feel like big events. It’s a lot like the WWE in that way. So when Nissan Stadium hosted SummerSlam, the promotion’s secondbiggest event on the calendar — dwarfed only by Wrestlemania — there were high hopes that it would be A Show, even if the matches themselves were fair to middling.

Fate intervened just days before, when Vince McMahon, embroiled in one last scandal he couldn’t shake, resigned, handing the reins of the promotion to his son-in-law Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Trip had a well-earned reputation for building good storylines and setting up compelling matches from his time at the helm of NXT, WWE’s developmental promotion, but he was being thrown into the fire. And he delivered an absolute work of art. From the curtain-jerker — a technical masterpiece

between Knoxville’s Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch that concluded with some surprise returns — to the main event between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar that included numerous spots involving, I swear to Gorgeous George, a tractor, SummerSlam portended a new era for the world’s largest wrestling promotion. And it’s an era that is already being lauded as a total turnaround from the mess McMahon left.

J.R. LIND

BEST WRESTLING RETIREMENT RIC FLAIR

The Nature Boy Ric Flair didn’t really need a retirement match. The 16-time (woo!) world champion’s legacy as one of the greatest to ever do it was firmly established decades ago. Besides that, his last match in the WWE — at Wrestlemania XXIV in 2008 — concluded with one of the hackiest but most poignant (in other words, perfect for pro wrestling) moments in recent memory when Shawn Michaels, on the verge of tears, mouthed “I’m sorry, I love you,” to Flair before superkicking him. But wrestlers never really retire, not as long as they can stand on two boots. Now, it was perhaps not the greatest idea for Flair to try to go through the motions one more time, given that he has cardiomyopathy and has endured various heart and kidney problems and surgeries in the past few years. But apparently, no one could tell Flair no, so he booked his final match for the old sports arena at The Fairgrounds Nashville for July 31, the same weekend as SummerSlam. Tickets sold briskly, so the card moved to Municipal Auditorium, where, in 1989, Flair wrestled Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat in what is regarded as one of the greatest matches of all time. This match certainly wasn’t the five-star banger that ’89 was, but it was fine. Flair and his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo defeated Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. Flair was obviously gassed in the match, and later confirmed he passed out at least twice. It was nice to see The Nature Boy leave the business in a building that held such great memories for him. It was better to see the legend leave the business (barely) on his feet.

PHOTO: CASEY GOWER

HAIR

BEST HOLISTIC WELLNESS

HOSPITAL

LASH SALON

BEST LASIK SURGERY CENTER

MASSAGE

HATE,

GROUP/PRACTICE

BEST PLASTIC SURGEON

PRIMARY

PHYSICIAN

BEST

BEST AESTHETICIAN ERIN BRUTON, EB SKIN

Thanks to a gift from a very generous friend, I was lucky enough to meet aesthetician Erin Bruton, and my skin glowed for days afterward. During the pandemic, Bruton opened EB Skin, and her loyal devotees followed. In addition to classic facials and custom peels, Bruton added HydraFacials and LED Light Therapy to her menu of services. Both of these amazing treatments allow you to age gracefully. HOLLY HOFFMAN

BEST PLACE TO MAKE YOUR FACE GLOW COMPLEXION AESTHETICS AND SKINCARE BOUTIQUE

Beth Higney and Natalie Copeland are aesthetic nurse practitioners, which allows them to bring a deep understanding of dermatology to their skin care business. They started with facials, chemical peels, injections and related services. Complexion has such a devoted following — including supermodel and super-Nashvillian Karen Elson — that they’re expanding to a West Nashville facility with more treatment rooms. In 2022 they introduced AM and PM Serums, their first skin care products, which are designed to help protect and prevent damage from environmental and sun exposure. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST SHIATSU MASSAGE SUNNY MASSAGE

The first time someone hops on your back during a massage, it can be alarming. But

just go with it, and let the experts at Sunny Massage use their feet, knees and elbows to really dig into your muscles and release tension. All the rooms have bars on the ceilings, which allow the masseuse to stand on your body without losing their balance and hit your pressure points, using all their limbs as their tools. A shiatsu massage leaves you feeling invigorated, ready to face the day, and maybe a little sore — but in a good way. ELIZABETH JONES

BEST NAIL SALON ALLURE SPA & NAILS

Hillsboro Pike’s Allure Spa & Nails offers a classic nail-salon experience done right. Clean, efficient and with an extensive selection of colors to choose from, Allure employs a large staff of skilled nail techs who can handle any trending shape and finish you throw at them. Conveniently located in Green Hills, the salon and spa can usually fit you in quickly if you’re a walk-in, but appointments are welcome. They’re open daily — including on Sundays, which is rare for nail places around Nashville. Allure is a perfect spot for a treat-yo-self afternoon between shopping and catching a movie at Regal’s nearby Green Hills location. AMANDA MATSUI

BEST DIETITIAN KATHERINE FOWLER, FOWLER NUTRITION

If I could carry a tune and wasn’t scared of heights, you would hear me singing the praises of Katherine Fowler atop the tallest

BEST

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

building in Nashville. If you’re looking for a dietitian who practices a non-diet and Health at Every Size approach to evidencebased care — congratulations, you just met your new dietitian. She is the founder and owner of Fowler Nutrition, and has been practicing as a master’s-level, licensed registered dietitian nutritionist for nearly 15 years. A word of advice: Get on her schedule now, before January rolls around. KIM BALDWIN

BEST ANIMAL-ASSISTED EXERCISE FIT FARM

Committing to a weeklong intensive fitness retreat is an investment of time and money — no one says it will be easy. But Castalian Springs’ Fit Farm allows you to bring your dog with you, and that makes it a little easier. Fit Farm offers dog-friendly housing on its 200 acres of green countryside at Rock Springs Retreat Center. Pack the leash, the dog bowls, a water bottle and the extra pair of Adidas, and get ready to sweat with Fido by your side. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST SPA DAY HOLIDAY SALON & BATHHOUSE

The Finnish-inspired bathhouse at Holiday Salon is a relaxing oasis, rentable by the hour for you and an intimate group of friends. You can enjoy a large soaking pool, Himalayan salt sauna and an antimicrobial steam room, all tucked away in a private setting. Add on a massage or a facial — or both — for a day of relaxation, then head across the street to Southern

BEST COLOR SPECIALIST

KATY TIMKO, SPOKE & WEAL

I’ve been coloring my hair for years, and when I look back through photos I sometimes think “too dark,” “too red” and, once in a while, “What was I thinking?” But that was before I met Katy Timko at Spoke & Weal in Green Hills. Her knowledge of hair color and the color wheel — along with her skill at mixing the perfect shades and highlights — is unparalleled. From that first visit until now, I always get compliments on how fabulous my color is. I tell the truth — and happily give all credit to Katy. HOLLY HOFFMAN

BEST STYLIST FOR CURLY HAIR CELIA JENKINS, WILDFLOWER HAIR ARTISTRY

For years I hid my curls. I didn’t know what to do with them or how to style them, so I brushed them (gasp!) and tried to tame them. But that was all before I found Celia Jenkins at Wildflower Hair Artistry. She dry-cuts curly hair, so she can cut with your natural curl pattern and, unlike with regular cutting, there aren’t any length surprises after drying. With a new cut, some new twists and shakes, my curls now fall easily. Celia has completed hundreds of hours of curl education, and will work with your unique hair and maintenance routine to get you a cut you’ll love. ELIZABETH

Grist Brewing Co. to complete the perfect day. ELIZABETH JONES

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

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those facing property damage

LIVE IN A SUSTAINABLE

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I’m a sucker for a green space, but I have no desire or patience when it comes to my own plants. All the more reason to stan Oasis Design Studio, which is likely responsible for some of your favorite displays of Nash ville greenery as well. The small company, operated by Taylor Small, has a portfolio that includes plant design at local favorites like The Graduate, The W Hotel and Barista Parlor, plus they offer customized services, from design to education to maintenance.

NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY’S

The pandemic got lots of folks to pick up trowels and get their hands dirty, and we have a fantastic local resource in our library for all things gardening. The Nashville Public Library Seed Exchange provides a variety of free seeds to anyone who has a library card. I’ve found heirloom tomato varieties, peppers for every heat tolerance, gourds I’d never heard of and hundreds of other veggies. It’s also your place for flow ers — cosmos, coneflowers, zinnias and sunflowers are always abundant. But you need some knowledge to successfully grow stuff too, and the library offers free work shops year-round that teach you everything from composting to preparing a garden bed to saving seeds after harvest. You can also find great tips on the Seed Exchange blog to help you unlock your garden dreams. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST CURBSIDE SERVICES

JUSTICE INDUSTRIES

It’s no secret that Nashville’s curbside recy cling program is, ironically, trash. Luckily, Just.Glass is the opposite. For $18.50, they’ll come to your house twice a month and pick up your glass to recycle. They also offer Just.Wash, a curbside detailing service

that maxes out at $100 for a full SUV detail, as well as mattress recycling, document scanning and cleaning services. The best part? All are part of Justice Industries, a nonprofit that employs people who often face barriers to employment due to criminal history, past addiction, mental illness, do mestic abuse or generational poverty. Good services, great cause. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST HOUSE CLEANERS TEAM CLEAN

I don’t care who you are, there is no greater luxury than a clean home. Nashville-based company Team Clean makes it easy and reliable, plus they pay their workers a fair living wage. The company is owned by Can dace Mills, who has been in the cleaning biz since 2002. Drop her a note, schedule a walkthrough, pay via Venmo — it’s all extremely efficient. And the results — a tidy house cleaned with natural products by happy employees — are worth every penny. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST WAY TO GET A TREE ROOT NASHVILLE

It is always a delight to see the government do something good, and if you’re a bird, a bee or someone who cares about environ mental sustainability, Root Nashville will make you smile. Metro and the Cumberland River Compact partner for the initiative that, according to the Root website, has planted more than 25,000 trees to date. Go ing neighborhood by neighborhood and working with residents, the city provides three free trees to anyone who wants them. And they’re good trees! The little gem mag nolia that showed up in my driveway one March morning had a 2.5-inch caliper trunk — that would cost upwards of $300 in a nursery — and the two moonglow pear trees have really taken off this year. Our tree canopy is reaching crisis-level depletion, so it feels good to plant something and watch it grow — even if it’s alongside a massive livework complex. ERICA CICCARONE

Ranked #1 in Tennessee for Small Real Estate Teams by Transactions (2021)

Ranked #1 Top Listing Sales Team in Greater Nashville Realtors (2018, 2020, 2021)

Ranked #1 Top Selling Sales Team in Greater Nashville Realtors (2021)

Ranked #1 New Construction Sales Team in Nashville (2016-2021)

Ranked #6 Nationally for Small Real Estate Teams by Transactions (2021)

STAND-UP

PLACE

STAGE

THEATER

BEST MOVEMENT ARTIST, WRITERS’ CHOICE: BECCA HOBACK

BEST MOVEMENT ARTIST BECCA HOBACK

Becca Hoback is creating and performing the most exciting choreography in town. A founding member of the contemporary dance collective New Dialect, Hoback reminds us of the potential of movement to make us feel things. In June 2021, she premiered Enactor at OZ Arts — a triptych of solo works choreographed with Ben Green, Ana Maria Lucaciu and Roy Assaf. We enjoy and admire dance, even when we don’t always “get it.” But we really sat up in our seats on this one and noticed others doing the same. The performance was raw and emotional, as if Hoback was creating the choreography right there on the stage — in a good way. She brought that same energy to Kindling Arts Festival with another solo work called “Reprise.” She was clad in tan trousers, a sky-blue V-neck top and white tube socks — you’d think she was on her way to teach P.E. in an all-girls prep school. Instead, she told us all about the dizzying highs and the rock-bottom lows experienced in the life of an artist. Using archival sounds and songs mastered by Clay Steakley, Hoback acted out the artistic cycle of creation, doubt, agony and triumph. At least, that was our take. After all, isn’t that the beauty of art? You may leave the theater with a totally different interpretation of Hoback’s work than your date has. But you’ll both have tons to say on the ride home. ERICA CICCARONE AND AMY STUMPFL

BEST LOCAL THEATER PERFORMANCE THE NAUGHTY TREE AT THE BLUE ROOM

Nashville’s theater scene can be conservative in imagination and politics. Our large theater houses have always prioritized the milquetoast tastes of donors. Our small groups are bold, sincere and often talented — but perpetually under-resourced. As a result, queer theatermakers have long worked their asses off to carve a very small but richly imagined space to stage their works. The Naughty Tree, written by Woven Theatre’s River Timms and co-directed by Daniel Jones and Lenin Fernandez, changed all of that for two nights in April at Third Man Records’ The Blue Room. It’s an allinclusive queer retelling of the Garden of Eden story, starring an effervescent James Rudolph II in drag as Mother Nature. Rudolph’s intro includes a call and response, in which he makes the audience say, “I deserve love. I deserve joy. I deserve to

be here.” In the queer community, that’s everything. The play was reprised at OZ Arts during the four-day Kindling Arts Festival. But there was something about the intimate show at The Blue Room that felt untouchable, like we were all holding our breath and praying we’d never wake up from the best damn dream. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST PERFORMING ARTIST, WRITERS’ CHOICE: JENNIFER WHITCOMB-OLIVA

BEST PERFORMING ARTIST JENNIFER WHITCOMB-OLIVA

Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva has carved out a unique position within the local arts community, consistently turning in polished performances that often defy category. This season alone, she tackled meaty roles for Nashville Opera, Nashville Children’s Theatre, Nashville Rep, The Theater Bug and more. But it’s her ongoing work as a writer and performance artist — which includes Seven and The Darkness and Other Black Things — that reveals WhitcombOliva’s true daring and versatility. Serving up deeply personal explorations that blend original poetry, staged movement and storytelling, she never fails to confront her grateful audience with works that both captivate and challenge. AMY STUMPFL

BEST TRIP TO BROADWAY WITHOUT GOING TO NEW YORK BROADWAY AT TENNESSEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

The absence of live theater throughout the pandemic made people hungrier for it than ever. So it’s no surprise that when TPAC announced its 2022-2023 Broadway series, the nonprofit sold a record number

of season tickets within weeks — 13,888 to be exact. Of course it doesn’t hurt that this season’s lineup is phenomenal and includes seven Broadway shows making their Nashville debut. The season kicked off in July with the return of Hamilton, followed quickly by Aaron Sorkin’s take on To Kill a Mockingbird. But there are still plenty more incredible shows to enjoy this season, including critically acclaimed productions of Hadestown, SIX and Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. Long live live theater! NANCY FLOYD

BEST ENSEMBLE NASHVILLE REPERTORY THEATRE’S SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY

Nashville Rep made history in January with its outstanding production of Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play. But while the company’s commitment to utilizing a cast and creative team composed entirely of people of color was certainly significant, it was the strength of the all-female ensemble that was most impressive. Director Alicia Haymer assembled a fabulous cast — including Joy Pointe, Tosha Marie, Carli Hardon, Kortney Ballenger, Valicia Browne, Ashley D. Brooks, Tamiko Robinson Steele and Cynthia C. Harris — that made us laugh, while also forcing us to acknowledge serious issues of colorism, classism and prettyprivilege.

AMY STUMPFL

BEST OVERALL SEASON

OZ ARTS

In June 2020, during white America’s socalled racial reckoning, a group of more than 300 theater makers of color formed the group We See You, White American Theater and published a letter excoriating the industry for inequitable practices and pervasive racial bias. The local response to that was mixed, with some organizations performing some world-class pandering. OZ Arts has stood out from the pack, bringing American and internationally acclaimed performing artists to its warehouse for shows that have attracted the most diverse audiences I’ve seen in Nashville’s theater scene. The 2021-22 season saw Ronald K. Brown, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Miwa Matreyek and more visiting acts, plus communitycentered shows like Dave Ragland and Shabaz Ujima’s moving Steal Away. Under the leadership of artistic director Mark Murphy, OZ has come into its own as the performing arts powerhouse that Nashville needs. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST STAGE DIRECTOR LEAH LOWE FOR TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS AT ACTORS BRIDGE ENSEMBLE

Leah Lowe has long been a driving force in the local theater scene, both as an educator and a director. An associate professor of theater at Vanderbilt, she was recently named director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy. And she helmed a terrific staging of Cymbeline for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival this summer. But with Actors Bridge Ensemble’s production of Tiny Beautiful Things, Lowe demonstrated exceptional insight and a real gift for pacing. Her honest, character-driven approach gave the

largely episodic script room to breathe — and gave audiences a rather breathtaking evening of theater. AMY STUMPFL

BEST ADAPTATION FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES NASHVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE’S PETER PAN: WENDY’S ADVENTURE TO NEVERLAND

Despite February’s rather chilly temperatures, Nashville Children’s Theatre managed to warm our hearts with the world premiere of its delightful Peter Pan: Wendy’s Adventure to Neverland NCT artistic director Ernie Nolan’s book offered a decidedly fresh twist on the classic tale, placing the normally subdued character of Wendy Darling firmly in the driver’s seat. And David Weinstein’s lively score capitalized on the story’s humor, while making the most of more tender moments. There were some really stellar performances — from Amanda Rodriguez, Megan Murphy Chambers, Gerold Oliver, Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva and more. And Jesse Mooney-Bullock’s whimsical puppets added to the high-flying magic. AMY STUMPFL

BEST WRESTLING-KARAOKE CROSSOVER BAR FIGHT! AT KINDLING ARTS FESTIVAL

In this brainchild of Jessika Malone and Daniel Carter, a ragtag group of misfits enters the ring at Princess Daddy’s Fight Night & Karaoke. All is going according to

plan with Daddy’s crew until King Baby — played by the fantastic Blake Holliday — comes on the scene. Past betrayals rise to the surface, allies are rendered enemies, and the hits (and songs) keep coming thanks to Diego Gomez’s fight choreography and the crooning vocals of the cast. When Amanda Creech sings “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” in the finale, she may as well be healing the whole darn world. Gritty and glittery, Bar Fight! shows us that with enough heart, we can carve out a little space of belonging and set up a wrestling ring with our friends. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST BADASS WOMEN ONSTAGE NASHVILLE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL’S CYMBELINE AND KENNIE PLAYHOUSE THEATRE’S GEM OF THE OCEAN

Whether virtuous or villainous, the ladies were crushing it this summer as Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Kennie Playhouse Theatre once again teamed up to present a marvelous double-header. Both productions were terrific, but it was especially exciting to see such fierce performances from women. Jackie Welch was luminous as the mystical Aunt Ester, and Tamiko Robinson Steele offered a beautifully layered performance as Black Mary in August Wilson’s powerful Gem of the Ocean. Meanwhile, Jamie Herb gave us a worthy heroine as Imogen, and Denice

Hicks was a devilish delight as the Queen in Shakespeare’s fast-paced Cymbeline AMY STUMPFL

BEST SET DESIGN MATT LOGAN FOR THE HIDING PLACE

Matt Logan has a reputation for absolute excellence, whether it’s in his work as a director or designer. So audiences were understandably thrilled to have him back in action this summer with The Hiding Place — a moving production that marked the inaugural effort for both Matt Logan Productions and the newly established Rabbit Room Theatre. As always, Logan’s

crystalline vision shone through with sensitive direction and richly detailed costumes. But it was the exquisite, painterly quality of his revolving set that really impressed, drawing us into a world of both unspeakable loss and aching humanity. AMY STUMPFL

BEST LEG UP FOR YOUNG DANCERS NASHVILLE BALLET’S YOUNG MEN’S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

It’s no secret that arts education helps give youngsters a leg up — both in terms of academics and social/emotional development. But Nashville Ballet’s

BEST LEG UP FOR YOUNG DANCERS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: NASHVILLE BALLET’S YOUNG MEN’S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

ERIC ENGLAND

PHOTO:

was the original fashion runway.

Young Men’s Scholarship Program not only offers specialized training for young men that emphasizes “athleticism, strength, camaraderie and discipline,” it also provides a warm and encouraging community that instills confidence and perseverance. Qualified students receive a full academic year of tuition-free training, followed by the opportunity to earn merit-based scholarships. All that, and it’s just plain fun.

AMY STUMPFL

BEST TRIP BACK IN TIME BACK TO THE FUTURE AT NASHVILLE SYMPHONY

The Nashville Symphony’s programming truly offers something for everyone, whether you’re a classical music aficionado or novice, but one of my favorite experiences at the breathtaking Schermerhorn Symphony Center is the ongoing film series. Each year, the Nashville Symphony screens classic films with incredible scores, which are performed live by the symphony orchestra. This summer, the Grammy-winning symphony took on Back to the Future and Alan Silvestri’s cinematic score, with an additional 20 minutes of music added to it. But the fun didn’t start and end in Laura Turner Concert Hall. Guests were greeted by a DeLorean and had the chance to pose in front of an “Enchantment Under the Sea” backdrop. It was a perfect afternoon spent back in time.

NANCY FLOYD

BEST CELEBRATION OF RADICAL VISIBILITY CYNTHIA C. HARRIS’ THE CALLING IS IN THE BODY AT ACTORS BRIDGE ENSEMBLE

There are some shows that just capture a specific moment in time. Cynthia C. Harris’ The Calling Is in the Body did just that — telling the story of Deidre Williams, a vibrant young Black woman who was an early HIV/AIDS advocate in 1990s Nashville. Staged at Actors Bridge Ensemble, this brave new work drew us in with powerful storytelling, along with an immersive pre/post-show experience that included writing prompts, local news clips and more. An emotional deep dive into community and connection, it honored those we lost, while celebrating Williams as the “Patron Saint of Radical Visibility.” AMY STUMPFL

BEST ARTIST OF THE YEAR XPAYNE

XPayne’s fingerprints are all over Nashville’s visual identity, from Slim & Husky’s to billboards he’s created celebrating Black culture. But it was in 2022 that he took over Nashville’s art galleries as well. He started the year strong, with four brightly outlined, sensually posed bodies in the Scene’s own Drawers exhibition, which took place at OZ Arts in May. But it wasn’t until August, when XPayne followed legendary Parliament-Funkadelic frontman George Clinton with a solo show at Cëcret by Cë Gallery, that the full extent of his creative capacity really shone. Past, Present, and Afrofuturism gave the prolific artist a platform to express himself through instantly iconic figures that referenced Yoruba mythology through a totally relevant and contemporary lens. “This is

BEST ARTIST OF THE YEAR, WRITERS’ CHOICE: XPAYNE

about using culture and history to imagine an unseen and prosperous future,” XPayne said of the show. “Imagining how the future looks provides mental armor for the now. This show is about adaptation and change in the face of danger.” LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST ART SHOW FROM A MUSIC ICON GROOVES FROM THE DEEP AND THE SPACE MATH OF GEORGE CLINTON AT CËCRET BY CË GALLERY

Parliament-Funkadelic founder George Clinton has been proclaiming his funkology in the form of painted canvases since the late 1990s. Grooves From the Deep and the Space Math of George Clinton at Cëcret by Cë Gallery in July might have been just another one of those art displays that are far too common in Nashville: An Exhibition by a Famous Musician. Lots of Clinton’s boomer musical peers also make paintings, but where Stevie Nicks and Ringo Starr’s visual art habits feel ancillary to their musical artistry, Clinton’s gallery displays are anchored in a larger multimedia universe that he’s been expanding and exploring for six decades. This exhibition was familiar but fresh, and very, very funky.

JOE NOLAN

BEST ART NIGHT OUT PORTALS: A PERFORMANCE PARTY

We’ve noted Vadis Turner several times in the Best of Nashville pages, including as our writers’ pick for Best Artist in 2019. This year, she took her monumental, gridlike “megalith” sculptures to OZ Arts. With Alanna Royale as emcee and DJ, each sculpture acted as a station for some of Nashville’s most compelling performers to do what they do best, including dancers Joi Ware and novel. dance; theatermaker Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva; multimedia artist Gardening, Not Architecture; poet Ciona Rouse and — the cherry on top — blueswoman Adia Victoria, who performed a rocking, intimate set on the OZ stage. There’s hunger in our artistic community for multi-genre collaboration and crosspollination. It felt like a distinct moment, a tipping point, maybe, toward something monumental. More please. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST FEMINIST ART

THE FUTURE IS FEMALE AT 21C MUSEUM HOTEL

The best place in Nashville to see feminist art right now is at a hotel. But that’s no surprise to anyone familiar with 21c

Museum Hotels, the small chain of boutique hotels that has been collecting and exhibiting contemporary art since its inception in the mid-Aughts. The current show, The Future Is Female, includes solid work from heavy-hitting feminist art stars like Carrie Mae Weems, Marilyn Minter, Betty Tompkins and Jenny Holzer. But it’s the inclusion of excellent work from Nashville-based artists — including Vadis Turner, Jodi Hays and Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons — that elevates the show into greatness.

LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST FORMALIST ART EXHIBITION JULIAN ROGERS’ WAVE UPON WAVE AT RED ARROW GALLERY

Julian Rogers returned to Red Arrow Gallery in July with a series of paintings of clouds. Rogers chose his subject specifically because clouds are full of color, light and texture, but mostly unburdened by meaning. Rogers’ show was a bold — and kind of funny — strike against contemporary art’s outsized preoccupations with content: identity, politics, various narratives intended or otherwise. Wave Upon Wave was a jubilant celebration of art for art’s sake that Nashville needed very badly, and it’s only the latest indicator that the tides are already turning in an art space jammed with messages, signals, figures, stories and manifestos. Rogers’ canvases featured cracked, digitally inspired palettes executed with exquisite brushwork, making a strong case for the primacy of look-at-able-ness in contemporary art. JOE NOLAN

BEST HISTORICAL EXHIBITION KNIGHTS IN ARMOR AT THE FRIST ART MUSEUM

There are several outstanding downtown institutions where you can take in special historical exhibits year-round — from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the National Museum of African American Music to the Tennessee State Museum. But our favorite temporary historical exhibition of the past year landed this summer at the Frist Art Museum. Featuring dozens of centuries-old European pieces on loan from Florence, Italy’s Museo Stibbert, Knights in Armor included

BEST FORMALIST ART EXHIBITION, WRITERS’ CHOICE: JULIAN ROGERS’ WAVE UPON WAVE AT RED ARROW GALLERY

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

a breathtaking and immaculate lineup of helmets, swords, suits of armor, rare weaponry and much more. The fine folks at the Frist also lined up a great schedule of events to accompany the display, including a screening of 2021’s fantastic The Green Knight and family-friendly learning activities. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST NEW MEDIA GALLERY (FLAGS TOO!) UNREQUITED LEISURE

There’s not usually much hanging on walls or perching on pedestals at Unrequited Leisure. The gallery’s dedication to new media finds most of their shows illuminated on screens, projected onto walls, floors and/ or ceilings, and rumbling out of speakers. They’ve even had artist-made flags flying from their AIR_(space) PROJECTS flagpole display, which was just recently decommissioned. Unrequited Leisure is one of Nashville’s most unique and innovative creative spaces, and their 2022 slate of shows by Mary Addison Hackett, Raheleh Filsoofi, Sarah Lasley and more made it the best place in the city to see new media works — and flags! JOE NOLAN

BEST PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE LIGHT, SPACE, SURFACE: WORKS FROM THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART AT THE FRIST ART MUSEUM

Sure, Light, Space, Surface was an important art show about an exciting and groundbreaking movement in contemporary art. But the Frist’s exhibition of work from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art was also a hell of a lot of fun. The monumental scale of Norman Zammitt’s 1984 painting and the optical illusion of Robert Irwin’s “Untitled” from 1966-67 set you up for a blockbuster show that got increasingly otherworldly. Just try not to feel like a wide-eyed kid when you’re standing sock-footed inside the Kubrickian Doug Wheeler “Untitled (Light Encasement)” piece from 1968. It was truly a trip, and the best art show I saw all summer. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST LOCALLY FOCUSED ART EXHIBITION, WRITERS’ CHOICE: PEGGY SNOW’S WHAT HAPPENED HERE FEAT. EMILY HOLT AT JULIA MARTIN GALLERY

BEST GALLERY UPGRADE COOP

When Coop left its downtown digs at The Arcade for the front-room gallery at The Packing Plant in Wedgewood-Houston in 2016, the curatorial collective managed to keep the gallery situated in the shifting heart of the city’s contemporary art scene — but it also lost square footage, limiting the kinds of exhibitions it could show. It was a good trade that kept the gallery relevant and visible, even if the displays had to downsize. Coop took over The Packing Plant’s largest gallery space this year after Channel to Channel gallery moved to Chattanooga. The move found their membership and programming expanding in exciting new ways that might mean more Best of Nashville mentions in 2023. JOE NOLAN

BEST TROMPE L’OEIL PAINTINGS KELLY S. WILLIAMS’ DIVERSION AT DAVID LUSK GALLERY

Kelly S. Williams’ fantastic tondo paintings and the triangular tribute to Courbet’s “L’Origine du monde” were the stars of Diversion, her most recent solo show at David Lusk Gallery. But the quietly perfect tarot cards and handkerchiefs of paper — all painted to scale on paper — were the real showstoppers. The combination of artistic mastery and conceptual daftness was so pure — as reproducing something so specific and ephemeral was itself an act of inconsequential witchcraft. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST LOCALLY FOCUSED ART EXHIBITION PEGGY SNOW’S WHAT HAPPENED HERE FEAT. EMILY HOLT AT JULIA MARTIN GALLERY

In March, Peggy Snow showed a collection of her signature painted architectural portraits in What Happened Here at Julia Martin Gallery. The show hung alongside a display of Emily Holt’s multimedia assemblages made from building materials she scavenged at demolition sites. Snow’s artistic reputation has trended from eccentric outsider to Nashville Treasure after years of creative dedication to the disappearing places that once defined our

BEST COMMUNITY ART, WRITERS’ CHOICE: M. SIMONE BOYD’S WOMEN OF NORTH NASHVILLE AT ELIZABETH PARK

city. Both of these artists point to painful losses in Nashville’s built heritage and our civic consciousness, but they do so without partisan preaching or activist angst, letting these uneasy expressions of our city’s public soul speak for themselves. JOE NOLAN

BEST COMMUNITY ART M. SIMONE BOYD’S WOMEN OF NORTH NASHVILLE AT ELIZABETH PARK

Led by local advocate and writer M. Simone Boyd and funded by a Metro Public Works grant, the Women of North Nashville project honors Curlie McGruder, Nora Evelyn Ransom, Mary Louise Watson, Willie Mae Boddie and Juno Frankie Pierce. The five women are integral to our city’s history because of their political advocacy and community work in North Nashville. The wood-mosaic murals — fabricated by local studio Maple Built — hang in Elizabeth Park as a testament to the women’s bravery and care for others. LENA MAZEL

BEST NARRATIVE EXHIBITION KEVIN GUTHRIE’S A HISTORY OF TOFU AT JULIA MARTIN GALLERY

I prefer poems to stories, and I don’t like songs or movies to be overly linear and clearly stated. That said, sometimes an artist can catch me by surprise and leave me tangled up in a deftly spun yarn before I realize it. Kevin Guthrie’s A History of Tofu at Julia Martin Gallery literally traced the humble bean curd’s odyssey from hippie health-food-store oddity to Whole Foods hot-bar staple. It was an immersive display of picture stories that managed to make vegetarianism sexy, weird and even dangerous. JOE NOLAN

BEST MINIMALIST EROTIC CANVASES ZILIA SÁNCHEZ AT THE FRIST ART MUSEUM

Everything from Eva Hesse to Freddy Krueger came to mind during a tour of the Frist’s excellent exhibition of contemporary Cuban art from the Pérez Art Museum Miami — and that was just from two artworks. The stretched monochrome canvases from 96-year-old Zilia Sánchez seemed to flirt with the audience, like wet T-shirt contestants in a fine art environment.

LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST SOLO GALLERY EXHIBITION BENJI ANDERSON’S THE FITFUL PORTAL AT ELEPHANT GALLERY

Benji Anderson’s The Fitful Portal was one of the shows I couldn’t wait to see this year. When the gallery-covering exhibition debuted at Elephant in March, it did not disappoint. The strange and enchanting display included a selection of large multimedia works on paper, Anderson’s signature drawings on Etch A Sketch toys, and a huge, colorful floor mural stretching from wall to wall. The irreverent installation — when’s the last time an artist made you walk on their work? — cast strange creatures in otherworldly narratives that read like some lost mythology. The show became my favorite gallery exhibition of the year the afternoon I previewed it. Eight months later, it’s still the best. This exhibition was a huge win for Anderson and Elephant, and I can’t wait to see what they’ll do next.

JOE NOLAN

BEST BACKYARD GALLERY ELECTRIC SHED

As Nashville’s creative community continues to migrate to the edges of Davidson County and beyond, some artists are also looking past traditional gallery spaces in favor of something closer to home. House-party art exhibitions and bedroom and living room galleries have been an off-and-on trend in Nashville for years, but nobody is delivering homespun curating quite like David Onri Anderson does at his Electric Shed space in South Nashville. In the past year, the shed has hosted Andres Bustamanté’s excellent indoor/outdoor sculpture display Mausoleum, a foundobject installation by Nashville native Mika Agari, a number of live electronic music events and more. Anderson’s curating is proving to be as interesting as his painting.

JOE NOLAN

BEST BREAKTHROUGH LEXANDER BRYANT’S FORGET ME NOTS AT THE FRIST ART MUSEUM

We don’t put many visual artists on the cover of the Scene, but from the moment we saw LeXander Bryant’s work — and recognized the value of a solo museum exhibit for a young Nashville artist — we knew his story was important to tell. Forget

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

“PRINTER’S

ALLEY,” PEGGY SNOW

Me Nots filled three galleries of the Frist Art Museum with the 32-year-old’s artwork — from video and photographs to wheatpaste posters and a massive cement-and-plasticflower installation. Our February 2022 cover story included an interview with Bryant, who was forthcoming, insightful and totally ready for the moment. “I want it to be like a conversation you might have with your friends about how you see the world and what your ideas are and where you want things to go, the problems that you’re having. Everyday talking.” LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST NEW AND IMPROVED ART CENTER FORT HOUSTON/THE FORGE

Fort Houston helped establish the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood as Nashville’s busiest and best arts district. But the organization’s latest move finds Fort Houston starting a new era in a new location where its signature mix of creative industries and fine art continues to grow and become more refined. The space is now located south of downtown on Willow Street in some sprawling digs that include Fort Houston’s fabrication company The Forge, community-based workshop STATE Gallery, and an annual artist-in-residence program that’s totally underwritten by a little football team you might have heard of called the Tennessee Titans. Not bad for a hole-inthe-wall art space that used to hold First Saturday keg parties on the loading dock of a motorcycle repair shop. JOE NOLAN

BEST CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE EXHIBITION MUNDUS INVERSUS AT THE RED ARROW GALLERY

Mundus Inversus was a group exhibition at Red Arrow Gallery back in May. The show was organized by Nashville-based multimedia artist Emily Weiner with support from a Tri-Star Arts 2021 Current Art Fund grant. This wide-ranging contemporary-sculpture exhibition offered an unexpected variety of works, from painting to installation displays that all aimed to subvert common assumptions about material value and symbolic form. Kimia Ferdowsi Kline, Sara Mejia Kriendler, Linda Lopez, Donté Hayes and Weiner managed to spotlight cuttingedge contemporary sculpture while

BEST BREAKTHROUGH, WRITERS’ CHOICE: LEXANDER BRYANT’S FORGET ME NOTS AT THE FRIST ART MUSEUM

simultaneously upsetting more typical notions of what a sculpture exhibition can be. JOE NOLAN

BEST EXHIBITION OF CRAFTS BEST OF TENNESSEE CRAFT 2021 BIENNIAL AT TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM

From Memphis to Johnson City, the Volunteer State is plenty crafty. The Tennessee State Museum and Tennessee Craft showed off the contemporary masters working in traditional and new media in the Best of Tennessee Craft 2021 Biennial.

Curated by jurors Peter Baldaia and Annabeth Hayes, the exhibition displayed the diverse artisans working in fiber and textiles, wood, clay, glass, printmaking and other media. From Nashvillian Beizar Aradini’s meticulous embroidered portrait to Chattanoogan Carrie Anne Parks’ playful sculptures, Best of Tennessee Craft made us proud. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST THROWBACK ART EXHIBITION AMBER LELLI AND MICHELLE ARMAS’ IN THE MAKING AT MODFELLOWS

Amber Lelli’s sculptures range from playful works that recall dress-up dolls and kids’ toys to colorful abstract affairs that are unmistakably contemporary. But Lelli creates these works using centuriesold bronze-casting and glass-blowing techniques to incorporate unexpected processes and materials into her otherwise up-to-the-minute works. Lelli was paired with Decatur, Ga.-based painter Michelle Armas for their In the Making show at Modfellows back in April. Armas’ totem paintings are vibrant abstract works that use some of the same canvas-dyeing techniques that saw color-field artists overcoming action painters about eight decades ago. The two artists’ works complemented one another, reading like a cohesive whole and demonstrating how art can sometimes move forward even while it’s looking back. JOE NOLAN

BEST NEW ARTIST SECK

Last year I received a press release for an exhibition by Seck at Tuckers AutoMed in Wedgewood-Houston. I clicked some links and did some searching online, discovering

that Seck had built a reputation in the film community and won awards for his music videos. And when I looked at images of his paintings, they looked just like the work I’d expect from a newbie visual artist just starting to get his feet wet in the gallery scene. Maybe Seck’s painting would catch up with the visuals in his film work? Maybe the art show is just a one-time goof? I didn’t pitch a story, but I kept my eyes and ears open. Fast-forward to Seck’s goofy, grotesque, unhinged and unsettling portrait series at Nka’s Ephemera show (including Meg Pie and Wvlly) in July. In one year, Seck went from being a very early painter making derivative work and searching for a voice to making this series that goes right past Basquiat to Bacon, and reads like a Fat Albert cartoon directed by David Cronenberg. It’s powerful, unsettling stuff, and it shows Seck making good on his potential as an artistic allarounder. JOE NOLAN

BEST SUMMERTIME BLOCKBUSTER SERIES SUMMER AT THE MOVIES AT THE BELCOURT

While The Belcourt has always been a wonderful place to take in exciting new arthouse films and beloved auteur classics, the Summer at the Movies series served up hearty helpings of comfort food. Everything from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure to Willy

Wonka and the Chocolate Factory played during the monthlong series, capped with the biggest bang possible: the original Star Wars trilogy. Screening series like this are great ways to introduce the theater to a broader — and younger — audience. For regulars, it’s just another excuse to nestle in at your favorite movie theater and take in a classic. CORY WOODROOF

BEST REPERTORY FILM SERIES QUEER QLASSICS AT THE BELCOURT

We at the Scene can’t get enough of the delightful repertory offerings at historic Hillsboro Village arthouse and cinema center the Belcourt Theatre — from the ongoing Weekend Classics series

(including February’s Remembering Sidney Poitier programming) to August’s Trilogies series. But July’s Queer Qlassics takes the cake. The four-part series kicked off with the Wachowskis’ simmering Bound and wrapped with Apichatpong

Weerasethakul’s tender Tropical Malady

Another pair of killer queer-centric ’90s pictures filled out the lineup (Basic Instinct and But I’m a Cheerleader), and the Belcourt offered guest speakers and other enrichment activities to accompany the screenings. It’s always refreshing to see queer love represented on the big screen — as the folks at the Belcourt themselves

BEST NEW ARTIST, WRITERS’ CHOICE: SECK

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

“WASH AWAY MY FEARS,” L E XANDER BRYANT

and special opportunity to “engage with, embrace, and experience major works of queer art as a community.”

D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST LOCAL DOCUMENTARIANS

BIRD MURMUR

Husband-and-wife team Kim Kylland and Todd Schramke recently moved to Nashville, but they’ve already left their mark on the local film scene. Their docuseries The Anarchists scored a coveted Sunday night slot on HBO, where it aired for six weeks in July and August. The story is remarkable, and the filmmakers were on hand for some tragic and shocking events in and around a community of anarchists living in Mexico. Now we just want to see what they’re working on next. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

BEST ROAD TRIP TO THE DRIVE-IN THE STARDUST DRIVE-IN

I’ve never empathized more with art teachers than in trying to choose a “best” drive-in theater here in the environs surrounding Nashville. No two drive-ins are the same — The Pink Cadillac way out Highway 100 has a magical timelessness to it that is absolutely appropriate for the longest-running drive-in in the area, the Montana in Woodbury delivers maximum variety with its three screens’ worth of cinema, and the Parkway all the way out in Maryville is perfect if you’ve got business or pleasure toward the Knoxville end of the state because it has the best kind of spooky energy when a fog bank rolls in. But if you’re looking for a sensible drive that encompasses interstate sprawl and atmospheric backroads with a drive-in experience that delivers fun vibes and maximum funnel-cake action, Watertown’s The Stardust is a delight that’s been keeping local moviegoers sane since the pandemic started. JASON SHAWHAN

BEST NEW MUSIC DOCUMENTARY FOR LOVE & COUNTRY

Were it only a showcase for breathtaking performances from Black country and roots musicians — including Brittney Spencer, Mickey Guyton, Breland, Allison Russell and Amythyst Kiah, among others — director

Joshua Kissi’s feature For Love & Country would be a valuable documentary. However, Kissi lets these artists (as well as journalists, authors, scholars and community activists) show you the disconnect between the fundamental contributions artists of color have made to country music and the minuscule amount of support, let alone equity and power, they’ve received in return. It’s a powerful, succinct and rich telling of a vital story. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST FESTIVAL EVOLUTION

NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL

In its post-COVID return, the Nashville Film Festival relaunched with a new twist. Rather than just set up camp in one area theater, the festival spread its wings and stationed events all over town. The multilocation format is more in line with some of the cinema’s bigger festivals and gives film fans a greater appreciation for the city’s various art scenes. It also helps that in 2021 NaFF introduced a virtual component to broaden the festival’s offerings and give

those who weren’t quite ready to go back to the movies a chance to enjoy the festival at home. CORY WOODROOF

BEST NEW FICTION NOBODY’S MAGIC BY DESTINY O. BIRDSONG

Nobody’s Magic is a triptych — three novellas about Black women with albinism from Shreveport, La., who each confront what their families, lovers and friends think they deserve, and say, “Screw that.” Poet, author, educator and Fisk alum Destiny O. Birdsong is the only person who could have

BEST LOCAL ROCK HISTORY BOOK EXIT/IN: FIFTY YEARS AND COUNTING

Celebrating 50 years of live music with never-before-seen photographs and interviews, the commemorative book Exit/ In: Fifty Years and Counting tells the story of the iconic Rock Block venue. Interviews with renowned musicians such as John Hiatt shed light on how the venue shaped their careers. “We were trying to learn how to write songs and the Exit/In was where we were trying to learn how to perform … how to connect to an audience,” Hiatt says in the book. The current iteration of Exit/ In is not booking shows after Thanksgiving, with property owners AJ Capital likely to take over the space afterward. But at least we have Exit/In: Fifty Years as a document of the venue’s outsized impact on the city. MELISSA CORBIN

BEST LITERARY PARTY THE PORCH WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE’S ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

written these stories — but not only because she also is a Black woman with albinism from Shreveport. As a poet, Birdsong knows how to choose the best words and put them in the right places. In these stories, she communicates alienation, longing, grief, desperation and, ultimately, self-possession in three distinct, unforgettable voices.

I feel such a deep investment in these characters that, months after finishing the book, I find myself thinking, “I wonder what Suzette’s up to,” as if the character drove her car right off the page into her future. That’s the result of Birdsong’s honesty and commitment to her characters. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST LITERARY DEBUT WALKING GENTRY HOME: A MEMOIR OF MY FOREMOTHERS IN VERSE BY ALORA YOUNG

The Youth Poet Laureate of the Southern United States, Alora Young, tells the story of her family in verse “because Black girlhood is eternally laced with rhythm.”

The poems in her debut Walking Gentry Home: A Memoir of My Foremothers explore the lives of her matriarchs, going through the generations in a linear fashion. Young, a college student, was the youngest person ever to sign a book deal with Hogarth Books (a division of Random House) when she inked the deal for Walking Gentry Home. But her words reflect the wisdom of generations of women. MARGARET LITTMAN

The Porch has provided courses, community engagement, entertainment and inspiration for a decade and counting, and supporting the nonprofit was extra fun this year because the annual fundraiser featured one of the South’s most important writers working today. Kiese Laymon is the author of Heavy: An American Memoir, the novel Long Division and the essay collection How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America. He’s the realest writer you’ll find toiling away today, writing with the kind of control, immediacy and honesty that rattles the bones. He was joined by Danté Stewart, author of Shoutin’ in the Fire: An American Epistle, in a conversation that was pure love. Kudos to the organization for keeping a finger on the pulse of what’s being written in and about the South. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST BOOK ABOUT COUNTRY MUSIC HER COUNTRY: HOW THE WOMEN OF COUNTRY MUSIC BECAME THE SUCCESS THEY WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE BY MARISSA MOSS

Longtime music writer and sometime Scene contributor Marissa Moss didn’t necessarily surprise us with her powerhouse book Her Country — we’ve always known her as a

master of telling country music tales and levying bold critique of the industry. But her book is more than just good, it’s necessary reading for anyone interested in country music. Moss details the experiences that Kacey Musgraves, Mickey Guyton and Maren Morris had coming up in country music circles over the past 20 years. The book is full of context: It shows levels of inequity in the genre and juxtaposes the struggles of white women and Black women, who both fight against a white, male-dominated industry.

AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST HARD-WON WISDOM WHAT WE WISH WERE TRUE BY TALLU SCHUYLER QUINN

In her memoir, published posthumously, Tallu Schuyler Quinn describes what she and her husband experienced over a decade of marriage as “brokenhearted sorrow and wordless joy.” Fortunately for us, Quinn — the founder of The Nashville Food Project who died in early 2022 due to glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer — found words to express the wordless. This compilation of essays tells her story — of fighting for food justice, of raising a family, of exploring spirituality — in a way that can be a handbook for us all. None of us are promised tomorrow, so Quinn shows us how to make the most of today. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST NASHVILLE COMEDIAN JAMES AUSTIN JOHNSON

You’d better believe we’re claiming James Austin Johnson. The Nashville native hit it big last year when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live for its 2021-2022 season, becoming the series’ resident Trump and Biden impressionist (his takes on both

BEST NASHVILLE COMEDIAN, WRITERS’ CHOICE: JAMES AUSTIN JOHNSON

are uncanny) and racking up loads of screen time. While the longtime stand-up comic spent the past decade or so in Los Angeles and will obviously be headquartered in the Big Apple for much of the foreseeable future, he also recently purchased a home in Nashville and spends a great deal of his downtime here. Between acting gigs over the summer, Johnson brought his stand-up tour to town for a two-night stand at Zanies, where he killed not only with an array of impressions, but also with local-centric material and a long, hilarious bit about The Highwaymen’s weird and amazing 1985 song “Highwayman.” Welcome back to town, JAJ. D. PATRICK RODGERS

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BEST SOLO ARTIST AMANDA SHIRES

Without a doubt, Amanda Shires would be worthy of a Best Solo Artist nod even if all she did was write, sing and play. Throughout her nearly two-decade career, Shires’ vocals have drawn comparisons to Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton; her ferocious fiddle playing has enhanced the work of the late Billy Joe Shaver, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and The Highwomen. Her songwriting, influenced by her advanced poetry studies, shines exceptionally brightly on her seventh solo album Take It Like a Man. Released in July, it’s a collection of songs that flirts with myriad genres under the big Americana tent, like old-school rock and narrative folk.

Previous bad studio experiences led Shires to conclude that she was done making albums, and a difficult time in her marriage to Isbell left her without a longtime creative partner in the early stages of what would become Take It Like a Man. Yet the new LP, aided and abetted by collaborator Lawrence Rothman, is suffused with hard-earned confidence. “Bad Behavior” is an alluring R&B-tinged track that flickers with a witchy fire not unlike what Stevie Nicks brings — I especially love the surprising “Yeah, bitch” cameo from none other than Brittney Spencer to really drive the vibe home. It’s far from easy to be as vulnerable as she is on the devastating ballad “Empty Cups,” which draws more from traditional country.

Take It Like a Man is all we need from Shires, but she gives us more. When word spread that the U.S. Supreme Court was planning on overturning Roe v. Wade, she got bolder still. On Twitter and in a June op-ed for Rolling Stone, she detailed the 2021 ectopic pregnancy that could’ve killed her had she not gotten an abortion. She also publicly questioned why more of her fellow musicians, especially country musicians in Nashville, weren’t being more vocal in

the fight for reproductive rights. Even when you know you’re right, it takes a lot of guts to stand up, whether it’s in front of a microphone or in print. MEGAN SELING

BEST ALBUM NAMIR BLADE, METROPOLIS

Namir Blade has had a great couple of years. In 2021, he dropped Imaginary Everything, a collaboration with producer L’Orange that put a brilliant spotlight on his introspective, stream-of-conscious flow. “Nihilism,” the dominant single from that record, immediately became a WNXP favorite, an accessible entry point into Nashville hip-hop that couldn’t help but turn heads. So, how does he follow that breakthrough? By fully producing a cyberpunk-inspired ode to a 2001 anime adaptation of the German silent-era classic Metropolis.

That kind of thinking — somewhere between the imaginations of Blade’s Mello Music labelmate Open Mike Eagle and late hip-hop luminary MF DOOM — is what makes Metropolis, Blade’s third record in three years, stand out among the most compelling records released in Nashville in 2022. He plays with vibes and tones,

sneaking in sounds that would be at home in Detroit house, Samurai Champloo and Final Fantasy alike. Blade isn’t interested in being anyone but himself, and that kind of unwavering authenticity is right at home with the kinds of music Nashville traditionally celebrates.

There’s a little something in here for everyone — including the trap-laced banger “Cain and Abel,” the meditative crooning on “Guts vs Griffith,” and “Dance Hall,” a punchy tag-team effort with Six One Tribe fam Gee Slab. As everything digitally crumbles into a slow groove following “Deep,” you feel the weight of everything that’s come before, melting away the braggadocio and ego-check rap persona into an earnest examination of why making this music matters. It’s a staggering contribution to the Nashville rap canon — weird as it wants to be, but never losing sight of artistic intent. LANCE CONZETT

BEST EP MIKE FLOSS, CONTRABAND

Seeing Mike Floss’ name on a release is reason enough to give it a listen, but the way the masterful MC weaves activism into his music makes me want to vote for him, too.

His most recent EP Contraband is rich and engaging musically. It’s also clear, focused and smart in its lyrical examination of how to get Black and brown communities to thrive: by ensuring that Black and brown people attain power and influence. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST HIP-HOP ALBUM NEGRO JUSTICE, CHOSEN FAMILY

On the outro of his album, rapper Negro Justice hammers home the unifying theme: You can’t choose your blood relatives, but you can gain strength by nourishing relationships with a circle of people close to you. That spirit fuels all of Justice’s work, and especially Chosen Family. The expansive list of guests includes members of the Six One Tribe hip-hop collective that he’s a part of, and the sound features an elastic collection of styles — from the dusty soul 7-inch sound of “Spiritual Pressure” to the laid-back smooth jazz of “Cherry Limeade” and beyond — that still feel unified. The finished product is a brilliant realization of his aspirations and paints a bright picture of the strength of Music City hip-hop. P.J. KINZER

BEST ROCK ALBUM SOCCER MOMMY, SOMETIMES, FOREVER

Soccer Mommy’s 2020 release Color Theory was a vulnerable, hypnotic record in which singer-songwriter Sophie Allison shared her most intimate fears and perceived faults with us. The songs on her 2022 release Sometimes, Forever, are spellbinding in a wholly different way. Allison worked

with producer and electronic music artist Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never, to elevate her dreamy, ethereal voice and nuanced imagery with layers of intricate instrumentation — shoegaze-adjacent guitar, haunting mechanical beats that would make Trent Reznor proud — and each song shape-shifts and reveals itself a little more with every listen. It’s too much to take all at once; it’s the opposite of Color Theory, a record that showed its hand from the get-go. Sometimes, Forever is seductive, sounding very much like a secret you aren’t sure you’re supposed to be hearing. MEGAN SELING

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM JOSHUA HEDLEY, NEON BLUE

“They say I’m neo-folk, a traditional outlaw,” sings Joshua Hedley on “Country and Western,” a standout track from this year’s Neon Blue. “Americana troubadour, that don’t sound like me at all.” Indeed, as the journeyman fiddler and top-shelf

BEST SOLO ARTIST,

songster croons in the chorus of that tune, Hedley is “a singing professor of country and Western.” The Florida native turned longtime Nashvillian has paid his dues gigging on Lower Broad, around town and on the road, and that experience comes through on tender numbers like “Old Heartbroke Blues” and the Garth-esque “Found in a Bar.” But it’s not all tear-in-beer ballads. With his honeyed baritone and knack for busting out honky-tonk rippers like “The Last Thing in the World” and Neon Blue’s titular track, one thing’s clear: Joshua Hedley makes tried-and-true country music, and he’s doing it better than most of the folks you’re liable to hear on mainstream country radio. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST HIP-HOP GROUP SINGLE SIX ONE TRIBE, ‘10,000 HOURS’

After a couple of years of grinding, the hustle is finally paying off for Six One Tribe. Formed out of East Side mid-pandemic marathon recording sessions, the Tribe collective pulls together some of Nashville’s most interesting voices in hip-hop to create something totally unique. On the JustVibezproduced “10,000 Hours” — a prelude to Tribe Over Everything, their debut LP due in November —Tribe-affiliated rappers Negro Justice, Corduroy Clemens, Weston, Riø Tokyo and Namir Blade form up like rap Voltron, bouncing off each other like they’re Dipset in the ’90s. Watch yourselves — the whole tribe’s climbing up. LANCE CONZETT

BEST HIP-HOP SOLO SINGLE REAUX MARQUEZ, ‘CROWD CONTROL’

On last year’s Best Album-winning No Roads, Reaux Marquez found power in giving his music room to expand into infinity. By comparison, “Crowd Control,” Marquez’s first new release in more than a year, is practically breathless. In and out in less than two minutes, Marquez flexes immaculately rapped bars that outline a clear mission to lift his art out of the algorithm rat race while still going hard enough to fit neatly into any DJ’s hype tracks. Marquez clearly wants to make new music feel special again, and if “Crowd Control” is any indication, whatever comes next will be worth the wait. LANCE CONZETT

BEST POWER-POP ALBUM ROCK EUPORA, PICK AT THE SCAB

The songs on Rock Eupora’s Pick at the Scab have the kind of structural integrity that makes for great power pop, but the album works because Mississippi-born bandleader Clayton Waller really knows how to put across his anxieties. Waller has a knack for creating music that is both heartfelt and bracingly formalist, and it’s

BEST LIVE ALBUM TODD SNIDER, LIVE: RETURN OF THE STORYTELLER

As stellar as Todd Snider’s recording career has been, it’s onstage with just his acoustic guitar and harmonica where the troubadour truly shines. His new two-disc collection Live: Return of the Storyteller is a potent reminder of that. In concert, Snider is almost as well-known for his hilarious stories as he is his intelligent songs, and this double album features a healthy selection of both — 16 songs from across his career, 11

BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK ALBUM SOUND&SHAPE, DISASTER MEDICINE

For a certain kind of listener, longtime local MVPs Sound&Shape’s latest LP is a hit of serotonin administered via the ears. The band is extraordinarily adept at blending prog rock’s ideas about making music on a grand scale with the whistleworthy hook sensibility of six decades of pop songwriters and the sheer force of punk and metal. And there’s plenty of substance to the songs — this batch is one of their strongest ever. Album closer

“How the Light Gets In,” which has one of singer-guitarist Ryan Caudle’s best vocal performances to date, is a poignant look at carrying on when it feels like everything has fallen apart. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK COMEBACK THE KATIES, DIE ULTRA

this combination that marks Pick at the Scab as exemplary post-Beatles — and postShins — rock. “Intimacy” is the album’s most obviously power-pop moment, with the kind of jangly appeal that characterizes the genre. But it’s the melancholia of “I Will Never Be Happy” and “I Don’t Want to Feel Anything Anymore” that will cut you to the bone. EDD HURT

BEST INDIE-POP ALBUM TWEN, ONE STOP SHOP

Come to the second LP from Boston expats Twen for the heaps of sounds that are likely to entice Gen Xers and elder millennials who enjoy R.E.M., The Smiths and The Stone Roses. Stay for the intelligent and heartfelt songs that respond to the ways that the major upheavals of the past couple years have made big social and political issues — from income inequality to climate change and beyond — feel closer to home than ever before. STEPHEN TRAGESER

of which are preceded by “mostly true tall tales” that serve as introductions. Recorded during his “Return of the Storyteller” tour that ran from fall 2021 into 2022, this live set provides a snapshot of an artist at the top of his profession as a singer, songwriter, musician and raconteur. DARYL SANDERS

BEST POSTHUMOUS ALBUM KIDDEAD, THE MAN WHO LIVED FOREVER

If you hung around Cafe Coco in the late 2000s, you almost certainly met Ross Norton. Rapping under the name kidDEAD, Norton was a uniter, a backpack-rap emissary to a fragmented scene who only wanted to see his peers succeed in a tough hip-hop city. On The Man Who Lived Forever — completed with help from lots of friends like longtime pal Nathan Conrad (aka Spoken Nerd) and released nine months after Norton’s untimely death in 2021 — kidDEAD raps like he’s trying out for Def Jux in its prime. It’s a funny, poignant record that boom-baps with the best of ’em. RIP to a real one. LANCE CONZETT

BEST PROGRESSIVE ROCK ALBUM ADRIAN BELEW, ELEVATOR

On his 25th solo album Elevator, Adrian Belew once again waves to us from somewhere out on rock’s remaining frontier. Long recognized as one of the most innovative musicians in rock history, he continues to successfully balance the otherworldly and the familiar on the album’s 12 tracks. As he has with most of his solo releases, Belew wrote, arranged, played and sang every part on the album, which finds him on the move both physically and mentally as he emerges from his COVID cocoon. In a year filled with great rock records, Elevator is one of the most thrilling — a significant artistic statement by a singular talent. DARYL SANDERS

The last time The Katies released an album, Bill Clinton was president, The Blair Witch Project and American Pie were neck-andneck at the box office and Nissan Stadium (Adelphia Coliseum, then) was gearing up for its grand opening. The world wasn’t ready for the Tennessee trio’s heavy pop sound back in ’99. Singer-guitarist Jason Moore, drummer Joshua Moore and bassistvocalist Gary Welch, hard partiers all, weren’t quite ready for the world either.

After an ill-advised move to L.A., the Moore brothers and Welch parted ways, leaving behind The Katies as their only document. Then, in 2018, The Katies buried the hatchet, returning to old stomping grounds like The Boro and Springwater to regain their sea legs and woodshed material for a second album that their small but strong regional fan base never thought would happen. The result, Die Ultra, explodes the notion that things like sobriety, fatherhood and life in the straight world make for music that is boring, or soft. Thunderous, starry-eyed material like “Ten Holy Words,” “Blush in Our System” and “Sideways” goes for the emotional jugular. The riffs are potent, the harmonies beautiful, the lyrics clear-eyed and powerful. It stands tall among all the rock records released by Nashville bands in 2022. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST ALBUM BY A NASHVILLE SUPERGROUP THE CHEFS, SING FOR YOUR SUPPER

The Chefs were born during sessions for an album of original rock instrumentals that Master Chef Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites) cooked up in 2020 with the help of The Golden Chef Stan Lynch (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and Secret Chef Joe Blanton (Royal Court of China). That became the group’s first release, Heated & Treated They returned in 2022 with this excellent album on which the trio does indeed sing. Sing for Your Supper features a dozen tracks of five-star retro rock that would have sounded at home on an early-’70s jukebox next to hit records by Faces, The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Allman Brothers Band. DARYL SANDERS

BEST ALBUM BY A NASHVILLE EXPAT COURTNEY JAYE, HYMNS AND HALLELUCINATIONS

Though she’s spent a good deal of her time and career in Nashville, singer and

songwriter Courtney Jaye mostly calls the West Coast and Hawaii home these days. Even so, to celebrate the release of this year’s Hymns and Hallelucinations, Jaye returned to Music City for some summer shows, including a remarkable performance at the Belcourt — which accompanied a screening of a suite of music videos for the album directed by Joshua Shoemaker. Inspired in part by her friend Ikey Owens — a deeply talented keyboardist who played with Jack White and The Mars Volta, among others, before his death in 2014 — Jaye decided to make a gospel album for people “who don’t believe that anybody who doesn’t look like them or think like them or dress like them or love like them is the enemy.” And that’s just what she did. Full of lush, introspective folk songs topped by Jaye’s stirring vocals, Hymns feels like church without the sermon. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST HIP-HOP MUSIC VIDEO

HALV, RON OBASI’S ‘VILLELIKEMOOKIE’

The visual for Ron Obasi’s March single is very simple, but it’s very effective. Director HALV filmed Obasi rapping in locations, mostly on the East Side, that were important to him growing up. The track is a survey of Obasi’s journey to become a rapper in Nashville, the place where he grew up but in which — despite a long history of great hip-hop talent — there hasn’t historically been the infrastructure to build rap careers. Among other observations, Obasi points out that he and celebrated Dodgers right-fielder Mookie Betts both grew up here; the town belongs to them as much as it does to any white music star. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST SINGER-SONGWRITER MUSIC VIDEO AUSTIN LEIH, CAITLIN ROSE’S ‘BLACK OBSIDIAN’

In the first single from Caitlin Rose’s forthcoming Cazimi, the outstanding Nashville songsmith’s first new album since 2013, she sings about forcing yourself to look closely at the cracks in a relationship and decide once and for all whether to patch them over or to end it. There’s a parallel to draw there to the moment in a thriller when someone recognizes that something is not right — there’s a strange sound coming from the basement, or all the lights went out at the house across the street — and has to go check it out. The music video treatment that director Austin Leih worked up for the song, in which Rose is on night watch at a warehouse, elegantly and eerily mirrors the conflict in the song. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST FOLK ALBUM ERIN RAE, LIGHTEN UP

When Erin Rae started dropping singles from Lighten Up, I’d check in on streaming every few days just to see if a new one had come out — and it was largely because I could not get the album’s “Modern Woman” out of my head. (It still catches in my brain and I find myself humming it constantly.)

I didn’t want to dig the earworm out necessarily, I wanted to know what else was crawling in with it. As it turns out, the rest of the record is just as worthy of taking residence in the old noodle. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST METAL ALBUM WAXED, GIVE UP

Furious five-piece Waxed has been curating Music City circle pits in some form or fashion for about a decade, but Give Up is their first proper album. It’s the sort of fullblown crossover thrash you’d hear blasting from a boombox on the top of your half pipe — complete with divebombs, screaming solos and ridiculous song titles like “Green Eggs and Slam.” Give Up, available on cassette via Another Riff Raff as well as on streaming services, is everything you need from thrash metal and hardcore punk, 50-50 grinding the fine line between boisterous and blistering. P.J. KINZER

BEST BLUEGRASS ALBUM MOLLY TUTTLE AND GOLDEN HIGHWAY, CROOKED TREE

After winning some groundbreaking awards for her phenomenal bluegrass guitar

released on CD, is essential listening for anyone interested in Nashville’s rock history. McCoy and the Escorts were not only Nashville’s top rock band during that decade, but they were among the first-call musicians for the growing number of rock and R&B recording sessions in the city. In addition to McCoy, a number of celebrated Nashville cats honed their skills in the band, including drummer Kenneth Buttrey, guitarists Wayne Moss and Mac Gayden, keyboardists Bill Akins and Bergen White, and saxophonists Quitman Dennis and Jerry Tuttle. Amid everything else it does, this collection also provides a window into Gayden’s evolution as a hit songwriter. DARYL SANDERS

BEST INDIE LABEL CENTRIPETAL FORCE RECORDS

Homegrown record labels play all kinds of different and important roles in music communities. Mike Mannix’s Centripetal Force Records helps Nashville-residing indie artists get their work out — sometimes for their initial release, as with Nashville Ambient Ensemble’s Cerulean, and sometimes in handling vinyl pressing for existing releases, as with Lou Turner’s Songs for John Venn. As the label’s name implies, it also draws a huge range of musicians from far and wide toward Nashville’s music scene; 2022 projects include the U.S. releases of Kungens Ljud & Bild by Swedish space rockers Kungens Män and Songs of Horaman by Iranian tanbur player Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST NEW VENUE EASTSIDE BOWL

music performances of all kinds. The hall offers beautiful sight lines and marvelous acoustics — a bright jewel in Nashville’s already impressive crown of performance centers. JOHN PITCHER

BEST MUSIC HISTORY PRESERVATION CLUB BARON REVITALIZATION

flatpicking, Molly Tuttle spent several years buckling down on songwriting and interpreting the songs of others across a big range of traditions. For her latest LP, Crooked Tree, she assembled a sterling bluegrass group and leaned hard on her ’grass roots, yielding her best work yet. The sound of the band and the songs’ thematic focus on feeling at home within yourself and with your community are perfect examples of drawing on tradition and pushing it forward. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST REISSUE CHARLIE McCOY & THE ESCORTS, SCREAMIN’, SHOUTIN’, BEGGIN’, PLEADIN’: THE ROCK ’N’ SOUL RECORDINGS FROM 1961-1969

This 29-track compilation of recordings Charlie McCoy made in the 1960s with members of his band the Escorts, the majority of which have never been

One of the most anticipated openings of the past year was the bowling alley, restaurant, lounge and music venue in the former Kmart at the intersection of Gallatin Pike and Briley Parkway. Two of Eastside Bowl’s principal partners are Chark Kinsolving, who helped start the now-defunct Mercy Lounge venue suite, and Jamie Rubin, who founded also-nowdefunct East Nashville institution The Family Wash. Among the highlights of their new multipurpose facility: a delightful new music venue, dubbed The Wash at Eastside Bowl. It can host up to 750 people and books a wide variety of acts — particularly eschewing bro country and making room for hip-hop, rising dance pop and lots more. The spot is welcoming to service industry folks on their nights off, and there’s some significant separation between the venue and the bowling lanes. Hot tip: In addition to following the main Eastside Bowl account on Instagram, check out @kmartconcerts for venue-specific information. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST NEW CONCERT HALL BELMONT UNIVERSITY’S FISHER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Belmont University cut the ribbon on its new Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in September 2021 and ushered in a new era of music-making in Nashville. The $180 million, 1,727-seat performance space was fashioned after some of the finest opera houses in Europe. As a multifunctional hall, the Fisher Center now provides Nashville with an ideal space for opera, dance and

Since 1968, the building at 2614 Jefferson St. has been an important community facility operated by Elks Lodge No. 1102, which purchased the building in 1972. Without their ownership and stewardship, it’s not unimaginable that the historic site — whose proud legacy as a Nashville cultural landmark dates back seven decades — would have been demolished long ago. But time has taken its toll on the onetime home of Club Baron, which regularly hosted R&B, blues and soul legends in the 1950s and ’60s and was the site of a famed 1963 guitar battle in which Johnny Jones bested a young Jimi Hendrix. The building was already in need of upgrades before it suffered damage in the 2020 tornado. However, an ambitious renovation campaign has been underway for several months, jointly led by the Elks Lodge and the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. Thanks to fundraising and organization efforts undertaken by Elks Lodge leader Les Jones, NCVC CEO Butch Spyridon, Jefferson Street Sound Museum founder Lorenzo Washington, Musicians Hall of Fame director Joe Chambers and a broad coalition of music and business leaders, progress is being made toward getting Club Baron back to hosting regular live, ticketed shows again. The Convention & Visitors Corp website includes a link for individual donations, where they note that funds collected so far have paid for important early steps like a new roof. RON WYNN

BEST BROADWAY VENUE THE LOBBY AT UNION STATION

“Respite” isn’t a word you hear often about Broadway, and especially not when live music is involved. But respite is what you get in the space at Union Station called The Lobby. Not only do you have the retroluxury, light-filled atmosphere, but you also have local musicians stripped down to what matters: a guitar and a voice. Last time I was there, Alli Keck was playing covers of The Cure and The Chicks while patrons played shuffleboard, relaxed, chatted and enjoyed cocktails in a jarringly civilized atmosphere. It is understated, it is authentic, it is local — and it is lovely. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST VENUE FOR AN ITALODISCO DANCE PARTY WILBURN STREET TAVERN

Finally there’s a space in Nashville to take up the mantle for weirdo dance music. Even in a pandemic, we’ve still got all sorts of venues for dancing and socialization. But to be a nurturing space for the aggregation of subgenres collectively known as Neuromantic — this encompasses Italodisco, Hi-NRG, Boogie, AB Sounds and whatever else the adventurous DJs who’ve been helping keep the vibe alive make fit — requires a certain je ne sais quoi. And since DJ James Cathcart decamped for New York City and The Stone Fox ceased to be, Nashville has been hurting for a space in which to get its retrodisco on. So Wilburn Street Tavern, a remarkably versatile space with reasonable prices and

little to no parking drama, has been a place that has let DJs like Maggie Wells, Tan and Sparkle City Disco’s David Bermudez explore soundscapes that we just don’t get anywhere else, at least for the time being.

JASON SHAWHAN

BEST COMMUNITY MUSIC MUSEUM JEFFERSON STREET SOUND MUSEUM

While kudos have rightly gone to the new National Museum of African American Music, no one should overlook the immense contribution made to local and national Black music history by Lorenzo Washington’s remarkable Jefferson Street Sound Museum. Opened in 2013, the space is covered floor-to-ceiling with memorabilia, art and photographs of the jazz, R&B, blues and soul musicians who played in the storied clubs on Jefferson Street — who in many cases Washington knew and hung out with. He knows the history better than almost anyone, and if you’ve got the time and inclination, he’s got plenty of stories to share. RON WYNN

BEST JAZZ VENUE RUDY’S JAZZ ROOM

As pandemic lockdown restrictions eased, Rudy’s Jazz Room has once again stepped up its game and returned to its position as the premier night spot for fans of improvisational music, with up to six nights a week of top concerts and frequently multiple shows a night on Fridays and Saturdays. Rudy’s alternates its bills between prominent nationally touring jazz artists and a stable of popular area performers. If you’ve ever been to any major jazz club in New York, Boston, Detroit or Los Angeles, you’ll immediately recognize Rudy’s virtues: intimacy, a great listening atmosphere, even a piano that’s in tune — surprisingly, not always the case in every jazz-oriented venue. Over the course of a year you’ll hear every type of jazz available from hard bop to contemporary experimental, and it’s a chance to hear the finest players from both across the Midsouth and around the nation at reasonable prices. RON WYNN

BEST NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL QUEERFEST

If you don’t see it, make it. Berklee College of Music grad Sara Gougeon hit Nashville in the fall of 2020 and wasted no time settling in, launching the monthly Queerfolk Fest to foster and generate community among LGBTQ artists and fans. Now dubbed Queerfest to be inclusive of all genres, the monthly showcase has quickly become an institution. To celebrate its one-year anniversary, Gougeon held a three-venue festival at The Basement East, The 5 Spot and The Groove on July 24. “I’ve witnessed strangers become friends, collaborations, artists get rebooked for new gigs, and moments of acceptance for folks who never thought they’d know that feeling,” said Gougeon of the series. “I’m constantly blown away by how magical it is.” RACHEL CHOLST

BEST HIP-HOP SHOWCASE

VIBES AT THE DIVE MOTEL

There was no better introduction to hip-hop in Nashville than Vibes, a monthly showcase

BEST VENUE PROGRAMMING UPGRADE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE BLUE ROOM AT THIRD MAN RECORDS

presented by Power Entertainment and Third Eye at The Dive Motel. Each month, a different curator pulled up with their vision of what hip-hop looks and sounds like in Nashville, resulting in three very different shades of cool: Chuck Indigo’s balance of hip-hop and R&B, Intro’s stacked rap pool party, and Black City’s 90-minute blitz of some of the city’s best rappers trading the mic back and forth. LANCE CONZETT

BEST VENUE PROGRAMMING UPGRADE THE BLUE ROOM AT THIRD MAN RECORDS

Since Third Man Records opened its live music venue to the public more than a decade ago, great performances and superb sound have been a given for pretty much every show. The quantity of shows has increased dramatically over the past year, especially since the TMR crew began opening up the space as The Blue Room Bar on off nights in July 2021. And the quality hasn’t dipped one iota, whether they’re showcasing a broad spectrum of Nashvillians or hosting touring legends like Jonathan Richman or Ghanian dancerap hero Ata Kak. In a very tough year for independent venues in Nashville, Third Man stepping up was welcome news indeed.

STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST FESTIVAL PROGRAMMING UPGRADE RNBW

Typically, we bestow this honor on programmers of local festivals who’ve upped their game, but this time, we salute a crew who’s helped make some of our local fests better from the outside. Since April 2021, RNBW organizers Jamie and Emily Dryburgh have put on a showcase featuring five or so queer singer-songwriters each Tuesday at Lipstick Lounge. RNBW was also tapped to curate a small stage at CMA Fest this year and, for the fourth time, a second music stage at Nashville Pride. The Rainbow Stage at Pride featured a shedload of country-leaning queer artists and some of my favorite performances of the festival. Hats off for bringing a kaleidoscopic array of excellent new voices to well-established spaces.

STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST ANNIVERSARY PARTY THE EAST ROOM’S 10YEAR EXTRAVAGANZA

As far as the local small-club landscape and

the bands that populate it are concerned, East Room GM and talent buyer Taylor Cole is not just in the loop — he is the loop. Also the leader and namesake of maximalist pop ensemble Tayls, Cole assumed booking duties at The East Room in 2016. Since then, the towheaded Tullahoma native has solidified the unassuming Gallatin Avenue show-space’s standing as a vital proving ground for rising locals and touring acts alike. With the venue turning 10 in June, you can bet he threw a big party. For the threeday affair, Cole — never one to shy from cross-genre bills — amassed a stylistically varied cast of seasoned and newer players, spanning Peachy’s smartass Muffsand Sleater-Kinney-inspired punk-pop stylings to Oginalii’s technical yet soulful headbanging, Heru Heru’s cerebral posihip-hop and the risqué, outspoken stand-up of local comedy institution Brad Sativa. Cheers to scene unity — and future East Room jubilees. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST MUSICAL CELEBRATION OF BLACK EXCELLENCE SLIM & HUSKY’S UNPLUGGED

The contributions of Black and brown artists, businesspeople and community leaders are now and have always been vital to the culture and economy of Nashville — even if they’ve seldom been celebrated like they should. Slim & Husky’s, the excellent and constantly expanding pizzeria founded in

BEST MUSICAL CELEBRATION OF BLACK EXCELLENCE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: SLIM & HUSKY’S UNPLUGGED

Nashville by TSU alumni Clint Gray, Derrick Moore and E.J. Reed, built on its success by launching a monthly concert series produced by Christina Raiford called Slim & Husky’s Unplugged that celebrates a broad range of Black talent. That includes music and poetry — with performances from MCs like Daisha McBride and Brian Brown, singers like Yours Truly Jai and Melo Roze and spokenword poet Patrick Walker Reese — as well as business, with the S&H founders appearing at each show and emphasizing networking with the well-connected folks in the audience. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST CREATIVE PROGRAMMING CHATTERBIRD

After last year’s inspiring Virtual Chamber Music Series, it was wonderful to see Nashville’s always-innovative chamber ensemble chatterbird get back to live, inperson performances with a season that provided such a strong sense of place and personal connection. The lineup included dazzling performances with Haitian American songwriter and cellist Leyla McCalla at the National Museum of African American Music’s Roots Theater and the celebrated Greek laouto performer Vasilis Kostas at The Parthenon’s Naos Room, as well as a road trip to Butler University to perform Hello Gold Mountain — an original composition by Wu Fei about the lost Jewish community of Shanghai. AMY STUMPFL

BEST NEW UNDERGROUND DANCE PARTY PHAASER

Phaaser got its start in summer 2021 as a rogue all-ages, after-dark pop-up featuring local techno purists blasting minimal beats in industrially zoned parking lots. Earlier this summer, the event’s organizers opened their own venue, Disctrix, landing Phaaser a new home. Featuring occasional film screenings and other all-ages shows, Disctrix is structurally optimized for Phaaser’s throbbing bass and frenetic rhythms spun at breakneck tempos that play on at ear-bleeding volume long after most Nashville DJ sets have been cut short by last call. SETH GRAVES

BEST ORCHESTRAL PREMIERE KIP WINGER’S SYMPHONY NO. 1

The SOS message emanating from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in March

PHOTO: JAMIE GOODSELL

PHOTO: CLAIRE STEELE

was no cry for help. Rather, it was a coded message of sonic joy, announcing the arrival of composer Kip Winger’s terrific new Symphony No. 1 “Atonement.” Best known for his eponymous 1980s metal band, Winger is also a classical composer of the first rank. In his Symphony No. 1, Winger imagines a person receiving an SOS signal from their own lost soul. Over the course of four movements, this musical spirit searches for salvation, eventually achieving a glorious metamorphosis in the reverie of the finale. Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony recorded the work for future release on the Naxos label. One anticipates another Grammy nod for this celebrated ensemble. JOHN PITCHER

BEST BENEFIT SHOW

GIRLS WRITE NASHVILLE

It can be challenging to host a fundraiser with meaningful programming. In Nashville, there is no shortage of big names to add to a night of music and asking for cash, but the best kind of benefit show ties the work of who they’re raising money for to the act itself. Girls Write Nashville, a songwriting mentorship nonprofit, put on the most lovely show at 3rd and Lindsley late last year. A couple of the teens in the program, Magdalene and Amira the Weirdo, performed in the round alongside known pros Margo Price, Brittany Howard, Tristen, Erin Rae and Becca Mancari. The evening shed light on just how much mentorship means and how it can transform young artists. Take my money. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST OPERA PRODUCTION

NASHVILLE OPERA’S DAS RHEINGOLD

Not many midsize opera companies can pull off music from Wagner’s mighty Ring Cycle. But in May, Nashville Opera and its longtime artistic director John Hoomes staged a musically compelling and visually stunning presentation of Das Rheingold The first of four operas that make up Wagner’s Ring, Das Rheingold is set in a fantastical world of Norse gods, malevolent dwarfs and bone-crushing giants. Nashville Opera used high-tech wizardry to heighten our collective sense of wonder. Just as importantly, the company’s pre-opera seminars easily served as a national model for how to handle opera’s most daring yet problematic composer. Is there a complete Ring Cycle in Nashville’s future? Time will tell. JOHN PITCHER

BEST VENUE FAREWELL PROGRAMMING MERCY LOUNGE

It was truly a kick to the gut to learn that, after nearly 20 years as a pillar of Nashville’s collection of music scenes, the Mercy Lounge suite of venues — Cannery Ballroom, Mercy Lounge, The High Watt and event space ONE — would shutter in May. Unable to agree on terms of a new lease, the business owners are on the hunt for a new place to open up shop, while the property owners plan to reopen the venues under new management and under the name Cannery Hall on a date TBA in 2023.

In the final few weeks of Mercy-as-we’veknown-it, an array of artists came through and paid tribute — including Bully, Tristen and Lilly Hiatt — offering both a poignant

reminder of what spaces like this mean to a music community and a bold exclamation point to mark the end of an institution.

STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST LIVE BAND SNOOPER

Fronted by singer and lo-fi filmmaker Blair Tramel and including longtime punk-scene stalwarts like guitarist Connor Cummins and drummer Cam Sarrett, Snooper is something of a performance-art project as well as a punk band. Think of Devo’s immersive sensory experience, speed it up, add a little dash of the wry comic sensibility of Frank Sidebottom and you’ve reached the gate to their ballpark. As pandemic restrictions eased last year, the group really seemed to come into its own: They were a favorite of respondents to the Scene’s 2021 Rock ’n’ Roll Poll. Rule they have, opening tons of the best touring rock shows this year in Nashville (Guerilla Toss, Sheer Mag, Amyl and the Sniffers and more) and touring far and wide (booked at both Memphis’ Gonerfest and the John Waters-hosted Mosswood Meltdown in Los Angeles). All this from a group who has said they weren’t initially planning to play their songs in public. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST BREAKOUT THE NEW RESPECTS

An Instagram post says it all, in all caps: “#WEHEADLINING.” The family band The New Respects has been well-known around town; they started building their reputation as teens in small local venues. They underwent some changes during pandemic lockdown: While bassist Lexi Mowry left the band to focus on parenting, her twin sister Zandy remains the group’s guitarist, their brother Darius Fitzgerald still drums, and their cousin Jasmine Mullen still sings. They also left their label and concentrated on how they wanted to evolve their soulful sound. This summer, the group opened a slew of tour dates for Michael Franti and Spearhead, and capped it off with an August run of headline dates that took them to the West Coast. Now the festival bookings are beginning to roll in, including warming up the stage for Black Pumas and The Black Crowes at Florida fest Moon Crush: Pink Moon in April.

MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST AMBASSADOR FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC ENRICO LOPEZ-YAÑEZ

If you’re still stuck on the idea that

BEST TRANSPLANT MARISSA NADLER

There’s nothing new about songwriters coming to Middle Tennessee, but very few of them have the material in their quiver quite like Marissa Nadler. While she made her home in Massachusetts, Nadler released eight solo albums in her extraordinary style of Joni Mitchell-meets-Lydia Lunch noir folk — simultaneously celestial and ominous — along with other projects, including ones with collaborators ranging from composer and Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale to black metal neo-folkist Xasthur. Last October, she released the mesmerizing The Path of the Clouds, her first LP made in her new Nashville home studio, followed early this year by the companion EP The Wrath of the Clouds P.J. KINZER

classical music is somehow stuffy or boring, you really must acquaint yourself with Enrico Lopez-Yañez. As principal pops conductor for the Nashville Symphony, Lopez-Yañez is widely known for his exuberant style — whether leading a concert with Nas or Stewart Copeland, talking about how to pair the perfect cocktail with a particular musical selection, or even donning a dinosaur costume for a family-friendly performance. But he also possesses a true passion for music education and audience engagement, building programs that are fun, accessible and highly entertaining.

AMY STUMPFL

BEST SIDEMAN-TURNED-FRONTMAN SEAN THOMPSON

Sean Thompson just keeps on chooglin’. We caught a whiff of Thompson’s sick licks during the garage-rock-and-houseparty days of the 2010s and have watched him grow from an ax-slinging sideman to righteous keeper of The Vibe. Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears, his first full-length as bandleader, finds Thompson riding a deep stoner-country wavelength. Laid-back and dynamic, Weird Ears elicits wondering, wonderfilled performances from his collaborators that evoke J.J. Cale and Neu! in equal measure. SEAN L. MALONEY

BEST CLASSICAL SINGER COUNTERTENOR PATRICK DAILEY

You won’t find many Historically Informed Performance specialists (that’s HIP, to those in the know) appearing in a setting mimicking an MTV-style music video. But the amazing countertenor Patrick Dailey did just that in his heartrending rendition of a J.S. Bach lament, which closes out the feature film Fatherhood. A Tennessee State University voice professor, Dailey is without question one of Nashville’s most daring and original classical singers. He brought his historically authentic performance style to the Schermerhorn in April, appearing as one of the soloists in the Nashville Symphony’s staging of Handel’s Messiah. And as one of the principal artists in the group Early Music City, he’s expanded the repertoire, presenting 19th-century spirituals alongside Bach chorales. Clearly, classical music has a bright future in Nashville, and it sounds a lot like Patrick Dailey. JOHN PITCHER

BEST BOB HOPE/BING CROSBY ROUTINE JACK WHITE AND BECK

In March, left-field pop maestro Beck made a special one-off appearance at The Basement East, playing a solo acoustic show. Jack White, seemingly enjoying some downtime before the massive world tour supporting his two new LPs, strolled onto the stage before the show began. Mimicking his turn as Elvis in Walk Hard, he introduced himself as Beck, here to play “one of my favorite Beck songs from the 1990s, that I wrote,” followed by a li’l medley of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” and The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” Beck, seemingly in on the joke, played the perfect straight man to White’s wiseguy, adding a little extra touch of whimsy to one of the year’s more memorable shows.

STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST REASON TO LOG BACK INTO FACEBOOK MUSIC CITY CONCERT HISTORY

Going through concert advertising and music event listings of the past is its own kind of archaeological dig, with all kinds of awesome artifacts. This is why Facebook page Music City Concert History’s bite-size nuggets of concert ephemera from the 1960s to the ’90s is such a welcome addition to Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Hellscape. MCCH is here to throw little black-and-white clippings of musical joy out into the void. A Jackie Wilson package tour at Sulphur Dell Ball Park! Olivia Newton John’s Physical Tour at MTSU! The Cramps at Nashville Center Stage! Obituary at the Cannery! It’s a portal to longtime-favorite venues and longforgotten clubs, a reminder that this town has had it real good, in the grand scheme of things, for a real long time. SEAN L. MALONEY

BEST REUNION BE YOUR OWN PET

In the mid-2000s, Be Your Own Pet was a meteor. Arriving at an inflection point in the local punk scene, as the NextGen era faded and the Infinity Cat era emerged, they captivated music blogs and international media with a ferocious tangle of fists and sweat and Heathers-esque snarl. The current emo nostalgia moment shows that it’s not always easy to recapture that teen-angst lightning in a bottle. But in their first shows in 14 years — which included a righteous gig at Soft Junk and a handful of dates opening for Jack White — it was like BYOP never stopped raging. LANCE CONZETT

PHOTO: ANTHONY POPOLO

CRITICS’ PICKS

THURSDAY / 10.13

[CUENTOS]

LATINO TENNESSEE VOICES LIVE

Hosted by The Tennessean, this storytelling event will bring together five members of Nashville’s growing Latino communities to share stories from their lives as Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close. The storytellers at Latino Tennessee Voices Live will include Fabián Bedne, the first Latino member of Nashville’s Metro Council; General Sessions Judge Ana Escobar; graduate student and DACA advocate Yenín Miralda Echeverria; Diana Pérez of Conexión Américas; and Miguel Vega of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. The Tennessean’s Latino Voices newsletter is curated by opinion editor David Plazas, and while that section attracts plenty of frustration and ire, the Latino Voices and Black Voices newsletters have attracted much more positive publicity, including an Online News Association’s Excellence in Newsletters award in 2022. 7 p.m. at Plaza Mariachi, 3955 Nolensville

ART [DREAM WEAVERS]

WEAVING SPLENDOR: TREASURES OF ASIAN TEXTILES FROM THE NELSONATKINS MUSEUM OF ART

Textiles are among the most fascinating historical artifacts, and Weaving Splendor — an exhibition of rarely seen Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Persian and Turkish textiles — is an ideal showcase for an art museum. Each work is stunning on its own, but they’re all made more noteworthy when contextualized with their historical importance. A decorative Chinese flag, for example, includes an intricate dragon made from silk and metallic thread, and the whole thing is made from golden silk satin. It’s captivating and unusual, but throw in a little history — the fact that it’s from the 17th century and was primarily used to decorate a theater — and the flag becomes elevated to a historically relevant relic. Visit fristartmuseum.org for details on programming — there are curatorial talks, artist demonstrations and several different workshops available, including a special event geared toward people living with dementia and their care partners. Through Dec. 31 at the Frist, 919 Broadway

FRIDAY

[EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS]

JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT

One of the finest traditions established in Nashville in the past decade returns as Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit settle in for their annual residency at the Mother Church. Not only does the group make

WEAVING SPLENDOR: TREASURES OF ASIAN TEXTILES FROM THE NELSONATKINS MUSEUM OF ART

THROUGH DEC. 31

Frist Museum of Art

ART,

MRS.

the hallowed hall sorta like their living room, but they also push back against the lack of support that nonwhite people often face in the music business. In addition to stellar songsmith Amanda Shires — who also happens to be Isbell’s wife and a sometime member of The 400 Unit, and who released her intense new LP Take It Like a Man in July — this year’s opening acts are Black and brown musicians across a broad spectrum of traditions. Up first on Oct. 14 is Peter One, who became a folk-rock superstar along with his musical partner Jess Sah Bi in the Ivory Coast in the 1980s, and later settled in Nashville. On Oct. 15, you’ll get to see the Grace Group Gospel Choir, a Nashville-based and internationally traveling ensemble, and on Oct. 16, get there on time for Cameroonian American singer-songwriter Vagabon. Phenomenal singer-songwriter

Ruby Amanfu, fresh off the release of a three-album suite — the fourth, fifth and sixth volumes of her The Collections series — kicks off the second block of dates on Oct. 18. Haitian American composer, playwright and songsmith Leyla McCalla, whose kinetic and funky new LP Breaking the Thermometer tells a moving story of resistance against oppression in Haiti, follows on Oct. 19. Shires kicks off the final run of dates on Oct. 21, followed by instrumental duo Hermanos Gutiérrez on Oct. 22 and Cimafunk, whose work updates ’90s-vintage R&B and blends it with Cuban traditions, leads off the final show in the run on Oct. 23. (FYI, Cimafunk headlines his own show at Exit/In on Oct. 22.) Oct. 1416 & 18-19 & 21-23 at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N. STEPHEN TRAGESER

FILM

[SUCK IT]

OCTOBER SUCKS

The Belcourt is already neck deep (sorry, couldn’t resist) in its monthlong series devoted to what is in my opinion the most overrated of all movie monsters: vampires. (Why can’t they have a series devoted to werewolves, huh? Is the Belcourt wolfist or something?) Anyway, the movies they have lined up this week are a hip bunch. First up, go back to the era of Brat Packers and actual music videos on MTV with a new 4K restoration of Joel Schumacher’s 1987 teen-vampire favorite The Lost Boys. Then go way, way back to the days of Blaxploitation, with Bill Gunn’s 1973 indie horror show Ganja & Hess. Next, head over to Sweden for Tomas Alfredson’s chilly 2008 coming-of-age love story Let the Right One In. There will be a Music City Monday screening of F.W. Murnau’s 1922

silent classic Nosferatu, complete with musical accompaniment from Eve Maret, Dream Chambers and Belly Full of Stars. The series wraps up at the end of the month with screenings of Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula Visit belcourt.org/events/octobersucks for showtimes. Throughout October at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave. CRAIG D. LINDSEY

MUSIC [RIDING THE WAVE]

ARIEL BUI ALBUM RELEASE

The list of roles Ariel Bui takes on in her work is impressive; either activism or arts education alone is enough to fill up a life, but she does both and more. Bui is also a singer-songwriter and bandleader, and she returns Oct. 14 with her first album since her self-titled release in 2016. Recorded with stellar producer-engineer Andrija Tokic at The Bomb Shelter, Real & Fantasy is a shape-shifting rock record that features Megan Coleman (who you might have seen with Yola or Jenny Lewis) on drums, “Little Jack” Lawrence on bass, Jo Schornikow on keys and Ellen Angelico on guitars. The record kicks off with the surf-splashed minor-key jam “Sixteen,” which addresses processing trauma and claiming space as a woman in the music business, which remains dominated culturally and economically by men. Hear Bui play it and more tunes from the record and share the stories that inspired them on release night at The East Room. Support comes courtesy of Schornikow — who in addition to her work in Phosphorescent with partner Matthew Houck released her own record Altar this year — and their fellow songsmith Jessica Breanne. Topnotch guitarist and composer (and Scene contributing editor) Jack Silverman and his band round out the bill. 8 p.m. at The East Room, 2412 Gallatin Ave. STEPHEN TRAGESER

SATURDAY / 10.15

FESTIVAL

[THE BEST OF US] BEST OF NASHVILLE FESTIVAL

did you notice?

the Scene’s Best of Nashville week. Even though

probably

through

OCTOBER

JASON ISBELLPHOTO: ERIKA GOLDRING

and writers’ choice winners contained within these pages, we have yet another recommendation for you: Break away from reading our whopping annual BON issue to come celebrate a whole slew of our winners this Saturday at Walk of Fame Park. Vendors at the daytime soiree will include Daddy’s Dogs, Yazoo Brewery, Las Palmas, City Winery, Uncle Bud’s Catfish and many more. That’s not to mention the multitude of vendors who will be selling their wares, from crafts and clothes to gifts for your pet. Performers will include killer R&B/hip-hop vocalist Clover Jamez, alt-country singer-songwriter Gina Venier and more, with Zac Woodward serving as host. Find more details and a full lineup at bestofnashvillefest.com. The event is free. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Walk of Fame Park, 121 Fourth Ave. S. D. PATRICK RODGERS

[BROS]

NASHVILLE QUEER HISTORY’S COMMUNITY DIGITIZATION DAY

One of the wildest, most frustrating things about history is how much some things have changed, while other things have stayed the same. To that end, Nashville Queer History is organizing a daylong event to facilitate gathering and digitizing historical information for its archive. That information can come in many forms — photographs, documents, ephemera, T-shirts and even pinback buttons. Bring what you’ve got, and the fine folks at Nashville Queer History will scan it, keep the digital version for their archive, and return the physical items back to you. An added incentive is that vintage copies of Nashville’s first LGBTQ newspaper, Dare (later called Query), will be available to read and touch. There will also be exhibit panels on the LGBTQ history of Middle Tennessee. Visit nashvillequeerhistory.org to find out more. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Vanderbilt’s Center for Digital Humanities, 1101 19th Ave. S.

LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

FESTIVAL

[PICKING UP GOOD VIBRATIONS] GOOD VIBEZ FEST

Buchanan Street in North Nashville has been especially busy over the past few years, and that growing visibility means it’s getting the recognition it deserves as a historically vital part of Nashville’s culture. Saturday, the community celebrates with the free, allages Good Vibez Fest, spreading along the street from Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Boulevard to The Southern V and curated by comedian extraordinaire Josh Black. There’ll be DJ sets in the late morning and early afternoon as you meander through vendor booths aplenty; there’s also a comedy show at 1 p.m. at Elephant Gallery and a pie and chili cookoff pitting Metro councilmembers against one another at 2 p.m. A music lineup stacked with Nashville talent kicks off at 2:30 p.m. with forward-leaning R&B singer-songwriter Milly Roze, followed by South Africa-born songsmith Nikki Williams at 2:45 p.m. A showcase of Black country talent via The Black Opry Revue is next at 3:15 p.m.; the lineup remained TBA at press time, but organizer Holly G and her team consistently bring out a roster of awesome players. Wrapping it up from 4 to 5 p.m. is top-shelf rapper Mike Floss,

SPELLLING

whose politically and socially engaged EP Contraband is a highlight among the year’s releases. See goodvibezfest.com for all the details. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Buchanan Street

STEPHEN TRAGESER

SUNDAY / 10.16

MUSIC [L YEAH]

SPELLLING

The dreamlike pop soundscapes of singer-producer Chrystia Cabral, alias Spellling, are simultaneously alluring and unsettling, like fairy tales or lullabies

filtered through the lens of neo-soul, psychedelia and trip-hop, anchored by Cabral’s out-of-this-world vocals. The 2021 double LP The Turning Wheel — the Oakland, Calif., artist’s second album for New York’s influential Sacred Bones label, and her third album to date — expands her vision with the addition of a full band. 8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

MUSIC [SISTERS OF THE MOON] STEVIE NICKS

You can’t throw a rock in this town without hitting a songwriter who’s been influenced by Stevie Nicks. Nobody’s

better at singing about the human heart. From the soapy, record-breaking Fleetwood Mac days to her entrancing solo career, Nicks can make listeners feel the force of nature, time and beauty. Or as a wise man once said, “To live and die in L.A. / I got my Fleetwood Mac / I could get high every day.” Unlike most nostalgia tours, you’re likely to see a wide range of ages at this show. On Sunday, 20-year-olds will be swaying alongside 70-year-olds to the sounds of “Dreams,” “Gypsy,” “Edge of Seventeen” and more. All of Ascend Amphitheater will be awash in silk scarves, velvet top hats and lace shawls. Vanessa Carlton will open, and

PHOTO: MAIWENN RAOULT

Stevie can be counted on to play a tight set of every song you’re longing to hear. 8 p.m. at Ascend Amphitheater, 310 First Ave. S. TOBY LOWENFELS

[BLACK THOUGHT]

POETRY

NATIONAL BLACK POETRY DAY

Poetry has given many African Americans a voice for centuries. Black poetry has been linked to generational hardships and historical celebrations, and African American poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou and Amanda Gorman have graced stages to deliver profound words to audience members looking for encouragement. The National Black Poetry Day Festival, once again hosted locally by Po’boys and Poets, is bringing the audience together to do the same while also honoring Jupiter Hammon, whose poem is believed to be the first published by an African American. Hammon’s poem, “An Evening Thought,” was composed on Christmas Day in 1760, when he was 49 years old. Individuals interested can come and recite poems in front of an audience. 3-7 p.m. at Free Poetry Project, 507 Hagan St. KATELYNN WHITE

MONDAY / 10.17

MUSIC

[W.I.T.C.H. CREAMY PAINT] W.I.T.C.H. W/PAINT

In the era before streaming services, W.I.T.C.H. was a specter only mentioned in conversations overheard in the far corners of record shops where they sold used copies of Julian Cope books. But the Zambian acid-rock masters have finally gotten the recognition they deserve from their reissues on Now Again Records and a recent documentary that played screens worldwide. The band’s singer, simply named Jagari, has revived the Zamrock greats for their second tour of the United States. Opening for them is Paint, the solo project of Allah-Las’ Pedrum Siadatian. If Allah-Las are revivalists of the best bands of the late ’60s and early ’70s, Paint mimics the solo work that came after — Brian Eno, Syd Barrett, John Cale and Kevin Ayers.

MUSIC [SOUL TROPES]

DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS

Durand Jones & The Indications’ 2021 album Private Space does justice to the sound of what you might call Blaxploitation soul. The Bloomington, Ind., group replicates the falsettos and electric pianos you hear on ’70s albums by The Stylistics, The Isley Brothers and The Miracles, and all I could ask for is a bit more content — a little bite and idiosyncrasy — from musicians who are expert at, well, replicating a style. Vocalists Aaron Frazer and Jones himself trade off vocals throughout the album, and the arrangements honor the slightly jazzinflected vocabulary of Blaxploitation soul. “Ride or Die” chugs along like a Memphis groove produced by Willie Mitchell, while the title track evokes the post-hippie musings of the Isleys. Still, Private Space is also what I call reissue label soul — the point seems to be the exactitude of the retro styling, and it could be that making the effort to get everything right sometimes takes precedence over writing songs that aren’t collections of tropes. The tropes actually work well enough on Private Space, and these guys have the sound down cold — Donny Hathaway would be proud of them. Opening will be San Francisco-born singer and multiinstrumentalist La Doña. 8 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl, 925 Third Ave. S. EDD HURT

WEDNESDAY

MUSIC [GENRE SWIRLER] SUDAN ARCHIVES

Ohio native Brittney Parks, aka Sudan Archives, is a self-taught, multiinstrumentalist, avant-garde hip-hop onewoman band. And she deserves all those hyphenates. Her vocals are full of energy and charisma. Her violin playing mixes Northeast African sounds and electronic beats. A recent performance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert shows Parks playing a violin affixed to her chest with

8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S. P.J. KINZER

A.I.M. BY KYLE ABRAHAM

a harness, a long black feather protruding regally behind her shoulder as she twerks.

Currently on her Homecoming Tour with The Growth Eternal, Sudan Archives deserves your full attention. 8 p.m. at The Basement East, 917 Woodland St.

TOBY LOWENFELS

THURSDAY / 10.20

DANCE [PERFECT A.I.M.] A.I.M. BY KYLE ABRAHAM

Choreographer Kyle Abraham dazzled Nashville audiences when he first brought his celebrated company, Abraham in Motion (A.I.M.), to OZ Arts back in 2015. Now this acclaimed artist and MacArthur “genius” grant winner is back and ready to open OZ Arts’ 10th season with his latest evening-length work, An Untitled Love Known for his sophisticated theatrical

style, Abraham is one of those rare artists who can translate very personal themes and ideas to a broader audience and conversation. An Untitled Love certainly fits that description. Highlighting the music of the Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo, this new production opens up as something of “an electrically charged house party onstage.” But as the evening continues, the piece takes on a much deeper sense of celebration — honoring the often-overlooked joy, love and connection within the Black community. Oct. 20-22 at OZ Arts, 6172 Cockrill Bend Circle AMY STUMPFL

MUSIC [WELCOME HOME] REGINA SPEKTOR

It’s been a good year for fans of Regina Spektor, as the beloved singersongwriter behind songs like “Samson” and “Fidelity” released her eighth studio album, the critically acclaimed Home,

PHOTO:

Daily through October

of

and

1:00

Saturday, October 15

SESSION

Chris Wallin

Sunday, October

Sunday, October 23

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT

Larissa Maestro

1:00

Friday, October 28 CONVERSATION AND PERFORMANCE

Laura Jane Houle

The 100th Anniversary of the First Commercial

of Country Music

THEATER

Saturday, October 29

SONGWRITER SESSION

Cameron Bedell

THEATER

Sunday, October 30

SPOTLIGHT

Josh Matheny

1:00

before and after, in June, marking her first release since 2016’s Remember Us to Life She began touring in support of that record this summer — including a short run with Norah Jones — taking a couple months off before the string of dates resumes in early October. She’ll stop at the Ryman on Oct. 20 for a solo set sure to please, as her new material, like the orchestral “Loveology,” will nicely punctuate her deep catalog of off-kilter pop and piano-driven tunes. 7:30 p.m. at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N. BRITTNEY McKENNA

BOOKS [SPELLBOUND] SPOOKY BOOKS + BEER BOOK FAIR FOR GROWNUPS

I see a lot of social media posts about how many adults wish they could still go to book fairs. Good news! You can! The Bookshop is making my Halloweenloving heart sing with its Spooky Books + Beer Book Fair for Grownups event. Grab a beer and browse the shop’s spooky curation, ranging from witchy rom-coms to terrifying tales. Bookish costumes encouraged! No RSVP required. Just show up ready to spook it up with fellow book nerds. Parking is limited — please consider

ride-sharing, especially if you plan on imbibing. 6-9 p.m. at East Nashville Beer Works, 320 E. Trinity Lane KIM BALDWIN

FRIDAY / 10.21

MUSIC [OFF THE INTERNET] STEVE LACY

Steve Lacy has come a long way from being the guy who plays guitar for The Internet. If you’re even just a casual fan of new age R&B, chances are some of your favorite songs from your favorite artists feature Lacy behind the board. So when his first two projects fell short of greatness, it was hard for me to not be a little underwhelmed amid all the hype. But all of that changed instantly when his song “Mercury” leaked earlier this year. Despite the snippet lasting only a few short seconds, the leak went viral across the internet, making it clear that the upcoming album would be special. Lacy’s charmingly clunky, guitar-heavy production style is perfectly complemented by his playful vocals throughout Gemini Rights, which was released in July. A trippy and

PHOTO: JULIAN KLINCEWICZ

STEVE LACY

CRITICS’ PICKS

entertaining listen from front to back, this album has cemented Lacy’s solo stardom, proving his artistry reaches far beyond producing hits on his iPhone. Playing with L.A.-based singer-songwriter Fousheé. 8 p.m. at Marathon Music Works, 1402 Clinton St.

[IT’S A PIECE]

THEATER

CIGARS

A.

CIGARS

A.

BELLE MEADE

NASHVILLE REP PRESENTS THE CAKE

Nashville Repertory Theatre is back in action, and ready to continue its season with the Nashville premiere of Bekah Brunstetter’s dramatic comedy The Cake. The topical story centers on Della, a sweet Southern gal and baker extraordinaire who’s looking forward to competing on The Great American Baking Show. When her best friend’s daughter returns home from New York to get married, there’s no question who will be serving up the perfect wedding cake. But things get a bit more complicated when Della realizes that the happy occasion actually involves two brides. Perhaps best known for her work in television (This Is Us; American Gods), Brunstetter actually started out as a playwright, and most recently penned the book for Ingrid Michaelson’s new musical adaptation of The Notebook Director Lauren Shouse has assembled an outstanding cast, including Megan Murphy Chambers as Della, along with Christopher Strand, Mariah Parris and Maya Antoinette Riley. Oct. 21-30 at TPAC’s Andrew Johnson Theater, 505 Deaderick

BOOKS

[FOLLOW YOUR GUT] AMBER TAMBLYN

Imagine for a moment being in a group chat with the following women: Amy Poehler, Samantha Irby, Jia Tolentino, Jessica Valenti, Lidia Yuknavitch, Ada Limon, America Ferrera and Ayanna Pressley. Actress-writer-poet-activist (and David Cross life partner) Amber Tamblyn has done the next-best thing: She’s collected these voices in her new anthology, Listening in the Dark. The book examines the topic of female intuition through the lens of education, politics, entertainment and health care. Tamblyn will be talking with Nashville’s own Callie Khouri, who won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Thelma and Louise (!!!), and you’ll want to listen to your intuition telling you to go. 6:30 p.m. at Parnassus Books, 3900 Hillsboro Pike TOBY LOWENFELS

FILM

[VOTE FOR OBAMA FOR A THIRD TERM] NIGHTLIGHT 615: GET OUT

Now that we’re knee-deep into fall and Halloween is right around the damn corner, NightLight 615 closes out its 2022 season on an appropriately terrifying note. The outdoor movie series will screen Jordan Peele’s 2017 proudly paranoid hit Get Out, which won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Daniel Kaluuya scored his first Best Actor Oscar nom as a brotha who thinks he’s spending the weekend with his white girlfriend and annoying liberal parents. But he soon finds himself trying to escape from some creepy, shady white folks. After all these years, I’m still amazed Peele got away with making a savage, satirical scary flick that made both Black and white audiences cheer when … well, let’s just say our man makes a very

satisfying exit. As we’re all still trying to figure out what the hell Peele’s last film Nope was all about, go back to the movie that turned the former sketch comedian into John Carpenter for people who can’t get enough of Black Twitter. 6:15 p.m. at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, 600 James Robertson Parkway CRAIG D. LINDSEY

SATURDAY / 10.22

MUSIC [LOOK DIFFERENT] MADI DIAZ

The past few years have been a bit of a whirlwind for Madi Diaz, whose gripping, critically acclaimed 2021 record History of a Feeling marked her first new full-length release since 2014. The project came to life as the now Nashville-based singer-songwriter channeled the raw and complicated emotions that flowed to the surface during the end of a long-term relationship. Diaz doesn’t stray away from the messy, chaotic moments in life, opting to embrace every ounce of pain with sincerity — a quality that effortlessly shines during her live performances. Fresh off the release of her captivating new single “Love Looks Different,” Diaz will bring her headlining Crying in Public Tour to the Beast for what’s sure to be a powerful showcase of lyrical storytelling at its very best. Grab a few extra tissues and get there early to check out sets from Boston-based folk outfit Baerd and burgeoning indie-pop talent John-Robert. 8 p.m. at The Basement East, 917 Woodland St. LORIE LIEBIG

MONDAY

discern a lot of difference between their 2021 album Enjoy the View and their earlier music — Palmer’s playing merely added another layer of six-string dystopia to their sound. Enjoy sports a few more keyboard overdubs than previously, but the guitar work is as abrasively depressing as it was on albums like 2018’s The More I Sleep the Less I Dream. Apart from what I hear as a certain sing-song quality in the songwriting, the Edinburgh band sounds pretty much like The Cure and The Psychedelic Furs. The Scottish poppunk scene seems dominated by rather melancholy dudes, and on Enjoy the View the melancholia — and the aforementioned abrasive guitar — merges with drum beats that are sprung and relentless enough to put you in mind of a rainy day in 1986. The slow ones work well enough on Enjoy, but “Nothing Ever Changes” is the album’s catchiest song — it’s fast and intricate enough to make me stop thinking about gloomy afternoons in Scotland and the persistence of the idea of shoegaze music. I also like one titled “All That Glitters,” which has a boss guitar riff. Opening will be Breakup Shoes, who play autumnal pop on their 2021 EP Narratives 8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S. EDD HURT

WEDNESDAY / 10.26

MUSIC [THE 411] MARY J. BLIGE

Mary J. Blige was one of the key artists to link hip-hop and R&B, and her staying power speaks to both her level of artistry and the power of that combination. The past year has been pretty good for Blige: She dropped her 14th album Good Morning Gorgeous in February and went on to deliver a show-stopping appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar. She even made Time’s list of 100 Most Influential People, with an entry penned by collaborator and hip-hop legend Nas. She’s back on tour, and she’s bringing singers Ella Mai and Queen Naija along for the ride. 8 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena, 501

MUSIC

[TAKE YOUR PASSION AND MAKE IT HAPPEN] PASSION FRUIT BOYS ALBUM RELEASE

Duncan Shea and Conor Belcher, who describe themselves as the two members of a combination band and motorcycle club called Passion Fruit Boys, are well aware that songwriting is a serious undertaking. Shea has spent years working with excellent songwriters, having played with Music Band, Becca Mancari and Those Darlins. Shea and Belcher also knew that taking their music-making to the next level meant writing their own songs — even if it was a little intimidating, they needed to start somewhere. So they forced themselves to give it a shot, yielding their first song “Easy,” a wistful and synthkissed tune about steeling themselves to give a relationship another try. That initial success encouraged the duo to keep at it, and eventually they found themselves with enough songs for an album. Their

self-produced debut LP — complete with a guest appearance from their pal, outstanding rocker Liz Cooper, on the groovy song “Sex Swing” — was released Oct. 7 via indie label Telefono. On Oct. 26, they’ll take the stage at The East Room to celebrate it in person with help from rockin’ songsmiths Dillon Watson and Annie Williams. 8 p.m. at The East Room, 2412 Gallatin Ave. STEPHEN TRAGESER

PASSION FRUIT BOYS

MARY J. BLIGE

SPELLLING

HOST

AT THE BLUE ROOM

WE MAKE THE BEST VIDEOS.WE MAKE THE BEST VIDEOS.

HOT FLASH

On trying to embrace aging without the negative self-talk that has plagued me for most of my life

BY JOY RAMIREZ

Vodka Yonic features a rotating cast of women and nonbinary writers from around the world sharing stories that are alternately humorous, sobering, intellectual, erotic, religious or painfully personal. You never know what you’ll find in this column, but we hope this potent mix of stories encourages conversation.

For weeks now, I’ve woken up at exactly 4 a.m., covered in sweat. I sit up with dread, throw the cat off my face and take off my hot, sticky T-shirt. I get up to adjust the air conditioning and crawl back into bed. Sometimes I stumble to the kitchen for a glass of water, stepping over the dog, who heaves a deep sigh.

The other day I was having coffee with a friend when, all of a sudden, I felt the heat rising up through my body, making me squirm and wipe the sweat from my face with my napkin. She’s over 50, like me, so she knew exactly what was happening. About two years ago, I stopped having my period and rejoiced in my freedom from that decades-long inconvenience. It would be smooth sailing from here on out, I thought. How wrong I was. Now I would give anything to have it back.

I am no fun to be around. I’m constantly tired and grumpy, and I don’t have anything to wear because of the weight I’ve gained over the past year. This keeps me from going out to see friends — or being intimate with my husband — both of which only make me feel worse. If only someone had warned me I would feel this way at this point in my life, I might not feel so blindsided.

Like so many aspects of women’s health, we don’t talk about menopause. All too often we suffer in silence. Even doctors have very little to say about the natural process every woman will go through at some point in her life.

I realize there are a few good things about turning 50, like not needing anyone’s approval and not caring much what people think of me. But mostly, it has been a steady spiraling down of my physical, mental and emotional health. I know that I, like so many women, have internalized our culture’s obsession with youth and the denigration of aging women. After a certain age, we tend to disappear, estranged from social life — and in my case, from myself. I haven’t felt like myself in years.

But still I try to pretend I have some control over the distressing symptoms that come with the departure of estrogen from my body. For example, I decided to embrace my gray hair and quit dyeing it during the pandemic. Of course, it helped that I couldn’t go to the salon for more than a year, but when I could go back, I decided it was not worth it. Unlike Nora Ephron,

who advised women to start disguising their wrinkly necks at the age of 43, I’d had it with spending thousands of dollars a year trying to hide my age. What helped me was the #grayhair movement on Instagram — communities of women dedicated to helping each other through this process — and an amazing hairstylist.

One unexpected aspect of this phase of life is that my almost-teenage daughter is going through a similar stage as her childhood body is transforming to one of an adult. We are navigating the unfamiliar, awkward and sometimes painful transition together. We are both at a crossroads: She can see her life stretching ahead of her, full of promise, needing me less and less — as I contemplate the time I have left.

On one particularly difficult morning when I dropped her off at school, she got out of the car without even saying goodbye. I sobbed for most of the way home. I feel a profound sense of loss — the loss of youth, my energy, my body and, most importantly, the child I have loved more than anything in the world for the past 12 years.

While the days of spending large swaths of uninterrupted time together are over, I cherish the times we still spend together curled up on the couch watching reruns of Gilmore Girls, or shopping at Target for clothes that don’t fit our changing bodies.

Despite all of the challenges of the past few years, I am trying to embrace aging without the negative self-talk that has plagued me for most of my life. It’s about time I looked at myself in the mirror — gray hair, sweaty face and all — and learned to love what I see. There is immense pleasure in watching my daughter blossom into a beautiful and confident young woman. Why can’t the same be said for my own transformation into a carefree, older — but still beautiful — version of myself?

I KNOW THAT I, LIKE SO MANY WOMEN, HAVE INTERNALIZED OUR CULTURE’S OBSESSION WITH YOUTH AND THE DENIGRATION OF AGING WOMEN.

Robyn Hitchcock answers the call of ‘The Raging Muse’ on Shufflemania!

BY DARYL SANDERS

British rocker Robyn Hitch cock had been in a bit of a songwriting slump when he made a trip to the Mayan ru ins at Tulum, Mexico, around the time of the 2019 win ter solstice. But shortly after that visit, he heard the call of his muse. Located on the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, Tulum was a thriving Mayan city between the 13th and 15th centuries. A major port, its centerpiece was a magnificent pyramid honoring the god of fertility, a temple dubbed El Castillo by Spanish conquistadors that still stands high on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. A couple of weeks after Hitchcock visited El Castillo, he had a burst of creativ ity that led to his exceptional new album Shufflemania!, which will be released via Tiny Ghost Records on Oct. 21.

“I didn’t write very many songs between 2016 and 2019,” part-time Nashvillian Hitch cock says by phone from his house in Eng land. “When I wasn’t on tour, I was working on a collection of piano instrumentals at home in Nashville.

“Just before the pandemic hit, I went down to [Tulum],” he continues. “I went to the palace of Kukulkan, aka Quetzalcoatl, the feathery serpent god. Kukulkan was a powerful symbol of fertility, but you know, these gods seem to wear so many hats.”

One of the hats worn by Kukulkan is pa tron of the arts. While he made no formal offerings to the god while in Tulum, a few weeks after his visit there, Hitchcock wrote “The Feathery Serpent God” in a moment of sudden inspiration.

“The sort of kinetic flow of songwriting, of guitar songwriting, suddenly started up again after about four years,” he recalls. “I was in a hotel in Florida, thinking not much about anything, and out it came. It was just there in my notebook and on my phone within about half an hour.”

Hitchcock acknowledges the spirit of Ku kulkan may still be active at El Castillo.

“Well, it probably is,” he says. “I hope I’m not in the grip of any forces I don’t under stand. [Laughs] But it certainly seems to have, as we say in Britain, kicked me up the ass.”

Over the next 12 months, Hitchcock penned and recorded the 10 songs that make up Shufflemania! The material blurs the boundaries between the seen and the unseen, the known and the unknown. And the feathery serpent god is not the only supernatural entity to make an appearance. There’s the inspiration for the album’s title

and opening song “The Shuffle Man.” You could say Hitchcock created the Shuffle Man, but it might be even more accurate to say he simply gave the entity a name.

“The Shuffle Man, well, you know, he came into my head,” he says. “All these things ar rive very fast. I don’t really think about them. The Shuffle Man, I think he’s just really chance, you know — what I call the imp of chance or the imp of change. It’s really kind of embracing the random. The Shuffle Man just deals you whatever he deals you, and then you just have to make the best of it.”

Three of the songs are inspired by Hitch cock’s love of noir fiction and films, includ ing the beautiful “The Man Who Loves the Rain,” which features harmony vocals by his partner, singer-songwriter Emma Swift.

“Gina Arnold, a writer in San Francisco, put up a bunch of titles by the author Ray mond Chandler, titles for unwritten stories or unfinished stories,” Hitchcock explains. “One of them was ‘The Man Who Loved the Rain.’ And I just moved it into ‘The Man Who Loves the Rain.’ So the song references Raymond Chandler, who has two graves in La Jolla where he’s buried.”

The album also touches on a recurring dream Hitchcock has of fish squirming in the grass. The scene makes an appearance in “The Raging Muse.”

“It’s usually set in the quite fertile part of Britain, down in Hampshire where my parents used to live,” Hitchcock says of the dream. “It’s down the road from the place my parents lived in, an old mill that was on a river. The fish are not confined to the river. I’m walking around, and they’re just kind of squirming through the grass. I don’t know if that means that they’re fish out of water and it’s a sign of being in the wrong place or what. But as I look, I just see more and more of them really just kind of writhing around. Maybe they’re like the serpent god — they’re just some kind of force.”

The fish in the grass, the feathered ser pent deity and the imp of chance are just three of the cast of characters that inhabit

Shufflemania! They are joined by a mur dered Greek philosopher, an English lord, a TV private eye who’s a Scorpio and the aforementioned noir novelist.

“I think this album sums up so many of Robyn’s loves,” says Swift, who co-produced the album with Hitchcock. “It really encap sulates a lot of the art that inspires him.”

Because Shufflemania! was made during the COVID lockdown, most of the recording was done remotely and includes perfor mances by a large number of musicians from across the globe. With technical assistance from Swift and their two sibling cats Tubby and Ringo (who appear on the album’s cover), Hitchcock recorded rhythm guitar parts and scratch vocals on his Zoom recorder and then sent them to musician friends he thought would be a good fit for the songs. One of the first people to receive a song was former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.

he’d play some guitar on it.’ So it went over to Cambridge, and Kim played guitar.”

Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick, You Am I lead guitarist Davey Lane and multi-instru mentalist Sean Ono Lennon also made re mote appearances on the album. So did mix engineer Charlie Francis, who overdubbed a variety of instruments on multiple songs.

Once the tracking was mostly done, Hitchcock and Swift traveled to London and recorded all the final vocals for the album over two days at Abbey Road studios. The first of the sessions was on Oct. 9, the anni versary of John Lennon’s birth.

“

‘The Inner Life of Scorpio’ went to Johnny Marr because Johnny’s a Scorpio, so I thought he might like that one,” Hitch cock says. “He’s playing almost everything on it. He’s playing the drums and the piano and the acoustic guitar and, I think, bass. I played a bit of acoustic lead, and then it went to my friend Anne Lise Frøkedal in Oslo, who did the harmonies.”

Wilco’s Pat Sansone also appears on that song, as well as four other tracks, playing a variety of guitars, keyboards and percus sion. Brendan Benson, who produced Hitch cock’s 2017 self-titled album, plays most of the instruments on two of the album’s hard est rocking tracks, “The Shuffle Man” and “The Sir Tommy Shovell,” the latter about an imaginary English pub.

“I made up Tommy Shovell,” Hitch cock says. “I think that was a point when I thought, ‘Oh God, I’d love to go to a pub in England, and I don’t see that happening any time soon.’ Brendan said he wanted to try to make it sound like [Hitchcock’s former band] The Soft Boys. So I thought, ‘Oh right, well, I’ll contact Kimberley Rew who, you know, was in The Soft Boys, and ask him if

“I just had this idea one night, it must have been in late August or early September [2020],” Swift recalls. “I saw that Abbey Road was open again, having been closed for lockdown. And I just thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to go and record some vocals on John Lennon’s birthday?’ I think there are certain things that you have on your bucket list as an artist, and I knew that for Robyn, recording at Abbey Road was definitely one of those things.”

Hitchcock closes the album with the hope ful “One Day,” the song that features Sean Lennon.

“I had a jam with [Sean] in New York a few years ago, and he was playing some fantastic drums,” Hitchcock says. “So I just contacted him and asked if he’d play some drums. And he added all sorts of effects — vocoder and marimba and kind of tropical sounds and a bit of bass.”

Some might hear “One Day” as an echo of the utopian dream offered by Lennon’s fa ther in his masterpiece “Imagine.” Near the end of the song, Hitchcock sings, “One day / The color of your skin won’t be the great divide / And one day you’ll care how other people feel inside.”

“It’s a beautifully romantic and philosoph ical song for Robyn,” Swift says. “Some times he can be quite barbed, but this one is very tender. And it makes a lovely ending to the album.”

PHOTO: EMMA

NEW STANDARDS

BY RON WYNN

At the end of 2019, the Nashville Jazz Workshop concluded a tenure of almost two decades on Adams Street in Germantown. Last summer, despite being delayed by the pandemic, the organization finally got to have its grand opening celebration in its new home at 1012 Buchanan St., amid a growing arts district in historically Black North Nashville.

Because of COVID, both the 2020 and 2021 installments of Jazzmania, the NJW’s annual fall fundraising gala concert, were virtual. But on Oct. 22, the NJW returns to The Factory at Franklin for its first in-person Jazzmania in three years. Historically, the event has been a showcase for talent from Nashville and the rest of the Mid-South. This year, all the musicians who’ll be performing are locals, including the Workshop’s Young Artist Ensemble and its All Star Ensemble as well as the Midtown Jazz Quartet and Giovanni Rodriguez and 12 Manos.

As Roger Spencer, who co-founded the NJW with wife and fellow musician Lori Mechem, tells the Scene, “We wanted this year’s Jazzmania to be a homecoming, a celebration of the music and the local community, and the fact that we’re doing it live once more.” In mid-September, we sat down to discuss Jazzmania, the impact of the organization’s move and more.

What are your overall feelings about the move and how things have worked out? It couldn’t be better. … We’re a lot more accessible. People come in all the time off the street and ask us questions about the place, what’s going on, the music, et cetera. Our mission has

IF I’M SHINING

It feels good as hell to watch Lizzo use her powerful platform

BY JASON SHAWHAN

In the last week of September, something truly historic happened. When Lizzo brought her The Special Tour to Washington, D.C., she played for the crowd a crystal flute more than two centuries old that once belonged to President James Madison. It was the kind of moment that helped refract many of the jumble of contradictions that make up this country into a shining moment that can’t help but be inspiring.

It took the collective media of the world by surprise when Lizzo’s streaming series Watch Out for the Big Grrrls recently won the Emmy for Best Reality Program, beating out perennial winner and presumed favorite RuPaul’s Drag Race. It shouldn’t be that big of a surprise, because it simply does not pay to underestimate Lizzo. Or her dancers, who were the subjects of the series, for that matter. This is a woman of such Minnesotan majesty that she’s worked with

always been to present all types of jazz to a diverse audience, and we’re far more able to achieve that in this new space.

What about the audience? Have you been able to both add new people and retain your old fans? Without a doubt. We’re getting new people in every concert, and we also have people who have been with us from the beginning. We’ve been steadily seeing fresh faces, and it’s rewarding. At the same time we’re happy that we’ve still been able to get the people who came to the other location to move with us.

How are the classes going? This last session we had eight in total, four live and four online. We’ll have 11 or 12 in the next session, which starts in October. The online classes have become successful in expanding the workshop’s reach around the globe. Lori has students in her cabaret class from Europe, and the master classes have gotten people from not only Europe but South America and Asia. Sometimes we really have to be careful in scheduling due to the time changes internationally. But we’re happy to work around that.

You seem to be bringing in more national acts to the Jazz Cave as well as the local and regional artists. Yes, we’re trying to do more of that, and we’ve been able as a 501(c)3 organization to get some grants to do that. You really need to have that base to do national acts, because it’s really hard to try and bring in national acts to play for the door. That’s not really fair to them. But we’re definitely looking to do more of those types of concerts. We also don’t have a beer and liquor license, but we’ve been able to work around all that.

What things haven’t you done here that you’d like to do in the future? I think the biggest thing is developing the next generation of jazz teachers. Lori and I are well known, and we’ve established our credentials as educa-

GIOVANNI RODRIGUEZ

tors. Now sometimes it’s a bit difficult at times to convince people that they can take classes from other people. Both of us are really busy, and we’ve got some good young teachers now. It’s just a matter of getting people to believe in them.

What changes have you made this year to Jazzmania? We’re paring it down a bit. We’ve had up to 400 people at past events, and that’s just too many. We’re looking at 250 this year as the optimum number. We’ve also raised the prices a bit … but there’s a lot of things going on. And we’ve tailored the show to showcase the best in Nashville jazz from our youth ensemble to our All-Star group and Latin jazz with Giovanni Rodriguez and his band.

You and Lori have been here so long it seems you’re native Nashvillians, though you aren’t. What are the biggest changes that you’ve seen since you arrived? We came here in 1988, and the changes have been extensive. For one thing, we’re getting a lot of people coming to our shows who’ve recently moved to Nashville from other cities that had jazz scenes, and they’re really happy to know that there is one here as well. We’ve completed the work on the Jazz Cave, and we’ve got the sound and setting the way we like it. We’re very comfortable here in this community, and we’re excited to see the things happening around us and excited to see the things that continue happening with jazz here in Nashville.

latter featuring Missy Elliott!) She’s fought the battle for body positivity by slaying the competition in multiple senses, working in multiple disciplines — flautistry, advanced twerkulation, powerhouse vocals and innovative choreography are just a few of the skills this polymath excels at — and having to work several times as hard as the many blander, thinner artists whom a lot of shady outlets try and pit against her. There’s no one else out there making the fatphobic eat their words with as much force. It seems like, periodically, some moderately known person will surface and talk shit about Lizzo in a public forum, criticizing her appearance, her corporeal joy or her sex-positive vibes. An interesting social media observation, though: If you try to come for Lizzo, you will likely lose.

both Har Mar Superstar and the late, great Prince, finding the funk in all kinds of places and winning the respect of all kinds of folk.

And on The Special Tour — aptly named, as it follows up her latest LP Special — she is turning things out and making that funk flourish in arenas all over the world.

When Lizzo and her dance troupe The Big Grrrls take the stage at Bridgestone Arena on Oct. 23, they’ll bring

liberating vibes by the twerkload, questioning paradigms and making asses shake in equal measure. Truly, this will be a show that makes the bass and the ass go boom, and there’s no better way to do it.

Few artists ever have a zeitgeist-defining moment, and since 2019 was the year of “Truth Hurts,” Lizzo’s done precisely that several times. (See also the cultural permeation of “Good as Hell” and “Tempo,” the

She spurs inspiration in anyone who sees what all she brings to her shows, her life and her media sensibility. And that’s barely scratching the surface of the nurturing and supportive atmosphere she fosters for her fans. As a culture, we are unaccustomed to household names being more than remotely selfaware. It’s honestly difficult to process an artist who is conscious of the impact they have and chooses to focus on making a difference — so much so that it’s a cornerstone of their presence as an icon. It’s a good feeling, though. Some might say, “good as hell” …

PHOTO:

PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY

ELI MOTYCKA

Kevin Morby is a prolific and widely traveled singersongwriter, who has lived in places as varied as Kansas City, Los Angeles and Brooklyn. He draws a significant amount of inspiration from places he visits — their past and the history that they’re making right now.

In May, Morby released his seventh solo record This Is a Photograph, a folk- and soulschooled collection of rock tunes heavily influenced by time he spent exploring Mem phis. The hard-driving title track and a gen tle collaboration with Nashville’s own Erin Rae called “Bittersweet, TN” are among the standouts of the 12-track set. Morby, who’s played Nashville several times over many years with various projects, will be back on Oct. 15, headlining at The Basement East with support from Cassandra Jenkins. We took the opportunity to catch up with him by phone on a rare day off between gigs.

When you’re playing different cities, are you tak ing time to explore in your off hours? I feel like I’m a very external person when it comes to my relationship to the world. I do like to get out into it as much as possible. I don’t like

to stay inside for too long a period of time — whether I’m walking or running, I really like to interact with my environment no matter what it is. I try to put in the effort to go out and make myself known to a place — that I’m open to being called to it — but I also feel like there’s something almost unexplainable, or hard to put into words, and a place every now and again will just really call me.

It’s sort of a circumstantial thing, at spe cific times in my life. A place will suddenly click and make a lot of sense to me, and it’ll be something that I really want to go and figure out, some mysterious quality that suddenly seems so appealing to me.

And at that point, you know a specific place will be in your future? Yeah, for sure. I read this book about Oklahoma City a couple years ago called Boom Town. [Author Sam An derson] said this thing, that when he landed at the airport in Oklahoma City to write, he said that there was a barometer or a needle that started to resonate inside of him that he didn’t even know was there. And I thought that was such a good and apt way of talking about that feeling where suddenly without trying, or really realizing, this energy starts to build. You get this buzz where you’re like, “Oh, I need to explore this place.”

Was that what it felt like deciding to go to Mem phis? I’ve been touring since the early 2000s, and a big thing that’s happened with almost every American city in most of the markets I’ve been touring in is that they’ve all sort of become the same. And ever since the iPhone and Uber, or these scooters you can take ev erywhere, there’s just this certain sort of style with these cities that have gotten the same makeover. I found myself missing how cities used to feel where they felt a little grittier but full of opportunity, specifically for the arts.

I was missing that. And I went through Memphis, and the moment I was there, I recognized it as a place that felt like it was one of those cities that I used to go to. It was how cities used to feel five or 10 or 15 years ago. I had this thought: Memphis — you never hear about shows being here. You never hear about too much going on here. Or at least I don’t. It’s kind of what [the author] gets out in Boom Town: I just felt this needle start to resonate in me. I was like, I wanna play a show here and I wanna come back here and explore it. I found something and I needed to explore it.

I understand what you’re saying. There’s a joke among me and some friends who grew up in Nash ville that Memphis is the Nashville we remember. It reminds us so much of Nashville 15 years ago. It’s a combination of so many factors.

Where were you staying and hanging out? I was downtown at the Peabody Hotel. It was CO VID — this was all in 2020, but I’ve returned a lot since. If I’m naming my favorite spots, I love Earnestine and Hazel’s; I call it my fa vorite bar in America. I love all the touristy stuff. I love the Civil Rights Museum. I love Sun Studios; I recorded part of my record at the Sam Phillips Recording Company. I’d spend a lot of time at the Crosstown Con course. Obviously I love the Peabody. And I just love the river — you know, I just hang out at the river a lot.

I love river towns. You can always get your bearings by knowing where the river is. Some of those places that I just named, though, I wasn’t going into those when I was writing there because it was COVID. I would try to hang out more at the river, natural open spaces — where I didn’t feel like I would get COVID — that were very interest ing to me. I’d weirdly hang out at the Mem phis Zoo, too. There were a lot of different types of places I was hanging out at.

Any cities you want to spend time in next? Any on that list where you’re feeling that compass pull? Not right now, honestly. I’m just out in it, touring the world right now. I’m going back to Memphis to do a photo show this winter and I’m really excited for that. I’d say my fascination still kind of lies in Memphis.

Actually I’ve been feeling a little bit pulled to, like, God’s Country — like Big Sky Country, Montana and all of that. It’s kind of an unexplored place for me: Idaho, Montana, just out there where it’s super wide-open. That’s been a place I’ve been feeling a little pulled in that direction recently. It’s cer tainly a place that is a contender on my next place to go do some writing.

Erin Rae, who you worked with on “Bittersweet, TN,” is very familiar in Nashville. I’m curious what relationship you have with Nashville now as an art ist or tourist. I remember I played Nashville a couple of years ago and I thought to myself, the amount of industry people here and the amount of friends that I have here, it feels

like I’m in New York or Los Angeles. It’s just grown so much. And I know that comes with a lot of mixed feelings. The plus side for me, as an outsider, is, you know, my shows have grown there. And I have so many friends there, so going there is really fun.

Do you remember your first time in Nashville? It was a long time ago. I think it was my band Woods, probably in 2009. It was so much more desolate than it is now. I remember playing at that venue The End — there was a really wild sound guy, who I’ve heard since passed away, trying to sell us cocaine — and I remember walking to a sushi place that had a picture of Harmony Korine on the wall. I remember thinking: “Nashville is mysterious. And kind of amazing.”

Did you make trips over here while you were making This Is a Photograph? I took a few trips out there, and Erin Rae and I made a mu sic video out there. And then also, before I recorded the record, I was going out there to show her the song and rehearse the song before we took it to the studio. We have the same booking agent, Adam, who lives in Nashville.

As far as I can tell, Bittersweet is not a real place in Tennessee. Is it a hypothetical or con structed feeling of a place? I meant for it to be a metaphor, a way to say “America” with out saying “America.” I liked the name of something called “Bittersweet, TN,” that represented all the beautiful and ugly things about the United States.

Were there places in your mind you were import ing from? Honestly, the Memphis area and West Memphis, Ark., going into Memphis. Mississippi — I would drive to Clarksdale a lot going down Highway 61. That part of the country carries such a weight. Cotton fields, which have such a heavy history in this country. The river, which means so many things at once. I just feel like that part of the country highlights a lot of beautiful things and our ugly history. That’s what was in mind.

Also the drive from Kansas City to get to Memphis — just a really pretty drive through Missouri and Arkansas. The land scape is beautiful, but especially during CO VID, there was so much Trump propaganda, and you see the ugliness and the beauty. That drive and Memphis as the destination.

You seem pretty in tune with space and geog raphy, cities and the state of America. You hit on a lot of things we’re talking about a lot in Nashville, especially with creativity amid a massive influx of money and development. I feel like I caught the tail end of cities being bombed out from the ’80s and ’90s and white flight out to the suburbs. And I grew up in the suburbs, but then became very interested in the city. I re ally saw the high turnover going from these bombed-out places where I got my start playing on my first shows, in abandoned warehouses where cops wouldn’t come to bother you or whatever.

Those places now, they’re like luxury con dos, and it’s just a wild thing. The thing is, you gotta just keep your mind open. There’s always gonna be a new thing or the next thing. I think, weirdly, the suburbs in this country and small towns — because they’re more affordable and these vacant places — will just sort of naturally become the next cultural hubs in a weird way. And I just have to be open to that.

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