Nashville Scene 10-14-21 by FW Publishing

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S EL L IN G T EA M 5 YEA RS IN A ROW

I N L I F E TI M E SA L ES

G R E AT E R N AS HVI L L E R E ALTO RS

T EA M IN T N FOR M OST HOM ES SOL D IN 2020

TE A M I N TH E N ATI O N FO R M OST H O M ES SO L D I N 2020

R E ALT R E N DS & WAL L ST R E E T J O U R N AL

REALTRENDS & WAL L STREET JO U RNAL

ERIN KRUEGER The Erin Krueger Team at Compass RE MBA, ABR, ASP, CRS, Affiliate Broker, Realtor® M. 615.509.7166 | O. 615.475.5616 | erin@erinkrueger.com erinkrueger.com | @theerinkruegerteam The Erin Krueger Team is a team of real estate licensees affiliated with Compass RE, a licensed real estate broker and abides by equal housing opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing herein shall be construed as legal, accounting or other profes-

sional advice outside of the realm|ofOCTOBER real estate 14 brokerage. To reach Compass RE office, call 615-475-5616. – OCTOBER 27,the 2021 | nashvillescene.com 2 NASHVILLE SCENE

SOME PEOPLE LIKE THE BEATLES, SOME PEOPLE LIKE THE ROLLING STONES. I PREFER THE BEATLES, BUT I CONGRATULATE ALL THE WINNERS.

319 Lynnwood Blvd. $3,990,000

10,201 sq. ft. | 6 BR | 8 Full & 2 Half BA

MLS# 2268088 – This house can be stolen at this price! Lovely Belle Meade estate home with recent 5,000 sf expansion.

1009 Villa Place $1,595,000

4,420 sq. ft. | 4 Bedrooms | 3 ½ Baths

MLS# 2270741 - This house won the best house election among our team! Spectacularly renovated home near Music Row; high-end kitchen.

4100 Natchez Ridge $1,100,000

8.8 acre lot, Gated Community

MLS# 2294400 - Build your dream home! . Jawdropping views of rolling hills and valley below.

L SO 515 Church St. #4306 $995,000

700 12th Ave. S. #907 $598,000

MLS# 2275449 – Chic city flat with postcard views. Den includes Murphy bed with built-ins.

MLS# 2292231 - Turnkey city flat in the Gulch distric at Terrazzo. Includes 2 parking spaces.

1,190 sq. ft. | 2 BR | 2 BA

1,151 sq. ft. | 2 BR | 1 BA

116 Del Crest Dr. $299,000

2063. sq. ft., 4 BR, 2 ½ BA

Two-story with 2-car attached garage on 0.32 acre level lot in Priest Lake Park.

NASHV I LLE’S LEA DING REA L ESTATE PARTN E RS H I P These two real estate veterans have sold more than 2,035 properties representing $710,530,020 in gross sales. Today, the 11-person team at Courtney & Peebles Property Group represents the region’s finest properties, from single family homes to condos to luxury real estate.

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NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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The highest quality Christian, inspirational, historic, educational, and cultural literature and merchandise A broad spectrum of printing and publishing options to meet your needs, printed locally in the heart of Music City White glove author services including editorial, printing, design, and promotional solutions by vetted industry experts Educational and community-oriented events and experiences such as the Vision ConferenceTM, our premiere leadership and training event to be held in Nashville, June 16–18, 2022.

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MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME 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. Whether you’re coming to Nashville from afar or you’ve called Music City home for years, our local real estate professionals are here to help. We’d love to help you make Nashville the incredible home we know it to be. compass.com Compass RE is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing herein shall be construed as legal, accounting or other professional advice outside the realm of real estate brokerage. To reach the Compass RE office, call 615.475.5616.

nashvillescene.com | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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WELCOME BACK TO SMASHVILLE!

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nashvillescene.com | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

CONTENTS

167

182

Walk a Mile: Wedgewood-Houston ........ 23

The Mountain Goats w/Sophia Boro, Playboi

Shalom Cinema .................................... 182

In the 22nd installment of his column, J.R. Lind

Carti, author event with Allison Moorer, Jason

The virtual Nashville Jewish Film Festival

walks a historically rich district beset with

Isbell and the 400 Unit, the Scene’s Best of

returns with a full slate

rapid development

Nashville Festival, National Black Poetry Day

BY JOE NOLAN

BY J.R. LIND

Festival, Hamilton Leithauser & Kevin Morby,

Seen From a Marriage .......................... 183

Open Streets Closes North Nashville to Cars, Welcomes Bikes and Pedestrians ............................................. 24

The Band’s Visit, Portrait of a Lady on Fire,

Bergman Island is a gentle, moving, meta tale

Universal Monsters + Restored Halloween

BY SADAF AHSAN

Classics: Possession, Steve Martin & Martin

Primal Stream 69 ................................. 183

The event — organized by Walk Bike Nashville

Short and more

Gnarly gore, theater-kid struggles and

CITY LIMITS

CRITICS’ PICKS

FILM

— aims to show how ours could be a safer, more

Hungarian weirdness, now available to stream

walkable city

BY JASON SHAWHAN

BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

177 BOOKS

Connective Tissue Sinew chronicles 10 years of open-mic night

COVER STORY

Poetry in the Brew

Food & Drink Readers’ Poll .................... 35 Food & Drink Writers’ Choice ................ 46 Retail & Services Readers’ Poll ............. 71 Retail & Services Writers’ Choice.......... 76 Media & Politics Readers’ Poll .............. 87 Media & Politics Writers’ Choice ........... 90 Kids & Pets Readers’ Poll ...................... 93 Kids & Pets Writers’ Choice ................... 96 People & Places Readers’ Poll ............ 105 People & Places Writers’ Choice ......... 108 Health, Beauty & Fitness Readers’ Poll ......................................... 117 Health, Beauty & Fitness Writers’ Choice ...................................... 122 Home & Garden Readers’ Poll ............. 127 Home & Garden Writers’ Choice ......... 129 Arts, Music & Culture Readers’ Poll .... 135 Arts, Music & Culture Writers’ Choice ...................................... 140

BY KASHIF ANDREW GRAHAM

178 MUSIC

Make Some Room ................................ 178

184

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

185

MARKETPLACE

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR:

Lucie Rice is a freelance illustrator and designer whose whimsical imagery can be seen in magazines, books, murals and ad campaigns. Her work can be seen all over Nashville, most notably at the Grand Ole Opry and the Tennessee State Museum. See more of her work at lucierice.com.

The Shindellas set the table with Hits That Stick Like Grits BY BRITTNEY McKENNA

Tuning In ................................................ 179 Matthew Shipp listens closely on his solo release Codebreaker BY RON WYNN

Perfect Pussy......................................... 179 Mannequin Pussy takes the stage with purpose BY MEGAN SELING

Rock of Ages ......................................... 180 Tommy Womack digs back to his roots on I Thought I Was Fine BY DARYL SANDERS

nashvillescene.com | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

contents_10-14-21.indd 19

10/6/21 6:38 PM

PET OF THE WEEK!

CLYDE is a 6-year-old snuggly dog who loves curling up on his dog bed, surrounded by his collection of toys, plus appreciating all the affection one may give him. To know him is to love him. Anyone out there reading this: Please know that this love-bug has been known to yell “SHOTGUN” when going on car rides. Clyde is housebroken plus he walks right by your side when on a leash. He’s shy when you first meet but patiently get to know him and soon you will find out that he will fill your heart with so much love. Seriously, look at that adorable face. Such a handsome boy who is looking for a forever home as an only pet. He wants all your love. In return, he’ll give you all of his. He sounds like THE BEST dog, right? Call 615.352.1010 or visit nashvillehumane.org Located at 213 Oceola Ave., Nashville, TN 37209

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FROM BILL FREEMAN WHICH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ARE WORKING FOR YOU? We elect members of the U.S. Congress to deal with difficult problems on our behalf, though I think we lose sight of that in the fog of partisan polarization. This month, the most difficult problem is authorizing an increase in the debt ceiling so that our government can continue to operate. I find it hard to believe that a government shutdown is in anyone’s interest. In an attempt to look past the partisan bickering, I spent some time on GovTrack.us, an independent statistical analysis and data tool that “tracks the United States Congress and helps Americans participate in their national legislature.” I wanted to see how our delegation is doing at their job. I was unfortunately not surprised that GovTrack’s 2020 report cards on congressional activity during the recent 116th Congress showed how wide the partisan divide is in our Tennessee delegation. But the report cards also show how well some members of the delegation are working for us. Democrat Steve Cohen of Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District stands out. GovTrack shows Cohen as the best member of our delegation at getting influential co-sponsors for his bills. He’s good at what he does. Committee chairs or other ranking committee members think that his proposed bills are good ideas. Tennessee’s other Democrat, Jim Cooper of the state’s 5th Congressional District, co-sponsors the second-most bills of the Tennessee delegation. This analysis puts Cohen at the top of the Tennessee delegation on the site’s leadership scale, which measures the number of bills that members of Congress NASHVI LLE, TN that net key support from ranking propose THERE’S members of Congress. NOT NOTAs GovTrack describes it, theBOOZE site’s “unique leadership analysis looks atINwho is co-sponsoring whose HERE bills. A higher score shows a greater ability to get cosponsors on bills.” Our GOP members of Congress have some performance issues. Take for example Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District, who has been in office since January 2011. Despite being in office for more than 10 years, DesJarlais holds no leadership positions on any House committee or subcommittee. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of the state’s 3rd Congressional District introduced the fewest bills out of our delegation, according to his report card. Fleischmann is hand in hand with Rep. Mark Green of the 7th, who “co-sponsored the second-fewest bills compared to Tennessee delegation,” and Rep. John Rose of the 6th, who co-sponsored the fewest bills. Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District introduced zero bills that became law, according to his 2020 report card. Not one of 8th Congressional District Rep. David Kustoff’s sponsored bills during the 116th Congress earned the support of a co-sponsor who was the chair or held a ranking position on the committee where the bills were referred. According to GovTrack, “Getting support from committee leaders on relevant committees is a crucial step in moving legislation forward.” Tennessee’s newest congressional representative — Rep. Diana Harshbarger of the state’s 1st Congressional

U.S. REP. STEVE COHEN District, who has been in office since January — seems to be in lockstep with her GOP counterparts. “Harshbarger is among the Republican legislators whose attempt to disenfranchise Democratic states in the 2020 presidential election was a part of the months-long attempted coup that included the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol,” says GovTrack. Despite the reflexive embrace of partisanship by the members of our delegation, it is still encouraging to see that some of our elected officials continue to work cooperatively to improve the lives of their constituents. In our less politically combative modes, all Tennesseans should expect the people we “hire” to represent us in our federal government. Getting the tough work done in Washington so that our lives can continue to improve is an admirable task when it’s done right. When the announcement came last month that Ford Motor Company has selected West Tennessee for a new electric vehicle assembly plant, I was reminded of a quote by Henry Ford: “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” I wish our members of Congress thought that. We must encourage our senators and representatives to work professionally and harmoniously, even if they disagree on the politics around policy. Cooperation is not a dirty word.

Bill Freeman Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and Home Page Media Group in Williamson County.

Editor-in-Chief D. Patrick Rodgers Senior Editor Dana Kopp Franklin Associate Editor Alejandro Ramirez Arts Editor Laura Hutson Hunter Culture Editor Erica Ciccarone Music and Listings Editor Stephen Trageser Contributing Editor Jack Silverman Staff Writers Kelsey Beyeler, Stephen Elliott, Nancy Floyd, Steven Hale, Kara Hartnett, J.R. Lind, Kathryn Rickmeyer, William Williams Contributing Writers Sadaf Ahsan, Radley Balko, Ashley Brantley, Maria Browning, Steve Cavendish, Chris Chamberlain, Lance Conzett, Marcus K. Dowling, Steve Erickson, Randy Fox, Adam Gold, Seth Graves, Kim Green, Steve Haruch, Geoffrey Himes, Edd Hurt, Jennifer Justus, Christine Kreyling, Katy Lindenmuth, Craig D. Lindsey, Brittney McKenna, Marissa R. Moss, Noel Murray, Joe Nolan, Betsy Phillips, John Pitcher, Margaret Renkl, Daryl Sanders, Megan Seling, Jason Shawhan, Michael Sicinski, Nadine Smith, Ashley Spurgeon, Amy Stumpfl, Kay West, Abby White, Andrea Williams, Ron Wynn, Charlie Zaillian Art Director Elizabeth Jones Photographers Eric England, Matt Masters, Daniel Meigs Graphic Designers Mary Louise Meadors, Tracey Starck Production Coordinator Christie Passarello Events and Marketing Director Olivia Britton Marketing and Promotions Manager Robin Fomusa Publisher Mike Smith Senior Advertising Solutions Managers Maggie Bond, Sue Falls, Michael Jezewski, Carla Mathis, Heather Cantrell Mullins, Jennifer Trsinar, Keith Wright Advertising Solutions Managers William Shutes, Niki Tyree Sales Operations Manager Chelon Hill Hasty Advertising Solutions Associates Caroline Poole, Alissa Wetzel Special Projects Coordinator Susan Torregrossa President Frank Daniels III Chief Financial Officer Todd Patton Corporate Production Director Elizabeth Jones Vice President of Marketing Mike Smith IT Director John Schaeffer Circulation and Distribution Director Gary Minnis For advertising information please contact: Mike Smith, msmith@nashvillescene.com or 615-844-9238 FW PUBLISHING LLC Owner Bill Freeman VOICE MEDIA GROUP National Advertising 1-888-278-9866 vmgadvertising.com

©2021, Nashville Scene. 210 12th Ave. S., Ste. 100, Nashville, TN 37203. Phone: 615-244-7989. The Nashville Scene is published weekly by FW Publishing LLC. The publication is free, one per reader. Removal of more than one paper from any distribution point constitutes theft, and violators are subject to prosecution. Back issues are available at our office. Email: All email addresses consist of the employee’s first initial and last name (no space between) followed by @nashvillescene.com; to reach contributing writers, email editor@nashvillescene.com. Editorial Policy: The Nashville Scene covers news, art and entertainment. In our pages appear divergent views from across the community. Those views do not necessarily represent those of the publishers. Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available at $150 per year for 52 issues. Subscriptions will be posted every Thursday and delivered by third-class mail in usually five to seven days. Please note: Due to the nature of third-class mail and postal regulations, any issue(s) could be delayed by as much as two or three weeks. There will be no refunds issued. Please allow four to six weeks for processing new subscriptions and address changes. Send your check or Visa/MC/AmEx number with expiration date to the above address.

In memory of Jim Ridley, editor 2009-2016

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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10/6/21 5:47 PM

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MOVING IN? MOVING OUT? MOVING UP? BUY • SELL • INVEST • MANAGE

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nashvillescene.com | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

OCTOBER 14 TO NOVEMBER 11

We’re hiring for our seasonal event staff to help out at our Fall 2021/ Spring 2022 events! Interested in working with us? Email us your resume and a little bit about you to

events@nashvillescene.com

OPENING NIGHT KISS ME KOSHER

TANGO SHALOM

SUBLET

Thursday, October 14

Saturday, October 23

Thursday, November 4

7PM

MY NAME IS SARA

LOVE IT WAS NOT

Saturday, October 16

Tuesday, October 26

A STARRY SKY ABOVE THE ROMAN GHETTO

7PM

Family Screening for

7:30PM

Grades 7 & above

THOU SHALT NOT HATE

BULLY. COWARD. VICTIM: THE STORY OF ROY COHN

Sunday, November 7 9:30AM

Thursday, October 28 7PM

SHTETLERS

Tuesday, October 19 7PM

IRMI: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF IRMI SELVER SENIOR MATINEE

THE ONE AND ONLY JEWISH MISS AMERICA & STUDENT FILM WINNER MONDAY MATINEE Monday, November 1

Thursday, October 21

12PM

HOWIE MANDEL: BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME

POWDER KEG

Thursday, October 21

7PM

Tuesday, November 2

7PM

Tuesday, November 9 7PM

SOROS Wednesday, November 10 7PM

CLOSING NIGHT GOLDEN VOICES Tuesday, November 11 7PM

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NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

CITY LIMITS

WEDGEWOODHOUSTON

Walk a

Mile

In the 22nd installment of his column, J.R. Lind walks a historically rich district beset with rapid development BY J.R. LIND | PHOTOS BY ERIC ENGLAND

with J.R. Lind May Hosiery

tre

ut S

stn

Houston Street

Pillow Street

Che

Street

Martin Street

Hagan Street

Humphreys

THE ROUTE: From May Hosiery, follow Houston Street southeast. Right on Pillow, then right on Humphreys. Left on Martin, then right on Merritt. Right on Hagan, following it through its merge with Chestnut, returning to May Hosiery. CRANES: 4 ABANDONED SCOOTERS: 2

Merritt Avenue

Once a month, reporter and resident historian J.R. Lind will pick an area in the city to examine while accompanied by a photographer. With his column Walk a Mile, he’ll walk a one-mile stretch of that area, exploring the neighborhood’s history and character, its developments, its current homes and businesses, and what makes it a unique part of Nashville. If you have a suggestion for a future Walk a Mile, email editor@nashvillescene.com.

hat if, instead of Music City, Nashville took the sobriquet “Sock City”? It’s not that farfetched. In 1897, Jacob May moved to Nashville and opened the Rock City Hosiery Mill, alluding to the thencurrent Nashville nickname. (Missed opportunity not calling it the Sock City Hosiery Mill, tautological as that may have been.) He jump-started his business by working out of and using convict labor from the state prison, which was then on Church Street — that of course kept costs low, at the price of wading into a morally specious space. In 1908, Jacob moved his mill to Brown Street in what we now call WedgewoodHouston, and then expanded to Chestnut and Houston streets, where the facility we now know as May Hosiery Mills remains. By that time, the mill was one of the city’s biggest

employers, and at its peak it churned out a million socks every week. May made up for his earlier moral shortfall in the 1930s when the mill employed hundreds of European Jewish refugees who May helped flee out of Nazi Germany. May-made socks were everywhere by the mid-20th century. Seriously, everywhere: The socks Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wore on the moon? They came from the factory at Chestnut and Houston. The mill closed in 1985 and became a rather charmingly grungy and dark studio space for artists of all types. AJ Capital Partners — the company that has in the meantime purchased, among other things, longtime venue Exit/In — bought the property in 2019. AJ spruced up the outside with new — though period-appropriate — brick and windows as part of a broader update. AJ and architecture firm Tuck Hinton have festooned the large street-level window with hyper-close-up black-and-white portraits of (presumably) longtime Nashvillians in an indication they intend to be good stewards of the city’s character. It’s a matter of personal perspective if it comes off as endearing or cynical. The stretch of Houston south of the mill is chockablock with construction, coffee and craft cocktails. On this particular October morning, many of the coffee shops are as closed as the cocktail bars, which seems like an odd business decision. The cafes that were open, however, didn’t seem to mind

the lack of competition. Beyond Houston’s intersection with Brown, the crew at Jackalope is brewing beer and having a joyous sing-along. Across the street, the building bookended by Earnest Bar & Hideaway and Bastion is architecturally interesting. The first floor is stone, extending up to the arches above the windows, where it transitions to brick. A copper door greened by patina leads to the Nashville showroom of high-end furniture concern Cococo Home. The lots on the north side of Houston narrow into flatirons as the road moves east and the rail line creeps closer. An ancient wall continues to do yeoman’s work holding the earth in the railroad right-of-way from tumbling into the road. Vacant lots on Pillow have been fenced, now serving as parking for the nearby hangouts as the road climbs past what are either overgrown lots or pleasant urban pockets of nature (depending on one’s perspective). At the corner of Pillow and Humphreys is the former home of the Humphreys Street Methodist Church, which bought the plot in 1900. Brentwood Methodist then purchased

it in 2013 and transferred ownership to Harvest Hands Community Development Corp. The late Howard Olds, longtime pastor of the Brentwood church, wanted to use his congregation’s resources to help their neighbors in Wedgewood-Houston. That gave rise to Harvest Hands, which partnered with residents through the South Nashville Action People neighborhood association to provide after-school care, healthy living programs and economic assistance. Of course, the Wedgewood-Houston of 2008 is not the Wedgewood-Houston of 2021. Gentrification and a rapid cost-of-living increase forced out many of the families Harvest Hands served, and eventually the organization moved its headquarters across Lafayette to Napier-Sudekum. But the old church remains, now called Humphreys Street Coffee Shop, a cafe and general store of sorts that employs neighborhood teens — providing not only work, but also mentoring, financial literacy programs and scholarships. As it moves east, Humphreys climbs enough to offer a stunning and, honestly, unexpected view of the Nashville skyline. Just

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CITY LIMITS

as stunning is the massive Italianate home at 441 Humphreys. Officially — at least according to the property assessor — the home dates to 1899, and certainly the edifice is of that vintage. Its Victorian stylings indicate as much. But within its walls is a dogtrot cabin built in the early 19th century by Capt. John Rains, part of the pioneering group led by James Robertson and John Donelson, on his 640-acre land grant. He moved the cabin to what is now 441 Humphreys in the 1840s and expanded it into a Federal-style home for his youngest daughter, Sally Merritt. Her daughter began work expanding the home — by then known by the name it holds now, the Merritt Mansion — in the 1870s, as it took the form it has now. The mansion stayed in the family until the 1920s, when it passed to the Hargroves family. The last Hargroves descendant, Elizabeth Crawford, lived there with a family friend from the late 1920s until 2003. When the friend died, the coroner told Metro Codes the home was collapsing, the roof caving in. Initially, Codes ordered the mansion’s demolition, but SNAP urged them to wait and see if a buyer could be found for the neighborhood landmark. Indeed, Patrick and Holly Murphy — he’s a software engineer, she’s a paralegal who spotted the listing in

the newspaper — picked up the home for $270,000 in 2004. The Murphys resurrected the home and were married in its front yard before selling to Kings of Leon in 2015 (for a cool $1.3 million). Now? It’s owned by, yes, AJ Capital Partners. There’s an odd collection of stairways to nowhere and mailboxes that appear to have no corresponding residence of business as Humphreys glides back downhill to the west and its intersection with Martin and the SNAP community center. In the late 1970s, SNAP — which was founded by four longtime residents of the neighborhood — received a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to purchase a bar, the Pink Poodle 2. SNAP was started initially to keep the area from being rezoned entirely industrial. They fought off the plans for a waste treatment plant and turned a bar into a place where the neighborhood could gather. One of the most active neighborhood associations in the city, SNAP uses a rubric — agreed to by neighborhood residents — that determines if new developments (and there have been and are a lot of them) meet their standards. Turning the Pink Poodle 2 into a community center doesn’t mean there aren’t any watering holes on Martin. Diskin Cider has a taproom here, and Corsair’s newest facility at Martin’s intersection with Merritt sits where the aforementioned waste treatment plant was planned. Beyond Corsair, Merritt is almost nothing

but construction. It’s a little bit like walking into a massive crater where some city has bulldozed blocks to build infrastructure for an ill-advised Olympics hosting bid. As Nashvillians have learned, elevator shafts and stairwells go up first when multi-floor buildings come out of the ground. In WedgewoodHouston, the cinder-block towers dot the dusty landscape like 21st-century monoliths or moai dedicated to the gods of “progress.” Neighborhood mainstays like David Lusk Gallery, Dozen Bakery and Gabby’s Burgers and Fries (sign proclaiming “Still Alive!!!”) dot Hagan as it runs north. If there were ever traditional sidewalks on Hagan, they aren’t there now, but there are nice trails on the roadside marked out with cedar bark. Hagan curves back into Chestnut, the corner home’s yard bursting with wildflowers as trains sit laid up in the rail yard nearby, waiting their turn to stall traffic at the crossing near Chestnut and Fourth Avenue. Among the businesses on the blocks of Chestnut southwest of May Hosiery is United Record Pressing’s longtime plant. (URP headquarters have since moved to Allied Drive.) It was founded in 1949 as Southern Plastics, an offshoot of an independent Nashville record label. It was one of the top manufacturers of vinyl records, particularly 7-inch singles, which would eventually become the standard for jukeboxes. URP took its current name in the 1970s, and its retro-cool building and key role in rock history (it put out the first North American 7-inch by The Beatles) are enough to make it historically significant. But much like May Hosiery, there’s more to the story. Among the company’s clients in the 1950s and ’60s were labels like Motown and Vee Jay Records, both putting out music by Black artists. Those artists and record executives would, on occasion, need to come to Nashville for meetings. But it being the 1960s and Nashville, accommodation was tough to find, particularly outside of North Nashville. So the record manufacturers turned an upstairs space at their Chestnut Street facility into the “Motown Suite,” a place open to their Black clients to live and work while in town. The suite is still intact, decorated just as it was during segregation. There’s been a lot of change in Wedgewood-Houston, and a lot of it is still going on. But there’s hope that the changes will honor the legacy and character of the neighborhood, because for a long time, people here have been standing up for what’s right. EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

OPEN STREETS CLOSES NORTH NASHVILLE TO CARS, WELCOMES BIKES AND PEDESTRIANS The event — organized by Walk Bike Nashville — aims to show how ours could be a safer, more walkable city BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

n the afternoon of Oct. 17, Buchanan Street will be closed to cars so North Nashville residents and visitors can dance, play, bike and shop in the streets. It’s part of the Open Streets program organized by transit advocacy organization Walk Bike Nashville, and it came together with the assistance of North Nashville businesses and community leaders. “Our hope for this is to show what [happens] when we allow streets to have a multitude of uses, to really OPEN STREETS NASHVILLE, just allow that space NOON-5 P.M. SUNDAY, OCT. 17 for communities to play OPENSTREETSNASHVILLE.ORG and do as they wish,” says Brenda Pérez, Walk Bike Nashville’s community engagement coordinator. It’s no secret that Nashville isn’t a particularly walkable city. In fact, the streets have become more dangerous for walkers over the past few years — in 2020, 39 pedestrians were killed by vehicles, an increase from 32 in 2019. What’s more, accidents like these are more common in working-class and low-income neighborhoods. Open Streets started in 2015 in the Gulch, later relocating to 12South. Walk Bike Nashville hosted the event at Buchanan Street for the first time in 2019, and after being canceled due to the pandemic in 2020, it’s back this weekend in North Nashville. Other cities in the U.S. hold Open Streets programs, among them Atlanta, San Francisco and Minneapolis, and Walk Bike Nashville credits the program’s origins to Bogota, Colombia. The event is framed as a way to rethink roads and infrastructure. Pérez says it’s important to coordinate and listen to the community when hosting an event like this. One of the community leaders Walk Bike Nashville has worked with closely to organize Open Streets is writer and North Nashville resident M. Simone Boyd. “When they approached us about doing it in North Nashville, I said, ‘Hey, you know, people don’t really know what Open Streets is, and we have to make the event feel like us,’ ” says Boyd. (Disclosure: Boyd has previously written for the Scene.) Boyd advocated for the event as a way to celebrate arts,–– history and culture. In 2019, Boyd and collaborators helped raise more than $30,000 for the event from local >> P. 26

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CITY LIMITS

OPEN STREETS 2019

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In .

B ECAUSE WARMHEARTED PEOPLE CAN HELP KEEP THE COLD OUT. When Nashvillians band together, we can achieve anything—

businesses, which helped fund 11 projects and exhibits at Open Streets — more than 40 individual artists were featured that afternoon. There will be plenty of art at the 2021 event as well, including singers, dancers and youth artists who will tackle themes from identity to food sustainability with their exhibits. Boyd warns participants to dress comfortably and be ready to sweat, thanks to line-dancing, doubledutch, fitness classes and more. “It is not an observer event!” she says. Among the local business owners participating in Open Streets is Keith Fulton, co-owner of streetwear shop The Trenches. Fulton moved to Nashville from New Orleans earlier this year after his younger brother Kristian scored a coveted gig in town: He was drafted as a cornerback for the Tennessee Titans. “We had been out here for a couple of months just noticing the lack of streetwear stores, shoe stores, things like that,” says Keith Fulton. The brothers set up shop in North Nashville in the spring, and Fulton says the store has been an opportunity to introduce his brother as a businessman as well as an athlete. The neighborhood and its history also remind the brothers of their hometown. Fulton says Open Streets is a great chance to “check out all the Black-owned businesses and meet everybody — meet the businesses that are going to continue to grow.” The Trenches will have some merchandise at the event, as well as a three-point shot contest.

While walkability can be a boon for any neighborhood, including working-class ones, there are also concerns that walkability is linked to gentrification — 12South is a local example of the issue. Pérez says investment in communities like North Nashville isn’t about attracting developers, but rather listening to residents and finding what they want and need. Pérez adds that communities shouldn’t have to forgo improvements to avoid displacement. “We deserve to have places where we can be outside safely and not be scared by the traffic,” says Pérez. Boyd says a lot of the narratives concerning North Nashville are about either real estate or violence and crime. After the March 2020 tornado hit North Nashville, predatory investors swooped in to make offers on devastated homes and neighboring buildings, raising concerns about post-disaster gentrification. But “North Nashville has so many stories,” Boyd says. While she says she doesn’t know how to stop gentrification — a puzzle that cities and activists across the country are struggling with — she believes it will be important to celebrate and amplify community voices, including with events like this one. “There’s a strong community here,” she says. “There’s a strong culture here. And we invite you to celebrate with us.” EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

the Power of Change is proof of that. Through the program, all residential and commercial NES bills will be rounded up to the nearest dollar each month starting January 1. Ranging from $.01 to $.99 per month, 100% of the funds will be combined to provide energy efficiency improvements for our neighbors in need. When we’re all in, a brighter future for Nashville is possible—and that’s

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THANK YOU, NASHVILLE, FOR 10 YEARS! “Parnassus has given Nashville that most dangerous of portals: a gateway to ideas.” —Jim Ridley, Best of Nashville 2013

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2011 2010 2009 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

ILLUSTRATION: LUCIE RICE

Not every bit of 2021 has been the best — the Delta variant has kept this damned infernal pandemic alive a lot longer than any of us anticipated, or at least longer than we hoped. But there has also been a great deal of rebirth and rejuvenation this year. Restaurants and venues and other beloved longtime institutions have reopened and expanded, and new establishments have joined the fold. As we’ve returned to work — and returned to dining out, to the movies, to concerts — it’s felt a bit like a homecoming, hasn’t it? And so that’s how we’re approaching this, the Scene’s 33rd annual Best of Nashville issue. We’re celebrating Nashville’s artists, businesses, restaurants and more with our writers’ choices. We’re also sharing the results of our yearly readers’ poll. Read on to find out who you, our fellow Nashvillians, voted the city’s Best Restaurant, Best Brewery and Best Cheap Date. And dig in to find out who our writers selected as Nashville’s Best Chef, Best Metal Band, Best Farmers Market and beyond. Strike up the fanfare, and read on for this year’s Best of Nashville.

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Thank you Nashville, for voting

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ILLUSTRATION: LUCIE RICE

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BEST BAGEL

1. 2. 3.

Proper Bagel Crieve Hall Bagel Co. Star Bagel Cafe

BEST BAKERY

1. 2. 3.

Baked on 8th Dozen Bakery Merridee’s

BEST BARTENDER

1. 2. 3.

J.A. Harrison Sarah Smedley-Watkins Brody Warner

BEST BEER SELECTION

1. 2. 3.

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium Craft Brewed The Filling Station

BEST BAR

BEST BREAKFAST

BEST BARBECUE

BEST BREWERY (LOCAL)

1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club Chopper Pearl Diver Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint Edley’s Bar-B-Que Peg Leg Porker

1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.

The Loveless Cafe Fido Big Bad Breakfast Diskin Cider Yazoo Brewing Company Southern Grist Brewing Company

BEST BAKERY AND BEST CAKE BAKER, READERS’ POLL: BAKED ON 8TH

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST BURRITO, READERS’ POLL: BAJA BURRITO

BEST BAR, READERS’ POLL: THE FOX BAR & COCKTAIL CLUB

BEST BRUNCH

1. 2. 3.

Sinema Adele’s Lyra

BEST BURGER

1. 2. 3.

Jack Brown’s Beer and Burger Joint The Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden Burger Up

BEST BURRITO

1. 2. 3.

Baja Burrito Oscar’s Redheaded Stranger

BEST CAKE BAKER (LOCAL)

1. 2. 3.

Baked on 8th Gracefully Sweet Laura Gillway

BEST CATFISH, READERS’ POLL: UNCLE BUD’S CATFISH, CHICKEN & SUCH

BEST CANDY STORE

1. 2. 3.

Goo Goo Shop Olive and Sinclair Savannah’s Candy Kitchen

BEST CATERER

1. 2. 3.

Chef’s Market The Loveless Cafe TomKats Hospitality

BEST CATFISH

1. 2. 3.

Uncle Bud’s Catfish Chicken & Such Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish Edley’s Bar-B-Que

BEST CHEAP EATS

1. 2. 3.

Dino’s Cheap Charlie’s Taco Shop Mas Tacos Por Favor

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

FOOD & DRINK READERS’ POLL

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BEST COFFEEHOUSE, READERS’ POLL: FROTHY MONKEY

BEST CHEF

1. 2. 3.

Sean Brock Ryder Zetts Deb Paquette

BEST CHINESE

1. 2. 3.

Steam Boys Lucky Bamboo China Bistro Best Wok Chinese Restaurant

BEST CUPCAKES

1. 2. 3.

The Cupcake Collection Gigi’s Cupcakes Sunflower Bakehouse

BEST DELI

1. 2. 3.

Mitchell Delicatessen 51st Deli Shep’s Delicatessen

BEST COCKTAILS 1. 2. 3.

The Optimist Baked on 8th Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

BEST DISTILLERY

1. 2. 3.

Ole Smoky Distillery Nashville Barrel Company Corsair Distillery & Taproom

BEST DIVE BAR

1. 2. 3.

Dino’s Bar Mickey’s Tavern Santa’s Pub

BEST DOUGHNUT

1. 2. 3.

Five Daughters Bakery, 12South East Park Donuts & Coffee Fox’s Donut Den Nashville Farmers’ Market Richland Park Farmers Market 12 South Farmers Market The Peach Truck Gardens of Babylon Radical Rabbit

BEST FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE

1. 2. 3. PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

Craft Brewed The Filling Station Midtown Corkdorks Wine Spirits Beer

Uber Eats Doordash Postmates

BEST FOOD TRUCK

1. 2. 3.

Farmhouse Nashville Green Door Gourmet The Produce Place

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1. 2. 3.

BEST FARMERS MARKET VENDOR

Frothy Monkey Crema Coffee Roasters Humphreys Street

BEST CSA/LOCAL PRODUCE

BEST DESSERT

1. 2. 3.

BEST CRAFT BEER RETAILER

1. 2. 3.

BEST DELI AND BEST SANDWICH SHOP, READERS’ POLL: MITCHELL DELICATESSEN

BEST FARMERS MARKET

The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club Pearl Diver Attaboy

BEST COFFEEHOUSE

1. 2. 3.

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

FOOD & DRINK READERS’ POLL

BEST DOUGHNUT, READERS’ POLL: FIVE DAUGHTERS BAKERY, 12SOUTH

1. 2. 3.

The Grilled Cheeserie Maiz de la Vida Califarmia

10/6/21 6:36 PM

Far from from the the Far MADDING CROWD. CROWD. MADDING Yazoo Brewing Company - A Nashville Original 900 River Bluff Drive · Madison, TN 37115 YazooBrew.com

BROADWAY, LUKE’S WAY

WITH A SCRATCH KITCHEN, GREAT SUSHI, LIVE MUSIC, AND TWO ROOFTOP PATIOS WITH VIEWS EVEN THE LOCALS LOVE.

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BEST HOT CHICKEN, READERS’ POLL: HATTIE B’S HOT CHICKEN

BEST FRIES

1. 2. 3.

Dino’s Bar Grillshack Fries and Burgers Burger Up

BEST HAPPY HOUR

1. 2. 3.

Lockeland Table Jonathan’s Grille Lyra

BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT

1. 2. 3.

Coco’s Italian Market Nicoletto’s Italian Kitchen Caffé Nonna

BEST JUICE BAR

1. 2. 3.

The Urban Juicer E+ROSE Juice Bar

BEST HOT CHICKEN

1. 2. 3.

Korea House Restaurant Babo Korean Bar Hai Woon Dai

BEST LATE-NIGHT EATS

1. 2. 3.

Daddy’s Dogs Dino’s Bar Duke’s

BEST LIQUOR STORE

1. 2. 3.

Frugal MacDoogal Midtown Corkdorks Wine Spirits Beer Sinkers Beverages

BEST MARGARITA

1. 2. 3.

Rosepepper Cantina El Fuego Restaurant Bartaco Arnold’s Country Kitchen Wendell Smith’s Restaurant Monell’s Greko Greek Street Food Epice Lyra

BEST MENU

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Bobbie’s Dairy Dip KOKOS Ice Cream

1. 2. 3.

The Southern Steak & Oyster Saint Stephen O-Ku Sushi Nashville

BEST MEXICAN

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

Chauhan Ale & Masala House Taj Indian Restaurant Woodlands Indian Vegetarian Cuisine

1. 2. 3.

BEST MEDITERRANEAN

Daddy’s Dogs I Dream of Weenie Lucky’s 3 Star Bar

BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT

1. 2. 3.

BEST KOREAN RESTAURANT

1. 2. 3.

BEST ICE CREAM

1. 2. 3.

BEST MARGARITA, READERS’ POLL: ROSEPEPPER CANTINA

BEST MEAT-AND-THREE

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, Midtown Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack South Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish

BEST HOT DOG

1. 2. 3.

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

FOOD & DRINK READERS’ POLL

1. 2. 3.

Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant Rosepepper Cantina El Palenque Restaurant

BEST ICE CREAM, READERS’ POLL: JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS

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FOOD & DRINK READERS’ POLL

BEST RESTAURANT IN WILLIAMSON CO.

BEST NEIGHBORHOOD BAR

1. 2. 3.

Lucky’s 3 Star Bar Neighbors of Sylvan Park Germantown Pub

BEST RESTAURANT IN WILSON CO.

BEST NEW BAR (OPENED SINCE OCTOBER 2020)

1. 2. 3.

Otto’s Bar Jane’s Hideaway Lucky’s 3 Star Bar

1. 2. 3.

Jane’s Hideaway Copper Branch The Continental Nashville

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

Diskin Cider Pearl Diver Sonny’s Patio Pub & Refuge

BEST PIZZA

1. 2. 3.

Five Points Pizza East Pizza Perfect DeSano Pizza Bakery

BEST PLACE FOR A BUSINESS LUNCH/POWER LUNCH

1. 2. 3.

BrickTop’s Midtown Cafe The Southern Steak & Oyster

BEST RESTAURANT, READERS’ POLL: PENINSULA

BEST PLACE FOR A ROMANTIC DINNER

1. 2. 3.

BEST RESTAURANT

Daddy’s Dogs Once Upon a Time in France Margot Café & Bar

1. 2. 3.

BEST POKE

1. 2. 3.

Peninsula The Optimist Lockeland Table

BEST RESTAURANT IN RUTHERFORD CO.

Poke Bros. Kawai Poké Co. Zushi-Poke

1. 2. 3.

Demos’ Restaurant The Alley on Main Five Senses Restaurant, Bar & Catering

BEST RESTAURANT IN SUMNER CO.

1. 2. 3.

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST PIZZA, READERS’ POLL: FIVE POINTS PIZZA EAST

Bourbon Steak Blue Moon Waterfront Grille Acme Feed & Seed

BEST RIBS

BEST PATIO 1. 2. 3.

Los Compadres Catch 22 Craft Kitchen & Tap House Demos’ Restaurant

BEST RESTAURANT WITH A VIEW

BEST NEW RESTAURANT (OPENED SINCE OCTOBER 2020)

1. 2. 3.

Red Pony Cork & Cow Culaccino Italian Restaurant + Bar

1. 2. 3.

Peg Leg Porker Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint Edley’s Bar-B-Que

BEST ROOFTOP BAR

1. 2. 3.

L.A. Jackson Acme Feed & Seed White Limozeen

BEST SANDWICH SHOP

1. 2. 3.

Mitchell Delicatessen 51st Deli Tower Deli

BEST SEAFOOD

1. 2. 3.

The Optimist Henrietta Red Juicy Seafood

Rosie Food & Wine Cafe Rakka Sea Salt

BEST SEAFOOD, READERS’ POLL: THE OPTIMIST

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

1. 2. 3.

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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FOOD & DRINK READERS’ POLL

BEST TAKEOUT, READERS’ POLL: STEAM BOYS

BEST SERVICE

1. 2. 3.

Diskin Cider The Southern Steak & Oyster The Continental Nashville

BEST SMALL PLATES

1. 2. 3.

Barcelona Wine Bar Butcher & Bee Hawkers Asian Street Food

BEST SPORTS BAR

1. 2. 3.

BEST SUSHI/JAPANESE

Double Dogs Restaurant Neighbors Sam’s Place

1. 2. 3.

BEST STEAKHOUSE

1. 2. 3.

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST VEGETARIAN, READERS’ POLL: SUNFLOWER CAFE

O-Ku Sushi Fulin’s Asian Cuisine Samurai Sushi

BEST TACO

Bourbon Steakhouse Kayne Prime Sperry’s

1. 2. 3.

Mas Tacos Por Favor Redheaded Stranger Bartaco

BEST TAKEOUT

1. 2. 3.

Steam Boys Lucky Bamboo China Bistro The Eastern Peak

BEST THAI

1. 2. 3.

The Smiling Elephant Thai Esane Thai Phooket

BEST TO-GO COCKTAILS

1. 2. 3.

Rosepepper Cantina The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club Chopper

BEST VEGAN 1. 2. 3.

The Wild Cow AVO Sunflower Cafe

BEST VEGETARIAN

1. 2. 3.

Sunflower Cafe The Wild Cow Woodlands Indian Vegetarian Cuisine

BEST VIETNAMESE

1. 2. 3.

Vui’s Kitchen Miss Saigon East Side Banh Mi

BEST WINE LIST (RESTAURANT OR BAR)

1. 2. 3.

The Optimist Barcelona Wine Bar Lyra

BEST WINE STORE

1. 2. 3.

Woodland Wine Merchant Grand Cru Wine & Spirits Midtown Corkdorks Wine Spirits Beer

BEST WINERY/VINEYARD

1. 2. 3.

Arrington Vineyards City Winery Grinder’s Switch Winery

BEST WINGS

1. 2. 3.

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint Waldo’s Chicken and Beer Germantown Pub

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST SUSHI/JAPANESE, READERS’ POLL: O-KU SUSHI

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST VIETNAMESE, READERS’ POLL: VUI’S KITCHEN

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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BEST RESTAURANT, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE CATBIRD SEAT (TIE)

BEST RESTAURANT

BASTION AND THE CATBIRD SEAT (TIE)

When choosing a “best” restaurant in Nashville, it’s always a little problematic to try to analyze Strategic Hospitality’s Bastion and The Catbird Seat. While each is unilaterally excellent, the entire dining experience is so controlled that it’s difficult to compare them with other restaurants that operate more at the whim of their customers. No matter, these two are still among the most important restaurants in the region, as masters of hospitality, drivers of culinary trends and incubators for young chefs who go on to improve the Nashville dining scene with their own restaurants. Considering how much control Bastion and The Catbird Seat like to have over the entire dining process, from taking reservations weeks in advance for a coveted space at their chefs’ tables to the final flourish of dessert, they have both rolled admirably with the punches of the past two years. Bastion chef Josh Habiger, of course, was one of the opening chefs at Catbird and begat many of the city’s favorite kitchen leaders through the years. Current Catbird chef Brian Bax-

ter is one of those, having excelled in the Bastion kitchen along with Husk and Atlanta’s Cold Beer on the way to running his own kitchen on Division Street. Both chefs offer thoughtful, intricately plated dishes that combine thematically to create complete meals of small courses. Drink pairings are also integral components of the dining experience at Bastion and Catbird, and their beverage programs are among the best in town. It’s been fun to watch Habiger and Baxter develop their individual styles of cooking through the years, with Habiger really digging on Nordic cuisine currently and Baxter introducing Japanese elements to the farmfresh ingredients that he learned to worship while at Husk. We look forward to seeing what comes next from these important restaurants. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

THE CONTINENTAL

With apologies to the other restaurants that opened over the past year that I love, when I sat down to make my own list of Best New Restaurants, I wrote “The Continental” three times. Sean Brock’s newest restaurant

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST NEW RESTAURANT, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE CONTINENTAL (until Audrey opens), which is located in the lobby level of the Grand Hyatt, is an homage to hotel dining of the past, as well as the chef’s always-inventive brain creating modern interpretations. I was first drawn to The Continental thanks to three little words: prime rib cart. And yes, this is some sublime prime rib; Brock has figured out how to get the flavors from the tasty bits that are stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan imbued through every bite. But the real genius — and I don’t use that word lightly — of The Continental is the way that Brock and his team infuse thoughtfulness and joy through every part of the experience. The set menu means you don’t have to think a lot about what you’re going to eat: Just let the experts plan your evening. Enjoy the velvet plush of the banquettes. Enjoy the genuine glee the staff has at being part of this team. Sip a cocktail, have them help you select a bottle of bubbly, or choose from a selection of zero-proof wines. Let the carts — pâté en croûte, prime rib, dessert — roll up to your table and enjoy your role in fine dining that isn’t stuffy or pretentious. Enjoy the fact that Nashville is lucky to have Brock as one of our own. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST CHEF

TREVOR MORAN

Before even arriving in Nashville, Trevor Moran had logged a significant culinary experience. The Irish-born chef spent four years cooking at Noma in Copenhagen, which is often cited as the best restaurant in the world. After arriving in Nashville in 2013, he got another prestigious gig: heading the kitchen at The Catbird Seat, the crown jewel in the Goldberg brothers’ Strategic Hospitality empire. There he earned kudos for food that was both avant-garde and comforting. Now he has his own restaurant, an Asian-inspired spot called Locust, also in the Strategic Hospitality family. It opened a year ago but didn’t get the attention it deserved in the pandemic-afflicted restaurant scene. Word should now go out far and wide because Locust is a revelation. As my colleague Chris Chamberlain has noted, “Moran’s Irish background, Nordic culinary training and Asian obsessions are all perfectly evident in his menu choices and the overall vibe of the restaurant and dining experience.” Two obsessions are particularly key to the Locust concept: dumplings steamed in bamboo baskets, and kakigōri, or

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST BURGER, WRITERS’ CHOICE: GRILLSHACK

BEST HOT CHICKEN

BEST BURGER

The OG is the champion of the poultry pantheon! Still serving the first and arguably best version of Nashville’s most famous contribution to the culinary canon, Prince’s has added something new to their offering — ambition. The family-run business has undertaken a bit of an expansion toward becoming a chicken chain. The larger Nolensville Road location basically replaced the small North Nashville spot after a fire a few years back, but Prince’s has now spread its wings to other outposts. While their food truck operation at Sixth and Peabody is temporarily on hold, Prince’s partnered with Yee-Haw Brewing Co.’s newest taproom in Greenville, S.C., to offer food at their first venture outside of the state. A planned outpost at the airport has not yet come to fruition. (But really, do you want to eat infernally spicy chicken just before you get on a plane?) The new Prince’s stall at the Assembly Food Hall downtown has quickly attracted long lines of tourists seeking to take the capsaicin ride and downtown workers who are excited to actually be able to enjoy an authentic hot chicken meal during their allotted lunch hour. More hot chicken is always a good thing, and Prince’s is the best! CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

There’s no shortage of good burgers in Nashville. In fact, a fight broke out in our Nashville Scene Slack channel recently when we tried to narrow down the offerings to a concise list. There’s a plethora of sizes, price points and preparation methods, but if you’re looking for a consistently and classically delicious burger that is sure to satisfy every single time, look no further than Grillshack. Made with one-third-pound of Bear Creek Farm beef lightly seasoned with pepper, grilled medium, topped with Muenster cheese, loaded with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles and cozied up in a grilled Charpier’s bun, it’s made the way a burger should be. And don’t even get me started on those Uber Tuber fries. NANCY FLOYD

PRINCE’S HOT CHICKEN

Japanese-style shaved ice dessert. The pork dumplings are impeccable, succulent little nuggets of goodness, served with chili oil on the side. Another recent dish was even more savory: beef tartare and warm rice, served with sheets of nori (seaweed) so you can assemble your own hand roll. Pure umami perfection. Meanwhile, Moran has experimented for years with kakigōri, which is nothing like a snow cone. The ice is as fluffy as snow. Toppings vary, but recently the bed of shaved ice luxuriated beneath a custard-like layer of almond milk and a drizzle of salted caramel. Moran is a chef who constantly innovates, but his food isn’t stunt cuisine. It’s restorative. And Trevor Moran is a culinary genius. DANA KOPP FRANKLIN

BEST SANDWICH

BILL’S SANDWICH PALACE

In 2017, Bon Appetit named NOLA’s Turkey and the Wolf the best new restaurant in America. It was a pretty big deal, because Turkey and the Wolf is a sandwich shop, and that decision showed that The (Problematic) Big Boys in Food were finally confirming what Nashvillians had long known: fun, inventive, delicious food is as likely to come in sandwich form as it is from a 10-course tasting menu. In Nashville, sandwiches of that caliber are created by three Best of Nashville veterans: Aaron Clemins (formerly of everywhere, including City House and the dearly departed Kuchnia & Keller), Ryan Bernhardt (TKO) and Aaron Distler (Mr. Aaron’s Goods). Put simply, at Bill’s Sandwich Palace on Gallatin Pike,

the boys make what they want to eat, which changes weekly for their Saturday-andSunday pickup. It includes sammies like the Porky Pig (aka That’s All Folks!): smoky pulled pork, crispy tater tots, nacho cheese sauce, fresh jalapeños, red onions and barbecue sauce on a garlic-butter-toasted bolillo roll. There are behemoths like the KFC: juicy Korean fried chicken breast, earthy gochujang, kimchi cucumbers and scallion-ginger mayo, all on a smooshy, Japanese milk bread bun. For vegetarians looking to do a little artery-clogging, there’s the Nightshade Mania! 2.0, which is stacked with deep-fried eggplant, nutty romesco, zippy arugula pesto and melty fromage blanc. And the boys don’t stop at sammies! Sides include OTT standouts like Buffalo Bacon Pasta Salad, loaded with Buffalo chicken, Gifford’s bacon, Mr. Aaron’s Good Noods, scallions and ranch sour cream. Personally, if it came to it, I’d cut someone for their Caesar Cardini, a salad made of crunchy raw broccoli, English cucumber and red onion, topped with Grana Padano and an anchovy dressing that’s launched 1,000 umami addictions. Finish your meal with Cinnamon & Sugar Cocoa Puffs, which the boys say is “kinda like Taco Bell, but way better.” For many Nashvillians, Bill’s has become a weekly way to unwind, unplug and unbutton, all of which the world needs now. I’ve heard people say Bill’s is like Mitchell’s on steroids, but for me, it’s really more like Mitchell’s on ayahuasca. I’ll take another hit anytime. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST PIZZA

FOLK AND FIVE POINTS (TIE)

Nashville is a town known for endlessly debating who serves the best chicken. Starting to become another hot topic, though? Pizza. It seems every other eatery opening in Music City is trying to get in on the booming pizza business, and the Scene writers had a spirited discussion when it came time to decide who, ultimately, served the best — newcomers Smith & Lentz earned praise, Nicky’s Coal Fired had several

BEST PIZZA, WRITERS’ CHOICE: FOLK (TIE)

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST SANDWICH, WRITERS’ CHOICE: BILL’S SANDWICH PALACE

GRILLSHACK

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FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE mentions. Of course there’s City House, ‘za, Emmy Squared, and Slim & Husky’s, too — all delicious and all so different that it’s nearly impossible to judge them against one another. But writers are an opinionated bunch, and there were two pizza joints we just kept coming back to: Five Points Pizza and Folk. For years Five Points has served reliable, large slices, with topping combos that are just novel enough to stay familiar without getting boring. Folk is in another league — the Rolf and Daughters sister restaurant, also led by chef-owner Philip Krajeck, elevates the pizza experience, catering to a more adventurous eater. Their seasonal menu of toppings has included fennel pollen, littleneck clams, nettles, fava greens, lamb sausage, Cantabrian anchovies and more. In fact, they’re so particular about their ingredients, they make their own chili flakes with Calabrian chiles from Rocky Glade Farm in Eagleville, Tenn.! We love both; we need both. We refuse to choose. MEGAN SELING

BEST SEAFOOD

THE OPTIMIST

It took a while, but seafood is finally wellrepresented in Nashville’s dining scene, and the palace of seafood delights is The Optimist. One of the Nashville outposts of Atlanta chef Ford Fry, The Optimist is a high-energy spot in an industrial part of Germantown that delivers a convivial vibe. But for me it’s all about the menu: a multifarious array ranging from basics (oysters both raw and roasted, smoked fish chowder) to spectacularly creative (a recent entrée was an inspired yellowfin tuna crudo with watermelon, seasoned with chili-tamarind). Do take a look at the list of cocktails, which are not only brilliant but boast flavors that complement seafood.

DANA KOPP FRANKLIN

BEST BRISKET

SHOTGUN WILLIE’S

Four years ago, the Scene did something controversial that, for once, nobody bitched about: We named Shotgun Willie’s Best Brisket despite the fact that they’d already closed. This year, we’re thrilled to re-bestow the honor, this time without even a whiff of questionable circumstances — because Shotgun Willie’s is back, baby! In Inglewood, you can get Bill Laviolette’s beloved slow-

cooked, Central Texas-style brisket — as well as other expertly seasoned meats and sides. In a two-year period that’s seen more gutting restaurant closures than any other year on record, this is a meaty, marvelous return we can all celebrate. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST BOLOGNA SANDWICH

THE PATTERSON HOUSE

My husband hates bologna sandwiches. Obviously, he disclosed this post-nuptials or I would’ve rethought things. His one exception? Brian Baxter’s sometimes-on version at The Patterson House. It starts with thick-cut bologna, griddled hard as hell. It’s slathered with tangy tonkatsu barbecue sauce, smoked Kewpie mayo and sweet onion. It’s wrapped in pillowy Japanese milk bread. Something on it is delightfully crunchy — onions? bologna crust? — and it all just melts together into a smoky, zingy, porky delight. Put it this way: The last time I went to The Catbird Seat, this bologna sandwich was in the running for my favorite bite of the night. Baxter gets it done, upstairs and down. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST GIN-AND-TONIC MENU

PENINSULA

There are many, many reasons to visit Peninsula, the quaint East Nashville eatery specializing in shareable plates inspired by the Iberian Peninsula. But chief on the list is their stunning selection of Spanish-style ginand-tonics. The selections change regularly, but the eight or so options available at any given time brilliantly showcase the dramatically diverse flavor profiles of the restaurant’s gin selection. Each G+T is simply crafted, highlighting a unique gin mixed with Peninsula’s housemade tonic and topped with an aromatic garnish — everything from peach and saffron to cucumber and black pepper to blueberry and wood sorrel. The end result is a crisp, refreshing cocktail that’ll have you questioning why you ever order anything else. NANCY FLOYD

BEST RESTAURANT REBOOT

ELLISTON PLACE SODA SHOP

It’s a sad truism that even beloved restaurants have lifespans. Elliston Place Soda Shop held the distinction of being the longest-running restaurant in its original spot in Nashville, and it dodged the ax more BEST RESTAURANT REBOOT, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ELLISTON PLACE SODA SHOP

BEST PATIO, WRITERS’ CHOICE: LYRA than once during its 80 years of operation. What it needed was a refresh to survive, and developer Tony Giarratana stepped up to buy the business and move it to a new building. He probably spent more money rehabbing the building than had been invested in the Soda Shop during its entire lifetime, but it was money well spent! He hired industry pros to manage the new Soda Shop along with many employees who made the move next door. The updated space retains the charm of the old shop, but with updates like a small stage, a longer soda counter and an expanded menu of Southern comfort food. Happily, the milkshakes are as good as ever and the meringue on Miss Linda’s pies is still impossibly tall. Hopefully, this will earn the institution another eight decades! CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST PATIO

LYRA

I’ve always appreciated a good patio, but perhaps never more so than during a global pandemic, when we spent months wondering if eating inside a restaurant might mean imminent death. Pandemic or not, the patio at Lyra is damn near perfect with ample seating, lush landscaping and a feeling of seclusion, despite being on one of the busiest corners of East Nashville. And the fact that Lyra now serves lunch, offers phenomenal happy-hour specials and boasts an ever-changing menu of inventive, flavorful Middle Eastern dishes is all the more reason to book a reservation immediately. NANCY FLOYD

BEST PATIO EXPANSION

ROSEMARY & BEAUTY QUEEN

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

Thanks to its great cocktail menu, classy decor, plentiful DJ nights and spacious courtyard, Rosemary & Beauty Queen in East Nashville’s Five Points neighborhood has been a solid destination since it opened a few years back. But RBQ really leveled up in October of last year when the space opened its expanded upstairs deck, complete with an additional bar and even swings (yes, swings) that patrons can sit in while they order and sip their beverages. Yet another reason to check out the East Side hotspot if you haven’t already.

D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST EVOLUTION OF THE SPORTS BAR

JASPER’S

The former location of the beloved Blackstone Brewing Company in Midtown worked great as a brewpub, but when new tenants tried to convert it into a seafoodcentric restaurant, the cavernous space just didn’t really catch on. Unafraid to try something new and never one to overcomplicate their operations, 4Top Hospitality looked to its greatest asset — local chef hero Deb Paquette. What if you just turned the culinary genius loose in a casual sports bar environment? The result is Jasper’s, a comfortable hang with inspired versions of sports-bar staples like barbecue pork fries, firecracker wings and Paquette’s famous roasted cauliflower app converted to tempura “caulipoppers.” Genius! CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST SAUCES

McDOUGAL’S CHICKEN

Hot chicken is great if you like dry rubs, but for the saucier personalities among us, it can sometimes seem overrated. Enter McDougal’s, a flavorful oasis in a dry rub town that provides the city delicious sauces to dunk or toss our chicken in. It’s got a solid, basic barbecue sauce plus one with a citrus chipotle twist. The Buffalo sauce is exemplary, and it has an unusual yet deliciously sweet counterpart — HoneyBee. Tearjerker is the hottest, and it’s not the spiciest in Nashville, but hey, McDougals isn’t hot chicken, and it’s not trying to be. There’s also Gold, a sauce worthy of its name that tastes like the marriage of honey mustard and Buffalo sauce. No matter what flavor you choose, the sauce floweth generously at McDougal’s. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST CONDIMENT

TOMATO GRAVY AT BIG BAD BREAKFAST

Gravy is a no-brainer with biscuits, especially at blow-it-out Southern spots like Big Bad Breakfast. And while chef John Currence’s sausage gravy more than gets that job done, there’s another gravy that deserves your time: tomato. The taste is equal parts tomato-soup comfort food and red-eye-gravy coma-maker. Think soup, but make it sauce; ketchup, but make it classy. And it plays all the roles, whether you’re looking for some zing on your eggs and

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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millcreekbrewingco.com nashvillescene.com | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST INDIAN

TAJ

hash browns or you need a dunker for your turkey club wrap. When you want to cook with love, say it with gravy. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

In a town blessed with multiple excellent Indian options, Taj continues to stand out as the best. And while the Elysian Fields restaurant excelled during the pandemic, becoming a South Nashville staple for delivery, it’s hard not to prefer dining in, where you can load up a table with super light puri, hakka noodles and samosas while waiting for your entrées. Sure, sure, the American favorites like chicken tikka masala are great, but once you dive into the Tandoori specialties like the fish tikka, you’ll never go back. The bhindi masala (okra) is to die for. STEVE CAVENDISH

BEST DAIRY-FREE ICE CREAM

JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS

Full disclosure: I worked at Jeni’s many years ago. I ate so much ice cream I swore I’d never eat it again, but I’ve found myself slowly creeping back to it. I don’t have any dietary restrictions, but I’ve returned almost exclusively to the dairy-free flavors. They are lighter and more refreshing than regular ice cream, and Jeni’s has a really solid collection that reflects the brand’s creativity. Texas Sheet Cake, Lemon Bar and Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns, for example, maintain their vegan status despite having chunks of cake, shortbread and sticky buns, respectively. There are plenty more flavors to explore, and you can catch them in Jeni’s rotating lineup or buy them as pints. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST MENU THAT’S LONGER THAN YOUR ARM

HONEST INDIAN RESTAURANT

BEST BREWERY RELOCATION The hops might not actually be holy, but Czann’s has kept me convinced of a higher power since long before I could sip them in a former sanctuary. In September 2019, Czann’s announced it was leaving the SoBro district for an abandoned church in The Nations. After much renovation and anticipation, the self-proclaimed smallest brewery in Nashville finally made the leap from a tiny downtown hub into a spacious taproom and brewing facility fit to house its divinely balanced lineup. As the SoBro area continues to relinquish its brewery hub title to The Nations, we’ll pour one out for the diminishing district over at the only church open and serving seven days a week. MATT FOX

BEST SELF-GUIDED BREWERY TOUR

MUSIC CITY BREW HOP

Don’t confuse this hop-on/hop-off trolley with some sort of transpotainment. The former Gatlinburg trolley has been repurposed as a safe and convenient way to travel between eight different Nashville breweries, running a loop around East Nashville, Germantown and downtown every hour. Owner/driver Adam Smith promises an entertaining soundtrack that’s more Jason Isbell and Margo Price than Morgan Wallen or Kid Rock during your ride between craft beer stops. Plus they sell kids’ tickets so you can make it a family affair. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST PERIPATETIC POP-UP

ST. VITO FOCACCIARIA

After a season building up a devoted fan base serving his brand of sfincione pizza and Sicilian street food at Vandyke Bed and Beverage, chef Michael Hanna moved his operations to the West Side, popping up at Hathorne every Sunday from 3 to 9 p.m. The almost impossibly airy focaccia crust is topped with traditional Sicilian pizza ingredients like fontina and pecorino cheeses, but the revelatory pie is his potato sfincione. Roasted russets combine with cheese and potato cream to create an ultimately satisfying starchy treat. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST REASON TO GO TO DONELSON

PHAT BITES

BEST PERIPATETIC POP-UP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ST. VITO FOCACCIARIA on a flag over the entrance to Donelson’s best-kept secret — Phat Bites, a bar and deli tucked behind an Ace Hardware on Lebanon Pike. Owned by former Ellendale’s chef and restaurateur Julie Buhler (also a former personal chef for Dolly Parton), the space is an escape from the sometimes bland look of the surrounding area. The atmosphere is comfortable and casual, with regular performances from local indie artists featured on a stage near an open-concept kitchen and a deli counter. In the next room you’ll find an eclectic bar with heavypouring mixologists and anime playing on the televisions all day long. The colorfully graffitied interior is decorated with guitars, skateboards, records and bicycles, while the outdoor patio is lined with plants and a wooden fence that offers plenty of seclusion. KARA HARTNETT

BEST NOODLE BLOCK

BEST PLACE TO HAVE LUNCH WITH YOUR OPINIONATED FOODIE CO-WORKERS

When Yolan opened in summer 2020, it filled a relatively empty niche in the Nashville restaurant scene: Italian fine dining. And its pedigree is impressive. The duo behind it are Tony Mantuano, formerly of Chicago’s Michelin-starred Spiaggia, and Cathy Mantuano, a veteran wine and hospitality expert. Yolan, in the Joseph Hotel downtown, is fun and convivial, and the food impresses with its use of seasonal ingredients. It’s also a little pricey, but a great way to get a bang for your buck is to opt for the chef’s tasting menu. I recently indulged in a five-course tasting menu ($110) that included such dishes as Coniglio con Testaroli — succulent rabbit meat wrapped in pancetta with cherries and caramelized cipollini onions, plus a cross section of multilayered pasta. The fivecourse dinner was creative and memorable. Yolan is a welcome addition to Nashville’s dining scene. DANA KOPP FRANKLIN

ASSEMBLY FOOD HALL

Lately, the main things I need for a group lunch are minimal arguing about where to go, a well-ventilated dining environment and efficient service. The Assembly Food Hall at Fifth + Broad ticks all those boxes and more. In addition to some cookie-cutter corporate concepts offering chicken, tacos and cheesesteaks, there are plenty of beloved outposts of some of your favorite local restaurants to pick from. Your friend who claims he doesn’t like Asian food can skip Thai Esane or Steamboys while you nosh on noodles. Let them stand in the long lines at Prince’s or The Pharmacy Burger while you enjoy dessert from Hattie Jane’s Creamery or Coco’s. There’s a little something for everyone. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

“Good Vibes Only” is the dictum that flies

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

CZANN’S BREWING COMPANY

BELCOURT AVENUE

Think it’s weird to see a Home Depot right across the street from a Lowe’s, or three mattress stores on the same block? They follow a corporate strategy called “clustering” that takes advantage of the fact that if a customer is shopping for something and sees another option, they are much more likely to consider checking the competition. Nowhere is this more evident when it comes to local food options in Nashville than “The Noodle Nexus,” the 2100 block of Belcourt Avenue in Hillsboro Village. Sushi 88, Meet Noodles, Nicoletto’s Pasta Co. and Shokku Ramen are all located within 100 yards of each other, each with its own unique approach to giving you your noodle fix. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST UPSCALE ITALIAN

YOLAN

Sometimes it’s a bad thing when a menu is overstuffed with options — like, for example, some sort of manufacturing facility for cheesecakes. However, when you’re trying to represent the cuisine of an entire subcontinent as they do at Honest Indian Restaurant, we’re inclined to cut a little slack, especially when the food is so fresh and delicious. I counted an astounding 174 menu items on a recent visit, all of them vegetarian or vegan. Add in special dietary requests for gluten-free, Jainism or Swaminarayan restrictions, and the kitchen is ready to prepare 400-plus dishes from scratch at any time. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST JAPANESE FOOD

KISSER AT PATTERSON HOUSE

Smoked meat and Japanese umami are two of the most powerful culinary weapons in the world, and Kisser’s got ’em both. The Patterson House pop-up was a knockout from night one. There’s salmon inari, which is a light but meaty masterpiece: cold-smoked fish, cured in miso and sake, topped with salmon roe on fried tofu. There are black-garlic wings, hamachi and crispy rice cakes and red-miso mac-and-cheese. And there’s a pork sandwich that somehow captures every flavor in a bowl of ramen, served with seaweed potato chips that I believe, if bagged and sold, could set up chefs Brian Lea and Leina Horii for life. Get there before they prove me right and blow this joint. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST ROVING MEXICAN FOOD

ALEBRIJE

No place does street food better than Mexico City. And since international travel is still difficult to pull off, there’s Alebrije. Chef Edgar Victoria hits all the comfort notes you want from Mexican food but in a refined way that works for his surroundings, whether he’s at the Bastion bar (Sunday and Monday) or the Richland or East Nashville farmers markets (Saturday and Tuesday respectively). Try sopes topped with chicharrón, salsa verde and queso fresco, or a huitlacoche tlayuda without knowing what either of those words means. (Does one mean corn smut? Yep! And it’s as tasty as its definition is daunting.) Top it off with a churro cheesecake and let all your Chipotle nightmares fade away. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST BAGEL (WEEKDAYS)

H&S BAGEL

No, H&S Bagels hasn’t been around long.

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FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE BEST BREAKFAST BITE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: CINNAMON SUGAR DOUGHNUTS AT JOSEPHINE

BEST BAGEL (WEEKENDS)

NICKY’S COAL FIRED

Is there anything a coal-fired oven can’t do? Enrico the Oven is arguably Nicky’s hardest worker, and now he’s turning out bagels on top of perfect pizza. Made from scratch with their sourdough starter, Nicky’s bagels are pillowy inside and crusty outside. Grab them by the bag or get one hot ’n’ toasty in sammich form. The open-faced pizza bagel is a no-duh winner, but my jam is the classic: egg souffle, bacon, Hook’s cheddar, Calabrian cream cheese. Look out for seasonal spins — blueberry bagels, black raspberry cream cheese — and remember: Nicky’s Bagel Shop routinely pops up in 12South. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST SANDWICH SURPRISE

FATBELLY PRETZEL’S MUFFULETTA

Now that they’re in the bread aisle of your local Kroger, pretzel buns aren’t as exotic

as they used to be. But the pretzels that former Gray & Dudley chef Levon Wallace has been creating at his FatBelly Pretzels are really remarkable. Sold weekly at the East Nashville and Richland Park farmers markets, his twisty treats are fantastic dipped in one of his cheese or mustard accompaniments, but they really shine as the foundation of his special muffulettas. A jumbo toasted sesame seed/pretzel bun stuffed with house-smoked bologna, soppressata and provolone and slathered with pickled olive and veggie giardiniera is totally worth waiting in line for. CHRIS

CHAMBERLAIN

BEST BREAKFAST BITE

CINNAMON SUGAR DOUGHNUTS AT JOSEPHINE

The only drawback to doughnuts is that they are not beignets. Well, guess what. At Josephine brunch, they are. Chef Andy Little’s dough balls (no holes here!) hit all the high points of doughnutdom: airy batter, bready undertones, slight sweetness, cinnamon-sugar dusting. They are also somehow imbued with that ethereal beignetness — you know, the thing that makes pastries light, fluffy and perfectly pull-apartable. Dunk ’em, dip ’em, devour ’em whole — just get there before the trashlorettes start calling them something awful like “been-yo-nutz” and forming a line around the block. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST BREAKFAST SANDWICH

ROSEMARY BISCUIT SANDWICH AT DOSE

For a city that loves its biscuits, it’s stupidhard to find a great biscuit sandwich on the regular in Nashville. Dose clearly heard our not-so-subtle grumbling and has put forth a delightful, delicious breakfast sandwich that doesn’t require lining up at dawn to get. The sandwich starts with an

BEST BREAKFAST SANDWICH, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ROSEMARY BISCUIT SANDWICH AT DOSE

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

It was opened in June by Hector Sanchez, a former New Jerseyite with more than 40 years of experience in the bagel business. But a summertime bagel taste test performed by the Scene made it clear: They have the best bagels in the city, especially if you’re looking for that traditional N.Y.-style bagel. Sanchez’s bagels — available in plain, onion, garlic, poppy seed, salt, sesame seed, everything, cinnamon raisin and blueberry — are boiled and then baked until the crust boasts a deep golden hue. When they’re fresh, the chewy exterior provides that delectable snap, and the bready inside is dense enough to stand up to a thick coating of cream cheese without becoming gummy in your mouth. Sanchez is so serious about perfecting the New York bagel here in Nashville, in fact, that he brings in what the shop calls “that magic NYC water” for the process. Whoa. MEGAN SELING

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

BEST SANDWICH SURPRISE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: FATBELLY PRETZEL’S MUFFULETTA

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FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE earthy, slightly crumbly rosemary biscuit, layers in ham, egg and cheese, and tops it off with a spicy remoulade sauce that ties the whole thing together with a delicious, tangy bow. LANCE CONZETT

BEST POWER BREAKFAST

MIDTOWN CAFE

Nashville is blessed with a plethora of excellent morning meal options, but outside of hotel restaurants, most of them are either down-home country breakfasts or boozy brunch spots. Sometimes, you need to put on your hard pants and actually do some business early in the day, and that’s where the venerable Midtown Cafe is indispensable. Midtown’s professional staff treats all of its customers as honored guests. The morning menu is elevated but not uppity, and the dry-rubbed roasted tenderloin served with two eggs, biscuits, Alabama white barbecue sauce and white gravy is the perfect deal closer. (And afternoon nap inducer.) CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST POUTINE

CHAUHAN’S TANDOORI CHICKEN POUTINE

When I was pregnant, the thing I craved most was Chauhan’s Tandoori Chicken Poutine. First of all, Chauhan’s fries are the best in town. They are perfectly crispy and hold up so well after being covered in cheese curds, makhani sauce and tandoori chicken. You can almost always expect your average poutine to get a little soggy by the end, but the poutine at Chauhan never does, making it all the more dangerous to dig into. I won’t stop until the cute little cast-iron skillet the poutine is served in is totally empty. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST VEGGIE TACO

#10 LUNCH TACO AT LADYBIRD TACO

To many, the taco can’t be done meatless. But if all you carne asada purists are willing to give one veggie option a go, make it the #10 Lunch Taco — grilled queso fresco, rajas, shredded cabbage and pico de gallo — at Ladybird Taco. Have you ever experienced yourself becoming a commercial? I did when I ate this savory, crispy treat for the first time (and the second). “Oh wow … it’s so good!” Cue happy, satisfied smile. “No seriously,” I say to my dining companions, “try this cheese taco.” Grab two and pair with the delightfully tart Honey Limeade for the perfect meat-free lunch. ASHLEY SPURGEON

BEST CARIBBEAN VEGAN

RIDDIM N SPICE

While some people may remember Riddim n Spice as a popular food truck, it seems a lot of folks have yet to visit their brick-andmortar restaurant on Meharry Boulevard. It’s less than two minutes off I-40 and has plenty of parking, so that knocks out most of your excuses — not that you need another reason to visit besides their fantastic Caribbean cuisine. Brothers Kamal Kalokoh and Rashean Conaway learned to cook from their mother Ouida Bradshaw in her kitchen at Jamaicaway, and they have created their own menu of piquant fare that includes plenty of vegetarian and vegan options that suffer not a whit from the omission of meat.

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST HOT CHICKEN SURPRISE

THE LOVELESS CAFE’S HOT CHICKEN FINGERS

Loveless Cafe has, of course, always been

known for its biscuits. Have you ever considered it for its hot chicken? Their bone-in version is decent enough, but it’s the restaurant’s new hot chicken fingers that deserve attention. The restaurant’s already delicious regular chicken fingers have long been the secret weapon of its menu, and the new hot chicken variation enhances it, delivering well-balanced, tasty hot chicken (think a Prince’s medium as far as spice level) for those who would prefer the dish boneless. Also, “fingers” doesn’t offer proper context; these are juicy jumbo slabs, more than enough for leftovers. If you have folks coming in town who want a tourist favorite, you’ll have something on the menu to lean on that rivals many others’ take on the town’s signature dish. CORY WOODROOF

BEST VEGETARIAN HOT CHICKEN SUBSTITUTE

SUBCULTURE CAFE’S NASHVILLE HOT MUSHROOM SANDWICH

Lots of local eateries attempt to replicate alternative versions of Nashville Hot Chicken, but frankly, most of them don’t measure up to the original. But Pablo Bonacic at Subculture Cafe at Nolensville and Old Hickory is not afraid of a challenge. Bonacic set out to make something really special with his new creation. Starting with beautiful lion’s mane mushrooms from Cheekee Greens Farms, he cuts thick steaks that he batters and flours before dropping into the fryer. Torqued up with an infernally hot sauce and topped with a cooling sesame slaw and creamy avocado, it’s an ultimately satisfying vegan sandwich sensation. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST WAY TO EAT GREEN VEGETABLES

FRIED GREEN BEANS AT THE CENTENNIAL

Fried pickles are a perfect appetizer: hot, crunchy, salty and flawless dunked in ranch. Because of their pub-snack prowess, pickles are often riffed upon to mediocre ends. The folks at The Centennial have found a way to get that creamy-crunchy equation just right. By using green beans, they get a fresh, juicy foundation that’s naturally snappier than a pickle chip (and definitely preferable to the godforsaken soggy pickle spear). Add a super-seasoned, crunchy crust and a piquant queso and you’ve got an app that hits the high points of fried pickles and nachos alike.

ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST GUMBO

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

VOODOO GUMBO

BEST VEGGIE TACO, WRITERS’ CHOICE: #10 LUNCH TACO AT LADYBIRD

Tucked in a sleepy little shopping center in Bellevue that houses a T.J. Maxx and a mattress store are some of the best Creole food options in Nashville. Voodoo Gumbo joins HoneyFire BBQ and IT’Z A Philly Thing in the resurgence of Bellevue’s dining scene (joining classic Mexican staple US Border Cantina), with its signature dish, a pitch-perfect ode to New Orleans cuisine. Also on its menu are étouffée, jambalaya, po’boys and, of course, beignets. There’s just not a lot of quality options in town for Big Easy cooking, and Voodoo Gumbo offers some of the best to come around in quite some time. Just make sure to save room for dessert; gumbo is sneakily filling. CORY WOODROOF

BEST CRAWFISH FIX

SUNDAYS AT THE GUMBO BROS.

When The Gumbo Bros. opened in the Gulch, they proved themselves by delivering on their name. Not only could they pull off gumbo z’herbes, but their Roast Beef + Debris Gravy po’boy gave us a little NOLA in Nashville. The biggest test of Cajun clout, however, came when they launched Sunday crawfish boils — and man, did they pass. Huge, well-seasoned mudbugs come on your personal tray (a COVID-times necessity), along with correctly cooked (read: not mushy or beaten-to-death) corn and potatoes. Throw in Abita draft beer and Conecuh sausage and you’ve got a Louisiana-level boil that puts others in town to shame. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST MISSION-STYLE BURRITO

TACOS AURORA

It’s hard stacking up against famed Bay Area burrito joint El Farolito’s super burrito, but Tacos Aurora in Hunters Station makes a compelling argument for having the best Mission-style burritos this side of the 24th Street Mission BART stop. Overstuffed with rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and your choice of meat, these enormous burritos are enough to satisfy even the biggest of appetites. Be sure to give the al pastor a try — that’s marinated pork shoulder roasted on a vertical spit — and have them throw in some roasted pineapple to boot. LANCE CONZETT

BEST FALAFEL

KING TUT’S

Confession time: Until this year, I never had a falafel I liked. Do I have access to a lot of good falafel in The Nations? Not really. Still, my lack of falafel love has been my dirty culinary secret — until I tried King Tut’s. Finally, I got the hype! Their mix of chickpeas, herbs and spices is super seasoned. It’s fried until shatteringly crunchy on the outside but creamy within. For me, that’s the key: the creamy-crunchy dichotomy I could never find before. Gild the lily by dunking it in their buttery tahini or luscious hummus, or enjoy your balls naked. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST PANCAKES

LOU AND ROZE PONY (TIE)

If you read the descriptions of these pancakes, my job is largely done. On the East Side, lou serves a single perfect pancake with an earthy buckwheat backbone, roasted banana for moisture and a crisp exterior that lets in some — but not all! — of the rich syrup it sits on. It is finished, as all good things are, with an ice-cream-scoopsized ball of butter. On the West Side, Roze Pony employs the soufflé treatment. Their pair of pancakes takes 20 minutes to bake before being finished with a totally restrained golf-ball-sized scoop o’ butter and a drench of blueberry syrup. Why tie? Because this is the one 2021 argument where no one is wrong. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST FOOD WHEN YOU’RE UNDER THE WEATHER

VUI’S ORIGINAL PHO

As cold-and-flu-but-hopefully-not-COVID season approaches, the only number you need on speed-dial is Vui’s Kitchen. The original pho with its aromatic life-giving

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FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE

sweet treat is truly unique and probably not a project you’d want to try to tackle yourself at home. Fortunately, you can now purchase it online or at the restaurant, and it can be a secret weapon in your own kitchen to augment so many different dishes. Pro tip: Drizzle it on some fried chicken from Publix for something really special. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST CHEESE STICKS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: MIDNIGHT OIL

BEST LUNCH DELIVERY

BOKBOX

SILVER SANDS

Throughout COVID, it’s been hard to keep up with what’s open for dine-in and what’s not. At Silver Sands, there’s no need! If their dining room is closed, Sands will sling you out a wrist-breaking box of turkey and dressing, green beans, fried chicken or whatever gravy-covered delight your little masked mouth desires. In my opinion, Silver Sands is the only place on par with Arnold’s meat-and-three-wise, whether you’re talking portions and value or seasoning and good vibes. And like Thanksgiving dinner, it’s just as good the next day, so work that box life to your advantage — grab dinner while you grab lunch. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST NEW COFFEE SHOP

ELEGY

Nestled between Mickey’s Tavern and Walden on Gallatin Avenue in East Nashville, Elegy Coffee was opened by the folks behind The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club almost precisely one year ago. It’s a small, unassuming spot with a walk-up window and a half-dozen two-top tables out front, making it a distancing-friendly locale for either grabbing a cup to go or

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

Last year, we dubbed BokBox the Best Fast Food in Nashville, and honestly? Still true. This year we’re singing their praises on a different front: delivery. Between working from home, COVID waves and evershifting school schedules, people forget how clutch BokBox is because they’re only open for lunch. Here’s the move: Order a chicken Caesar salad or fried chicken sandwich for lunch, the latter of which is every bit Hattie B’s equal. Then, grab a couple coal-roasted chicken boxes for dinner. You’ll get sides, sauces and rice that, by dinnertime, has absorbed all that extra chicken-fatty goodness. Plus, smoked chicken keeps like a dream. Order smarter, not harder. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST BOXED LUNCH

broth is the perfect cure for whatever ails you. Whether you’re nursing a common cold, need to mend a broken heart or simply want to scream into the void in response to the past 18 months of impending doom, this hearty, revitalizing soup won’t let you down. It’s cozy, comforting and delicious to the very last slurp. NANCY FLOYD

at Peninsula are liars. Or witches. Or just extremely good at what they do. I’m cool either way, as long as I can get more of this broth, injected directly into my veins.

BEST CHEESE STICKS

Let’s start with a brief Merriam-Webster moment. First, what’s ube? A sweet purple yam from Southeast Asia. Second, what’s pandesal? It translates to “salt bread,” a soft, fluffy roll made of flour, yeast, sugar, oil and salt. In the Philippines, pandesal is eaten for breakfast. In Nashville, during COVID 1.0, it was eaten all the damn time because PandesalTN would deliver these addictive little suckers straight to your door. The MVP? The ube pandesal with American cheese. You know those cheesecracker-peanut-butter sandwiches that are all the more delicious because that combination should be disgusting? Such is the pandesal principle, and it’s a beautiful thing. (NOTE: As of June 2021, PandesalTN is currently on hiatus to streamline operations.) ASHLEY BRANTLEY

Cheese sticks seem simple: You want as much cheese as possible so they pull apart stringy-like without making the bread impossible to pick up. You want them seasoned well, and served with enough marinara that you don’t have to ask a waiter three times for more. This is, somehow, impossible for most pizza joints. Not Midnight Oil. It’s like Papa John’s cheese sticks grew up and got their shit together, largely by realizing garlic butter should just be brushed across the top, not offered on the side in gross, perpetually separated dipping-sauce form. Bonus: Midnight Oil’s cost $1 less than the inferior P.J. version.

ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST BROTH

PENINSULA

The people at Peninsula are liars. Or anyway, that’s the only explanation for the fact that they told me their mind-blowing, life-changing strawberry broth is vegan. It simply cannot be! Scented with vanilla oil and served in a lovely little mug for sipping, this broth was as delicate as it was complex, with only the lightest berry notes and more umami than beef jerky and mushroomtruffle pasta combined. Thus: The people

BEST SWEET AND SAVORY BITE

UBE PANDESAL WITH CHEESE FILLING FROM PANDESALTN

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BUTCHER & BEE’S FERMENTED HONEY

Butcher & Bee’s whipped feta app with basil and cream cheese is possibly only rivaled by the roasted cauliflower at Etch in Nashville’s culinary constellation of starter dishes. What puts the feta over the top is the drizzle of delicious fermented honey. Delightfully funky and slightly spicy, this

BEST NEW COFFEE SHOP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ELEGY

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

MIDNIGHT OIL

ASHLEY BRANTLEY

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FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE hanging out on a leisurely afternoon. It also has friendly baristas, a small selection of tasty food items and, most importantly, a solid cup of coffee. Great addition to the East Side. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST MAIL-ORDER MEAT

PORTER ROAD BUTCHER AND BLACK HAWK FARMS (TIE)

It’s hard to believe that Porter Road has been bringing quality hand-cut meats sourced from select farms to Nashville customers for a decade. Over the years, they expanded to mail-order, purchased their own processing facility in Kentucky and recently acquired an even larger facility to age, butcher and ship their products with an eye on totally revolutionizing the industry. Now they’re joined by Black Hawk Farms, another mail-order operation that raises and processes beautifully marbled American Wagyu beef that slices like butter. It’s a good time to be a carnivore. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST RESTAURANT RELOCATION

ATHENS FAMILY RESTAURANT

When Athens Family Restaurant got forced out of its longtime Melrose location, it looked like the much-loved Greek diner was a goner. But local restaurateurs Arnold and Anna Myint came to the rescue, offering their Belmont restaurant PM as a site for Athens to stage a daily daytime pop-up, with PM operating at night. Before long the relocation became a permanent thing, as the Myints decided to close PM and allow Athens to occupy the space exclusively. (The Myint siblings are concentrating on their revived incarnation of International Market, their late mother Patti’s foundational Thai restaurant.) Athens has spread its wings in the new space on Belmont Boulevard, and the food seems even better than before. DANA KOPP FRANKLIN

intimate restaurant is designed to make you feel like you’re dining at a friend’s home — if, y’know, your friend was a brilliant chef capable of whipping up wondrous and exotic South Asian American cuisine, paired with the perfect wine every single time. Tailor is currently functioning as a pop-up only as Surti & Co. prepare to move to a new location. The new Tailor is scheduled to open in early 2022, and we can’t wait. NANCY FLOYD

BEST DINNER ADDITION

ARNOLD’S AFTER DARK

We’ve long said that the only way to make Arnold’s Country Kitchen any better was to offer more hours to eat there. After years of promises, Kahlil Arnold finally added weekend hours and introduced a special “Arnold’s After Dark’’ dinner service. Free of the regular rotating midday menu, Arnold has reveled in experimenting with new dishes like smoked brisket and pork, tacos and even french fries for the first time in the iconic meat-and-three’s existence. Add in a full bar, and it’s the place to be for dinner Wednesday through Saturday. CHRIS

CHAMBERLAIN

BEST WEST SIDE ADDITION

ROZE PONY

Hardy har har, East Nashvillians just loooove to laugh at the West Side for its lack of coolness. East Nashville has hip bars, lively music venues and cool shops. West Nashville has … fast-food chains and a Trader Joe’s. But that is starting to change! Bellevue has continued to grow, bringing with it HoneyFire Barbeque Co., DeSano Pizza and more, and this year Cafe Roze

BEST TORNADO RECOVERY

opened its sister restaurant, Roze Pony, a cozy and cool all-day cafe in the Belle Meade Galleria. They provide laid-back and thoughtful fare similar to what you’ll find at Cafe Roze, with some of their own twists on the menu. The egg sandwich is a personal favorite — a slice of herby frittata is topped with pesto aioli and tomato and tucked inside a tender, buttery brioche bun. They serve High Garden tea and OSA coffee, and on the weekends they carry Conny and Jonny doughnuts. They also have a small pantry and market section, selling fresh-baked loaves of bread, dried pasta, fancy vinegar and oil and even handmade dishware from Salt Ceramics. Suck it, East.

SMITH & LENTZ BREWING

The March 2020 tornado struck an almost direct hit on East Nashville craft brewery Smith & Lentz, knocking out much of the building and brewing system. Shut down for most of a year, the brewery reopened with a new secret weapon — pizza! This isn’t your ordinary reheated frozen taproom pie. Smith & Lentz recruited former Rolf and Daughters chef Chris DeJonge to design their new pizza program, and his handcrafted wood-fired pizzas augmented with traditional and exotic toppings have quickly become neighborhood staples. You can pay two bucks more to have your pie brushed with garlic butter, oregano chili flake and grated Parm, and you should.

MEGAN SELING

BEST TEMPORARY RETURN

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

LAS PALETAS

BEST BREWERY EVENT

This summer’s insufferable heat waves were made a little more bearable when Las Paletas owners Irma Paz-Bernstein and her sister Norma Paz announced they were temporarily reopening their beloved paletas shop in a storefront next to Fido in Hillsboro Village. Las Paletas closed early on in the pandemic, after lasting nearly 20 years in 12South. For their return, the sisters brought back many favorite flavors — banana cream, avocado, tamarind, strawberry and more. As of this writing, the pop-up is still operating, but who knows for how long — the sisters aren’t offering much clarity either, only saying they’ll be there through “September or October.” By the time you read this, they may already be gone. MEGAN SELING

YACHT ROCK DAY AT BLACK ABBEY

If you know anything about the staff at Black Abbey Brewing Co., it’s that they have a fantastic collective sense of humor. They’re never afraid of a good joke or a bad pun — having fun is job one. Music is also really important to their gestalt, and their annual salute to yacht rock is always a highlight of their events calendar. Hawaiian shirts are de rigueur that day as patrons laze in the parking lot dangling their feet in cooling baby pools while listening to brewery founder Carl Meier spin vinyl from his own collection. From Pablo Cruise to Ambrosia, Orleans to Chicago, he plays it all! CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST CHARITY BAKE SALES

LOU’S BAKE SALES FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD AND ACLU

Various groups have organized bake sales as fundraisers since Mrs. Ogg sold sabertooth brownies to raise money for her son’s clubbing club. When lou’s chef and owner Mailea Weger decided she wanted to offer baked goods to support some very important causes like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, she knew she wanted to go big. She invited talented boulangères and pâtissiers from all over town to sell their wares to help support women’s and LGBTQ rights. Doing good was never so delicious!

BEST BROOKLYN TRANSPLANT

ROBERTA’S

When hipster pizza mecca Roberta’s announced that it would be setting up shop outside of Urban Cowboy Public House, it sounded like a match made in skinny-jeans heaven. Urban Cowboy itself exported its cozy cocktail B&B-slash-hang-space from Williamsburg to Lockeland Springs long ago — it was only a matter of time before they brought some friends down with them. There’s a reason why Roberta’s pies are widely sought after — they’re damn good. They’re cooked in a wood-fired grill to maintain the dough’s chewy texture, letting the ingredients on classics like the margherita and new faves like the Bee Sting do the talking. Roberta’s clearly likes it here too — not only did they extend their pop-up past the initial couple of months they expected to be down here, they bit the bullet on a brick-and-mortar space in 12South.

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST RESTAURANT ENTREPRENEURS

CLINT GRAY, DERRICK MOORE AND EMANUEL REED OF SLIM & HUSKY’S

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BEST DECISION-FREE DINING EXPERIENCE The only thing I love more than an exceptionally prepared multicourse dinner is an exceptionally prepared multicourse dinner that requires absolutely no input from me. At Tailor, Vivek Surti invites his guests to sit back, relax and allow him to make all the decisions for the night. Offering two timed seatings nightly, the

BEST DINNER ADDITION, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ARNOLD’S AFTER DARK

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

TAILOR

While national media might shine the spotlight on larger restaurant groups, Nashville natives Clint Gray, Derrick Moore and Emanuel Reed have quietly developed their Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria chain of restaurants into a powerhouse while actively giving back to their community at every turn. Their first location on Buchanan Street has been integral in the revitalization of that historic neighborhood, and their latest Nashville location is the first Black-owned restaurant on Lower Broad. In between those openings, they’ve expanded to four other restaurants in Tennessee, two in Georgia and one in California. They’re nowhere near done growing, either.

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

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FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST SPRITZ MENU

HEARTS

BEST RESTAURATEUR’S SECRET WEAPON

MR. AARON’S GOODS

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

Aaron Distler has led a lot of lives: furniture mover, drummer for bands like James Wallace and the Naked Light, comedian Ralphie May’s manager. Now Distler’s on to his latest adventure — supplying local restaurants with everything from pasta to bagels to sauces and schmears. Working out of TKO’s kitchen, Distler creates goods that quietly make up the backbone for dishes at restaurants like Saint Stephen, Margot and (of course) TKO, where the spicy noods will melt your face (and no, they can’t be made less spicy — get on board). LANCE CONZETT

BEST SMALL GROCERY STORE

BEST DEMONSTRATION OF ‘THE NASHVILLE WAY’

CHEF MANEET CHAUHAN’S FOOD NETWORK WIN

Chef Maneet Chauhan had plenty to deal with in the teeth of the pandemic: trying to safely run four restaurants, shooting cooking segments out of her home kitchen for the Food Network, and helping manage a burgeoning brewing business. But when she competed in and won the Food Network’s prestigious Tournament of Champions back in the spring, she thought about other Nashville restaurateurs affected by tough times. Food Network producers awarded the winners of each round $10,000 to allocate to any restaurant they wanted to help, and Maneet graced Margot Café, Arnold’s

Country Kitchen and Mangia Nashville with her generosity. Hits you right in the feels.

CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST BREWERY COLLABORATION

TENNESSEE BREW WORKS EXAMINES INDUSTRY DIVERSITY WITH ‘CELEBRATE COMMUNITY THROUGH CRAFT BEER’

Black brewers are still woefully underrepresented in the beer industry, but this year Tennessee Brew Works did its part to shine a light on them during Black History Month. Founder Christian Spears invited Steve Turner of Chicago’s Turner Häus Brewery to town to create a collaborative hazy double IPA named Gazelle in honor of famed TSU track star Wilma Rudolph. At the launch party, Spears organized a panel discussion of Black industry leaders and invited a combo from the Nashville Jazz Workshop to entertain the assembled crowd. It was an informative, entertaining and delicious event for all in attendance. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

There might be as many craft cocktail lounges in Nashville as there are Instagramworthy murals, but there is one watering

Back before Shipwreck Cove on Percy Priest Lake was a pirate-themed lake bar, it was just a regular lake bar. I know because I had my wedding rehearsal dinner there in 2009. It was quaint and cute, and our guests loved how laid-back it was. But the only thing better than a cute laid-back lake bar is a low-key pirate-themed lake bar, which is what the restaurant is now. The service is great, even if the drinks and food are on the pricey side. Get there early on the weekends to grab some food and stay late into the evening to enjoy some cover bands. AMANDA

HAGGARD

BEST NEW TEA AND SPICE SHOP

BEST CHEAP MARGARITA

Nestled in a row of small shops on the ground floor of Chestnut Hill’s BentoLiving, Suraj Spices & Teas offers a friendly visit to lands near and far. The 160-square-foot storefront is packed with glass canisters of spices, teas and pantry items to get you cooking and sipping something new. You can buy as much or as little as you like, which is particularly handy for spices. Wouldn’t it be nice to toss that 10-year-old canister of celery seed from the grocery store and get a fresh tablespoon for the one recipe you use it for (potato salad)? Suraj offers a fine selection of teas and tisanes, and the owner is always game to offer recommendations and tell you a bit about the origins of her rarer varieties. You can also buy meal kits

East Nashville’s El Fuego is proof that if you build it, shake it, serve it with a salt rim and only charge four bucks for it, they will come. When the hole-in-the-wall Latin American restaurant opened on Gallatin Avenue in 2018, it quickly became a neighborhood favorite, due in no small part to those $4 made-from-scratch margaritas that owner Jose Merchan is quick to remind you are made with freshly squeezed lime juice and no mixes whatsoever. The restaurant moved to a larger location, which boasts a vast patio, in August 2020, allowing even more people to pack into the lively space for a tasty beverage … or four. NANCY FLOYD

THE FOX BAR & COCKTAIL CLUB

SHIPWRECK COVE AT PERCY PRIEST

RICKMEYER

EL FUEGO RESTAURANTE

BEST CRAFT COCKTAIL BAR

BEST CHEAP MARGARITA, WRITERS’ CHOICE: EL FUEGO RESTAURANTE

hole where the fancy cocktails are worth the fuss. The Fox is tucked away behind Nicoletto’s Italian Kitchen in East Nashville. Inside the small, dimly lit, vintage-inspired bar, cocktail connoisseurs order from its seasonally rotating menu of classic cocktails fused with flavorful twists. Perhaps as unique as its menu is the lounge’s commitment to sustainability. In an effort to wield less waste, fruit garnishes are dried or candied rather than raw, bitters are birthed and bottled in house as opposed to ordered from a supplier, and straws are metal instead of paper or plastic. KATHRYN

BEST PIRATE-THEMED LAKE BAR

BEST NEW TEA AND SPICE SHOP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: SURAJ SPICES & TEAS

SURAJ SPICES & TEAS

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

Compton’s, a locally owned grocery store by Percy Priest Lake, reminds me of the tiny grocery stores I grew up with. These kinds of groceries are not quite quaint, but they are the kind of no-frills stop that make me wonder why anyone (myself included) would shop with the big guys. Compton’s was owned by the same man and his family for 80 years, until it was sold in 2005 to another family who promised to keep it independent. It’s in a community where it’s not easy to walk to get groceries at big box stores. They have excellent produce and fresh cuts of meat, and the employees are always super helpful. The prices are also on par with any large grocery chain. It feels like the way it should be. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST SPRITZ MENU, WRITERS’ CHOICE: HEARTS

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

COMPTON’S BY PERCY PRIEST

Yes, technically HEARTS is a delightful little coffee shop known for potent espresso drinks and Instagrammable brunch dishes like ricotta blueberry pancakes and eggs Benedict served on hash browns so good they’ll bring a tear to your eye. But it’s the spritz menu that keeps me coming back for more. Bubbly and refreshing, the seasonal spritzes are perfect for sipping on the cafe’s back patio. Made with fresh fruit and topped with cava, each on the menu is worth sampling, but don’t miss the Wimbledon, HEARTS’ take on a Pimm’s cup made with homemade Pimm’s and topped with fresh cucumbers and strawberries. It’s the fizziest, freshest concoction this side of the pond. NANCY FLOYD

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FOOD & DRINK WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST HERBAL ENCORE

THE RETURN OF HIGH GARDEN POTIONS

Let’s face it: It’ll always be hard to top cozying up to the bar in High Garden’s brick-and-mortar location sipping on a handcrafted potion. Enjoying these medicinal mocktails was the perfect way to spend a relaxing afternoon, and the thoughtful herbalism behind each one guaranteed you were getting far more than just a tasty tonic. High Garden has been running a robust online store since their building was destroyed in the March 2020 tornado, giving fans the chance to purchase the shop’s beloved dry tea mixes, but their menu of elixirs remained out of reach. Now back by popular demand, some of High Garden’s most popular potions are once again available — some assembly required. Available as a concentrated mixture, each shippable brew can make up to 12 servings per bottle. Mix one up, close your eyes — in that order, preferably — and imagine you’re back in the High Garden store that we all miss so much. MATT FOX

BEST BUBBLE TEA

BANH MI AND ROLL+

This brick-and-mortar location opened in November, bringing the best of its festivalfavorite bright-yellow food truck. It’s a bit unexpected, seeing as tea isn’t in the name, but Banh Mi and Roll’s boba is the best — the softest and sweetest. The Tiger Drink is something special, a caramel-drizzled milkheavy treat, but the Nashville Spring fruit tea is my personal favorite. Rare toppings like whipped taro and cream cheese milk foam bring something new to even the most seasoned bubble-tea enthusiast. The tea and food menus are also equally tasty, which isn’t a given. This bright-yellow spot is a new go-to. HANNAH HERNER

BEST TAPROOM (EAST)

YAZOO BREWING COMPANY

When Yazoo announced that it was leaving its digs in the heart of the Gulch in favor of deep Madison, it was hard not to wonder if they were giving up a good thing. Sure, the old Yazoo was in a weird industrial zone and the ever-present smell of brewer’s yeast and

grain was potent, but being right in the thick of things meant a booming business. We were fools to doubt them — the Madison HQ is head and shoulders above the old Gulch warehouse. Not only are the river views on point, Yazoo has a renewed vigor for piloting interesting (and often great) new beers for a clientele that specifically came to drink with them — not just folks waiting for their pedal tavern reservation. LANCE CONZETT

BEST COFFEE AND A SNACK, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE HORN

BEST BREWHOUSE (WEST)

TAILGATE BREWERY

Over on the West Side, it’s hard to argue with the vistas offered by TailGate’s Charlotte Pike headquarters — especially stacked against their Music Row outpost, which has the dubious honor of being the buckle of the debaucherous Demonbreun bro belt. Instead, head a few miles farther down the road, where TailGate slings beers and pizzas at a full-on compound deep on the West Side. The sprawl of outdoor picnic tables is a welcome sight after a long day canoeing on the Harpeth or biking the Natchez Trace. Quarry views may not be for everybody, but it sure as hell beats staring at whatever it is that goes on at Tin Roof.

LANCE CONZETT

BEST BEER PROMO

TAILGATE BREWERY’S ‘MUTT CLUB’

Lots of breweries offer mug clubs — special memberships that entitle patrons to drink larger-than-normal beers from their own personal mugs stashed behind the bar. In addition to the volume discount, members also recognize who else at the bar is a supporter of the brewery by glancing at their glassware. TailGate Brewery does offer its own mug club, but they have a special deal for pooches too! Mutt Club members receive a special doggie bandanna, a free treat made using the brewery’s spent grain on every visit, discounts on “pup cups” from the Sweet & Three soft serve shop at TailGate headquarters in Bellevue and unlimited nose boops. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST DRINKING/SMOKING INNOVATION

DADDY’S DOGS BEER BOX/BONG

Sean Porter is a great supporter of Nashville craft breweries and created a special Daddy’s Beer Box of 18 local brews as a way

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

that include the legumes and spices for your next meal, like mixed dal fry and rajma. Give it a try. ERICA CICCARONE

to help out the pandemic-paused taprooms. His first box sold out quickly, and Porter decided to celebrate his big hit with, well … a big hit. Daddy’s Beer Box 2 actually came equipped with a special empty stash can filled with a packet of smokable hemp flower from TenneCBD, a lighter, a bowl and a stem. An instructional YouTube video demonstrates how to tape up the box, insert the straw and bowl in pre-cut holes and fire that mother up! CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

BEST LOCAL COFFEE/ICE CREAM SHOP

SIP CAFÉ

Peruse these pages and see: This town’s got great coffee shops. This town’s also got great ice cream shops. But there’s only one place we can deem the Best Coffee/Ice Cream Shop (That Happens to be Located Inside an Old Bank): Sip Café. Serving the citizens of Deep Inglewood, the Greater Madison area, and Briley Parkway-driving passers-by, Sip excels in both tried-and-true coffee shop favorites (the cappuccino never disappoints) and ice cream, made in house, behind the teller windows. There’s plenty of distanced seating outdoors and in, plus a drive-thru — but get there early if you want to sample the pastries, they go quickly.

ASHLEY SPURGEON

BEST COFFEE AND A SNACK

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

THE HORN

At most coffee shops, I can walk in and get exactly what I’m looking for: enough caffeine to get me through the next couple of hours. But The Horn has so many great things to eat that I rarely leave without a sweet or savory treat to go along with my iced latte. The shop serves the best sambusas filled with beef, chicken, tuna, eggs and more. Their veggie version is dynamite, a combo of potatoes, green beans, carrots and peas all stuffed into a delicious crunchy triangle. The folks who run the place, Tennessee State University alums Ahmed and Zakariya Rasul, are also extremely nice and encourage folks to try new snacks. AMANDA HAGGARD BEST TAPROOM (EAST), WRITERS’ CHOICE: YAZOO BREWING COMPANY

BEST COOKIE

HIFI COOKIES AND PINK DOOR COOKIES (TIE)

I can’t choose. I won’t choose. And when I looked for a tie-breaker among friends — pushing treats from both HiFi Cookies and Pink Door Cookies into their faces and demanding answers — they couldn’t make a decision either. Yes, both cookie shops bake up bright, colorful and experimental creations. Mathew Rice at Pink Door tops his three-doughed banana split cookie with Runts candy and mini dehydrated marshmallows, for example, and Sean Newsome at HiFi has been to known to elevate his cookies with tempting fillings like apple pie filling, cake batter Oreo cheesecake and poppyseed cream cheese. Both delightful! And while the self-taught Newsome leans into the “what you can make at home only way better” approach — he also makes killer Rice Krispies treats and brownies and blondies, by the way — Rice brings his pastry chef training to the table by utilizing different extracts to make even a seemingly ordinary cookie burst with surprising flavors. Take Pink Door’s Blueberry Pancake cookie, for example. It manages to taste unlike any cookie I’ve eaten before, delivering notes of buttery golden-brown pancakes, maple syrup and blueberries simultaneously. My first bite was a real-life Willy Wonka moment, a delicious, perplexing mystery. So no, one is not better than the other. Trust me, I have done a lot of research (read: eaten a lot of cookies). When you’re on the East Side, go to HiFi. When you’re on the West Side, go to Pink Door. When you want to throw yourself a truly spectacular cookie party, you’ll hit up both. MEGAN SELING

BEST COCONUT CAKE

COCONUT CRÈME CAKE BY ANNE’S CAKES

My father is allergic to coconut, so I was around 30 years late to the wonders of this tropical drupe. I am on a mission to make up for lost time. My penance has been extra sweet this year because I discovered the Coconut Crème Cake by Anne’s Cakes, which is available by special order and by

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access to their impeccable creations — croissants filled with cereal-milk pastry cream, delicate macarons hugging thick and rich malted chocolate ganache and gingerbread kouign amann. These days both men work full time as the pastry directors for Brock’s restaurants, as planned. They make stunning plated desserts for The Continental. Reservations there are booked weeks in advance, the instant they’re posted online, making treating yourself to a Trēt a little harder. Thankfully, the duo also often serves weekend doughnuts at Joyland, should you need a quicker, more accessible fix. MEGAN SELING

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FRYCE CREAM

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the slice at Midtown Cafe, Sperry’s, Cole’s Kitchen, The Picnic Cafe and The Café at Thistle Farms. The icing is not buttercream, thank God, but soft and whipped and blanketed with grated coconut. This cake is so moist that it looks like the stippling of fresh oil paint on a seascape. Is that weird to say? I don’t care. Love is love. One cake, Anne claims, serves 12 to 16 people — or, I claim, two people eating their sorrows for seven days in the middle of a global pandemic. (The cake did not dry out.) Choose your own adventure, but you won’t find a better coconut cake in town. ERICA

CICCARONE

BEST CAKE DECORATOR

SAPHIRE CARTER

A three-dimensional highland cow with chocolate eyes that follow you across the room. A three-tiered beauty decked out in fresh flowers and gold leaf to look like the Oscar de la Renta gown Taylor Swift wore to the Grammys. Whatever it is you want on a cake, Saphire Carter at Baked on 8th can do it. She has decorated a cake by patiently layering on at least a dozen different colors of frosting and then carving through them like one of those funky hand-dipped and carved candles from the ’70s; she has filled an edible Yeti cooler with rainbow trout that are, of course, also made of cake. From funky textures like shag carpeting and crystal-covered geodes to delicate piping, Carter can do it all, with skill and imagination that ensures every cake truly is one of a kind. Keep an eye on all her creations — and get inspiration for your next order — on Instagram at @sasslovecakes. MEGAN SELING

BEST PASTRY CHEFS

MICHAEL WERRELL AND KEATON VASEK

Croissant lovers were spoiled earlier this year when pastry chefs Michael Werrell and Keaton Vasek hosted a months-long pop-up at the Nashville Farmers’ Market. The couple moved to Nashville from New York with the intention of working with Sean Brock, but the pandemic put a pause on Brock’s restaurant openings — so Werrell and Vasek had some time to kill. Under the name Trēt Baking Co. (pronounced like “treat”) they sold their innovative pastry creations several days a week, giving butterloving Nashvillians easy and immediate

BEST USE OF A CONVEYOR BELT

CULTURE + CO.

Part of the fun of eating out is that little serotonin boost of seeing your food on the plate, seeing how chefs have presented it for your pleasure. That delight is taken to the next level at Culture + Co in L&L Market, where artful cheese pairings come to you under a swanky glass dome delivered on a conveyor belt. We thought we were supposed to avoid food that spends a lot of time on conveyor belts, but Culture + Co. changed our minds, because there’s nothing more fun than watching our cheese come ’round the bend. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST PASTRY CHEFS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: MICHAEL WERRELL AND KEATON VASEK

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

Few salty and sweet combos are as strong as the pairing of a Wendy’s chocolate Frosty and their crispy hot fries. Magic happens when that steaming, crispy potato wand is dipped into the ice-cold, creamy concoction. It’s hot, cold, sweet, salty, crispy, smooth — a beautiful dance upon your tongue. Fryce Cream in 12South believes in the French fry/ soft serve combo so much they’ve built an entire eatery around it. Fries are $7, a cup or cone of vanilla or chocolate soft serve is $4.50, or you could have ’em both for $10. Accoutrements are also available — for the fries, they offer dips like soy chili aioli and fermented peach barbecue sauce, and the ice cream can be finished off with anything from sprinkles or fig jam to caramelized maple bacon that they lovingly call Pig Candy. MEGAN SELING

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Genesis Diamonds Shane Co. King Jewelers

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Levy’s J. Michaels Clothiers Fior Bespoke

BEST NEW BUSINESS 1. 2. 3.

Music City Creative Perfect Plant Hemp Co. Bach Babes

BEST NONPROFIT 1. 2. 3.

Hands On Nashville Nashville Humane Association Global Outreach Developments Int’l

Amos Events (Amos Gott) Penny Haas Bach Babes

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We celebrate our skilled and talented stylists. We celebrate our craft. We celebrate 14 years of serving you. We celebrate 9 years of being recognized by you and being voted

Come celebrate with us. Appointments at 615-297-6878 (West) and 615-292-8648 (12South/Edgehill)

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BEST OUTDOOR ADVENTURE STORE, READERS’ POLL: CUMBERLAND TRANSIT

BEST OUTDOOR ADVENTURE STORE 1. 2. 3.

Cumberland Transit REI Bass Pro Shops

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Genesis Diamonds Shane Co. Consider the Wldflwrs Fine Jewelry

BEST PLACE TO BUY COMIC BOOKS 1. 2. 3.

The Great Escape McKay’s Nashville Rick’s Comic City

1. 2. 3.

Optique Loden Vision Centers Warby Parker

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Carter Vintage Guitars Fanny’s House of Music Gruhn Guitars Inc.

BEST PLACE TO BUY USED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS TM

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Carter Vintage Guitars Fanny’s House of Music Nashville Used & New Music

BEST PLACE TO BUY VINYL 1. 2. 3.

Grimey’s New & Preloved Music Vinyl Tap The Groove

BEST PLACE TO BUY/SELL MUSIC 1. 2. 3.

McKay’s Nashville Grimey’s New & Preloved Music The Groove

BEST PLACE TO WORK 1. 2. 3.

Montgomery & Associates Insurance Loden Vision Centers Rocky McElhaney Law Firm

BEST PRINTING COMPANY 1. 2. 3.

Jive! A Printworks Studio Big Visual Group Hatch Show Print

BEST SHOPPING CENTER 2038 Greenwood Avenue, in historic East Nashville

1. 2. 3.

Nashville West Shopping Center One Bellevue Place L&L Market

BEST SHOPPING MALL, READERS’ POLL: THE MALL AT GREEN HILLS

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BEST PLACE TO BUY EYEWEAR

BEST SHOPPING MALL 1. 2. 3.

The Mall at Green Hills Cool Springs Galleria Opry Mills

BEST SMOKE SHOP 1. 2. 3.

Perfect Plant Hemp Co. Marleys Smoke Shop Smoke City

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Black 13 Tattoo Parlor Icon Tattoo & Body Piercing Safe House Tattoo Studio

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Mint Julep Experiences — Nashville NashTrash Tours Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

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Music City Vintage Anaconda Vintage Backslide Vintage

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RETAIL & SERVICES WRITERS’ CHOICE

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST GREEN SHOP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE GOOD FILL

BEST NEW GIFT SHOP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE GOLDEN SLIPPER

BEST NEW GIFT SHOP

THE GOLDEN SLIPPER

There’s been a Pangaea-size hole in my heart ever since the beloved Hillsboro Village gift shop permanently closed in 2019, but The Golden Slipper is doing a fantastic job filling it. The charming little shop, which quietly opened in the summer of 2020 while most of us were still in lockdown, brings a ray of sunshine to the Germantown neighborhood. The brainchild of Ashley Moore, the store features a stylish, eclectic mix of home goods, paper supplies, gourmet foods, accessories, whosits, whatsits and thingamabobs. Moore strikes the right balance between playful and chic with offerings that include everything from signature candles (that smell fucking amazing!) and pretty puzzles to unique barware and literally everything you need to build a kick-ass charcuterie board. It’s the type of place that sells quirky Golden Girls memorabilia next to locally made artwork. With a thoughtful selection of items for kids, men and pets, it’s the perfect place to buy a gift for anyone on your list for any occasion, or to treat yourself to something pretty for surviving yet another day in this hellscape. And one lingering benefit of the pandemic is that the boutique offers a full-service online store with curbside pickup available.

year’s participants include taxidermy artist Howl Revival, painter of haunted faces Daryl Wayne and resin artist Krystal Claire Designs. And every market is hosted at a bar or restaurant, so shoppers can also support local folks in the service and hospitality industries while enjoying a beverage. Find their annual calendar at thewickedmarket.com. MEGAN SELING

BEST ONE-STOP SHOP

TRILUNA WELLNESS

Before the pandemic, TRILUNA Wellness hosted company workshops, wellness retreats and events built on a foundation of self-care and mindful living. To bring that same experience to folks who are socially distancing and working from home, founders Elizabeth Moore and Ashley Brooke James had the bright idea to put all their expertise into gift box form, pairing food, home and wellness items with booklets filled with their expertise. The Diversity and Community Matter box — with goods from businesses owned by people of color

— comes with a workbook that clearly lays out anti-racist actions that can be applied to everyday life. The Nourishment Beyond Food Collection, which can be filled with kitchen linens, fancy spices and teas, and kitchen tools, is paired with recipes from great local chefs. There’s even a pro-yoga, anti-diet box that comes with candy! It’s a great way to build a thoughtful gift for anyone who could use a boost these days. Yourself included. Visit trilunawellness.com to find out more. MEGAN SELING

wanted less plastic and junk in my life, but couldn’t afford a total lifestyle overhaul. The Good Fill made it easy and affordable to take a first step into the zero-waste world. The East Nashville shop offers a selection of refillable containers — made of glass, aluminum, silicone and more — that can be filled with everything from laundry detergent and all-purpose cleaner to shampoo, conditioner and body wash. The shop even carries items I never thought could be zero-waste, including lipstick, toothpaste and dog-poop bags! Can’t make it to the East Nashville shop? The Good Fill also offers shipping with plastic-free, recyclable and/or reusable materials.

BEST COMIC SHOP

RICK’S COMIC CITY

Comics and graphic novels are becoming more popular and more diverse every day, and Rick’s Comic City in Donelson is the top local spot to find new issues, trade paperbacks and omnibuses. Of course there are superheroes and nostalgia, but there’s so much more now, and local, independent and diverse voices hold prominent placement on their shelves. For the collectors, Rick’s has plenty of collectibles, old and new, for every fandom. Don’t miss the art on the sandwich board out front for a good chuckle, and look out for little Deadpool — you never know where he’ll be hiding next. JONATHAN SIMS

MEGAN SELING

BEST FARMERS MARKET

RICHLAND PARK FARMER’S MARKET

Adjacent to the Richland Park Branch of the Nashville Public Library, the Richland Park Farmer’s Market takes place every Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon. Its dozens of vendors offer not only consumables like coffee, produce, meat, dairy, pastries and dry goods, but also flowers, pet products, pottery and houseplants. There’s typically plenty of parking, and its big, open space is kid- and pet-friendly, making it a lovely locale for a leisurely picnic after you’ve perused the vendors’ wares. There’s no shortage of farmers markets in and around Nashville, but the consistency, variety of products and laid-back vibes at Richland Park make it our top pick. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST GREEN SHOP

THE GOOD FILL

A half-assed New Year’s resolution brought me to The Good Fill earlier this year. I

BEST OLD-SCHOOL GROCERY STORE

OSBORNE’S BI-RITE ON BELMONT BOULEVARD

NANCY FLOYD

BEST POP-UP MARKET

Don’t get me wrong — Nashville has tons of great pop-up markets. Porter Flea is always fun, and the Scene’s own craft fair Crafty Bastards just keeps getting better and better. But the crown for pop-up shopping goes to The Wicked Market, a monthly market that takes place every full moon and shines a light on the local makers and businesses who are exploring spooky, beautiful and unexpected corners of the craft and retail world. Some of this

BEST COMIC SHOP, WRITERS’ CHOICE: RICK’S COMIC CITY

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

THE WICKED MARKET

As Nashville grows and changes, the spots that remain untouched by development feel extra special. Osborne’s Bi-Rite on Belmont Boulevard is one of those spots. The grocery store — originally an H.G. Hill, but owned since 2005 by the Osborne family — epitomizes Southern charm, from the products it stocks to the deli serving meatand-threes and the regulars who frequent it. Even though I visit the relatively small grocery store at least once a week, it keeps on surprising me. I recently found a whole new bread section tucked behind the register, and sometimes I’ll randomly notice items I thought the store didn’t carry. Not

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RETAIL & SERVICES WRITERS’ CHOICE that it would be a problem asking the staff — they’re all very nice. Osborne’s provides a personality that is impossible to find in a big-box store, and it just feels better buying groceries there. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST PLACE TO EXPAND YOUR CANDY COLLECTION

FRESH AND FRESH INTERNATIONAL MARKET

There are several international grocers in Nashville, and most are worth a visit — but if it’s snacks and candy you want, Fresh and Fresh International Market on Nolensville Pike is the place to go. Half of the store is dedicated to the usual grocery items — fresh meat and fish, produce, spices and frozen foods. On the other side of the store is heaven, aka several aisles full of snack foods, with each aisle dedicated to a different country — Mexico, Korea, Japan. There are Popin’ Cookin’ DIY candy kits and Hapi Bing Bing ice cream cone wafer cookies from Japan and Paleta Payaso marshmallow pops from Mexico. Then there is even more candy at the front of the store — near the cash register is where you’ll find a dozen or more different flavors of imported KitKats and Kinder biscuits along with the best selection of Hi-Chew in Nashville. May you never need to eat a toohard-to-chew Starburst again. MEGAN SELING

BEST T-SHIRTS

FRIENDLY ARCTIC PRINTING AND DESIGN

As a self-anointed T-Shirt Queen™, I know there is very little that can’t be solved by slipping into a well-worn, slightly stretchy T-shirt that makes you feel like yourself. As someone with great taste, I know that the pallets of Nashville Strong and I Believe in Nashville tees that are strung around gift and apparel shops are a bore. But the folks at Friendly Arctic are more ambitious. Their shirts (and posters) pay tribute to our state’s natural beauty — its waterfalls, flowers and mountains. With two series, TN Is Fantastic and TN State Parks Collection, Friendly Arctic lets you stand tall and proud as a lover of our native flora and fauna.

These soft, beautiful shirts just make me happy to call Tennessee home — and as a cantankerous former Yankee, that’s saying something. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST SHIRTS THAT SAY THE HARD PART FOR YOU

DISSOCIALITE DESIGN CO.

Sometimes leaving the house is hard. There are days when even a well-meaning barista asking “How are things going today?” can cause every one of your brain’s neurotransmitters to flood your body with anxiety as you struggle to find something positive to say while the world burns around you. If this scenario sounds familiar, then you’ll love Brynn Plummer’s genius Dissocialite Design Co., a line of clothing and accessories that make it easy to brave the real world without having to explain over and over again that you’re feeling some f-e-e-l-i-n-g-s. There’s a design for practically every state of mind — whether it’s “Playing Otis Redding Records and Crying,” “Scrolling and Dissociating” or “Tired Black Girl Club.” And all the designs are colorful and fun, which helps remove some of the shame and stigma of mental illness. This year, Plummer even added a shirt for dogs, which reads “Anxious Little Dude,” because humans aren’t the only species that deserves empathy. MEGAN

SELING

BEST CANDLE COLLABORATION

CORSAIR DISTILLERY AND GOLD + IVY

Corsair Distillery and gold + ivy candles have teamed up to produce a unique trio of spirit-scented soy wax candles. The Artisan Gin scent is a beautiful floral, which is easily my favorite. The Triple Smoke Whiskey smells exactly like the alcohol it was named for. It’s a bit strong for me, but I don’t drink whiskey for the same reason, and I still think it’d be a great gift for whiskey lovers. I was worried the Vanilla Bean Vodka would smell like hand sanitizer, but that’s not the case. It mostly just smells like vanilla, but it’s nice and light. KELSEY BEYELER

BEST T-SHIRTS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: FRIENDLY ARCTIC PRINTING AND DESIGN

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RETAIL & SERVICES WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST PLACE TO BUY A PAIR OF COWBOY BOOTS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: PLANET COWBOY

BEST LONGTIME SALES ASSOCIATE

BEST LOCAL TIE DYE

Tall, statuesque, ponytailed and often bejeweled, Barry Grider is a taste arbiter to be reckoned with. Currently inhabiting the Chanel boutique at Nordstrom, he has a style that is beyond fashion — and the looks he helps his clients achieve are understated, yet high fashion. A decades-long veteran of Nashville’s everchanging women’s retail landscape, he dresses the doyennes and a few young stars on the rise to make sure tasteful is never boring. HOLLY GLEASON

I’m a real sucker for tie dye, both the DIY stain-your-hands type and the more artful versions sold by places like Black Sheep Goods. Owner Ashley Owens uses an icedying technique to create one-of-a-kind pieces, creating a vivid swirling effect that reminds me of the sort of dreamy and romantic colorscapes used in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. Black Sheep Goods was at several craft and goods fairs this year, which means I may or may not have a few things from the shop to show off. Did my heart love till now? AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST PLACE TO BUY A PAIR OF COWBOY BOOTS

PLANET COWBOY

When Jaylin Ramer moved her business from New York to 12South, she did Nashvillians a favor, offering us a new option for buying cowboy boots that reflect our personalities. About one-third of Planet Cowboy’s boots are custom-made. Ramer takes multiple foot measurements, helps you pick the right style and color, and then has the kicks stitched just for you. You’ll have a pair to last for the ages. If you can’t swing the $900 (and up) price tag for a custom pair, there are less expensive options, still with lots of flair and by brands not found elsewhere in town. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST LOCAL TIE DYE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: BLACK SHEEP GOODS

BLACK SHEEP GOODS

BEST PENNANTS

N.B. GOODS

For some, the isolation of the pandemic has hit especially hard. Social interaction has plummeted, and many of us have been left to be our own cheerleaders as we work from home and miss out on vital time with supportive BFFs. Thanks to n.b. goods’ clever handmade banners, we can cover our walls with eye-catching encouragement to get us through the day. The shop’s designs are bold but not overly trendy — no gold brush lettering or watercolor florals — just the words you need to hear or want to express to others. “Be Afraid, Do It Anyway,” “My Love Will Not Let You Down” and “Keep Going” — they even have a clever “It’s All Your

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

BARRY GRIDER AT NORDSTROM

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HOME FURNISHINGS & DESIGN

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

RETAIL & SERVICES WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST PENNANTS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: N.B. GOODS

Voted BEST PHARMACY three years running!

Fault” banner for Preds fans or, I suppose, folks with accident-prone co-workers. Want something more specific? n.b. goods takes custom orders too. I wonder how much it’d cost to get one that says “You Must Get Out of Bed Today, Megan.” MEGAN SELING

BEST TEMPORARY TATTOOS

LOVE & LION

Anything is possible in the realm of the entirely unnecessary, so you might as well get as weird as you want. Ever wonder what your child’s face would look like wreathed in an RGB dissent collar? Have it printed up as a temporary tattoo that you can wear on

pockets are great for packing full of rocks. Follow Lil Knees on Instagram for the latest drops. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST USE OF VINTAGE QUILTS

ERICA KNICELY

Local fashion designer Erica Knicely can make all your cottagecore dreams come true. We’re talking gingham, ruffle sleeves and intricate, classic embroidery. She sources material from vintage linen tablecloths to make cheeky shorts that are embroidered with pansies — perfect for a picnic. As the weather cools down, keep an eye out for cheerful chore coats pieced together from vintage quilts. Knicely’s garments are beautifully crafted to last for years with proper care — just like you. ERICA

CICCARONE

BEST SWIMSUITS

OLIVIA FRANKENSTEIN

your face at Love & Lion. Are you proudly Team Harry? Adorn your forearm with his highness’s visage. Get custom tattoos made to ring in your birthday, and you can plaster your name on the wrist of anyone you like. Ink is out. Paste is in. ERICA CICCARONE

In 2019, Olivia Frankenstein, the monsterloving Etsy shop owned and operated by Crystal Chan and Marc Vargas, was awarded Writers’ Choice Best Etsy Shop after I fell in love with the couple’s creepy and cute T-shirts and pins. This year Olivia Frankenstein expanded its offerings, finally giving goths of the world what they need for summer: bathing suits. Available in sizes XS-3X, Olivia Frankenstein’s bikini tops and bottoms come in three creepy-cute designs: spiderwebs, bloodshot eyeballs and cockroaches. There’s also a smiley-face design that looks happy, but I can’t help assuming the smile is somehow sinister or at least sarcastic when pictured next to Olivia Frankenstein’s other offerings, like the coffin-covered koozie. MEGAN SELING

BEST KIDS’ VINTAGE

BEST SIZE-INCLUSIVE BOUTIQUE

It can be difficult to find vintage clothes for kids. Often kids wear their clothes out, and the cutest of what I wore as a kid is definitely in a box in my mom’s closet somewhere. Lil Knees Vintage is a Nashville-based shop run by Heather Scudder that curates the coolest clothes for kids and sells them at a reasonable price. One of my kid’s favorite pieces of clothing is from there: a blue-green-and-yellow-striped T-shirt with giant pockets on the front. I love it because it reminds me of the clothes I wore as a tot, and she loves it because those

Tucked inside the L&L Market on Charlotte Avenue is the cute clothing boutique This Is the Finale. As a plus-size woman, I’m used to entering these kinds of curated stores and not finding anything above a size 12. That’s never the case here — the boutique carries up to a size 4X in store. While the shop’s accessory game is also on-point (this is the spot to grab a cool pair of earrings or a vegan bag), it’s refreshing to browse and stumble upon a large range of trendy clothing, and with good price points to boot. The selection is small but mighty, and filled

BEST TEMPORARY TATTOOS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: LOVE & LION

THANK YOU!

LIL KNEES VINTAGE

THIS IS THE FINALE

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IINTERNATIONAL NTERNA TIONAL AT PROPERTY O PERT TY YS SPECIALIST PECIALIS T PRO OPERTY ST

YourDestinationFinders@gmail.com www.yourdestinationfinders.com O:615.894.7070 | C:615.419.3782 1903 Old Hickory Blvd. Old Hickory TN 37138

PHOTO: CARMEN ROGGE PHOTOGRAPHY

RETAIL & SERVICES WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST INCLUSIVE UNDERPANTS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: HEY MAVENS! with statement party pieces. And be sure to check out Finale’s brightly patterned men’s shirts and gift kits — and follow This Is the Finale on Instagram to check out special events. ELIZABETH JONES

BEST INCLUSIVE UNDERPANTS

HEY MAVENS!

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Everyone needs underpants, but for generations, cute bras and panties have been available to very limited sizes — and that’s bullshit. Annika Benitz Chaloff, the owner of Hey Mavens! at Shops at Porter East, is changing the lingerie game. She knows everybody deserves to feel cute and comfortable in their skivvies, which is why she’s created a line of lingerie that fits sizes XXS through 6X, with even more sizes coming soon. Bras are available in wrap, triangle, bandeau and trapezoid style, and panties are offered in both high-rise and thong cuts. Plus, the fabric and prints often change with the season, so you’re always on trend. Think bats and ghosts for fall, hotdogs and burgers for summer, and even the faces of characters from The Office for whenever you want a grinning Kevin Malone to adorn your boob. MEGAN SELING

BEST OFF-HOURS HANG

WEEKDAYS AT THE DIVE MOTEL

When a hurricane abruptly ends your trip to the coast, but the PTO is approved and the weather in Nashville is hot and sunny, there are few better places to spend a weekday afternoon than poolside at the Dive Motel on Dickerson Pike. Because of its good, beachy drinks, its sorta-new buzz and its vibrant, vintage decor, the pool has become incredibly popular, and it can be hard to find a place to sit or swim during busy weekends. But on a random weekday, there’s usually plenty of space — both for lounging and for social distancing — and it’s cheaper to get in on off-days. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

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BEST BOARD GAME CAFE

GAME POINT CAFE

Few activities are more enjoyable with friends and family than gathering around the table for some lighthearted competition or cooperation. Whether you’re into party games or looking for something more

substantial, Game Point is the best shop around. The Five Points spot is back to its pre-pandemic self, offering a full library of card and board games to play in the shop while enjoying coffee and bites. (Bongo Java East and Game Point are under the same roof — it’s basically the same spot.) Game coaches are available to help you learn a new game, and you can join someone else’s game if the players have raised the signal. Try Everdell — it’s beautiful and a lot of fun. JONATHAN SIMS

BEST PLACE TO FIND A NEW HOBBY

PAPER & INK ARTS

If you’re the kind of person who has fervent opinions about ballpoint pens — Pentel RSVP or GTFO — then Paper & Ink Arts is the place for you. The Donelson art supply store is a treasure trove of writing and lettering supplies, with hundreds of different kinds of pens. Gel, brush, chalk, paint, fountain! Plus, everything you could ever need to either start or continue your calligraphy hobby, including modern and vintage nibs, specialty inks and papers. Hell, they even carry actual quills, so you can write a letter with a literal goose feather like the goddamn Founding Fathers. Don’t have the patience to learn a new skill but still feel creative? There’s also a large selection of paints and brushes, rubber stamps and bookbinding materials, as well as art kits for both kids and adults. MEGAN SELING

BEST MECHANICS

HILLSBORO VILLAGE AUTO SERVICE

We all know the story — you take your car into a shop for a minor repair and they tell you there’s another major problem(s) that will cost thousands of dollars to fix. This has happened to me countless times, and after five years of living in Nashville, I’m relieved to say I’ve finally found a mechanic I can trust at Hillsboro Village Auto Service. When I took my car in for a tune-up, I gave them a laundry list of repairs that another mechanic had recommended. The mechanic’s response was something akin to, “If this were my car I wouldn’t be worried about any of this right now.” It was music to my ears. Plus the service was quick, and the price was reasonable. KELSEY BEYELER

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HIGHVIEWNASHVILLE.COM Perched hillside at the border of Highland Heights in East Nashville. 88 urban flats offering studio, 1- and 2- bedroom plans. Only five minutes to Riverside Village, and a short 10-minute commute to 5 Points and downtown Nashville.

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THEJAMESNASHVILLE.COM

NEW development project off Lebanon Pike. The Ontario offers studio, 1- and 2- bedroom flats and 2- and 3- bedroom townhomes just 2.5 miles to the offerings of downtown Nashville. Presale now, arriving Spring 2022.

The James offers an intimate collection of 31 condominium residences occupying a quiet, upscale address one block from the heart of The Gulch. Almost sold out! 1 unit remaining.

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H E L P I N G Y O U F I N D VA L U E I N N A S H V I L L E R E A L E S TAT E

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MEDIA & POLITICS READERS’ POLL BEST BLOG (LOCAL)

BEST RADIO STATION

BEST COLUMNIST (LOCAL)

BEST REPORTER (LOCAL)

BEST CONSERVATIVE (LOCAL)

BEST SCANDAL OF THE YEAR

BEST CURRENT METRO COUNCILMEMBER

BEST SPORTS RADIO SHOW OR PODCAST

BEST FACEBOOK PAGE

BEST SPORTS WRITER

BEST FOOD INSTAGRAM

BEST TV NEWS PERSONALITY (LOCAL)

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BEST TWITTER ACCOUNT (LOCAL)

1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 1. 2.

Nashville Bride Guide In the Garden (Bates Nursery and Garden Center) Living with Landyn Holly McCall Keel Hunt Betsy Phillips

Nobody Phil Valentine Candace Owens

Freddie O’Connell Colby Sledge Zulfat Suara

Foodies of Nashville Nashville Humane Association East Nashville We Eat Nash NashvilleHiddenGems Nashville Food Fan

Music Shitty Emily Canterberry @emily_cberry Nashville Humane Association

Jim Cooper (tie) Nobody (tie) John Ray Clemmons

1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.

Lightning 100 Radio WPLN Nashville Public Radio WXNA 101.5 Phil Williams Nick Beres Nikki Burdine

Bill Lee Bill Lee COVID response COVID Sore Losers Fastbreak Breakfast 3HL on 104.5 Adam Vingan Jim Wyatt Tim Sullivan

Nikki Burdine Danielle Breezy Neil Orne

NewsChannel5 (WTVF) Channel 2 (WKRN) Fox 17 (WZTV) @NashSevereWX @allanbell247 @fastbreakbreak

BEST PODCAST 1. 2. 3.

Sore Losers Two Bottles Deep You Can’t Sit With Us Radio/Podcast

BEST POLITICIAN (LOCAL) 1. 2. 3.

BEST TWITTER ACCOUNT, READERS’ POLL: @NASHSEVEREWX

Marsha Blackburn Jim Cooper John Ray Clemmons

1. 2. 3.

Zac Woodward Bobby Bones Phil Valentine

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST RADIO PERSONALITY OR DJ

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST CURRENT METRO COUNCILMEMBER, READERS’ POLL: FREDDIE O’CONNELL

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THE “BEST OF NASHVILLE” ISSUE CAN TELL YOU WHO HAS THE BEST PIZZA

WE CAN TELL YOU WHERE TO HAVE IT DELIVERED...YOUR NEW HOME! RESIDENTIAL | COMMERCIAL LAND | FARMS | DEVELOPMENTS

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MEDIA & POLITICS WRITERS’ CHOICE

mmm... So

BEST LOCAL MEDIA PERSONALITY ON INSTAGRAM, WRITERS’ CHOICE: BOB MUELLER

BEST TWITTER ACCOUNT

@SCANNASHVILLE

A women’s column featuring a rotating cast of contributors

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Since New Year’s Eve 2015, the Twitter account Nashville Scanner (@ScanNashville) has been using open data, media reports and tips to send out updates about Nashville-area police and fire activity. The account has long been a useful tool and source of entertainment for reporters, not to mention curious Nashvillians in general. But Nashville Scanner has really picked up steam in recent months and years, attracting more than 15,000 followers with its ceaseless updates about area crime, law enforcement activity, extreme weather and — perhaps most popularly — drunken behavior from downtown bar-goers. Come for the latest emergency-services dispatch notices, stay for the weekend bacheloretteparty counts and transpotainment updates.

D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT OBSESSIVE

@STARTLESEASILY

There are many terrible things about Twitter, but one of the great things about the site is the way it lets users tap into one another’s interests and obsessions. Sometimes that’s even a public good. And that’s the case when it comes to your new favorite Metro Nashville follow, @startleseasily. (Her real name is Nicole, but were I to meet her in person I’m certain I would address her by her Twitter handle.) On her feed, you’ll find irreverent but informative live-tweeting of Metro Council meetings, sure, but also threads on Metro Council committee meetings and discussion of goings-on at the Board of Zoning Appeals. She mainlines Metro government, and all you have to do is follow along. STEVEN HALE

BEST LOCAL MEDIA PERSONALITY ON INSTAGRAM

BOB MUELLER

My goal in life is to look as carefree for any amount of time as longtime WKRN news anchor Bob Mueller looks on the weekends on his boat. Mueller is the best kind of social media follow (particularly on Instagram at @bmuellerwkrn), because while he lives it

up, it never makes me feel down. He’s not trying to show off, though you might find yourself extremely envious of him due to his incredible mustache — which seems to look even better off air and in the open air. It’s clear that Mueller relishes being surrounded by family and friends in the sunshine. As he wrote on a July 27 post of himself water skiing: “Life … meant to be enjoyed!” AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST BEAT REPORTING

BRETT KELMAN

We wish that we weren’t able to give The Tennessean’s Brett Kelman an award for the second year in a row for his coverage of an ongoing public health crisis. But here we are. Kelman’s reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and its myriad effects on health care in the state has been vital. This year he has broken several stories about how pressure from Republican lawmakers led to significant changes in the Tennessee Department of Health’s approach to promoting vaccination among teenagers, a fiasco that spawned several other scandals. At the same time he continued to provide regular coverage of a pandemic that appeared to be waning until the Delta variant brought it roaring back. For his sake and ours, we hope he has a harder time finding things to write about next year. STEVEN HALE

BEST COLUMNIST

MARGARET RENKL FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

In early August, I got to this line in one of Nashvillian Margaret Renkl’s columns for The New York Times and realized I had started crying: “But I also remind myself sternly to attend to what is not dying, to focus as much on the exquisite beauties of this earth as on its staggering losses.” Her columns, which cover “flora, fauna, politics and culture in the American South,” almost always sneak up on me in this way. In this particular installment, she expertly weaves from the impending doom of climate change to hatching baby birds, pairing the truth of difficult times with what beauty we can still find. Renkl is an expert at this sort of thing,

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

Refreshing!! Refreshing Refreshing!

which is why I keep coming back to read her each time — even if it means a few tears might be shed. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST NEW VOICE ON THE RADIO

MARQUIS MUNSON

Nashville Public Radio’s new station 91.1 WNXP-FM is a joy. I do occasionally miss the classical station at that frequency, but new voices on the radio like that of Marquis Munson have made the transition to more modern tunes easy. Munson, who is both the evening show DJ and the production manager at the station, feels like a familiar voice, even though he’s only been serving us tunes for the past year or so. Like a close friend might, Munson reveals to a listener his excitement about a song, whether it be hip-hop or country or something a little further afield. Tune in from 6 to 10 p.m. every weeknight to check it out. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST NEW RADIO STATION

WNXP

When Nashville Public Radio announced that it was ditching the classical format it had broadcast on 91.1 FM since 2011 in favor of a music discovery station akin to NPR Music heavyweight KEXP, it set the bar awfully high for itself as the new kid on the radio dial. Among the challenges was holding its own with stalwart indie commercial station Lightning 100 and freeform upstarts WXNA — a community station started by former community DJs on WRVU, aka 91 Rock, the combination studentand-community station whose terrestrial broadcast was on 91.1 for six decades before Vanderbilt University sold its broadcast rights to Nashville Public Radio amid much public outcry. Another big hurdle: Emerging from the shadow of that legacy. Against stacked odds, WNXP has blown past those lofty expectations. Under the leadership of longtime scene fixtures like Jason Moon Wilkins and Jewly Hight, WNXP has quickly demonstrated a commitment to uplifting diverse voices in the Nashville music community and keeping a consistent eclectic indie groove. We’ll never stop missing WRVU — and the rise of WXNA has softened that

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MEDIA & POLITICS WRITERS’ CHOICE

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

BEST PROGRAM DIRECTOR, WRITERS’ CHOICE: JASON MOON WILKINS

has occupied another vital position. She’s emerged as a knowledgeable and entertaining broadcaster, advocate and historian who each week provides portraits and examples of Black contributions to country through her valuable podcast Color Me Country. This program puts in the spotlight numerous Black, Latinx and Indigenous performers, many of whom otherwise would have no forum for their music. Palmer also conducts engaging and revealing interviews with them, able to connect not only as a fan, but as an artist with a shared history of battling stereotypes and false notions about authenticity within a genre. Color Me Country is a must for anyone who wants more than a superficial understanding of country’s real roots, and the lengthy history of Black participation and involvement within it. RON WYNN

WHERE NASHVILLE WORKS

• Office suites • Coworking • Community

blow — but WNXP is a compelling addition to the best offerings on Nashville’s FM dial.

LANCE CONZETT

• Day passes only $25/day

BEST PROGRAM DIRECTOR

JASON MOON WILKINS

Yes, he’s won awards as a journalist at WPLN, he co-founded listings engine Do615, and he helped create Thirty Tigers’ publishing division. But when Jason Moon Wilkins took on the role of program director at WNXP, he created a radio station that blurred genre lines and showed Nashville as a community that is Black, white, country, soul, hip-hop, rock in all its forms and folk. Even more than that, he and his team — which notably includes editorial director Jewly Hight — have shown Nashville’s music scene to be vital and alive in a way that proves our Music City bona fides. HOLLY GLEASON

BEST PODCAST

COCAINE & RHINESTONES SEASON 2

Back in 2018, we gave Nashvillian Tyler Mahan Coe a Best of Nashville writers’ pick for Best Deep Dive Into Country Music History for the 14-episode debut season of his podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones. It took another three years before we got to hear Season 2, but if you give it a listen, you’ll hear why. Coe’s dedication to exhaustive research in the field of country music history is undeniable, and he explores subjects including Owen Bradley, George Jones, Tammy Wynette and pinball (yes, pinball) with aplomb, weaving it all together to create something that is completely singular in the podcast world. As long as Coe keeps taking the time to create these deep dives, he’ll find a wide audience. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST NEW PODCAST

COLOR ME COUNTRY RADIO

Rissi Palmer is part of a proud and growing group of Black women vocalists who embrace and sing country without regret, apology or explanation. She’s been performing it with vigor and flair since her 2007 debut LP Rissi Palmer, which featured the singles “Country Girl” and “Hold On to Me” and got enough airplay to make the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. She’s had other fine releases, but since August of last year, Palmer

BEST NEW PODCAST, WRITERS’ CHOICE: COLOR ME COUNTRY RADIO

BEST LEGAL ADVICE

METRO LEGAL, BILL KOCH AND JUNAID ODUBEKO

The Davidson County Election Commission has been faced in recent months with a thorny legal problem: whether they’re allowed to put a glorified Facebook post on the ballot before all Nashville voters. Initially, their legal counsel — including Metro lawyers, former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Bill Koch and Bradley lawyer Junaid Odubeko — said they couldn’t, or else a court would strike it down. The commission’s Republican majority disagreed, and they hired new legal counsel — James Blumstein of Vanderbilt and Austin McMullen of Bradley. That duo said it was fine, but as their initial advisers predicted, multiple courts promptly shut the endeavor down. It remains under appeal. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

• Meeting rooms start at $55/hour Free parking, free meeting rooms with a suite, private phone booths, 24/7 keycard access, a mile from downtown —just across the river, free local coffee/tea, event spaces, fitness center, Google Fiber and plenty of space to spread out. Flexibility within lease terms to downsize or expand at no penalty.

BEST PROMISE KEPT

CONVICTION REVIEW UNIT

The Conviction Review Unit of the Davidson County District Attorney’s office got off to a slow start. Created in 2017, it took action on a case for the first time in 2020 when its work led to the decision not to pursue a new trial in the case of William Arnold after Arnold’s 2013 child-rape conviction was thrown out. But in August 2020, DA Glenn Funk hired longtime defense attorney Sunny Eaton to run the unit. She said her mandate was to act with urgency, and she has. In the past year, Eaton and her team have worked to see two men cleared of wrongful murder convictions, and from what we hear, she’s not slowing down. STEVEN HALE

615 Main Street, Nashville www.C615.co | hello@C615.co nashvillescene.com | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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Celebrating 75 Years of

Plan your adventure at

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ILLUSTRATION: LUCIE RICE

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KIDS AND PETS READERS’ POLL

1. 2. 3.

Wyndy Care.com Childcare Solution

BEST DAYCARE

1. 2. 3.

Creative Care Center Holly Street Daycare The Gardner School of Midtown

BEST DOG PARK

1. 2. 3.

Two Rivers Dog Park Centennial Dog Park Shelby Dog Park

BEST DOG-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

1. 2. 3. 3.

Waldo’s Chicken and Beer Double Dogs Restaurant Nectar: Urban Cantina (tie) TailGate Brewery (tie)

BEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (PUBLIC OR PRIVATE)

1. 2. 3.

Ruby Major Elementary Christ the King School The Academy for G.O.D.

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

1. 2. 3.

BEST HIGH SCHOOL (PUBLIC OR PRIVATE)

1. 2. 3.

BEST KIDS’ CLOTHING

1. 2. 3.

Miss Kitty’s Dog Resort The Dog Spot Ruff Dog Daycare

BEST PET GROOMING

Plaid Rabbit Gifts Magpies Children’s Shoppe patch

1. 2. 3. 3.

BEST MIDDLE SCHOOL (PUBLIC OR PRIVATE)

1. 2. 3.

Dr. Nancy Beveridge, The Children’s Clinic of Nashville Dr. John Long, Old Harding Pediatrics Dr. Robert Mallard, Heritage Medical Associates

BEST PET BOARDING/DAY CARE

Father Ryan High School Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School The Academy for G.O.D.

The Dog Spot Miss Kitty’s Dog Resort Crossroads Pets (tie) Nashville Pet Salon (tie)

BEST PET STORE

1. 2. 3.

The Dog Spot Nashville Pet Products Wags & Whiskers — East Nashville

BEST PLACE TO ADOPT A PET

1. 2. 3.

Nashville Humane Association Metro Animal Care and Control Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue

BEST PLACE TO HAVE A BABY 1. 2. 3.

Ascension St. Thomas Hospital Midtown Vanderbilt University Medical Center NOVA Birth Services

Christ the King School The Academy for G.O.D. J.T. Moore Middle School

BEST OUTDOOR FUN

1. 2. 3.

Cheekwood Nashville Zoo at Grassmere Percy Warner Park

BEST KIDS’ CLOTHING, READERS’ POLL: PLAID RABBIT GIFTS

BEST PEDIATRICIAN

The Loveless Cafe Nectar: Urban Cantina BoomBozz Craft Pizza & Taphouse — East Nashville

BEST PLACE TO ADOPT A PET, READERS’ POLL: NASHVILLE HUMANE ASSOCIATION

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST BABYSITTING SERVICE

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST OUTDOOR FUN, READERS’ POLL: CHEEKWOOD

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, READERS’ POLL: RUBY MAJOR ELEMENTARY

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KIDS AND PETS READERS’ POLL

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST TOY STORE, READERS’ POLL: PHILLIPS TOY MART

BEST PLACE TO HAVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY 1. 2. 3. 3. 3. 3.

The Flying Ham Game Terminal Adventure Science Center (tie) Little Art House (tie) Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (tie) Piccolo Farms Animal Sanctuary (tie)

BEST PLACE TO TAKE KIDS WHEN IT’S RAINING 1. 2. 3. 3.

Adventure Science Center Frist Art Museum Nashville Public Library (tie) Urban Air Trampoline & Adventure Park (tie)

BEST PLAYGROUND 1. 2. 3.

Fannie Mae Dees Park Christ the King School Red Caboose Park of Bellevue

BEST PRESCHOOL 1. 2. 3.

Christ the King School St. John Vianney Catholic School Creative Care Center

BEST PRIVATE SCHOOL 1. 2. 3.

BEST SUMMER CAMP 1. 2. 3.

YMCA Camp Widjiwagan Camp Skillz Whippoorwill Farm Day Camp

BEST SWIM LESSONS 1. 2. 3. 3.

Ensworth Aquatics Brendan Sweetman Swimmers SafeSplash + SwimLabs Swim School Nashville (West) (tie) SwimAmerica (tie)

BEST TEACHER 1. 2. 3.

Jennifer Smith, Stanford Elementary Robert Muñoz, The Academy for G.O.D. Sarah Osborne, Christ the King School

BEST TOY STORE (LOCAL) 1. 2. 3.

Phillips Toy Mart The Getalong Totally Rad Toyhouse

Open-ended schedules for open-minded learners. A tech-forward curriculum with a more flexible, family-based calendar. Now Enrolling at GalileoPreparatoryAcademy.com.

BEST VETERINARIAN 1. 2. 3.

Hillsboro Animal Hospital Parker’s Paws Animal Hospital Belmont Animal Hospital

Christ the King School The Academy for G.O.D. St. John Vianney Catholic School

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KIDS AND PETS WRITERS’ CHOICE

PHOTO: ELIZABETH JONES

BEST VET FOR STUFFED ANIMALS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: TEDDY BEAR CLINIC AT THE NASHVILLE ZOO

After a year at home during a pandemic, some of our household stuffed animals needed a checkup. The doctors at the Nashville Zoo’s HCA Healthcare Veterinary Center were just the folks we needed to see. At one of the zoo’s first in-person events in 2021, the Teddy Bear Clinic, we took Pooh Bear in, and my kid watched as the doctor gave him a checkup, weighed and measured him and gave him a vaccination. (My kid’s favorite part, of course, was the Band-Aid Pooh Bear got.) It’s a fun way to get kids interested in the vet center. And Pooh Bear seemed to appreciate it too. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST KID-SIZE ICE CREAM CONE

YOGI’S PIZZERIA & ICE CREAM EMPORIUM

Pizza, beer, ice cream — sign me up! After ordering a pie at the family-friendly neighborhood joint Yogi’s, grab the best ice cream deal in town: A kid’s cup or cone is just $2. And that’s not just for boring (though still delicious) standard flavors. Yogi’s carries a selection from Wisconsin-based Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, which includes a flavor that tastes just like licking brownie batter off a spoon. Head on down to the South Side to grab a cone, and try not to take too many bites yourself — kids hate sharing ice cream. ELIZABETH JONES

BEST DINNER AND A SHOW

PLAZA MARIACHI

You could go to Plaza Mariachi every night for a week and not once have a repeat experience. There aren’t many local kid-friendly venues with the same bragging rights. In 2021, the Nolensville Pike cultural hub gave us Bollywood Night, a Frida Kahlo festival and a Juneteenth celebration — that’s in addition to the normal rotation of top-shelf live music and dance, aerial arts and circusstyle performances. And the food? Some of the area’s best panaderías, international markets and Latin restaurants are located there. Plus, browsing the plaza’s many gift shops — filled with children’s toys, clothing, jewelry and sweet treats — is the perfect post-dinner activity. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT FOR KIDS’ ACTIVITIES

@NOTATHOMEMOM

We gave this same honor to @notathomemom in last year’s Best of Nashville issue, but Maureen — the mom who runs the Instagram account — and her super-cute family have really upped the game over the past year. In addition to providing mini guides for family outings in and around Nashville, she’s been hosting gatherings for parents and their kiddos too. She’s honest about what works about a hike, a splash pad or a restaurant, and more importantly, she’s candid about what doesn’t work. And I admire her for allowing folks to ask her questions after a series of IG stories about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s the kind of influencer I can get behind. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST OUTING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

PINS MECHANICAL COMPANY

If you’re looking to get out and have a few adult beverages while still having a plethora of entertainment options for your kids, Pins Mechanical Company is a great spot. Duckpin bowling is fun for the whole family — I’m talking lighter balls, no specific shoes, fairly short games, really a parents’ dream. There is also a free arcade, table tennis, bocce ball and more — which the kids can enjoy while you slurp down a drink from the bar. (Try the specialty cocktails, especially the Strawberry Old Fashioned, or choose from the great beer selection.) Making this place even more family-friendly? You can bring your own food or order delivery! Pins is kid-friendly until 7 p.m. and kids bowl free on Sundays. ELIZABETH JONES

BEST FAMILY BEACH

ANDERSON ROAD BEACH

Anderson Road Beach, on the south side of Percy Priest Lake, is maybe the cheapest summer fun a family can have in Nashville. For $5 a carload — or $40 for an annual pass — you get use of a stretch of beach, a playground and a ton of tables and grill areas. I love a pack-our-own-lunch situation with the kid — you can bring all the things you know they like to eat. One downside is that it can get packed on the weekends, so show up early. Chances are you’re already

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

TEDDY BEAR CLINIC AT THE NASHVILLE ZOO

BEST OUTING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY, WRITERS’ CHOICE: PINS MECHANICAL COMPANY

awake with the kids, so it’ll be worth it.

AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST PLACE TO ROMP IN A CREEK WITH YOUR KIDS

BEAMAN PARK

While the pandemic ruined so much the past year-and-a-half, it did force me and my family to find things we could do outside and away from lots of people. We spent hours in various parks around Nashville and finally made it out to the absolute gem that is Beaman Park. Less than a 30-minute drive from the center of downtown, the 1,700-plus-acre park includes miles of hiking trails that are great for adults and their dogs. But for our family — with two kids under 6 at the time — the best part about Beaman was the cool, shallow creek that runs through it, creating a wet trail of its own. Crawdads and fish zip around beneath the water, which is rarely more than a foot deep in most places. Our kids have spent hours in that creek, creating small pools with rocks and playing beneath the shade of the canopy overhead. The limestone bottom means you can walk down the creek, exploring as you go, or bring a chair and park it for an afternoon. You’ll probably see some people, but there’s enough space for everyone to stay beyond coughing distance. STEVEN HALE

Hunter State Park is perfect for that. It’s flat and paved, and the loop is about two miles around a lake. The trail features tree markers that my kid loves to find, neat lookouts to stand on to view the lake and — something all parents know kids love — a COOL BRIDGE. And if your kid can’t quite handle the long loop, there’s an awesome Reading Ranger Story Trail kids can follow that’s just more than a quarter mile and has several reading plaques placed throughout it. There’s also a playground that you can bribe the kids with to keep them walking.

AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST FALL ADVENTURE

LUCKY LADD FARM

You want magical, fun fall moments with your kids? Lucky Ladd Farms has it in

BEST FAMILY WALK

COUCHVILLE LAKE LOOP TRAIL AT LONG HUNTER STATE PARK

If you’re a desk-jockey parent like me, you might always be looking to get some steps in on the weekend while your kid is having fun too. Couchville Lake Loop Trail at Long

BEST FALL ADVENTURE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: LUCKY LADD FARMS

PHOTO: ELIZABETH JONES

BEST VET FOR STUFFED ANIMALS

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MEET YOUR NEW

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ear Every Y one of le’s Nashvil laces P e t i r o v Fa t! to Adop

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KIDS AND PETS WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST KIDS’ CONCERT

THE THEATER BUG’S WINTER CONCERT: LIVE IN TECHNICOLOR

BEST VETERINARIAN

HILLSBORO ANIMAL HOSPITAL

BEST SWIM LESSONS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: WORDEN AQUATICS spades. Petting Zoo! Hayrides! Corn maze! Huge slides! Plus lots and lots of pumpkins. It’s an autumnal wonderland and a photogenic paradise that serves funnel cake fingers. (That’s funnel cake in the shape of french fries.) The farm is located in Eagleville, which is about 45 minutes from downtown Nashville, and it’s worth the drive. Budget a full day to explore all that Lucky Ladd has to offer, or buy a season pass so you can go again and again. ELIZABETH JONES

BEST SWIM LESSONS

WORDEN AQUATICS

I feel like my family has been through all the swim lessons in the county. And while each new place has reinforced my toddler’s love of the water, none of them has provided noticeable progress until Worden Aquatics’ private lessons. I’ve seen them teach tiny babies to float on their own and watched adults learn to swim for the first time. All the instructors are patient and kind — while knowing when to push their students so that they learn. Teaching people to swim is hard, and Worden puts in the work. ELIZABETH JONES

BEST INTRODUCTION TO JAZZ FOR KIDS

NASHVILLE JAZZ WORKSHOP’S JAZZ AM

It’s been a big year for Nashville Jazz Workshop, which celebrated the grand opening of its new home at 1012 Buchanan St. in July while also unveiling a host of new programs. One of those fresh initiatives is Jazz AM — a free monthly series of Saturday morning performances geared toward children ages 2 to 10 and their families. Here, professional artists engage with little ones through music, movement, puppets and more, encouraging creativity and building musical awareness, while spotlighting legendary jazz artists like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. AMY STUMPFL

BEST TEEN PROGRAMMING

GIRLS WRITE NASHVILLE

Throughout the pandemic, Girls Write Nashville — a nonprofit songwriting mentorship program that helps build a positive and empowering community for teen girls — hustled to keep its programming going.

They worked with young people to remotely record an album called Sing Through the Quarantine and partnered with street paper The Contributor to publish a student-created bilingual Youth Voices column, in which teens wrote about social issues. They earned a Metro Arts Thrive grant for their work there. (Full disclosure: I do contract work for The Contributor.) The programs at Girls Write Nashville are free to middle- and high school-age girls who attend a Title 1 school in Davidson County — and the organization provides a supportive umbrella for the teens in their cohort. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST ONLINE VARIETY SHOW FOR KIDS

THE WHIMSICAL WORLD OF WISHING CHAIR

Wishing Chair Productions has long been a favorite for kids — and parents — here in Nashville, carrying on a rich tradition that goes back to Tom Tichenor’s first puppet production in 1938. But earlier this year, the stalwart troupe introduced a charming new online variety show that’s perfect for little ones who had been missing live, inperson story times at the Nashville Public Library due to COVID. With familiar Wishing Chair friends (including the Professor, Library Pete, MaryMary and Mr. B.), the weekly 30-minute show continues to serve up interactive songs, stories, special guests and plenty of puppet fun. AMY STUMPFL

If my 14-year-old beagle was writing this blurb, he’d say the very idea of a “best” veterinarian is paradoxical — all veterinarians being spawns of the devil sent to this earth to destroy him, of course. But for the human who loves the old boy and must deal with his creaky arthritic joints, stinky anal glands and the myriad ways he’s injured himself over the years trying to steal food, I’m grateful for the kindhearted men and women who work at Hillsboro Animal Hospital. They make a less-than-thrilling part of pet ownership as smooth and simple as can be, and they genuinely seem thrilled to see a grumpy beagle named Gus every time he begrudgingly walks through the doors.

BEST DOG-WALKING TRAILS

THE TRAILS AT FONTANEL

One of my pandemic pastimes was taking my quarantine-rescue yellow lab Raja to as many greenways as possible. Among our favorites are the Trails at Fontanel, underused gems north of Briley Parkway. Raja doesn’t care that there is signage with tips for optimum pet health (she can’t read). She doesn’t care that the benches are shaped like bones (the iconography is lost on her). But she likes these dog-themed trails because they are well-shaded and have fun hills to climb up and run down. A creek makes for prime mud-play or cooling off in the heat of the summer. There are nearly two miles of well-maintained unpaved paths in this loop, which connects to the flatter, paved Whites Creek Greenway. You’ll walk past the shuttered stage for the Fontanel amphitheater (R.I.P. — I loved seeing shows there) and behind Fontanel Mansion, which was once the home of Barbara Mandrell and is perhaps the largest log cabin home in the world. But the glory of these trails is the way they allow you to get away from crowds and have a real in-the-woods excursion just 20 minutes from downtown. Between the entrance to the trails and the parking areas, you’ll see a large meadow, perfect for a post-hike picnic.

MARGARET LITTMAN

NANCY FLOYD

BEST SERVICE ANIMAL PROVIDER

BEST BALL-BUSTERS

Founded in 2012 by vet Ken Knabenshue, who’d trained his own service dog after a car accident, the Lawrence County-based nonprofit Working Dogs for Vets works with more than 100 shelters around the country and dozens of volunteer trainers. The former shelter dogs are paired with qualifying vets, who agree to participate in a year or more of training. The success rate is astounding: The average client is on 10 to 15 medications when beginning the program; 81 percent reduce or eliminate medication post-graduation. There is a 95 percent reduction in the occurrence of nightmares and night terrors and a 98 percent reduction

PET COMMUNITY CENTER

At a regular vet, getting your pet spayed or neutered can run you upward of $400. That’s a ridiculously high rate considering how critical these surgeries are to our pets and local wildlife. The Pet Community Center in East Nashville has been spaying and neutering dogs and cats on the cheap since it opened in 2014, and the center will work with clients who are struggling to come up with the funds. Plus, they partner with Metro Animal Care and Control to sterilize thousands of community cats per year. This, along with other MACC practices, has made

WORKING DOGS FOR VETS

BEST DRIVE-THRU FAMILY FUN

JINGLE BEAT

As a family, we did a lot of drive-in and drive-thru things in 2020 and early 2021 — and Jingle Beat was the best of them. At the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, local entertainment production company EAMOTION put on an hourlong drive-thru music-and-lights experience. We went on a night when a lively group of employees was busting some sick dance moves. Between the light show, driving through the center of a giant wrapped gift in my minivan and the holiday remixes, it felt like a family-friendly rave hosted by Mariah Carey — in the best way. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST DOG-WALKING TRAILS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE TRAILS AT FONTANEL

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

PHOTO: ELIZABETH JONES

With temperatures falling and theaters still dark, things were looking rather bleak back in December. But The Theater Bug still managed to wrap up a perfectly delightful treat for local audiences, filming its annual winter concert and screening it at The Field at Franklin drive-in. Using 45 remarkable young performers (and some truly gorgeous vintage designs), the Bug put together a heartwarming mix of pop, musical theater and original music that shined brighter than a pink aluminum Christmas tree. Best of all, they provided a safe and festive way for families to usher in the holiday season. AMY STUMPFL

euthanasia necessary only when a kitty is critically ill. The folks who work at the PCC care about every single animal that comes their way, from a cherished family pet to a wild old tomcat. They seem to like people, too. ERICA CICCARONE

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KIDS AND PETS WRITERS’ CHOICE

Winner of Nashville Scene Best of Nashville Readers Poll® “Best Day Care” 13 Times!

Our Teachers are our Greatest Asset!

BEST SERVICE ANIMAL PROVIDER, WRITERS’ CHOICE: WORKING DOGS FOR VETS

Caring for Babies and Children 6 wks-6 yrs ***Three Star Center ***

PRE

SEN

TED

Creative Care Center

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

615-665-0153 • 5820 Hillsboro Pike • www.creativecarecenter.com Cynthia White, Director • Wendy Buford, Assistant Director

BEST ZOO BABY

GARLAND THE BABIRUSA PIGLET

With long, curved canine teeth that protrude upward through their skin, babirusas (also known as deer pigs) resemble some nightmarish Dalían hybrid of a mastodon and a hog. But before they earn those tusks, baby babirusas are bundles of clumsy cuteness. And luckily for us, the Nashville Zoo’s babirusas Dobby and Tinsel recently welcomed their very first piglet: Garland. Sweet baby Garland’s spindly legs currently support a rotund, wrinkled pot belly and complement her long snout, which we will love regardless of whether she grows into it. This

BEST CAT STREAM, WRITERS’ CHOICE: CARACAL KITTENS AT THE NASHVILLE ZOO

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babirusa family is also a recent species addition to the Nashville Zoo, so check out the new exhibit and watch Garland run circles around her doting parents. MATT FOX

BEST CAT STREAM

CARACAL KITTENS AT THE NASHVILLE ZOO

Earlier this year, six caracal kittens were born at the Nashville Zoo within a seven-day span. And because the internet demands cat content, the zoo wisely put them on a live camera feed at the veterinary clinic. The kittens were ridiculously cute, cuddling, play-fighting and meowing like normal house cats, albeit with very pointy ears. They were perfect fodder for a daytime break in yet another year that saw us stuck inside more than we wanted to be. The caracals grew quickly (eventually they’ll weigh 40 pounds and be able to jump 10 feet high), and the feed is now offline after four of them left the zoo for San Diego as part of a Species Survival Plan. Thanks for the memories, little guys. ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

PHOTO: NASHVILLE ZOO

in suicidal thoughts. Before receiving their service dog, 85 percent of participants reported that symptoms associated with PTSD played a major role in their inability to enjoy activities. That drops to 5 percent after graduation. Knabenshue says WDFV wants to save lives on both sides of the leash, and there’s no doubt it’s working. J.R. LIND

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Preparing Students for the World Since 1937

www.ctk.org

•

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Apartments Coworking Social Club 615-866-0851 | www.kenectnashville.com

One week free coworking trial with mention of ad.

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FIND YOUR ® PLACE There’s so much to enjoy right in our backyard — from world-class entertainment to incomparable natural beauty. When you’re ready to find a home, look no further than Village. Homegrown right here in Nashville, we know the backyard of Middle Tennessee better than anyone else.

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INGLEWOOD

GERMANTOWN

WINTERSET WOODS

SOLD

UNDER CONTRACT

1236 5TH AVENUE NORTH

2204 CAROUTH COURT | NOLENSVILLE

2308A SCOTT AVENUE

3 BD | 2.5 BA | 2,236 SF | $525,000

5 BD | 5 BA | 3,499 SF | $1,700,000

Maggie Bond 615.481.9203

Jake Griffin 615.545.9087

5 BD | 4 BA | 3,391 SF | $750,000 Anna Hatch 615.594.8612

PRIEST LAKE

WOODLAND IN WAVERLY

Thank you Nashville for trusting us to help you Find Your Place since 1996.

COMING SOON 3640 ANDERSON ROAD

AVAILABLE 2104 GRANTLAND AVENUE

3 BD | 2.5 BA | 1,703 SF | LOW $400S

4 BD | 2 BA | 2,764 SF | $975,000

Maggie Bond 615.481.9203

Erin Simpson 615.714.8937

BELMONT | HILLSBORO

MIDTOWN | VANDERBILT

21ST AVENUE 615.383.6964

FRANKLIN

615.790.3400

EAST NASHVILLE

SOLD - BUYER’S AGENT

615.369.3278

2123 ASHWOOD AVENUE

VILLAGEREALESTATE.COM

3 BD | 3 BA | 2,137 SF | $925,000 Kindy Hensler 615.828.4064

SOLD 900 20TH AVE S #1704 | THE ADELICIA

2 BD | 2.5 BA | DEN | 2,900 SF | $2,525,000 Kindy Hensler 615.828.4064

THE GULCH

AVAILABLE

UNDER CONTRACT

SOLD

1212 LAUREL ST #606 | TWELVE TWELVE

1212 LAUREL ST #1506 | TWELVE TWELVE

1 BD | 1 BA | 841 SF | $569,000

1 BD | 1 BA | 841 SF | $590,000

1212 LAUREL ST #1901 | TWELVE TWELVE

Kindy Hensler 615.828.4064

2 BD | 2 BA | 1,565 SF | $1,525,000 Kindy Hensler & Sydney McCann 615.828.4064

FEATURED AGENTS

Maggie Bond

Jake Griffin

Anna Hatch

Kindy Hensler

Sydney McCann

Erin Simpson

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No camera could do this justice. Are you the type that loves adventure? A vista hunter? With a dreamcatcher kinda eye? See what we see. Love what we love.

Be one of us.

CH V ISIT

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AT TA

NOO

G A .C

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

ILLUSTRATION: LUCIE RICE

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PEOPLE & PLACES READERS’ POLL

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST PLACE TO PEOPLE-WATCH, READERS’ POLL: BROADWAY

BEST PLACE TO SWIM, READERS’ POLL: THE DIVE MOTEL

BEST DAY TRIP

BEST PLACE TO RIDE A BIKE

BEST GOLF COURSE

BEST PLACE TO SWIM

BEST NASHVILLE SC PLAYER

BEST PLACE TO TAKE OUT-OF-TOWNERS

1. 2. 3.

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

1. 2. 3.

BEST BACHELORETTE ATTRACTION/ACTIVITY

1. 2. 3.

Studio Goddess Bad Axe Throwing Nashville Extreme Party Nashville

BEST COLLEGE SPORTS TEAM

1. 2. 3.

Vanderbilt University Baseball University of Tennessee Football Belmont University Basketball

BEST COMMUNITY ROLE MODEL

1. 2. 3.

Sheree Spoltore Monty Burks Dolly Parton

BEST CULTURAL CENTER

1. 2. 3.

Frist Art Museum Cheekwood Casa Azafrán

1. 2. 3.

Natchez Trace Chattanooga Jack Daniel’s Distillery Hermitage Golf Course McCabe Golf Course Gaylord Springs Golf Links Hany Mukhtar Walker Zimmerman C.J. Sapong

BEST PARK 1. 2. 3.

Centennial Park Percy Warner Park Radnor Lake State Park

BEST PLACE TO PEOPLE-WATCH

1. 2. 3.

Broadway Nashville International Airport Centennial Park

1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.

Shelby Bottoms Nature Center & Greenway Percy Warner Park Natchez Trace Parkway The Dive Motel Percy Priest Lake Downtown YMCA

Cheekwood The Hermitage Bad Axe Throwing Nashville

BEST PLACE TO WORSHIP

1. 2. 3.

Christ the King Catholic Church Cross Point Church The Belonging Co

BEST PREDATORS PLAYER

1. 2. 3.

Pekka Rinne Roman Josi Filip Forsberg

BEST RELIGIOUS LEADER

1. 2. 3.

Soccer Moses Dexter Brewer Kevin Queen

BEST SPORTS MASCOT

1. 2. 3.

Gnash Soccer Moses T-Rac

BEST TITANS PLAYER

1. 2. 3.

Derrick Henry Ryan Tannehill A.J. Brown

BEST ENTERTAINMENT VEHICLE

1. 2. 3.

None Extreme Party Nashville Big Drag Bus

BEST WATER ATTRACTION

PHOTO: FREDERICK BREEDON

1. 2. 3.

Cumberland Kayak Nashville Shores SoundWaves at Gaylord Opryland

BEST WEEKEND GETAWAY

BEST NASHVILLE SC PLAYER, READERS’ POLL: HANY MUKHTAR

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1. 2. 3.

Chattanooga Gatlinburg Asheville, N.C.

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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Knox Opens Doors The Knox Team truly understands the journey of selling a home and is committed to providing guidance and superior service before, during, and after the sale.

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

#1 Nashville Listing Sales Team (2018, 2020, 2021)

#2 Transaction Volume (2021) for medium-sized teams in TN

#35 Transaction Volume (2021) for medium-sized teams in US

Brandon Knox brandon@knoxopensdoors.com m. 646.436.9452 | o. 615.475.5616 @knoxteamnashville @knoxteamnashville The Knox Team is a team of real estate licensees affiliated with Compass RE, a licensed real estate broker and abides by equal housing opportunity laws. To reach the Compass RE office, call 615.475.5616.

48+ Years of combined real estate experience

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BEST TRIBUTE TO A CIVIL RIGHTS ICON, WRITERS’ CHOICE: REP. JOHN LEWIS WAY

BEST TRIBUTE TO A QUEEN

BIANCA PAIGE WAY

If you hung around Nashville gay bars in the ’90s and Aughts, then you were probably lucky enough to see Bianca Paige the Pantomime Rage perform live and in person. If you, like me, missed the boat — nay, yacht — on Bianca, a YouTube search will turn up a bevy of home movies of Her Eminence. When the wig came off, Bianca was Mark Middleton, a waiter who decided to take his HIV status onstage to educate his community about the virus and destigmatize it. Middleton raised $1 million for HIV/AIDS treatment and research before his death in 2010. In June, Nashville honored him by naming a street after his persona. Bianca Paige Way is located behind the gay bar Trax, so you can easily pour one out in Middleton’s honor. If you celebrate Bianca’s legacy next time you’re at Trax, make it a celebration worthy of a queen. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST TRIBUTE TO A CIVIL RIGHTS ICON

REP. JOHN LEWIS WAY

In 1960, a young man named John Lewis and several of his fellow Nashville Student Movement members participated in a string of organized sit-ins in downtown Nashville — nonviolent demonstrations as a means of protesting the city’s segregated lunch counters. Lewis and others were arrested over and over again, but months later those sit-ins were credited with making Nashville the first city in the South to integrate its lunch counters. Lewis famously carried on that penchant for getting into “good trouble,” as he called it, throughout his career — he ultimately served 17 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, continuing his fight for racial equality and human rights. In July — more than six decades after Lewis’ sit-ins and on the first anniversary of his death — Nashville celebrated the late congressman and his legacy by renaming a portion of Fifth Avenue downtown Rep. John Lewis Way. May it remind us all to stir up some good trouble when the need arises. MEGAN SELING

responsible for myriad youth rock camps and programming — executive director Sarah Bandy is leaving the job to pursue some other goals. In an announcement of her departure, Bandy wrote: “Providing leadership opportunities and creative pathways for youth inherently builds their personal power — one of the surprises of that work is that when you open up to other people, you also find out how to better show up for yourself day after day. I am more hopeful, cherish challenging conversations, listen better and more deeply, use my imagination more, feel more at home in my body, am more present, and have a kinder inner voice after my time with YEAH!” Bandy has a way with words, and a way of making anyone she’s speaking with feel like the only person in the room. It’ll be sad to see her move away from YEAH!, where she’s done great work and helped many young people empower themselves, but it should be equally exciting to see how she’ll show up for herself. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST TENANT ORGANIZING

WORKERS’ DIGNITY — MOSAIC WARRIORS AND DICKERSON ROAD UNITED IN STRUGGLE

Local advocate group Workers’ Dignity played a key role in organizing the tenants at Mosaic Apartments and a mobile home

BEST BAD NEWS/GOOD NEWS

SARAH BANDY LEAVING YEAH!

After a little more than seven years with YEAH! — Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities, the local nonprofit

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BEST NONPROFIT PARTNER, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE GALLATIN HOTEL

PHOTO: MATT MASTERS

PHOTO: RAY DI PIETRO

PEOPLE & PLACES WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST REDECORATION, WRITERS’ CHOICE: NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST BUST REMOVAL park on Dickerson Pike, two different lowincome communities that recently received sudden eviction notices and decided to fight back. The workers’ center campaigned on social media, coordinated press conferences and scheduled meetings with Metro councilmembers. The mobile home residents successfully lobbied for more time to move, while Mosaic tenants managed to get written and public answers from the apartment complex’s tight-lipped management company, and most have been able to stay in place. While Workers’ Dignity is getting our Best of Nashville award, we imagine they’ll want to give all the credit to the tenants who refused to back down. ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

BEST NONPROFIT PARTNER

THE GALLATIN HOTEL

When The Gallatin Hotel opened in the old Eastside Church of Christ, it followed the model of its sister properties, The Russell and 506 Lofts. A portion of the proceeds from a night at the brightly colored, joy-themed renovated hotel goes toward providing the city’s unhoused populations with a shower or a place to stay. As the largest of Mission Hotel’s properties, The Gallatin Hotel can raise more funds to donate to the nonprofits

with which it works, including Room In The Inn, ShowerUp, Nashville Rescue Mission and People Loving Nashville. The average weekend stay at Mission Hotels provides 16 nights in a bed, 100 free showers or 30 free meals for those in need. MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST REDECORATION

NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST BUST REMOVAL

It took decades of protests, but state officials finally tidied up the state Capitol this year. Though some Republican leaders sought to stop the move, Gov. Bill Lee was successful this year in getting rid of the Capitol’s bust honoring slave trader, alleged war criminal, traitor and early KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest. Busts honoring admirals David Farragut and Albert Gleaves were also lost in the crossfire. Such is the cost of war. For now, the prime space on the second floor of the Capitol just outside the entrances to the House and Senate sits empty — but empty is an upgrade. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

BEST HISTORICAL PRESERVATION EFFORT

BOYD HOUSE

In early-20th-century Nashville, there were few Black families more influential and involved than the Boyds. Founders of publishing houses, banks and newspapers, they helped draw what would become Tennessee State University to North Nashville. Their home, designed by renowned architectural firm McKissack & McKissack, held meetings and salons, with high-minded discussions about civil rights and arts and religion. Fisk University acquired the home in 1938, and in the ensuing decades, it’s fallen into disrepair — so much so that Fisk pulled a demolition permit. TSU history professor Dr. Learotha Williams sprang into action, launching an online petition that stopped the destruction of history. Fisk and the still extant R.H. Boyd Publishing then launched an effort to raise $1.1 million to preserve the home and transform it into an instructional and event space, launching a new chapter in the legacy of an important family and their historic home. J.R. LIND

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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BEST POP-UP EVENT, WRITERS’ CHOICE: NISSAN STADIUM DRIVE-THRU VACCINE EVENT

BEST NEW HIGH-RISE

THE COLLEGIATE GOTHIC TOWER ON VANDERBILT’S CAMPUS

Rising about 300 feet, this brick-and-stone tower was instantly iconic upon completion and highlights Vanderbilt University’s Zeppos College on West End Avenue. The Collegiate Gothic subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for U.S. and Canadian college and high school buildings. Of note, the Vanderbilt tower is the second-tallest Collegiate Gothic/Gothic Revival building in the United States, trailing only the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning (535 feet). David M. Schwarz Architects of Washington, D.C., and Nashville-based Hastings Architecture were the designers. Fine work, with the building’s tastefully lit crown a nice touch at night. WILLIAM WILLIAMS

BEST NEOTRADITIONAL LOW-RISE BUILDING EXTERIOR DESIGN

BELMONT PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Proudly sitting on Belmont Boulevard across from the charming Sterling Court Apartments, the Belmont University Performing Arts Center houses a 1,700seat multipurpose theater, a grand lobby and two contiguous recital halls that can accommodate 300 guests each. The 155,000-square-foot building is bathed in limestone and offers grand columns, arched windows, balustrades and a crowning dome with accompanying cupola. Some locals will perhaps dislike the building, contending its neotraditional design suggests a certain inauthenticity for the 21st century. But the center’s quality materials and craftsmanship cannot be denied. Nashville-based ESa designed the building — and nailed the effort.

WILLIAM WILLIAMS

BEST RETURNING LOCAL ICON, WRITERS’ CHOICE: WEISS LIQUORS SIGN

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

PEOPLE & PLACES WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST PLACE TO PARTY, WRITERS’ CHOICE: CE GALLERY

BEST RETURNING LOCAL ICON

WEISS LIQUORS SIGN

For many East Nashvillians, the loss of the neighborhood-favorite Weiss Liquors neon sign after the March 2020 tornado was a symbol of how unmoored everything felt. Thanks to Nick Redford of Fortify Nashville — with help from I Saw the Sign, Rivers Neon and of course Weiss Liquors — the sign, with its illuminated neon drops, shines brightly over Main Street once again. Redford rebuilt the sign, piece by piece, matching its original pink color from remnants he found in the tornado detritus that hadn’t been faded by decades of sun. New construction methods and stronger materials make Redford confident the sign will withstand whatever comes next.

MARGARET LITTMAN

BEST ROAD-SIGN MYSTERY

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE “CLEESE’S FERRY CLOSED” SIGN

Cleese’s Ferry (or Clee’s, or Cleece’s … it’s complicated) across the Cumberland River from Annex Avenue to Old Hickory Boulevard’s abrupt end on Bells Bend was the last ferry service in Nashville, with the Judge Hickman shuttling cars to and fro until 1990. Now getting from West Nashville to the Bend requires a circuitous route over the river via Briley Parkway and then a jaunt down Ashland City Highway. For 30 years, a sign on Annex warned commuters “Cleese’s Ferry Closed,” just in case they hadn’t heard the news. But now the sign is gone. Why? It’s not like it required any upkeep, and it was a budget victim. Did Metro finally decide people were aware the ferry was gone? Did someone simply steal the sign? Or is the ferry coming back?! Write your councilmember. J.R. LIND

BEST POP-UP EVENT

NISSAN STADIUM DRIVETHRU VACCINE EVENT

The optimism has somewhat faded in the months since as vaccine uptake has plateaued and COVID-19 cases have once again peaked, but there was a moment in March when everything felt like it was about to get much better. The city and allied organizations put on an incredibly ambitious event at Nissan Stadium with the goal of vaccinating 10,000 people against the virus. This was in the early months of the vaccines, when they were hard to come by and only offered only to certain people, so the scale of this event — at which doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine were administered — was cause for celebration. Depending on how the Titans and Nashville SC do, this could be the best thing to come out of Nissan Stadium all year. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

BEST PLACE TO PARTY

CE GALLERY

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

About a year ago, Clarence Edward came home to Nashville with a dream. He found a 3,000-square-foot, salmon-colored brick building in Madison and opened Ce Gallery — a space for exhibitions, collaborations, drawing sessions and, not least of all, parties. His regular Foxy Brown soirée draws a crowd where “a ’70s costume is not required

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RECENT SALES

1215 5th Avenue North Sold $2,500,000

1138 Glenwood Avenue Sold $1,798,550 “Lisa is by far the best real estate agent I’ve worked with. Her warm demeanor and professional attitude made the selling process remarkably smooth--juggling the simultaneous sale of four houses that needed a little work. I couldn’t be in Nashville for the listings and she managed to handle absolutely everything. In only two months the houses went from not-ready-for-sale to completely closed, all thanks to the hard work and expertise of Lisa.” - Tristan P., Investor Client

Lisa Gaston

1610 West End Avenue, Suite 115 Realtor® and broker Lisa Gaston has 33 years of experience to apply to your home buying or selling experience. After graduating college with a degree in marketing Lisa joined the family business, Gaston Realty Company, started by her father in 1947. Lisa earned her brokers license in 1987, and currently works with the outstanding firm Parks Realty out of the Broadwest office in downtown Nashville. The support of Parks Realty coupled with her years of knowledge of the Nashville market make her an invaluable resource for buyers and sellers in the Middle Tennessee area.

“I know the city like the back of my hand,” says Lisa, “and I am committed to helping individuals, families, and investors with their real estate needs. This is what I love to do!” Lisa has earned awards including 2019 Top Parks Real Estate Top 50 Producing Agents, Lifetime Sapphire Award for sales production and Top 1 percent of salesvolume at Parks. She’s earned the Greater Nashville Realtors Award of Excellence for 9 consecutive years.

PARKS BROADWEST

LisaGastonHomes@gmail.com | 615.310.8632 LisaGastonHomes.com

Let Lisa’s 33 years of excellence work for you ... and help you find your dream home. nashvillescene.com | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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PEOPLE & PLACES WRITERS’ CHOICE

why the Titans hadn’t hired a dedicated kicking adviser. During camp, Mike Vrabel announced the team had (finally) done just that … by bringing in Wilhoit to help out. Early returns were good: Sam Ficken looked solid and at times even great in the preseason. Careful what you tweet for: You just might get it. J.R. LIND

BEST GREEN SPACE OVERHAUL, WRITERS’ CHOICE: CENTENNIAL PARK

BEST FAREWELL

PEKKA RINNE

BEST PLACE TO ROLLER SKATE

CORNELIA FORT AIRPARK

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

Every Friday and Saturday night as a preteen, I would scrounge together enough cash to get myself to the skating rink. These days I have some serious nostalgia for skates and cheesy late-’90s R&B, but almost no desire to surround myself with preteens skating to new tunes. This is why Cornelia Fort Airpark — the old airfield in East Nashville open for biking, playing, walking, running and skating — is the best. I can bring my headphones and roller skates, and glide among the other millennials who may or may not be listening to K-Ci & JoJo.

AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST WAY TO GET YOUR KIDS OUTSIDE

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY’S PARKS CAMPS

Of course you love your children, but after a year of at-home school and what we hyperbolically claimed was “lockdown,” you also need them out of the house. And even in normal times (whatever those are), kids need to be outside. Thus the abundance of day camps that pop up every summer, now increasingly specialized. But Leadership Academy’s series of summer day camps at Nashville’s best parks keeps it simple: hiking, crafts, wildlife, getting dirty — you know, all that stuff kids love. With setups at the Warner parks, Bells Bend and Beaman (plus a sailing camp and a mountain bike camp for the older set), the kiddos get to experience the best nature Nashville has to offer, and parents get sweet, sweet relief. Your progeny will hop in the car every afternoon, yammering about kickball and crawdad hunting and plants and birds and rocks and things — and they’ll be so worn out they’ll be in bed by 7, ready to do it all again the next day. J.R. LIND

BEST GREEN-SPACE OVERHAUL

CENTENNIAL PARK

Almost bafflingly, Centennial Park is a hidden gem in some ways. Ask a local the last time they visited. Inquire of a visitor if a trip to the West End Avenue green space is planned. Ponder when you last spent time at the Parthenon-anchored urban park. For those who haven’t visited recently — do so. Phase two was completed earlier this year, with the 19 acres reinvented under the watch of the Centennial Park Conservancy and the Metro Parks Department. The first two phases of the plan carried a price tag of $21 million. Work on the $4 million Park Plaza/event pavilion phase is underway.

WILLIAM WILLIAMS

BEST DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL THAT SOUNDS LIKE A MAD LIB

FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK MARC BULGER’S CURLING BAR IN WEST NASHVILLE

Boomtown-era Nashville is full of all kinds of wackadoodle new businesses and development projects (and a sudden surfeit

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of bowling-centric bars for some reason), but one in particular seems spawned from a particularly wicked fever dream. Remember Marc Bulger? The two-time Pro Bowler had a pretty decent career, mostly with the post-Kurt Warner St. Louis Rams. Never really a superstar, he was always worth a midround pick in your fantasy draft back in the Aughts. After retiring in 2011, Bulger — like so many former pro athletes — felt he needed to satisfy that competitive spirit. No, he didn’t get into coaching or commentary. Bulger got into … curling? You know, the sport with the rocks and the brooms that we all pretend to be experts about every four years. Bulger — along with fellow former NFLers Jared Allen, Keith Bulluck and Michael Roos (the latter two both former Titans) — even tried to qualify for the Olympics. Now Bulger, who has since moved to Middle Tennessee, wants to open a curling bar and restaurant in West Nashville. Because sure, what the hell? Oh, and it’ll have bowling too (of course). J.R. LIND

BEST ACQUISITION

JULIO JONES

After Corey Davis parlayed a career year into a big free-agent contract with the New York Jets, Titans general manager Jon Robinson found himself in the market for a receiver to line up alongside up-and-coming superstar A.J. Brown. Coincidentally, the Atlanta Falcons found themselves in serious salary-cap trouble, with not even enough space to sign their draft picks. And they had one hefty contract to unload. Fortunately for Robinson, he could do a little cap magic and have the space to take on the big deal, so he went for it, sending a second-round pick to the Falcons. Especially fortunate was the fact that the man whose signature is on the bottom of that contract happens to be one of the greatest pass-catchers in football history. And not for nothing, he happened to be Brown’s hero. Julio Jones, welcome to Nashville. Jones, whose high school nickname was “Waffle House” because he’s always open, suddenly gives the alreadypotent Titans offense another jolt. Not only do opposing teams have to decide if they’ll sell out to stop superhuman Derrick Henry

It wasn’t a guarantee that May 10, 2021, would be beloved goaltender Pekka Rinne’s last game as a Nashville Predator. But with the mighty Finn in the last year of his deal with the team that drafted him in the eighth round (which no longer even exists) of the 2004 draft, and with countryman Juuse Saros solidified as the goalie of the future, it felt like time. So Rinne put on a show for the socially distanced crowd at the regularseason finale. He made 30 saves against the Carolina Hurricanes, notching his 60th career shutout. There were all the acrobatics, the desperation and the glove magic that made the humble man in the mask the face of the franchise. After the game, the big man who so often shunned the spotlight took

from running all over and through them and risk leaving Brown open for a laser-perfect pass from Ryan Tannehill, now they have to decide if they double-team Brown or the surefire Hall of Famer lined up on the other side of the formation. J.R. LIND

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

A.J. BROWN

Living amid a culture driven by YouTube influencers and TikTok fame, it’s refreshing to see any 24-year-old, let alone a professional athlete on the verge of superstardom, post social media content that’s both amusing and lighthearted. The Titans’ A.J. Brown was surprisingly blunt during a post-surgery Instagram Live video in which he admitted playing on two bad knees during the 2020 season, proving both his commitment to the Titans and that anesthesia is a hell of a drug. Brown followed that by posting an equally entertaining voicemail message he left for then-Falcons receiver Julio Jones on his Instagram story, inviting the All-Pro to come vibe with him in Tennessee before ending his summer with a witty 45-second recruiting pitch in which Brown explained how he, Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry would form an unstoppable foursome with Jones before ending with a head bow and a plea of, “Come home, Julio.” MICHAEL

GALLAGHER

BEST OUTSIDE-THE-BOX PRO SPORTS HIRE

JAMES WILHOIT

Remember James Wilhoit? Maybe you have fond memories of his goat-to-hero trick for the University of Tennessee Volunteers against Florida in 2004. Maybe you remember him booting one nearly 60 yards for the Hendersonville Commandos against Dickson County in 2001. These days, Wilhoit does one-on-one training for high school kickers hoping to earn a scholarship, and like many Middle Tennesseans, he spends his Sundays watching the Titans. So when the smorgasbonk of Two-Tone kickers kept missing in the 2020 season, Wilhoit maybe had some better insight than the rest of us. Indeed, after another woeful Sunday with the boot, Wilhoit asked on Twitter

PHOTO: CASEY GOWER

but a fashionable look is highly respected.” Edward and his team deck the place out, call in DJs and musicians, provide drinks and snacks, and open the dance floor. Edward told the Scene in March that his goal is to make Ce Gallery a place where people feel they belong — especially LGBTQ folks and people of color. He’s doing it. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST FAREWELL, WRITERS’ CHOICE: PEKKA RINNE

a celebratory lap around the Bridgestone Arena ice, taking in some much-deserved adulation from the fans and getting hugs and handshakes from his teammates, who streamed out for his curtain call. No one wanted to see Pekka go, but there was no better way to say goodbye. J.R. LIND

BEST PREDS PROSPECT

LUKE PROKOP

Before Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop even made his on-ice debut in Smashville, he was already changing the game for the better. On July 19, Prokop came out as gay via a statement on Instagram. “From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player, and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams,” he wrote. Prokop is the first hockey player with an active NHL contract to come out. Hockey fans, players and staffers — including Nashville Predators general manager David Poile and head coach John Hynes — shared supportive statements. We still have a ways to go before

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PEOPLE & PLACES WRITERS’ CHOICE BEST-LOOKING MASCOT, WRITERS’ CHOICE: TEMPO THE COYOTE

goal. Cue more raucous cheering — and no “It’s All Your Fault” — followed by a gem of a free kick from Mukhtar to complete the fastest-ever MLS hat trick from the start of a match. Real time elapsed between the first and third goals: All of five minutes and 31 seconds. GEERT DE LOMBAERDE

BEST COACH

PHOTO COURTESY OF NASHVILLE SC

VANDERBILT’S TIM CORBIN

there’s true equality in the sports world, but Prokop has taken a courageous step to better the game and show that hockey can — and should — truly be for everyone. MEGAN SELING

BEST ‘OH NO HE DIDN’T’ MOMENT

DAVID POILE

For years, Nashville Predators general manager David Poile has endured probing questions, backhanded comments and insulting interrogations regarding his team’s failure to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final. And for the most part, Poile has done so with a degree of professionalism. But Poile proved he could be petty and snarky with the best of them over the summer when he put one exasperating local radio host — who questioned the 71-year-old GM’s decision making — in his place. When pressed regarding his decision to expose Calle Järnkrok in the expansion draft, Poile answered, “With all due respect, you don’t know as much as I know.” And when that same radio host made another sophomoric inquiry, Poile quipped, “I don’t know how to answer that question.” Was Poile’s willingness to engage in confrontation hilariously entertaining? Yes. Could the world use a little more salty David Poile? Also, yes. MICHAEL GALLAGHER

BEST-LOOKING MASCOT

TEMPO THE COYOTE

SC outfield player who, as of press time, has played every minute of every game in the club’s Major League Soccer history. The 28-year-old doesn’t grab the spotlight of his main central defense partner Walker Zimmerman or show up in highlights the way outside backs Dan Lovitz and Alistair Johnston regularly do. But that’s the point: Every good team needs an anchor who quietly does his job, rarely makes mistakes and almost always is in the right spot at the right time. For doing that, Romney is worth his weight in gold. GEERT DE LOMBAERDE

BEST REASON TO NOT FULLY CELEBRATE AN NSC GOAL

HANY MUKHTAR’S RAPIDFIRE HAT TRICK

Nashville SC supporters have happily adopted the “It’s All Your Fault” chant made popular (at least around these parts) by Predators fans. But on July 15, even the faithful couldn’t find room to squeeze in the taunt after Hany Mukhtar had scored twice in three minutes against the Chicago Fire. Almost immediately from the ensuing kickoff, a Fire player was sent off for fouling C.J. Sapong as he was through on

It’s not hard to tell exactly how good Vanderbilt University baseball coach Tim Corbin is at his job; he is, quite literally, the best coach in college baseball, and has been for some time. Even though he had future superstars like Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker in his bullpen this season, and the best recruiting pipeline in the league, Corbin deserves the credit for coaching the Commodores to unbridled excellence. At this point he should probably get a timeshare in Omaha — you can bet his most recent trip to the College World Series won’t be his last. Vandy came up short in the series this year, but Corbin’s coaching over the 2021 season was the best in the region.

CORY WOODROOF

BEST COMMODORE

SARAH FULLER

Over the course of one unforgettable week, Sarah Fuller went from helping the Vanderbilt Commodores women’s soccer team win a conference title as its starting goalie to being the first woman to play in a Power 5 football game. After injuries hit the Vandy football locker room at the kicking position, Fuller stepped in. Two weeks later, she booted in an extra point to make more history as the first woman to score a point in a Power 5 game, an achievement that just can’t be overstated. It was a groundbreaking moment for college sports. Her accomplishment earned her a role in President Biden’s inauguration and status as a legend in Vanderbilt sports history. CORY WOODROOF

BEST RETURN

EDDIE GEORGE AT TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

Eddie George is perhaps the most successful player in Tennessee Titans franchise history. Since retiring, the former Heisman Trophy winner has largely steered clear of football, instead opting to work as an entrepreneur and actor. But he has remained a beloved figure in Nashville, which explains why his hiring as Tennessee State University’s new head football coach made such a splash. It remains to be seen if he’ll have success on the field with his first coaching position, but his hire was extremely successful in bringing both national and local attention to the moribund program. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

BEST SWIMMER

ALEX WALSH

Harpeth Hall alumna Alex Walsh had Nashville glued to the TV during the Tokyo Olympics. After winning the 200-meter individual medley at the trials (by a mere 0.02 seconds), Walsh went to Japan as Nashville’s best hope for Olympic hardware in swimming since fellow Honey Bear Tracy Caulkins wooed the world with her three golds in Los Angeles in 1984. Walsh scored a silver, missing gold by 0.13 seconds, but winning over her hometown anyway. J.R. LIND

BEST PREPS PLAYER

SUMMIT PREPARATORY ACADEMY QUARTERBACK DESTIN WADE

Watching Destin Wade play football is like watching a geyser shoot out of the earth; you know something explosive and majestic is about to happen — it’s just a matter of when. At any moment, it feels like the Summit Preparatory Academy QB could break off for a 99-yard touchdown run or bomb a long pass past a tough defense. He’s as special a high school football player as Middle Tennessee has seen in a while. The Kentucky commit and Mr. Football finalist helped his team win its first state title in 5A competition back in December. CORY WOODROOF

BEST SWIMMER, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ALEX WALSH

Nashville SC, the city’s nascent MLS team, did something unthinkably brilliant when they introduced their new mascot: They based it on a meme. Tempo the Coyote is modeled after the famous Convention Center Coyote, a canine that inexplicably found its way into downtown Nashville’s Music City Center in 2019. But Nashville SC did something else revolutionary: They made their mascot hot. It (he? she?) is not goofy like the Titans’ T-Rac or cartoonish like the Predators’ Gnash. It’s not a creepy chicken like the Sounds’ Booster. Tempo is a fierce, jacked, handsome creature who could both beat up the others and steal their mates. STEPHEN ELLIOTT

DAVE ROMNEY

Can a player be underrated if observers consistently point out that he’s underrated? Not if he’s Dave Romney, the only Nashville

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PHOTO: MIKE LEWIS

BEST ‘UNDERRATED’ NASHVILLE SC PLAYER

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WHEN EXPERIENCE MATTERS

Forrest P. Allen, DO

Interventional Spine and Pain Management, Sports Medicine, and Orthobiologics

R. James Renfro, Jr., MD

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

Christopher P. Kauffman, MD

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

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

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Christopher M. Jones, MD

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

Orthopaedic Spine Specialist

Daniel N. Kiridly, MD, MBA 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

Gregg A. Motz, MD

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

Shawn P. Mountain, DO

Arthroscopy, Foot & Ankle, and Sports Medicine

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Lucas B. Richie, MD

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

Brandon R. Tolman, DO

Interventional Spine & Pain Management, Orthobiologics, and Sports Medicine

Marc A. Tressler, DO

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

ILLUSTRATION: LUCIE RICE

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HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS READERS’ POLL

THANK YOU! For Supporting City Lash & Beauty in Best of Nashville 2021!

Lashes | Brows | Skincare

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

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BEST GYM/FITNESS CLUB, READERS’ POLL: FIT FACTORY NASHVILLE

BEST AESTHETICIAN

BEST HAIR SALON

BEST CHIROPRACTOR

BEST HAIR STYLIST

BEST DENTIST

BEST HOSPITAL

BEST GYM/FITNESS CLUB

BEST LASH SALON

BEST HAIR REMOVAL

BEST LASIK SURGERY CENTER

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Green Pea Salon True Blue Salon Cognito Hair Design Kim Hunter Mark Hartman Nan Nelson

Vanderbilt University Medical Center TriStar Centennial Medical Center Ascension St. Thomas Hospital Midtown City Lash and Beauty Remedy Lash Co. Lashes By Kedrin Loden Vision Centers Jeffrey D. Horn, M.D. — Vision for Life LASIK MD

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BEST LASH SALON, READERS’ POLL: CITY LASH AND BEAUTY

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HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS READERS’ POLL BEST MASSAGE

BEST PHARMACY

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BEST PLACE TO GET A BLOWOUT

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BEST PLASTIC SURGEON

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BEST NAIL SALON 1. 2. 3.

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BEST OB/GYN 1. 2. 3.

Grayson Woods Women Obstetrics & Gynecology Anne Rossell, Heritage Medical

BEST OPTOMETRIST 1. 2. 3.

Dr. Michele Sonsino — Optique Dr. Joseph Parker Ducklo Eyecare

BEST ORTHODONTIST 1. 2. 3.

Hall Orthodontics Gluck Orthodontics Avenue South Orthodontics

BEST ORTHOPEDIC GROUP/PRACTICE 1. 2. 3.

Come see us to discover what all the fuss is about.

Venetian Cured Nail Salon Poppy & Monroe

Hughston Clinic Orthopedics Vanderbilt Orthopedics Tennessee Orthopedic Alliance

1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.

Nashville Pharmacy Services Riverside Village Pharmacy Walgreens The Blowout Co. DryBar The Dry House

Brian Biesman Plastic Surgery Center of Nashville RG Plastic Surgery

BEST PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN 1. 2. 3.

Dr. Jeffrey Jordan — Crossroads Medical Center Dr. Julia Gomez Dr. Ryan Mire

BEST REFLEXOLOGY 1. 2. 3.

Bucca Reflexology and Foot Spa Salt and Soles Essential Reflexology

BEST SKIN CARE CENTER 1. 2. 3.

Skin Pharm Prism Face Lab Elan Skin

BEST SPA 1. 2. 3.

The Woodhouse Day Spa Escape Day Spa & Salon La Bella é Famosa Spa

BEST YOGA STUDIO 1. 2. 3.

Hot Yoga East Steadfast and True Yoga Bend and Zen Hot Yoga Nashville

BEST PERSONAL TRAINER 1. 2. 3.

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BEST MASSAGE AND BEST SPA, READERS’ POLL: THE WOODHOUSE DAY SPA

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HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS WRITERS’ CHOICE BEST DANCE FITNESS

SEVIER PARK COMMUNITY CENTER

I wonder if I’m the only one who gets emotional at dance fitness classes. Something about everyone moving in unison just hits me right in the feels. With a rotating cast of motivating yet down-to-earth instructors, Sevier Park Community Center is the perfect setting to feel that community. The music is loud enough to quiet the brain and the choreography isn’t too complex, but it’s never boring. It’s easy to work up a sweat just wanting to hit all the moves. I like that membership isn’t necessary, and the instructors always ask your name. At just $4 a class, it’s a great value, too. HANNAH HERNER

BEST CBD DELIVERY

THE GARDEN FAMILY

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If and when the slow-motion domino effect of full cannabis legalization ever reaches Tennessee, The Garden Family is already mobilized and ready to deliver. Serving as Nashville’s only 24-hour legal cannabis delivery service for three years running, the grassroots operation has worked closely with law enforcement, enlisted a fleet of independently contracted couriers and has set up shop literally any/everywhere in town. With plans to expand into neighboring cities, TGF has been slowly diversifying into a full-on lifestyle brand, with its own line of apparel and an instrumental role in local arts and eco-activism. SETH GRAVES

BEST INJECTOR

OLIVIA SALMEN

If Olivia Salmen were a superhero, her superpower would be shapeshifting. She has become the go-to nurse injector for facial contouring, using both Botox and

fillers to create the illusion of Angelina Jolie cheekbones or Kim Kardashian contours. Don’t take my word for it — just look at her social media. With more than 47,000 followers on Instagram, her before-andafter pictures and clever Reels have people driving from across the country for her services. KATHRYN RICKMEYER

BEST DISCONNECT FROM REALITY

FLOAT HORIZON

Listen, it’s tough out there, and sometimes you need to completely remove yourself from the hellscape of 2021. At East Nashville’s Float Horizon, you can do just that from one of their several sensorydeprivation tanks, where you can shut out all light and sound and chill out in a pool of ultra-buoyant saltwater. Over the course of an hour, you start to lose sense of space and self, giving yourself a meditative respite from the world around you. If floating isn’t your thing (or if you want to enter into maxrelax zone before or after your float), Float Horizon’s newly added massage therapy will release all the tension you’ve built up from endlessly refreshing your phone.

LANCE CONZETT

BEST LASH LOUNGE

LASHES BY KEDRIN

At Stanford Square off Harding Pike, Lashes by Kedrin is the go-to lash lounge for ladies — Nashville celebrities and locals — and for good reason. Not only is Kedrin Meehan’s work lovely, but it lasts. Her clients have an average of two-and-ahalf weeks of retention, and if you know eyelashes, you know how important, and sometimes rare, retention can be. Her lash extensions allow women to achieve their nomakeup goal. KATHRYN RICKMEYER

ST OF NASH V I L L E F OR 2019 AND 20 E B D E 20 VOT

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BEST DISCONNECT FROM REALITY, WRITERS’ CHOICE: FLOAT HORIZON

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Licensed Tattoo Artist | Permanent Cosmetics Paramedical Tattooing | Microbladed Eyebrows

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ILLUSTRATION: LUCIE RICE

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HOME & GARDEN READERS’ POLL BEST APARTMENT COMMUNITY 1. 2. 3.

Pine Street Flats Kenect Nashville Rivertop Apartments

BEST DEVELOPER 1. 2. 3.

Castle Homes Landon Development Baird Graham Company

BEST ELECTRICIAN 1. 2. 3.

Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical MCH Nashville LLC West Side Electric Service

BEST GENERAL CONTRACTOR/BUILDER 1. 2. 3.

Blue Chip Restoration MCH Nashville LLC The Dan Company

BEST HOUSECLEANING SERVICE 1. 2. 3.

Team Clean Nashville A Spic & Span Cleaning Services Brentwood Cleaners

BEST HOUSE PAINTER 1. 2. 3.

Nashville Painting Company The Dan Company CertaPro Painters

BEST INTERIOR DESIGNER

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BEST LAWN SERVICE 1. 2. 3.

Community Tree Preservation Gardens of Babylon Landscapes Weed Man

BEST MORTGAGE LENDER 1. 2. 2. 2.

Jackie Hurtis Churchill Mortgage (tie) Pinnacle Financial Partners (tie) Regions Bank (tie)

BEST MOVING COMPANY 1. 2. 3.

True Friends Moving Company Two Men and a Truck Black Tie Moving

BEST NEIGHBORHOOD 1. 2. 3.

East Nashville Germantown Sylvan Park

BEST NURSERY/ GARDEN CENTER, READERS’ POLL: BATES NURSERY AND GARDEN CENTER

BEST NEIGHBORHOOD, READERS’ POLL: EAST NASHVILLE

BEST NURSERY/GARDEN CENTER 1. 2. 3.

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Bates Nursery and Garden Center Gardens of Babylon Landscapes JVI Secret Gardens

BEST PLACE TO BUY FURNITURE 1. 1. 2.

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BEST PLUMBER

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Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical MCH Nashville LLC Lee Company

BEST REAL ESTATE AGENT 1. 2. 3.

BEST REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE 1. 2. 3.

Parks Realty Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Woodmont Realty EXIT Real Estate

BEST SENIOR LIVING 1. 2. 3.

Blakeford Senior Life Brookdale Senior Living Clarendale at Bellevue Place

BEST SPECIALTY CONTRACTOR 1. 2. 3.

Music City Roofers Best Around Pressure Washing Rio Grande Fence Company

Ivy Arnold Chad Wohlers April Harrington

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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BEST OF NASHVILLE 2021 WINNERS! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BEST OF NASHVILLE 2021 WINNERS!

THANK YOU FOR AWARDING US BEST APARTMENT COMMUNITY FROM 2015-2020 THANK YOU FOR AWARDING US BEST APARTMENT COMMUNITY FROM US 2015-2020 THANK YOU FOR AWARDING BEST residents, we would not be where we are today. Thank you for letting us be a part of APARTMENT COMMUNITY FROM 2015-2020 Nashville Scene’s Best of Nashville year after year! Without the support of the Gulch neighborhood and our loyal community of

Without the support of the Gulch neighborhood and our loyal community of

residents, we would not be where we are today. Thank you for letting us be a part of Nashville Best of Nashville year year! Without the support ofScene’s the Gulch neighborhood and after our loyal community of residents, we would not be where we are today. Thank you for letting us be a part of Nashville Scene’s Best of Nashville year after year!

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HOME & GARDEN WRITERS’ CHOICE

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BEST CULINARY GARDEN SERVICE

VERDURA CULINARY GARDEN DESIGN

How many times have you meant to plant an herb garden? Landscape the backyard? Find a hobby that your kids/grandkids might actually do with you? Verdura Culinary Garden Design turns those good intentions into reality. For years, Sara Gasbarra has designed and tended culinary gardens for restaurants such as Nicky’s Coal Fired, Locust and Bastion. During the COVID pandemic, she expanded her at-home operations. Want a rooftop flower installation? Done. Full-blown vegetable garden? No sweat. You choose from 150 veggies, herbs, edible flowers and plants, and Gasbarra will install them. Better yet: She’ll even tend them for the black thumbs among us. ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BEST ORGANIZATION PORN

THE HOME EDIT

If you aren’t already following The Home SPTZ-247SN STOCK 4.792x7 10-14-21.qxp_SPTZ-247SN InStock 4.792x7 10-14-21 10/1/21 12:39 P on Instagram (@thehomeedit), I’m Edit worried your organizational game isn’t top tier. Part life coach, part cool moms I want to hang out with, and all rainbow-inspired

organizational tips, The Home Edit has two books on getting your home to be orderly, a Netflix show currently shooting its second season, and an Instagram following of 5.4 million. The feed is aspirational and features color-coded organization, while the stories highlight Clea and Joanna’s quirky personalities. Mid-pandemic, I was inspired to arrange all our books in ROYGBIV order. Did it stay that way? No. But boy, was it satisfying while it lasted. ELIZABETH JONES

BEST PLANT UPGRADE

PEPPER PALM

Like so many others, I spent many months of the pandemic looking to improve my immediate surroundings. I hung art on my walls and decluttered my kitchen. I also bought a few new houseplants, despite never having much of a green thumb. The secret to finding the right plant, I learned, is finding the right pot to put it in, and Pepper Sims’ hand-painted planters, which she sells via her Etsy shop Pepper Palm, are perfect for anyone who cares as much about the vessel as the plant inside. Sims’ pots are decorated with bright, bold colors and energetic shapes and lines. For many

BEST ORGANIZATION PORN, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE HOME EDIT

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HOME & GARDEN WRITERS' CHOICE BEST KITCHEN STORE

THE KITCHEN NASHVILLE

of her designs, Sims finds inspiration in places and past decades. Her “For the ’90s” pot is painted with mustard-yellow, red and turquoise. Her “Desert Days” pots are warm and a bit more subtle, with rusty reds and earthy tans and browns. For a greenish thumb like me, plants will come and go. Thankfully, Pepper’s pots are forever.

MEGAN SELING

BEST PLACE TO BUY A COUCH (AND ACTUALLY GET IT THAT DAY)

MERRIDIAN HOME FURNISHINGS

Furnishing your home has gotten a lot harder over the past 18 months, as COVID, natural disasters and a literal boat getting stuck in the Suez Canal have led to long wait times for furniture. If waiting six months for a couch makes your stomach turn, Merridian Home Furnishings is your new best friend. Not only is Merridian stocked with well-made, stylish furniture, everything on the floor can be brought home that day. No hex wrenches required. LANCE CONZETT

BEST KITCHEN STORE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE KITCHEN NASHVILLE

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BEST HOME INSPECTOR

SPRINGLIGHT INSPECTIONS

Thanks to record low interest rates and a constant stream of transplants into Middle Tennessee, trying to buy a house in Nashville has turned into a contact sport. Seemingly every home put up for sale goes under contract within days, with buyers locked in an ever-escalating arms race of sappy notes, waived inspections and cold, hard cash to come out on top. When you do get the house, though, you’re gonna want to make sure the damn thing doesn’t fall in on itself. Under the name Springlight Inspections, former A Plea for Purging guitarist Ryan Blake Martin does a thorough, no-bullshit job of making sure your new joint is up to snuff without wasting your time on fear-mongering upsells. LANCE CONZETT

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST PLANT UPGRADE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: PEPPER PALM

Duck-fat spray! Glitter-laced maple syrup! Tiny pearls of balsamic vinegar that look like caviar but burst in your mouth like popping boba! Those are just some of the surprising culinary treasures that can be found in the pantry section of The Kitchen Nashville. The West Nashville shop is a must-visit for anyone looking to elevate their cooking and baking game. They carry cookware and appliances from upscale brands including Smeg, Staub and Hammer Stahl, and they have dozens of fun, specialized gadgets, like bacon weights, herb strippers and even corn strippers. They also carry a respectable selection of charcuterie and cheese, including salami from Denver’s famous Il Porcellino Salumi deli. It’s the one-stop shop for anyone who likes food — eating it, cooking it and sharing it with others. MEGAN SELING

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ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC READERS’ POLL

BEST FREE FUN, READERS’ POLL: PERCY PRIEST LAKE

1. 1. 2. 3.

Julia Martin Gallery (tie) The Red Arrow Gallery (tie) Swipe Right Art The Rymer Gallery

BEST ART HAPPENING

1. 2. 3.

Tomato Art Fest Chihuly at Cheekwood Downtown First Saturday Art Crawl

BEST BAND (LOCAL)

1. 2. 3.

Taylor Red Amber Leigh Brassville

BEST BEER EVENT/BEER FESTIVAL

1. 2. 3.

Oktoberfest Brew at the Zoo East Nashville Beer Festival

BEST BOWLING ALLEY

1. 2. 3.

Brooklyn Bowl Nashville Donelson Bowling Center Pinewood Social

BEST CHARITY EVENT

1. 2. 3.

Unleashed: Dinner With Your Dog — Nashvile Humane Association A Little Night of Music — PENCIL Alive & The Bluebird Songwriters Series — Alive Hospice

BEST CHEAP DATE

1. 2. 3.

Third Coast Comedy Club Belcourt Theatre Dino’s Bar

BEST COMEDY VENUE

1. 2. 3.

Zanies Comedy Club Third Coast Comedy Club The East Room

BEST CONCERT SERIES

1. 2. 3.

Live on the Green Daddy’s Dogs Concert Series Raelynn’s Downtown Party

BEST COUNTRY MUSIC ARTIST

1. 2. 3.

Dolly Parton Blake Shelton Morgan Wallen

BEST DJ (PERFORMER)

1. 2. 3.

DJ Rio DJ Houndstooth DJ Ron T

BEST DRAG PERFORMER

1. 2. 3.

The Princess Britney Banks Kennedy Ann Scott

BEST MURAL, READERS’ POLL: I BELLIEVE IN NASHVILLE MURAL

BEST EVENT/FESTIVAL (LOCAL)

1. 2. 3.

Cheekwood Holiday Lights Tomato Art Fest Big Machine Music City Grand Prix

BEST FILM/TV ACTOR OR ACTRESS (LOCAL)

1. 2. 3.

Reese Witherspoon Jason Marsden Nicole Kidman

BEST FOOD EVENT

1. 2. 3.

Music City Hot Chicken Festival Burger Week Tomato Art Fest

BEST FREE FUN

1. 2. 3.

Percy Priest Lake Centennial Park Musicians Corner

BEST HONKY-TONK

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

1. 2. 3.

Robert’s Western World Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge The Stage on Broadway

BEST INSTRUMENTALIST

BEST COMEDY VENUE, READERS’ POLL: ZANIES COMEDY CLUB

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PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

BEST ART GALLERY

1. 2. 3.

Riley Bria Béla Fleck William Tyler

BEST KARAOKE BAR

1. 2. 3.

The Lipstick Lounge Santa’s Pub Fran’s East Side

BEST LGBTQ BAR

1. 2. 3.

The Lipstick Lounge Play Dance Bar Canvas

BEST MOVIE THEATER

1. 2. 3.

Belcourt Theatre Regal Green Hills AMC Bellevue 12

BEST MURAL

1. 2. 3.

I Believe in Nashville Mural Nashville WhatLiftsYou Wings Mural The Legacy Mural

BEST MUSEUM

1. 2. 3.

Frist Art Museum National Museum of African American Music Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

BEST PERFORMING ARTS GROUP

1. 2. 3.

The Dancer Project Conservatory Nashville Ballet Nashville Repertory Theatre

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC READERS’ POLL BEST PLACE TO HEAR LIVE MUSIC, READERS’ POLL: RYMAN AUDITORIUM

BEST PRINTMAKER/POSTER DESIGNER 1. 2. 3.

Hatch Show Print Friendly Arctic Printing and Design Genovations Media

BEST RAPPER/HIP-HOP ACT (LOCAL) 1. 2. 3.

Mariyo Deon Jelly Roll Negro Justice

BEST SINGER-SONGWRITER 1. 2. 3.

Joe Hanson Harrison Gorden Grasskingdoms

BEST STAGE ACTOR/ACTRESS (LOCAL) 1. 2. 3.

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Tamiko Robinson Steele Megan Murphy Chambers Jason Marsden

BEST STAND-UP COMEDIAN (LOCAL)

Rodney Crowell

1. 2. 3.

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BEST THEATER COMPANY (LOCAL) 1. 2. 3.

Nashville Repertory Theatre Center Street Theater Company The Theater Bug

BEST TRIVIA NIGHT 1. 2. 3.

Cirque-tacular’s Louis York & Spooktacular The Shindellas Oct. 29-30

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BEST VISUAL ARTIST

Nov. 1

1. 2. 3.

Samantha Zaruba Revi Ferrer White Ink Calligraphy (Claire White)

BEST WRITERS’ OPEN MIC NIGHT

Nov. 14

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party with Billy Stritch Nov. 16

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Edwin McCain

1. 2. 3.

Pitch Meeting Commodore Grille The Bluebird Cafe

BEST PHOTOGRAPHER 1. 2. 3.

Catherine Powell Cody Stallings Details Nashville

BEST PLACE TO DANCE 1. 2. 3.

Lee Roy Parnell & The Hot Links

Gary Morris Nov. 23

Nov. 20

Play Dance Bar The 5 Spot Motown Monday The Dancer Project Conservatory

BEST PLACE TO HEAR LIVE MUSIC 1. 2. 3.

Ryman Auditorium 3rd and Lindsley The Basement East

BEST PLACE TO PLAY POOL

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Melrose Billiard Parlor Lakeside Lounge Mickey’s Tavern

BEST PLACE TO SEE A PLAY 1. 2. 3.

Tennessee Performing Arts Center The Arts at Center Street Nashville Repertory Theatre

BEST PLACE TO THROW DARTS 1. 2. 3.

The Villager Tavern Mickey’s Tavern Rebar Midtown

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BEST STAND-UP COMEDIAN, READERS’ POLL AND WRITERS’ CHOICE: JOSH BLACK

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

ALSO PERFORMING

1. 2. 3.

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ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC WRITERS’ CHOICE

Crowell, Steve Earle and other now-iconic songwriters. With Without Getting Killed or Caught (which played earlier this year at the Belcourt), longtime publicist and authorized biographer Tamara Saviano and filmmaker Paul Whitfield — also longtime Nashvillians — deliver a documentary that illuminates the fiery passions between the three through historic footage; interviews with Crowell, Earle, Vince Gill and Verlon Thompson; and Sissy Spacek voicing Susanna’s diaries. The clear-eyed result gets to the heart of the tumult. HOLLY GLEASON

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN AN UNEXPECTED ART FORM, WRITERS’ CHOICE: LASER PRINCE AT THE ADVENTURE SCIENCE CENTER

BEST FILM CRITIC

JASON SHAWHAN

BEST LOCAL OSCAR NOMINEE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: SAM ASHWORTH

LASER PRINCE AT THE ADVENTURE SCIENCE CENTER

There’s really nothing quite like a planetarium laser show. Like the drive-in movie or miniature golf, it’s an art form that endures, part of our culture that doesn’t get nearly enough respect for how ultimately entertaining it is. It can help even the most fraught of family situations either reconcile themselves or detonate themselves in a cleansing restart. It’s one of those experiences that doesn’t insist on itself or overmarket itself in the mediasphere — the laser show is a perfectly shaped memory to file away in the non-horrifying section of American social history, adjacent to funnel cakes and right next door to mysterious hauntedhouse rides in fly-by-night carnivals. The beauty of the Adventure Science Center’s ongoing Laser Prince show is multifaceted: It’s a fun, high-energy set that covers a surprising array of Prince’s work in a 45-minute selection. Like all of the museum’s outreach programs, it’s helping to keep science education going in uncertain times. But there’s also a great deal of civic pride in the programming team’s creation of this planetarium experience. In the near future, anytime an inquisitive mind or municipally inclined stoner feels the need for purple music on as grand a scale as possible, no matter where they might go in the world, it’s going to be the Nashville crew’s creation unfolding on the very fabric of the universe. I find this arcane system of creation and proliferation to be enthralling and exciting, an alchemy that uses the infinite as its canvas. Given what all’s been happening with our state government and legislature, it’s shockingly reassuring to find something that bolsters whatever’s been occupying the part of the brain responsible for pride — or at least the opposite of shame. The fact that there’s something you can go do that combines lasers, ancient sciences, the music of Prince and communal ritual is a joy to cling to — especially when leavened with a little bit of sensual spice and local can-do. Paisley Park, as we know, is in our hearts; but thanks to the laser show team at ASC, it can be as big as the sky, anywhere in the world, from here on out. JASON SHAWHAN

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BEST COMEDIAN

JOSH BLACK

It’s undeniable: Local stand-up comic Josh Black has blown up. He’s been at it for a while, but particularly over the course of the pandemic, his short videos — wherein he riffs on topics ranging from Music City transplants to East Nashville living and even the Christmas Day bombing — have earned him a massive response on social media. His monthly shows at Zanies frequently sell out, and he’s teamed up for events and collaborations with the likes of the Belcourt, the Frist Art Museum and beyond. (Full disclosure: We at the Scene loved Black’s videos so much we asked him to collaborate with us on a series, and if we may say so ourselves, the results have been outstanding.) Black is shooting straight to the top, and we can’t wait to see where he goes next. D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST TRAVELING CIRCUS

THE BELCOURT’S ESSENTIAL FELLINI

In June, our darling Belcourt Theatre brought the big top to Hillsboro Village with a retrospective of films by the director, writer, maestro and circus barker Federico Fellini. The series included 11 of his films, some of them in gorgeous 4K restorations that were released by The Criterion Collection last year to mark the centenary of Fellini’s birth. Vanderbilt University’s Iggy Cortez delivered a lecture that illuminated the films and the man who created them, as well as Fellini’s incredible wife, the actress Giulietta Masina. Like a peacock appearing in the middle of a blizzard, Essential Fellini reminded me that startling, impossible beauty still exists out there. It’s waiting for us. ERICA CICCARONE

and Dog Day Afternoon alongside latterday blockbusters Inception, Widows and Hustlers and Wes Anderson’s delightful mid-’90s debut Bottle Rocket. What a score!

D. PATRICK RODGERS

BEST LOCAL OSCAR NOMINEE

SAM ASHWORTH

It’s not often that Nashville gets to boast an Academy Award nominee as one of our own, but songwriter and musician Sam Ashworth joined the ranks of Hollywood’s elite back in the winter. His work co-writing the song “Speak Now” for the Oscar-ready film One Night in Miami ... with Leslie Odom Jr. got Ashworth nominated in the Best Original Song category. Oftentimes, nominees in this category get some eyerolls for their saccharine or underwhelming compositions, but Ashworth’s powerful ballad for change crested the film nicely and was very much the best one in this year’s group. He might not have walked away with a little gold man (“Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah landed that honor), but he’s a winner in our eyes. CORY WOODROOF

BEST NASHVILLE-CENTRIC FILM

WITHOUT GETTING KILLED OR CAUGHT

Guy Clark, his wife Susanna and their close pal Townes Van Zandt were Texas expats who made their Nashville home a Bermuda Triangle of passion and creativity — a salon that included Rodney

BEST NEW POETRY COLLECTION

I AM NOT TRYING TO HIDE MY HUNGERS FROM THE WORLD BY KENDRA DeCOLO

Kendra DeColo can turn you on in one stanza and turn your stomach in the next — all with deliberate effect. In her third poetry collection I’m Not Trying to Hide My Hungers From the World, published by BOA Editions, she turns her lens toward motherhood, exorcising the usual tropes that often leave women feeling ashamed, inadequate and alone. Instead, she forges a more honest representation of the mother — one that is defiant, joyful and feminist. For those who aren’t mothers, the collection serves as a reminder that nothing is stopping us from transcending the cultural norms that entrap us in scarcity. That’s righteous. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST NEW POETRY COLLECTION, WRITERS’ CHOICE: I AM NOT TRYING TO HIDE MY HUNGERS FROM THE WORLD BY KENDRA DeCOLO

BEST FILM SERIES

THE BELCOURT’S HEIST! SERIES

We at the Scene were overjoyed in April when the folks at longtime Hillsboro Village arthouse the Belcourt Theatre announced their reopening at limited capacity — and we were possibly even more stoked when they unveiled the lineup for their late-summer/early-fall Heist! series. Put together by programmers Toby Leonard and Zack Hall, the 16-film series featured iconic selections like The Italian Job, Rififi

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN AN UNEXPECTED ART FORM

If you read a Jason Shawhan film review, you’re bound to see a word you’ve never seen before, marvel at a deep pop-culture reference, and maybe even rush out as fast as you can to watch the movie he’s recommended. One of Nashville’s best arts writers and a longtime contributor for the Scene (yes, we’re tooting our own horn a bit with this one), Shawhan has powered through just about every week of the pandemic to deliver streaming recommendations to be viewed from the safety of home with his Primal Stream column. His passion and advocacy for film are apparent, and he’s just such an exciting, empathetic writer to read. His wonderful criticism reminds us of the spirit, enthusiasm, wit and creativity of the late, great Nashville Scene editor and writer Jim Ridley. CORY WOODROOF

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ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC WRITERS’ CHOICE BEST BOOK CLUB

THE BOOKSHOP’S READING CHALLENGE

Joelle Herr, owner of East Nashville’s The Bookshop, has devised the perfect plan for anyone who misses those Scholastic Book Fairs from elementary school. The Bookshop’s yearlong Reading Challenge invites bookworms everywhere to buy and read one book each month. In January, readers purchased a book — any book — that won an award in 2020. In February, participants bought a book written by a person of color. May was for books published before 1921; August was a novel or memoir that has been translated. Herr even makes recommendations for each category in both hardcover and paperback to accommodate different budgets. Stick with it for all 12 months and get a prize! But the real prize is the books we read along the way. MEGAN SELING

BEST BOOK ABOUT A PRESSING SOCIAL ISSUE

PRAYING WITH OUR FEET BY LINDSEY KRINKS

I knew the local Rev. Lindsey Krinks’ Praying With Our Feet would bring me to tears. What I didn’t expect was to find so much joy in the text. So many of the stories

mass attention. The Frist’s exhibition of figurative work by Picasso, which ran February to May, fit the bill. No NFTs required, just a good, old-fashioned master artist with an in-depth exhibition that isn’t available to see in any other American city all year long. There really was a moment of good luck tucked into an otherwise dismal year. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION

WILLIAM EGGLESTON’S FOR LUCIA AT DAVID LUSK GALLERY

It’s not surprising that David Lusk Gallery’s William Eggleston exhibition is winning our top notice for local photography displays, but the For Lucia exhibition was full of surprises. The show’s title name-checks Eggleston’s lover and muse Lucia Burch, who was the daughter of Memphis civil rights lawyer Lucius Burch. None of the images in the show had ever been exhibited before, and the snaps of abandoned buildings, roadside signs and liquor stores are emblematic of the photographer’s colorful, democratic signature style. JOE NOLAN

BEST GUIDEBOOK

I’LL TAKE YOU THERE: EXPLORING NASHVILLE’S SOCIAL JUSTICE SITES, ED. LEAROTHA WILLIAMS AND AIMI THURBER

Unlike the traditional guidebook you might find in a gift shop or hotel, I’ll Take You There foregrounds the struggles and

Krinks tells in her book about people living on the streets are predictably sad — we see older folks dying without shelter and people we love losing even the smallish shred of stability they have. Praying With Our Feet reminds us that there’s something we can do about it, and Krinks, who co-founded Nashville’s homeless outreach organization Open Table Nashville, is proof. The idea of taking action is woven throughout, and Krinks’ vulnerability in sharing her process is moving. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST OUTDOOR INSTALLATION

IBRAHIM MAHAMA’S LEAVES OF GRASS 2012-2021. 2021.

Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama’s Leaves of Grass 2012-2021. 2021. met all the criteria for great art: It was relevant, ambitious, thought-provoking and visually striking. The installation was part of artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons’ Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice — a trans-institutional initiative between Fisk University, the Frist Art Museum, Millions of Conversations and Vanderbilt University. Under Mahama’s direction, worn jute bags were hand-stitched together by dozens of Nashvillians and wrapped around Fisk’s historic Little Theatre. The installation spoke to specific and universal traumas while showing the possibilities of perseverance and collaboration. LAURA

HUTSON HUNTER

BEST ARTIST PAIR ON PAPER

PAUL COLLINS AND MATT CHRISTY AT THE RED ARROW GALLERY

Paul Collins’ Cardinal Shift and Matt Christy’s Muscle Spasm opened at The Red Arrow Gallery back in March, and

BEST OUTDOOR INSTALLATION, WRITERS’ CHOICE: IBRAHIM MAHAMA’S LEAVES OF GRASS 2012-2021. 2021

BEST PLAY-TO-PODCAST ADAPTATION

THE PASSION OF ETHEL ROSENBERG (A RADIO PLAY)

ERICA CICCARONE

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BEST REASON TO MASK UP AND SEE ART

PICASSO. FIGURES AT THE FRIST ART MUSEUM

Poor art museums. Most other art forms — movies, music, even theater — found ways to adapt to pandemia with relative ease. But visual art doesn’t really translate into livestreams or virtual downloads. It needs to be experienced IRL, and sometimes it takes someone special — someone like, oh I don’t know, Picasso — to get

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

achievements of people’s movements toward social justice. I’ll Take You There, edited by Learotha Williams and Aimi Thurber, is co-authored by more than 100 writers, including academics, community members and students of Vanderbilt University’s Community Development and Action program. In some cases, the guide tells us the hidden stories about the places we know, like Centennial Park, which became a site of the struggle for integration. In other cases, it surprises us with a juke joint where a civil rights activist loved to sing, or a Hispanic grocery store that represents the economic agency and cultural fortitude of our city’s Latino population. Throughout the volume, the voice of the late, great civil rights hero Kwame Lillard rings true, reminding us that Nashville is only as powerful as its people.

Theater podcasts and audio plays are certainly nothing new. But with The Passion of Ethel Rosenberg (a Radio Play), Keri and Joe Pagetta have created an especially gripping audio experience. Adapted from Edward Morris’ moving solo script — which follows Rosenberg’s final years, just before her execution on espionage charges in 1953 — this three-act/episode podcast packs in all the emotion and drama that Keri Pagetta brought to the original stage version, which was directed by Carolyn German back in 2017. But the work also is boosted by a new original score by Joe Pisapia, and a thoughtful introduction from Natasha Senjanovic. AMY STUMPFL

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BEST ART EDITIONS, WRITERS’ CHOICE: KARA WALKER: CUT TO THE QUICK AT THE FRIST ART MUSEUM this one-two punch of loose lines and bold colors was just what Nashville needed after a year of pandemic blahs. Collins’ diaristic documenting of birding that accompanied Nashville’s wintertime blizzards is full of energy and hope. Christy’s oil-pastel transfers offer playful abstractions that buzz with all the pent-up energy many of us felt after an extra-locked-down coldweather season during the darkest days in the shadow of C-19. The spring art season is one of our favorite times for gallery gawking, and these two artists embodied the thrills of both warming weather and seeing art in person again. JOE NOLAN

BEST ART EDITIONS

KARA WALKER: CUT TO THE QUICK AT THE FRIST ART MUSEUM

The best backhanded compliment I heard all year was that it didn’t even matter that all of the works at the Frist’s outstanding exhibit Kara Walker: Cut to the Quick, From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation were editions — Walker’s art is powerful enough to be moving, even in multiples. But there’s really nothing backhanded about it — Walker is perhaps the most important living artist, and her first solo show in Nashville included more than 80 works created between 1994 and 2019. Each of them showcased Walker’s unmatched ability to speak to the unspeakable. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

BEST INTERACTIVE ART INSTALLATION

MYSTERY YARD

Location location location. It’s not just a mantra for real estate — creative venues crucially must innovate new experiential adventures in art. During the late spring, local musician Neil Fridd (aka Terror Pigeon!) curated the two-week Mystery Yard behind his East Nashville home. Pairings of local/regional visual artists and experimental musicians transformed the backyard into a veritable labyrinth of immersive, interactive installations that combined light, sound and everyday objects into participatory art experiences. Ticket holders were granted hourlong blocks of private access in what Fridd intends to develop as Nashville’s most intimate and innovative venue. SETH GRAVES

BEST SOLO SHOW

ALICIA HENRY: 2020 AND 2021 AT ZEITGEIST

The exhibition of new textile-based work from artist and Fisk University professor Alicia Henry was like a checkpoint to see how the pandemic was affecting one of the city’s greatest artists. The answer? Surprisingly well, it seems. Maybe it helps that Henry’s art often deals with themes of isolation, domesticity and psychological tension, all of which were on full display this year. The Zeitgeist display Alicia Henry:

ART: DONNA WOODLEY. PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS.

“THE KEYS TO THE COOP,” KARA WALKER. COLLECTIONS OF JORDAN D. SCHNITZER AND HIS FAMILY FOUNDATION.

ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST NEW GALLERY, WRITERS’ CHOICE: NKA GALLERY 2020 and 2021, particularly the grid of faceless anti-portraits, wouldn’t have been out of place at New York’s Jack Shainman Gallery. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

planners. With Rooted, the artist deployed more sophisticated color combinations and innovative 3-D paintings on plexiglass to elevate his familiar aesthetic from fun and buoyant to meditative and mysterious.

BEST ABSTRACT PAINTING EXHIBITION

JOE NOLAN

DUNCAN McDANIEL’S ROOTED AT THE RED ARROW GALLERY

BEST NEW GALLERY

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Duncan McDaniel’s colorful abstract paintings combine repetitive squirming lines in alternating hues drawn from bold palettes. It’s a style that echoes the artist’s earlier sculptures created with stacks of colorful plastic Solo brand drinking cups, and those works may have been influenced by the balloon towers McDaniel has also been commissioned to create for party

It’s no secret that the guys who run Slim & Husky’s have great taste. Since the beginning, they’ve commissioned local artists to create the unique visual aesthetic of the brand — and now they’ve opened a gallery. Nka (pronounced “inka”) adjoins the company’s flagship location on Buchanan Street, and they’ve exhibited Omari Booker, Sam Dunson, Donna Woodley and other artists who have a connection to North Nashville. There’s a bar stocked with drinks, and the gallery often features live music too. With a small courtyard and a couple of cornhole boards, it’s an opportunity to slip kids into an art gallery. Slim & Husky’s has become more than a dope pizza joint. It’s a culture. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST NEW ALTERNATIVE DISPLAY

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BEST SOLO SHOW, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ALICIA HENRY: 2020 AND 2021 AT ZEITGEIST

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Humans fly flags for many reasons: to designate our cities, states and countries; to signal drivers in a Formula 1 race; to clue beachcombers in on dangerous waves, jellyfish and sharks; to dunk on the rest of the world when you land on the moon. That said, the often urgent meanings associated with flapping fabric and the performative qualities of hoisting a banner high into the sky can belie their pure formal beauty. Unrequited Leisure’s new AIR Space is a great new flag-centric art display, and it’s one of the most unique solutions we’ve seen for sharing IRL art during a period of social distancing. JOE NOLAN

Do you know how hard it is to outshine the pottery scene in Ghost? Really fucking hard. But in Nashville, if someone mentions pottery, chances are only about 50/50 that they’re talking about shirtless Patrick Swayze — they might be talking about John Donovan’s Buchanan Arts. The community arts initiative just behind Elephant Gallery is a brainchild of Donovan and artists

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ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC WRITERS’ CHOICE Kristi Hargrove and Alex Lockwood, who oversee a litany of workshops, including Introduction to 3-D Printing, Pit-Firing Hand-Built Forms, and of course, Porcelain on the Wheel. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

thoughtful planning, OZ Arts opened in March with a show that incorporated distancing into the piece with beautiful results. David Flores’ Prism used movement to convey the push and pull we’ve all felt over the past 19 months as we’ve sacrificed physical intimacy, learned how to connect anyway and, haltingly, come back together again. It was a mesmerizing 25 minutes in which small audiences stood or sat in the large warehouse of OZ, and masked performers danced in central locations on the floor, all to the moody reverberations of George Miller’s original score. This could have been a recipe for mass confusion, but they pulled it off without a hitch. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST SCIENCE AND SCULPTURE EXHIBITION

ANDY HARDING’S ARROKOTH AT TINNEY CONTEMPORARY

JOE NOLAN

BEST PAINTING AND SCULPTURE EXHIBITION

BRIANNA BASS AND BRIAN JOBE’S MODULAR STAGES AT CHANNEL TO CHANNEL

When we talk about “painterly” paintings, we’re mostly talking about textural works. As painters embrace the voluptuous smeary goo of their materials, their canvases and panels take on a decidedly tactile, sculptural feeling. This is why pairing paintings and sculptures can be such a winning combination, and Brianna Bass and Brian Jobe’s Modular Stages at Channel to Channel is a great example of this done right. Bass and Jobe both embrace textures in their works, and Jobe especially emphasizes the pure materiality of the found objects and construction materials he arranges in his sculpture displays. Both of these artists are also drawn to grids as frameworks for their compositions and designs, and the resulting display felt like one unified expression and a celebration of art you want to touch. JOE

NOLAN

BEST ART COLLECTING ON A BUDGET

METRO ARTS LENDING LIBRARY

As more libraries nationwide reimagine their offerings beyond traditional media, Nashville Public Library’s latest initiative is a brushstroke of genius. Through a partnership between NPL and Metro Arts, the Metro Arts Lending Library is a one-of-a-kind way to experience local artwork. The project features paintings and photography from 60 local artists — all curated and purchased specifically for library patrons to check out in three-month stints. The works are available for in-person checkout at NPL’s Madison and Southeast branch locations, and you can view the entire catalog on the library’s website. Discover local artists in your own backyard, and display their works for free in your literal backyard (well, inside your home, preferably). MATT FOX

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BEST NEW ARTS PARTNERSHIP PHOTO: GRIFFIN DUNN

Nashville artist Andy Harding’s sculpture installations combine very large, boulderlike wooden forms with illuminated elements resulting in works that blur the line between natural and technological. His Arrokoth display at Tinney borrows its name from the most remote celestial object ever visited by a spacecraft, and the press release image for the show — a dimly lit photo of one of Harding’s stony-seeming sculptures — looked like a movie poster for a meteor disaster film. Harding studied chemistry as an undergrad, and Arrokoth is a great reminder of how creators can bring original visions to a gallery space when they stretch beyond only making art about art.

BEST SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL, WRITERS’ CHOICE: KINDLING ARTS FESTIVAL

BEST LOCAL ART HISTORY LESSON

CARLTON WILKINSON’S IN THE GALLERY AT ZEITGEIST

North Nashville’s art scene is surging off of the momentum of the neighborhood’s mural-making culture and its reputation as Nashville’s historical home for the visual arts. That said, back in the 1990s, North Nashville was just one part of the art scene’s greater struggle to establish our city as a contemporary art destination. In the Gallery is a whiplash time machine that zips viewers back to those grungy days when our city’s visual creative crowd was tiny and struggling — but also close-knit, cooperative and determined to get out from under the shadow of Nashville’s guitars-andcountry-stars image. Carlton Wilkinson’s In the Gallery space did a lot of heavy lifting in North Nashville from 1987 to 2007, and his curatorial turn at Zeitgeist reminds us all how far we’ve come. JOE NOLAN

BEST INDUSTRIOUS ARTIST

SAVITHRI VELAGA

When formerly local visual artist Savithri Velaga took up tattooing — less a licensed tattoo artist than a high-brow scratcher — her surreal illustrations lept from the confines of local galleries to the exposed flesh of Nashville’s young and hip. When the pandemic shuttered galleries, Velaga rebranded as Betty Factory. Her comic and colorful Instagram feed functioned as both a catalog and portfolio. Limited T-shirt designs, home-bottled saffron and habanero tincture, engraved pocket knives and custom painted and studded clothing featuring her signature aesthetic are all on display and up for sale in the kind of multifaceted hustle indicative of modern times. SETH GRAVES

artist’s first witnessing of a Western wildfire. Her video installation consists of images of burning palm trees, smoldering hillsides and fire-fighting airplanes, but the flames and deluges of water are all replaced by shimmering gobs of glitter. These works are as ironic as they are formally beautiful, and Fahnestock’s wall-covering projections made for don’t-miss viewing in August. JOE NOLAN

BEST SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL

KINDLING ARTS FESTIVAL

There’s something about Kindling Arts Festival that makes you feel just a bit more cool and au courant. Perhaps it’s simply the wide range of voices and artists represented. After all, this year’s festival featured a dozen projects over four days — covering theater, film, music, contemporary dance and the aerial arts. Or it could be the unique venues, including OZ Arts, The Barbershop Theater, Centennial Park and Nashville School for the Aerial Arts. Whatever it is, Kindling continues to deliver daring new works that challenge and entertain — and sometimes, even transform our ideas of what art can do. AMY STUMPFL

BEST SOCIALLY DISTANT DANCE PERFORMANCE

PRISM AT OZ ARTS

Navigating back to in-person performances has not been easy for any of us, but with

NASHVILLE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL AND KENNIE PLAYHOUSE THEATRE

Not even Mother Nature could put a damper on one of the city’s most exciting new creative partnerships this summer. Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Kennie Playhouse Theatre teamed up to present an impressive — and truly unique — double-header, featuring August Wilson’s powerful Jitney and William Shakespeare’s hilarious Twelfth Night. Both productions were excellent, serving up smart direction, original music and a diverse mix of talent from Nashville, New York and more. And while a few performances were sadly canceled due to rain, the collaboration itself proved to be a hit, reminding us of theater’s distinct ability to bring communities together. AMY STUMPFL

BEST RETURN TO THE STAGE

NASHVILLE BALLET’S SEASONS AND POSTERS

Few arts organizations did more than Nashville Ballet to engage with audiences throughout the pandemic, offering a wide range of online classes and virtual performances. But in May, the esteemed company returned to live, in-person performance with a compelling selection of mixed repertory at Ascend Amphitheater. Featuring Paul Vasterling’s evocative Seasons and Jennifer Archibald’s Posters (with live musical performance by the Grammy-nominated R&B duo Louis York and girl-group-inspired act The Shindellas, plus spoken word by award-winning author and lifelong Nashvillian Caroline Randall

BEST VIDEO INSTALLATION

McLEAN FAHNESTOCK’S BEAUTIFULLY AWFUL SCENES AT CHANNEL TO CHANNEL

McLean Fahnestock is one of Nashville’s hardest working and most prolific creators, and she makes any short list of the city’s best video artists. Beautifully Awful Scenes at Channel to Channel captured those contradictory impulses we can feel when we see something tragic that’s also awesome and gorgeous. The show was inspired by the

BEST SOCIALLY DISTANT DANCE PERFORMANCE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: PRISM AT OZ ARTS

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eager to belt out a few guilty pleasures from Broadway and beyond. Hosted by Nashville favorite Megan Murphy Chambers with the marvelous Jamey Green on piano, the evening is positively packed with big talent, splashy sing-alongs, and occasionally even a few spontaneous dance numbers. There’s really no better way to kick off your week.

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BEST PLACE TO DANCE

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STRICTLY 80S DANCE PARTY AT THE 5 SPOT

Williams), the program marked a welcome return — and a particularly affecting evening of dance. AMY STUMPFL

Hollow offers the “absolutely true story of a completely made-up place.” AMY STUMPFL

BEST PUPPET SHOW

VERGE THEATER COMPANY’S CONVERGENCE

In that brief post-vaxx, pre-Delta window of summer, Verge Theater Company put on an ebullient puppet show. Like some kind of homecoming for local weirdos, the Music City Puppet Slam included the melodrama of a banana child (Madeline Hicks’ creation), a tender tale of tornadoes and grandmas (Amanda Card) and a crazed Frenchman intent on creating a perfect painting in 10 minutes (Jonah M. Jackson). It was all the evidence we needed that Nashville’s most creative theater artists are alive and well. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST MOBILE OUTREACH PROGRAM

NASHVILLE OPERA’S OPERA ON WHEELS

Community outreach has always been a point of focus for Nashville Opera. But with Opera ON WHEELS, the company is literally hitting the road and taking its music to the streets. Thanks to a posh new mobile stage created by Aero Build (a local business specializing in custom trailers), Nashville Opera has been rolling out a series of fun pop-up community performances. Opera ON WHEELS also offers a unique way to extend the reach of the company’s considerable education programs, allowing artists to connect with new audiences and introduce a whole new generation to the genre. AMY STUMPFL

BEST CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN VIRTUAL-THEATER ADVENTURE

NASHVILLE REP’S LITTLE HOLLOW, TENNESSEE

Nashville Rep pulled out every trick in the virtual book back in November with the premiere of its offbeat Little Hollow, Tennessee. Created by the artists of the Rep’s New Works 615 (led by Nashville Rep artistic associate Erica Jo Lloyd and playwright-in-residence Nate Eppler), the ambitious digital project delivered a wild assortment of virtual exhibits for a fictional museum, introducing us to a host of small-town scandals and legends. Offering everything from an interactive map and timeline to outrageous commentary and reenactments from local “historians,” Little

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Since the so-called “racial reckoning” of summer 2020, we’ve seen arts organizations issue proclamations and promises about increasing equity in their work. Doing this meaningfully and intentionally is not easy. The small-but-mighty Verge Theater Company piloted a series of public conversations called conVERGEnce late last year. The vision of board member and theater-maker Tessa Bryant, conVERGEnce invites artists to discuss social issues that are often kept outside the place where art happens — issues like inclusion, accessibility, sexism, racism and homophobia. Bryant thoughtfully plans each session to marshal thought leaders and practitioners in their fields for conversations vital to our arts ecosystem. More, please. ERICA CICCARONE

BEST VIRTUAL ARTISTIC FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

NASHVILLE OPERA’S BIG BLUE FELLOWSHIP

Last season, with theaters and concert venues still shuttered by the pandemic, Nashville Opera launched a bold new program that promised to boost access and promote inclusion for young, developing African American artists. Working with longtime partner Tennessee State University, the Big Blue Fellowship presented a series of eight master classes and roundtables, led by some of the nation’s most accomplished Black artists. Topics included everything from audition preparation to repertoire selection. Fellows from TSU and Fisk received extensive coaching, and a secondary cohort of HBCU students was also able to tune in from around the U.S. for livestreamed master classes. AMY STUMPFL

BEST BLACK MUSIC HISTORY EXPERIENCE

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC

Nashville’s importance as a hub for and a center of excellence in multiple facets of the music business is well-known both nationally and globally. In addition, the high caliber of artistry among Music City musicians has long been recognized and admired. But Nashville now has something that wasn’t quite as expected, particularly by those who’d previously pegged the city as mainly a country and gospel bastion. Music City boasts the nation’s premier site dedicated to the celebration and preservation of Black music. After two decades of planning and fundraising, the 56,000-square-foot National Museum of African American Music opened in January at 510 Broadway, next to another cultural shrine, the Ryman Auditorium. In terms of scope and vision, the museum has more than exceeded expectations. It is a magnificent tribute to African American sounds in terms of scholarship, advocacy and entertainment. No one can claim any genre has been ignored or overlooked — jazz, blues, country, hip-hop, rock and more are all explored there. Comprehensive information on key

BEST PANDEMIC NAVIGATION

THE 5 SPOT

Independent music venues around Music City deserve praise for the resilience they’ve shown in the face of the sudden, dire and interminable crisis that is COVID-19. In the pandemic’s early days, a slew of them joined the newly formed National Independent Venue Association, as well as the local NIVA analog Music Venue Alliance Nashville, led by Exit/In co-owner Chris Cobb. MVAN convinced Metro to contribute money and other resources; NIVA successfully lobbied for federal funds; MVAN venues helped each other when it took months for that federal money to start trickling in. When the Delta variant reared its ugly head, many clubs stepped up and instituted requirements that patrons, bands and staff show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test before entry. The pandemic isn’t over, but our venues keep doing their

BEST MUSICAL THEATER KARAOKE

SID GOLD’S SHOW TUNES AT SID’S

There aren’t many things in this world that could actually make people look forward to Mondays. But when Sid Gold’s Request Room introduced its new Show Tunes at Sid’s lineup this summer, local theater lovers packed the hip Inglewood piano bar,

BEST BLACK MUSIC HISTORY EXPERIENCE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

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BEST DISCUSSION SERIES IN THE ARTS

The 5 Spot’s first ’80s night back from the pandemic kicked off with “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie. This euphoric moment felt especially poignant at a venue that rose resolutely from tornado damage, kept the music going via livestreamed shows, and waited until vaccination was an option to open. The Strictly 80s dance party attracts people who aren’t afraid to move. The dance floor opens when the music starts and never sits empty. There’s plenty of space to cut loose freely, including on an elevated surface for when the DJ plays your song. (For me, it’s Madonna, and they’re always kind enough to take my request.) It’s all been worth the wait. HANNAH HERNER

figures, vital dates and historic venues and sessions has been assembled and presented covering some 50 idioms. NMAAM’s focus ranges from the earliest expressions created and instruments used by slaves to the latest tunes on the radio. The array of artifacts, memorabilia, clothing and objects, coupled with numerous interactive displays and galleries, provides visitors with an extensive and delightful journey through a host of styles and eras. The five gallery names — Wade in the Water focusing on gospel, A Love Supreme on jazz, Crossroads on blues, One Nation Under a Groove on R&B and The Message on rap and beyond — reaffirm how music has affected and influenced every aspect of not only Black American culture but American culture as a whole. The displays spotlight the fundamental roles of music and musicians in definitive social and political movements like the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement and more. NMAAM holds periodic seminars, presentations and special events that simultaneously commemorate the past and beckon to the future. There’s a story of immense significance told here about every kind of music one might enjoy, and enough material to examine to make repeat visits just about necessary. Nashville has long had a glorious and distinctive Black cultural legacy, so it’s only fitting that America’s finest museum devoted to chronicling its musical aspects would be housed here. RON WYNN

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damnedest to make sure that the local-music ecosystem survives without suffering a superspreader event or catastrophic losses. The permanent closure of Douglas Corner, so far the only club in town to go under during the pandemic, was bad enough. Throughout this whole mess, one of the smallest venues among the lot has consistently led the way. The 5 Spot, an East Side landmark for nearly two decades whose capacity is about 150, was the first local venue to announce a temporary closure and to establish a relief fund for its staff, even aiming to pay bands whose shows were canceled. Not every venue had the capital, physical layout or other resources to pivot to soundstage-type operation. But The 5 Spot did it with style and class, delivering multiple high-quality streams most weeks beginning in late summer 2020. Co-owners Travis Collinsworth and Todd Sherwood were among the last to reopen their venue to the public, in mid-June of this year. They weren’t the first club in town to put a proof-of-vax policy in place, but they made their announcement in early August hot on the heels of the first (that came from City Winery, which is part of an eight-location national chain). For the foresight of what needed to be done and the fortitude to do it quickly, The 5 Spot stands out among its esteemed peers. Long may it bring bustling dance parties and unbeatable happy-hour gigs to Five Points, while serving as a home base for local acts and a destination for top-notch touring groups alike. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST ALBUM

REAUX MARQUEZ, NO ROADS

The first words you hear on Reaux Marquez’s No Roads haunt you for the rest of the album: “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” A collection of stories anchored around the tale of a North Nashville fire, No Roads crackles with tension — between faith and freedom, community and growth, art and commerce. The recurring spoken-word mantras and jazz-flecked beats bring an easy comparison to Kendrick Lamar, but Marquez’s voice is all his own. Standout tracks like “Block Hot” and “Park” blaze with ferocious skill, with Marquez wringing every ounce of energy out of every bar. No Roads is phenomenally dense, and each listen unveils

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BEST ALBUM, WRITERS’ CHOICE: REAUX MARQUEZ, NO ROADS some facet you haven’t heard before. And yet, it’s also a record that prizes space. “High” and “Praimfaya” don’t end when Marquez’s verse is done. They linger for minutes, immersing the listener in feeling, ceding the spotlight to other artists (singersongwriters Lauren McClinton and Jamiah, respectively). That’s where No Roads really shines, in its jubilant celebration of community and its willingness to let the listener lock into a vibe and stay there. It’s a record that sounds like Nashville, complex and wrought with big ideas and even bigger talent. No Roads is an instant classic in local hip-hop and a major achievement across scenes. LANCE CONZETT

BEST SOLO ARTIST

YOLA

Yola writes songs about many different kinds of love — for yourself, between a couple, among a community and more. She sings them in a rich, expressive voice that moves gently and carries heavy burdens gracefully, on both her 2019 debut LP Walk Through Fire and her new album Stand for Myself. Even more importantly than that, she’s using her platform to offer opportunities to people who too seldom get them, pushing toward a better and stronger music community in the process. And she’s making music that brings together Music City’s stellar traditions with a broader range of perspectives from players whose stock in trade isn’t country — setting a standard for an even newer, even more inclusive, even better sound of Nashville. STEPHEN TRAGESER

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BEST CHAMPIONS OF THE MUSIC COMMUNITY, WRITERS’ CHOICE: CHRIS AND TELISHA COBB

BEST CHAMPIONS OF THE MUSIC COMMUNITY

CHRIS AND TELISHA COBB

The pandemic has presented a major set of challenges for independent music venues, and in the process it’s put a spotlight on underlying issues in the world of live music. Chris and Telisha Cobb own the historic rock club Exit/In, which celebrates its 50th anniversary on Elliston Place this year. But like so many other club owners, the Cobbs do not own the site their venue is on, and on Feb. 15, reporter Nate Rau broke the news at Tennessee Lookout that the property’s owners had decided to put it on the market. The Cobb family outlined a plan to put in an offer with significant financial backing; they were turned down, reportedly out of spite, and word came in April that the property had gone under contract to developer AJ Capital Partners. The Cobbs wasted no time launching a GoFundMe campaign to sweeten their offer to the then-potential new owners; the sale to AJ was finalized in July for a whopping $6.45 million, and the Cobbs’ fundraiser continues. Their efforts to keep Nashville’s independent music venues independent (which also include the founding of Music Venue Alliance Nashville) made national news and reignited an important conversation. The city’s wealth of music venues draw hordes of tourists and tourism dollars. Are we taking care of the people who run those businesses and make them part of the community — who could make a hell of a lot more money by selling out?

MEGAN SELING

BEST IMPROMPTU VENUE

OUT/BACK AT EXIT/IN

As Nashville tiptoed into the post-quarantine era, live music returned with a mixture of fizzy anticipation and anxious trepidation. Venues that had been essentially shuttered for 18 months leapt at the opportunity to bring fans and artists back to their stages, but with an eye toward keeping folks feeling safe. The best of the bunch was Out/Back, a stage erected in the parking lot behind Exit/In and Hurry Back that featured gigs by Reaux Marquez and Daisha McBride, Teenage Bottlerocket and more. Out/Back’s laid-back block-party vibe made coming back to shows feel like we’d never left — well, as long as you ignored the on-site vaccination clinic set up by the exit. LANCE CONZETT

BEST DIY VENUE

FOXWOOD

If you didn’t know exactly where Foxwood was, you’d never find it. A nearly unmarked turn off a two-lane highway in Kingston Springs brings you winding up a hill into a wooded punk-rock Narnia — complete with a ramshackle stage lit by string lights and table lamps, a PA that mostly won’t short out the breaker box, and an avowed commitment to “drama-free outdoor music.” Run by members of local indie-rock bands Zoobookz and Bats, Foxwood filled a DIY gap in the summer show season, giving young people a place to feel their feelings after more than a year in isolation. Though venue organizers dropped their plans for a fall season in the face of the Delta surge, we truly hope they’ll be back in the spring with more good vibes.

LANCE CONZETT

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Bognanno let the crowd in on the secret near the end of the set. This incarnation of the group (with Joey Howard on bass, Chappy Hull on guitar and Wes Mitchell on drums) was playing together for the first time. Bully didn’t show even a hint of hesitation, embracing the unpredictability of our modern times and ripping through favorites new and old to bring an end to 15 long months without the cathartic release of live music. MEGAN SELING

BEST CHAMBER MUSIC EVENT

Nashville’s innovative chamber ensemble chatterbird has been dazzling audiences since 2014. But this spring’s Virtual Chamber Music Series provided an especially dynamic blend of artistic excellence and social awareness. Developed by the group’s own musicians in response to the turmoil of the past year, the weekly series featured a number of exciting world premieres. It also took on tough themes — from civil rights to environmental justice — while showcasing local nonprofits, such as the Nashville Public Library’s Civil Rights Center, Brooklyn Heights Community Garden and Oasis Center. True to its mission, chatterbird continues to celebrate classical music in thoughtful new ways. AMY STUMPFL

BEST NEW VENUE, WRITERS’ CHOICE: BROOKLYN BOWL

BEST NEW VENUE

BROOKLYN BOWL

Folks who care about independent music, independent talent bookers and independent venues should always be wary when out-of-towners roll into a music scene looking to expand their budding empire of concert spaces. But the latest Brooklyn Bowl outpost — which opened smack in the middle of the pandemic in Nashville’s ever-evolving Germantown neighborhood — isn’t some mean corporate giant. Charley Ryan and Peter Shapiro opened the flagship Brooklyn Bowl in its namesake New York City borough more than a decade back, and the fancy new Music City digs have a lot of the same stuff going on: great sound, plenty of space, a bunch of very nice bowling lanes. The upstairs bar even overlooks First Horizon Park, home of the Nashville Sounds. But the best part? In addition to hosting shows booked by corporate giant Live Nation — which has a partnership role in the venue — Brooklyn Bowl also puts on concerts booked by independent local promoters, from AmericanaFest showcases to gigs with locals like Maggie Rose, Sparkle City Disco, Country Westerns and beyond.

BEST UNDERGROUND WAREHOUSE PARTY tornadoes, ice and wind storms, a bombing and some of the worst COVID-19 numbers in the world — and the weight of the moment wasn’t lost on Carlile. She filled the set list with fan favorites and unforgettable moments, exorcising the demons of 2020 and filling hearts with hope, if only for one night. MEGAN SELING

and gender-nonconforming composers. Each pair produces a new work and a performance video along with an educational curriculum designed for young audiences — all of which is made available entirely free of charge on Intersection’s website. MATT FOX

BEST LIVESTREAM SERIES

BULLY AT OUTLOUD FEST

TODD SNIDER’S FIRST AGNOSTIC CHURCH OF HOPE AND WONDER

D. PATRICK RODGERS

During its 54-week run from April 2020 to May 2021, more than a million viewers tuned in to Todd Snider’s Sunday streaming concert series First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder. Produced by Brian Kincaid and streamed from The Purple Building in East Nashville, the shows featured Snider performing solo acoustic with occasional guests such as Kevn Kinney. Switching between guitar, harmonica, banjo and piano, the singer-songwriter went deep into his extensive catalog and also covered songs by a variety of artists, from personal mentors like John Prine and Jerry Jeff Walker to classic artists such as Bob Dylan and John Lennon. DARYL SANDERS

BEST STREAMING SHOW

BEST NEW MUSIC SERIES

Though tickets to Brandi Carlile’s March performance at the Ryman were scarce — the venue sold a very limited number via lottery to fully vaccinated fans — the crowd at home didn’t miss out. (Well, OK, there were a few songs performed just for the inperson audience.) The flawlessly executed livestream remains one one of the most cathartic performances of the pandemic. Carlile’s first show in more than a year came in the wake of a litany of tragedies in our region — Nashvillians had survived

For the past seven years, Intersection has been a wellspring of innovative and compelling new music performances in Nashville. Even as the notion of ensemble concerts grew increasingly improbable as the pandemic took hold, the contemporary classical outfit embraced the challenge and embarked on an ambitious program set to run over a span of more than two years. Listen matches 25 composers with 25 of Intersection’s musicians to achieve a singular goal: expand the repertoire of music by female-identifying, nonbinary

BRANDI CARLILE AT THE RYMAN

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When COVID-19 forced local DJs out of their club booths and onto the internet, Nashville Resistance was among the first to produce a regular series of techno-centric livestreams. Just as vaccinations became accessible, the collective was the first to bring the dance floor back to life. True to the genre’s tradition, a party dubbed The Warehouse Gathering became a monthly happening inside a spartan industrial space whose exact location was available only by word-of-mouth. For many, it wasn’t just a novel return to public revelry, but also hearkened faithfully to the fabled heyday of underground warehouse raves of the 1990s.

BEST SHOW WITHOUT A REHEARSAL Outloud Fest, held outside at the Main Event Parking Lot in June, was one of the first multi-day fests to return to Middle Tennessee, and it was the first in-person show many in the audience had seen in more than a year. Rock ’n’ roll champions Bully were pinch-hitting for Soccer Mommy, who had to cancel at the last minute, and it was an unusual and somewhat nerve-racking kind of first for Bully — not that we’d have known it before singer-guitarist Alicia

SETH GRAVES

BEST VIRTUAL BENEFIT SHOW

LYDIA LUCE, BECCA MANCARI AND KYSHONA

There’s something truly special about a group of artists you love getting together to support a good cause. In March, singersongwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lydia Luce put together an online benefit show to raise money for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund. One year prior, Luce’s home was one of many in Nashville that suffered heavy damage in the tornado — what felt like for many Nashvillians the kickoff to a long stream of unprecedented garbage times. Luce brought to the virtual stage two other dynamite singer-songwriters from Nashville, Becca Mancari and Kyshona, along with members of the ensemble Luce founded called Lockeland Strings, for a delightful 30-minute showing of love for their community. AMANDA HAGGARD

INTERSECTION: LISTEN

BEST JAZZ HANGOUT BEST SHOW WITHOUT A REHEARSAL, WRITERS’ CHOICE: BULLY AT OUTLOUD FEST

PHOTO: EMILY QUIRK

PHOTO: STEVE CROSS

CHATTERBIRD’S VIRTUAL CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ

TSU alums Fredrick Weathersby and Stefan Forbus have created something mighty special by reviving their Monday Night

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ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC WRITERS’ CHOICE

BEST JAZZ HANGOUT, WRITERS’ CHOICE: MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ

STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST BREAKOUT

JOY OLADOKUN

2021 will forever be known as the year the world woke up to Joy Oladokun and fell head-over-heels in love with her remarkable ability to write songs that are as relatable as they are revelatory. It began in January, when her somber ballad “Breathe Again” played during an episode of the popular NBC drama This Is Us; appearances on Today and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and at NPR’s Tiny Desk followed. Oladokun made national headlines with “Bigger Man,” a duet with Maren Morris, and she released the complete 24-track edition of her album In Defense of My Own Happiness, with its songs earning millions of streams on Spotify and other services. Plus she’s been touring across the country, appearing at the Newport Folk Festival and Lollapalooza, opening for Jason Isbell and more. Her take on contemporary folk is rooted in her experiences as a queer Black woman living in a society that’s still deeply rooted in white supremacy, but even when she’s calling out the bullshit, as in “I See America,” she does so with empathy and understanding. MEGAN SELING

greatest heartbreak ballads, using a simple, piano-forward arrangement to showcase Spencer’s masterful voice and tender lyrics. The song also appears on Spencer’s 2020 EP Compassion, a four-track taste of the breadth and depth of her talent. This year, it’s been followed by a new single called “Sober & Skinny,” appearances on recordings and in person with The Highwomen and lots more — now’s the time to get to know her work so you’ll be ready when she hits the big time. BRITTNEY McKENNA

BEST UNDERGROUND ELECTRONICA ARTIST

NO MILK

No Milk — the sobriquet of Florida-born singer and multi-instrumentalist Brigid Oxhorn — hasn’t released an album, and Oxhorn’s most recent Nashville show was a September date at Springwater. Still, No Milk takes pop electronica in a humane, measured direction that puts you in mind of the work of Eve Maret and Linda Heck. On No Milk’s Soundcloud page, you can check out a track titled “Break Down,” which expertly layers syncopated keyboard and percussion sounds without losing the pulse. Oxhorn’s voice skews to pop, which makes “Break Down” affecting in its experimentation. EDD HURT

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

Jazz program and bringing it to William Radford’s Germantown market, restaurant and community space The Local Distro. One way it’s culturally significant is that it is a Black-led artistic endeavor in a Black-owned business in a neighborhood that’s been gentrifying for years, and its very presence helps the Black community that’s historically been in North Nashville own a piece of the area’s success. But what’ll impress you if you go is both the serious talent of the musicians as well as the incredibly fun and casual hang. You can focus on the music or spend the time socializing — this kind of freeform cultural exchange, supported by the loose structure of the jazz jam, is what scenes are made of.

BEST GO-TO COMPOSER, WRITERS’ CHOICE: DAVE RAGLAND

BEST GO-TO COMPOSER

one-act commissioned by Nashville Opera, which enjoyed its digital world premiere in September 2020. He’s also the founder and artistic director of Inversion Vocal Ensemble. And Ragland isn’t done yet: The much-anticipated premiere of his new opera Steal Away is set for Dec. 2 through 5 at OZ Arts Nashville. AMY STUMPFL

DAVE RAGLAND

In a city packed with brilliant musicians, Dave Ragland has garnered a sterling reputation as one of Nashville’s most gifted and versatile composers. The Emmynominated artist has been in particularly great demand this past season, working with Nashville Ballet, Nashville Symphony and chatterbird. He was honored with a 2021 American Prize for One Vote Won, a striking

BEST METAL BAND

YAUTJA

BEST BREAKOUT, WRITERS’ CHOICE: JOY OLADOKUN

BEST COUNTRY BREAKOUT

If you aren’t already a fan of Brittney Spencer, grab your closest Internet Machine and look up her song “Sorrys Don’t Work No More.” A breakout streaming hit for Spencer released in late 2020, the track follows in the footsteps of some of country’s

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BRITTNEY SPENCER

The release of Yautja’s long-gestating album The Lurch in May on Relapse Records clued the world into what in-theloop heavy-music followers have known for some time: The trio of bassist-vocalist Kayhan Vaziri, guitarist Shibby Poole and drummer Tyler Coburn, which splits time between Nashville and Birmingham, Ala., is an absolute force. The LP, tracked at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, artfully captures Yautja’s visceral crust-grind-doom amalgam with razorsharp performances and stark, powerful recordings of “Undesirables” — which has been kicking around set lists since 2016 — and eight other crushers, amounting to one of the strongest metal albums ever made by a Music City band. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST BRASS BAND

BRASSVILLE

One thing we’ve been reminded of time and again in 2021 is how much the in-person

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WHEN GLAMOUR AND STYLE ENTERED EVERYDAY LIFE. During the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s, an international style manifested stateside in a broad array of decorative and fine arts, architecture, and design. For the first time, quality household goods were mass-produced affordably, allowing more Americans to enjoy these dynamic objects. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, come explore 140 works of art presented in the Frist’s own art deco interior, and examine how the glamour and optimism of the Roaring ’20s and the

OCTOBER 8–JANUARY 2 Downtown Na shville 919 Br o adw ay, Na shville, T N 37203 Fr is t A r t Mus eum.or g @ Fr is t A r t Mus eum # T heFr is t #Fr is t A r t De co

devastation of the Great Depression in the ’30s shaped this iconic style. Organized by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, and Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska Platinum sponsor

Hospitality sponsor

Education and community engagement supporters

Spanish translation sponsor

The Frist Art Museum is supported in part by

Lurelle Van Arsdale Guild, designer (American, 1898–1985); Electrolux Corporation, manufacturer (Dover, Delaware, founded 1919). Electrolux Vacuum (Model 30), designed 1937. Chrome-plated steel, aluminum, vinyl, and rubber, 8 1/2 x 23 x 7 3/4 in. Collection Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, Denver, 2004.3466. | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE nashvillescene.com Image courtesy of Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, Denver. Photo: Wes Magyar

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ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC WRITERS’ CHOICE inviting you to the party. MEGAN SELING

live music experience means to fans and musicians alike. No ensemble gives off that electric spark of joy quite like Brassville, a brass band made up of TSU alumni MarVelous Brown, Marcus Chandler, Derrick Green, Larry Jenkins, Jonathon Neal, Nate McDowell, Adrian Pollard and Rashad Sylvester. After little more than a year as a unit, they’ve become ubiquitous in Music City, bringing their world-class can’thelp-but-dance groove to festivals, clubs, studio sessions and more. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST ROCK BAND

STYROFOAM WINOS

A frequent special guest on bills organized by FMRL (the eclectic booking operation of local promoter Chris Davis), the threeperson folk-pop Voltron that is Styrofoam Winos made its recorded debut in 2021 with a self-titled LP for Louisville’s stellar Sophomore Lounge label. The Winos’ Joe Kenkel, Trevor Nikrant and Lou Turner are all working songwriters with distinct points of view and solo albums of their own, but full-band live shows — the more intimate the venue, the better — are where the trio sounds most at home. Winos sets feature lots of instrument switching and funny asides, their informality a refreshing antidote to the slickness that surrounds here in Music City. But songs like Nikrant’s punky “Stuck in a Museum,” Turner’s sweeping “Roy G Biv” and Kenkel’s tender “Once” stick long after the show’s over. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST LEFT-FIELD POP PROJECT

F_FOREVER✰, BINARY ✰✰✰’S

As Nashville’s pop scene has grown and become more sophisticated, my one enduring wish has been for it to get weird. By 2020, I’d heard all of the wistful roséwave ballads, the beach-cruiser summer jams, the smoke-machine party anthems. What I really wanted was to hear bleepy, bloopy mayhem. And with f_Forever✰, singer Caroline Lucent and producer Daydream Nathan finally made that wish come true. On Binary ✰✰✰’s, the duo’s debut, Lucent and Nathan warp around PC Music-style lo-fi electro sounds and hard-candy Auto-Tune vocals. Songs like “tmf ♥♥♥” and “Pyrite Heart” are unmistakable pop bangers that pull at their genre tropes until they’re fully unraveled. Alongside Skin, an intimate follow-up EP that stripped the neon-hued party sounds into quiet introspection, f_Forever✰ deftly showed off two sides of the same coin, showing that painting outside of the lines pays off. LANCE CONZETT

BEST COUNTRY NEWCOMER

MORGAN WADE

Morgan Wade came in hot to the country

BEST POP MEGABAND, WRITERS’ CHOICE: TAYLS

MAJOR MINORS

You may already know about Nashville in Harmony, Nashville’s premier community choir for LGBTQ individuals and their allies, but did you know they have a companion chorus for teens? Geared toward singers ages 12 to 18, the fittingly named Major Minors uphold the values of the adult chorus and provide a space for teens to come together and sing without apology.

BEST SIDE GIG

MICAH HULSCHER AND MATT ROWLAND, NASHVILLE SOUNDS ORGANISTS

During most of the Nashville Sounds’ home games at First Horizon Park, you can hear some of the finest keyboardists in Music City providing quick-witted musical commentary from the organ booth. Micah Hulscher, who you’ve seen playing with Margo Price and his own instrumental trio Greasy Neale, shares the job with Matt Rowland, a top session and touring player who also co-founded the muchloved holiday show The Spaceship of the Imagination. Over the span of a couple innings, I heard Hulscher fire off excerpts from The Kinks (“Tired of Waiting for You” for a slow-working opposing pitcher) and Stevie Wonder (“Too High,” for a reliever struggling to find the strike zone) among others. As with any farm team, the Sounds’ roster changes significantly from year to year. Here’s hoping they keep Hulscher and Rowland on for next season — and give them a raise. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST R&B NEWCOMER In the hook of “Cannot Do,” the opener of his widely praised recent EP Boys Wear Pearls, $avvy hits the nail on the head: “If I was like you / And couldn’t be me / That is something / I cannot do.” His distinctive, laid-back style eradicates the boundaries between hip-hop and R&B — it might remind you a little of Snoop Dogg sometimes, but it’s very much $avvy’s own. It serves him extremely well as he navigates contemporary dating and sex with an easy grace that makes the whole thing feel like a dance. STEPHEN TRAGESER

NASHVILLE AMBIENT ENSEMBLE

It’s light on structure, lyrics or any discernible beat, so there’s little surprise we in Music City have taken our sweet time warming up to the nebulous soundscapes and ethereal textures of electronic ambient music. However, Nashville Ambient Ensemble, helmed by composer-keyboardist Michael Hix, offers a special blend of the largely solitary traditions of the ambient universe and group dynamics and musical structures of jazz and country. On their debut LP Cerulean, Hix and a righteous lineup of experimental musicians create something that’s simultaneously very Nashville and well beyond the constraints of what Nashville tradition teaches you to expect. SETH GRAVES

BEST BLUEGRASS ENSEMBLE

SISTER SADIE

Grammy-nominated bluegrass supergroup Sister Sadie — formed in 2012 by worldclass players Tina Adair (mandolin), Dale Ann Bradley (guitar, vocals), Gena Britt (banjo) and Deanie Richardson (fiddle) — made history in 2019 as the first all-female band to win the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Vocal Group of the Year award. After repeating the Vocal Group win and taking home the trophy for IBMA’s Entertainer of the Year in 2020, Bradley left to refocus on her solo career. Rather than call the job done and close up shop, in the spring Sister Sadie enlisted two rising stars: shimmering vocalist-guitarist Jaelee Roberts and bassist Hasee Ciaccio. They play hard, laugh hard and sail harmonies like paper airplanes — and it seems they will for a long time to come. HOLLY GLEASON

BEST POP MEGABAND

TAYLS

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The group, always welcoming to new members, got to perform with Demi Lovato at her most recent Nashville show and sang at the inaugural Franklin Pride Festival in July. MATT FOX

$AVVY

BEST AMBIENT PROJECT

BEST ROOTS TRANSPLANT

CRISTINA VANE

PHOTO: JAKE MATHEWS

It’s hard not to crack a smile when listening to Tayls’ new album Have You Ever? I’ve Always. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it party music — the songs cover a lot of complex emotional territory — but each song fully utilizes the talents of a slew of local musicians including members of Creature Comfort, Fable Cry and Molly Rocket. The results are lush and all-consuming, with some songs like “Have You Ever?” recalling the wacky optimism of The Flaming Lips and others like “Better” bringing to mind the charge of Britpop royalty like Oasis. What really lingers, though, is the compelling chemistry between bandmates: They’re having fun, and even better, they’re

music scene this year with the release of her debut LP Reckless. Paul Eversold and Sadler Vaden co-produced the album; Vaden co-wrote many of the songs as well. Reckless brings together perceptive, confessional songwriting, pop flair and straight-up country-rock, yielding a polished but unpretentious sound that’s just as reminiscent of Miley Cyrus as it is songwriters like Jason Isbell (in whose band Vaden also plays guitar) or Lucinda Williams. There’s a rich, robust passion bubbling just under the surface of these songs. With this record as a strong foundation, Wade has established herself as a promising talent whose potential seems to know no bounds. OLIVIA LADD

It seems like Cristina Vane has been just about everywhere, man — she was born in Italy and lived in the U.K. as well as several places in the U.S. before settling in Nashville in 2018. Needing to adjust to being part of so many different cultures has seasoned her blend of roots and folk traditions, which come out all the richer on

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TRAGESER

BEST POST-PUNKS

SAFETY NET

The power trio of Connor Cummins (vocals and guitar), Sean Flint (bass and vocals) and Cam Sarrett (drums) doesn’t have an album you can hold in your hands yet. But January’s livestream from The 5 Spot proved Safety Net’s got the tunage for one, maybe more. Songs sung by Cummins bring herky-jerky energy to the proceedings; in tandem with Flint’s moodier, more midtempo material, it makes for a dualfrontman dynamic reminiscent of Roger Miller and Clint Conley of Boston noise-pop pioneers Mission of Burma. Look out for a proper release from Safety Net before the year is up. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST HIP-HOP HUSTLE

PETTY

For most musicians, releasing one new song every week for a year sounds like a recipe for disaster. But more than 40 weeks in, ace rapper Petty’s #53 Fridays project is still appointment listening. He’s collaborated with a who’s-who of local producers and MCs for a collection of tracks that tell stories about being Black and being a rapper in Nashville, cover a ton of ground stylistically and always put Petty’s voice as a storyteller front and center. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST WORKING PUNK GUITARIST

CHAPPY HULL

Twenty-eight-year-old Nashville native and NSA grad Chappy Hull has spent the past decade putting in work on the DIY circuit as six-stringer for super-technical skate-punks Gnarwhal and singer-guitarist in mercurial math-rock foursome Shell of a Shell — two of the first Southern bands signed to noted Brooklyn indie Exploding in Sound. More recently, Hull has shown a knack for joining established bands and making them better than ever. Following a several-year stint with fellow EIS signees Pile on second guitar — thickening the sonic stew of the group’s 2019 catalog standout Green and Gray — Hull joined local indie-rock greats Bully as a touring member in the spring, his spidery playing bringing new life to Alicia Bognanno-penned grunge-pop gems like “Trying” and “Milkman.” CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST ROCK TRANSPLANT

VERA BLOOM

Former Pacific Northwesterner Vera Bloom was just getting established in Nashville as the pandemic came crashing down. But she didn’t let that stop her from assembling a topnotch band and recording a self-titled debut EP that stands tall among the city’s best rock releases. As Scene contributor (and Bloom’s fellow Seattle expat) Megan Seling has pointed out, there’s a lot of Seattle in Bloom’s snarling sound, but she’s brought it here to make it all her own. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST POP ALBUM

HOUSTON KENDRICK, SMALL INFINITY

which it’s created, giving the listener a cypher to decode its complexities without losing the perspective and personality of the artist performing that music. On Small Infinity, Houston Kendrick threads that needle with panache, imbuing relatable themes of self-doubt, young love and embracing your own individuality with lived experiences. You never lose sight of Kendrick in his music, even as he weaves through genres and personas. Small Infinity is an impressive debut, a record that makes good on its mission statement of celebrating the self and reveling in the wisdom of introspection. LANCE CONZETT

BEST HIP-HOP ALBUM

L’ORANGE AND NAMIR BLADE, IMAGINARY EVERYTHING In a big year for beats and rhymes, it was hard to select a champion from the Nashville contenders. But after listening to countless hours of local rappers and producers, we selected Namir Blade’s trippy collaboration with North Carolina producer extraordinaire L’Orange as the best. Blade knows when to create space between his voice and the loops, the way that a great jazz musician uses the negative space between the notes. While so many MCs want to express their prowess by squeezing every last bar into a verbal assault, Namir Blade wows listeners with a lackadaisical, dreamlike flow that never quite falls behind the beat. Imaginary Everything is a perfect marriage of psychedelic funk and brilliant lyricism. P.J. KINZER

BEST NEW VISION OF THE SOUTH

ADIA VICTORIA, A SOUTHERN GOTHIC

The legacy of the South has a long, creeping stain of hatred, injustice and violence on it. But there’s a great deal of history and work, especially the labor and cultural contributions of Black people, woven into the fabric. Musician and poet Adia Victoria has dedicated her overall body of work — and specifically A Southern Gothic, a rich, dark record about grappling with the pain of displacement that she co-produced with T Bone Burnett — to reorienting the narrative. She drives home the point that while the South may be a place where the white supremacy that exists everywhere is enshrined like it is nowhere else, it is her home. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST FUNK-FOLK ALBUM

TODD SNIDER, FIRST AGNOSTIC CHURCH OF HOPE AND WONDER

“Busking up front and P-Funk in the back” is how Todd Snider describes his brilliant funk-folk mash-up First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder. Snider plays most of the instruments and sings all the vocals on an album that is easily his most musically adventurous in a career spanning a quarter-century. He uses the loose concept of a less-than-honest agnostic minister as the framework to address mortality from a variety of perspectives. Among them: Three of the record’s 10 tracks pay touching tribute to a trio of longtime friends who passed in 2019 and 2020 — Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine and Jeff Austin. DARYL SANDERS

The best pop music reflects the world in

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BEST NEW VISION OF THE SOUTH, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ADIA VICTORIA

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

her new LP Nowhere Sounds Lovely. It’s a full-band record, but as Scene contributor Edd Hurt pointed out in a review, Vane also brings to the table finely tuned skill on slide guitar, informed by blues masters. STEPHEN

BEST INDIE-ROCK ALBUM

TOTAL WIFE, TOTAL WIFE

I probably listened to this record more than any other release from Nashville over the past year. Total Wife’s eponymous LP, one of two long-players the band released in 2021, is an audio nesting doll that reveals a deeper, lush layer of pedal-fueled art rock every time I hear it. Total Wife packs Total Wife densely, seemingly pulling out every neo-psychedelic studio trick in the book as they showcase the inspiration they draw from the European indie scene idolized by the ’90s British rock press (think My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab, etc.). However, the band has managed to take quirky electronics, obscured vocals and layers of dissonant guitar chords to a new plateau. P.J. KINZER

BEST NEW LEAF

FANCY HAGOOD

A few years ago, artist and songwriter Fancy Hagood — then performing as Who Is Fancy — released a string of pop singles, including the Ariana Grande/Meghan Trainor collaboration “Boys Like You” and the breakup earworm “Goodbye.” Though the songs themselves caught on, the pop plan didn’t pan out as Hagood intended. No matter, though, as Hagood’s first album under his full name, Southern Curiosity, is his best work yet, combining his natural talent for crafting an infectious melody

with emotional, deeply personal lyrics about living as a gay man in the South. All killer and no filler, the album is best experienced from start to finish, with standout tracks including the buoyant “Mr. Atlanta” and the confessional “Forest.” BRITTNEY McKENNA

BEST JAZZ ALBUM

RAHSAAN BARBER, MOSAIC

Rahsaan Barber, a master of multiple saxophones, has excelled in many ways for decades. He shines as a band member and a leader. He’s produced records and founded the label Jazz Music City, and he’s an accomplished educator with master’s and doctorate degrees who is currently an assistant professor in the music department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But he’s still first and foremost a stalwart soloist and bandleader, skills he displays prominently on his double LP Mosaic. The record is also a showcase for his compositional skills, with 15 originals performed by a frontline that features his brother Roland Barber on trombone, trumpeter Nathan Warner, pianist Matt Endahl, bassist Jack Aylor and drummer Derrek Phillips. Though the mood and approach are predominantly straight-ahead, the playing is vigorous, fresh and assertive, as well as contemporary in tone, standing tall alongside any jazz release cut in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia or Detroit.

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10/6/21 5:13 PM

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LOVE IN A MEMORY A TRIBUTE TO NANCI GRIFFITH BENEFITING MUSIC HEALTH ALLIANCE

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5TH ANNUAL FREEDOM JAM BENEFIT FT. OUTLAWS AND BLACKHAWK

10.25

10.31

NASHVILLE BEATLES BRUNCH FT. FOREVER ABBEY ROAD

10.31

DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO IN THE LOUNGE

11.3

GIRLS OF NASHVILLE HOSTED BY CAITLYN SMITH, HEATHER MORGAN, AND MAGS DUVAL

SAWYER FREDERICKS & THE ACCIDENTALS

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KIEFER - WHEN THERE’S LOVE AROUND TOUR IN THE LOUNGE

10.26

O-TOWN WITH SPECIAL GUEST LFO

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KAKI KING’S SEI

10.26

ERIN MCKEOWN AND JENNIFER KNAPP IN THE LOUNGE

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GAELIC STORM - WE MISSED YOU TOUR

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KENNY LATTIMORE AND FAITH JENKINS

11.8

SAN FERMIN - VOICES TOUR

10.28

BEDOUINE WITH LYDIA LUCE IN THE LOUNGE

11.9

AN EVENING WITH DAMIEN ESCOBAR

10.29

SUPERBLUE: KURT ELLING FT. CHARLIE HUNTER & NATE SMITH

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ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC WRITERS’ CHOICE Besides being another reminder of how much high-caliber improvisational talent resides in Nashville, it’s the latest chapter in the legacy of both Barber brothers. RON

WYNN

BEST AMBIENT ALBUM

BELLY FULL OF STARS, AURA

Kim Rueger’s work as Belly Full of Stars is a bellwether of Nashville and the South’s surprising experimental-electronic community. The project brings together blanket-warm textures and found-sound weirdness with a composer’s ear owing to Rueger’s background in classical music. The six-part Aura is a must-hear for anyone

BEST AMERICANA ALBUM

ALLISON RUSSELL, OUTSIDE CHILD

Allison Russell is by no means a new artist — recent items on her résumé include work as part of the groundbreaking band Our Native Daughters, and she cut her teeth as part of roots acts Po’ Girl and Birds of Chicago. Outside Child is her solo debut, though, and the collection introduces us to Russell in a way we haven’t yet seen her. Much of the album grapples with the sexual abuse Russell suffered as a child, as on the gut-wrenching “4th Day Prayer,” which includes the lyric, “Father used me like a wife.” Overall, though, the album is a redemptive affair, one that finds hope in life’s darkest corners. The fact that it does so with such achingly beautiful music, too, is a rare feat and a gift to us all.

BRITTNEY McKENNA

BEST TRIBUTE ALBUM

KISS MY ASS GOODBYE

If you’ve lived in Nashville long, you’ve probably felt you shared something with John Prine, who died of complications from COVID in April 2020 and is survived by family, friends and a seemingly bottomless trove of witty, insightful, compassionate songs. There have been many heartfelt tributes to his influence, both since his

BEST RECKONING, WRITERS’ CHOICE: RODNEY CROWELL obscurities like “Down by the Side of the Road” receive equal representation from players like Jeff Mix and the Songhearts, Mick Mullin, Chris Crofton and Heaven Honey, whose eclectic reworkings of the material testify to its universality and timelessness. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

passing and well before (note the second volume of Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows, a collection released by Oh Boy, the indie label Prine co-founded in 1981). But don’t sleep on Kiss My Ass Goodbye, a dizzying double-LP trip through the Prine songbook released by local label Devil’s Tower Records. On the 20-song tribute, standards like “Angel From Montgomery” and relative

BEST SHORT TRIP TO THE PREWAR ERA

BILL DeMAIN, VAUDEVILLE

Pop singer-songwriter Bill DeMain offers a delightfully nostalgic escape with his seven-song EP Vaudeville. The six swinging originals and one cover (Harry Nilsson’s “Garbage Can Ballet”) give “a tip of the hat to vaudeville, swing and jug & jive,” per the liner notes, and underscore DeMain’s encyclopedic knowledge of pop music going back to the first half of the 20th century. The Swan Dive co-founder’s singing has never been better than it is on this material arranged by multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke, who accompanies him on all the tracks. Celebrated jazz pianist Larry Goldings contributes piano to the finale “Shut-Ins,” which he and DeMain co-wrote.

looking for soundscapes that simultaneously relax and engage, with a streamlined, approachable nature rare in music of this ilk. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST LEAP OF FAITH

AARON LEE TASJAN

Aaron Lee Tasjan doubles down on his role as Americana’s cosmic chameleon with Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!, an album that, true to its title, is a buoyant celebration of all the things that make the talented singer, songwriter and guitarist such a delight. While Tasjan’s earlier LPs, like his 2016 breakout Silver Tears, skewed more toward traditional Americana, Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! is a trippy, endlessly listenable mélange of psychedelia, classic pop rock and heartland harmonies, all filtered through Tasjan’s delightfully off-kilter vision and compassionate heart. BRITTNEY McKENNA

DARYL SANDERS

BEST RECKONING

RODNEY CROWELL

Triage, Rodney Crowell’s 18th album, finds the Americana legend taking stock of himself and the world around him. Starting with the opener “Don’t Leave Me Now,” a song about owning his mistakes, he’s crafted a roots record that surges, hushes and displays empathy for the venal, the broken and the drowning. Since 2001’s memoir-in-song The Houston Kid, social issues and higher consciousness have tempered Crowell’s wild-eyed Texas romps and his tender romanticism. The narrators of the songs on Triage dig deep beneath what you can see on the surface until they hit unflinching truths about hypocrisy and the complications of human nature. HOLLY

BEST HARDCORE PUNK ALBUM

THIRDFACE, DO IT WITH A SMILE

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GLEASON

BEST LIVE ALBUM

KINGS OF THE FUCKING SEA, IN CONCERT

BEST AMERICANA ALBUM, WRITERS’ CHOICE: ALLISON RUSSELL, OUTSIDE CHILD

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

Hardcore punk, in its highest form, is a live music genre. Records aren’t always representative of what a band does onstage. But Thirdface nailed it on their debut LP, Do It With a Smile. The foursome managed to capture all of their raw intensity, twisted thrash and melodic sensibility on this 22-minute ripper. The chaotic slab of noise, which has earned high marks from DIY rags nationwide, is one of the recent records putting Nashville hardcore back on the map. The serrated, venomous voice of singer Kathryn Edwards makes for a blistering expression of the rage of the exploited working class. You can feel the band smiling, but if you listen carefully, you can also hear the blood dripping from their teeth. P.J. KINZER

Not long before the pandemic, Kings of the Fucking Sea singer-guitarist Chet Weise, drummer Poni Silver and bassist Sara Nelson brought an old-school recording rig down to Soft Junk and set up shop at the East Side gallery-showspace for a

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Congratulations to all the Best of Nashville winners from your local NPR Music Station WNXP Listen on 91.1 FM OR GIVE US A LISTEN HERE: nashvillescene.com | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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ARTS, CULTURE & MUSIC WRITERS’ CHOICE weekend’s worth of shows. They were intent on making their first proper release after several years of gigging a live one, and they succeeded in more ways than one. It would be an unorthodox choice for a lessseasoned band, but it worked perfectly for the Kings’ primal, MC5-meets-Spacemen 3 psych-punk freakouts — a challenging vibe to re-create in the studio, to be sure. And when we couldn’t have real-deal live shows, In Concert made for a welcome reminder of why spaces like Soft Junk need to be supported and treasured. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

BEST PSYCH-POP ALBUM

SUN SEEKER, A SUNRISE IN A BASEMENT

It’s been a delight watching the fellas from Sun Seeker evolve over the past half-decade or so. Back in the Scene’s 2016 Best of Nashville issue, we named their “Georgia Dust” our Best Single, thanks to its warm, loping rhythm and wistful melody. The next year the trio released its Biddeford EP, a strong debut collection issued by Jack White’s Third Man Records full of lush and tuneful baroque-pop songs that showed a lot of growth. This year’s A Sunrise in a Basement — released in June by Misra Records — is another step forward for Sun Seeker, its songs full of rich harmonies, layered, sundry instrumentation and the kind of transfixing psych-pop melodies these dudes have always had in spades. Thanks in part to guest vocals from Emily Hall and Liza Anne, not one of Sunrise’s 10 tracks misses. D. PATRICK RODGERS

with reverence for the ways it transforms us — is so affirming. AMANDA HAGGARD

BEST OLD-SCHOOL GATHERING OF TALENT

DAVID FERGUSON, NASHVILLE NO MORE

Cowboy Jack Clement saw David R. Ferguson’s potential as a youngster; Johnny Cash grew to trust him deeply; John Prine went in with him on a studio space; tons of others including Sturgill Simpson and Margo Price have called on him to help shepherd the music in their heads onto tape. After four decades of absorbing what makes a recording work, the man known to friends and collaborators as Ferg finished an album of his own, on which he and a multigenerational band of ringers render songs that have stuck with him — some hits, many not — in a rich but organic fashion that recalls the work he’s done with the aforementioned laundry list of stars.

STEPHEN TRAGESER

BEST ALBUM TO CRY TO

JULIEN BAKER, LITTLE OBLIVIONS

It’s not that Julien Baker’s Little Oblivions will make you cry, it’s that the record — lush with orchestration that pulses like a heartbeat — was released, serendipitously, in a year when most of us were already shedding tears on a daily basis. We have, collectively, experienced an immense amount of loss over the past 19 months, reflected in higher rates of depression, anxiety and addiction. These are the same

BEST ALBUM ABOUT PARENTHOOD

TRISTEN, AQUATIC FLOWERS

Something I’ve always really liked about singer-songwriter Tristen’s music is the vulnerability. On any given album — be it 2017’s Sneaker Waves or 2013’s C A V E S or the latest, Aquatic Flowers — you get a sense of who she is and what worries or fascinates her. In an interview with Scene contributor Charlie Zaillian published in June, Tristen explained that the writing of her 2021 album came at a time when she was transitioning from the child-free life to being a parent. “I don’t want to project negativity — I just notice problems and fixate on them,” she said. “But becoming a mom broke me wide open, made me care isolating struggles Baker explores on Little Oblivions. On “Ringside” she asks: “Is there anybody coming back for me? / If they ever were, they are not now.” On “Faith Healer” she wrestles with sobriety, singing, “Oh, I miss the high / How it dulled the terror and the beauty / And now I see everything in startling intensity.” To hear words that echo our own inner thoughts and demons — and ultimately discover we’re not alone in our loneliness — is the kind of cathartic art that saves lives. Play it loud. Cry it out. We’re going to be OK. MEGAN SELING

about something else. Children bring you into the moment.” I love this moment she’s having, because I too have experienced this recently as a newish mom. To see parenthood reflected in a thoughtful way —

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CRITICS’ PICKS W E E K L Y

R O U N D U P

O F

T H I N G S

T O

D O

NEON NIGHTS OCT. 14 & 21 Cheekwood

RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT

For nearly three decades, Rennie Harris Puremovement has been leading the charge as the nation’s longest-running street dance theater company, “preserving and disseminating” hip-hop culture through an incredible mix of performances and educational programs. This weekend, local audiences can experience RHPM for themselves, as the internationally acclaimed dance company opens OZ Arts’ new season. The evening will feature Harris’ celebrated work Nuttin’ But a Word — a piece that manages to honor the traditions of street dance while still pushing boundaries and challenging audience expectations.

RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT

that can hide in the absence of light. “The New Hydra Collection” is a groovy, organ-laced jam about the “hopeful few” working to bring to life the Hydra, the mythological nine-headed water monster. [IT’S SO HARD TO GET NOTICED IN THIS TOWN] With his matter-of-fact storytelling tone, THE MOUNTAIN GOATS W/SOPHIA singer-guitarist John Darnielle sings: BORO “All around the monitor station / Big Halloween is lurking right around smiles, high fives / According to the corner, and few bands are as my projections / Everybody’s seasonally appropriate as The PROOF OF COVID going to run for their lives.” Mountain Goats. Their latest VACCINATION OR A NEGATIVE The organ, it’s worth noting, release, Dark in Here, was COVID TEST IS REQUIRED FOR is credited to none other than recorded in March 2020, MOST OF THE EVENTS COVERED HERE. CHECK WITH INDIVIDUAL legendary session musician around the same time the VENUES FOR SPECIFIC Spooner Oldham, as Dark in band recorded last year’s PROTOCOLS. Here was recorded at FAME Getting Into Knives (and Studios. Songs like “Lizard Suit” also just as society was on the and “Before I Got There” are more verge of collapse). Each song is somber — the former a song about social an exploration of dark spaces — both anxiety, the later a painful examination literal and figurative — and the horrors

of what remains after what appears to be a bombing or war, though Darnielle never specifies what exactly happened. Darkness can be fun and spooky, and it can also be soul-crushing. On Dark in Here, The Mountain Goats explore it all. They’ll play on Thursday with Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sophia Boro, whose cover of Pixies’ “Hey” is dreamily fantastic. 8 p.m. at Cannery Ballroom, 1 Cannery Row MEGAN SELING

DANCE

[LEGENDS OF STREET DANCE]

Tickets start at $25. To learn more, visit ozartsnashville.org. Oct. 14-16 at OZ Arts, 6172 Cockrill Bend Circle AMY STUMPFL MUSIC

DANCE

THURSDAY / 10.14

[A GLOWING GOOD TIME]

NEW DIALECT PRESENTS NEON NIGHTS

It just wouldn’t feel like fall without at least one visit to Cheekwood. But on Thursday (and again next Thursday), you can enjoy more than just the spectacular scenery at the botanical gardens, as New

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

nashvillescene.com | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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CRITICS’ PICKS the city’s greatest, we want to show you. So head on over to the Best of Nashville Festival to see for yourself. The free event will have food, drinks, music, shopping and giveaways from this year’s award winners. Bring your family, bring your pets, and even though it’s outside, bring a mask just in case. Visit bestofnashvillefest.com for more info. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Walk of Fame Park, 121 Fourth Ave. S. KELSEY BEYELER

FRIDAY / 10.15 [ONLY CONNECT]

AUTHOR EVENT WITH ALLISON MOORER

In I Dream He Talks to Me: A Memoir of Learning How to Listen, singer-songwriter and author Allison Moorer writes about her relationship with her son, John Henry, who has nonverbal autism. When her son stopped using his growing vocabulary just before his second birthday, Moorer realized the future she envisioned would not be reality. She had to find new ways to connect with John Henry, something that had to be difficult given the fact that her entire career has been built around words. She writes movingly of their life together, recognizing the joy of just being with John Henry instead of looking ahead. Her love for her son suffuses the book, which is a meditation on modern motherhood, meaningful moments and deep connection. Instead of planning for the day that intense caregiving “will all be over,” she writes: “Today is the day. Today can always be the day that all of this changes if I change the way I see it.” It’s a philosophy that would serve all of us well. Moorer will discuss her book Friday at Parnassus. The event is

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free, but registration is required. 6:30 p.m. at Parnassus Books, 3900 Hillsboro Pike GALYN GLICK MARTIN [EXISTENTIAL AMERICANA]

JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT

If you love Americana music but have reservations about mainstream country, it’s likely you’re at least a nominal fan of Alabama-born singer-songwriter Jason Isbell. Way back in 1999, at the dawn of Americana, a roots-rock-folk singer like Lucinda Williams defined Americana, and you can’t leave out the great Texas group Old 97’s. These days, Isbell’s work might epitomize the reach of the genre. What I hear on his 2017 album The Nashville Sound and 2020’s Reunions is the sound of a good singer-songwriter who makes records for an audience that seems lost between the impulses of youth and the demands of adulthood. In this respect, Isbell is like, say, Paul Simon — except Simon took a New Yorker’s view of the world, while Isbell cut his teeth in the Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers. Some critics — notably Greil Marcus — detect the sound of compromise in Isbell’s well-made studio-rock albums. I have to respect the existential dread and suppressed anguish that characterize Reunions and what may be Isbell’s greatest song to date, 2017’s “If We Were Vampires.” He and his band the 400 Unit will play an eight-show run at the Ryman that starts on Friday and ends on Oct. 24. Each night, Isbell and band will be joined by a fellow Americana singer — among the notables taking the stage with Isbell will be his wife Amanda Shires, along with Nashville rock-blues-folk singer Adia Victoria. Check the Ryman’s website for the complete list and schedule. Oct. 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23 & 24 at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way EDD HURT [WAITING FOR MY MAN]

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

The Velvet Underground has always tapped into my darker nature. I first

got into the iconic art-rock group as a teen, when I was a budding alcoholic daydreaming about drug culture as a way to escape the mendacity of my status as a high school honors student. But as I’ve gotten older and wiser — and now 15 years sober — I’ve come to understand the moods of the music not in the lyrics and themes as much as in the sound, like John Cale’s relentless electric viola in “The Black Angel’s Death Song.” A new documentary tells the Velvets’ story. Written and directed by the brilliant Todd Haynes (known for Carol and I’m Not There), The Velvet Underground is not your typical rock doc — the kind that’s crowded with talking heads proclaiming the greatness of the band. Rather, critics have described the film as an immersive deep dive into the music and culture of the band, as well as the genius and mercurial nature of late leader Lou Reed. The Wrap calls it “a dark, disturbing and glorious film about a dark, disturbing and glorious band, and another sign that Haynes knows how to put music onscreen in a way that few other directors do.” It relies on in-depth interviews with key players, including new footage of Cale and archival interviews with Reed; shots from Andy Warhol’s movies that featured the band; and never-beforeseen performances that should satisfy Nico obsessives like me. Opens Friday, Oct. 15, at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave.

NASHVILLE OPERA PRESENTS OPERA ON THE MOUNTAIN & OPERA ON WHEELS

[TRUST FALL]

PARKER MILLSAP W/MOLLY PARDEN

When Oklahoma-born and Nashvilleresiding Parker Millsap began to get national attention for his self-titled 2014 album, his relative youth was a big talking point, considering the depth and scope of his songs. The rock-and-roots-schooled singer-songwriter-guitarist released his fifth LP Be Here Instead in April, and a few things have changed: He’s exploring an even broader variety of sounds than on his 2018 album Other Arrangements, and he’s now in his late 20s. The song “Vulnerable” is a fine example of how both things embody his PARKER MILLSAP

ERICA CICCARONE

SATURDAY / 10.16 COMMUNITY

ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT

MUSIC

Playboi Carti made waves with his 2017 singles “Magnolia” and “Wokeuplikethis,” and the 25-year-old MC has continued to push his sound in unique directions, bringing experimental punk and alt-rock elements into a mumble-rap base. His 2020 LP Whole Lotta Red is hard to fit into a box, which is appropriate for a rapper who’s since built up a rock-starvampire persona while making a name for himself in the fashion world — he’s on the cover of Sedition magazine’s September issue, in which he is also interviewed by legendary fashion designer Rick Owens. Carti has been dropping obscure hints about an upcoming project, possibly an album, called Narcissist, which was supposed to be released in September. Whether it’s a line of merch or new music, it’s probably gonna contain a few surprises. 8 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium, 417 Fourth Ave. N.

BOOKS

OPERA

PLAYBOI CARTI

[ROLLIN’ DOWN THE ROAD]

Music has the power to bring communities together, and the Nashville Opera has planned a couple of great performances this weekend that are sure to do just that. Opera on the Mountain returns to Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory on Saturday with a fun evening of “arias, standards and Broadway favorites” from mezzo-soprano Allison Deady, baritone Ryan Bede and soprano Dee Donasco. And on Sunday, you can head over to Centennial Park for the free public launch of the company’s new Opera on Wheels program. That event will take place on the Great Lawn in front of the Parthenon, and will feature performances by Nashville artists Clementina Moreira, Emily Apuzzo Hopkins, Jeff Williams and Tamica Nicole, accompanied by Amy Tate Williams. Visit nashvilleopera.org for the complete schedule. Opera on the Mountain 5-9 p.m. Saturday at Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory, 1000 Oman Drive; Opera on Wheels 3-4 p.m. Sunday at the Parthenon, 2500 West End Ave. AMY STUMPFL MUSIC

[DRESSED TO KILL]

FILM

MUSIC

Dialect presents Neon Nights. Billed as an “immersive glow-in-the-dark party and dance installation,” Neon Nights marks the innovative dance company’s return to live performance while offering a celebratory vibe that’s fun for all ages — guests are even invited to come “dressed to glow!” The event will feature new work by artistic director Banning Bouldin, creative design and choreography by David Flores, interactive sculptures by New Hat’s Kelly Diehl and Elizabeth Williams, and lighting design by Michael Brown and Tyler Walker, with performances from Kira FargasMabaquiao, Emma Morrison, Hadassah Perry and Joi Ware. Performances begin at twilight (that’s 7:41 p.m. on Oct. 14, and 7:33 p.m. on Oct. 21), and admission includes access to gardens, food trucks and a bar. Visit newdialect.org for complete details. Oct. 14 & 21 at Cheekwood, 1200 Forrest Park Drive AMY STUMPFL

[FEST OF THE BEST]

THE SCENE’S BEST OF NASHVILLE FESTIVAL

Nashville is full of amazing people, places, food and plenty more, and we are proud to celebrate that each year with our big old Best of Nashville edition of the Scene. Reading about the Best of Nashville and experiencing it, however, are two very different things. Rather than just telling you what our readers and writers have deemed

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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10/6/21 5:45 PM

OCTOBER 26

KEVIN COSTNER & MODERN WEST

TALES FROM YELLOWSTONE TOUR OCTOBER 29 & 30

GREENSKY BLUEGRASS WITH LINDSAY LOU NOVEMBER 11

THE FISK JUBILEE SINGERS 150 ANNIVERSARY DR. BOBBY JONES, JASON ESKRIDGE, ®

FEATURING

RUBY AMANFU, NATALIE HEMBY, BRASSVILLE, RISSI PALMER, KYLA JADE, TOMMY SIMS, STARLITO AND CURT CHAMBERS

NOVEMBER 23

OPETH/MASTODON

WITH SPECIAL GUEST ZEAL & ARDOR DECEMBER 11

SARAH BRIGHTMAN A CHRISTMAS SYMPHONY DECEMBER 16

LIVE AT THE OPRY HOUSE

A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS WITH

MICHAEL W. SMITH AND DARCI LYNNE APRIL 8

TRACE ADKINS

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

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CRITICS’ PICKS evolving artistic expression — the sound is built around funk-kissed ’70s pop and the narrative, in which he counsels someone to take the risk to open themselves up to others, reflects how Millsap is drawing on his experience to zero in on what’s really important in a noisy world. His tour stops in at The Basement East on Oct. 16 with support from fellow intuitive and inventive Nashville songsmith Molly Parden. Her 2020 EP Rosemary (soon to be available on vinyl) features songs that touch on the raw nerve of a relationship that’s over and look at what’s worth keeping from that experience as she moves forward. 9 p.m. at The Basement East, 917 Woodland St.

CRUMB

Ice Melt is an appropriate title for Brooklyn rock band Crumb’s new album. It’s the aural equivalent of a slushy — the record is simultaneously watery and frozen, with subtle flavors that linger at the bottom. Led by singer and songwriter Lila Ramani, Crumb manages to be mysterious and straightforward, and their synthesis of ’60s pop, jazzy harmonies and ice-cold textures makes them an exemplary post-indie band. Ice Melt dilutes various weird sounds within their structures, with touches of psych, soul and electronica occasionally floating to the surface. For example, the album’s “BNR” shuffles along in imitation of conventional song form. They’re a melodic band, but they also have a way with dynamics. “L.A.” emerges from a wash of unidentifiable sounds that gives way to a beautifully judged take on California pop. You’ll find

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TOMMY CASTRO AND THE PAINKILLERS

Tommy Castro has crafted a highly distinctive brand of the blues since the mid-’90s. His tunes range from soulful testimonials to hard-driving stanzas, with a guitar style that’s got one foot in edgy rock and the other in modern blues. His latest release — Tommy Castro Presents a Bluesman Came to Town, issued just last month — is both the finest of his seven Alligator releases and quite possibly the most urgent and inventive work he’s ever done. It’s a concept album about a young man who rejects living on his family farm, chooses a life of touring and a search for fame, only to later discover he’s abandoned more valuable things in his quest for celebrity status. For this release, Castro has joined forces with Grammy-winning

THEATER

THE BAND’S VISIT

It’s been almost 600 days since TPAC’s last Broadway performance, and on Tuesday the nonprofit will open its new season with the critically acclaimed hit The Band’s Visit. Winner of 10 Tony Awards in 2018 — including Best Musical — this beautiful show explores timely issues of isolation and human connection with great humor, while showcasing a fabulous band of onstage musicians. Based on the 2007 Israeli film of the same name, The Band’s Visit features music and lyrics by David Yazbek and book by Itamar Moses. The Tony- and Grammy-winning score includes memorable songs, such as “Welcome to Nowhere,” “Omar Sharif” and “Answer Me.” The North American tour also boasts an outstanding cast, including Janet Dacal (Prince of Broadway; Wonderland) and Sasson Gabai, who is reprising the role of Tewfiq — the part he originated in the film and later played on Broadway. To learn more, visit tpac.org. Oct. 19-24 at TPAC’s Jackson Hall, 505 Deaderick St. AMY STUMPFL

WEDNESDAY / 10.20 BOOKS

[VIVA LA CASTRO]

[WELCOME TO NOWHERE]

[THREE MUSKETEERS]

SALON@615 WITH SUSAN ORLEAN & ELIZABETH STROUT FEAT. ANN PATCHETT

The Salon@615 series always promises an evening of sparkling conversation and great wit. But when you invite one of our country’s best nonfiction writers, Susan Orlean, to chat with one of our best novelists, Elizabeth Strout, and you ask Ann Patchett (who writes beautifully in both genres) to host the event? Well, that’s just — chef’s kiss — a literary trifecta. While writing is a sedentary and solitary profession, these three women have proven to be anything but. Expect wide-ranging discussions on everything from Maine to New Orleans, Olive Kitteridge to Rin Tin Tin, libraries to bookstores. 6:15 p.m. at Montgomery Bell Academy’s Paschall Theater, 4001 Harding Pike GALYN GLICK MARTIN

[A THOUSAND TIMES]

HAMILTON LEITHAUSER & KEVIN MORBY

Here’s a pairing that just makes an inordinate amount of sense. Both

THURSDAY / 10.21 MUSIC

[FROZEN TIME]

TUESDAY / 10.19

producer and drummer Tom Hambridge, and their collaboration has resulted in one of the year’s finest efforts. 8 p.m. at 3rd and Lindsley, 816 Third Ave. S. RON WYNN

THE BAND’S VISIT

PHOTO: EVAN ZIMMERMAN

MONDAY / 10.18

similar strategies at work on their 2019 release Jinx, which sports a tune titled “The Letter” that isn’t the familiar Box Tops pop classic. Appearing with Crumb on Monday is duendita, a singer-songwriter who splits residence between New York and Berlin. On her 2021 track “Bio,” she layers vocals on an oceanic mix of keyboards and drums that takes time to pause, regroup and explore eccentric rhythms. It’s seductive, beautiful music. 8 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl, 925 Third Ave. N. EDD HURT

MUSIC

NATIONAL BLACK POETRY DAY FESTIVAL

Po’ Boys and Poets, EBCM (Everything But Country Music) and the Free Nashville Poetry Library are celebrating National Black Poetry Day with a free outdoor festival at The Packing Plant. The event will be hosted by Po’ Boys and Poets’ Mo Christo, and will feature a bevy of Middle Tennessee poets and spoken-word artists. Among them, you’ll find Nashville’s own luminous Ciona Rouse, author of the incredible chapbook Vantablack — available as a digital download from Third Man Books — and co-curator of the Frist Art Museum’s current Kara Walker exhibition. If you haven’t heard Rouse read live, here is your chance. Her performances feel magical — she conjures a mood, a groundswell of feeling, and that’s transformative. She’ll be joined by poet, visual artist and Fiskite Henry L. Jones, the inaugural Poet Laureate of Hendersonville and author of Run Into Blackness: Feeling My Poetic Gumbo. A food truck will be on site for snacks — and Dozen Bakery is across the street. Visual artists, small businesses and organizations, and authors, poets and publishers will also be presenting and selling their work. 3 p.m. at The Packing Plant, 507 Hagan St. ERICA CICCARONE

MUSIC

CRUMB

[PAINT IT BLACK]

MUSIC

POETRY

SUNDAY / 10.17

PHOTO: THIRD PUPIL

STEPHEN TRAGESER

Hamilton Leithauser and Kevin Morby have established themselves as master songwriters in recent years — potent lyricists who know the power of employing dynamics in their arrangements. Leithauser earned a large following in the Aughts as the extraordinarily capable vocalist of NYC post-punk outfit The Walkmen. Since that band entered an indefinite hiatus about eight years back, he’s released a handful of solo and collaborative albums chock-full of gut-wrenching ballads and sentimental indie-rock waltzes, most recently last year’s The Loves of Your Life — a collection of songs that, according to AllMusic critic Heather Phares, “burst with the joy and vibrancy of experiencing different kinds of love.” Though Morby hasn’t been at it quite as long (he’s almost exactly a decade younger than Leithauser), he’s quickly shown himself to be adept at crafting sensitive but never saccharine folk-imbued rock music. Albums like City Music, Oh My God and Sundowner have earned him comparisons to iconic talents including Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen. Both Morby and Leithauser are great at getting their material across in a live setting, as you’ll be able to see when their co-headlining Fall Mixer tour lands at Brooklyn Bowl on Tuesday. L.A. folk singer Jess Williamson will appear in support. 8 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl, 925 Third Ave. N. D. PATRICK RODGERS

[TEEN SPIRIT]

CLOUD NOTHINGS

Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s, I am well-versed in anger. My life’s coming-of-age movie would be soundtracked by Nirvana, Tad, Mudhoney, Pearl Jam. One thing many people either don’t seem to realize or won’t admit: Much of that music was rooted in pop and related genres. Grunge was often funny! Dave Grohl has even admitted that his Nevermind drumming was inspired in part by disco beats. While I generally loathe comparing contemporary bands to the grunge era — the grunge era is divisive, and opinions are often tangled up in personal experience — Cloud Nothings

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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DOWNTOWN

Saturday, October 16

Saturday, October 23

SONGWRITER SESSION

LIVE ON STAGE

Sharon Vaughn NOON – 12:45 pm

•

FORD THEATER

Nurse Blake

The PTO Comedy Tour 8:00 pm

•

CMA THEATER

Saturday, October 23 SONGWRITER SESSION

Thursday, December 2

NOON – 12:45 pm

Carly Pearce

Cassadee Pope •

FORD THEATER

7:30 pm

Saturday, October 30 SONGWRITER SESSION

Alan Rhody and Rafe Van Hoy NOON – 12:45 pm

•

FORD THEATER

SONGWRITER SESSION

Jamie Floyd •

•

CMA THEATER

•

SOLD OUT

Thursday and Saturday, December 9 and 11 LIVE IN CONCERT

Keb’ Mo’ 7:30 pm

•

CMA THEATER

Friday, December 17

Saturday, November 6

NOON – 12:45 pm

LIVE IN CONCERT

FORD THEATER

LIVE IN CONCERT

Mike Farris Sings! The Soul of Christmas 7:30 pm

•

CMA THEATER

Saturday, December 18 SONGWRITER SESSION

Mary Gauthier NOON – 12:45 pm

•

FORD THEATER

Check our calendar for a full schedule of upcoming programs and events.

CountryMusicHallofFame.org/Calendar

Members Get More Membership includes unlimited Museum admission, ticket pre-sale opportunities, and much more. JOIN TODAY: CountryMusicHallofFame.org/Membership

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CRITICS’ PICKS

[PATHWAY TO PATTI]

PATTI SMITH AND HER BAND

Portrait of a Lady on Fire, the fourth film from French writer-director Céline Sciamma, got caught in my throat the first time I saw it — like a suppressed scream — and it hasn’t really left since. It’s 1770, and Marianne (Noémie Merlant) has come to an island in Brittany, France, to paint the wedding portrait of a young noblewoman, Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). Héloïse left a convent after her sister took her own life by throwing herself from Brittany’s rocky cliffs, and she must now marry her sister’s fiancé, a Milanese nobleman. But Héloïse refused to sit for a portrait by the last artist the family employed, as if doing so could delay the inevitable marriage. Her family hires Marianne under the pretense that she’s simply there to take Héloïse for walks — to supervise her so that she does not choose death over marriage to a man she has never met, as her sister did. The painter must observe Héloïse closely by day and go back to her room to paint from memory each night. What follows is a story of pauses and glances that build toward intimacy. At times it’s restrained, at times it’s ecstatic and otherworldly. This may sound like a period piece, but Portrait of a Lady on Fire feels strikingly contemporary, perhaps because it occupies a liminal space that many women explore today. Desire is a spectrum, yet our culture teaches us that to desire one another is often a trite exploration and passing fancy — a waystation we pass through on

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[WILDLY IDLE]

IDLES W/GUSTAF

The fact that post-punk isn’t generally synonymous with warmth or vulnerability is a notion that Bristol, U.K., five-piece Idles has effectively upended in its brief but fruitful career. From frontman Joe Talbot & Co.’s alternately abrasive and haunting 2018 debut Joy as an Act of Resistance to its latest single, “The Beachland Ballroom” — a soulful left turn from the band’s imminent third LP Crawler — Idles’ aggression rings true and its sincerity disarms, offset by just the right amount of gallows humor. If you’ve scored a ticket to this sold-out show, show up for it hotly tipped: NYC-based opener Gustaf makes a lo-fi spin on classic ESGstyle funk-punk that’s earned the nascent five-piece high-profile admirers including Beck and Cage the Elephant’s Matt Shultz. 8 p.m. at Cannery Ballroom, 1 Cannery Row CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

FRIDAY / 10.22 [PURE CROSSOVER]

CHRIS STAPLETON

What’s most impressive about country star Chris Stapleton is his immense ease as a singer. Listening to Stapleton essay Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” you realize he takes the song away from both David Allan Coe, who recorded it in 1981, and George Jones, whose version of the song hit the charts in 1983. Still, I wouldn’t claim Stapleton — who is a very effective, emotive singer — is the equal of Jones. After all, who is? For that matter, I don’t hear Stapleton as a stylist, like Jones, or even an outlaw, like Coe. Instead Stapleton represents an idea of country music as both entertainment and, ahem, art, to an audience that needs his brand of reassurance. I’ve seen Stapleton live, and he comes across as a guy you

[BEYOND THE 40 WHACKS]

LIZZIE: THE MUSICAL

Remember this old children’s playground song: “Lizzie Borden took an ax / And gave her mother 40 whacks / When she saw what she had done / She gave her father 41”? Well, Street Theatre Company will have you singing it all over again this weekend, with the opening of Lizzie: The Musical. Penned by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Tim Maner and Alan Stevens Hewitt, the piece provides a fresh and decidedly modern take on the notorious 1892 case, in which Lizzie Borden was tried for the brutal murder of her father and stepmother. The musical features a pulsating rock score, while highlighting the perspectives of four different women. Leslie Marberry directs a solid cast, including Delaney Amatrudo, Caitlyn Porayko, Hannah Arn and Mileah Milstead, with musical direction by Matthew McNeill. To learn more, visit streettheatrecompany.org. Oct. 22-Nov. 6 at the Darkhorse Theater, 4610 Charlotte Ave. AMY STUMPFL [I’M POSSESSED!]

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS + RESTORED HALLOWEEN CLASSICS: POSSESSION

A divorcecore classic that sits comfortably in that rarefied intersection between psychotronic cult epic and extreme horror, Possession is a heightened tribute to sexual paranoia that anticipates the following 40 years of cinema in a stylish and brutal fashion. The 1981 film is a tad more egalitarian than Cronenberg’s The Brood, and infinitely realer than Kramer vs. Kramer — what co-writer and director

Andrzej Żuławski does here is sort of like what Darren Aronofsky did with Black Swan decades later: combining several different narrative modes in a densely symbolic story that can be interpreted in different ways. Characters include the businessman (Sam Neill) suspicious of the secrets in his own home; the woman (Isabelle Adjani, who won the César and the award at Cannes for Best Actress) determined to find a new life and new love; the child caught in the middle. All relatable, all taken to the highest of heights. But then the secret chthonic lover (designed by Carlo Rambaldi, who created E.T. and designed the mechanics of the xenomorph head in Alien) comes into the picture — along with possibly the nuclear end of the world — and you just sit back and soak in what is a symphony of raw nerves. This new 4K restoration allows a film kept as a secret held dear by arthouse devotees and horrorheads to find new life — claiming new eyes, new lives with each new viewing. Żuławski never made another Englishlanguage film after this one, granting it a certain singularity that bewitches and terrorizes like nothing else. Possession will screen as part of the Belcourt’s ongoing Universal Monsters + Restored Halloween Classics series, which will also feature Creature From the Black Lagoon, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Blood for Dracula and a number of other greats. Oct. 22-24 at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave. JASON SHAWHAN

BOOKS

INTERNATIONAL LENS: PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

ERICA CICCARONE

might have grown up with in Kentucky or Tennessee — a kind of super-journeyman who just happens to have judged the pulse of the public. In other words, I like him a lot, and his latest full-length, Starting Over, finds him playing with famed Tom Petty associates Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. At this juncture in country history, it’s all a wash: Everyone likes Tom Petty, and everyone likes Southern rock. Stapleton is also a case study in how country crosses over into Americana, and vice versa. Can a purist also be a crossover artist? Stapleton might just be both. Oct. 22-23 at Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway EDD HURT THEATER

[LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE]

the way to a heteronormative life. As I wrote in my review in early 2020, it’s an achingly gorgeous picture that resists conventions and charts new territory in queer cinema. It will endure the test of time. 7:30 p.m. at Sarratt Cinema, 2301 Vanderbilt Place

FILM

LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

CHRIS STAPLETON

MUSIC

For an artist as legendary as she is, Patti Smith remains remarkably grounded. At her November 2015 appearance at OZ Arts, she spoke boldly but plainly about her sadness around the terrorist attacks that had just occurred in Paris. She led the audience in a stirring rendition of “People Have the Power,” and the energy she created in that audience has stayed with me ever since. In recent years she’s dedicated as much of her time to activism as art — particularly with Pathway to Paris, the climate organization founded by her daughter Jesse. For this, her first headlining appearance at the Ryman, Smith will perform with a band she’s maintained for decades — it includes guitarist and author Lenny Kaye (with whom she has collaborated since 1971), drummer Jay Dee Daugherty (since 1975), Tony Shanahan on bass and keyboards (since 1996), and her son, guitarist Jackson Smith. 7:30 p.m. at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N.

MUSIC

are one of the few modern bands that can capture the same restless rage, distortion, self-deprecation and lost-in-the-moment guitar noodling as the bands I loved as a teen. They also pair it with accessible hooks and melodies without either aspect feeling watered-down. On their latest release, The Shadow I Remember, Cloud Nothings continue that feat. Is it grunge? Rock? Pop? Who gives a shit! Genres are dead! Cloud Nothings forever. Mourning [A] BLKstar will open. 8 p.m. at Exit/In, 2208 Elliston Place MEGAN SELING

[BAKED TAKES]

AUTHOR EVENT WITH DORIE GREENSPAN FEAT. MICHELLE BRANCH

After a long, too-hot-to-bake summer, I am very excited to finally get back in the kitchen and make a cake. And cookies. And pretzels. If you’re also looking forward to a fall and winter filled with baked goods, treat yourself to Dorie Greenspan’s new book, Baking With Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple. Greenspan is a New York Times Magazine columnist and award-winning cookbook author, but don’t be intimidated by her résumé. In her new book, Greenspan breaks things down to be easy and approachable. She says, “All of the recipes are simple, the techniques are basic and you’ll find just about everything you need to bake

NASHVILLE SCENE | OCTOBER 14 – OCTOBER 27, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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