Nashville Scene 5-30-24

TSU-AREA

STUDENT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT TO BREAK GROUND IN JUNE >> PAGE 7

FOOD & DRINK: NASHVILLE’S REMAINING DIVE BARS

SURVIVE ON CHEAP BEER AND RESPECT >> PAGE 27

NEWS

TSU-Area Student Housing Development to Break Ground in June

Cobblestone Village Residence will provide flexibility amid the historically Black university’s housing shortage BY KELSEY BEYELER

‘Friends’ Offer Financial Aid for Metro Parks Booster groups supplement city upkeep with private fundraising BY ELI MOTYCKA

Pith in the Wind

This week on the Scene’s news and politics blog

COVER STORY

Almost Famous

From Friedman’s to Brown’s, the intersection of Blair and 21st has long been a magnet for celebrities — even if no one talks about it BY

MARGARET LITTMAN

CRITICS’ PICKS

Lainey Wilson, Ashley Gavin, Nashville Comic Con, Pixies and Modest Mouse with Cat Power and more

FOOD AND DRINK

Diving In Nashville’s remaining dives survive on cheap beer and respect BY ELI MOTYCKA

ART

Crawl Space: A Packed Show at Packing Plant and Southern Abstraction at Tinney Red 225’s Intimacism leads our highlights of this month’s art exhibitions BY JOE NOLAN

NashTrash Tours’ Sheri Lynn Bucy Hangs Up Her Juggs

Arc of History

Concurrence’s Indivisible spotlights the power of Black American communities in spite of the damage done by interstate construction BY RON WYNN

Just Want to Have Fun

Budge explores the intersection of power pop and grunge on their debut EP Hrtstrngs BY KATHERINE OUNG

Another Look

The Scene’s music writers recommend recent releases from Kandace Springs, Kings of Leon, Qualls and more BY SCENE STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS

The

Spin

The Scene’s live-review column checks out Katie Pruitt at Brooklyn Bowl BY HANNAH CRON

FILM

The Lovers, the Dreamers and We On the cultural significance of The Muppet Movie returning to theaters for its 45th anniversary BY JASON SHAWHAN

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD AND THIS MODERN WORLD MARKETPLACE

ON THE COVER:

Photo collage by Angelina Castillo, Eric England and Elizabeth Jones

After 28 years, one of Nashville’s beloved Jugg Sisters is leaving the transpotainment business BY BEN ODDO SUBSCRIBE

Shrinking Violent

Slasher In a Violent Nature’s process is more interesting than its product BY JASON SHAWHAN

BAYOU COLD BREW ROCKS

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Brenda Kay (left) and Sheri Lynn lead NashTrash Tours • PHOTO BY ANGELINA CASTILLO

WHO WE ARE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF D. Patrick Rodgers

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STAFF WRITERS Kelsey Beyeler, Logan Butts, John Glennon, Hannah Herner, Hamilton Matthew Masters, Eli Motycka, Nicolle Praino, William Williams

JUNE 2 ROBERT EARL KEEN WITH KAITLIN BUTTS JUNE 6, 7 & 8 12 - 5 PM

JUNE 8 12 PM OPRY AT THE RYMAN WITH HOME FREE, THE GATLIN BROTHERS, RADNEY FOSTER AND MORE

JUNE 13

SPRINGER MOUNTAIN FARMS BLUEGRASS NIGHTS AT THE RYMAN THE DEL McCOURY BAND

AUGUST 13 ELLEN DEGENERES ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

AUGUST 23 ALLEN STONE ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

NOVEMBER 26 W.A.S.P. WITH DEATH ANGEL AND UNTO OTHERS ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

SENIOR FILM CRITIC Jason Shawhan

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sadaf Ahsan, Ken Arnold, Ben Arthur, Radley Balko, Ashley Brantley, Maria Browning, Steve Cavendish, Chris Chamberlain, Rachel Cholst, Lance Conzett, Hannah Cron, Connor Daryani, Stephen Elliott, Steve Erickson, Adam Gold, Kashif Andrew Graham, Seth Graves, Kim Green, Amanda Haggard, Steven Hale, Edd Hurt, Jennifer Justus, P.J. Kinzer, Janet Kurtz, Christine Kreyling, J.R. Lind, Craig D. Lindsey, Margaret Littman, Sean L. Maloney, Brittney McKenna, Addie Moore, Marissa R. Moss, Noel Murray, Joe Nolan, Betsy Phillips, John Pitcher, Margaret Renkl, Daryl Sanders, Nadine Smith, Ashley

Spurgeon, Amy Stumpfl, Kay West, Andrea Williams, Nicole Williams, Ron Wynn, Charlie Zaillian

EDITORIAL INTERNS Aiden O’Neill, Joanna Walden

ART DIRECTOR Elizabeth Jones

PHOTOGRAPHERS Angelina Castillo, Eric England, Matt Masters

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Sandi Harrison, Mary Louise Meadors, Tracey Starck

GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERN Jacob Lucas

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Christie Passarello

FESTIVAL DIRECTOR Olivia Britton

MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS MANAGER Robin Fomusa

BRAND PARTNERSHIPS AND EVENTS MANAGER Alissa Wetzel

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PUBLISHER Mike Smith

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Michael Jezewski

SENIOR ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS MANAGERS

Carla Mathis, Heather Cantrell Mullins, Jennifer Trsinar, Niki Tyree

ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS MANAGERS Teresa Birdsong, Maddy Fraiche, Kailey Idziak, Allie Muirhead, ZaMontreal Rodgers

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SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR Susan Torregrossa

PRESIDENT Mike Smith

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CORPORATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Elizabeth Jones

IT DIRECTOR John Schaeffer

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FW PUBLISHING LLC

Owner Bill Freeman

Lee Alexander McQueen redefined contemporary fashion with his extraordinary ability to blend exquisite craftmanship with imaginative storytelling. This exhibition, featuring more than 60 dress objects and 65 photographs, offers a rare glimpse into the life and mind of McQueen and introduces French photographer Ann Ray, the only photographer granted unfettered access to McQueen’s world.

Nashville 919 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203 FristArtMuseum.org @FristArtMuseum #TheFrist

Ray. Savage, Givenchy Couture, 1997.

Organized and produced by Barrett Barrera Projects

The Frist Art Museum is supported in part by Education & Community Engagement Supporter

Platinum sponsor Supported in part by The Anne and Joe Russell Family Additional support provided by The Union Station Hotel, Grand Hyatt Nashville, and CLACX

TSU-AREA STUDENT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

TO BREAK GROUND IN JUNE

Cobblestone Village Residence will provide flexibility amid the historically Black university’s housing shortage

BY KELSEY BEYELER

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY students will soon have greater access to housing through a unique, if not necessarily unheard-of, deal. On May 8, the Nashville Industrial Development Board approved up to $180 million in bonds for a development called Cobblestone Village Residence to be built near the campus on land owned by The House of God church, which has also provided overflow housing for TSU students. The project will help alleviate the university’s struggles in providing sufficient housing for students, which reflects a national trend.

Cobblestone Village Residence will include two six-story buildings that will hold a variety of floor plans across 155 units with three to five beds each. The construction is projected to begin in June and finish by the fall semester of 2026. Additional construction phases will likely follow. While students at the historically Black land-grant university will be able to enter into private housing agreements for the housing complex, it is not a university dormitory. A TSU representative tells the Scene that, while TSU will educate students on the housing option, it has no ownership of, nor liability regarding, the complex. Students from fellow North Nashville HBCUs Fisk University and Meharry Medical College might also be able to lease rooms if space is available, but TSU students have the right of first refusal.

The Industrial Development Board is the bond issuer, but the city (or TSU) won’t be on the hook for any debt or potential recourse associated with the project. The debt is being taken on by the National Development and Infrastructure Corp. — a Virginia-based 501c3 nonprofit that started in 2023. The organization’s president, Tyrone Logan, tells the Scene that “our charitable mission is to lessen the burden of government and predominantly build affordable housing, student housing and really any infrastructure projects and do off-book financing from a tax-exempt standpoint.”

Texas-based Cobblestone Development and Consulting will lead the construction of the development. The Lamar Johnson Collaborative is taking on planning and design, Mesirow Financial will be the underwriter, AECOM Hunt will oversee program management and construction, and the property will be managed by Cardinal Group.

The bonds were approved by the IDB in a 4-2 vote with one abstention. IDB vice chair Tequila Johnson was one of the no votes, expressing a need for “more info.” The other opposing vote came from LaTanya Channel, who expressed concern that TSU representatives or board members weren’t at the meeting that day. (Representatives from TSU’s former board configuration showed support at a related meeting

in February, but a new board has since been appointed.) Questions also arose during the May 8 meeting regarding opening up the complex to other college students in the area, rent rates and the future of the development. Logan says he understands that trust from the community is “something that we have to earn.”

While 40-year bonds provide tax exemptions for the project, there are guidelines that the developers must follow — like maintaining its agreement with TSU and keeping rent affordable. Otherwise they could lose those tax exemptions, see increased interest rates and face potential litigation.

State Rep. Harold Love (D-Nashville), whose district contains TSU, has been a vocal advocate on behalf of the university. He has voiced support for the Cobblestone developer for taking on the project and also commends The House of God, calling the congregation “wonderful partners in that area of North Nashville for so many decades.”

“I think this just provides a wonderful opportunity to address a need,” says Love. “This provides an opportunity to reduce those waiting lists and reduce the issues and anxiety of persons who are trying to get their housing.”

The Nashville Banner’s Jaylan Sims recently reported that, amid many issues with the current dorms and the stress of waiting for housing

placements, students have expressed excitement about the forthcoming development. Not only will it provide more housing close to campus — it will also provide more flexibility as the university addresses issues in aging campus dorms, some of which need significant repairs and could even require demolition. Establishing new dorms for a state university, however, is a lengthy process.

The project comes amid a changing of the guard at TSU. With longtime president Glenda Glover set to step down at the end of this school year, the university needs a new leader. What’s more, a newly appointed board has just begun meeting. The new board was appointed by Gov. Bill Lee after the state’s Republican supermajority voted to vacate the previous board in March — a decision that drew fierce opposition from TSU advocates. In recent years, it has become clear that the state has underfunded TSU by billions of dollars, which some advocates point to as the root cause for some of the school’s housing issues.

“I don’t have any concerns about the new board’s support for the project,” says Love. “I think with all the issues around available housing for the university, we can get something that’s close to the campus that works in the short term. Because of course the preferred situation would be new housing on the campus.”

‘FRIENDS’ OFFER FINANCIAL AID FOR METRO PARKS

Booster groups supplement city upkeep with private fundraising

BY ELI MOTYCKA

VINCE GILL, TOUCHING on his golf obsession and the founding of the National Recreation and Park Association in just 60 seconds, introduces a vintage 10-minute Parks and Recreation promo video recently added to Metro Nashville’s YouTube channel. In March, Metro started dumping a trove of archival videos (including this kitschy artifact) that span nearly 20 years, from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

Happy children, active seniors, lush walking paths, ample golf — parks’ public value rarely comes into question. Since Gill’s combination infomercial-PSA, residents have formed auxiliary booster organizations to capture and deploy all the money locals freely put toward local parks.

“I think of it as like, voluntary higher taxes,” says one neighbor involved in fundraising for his local park. To avoid jeopardizing any ongoing work with Metro, he asked not to be named. “I hope it also makes Metro dollars more fungible, so the money they would have spent here can go somewhere without the fundraising capacity.”

Neighborhood parks organizations tend to focus on smaller capital expenses, like a new bench or playground equipment. They also bring volunteer labor for cleanups. Metro Parks’ $67 million annual budget primarily covers salaries, including hundreds of seasonal employees, and operating expenses for the Centennial Sportsplex and Nashville’s seven golf programs.

Private parks booster groups are easy to spot because their names mostly start with “Friends

of” and end with a specific Metro Parks entity, like Two Rivers Mansion or Bells Bend. Metro keeps a running list, as does the Nashville Parks Foundation, an anchor group founded in 2015 to “[enhance] public parks and [expand] recreational opportunities while promoting sustainable growth of the park system.”

The foundation also provides a legal umbrella for fledgling “Friends” like the newly formed Friends of McCabe Park, which popped up last year. Greenways for Nashville, a key coordinator of the city’s popular greenway system since 1994, exists in the same expansive role. Collectively, the groups brought in just over $1 million last year. Both have independent staff and reserve an ex officio board seat for Metro Parks director Monique Odom.

“There are many essential Friends groups, and they are all guided by the Metro Parks board,” says Amy Crownover, executive director of Greenways for Nashville. “We can help raise private dollars to match or leverage contributions from the Metro Parks Department. People often feel deep ownership of the ones closer to them — greenways but also parks. They want to support it with something as simple as picking up trash or writing a check.”

Crownover emphasizes that any time a partner group raises capital dollars, it’s with the approval of Metro Parks for an asset the city recognizes as valuable to the community. Through that coordination, the city can bring privately

In the latest installment of her column “On First Reading,” Metro Council watcher Nicole “@startleseasily” Williams opines on procedural frustrations and the council’s May 21 decision to vote down signage for Morgan Wallen’s Lower Broad bar. “My primary concern was, here we’ve got a young man throwing chairs off rooftop bars, endangering my former comrades and the public at large,” Councilmember (and former Metro police officer) Bob Nash told Williams, “and there should be consequences for that.”

Speaking of the Metro Council, parties involved in a Metro lawsuit seeking to block a 2023 state law that would cap Metro Council seats at 20 were back in court last week. The Metro Legal Department argued before a three-judge panel that the law cannot be implemented after an April 2023 injunction ruling that the act could compromise that year’s August general election. The state argued “… yes huh,” essentially. Metro Legal added that the law was unconstitutional under the Home Rule amendment, which does not allow bills to target a local government. As of press time, the threejudge panel has not returned a ruling.

funded improvements online, and neighbors can directly shape the sites they use regularly.

Bigger parks command bigger groups.

Friends of Warner Parks sits atop the booster pyramid per any conceivable metric — by fundraising, by staff, by prestige, by acreage.

President Jenny Hannon and COO Jane Avinger lead an 11-person office and make six-figure salaries. (Hannon, at $200,000 a year, tops Odom by $20,000.) The donor list could pass for a directory of Belle Meade, West Meade, Oak Hill and Forest Hills, including golf-obsessed CBS sports anchor Jim Nantz, a new resident who topped off the $2.5 million capital campaign for Percy Warner Golf Course in October. Lucius Burch III, a longtime Belle Meade resident who made a killing privatizing health care with HCA and prisons with Corrections Corporation of America (now CoreCivic), regularly tops the donor list. The group reported more than $4 million in 2023 contributions amid ongoing efforts to raise $15 million for capital projects. The group, founded in 1987, is preparing for the 100th anniversary of Warner Parks in 2026.

“Typically Metro pays for infrastructure of the

The most recent installment of Vanderbilt University’s Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions twice-yearly poll found that Tennesseans’ support of abortion exceptions is growing, while their trust in vaccines is waning. The poll, undertaken with 1,003 respondents statewide in April and May, found 52 percent identified as “pro-choice,” an increase from 48 percent in 2022 and 45 percent in 2014. Meanwhile, 75 percent of Democrats or those who lean Democrat, said they are “extremely or very likely” to get a vaccination for a potentially serious illness, with 42 percent of non-MAGA Republicans and 27 percent of MAGA Republicans choosing “extremely or very likely.”

President Joe Biden included local attorney Karla Campbell in his latest round of judicial nominations. Campbell currently works at local firm Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, specializing in employee rights and labor law. The U.S. Senate will likely vet Campbell in judiciary hearings and vote on her nomination before the presidential election in November. She has previously served as legal advisory for local workers’ rights nonprofit Workers’ Dignity and represented the family of Gustavo Ramirez the 16-year-old who fell to his death during construction of the La Quinta hotel near Nissan Stadium.

parks — paving, general maintenance,” Avinger tells the Scene. “We raise funds to supplement what they do, like capital projects and education programs. Health and wellness, conservation and education are our focuses. We also really build community with our volunteer programs.”

Centennial Park Conservancy, with a long history, sprawling staff and big-name board, challenges Warner Parks’ preeminence on everything except acreage. Its smaller footprint houses major draws like the Parthenon and free concert series Musicians Corner. Across town, the Friends of Shelby Park, founded in 2008, takes third place. The East Side asset pulls in annual donations in the lower six figures and focuses on the same supplementary concerns: educational activities like the Park Explorer Program and direct capital expenditures like playground equipment. Die-hards can even get a Friends of Shelby Park vanity plate. Revenues and operating costs slowly decrease across Friends of Mill Ridge Park, Friends of Beaman Park and Friends of Bells Bend. Fledgling groups have recently emerged to support McCabe and Ted Rhodes Golf Course. ▼

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit alleging that ticketing and touring giant Live Nation which also owns dominant ticketing firm Ticketmaster, has engaged in an illegal monopoly. Co-signed by the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and 30 states (including Tennessee), the suit recommends forcing Live Nation to divest itself from Ticketmaster, which it merged with in 2010.

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

CENTENNIAL PARK PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

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WITNESS HISTORY

Eric Church wore this gold necklace—a gift from musical hero Hank Williams Jr.—in the 2012 music video for “Springsteen.” Williams gave the necklace to Church when Church was an opening act on Williams’s Rowdy Friends Tour in 2010.

From the exhibit Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul, presented by Gibson

artifact photo: Bob Delevante

From Friedman’s to Brown’s, the intersection of Blair and 21st has long been a magnet for celebrities — even if no one talks about it

by margaret littman

WHEN VISITORS COME to town and ask where the famous people hang out, no one ever says, “the intersection of Blair Boulevard and 21st Avenue South.” When you read lists of where celebrities shop, you might see spots in 12South, Green Hills or maybe East Nashville. No one says “Blair and 21st.”

But they probably should. When 22-time Grammy winner (and Eagles member) Vince Gill recently TV-toured a crew from This Old House around town, he took them to get a burger at Brown’s Diner. Back when publishing houses used Rolodexes and songwriters didn’t have cellphones, BMI had a typewritten Rolodex card with John Prine’s address and phone number. Handwritten on the bottom was an alternative number to reach him: 615-269-5509. That’s the phone number for Brown’s.

On one of the most exciting days I experienced at Friedman’s Army Navy Outdoor Store — where I worked as a college student — I sold a pair of jeans to Marie Osmond. (Be still, my “Paper Roses” heart.) She tried them on in the flimsy wood-paneled dressing rooms next to the shoe department. This was in the days long before Imogene + Willie or High Class Hillbilly. Friedman’s was the place to buy denim. Friedman’s, located next door to Brown’s Diner underneath Doric Lodge 732, has served plenty of other celebrities too. That’s according to Frank Friedman, the store’s second-generation owner. He remembers when Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton (then still a country music power couple) came into the store, and Friedman’s dad gave them a high-pressure sales job, not knowing who they were. (They did not leave empty-handed.) Connie Smith and Marty Stuart (another country music power couple) have shopped often at Friedman’s too. Gill remembers stopping in (after his Brown’s burger) to buy fishing lures, flannel shirts and knives.

“Because of the Nashville it was back then, you saw somebody [famous], you could say, ‘I appreciate your work,’ and go back to your business,” Friedman says. “They could come to Friedman’s and wouldn’t be bothered. I’m not sure that exists anywhere anymore.”

Like nearly every other intersection in Nashville, things are changing at Blair and 21st. In January, Friedman announced that he and his wife Mimi were ready to retire. The store is closing in June, and all remaining inventory is on sale.

“The fact of the matter is, we’ve been in business for 75 years, and it’s just our time to go,” Friedman says. “I’m ready.” His parents opened the business in 1949 and ran it until 1989, when he took over. While the retail landscape, the neighborhood, the city and store inventory have changed over the past three-quarters of a century, Friedman stresses that it’s not e-commerce or developers or any other external forces leading to the store’s closure. He and his wife have two daughters who have different careers.

The building, which once was home to a Kroger grocery store, is owned by the Free and Accepted Masons, which has regular programming upstairs. They will continue to be the landlords for the 8,500-square-foot space currently

occupied by Friedman’s. A new tenant has not been announced.

WITH FRIEDMAN’S CLOSING, Nashville is not just losing a supplier of Osmond-worthy jeans, Duck Head chinos, ammo and fishing supplies. It’s losing the kind of everythingyou-didn’t-know-you-wanted store, where

Kate Mills, a former Nashville designer known for her ability to craft statement pieces out of unusual objects, was a Friedman’s devotee. When she and her husband relocated to Maine, she found many items that came from Friedman’s as she unpacked: a silver astronaut-esque jacket, scarves, enamel pins and other “random treasures.”

A

project.

But it wasn’t just about the random goodness on the shelves. Part of the magic was the fact

serendipity reigned.

Muddy Roots Festival organizer Jason Galaz bought World War II-era bunks that he used in an underground record shop he called The Vinyl Bunker. Other Nashvillians recount buying Girl Scout and Boy Scout supplies there.

first pair of fatigues. Colored bandannas. Overalls used for a significant painting

BROWN’S DINER, AT THE INTERSECTION OF 21ST AVENUE SOUTH AND BLAIR BOULEVARD

FRIEDMAN’S ICONIC NEON SIGN ON 21ST AVENUE SOUTH

that staff was trained in an old-school approach to selling; they knew about the inventory and could make recommendations based on customer needs. Well, perhaps not the temporary college student-employees selling jeans and sweaters, like me. But the rest of the staff worked at Friedman’s for decades. They knew their stuff.

“One time a customer came in and said, ‘Thank God!’” Friedman remembers. “‘I went to Bass Pro. I looked around. Nobody was there to help me. I went to Dick’s — couldn’t find anyone. I walked out and said, I’m going to Friedman’s!’’’

Friedman’s has a history of adapting to its customers’ needs.

“Before credit cards, when we had the store on Nolensville Road, workmen got paid in cash envelopes every Friday at 2 p.m.,” says Friedman. “So my parents were always open till 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, because that’s when people could actually spend.”

No, Friedman’s didn’t start offering e-commerce when other stores did. But if you needed something shipped to you and knew the make and model number of the item, they’d drop it in the mail.

In the decades Friedman’s has been in business, it has served many neighborhoods, starting with a downtown store in 1949, and then outposts on Nolensville Road, Gallatin Pike in East Nashville and Bellevue. The Hillsboro Village location opened in 1972 and is the sole remaining storefront. Friedman isn’t particularly nostalgic or anti-progress. He’s grateful for the business that allowed generations to comfortably raise families while supporting the community. But he’s uncertain whether the next generation of entrepreneurs will be able to do the same.

When Friedman’s neighbor Jim Love, then the owner of Brown’s Diner, decided to retire in 2020, he looked for a buyer. Love owned both the property and the restaurant, which is housed in an old trolley car. At the time, the small restaurant had a leaking roof and needed many other repairs.

Real estate developers, of course, were interested in building on that intersection, which is prime residential density, close to bus lines, I-440 and Green Hills, and is within walking distance to a grocery store, Hillsboro Hardware (a legendary spot in its own right), and the Vanderbilt University campus and hospital. Love asked his son — Jimmy Love, founder and managing partner of Distribution Realty Group — to find a deal that would protect the future of Brown’s. He gave him a deadline of the end of year.

Jimmy contacted many local chefs and restaurant owners, but couldn’t find the right fit. Then, on Dec. 28, 2020, when it looked like time was running out, he connected with Bret Tuck, founding partner and former chef of Edley’s Bar-B-Que. Tuck was ready for a new challenge, and despite having just 12 hours to sign on the dotted line, he bought the business. (The land is owned by an investor group.)

“Typically I would have said no to a deal in 12 hours,” says Tuck. “But it was [the height of the COVID pandemic], and I was ready for a little bit

of a change. I love a project. I’m very interested in, ‘How can I figure out how to fix this or how can I make this better?’ Having to do it the hard way is a little bit more rewarding way to do things.”

Tuck, who is still an investor in Edley’s, was determined to preserve what people love about Brown’s — the burger, the staff, the historic photos on the walls — while making some upgrades, like fixing that leaking roof. Despite its downtrodden image (or maybe because of it), Brown’s has been a local institution since 1927. It reportedly holds the oldest beer license in the city, and folks like Gill — whose pickup-basketball friends head over after a game — rave about the burger.

AS IS THE CASE at Friedman’s, Brown’s has

duce himself when someone shouted, “Don’t fuck it up!”

“They didn’t want it to change at all,” Tuck says. “But they knew it needed help. Everybody knew the roof was leaking on everyone’s head. My vision was to just keep the soul but make it competitive.”

He met with the neighborhood about a plan to add a deck, which added seating space and natural light without changing the dining room. He upgraded the kitchen to commercial equipment instead of warhorses like the old residential refrigerator. Yes, he fixed the roof and painted the bathrooms (more on that later). Then he set about looking at the menu.

In the background of a 1940s photo, Tuck saw an old sign referencing biscuits and learned that Brown’s used to be open for breakfast. “That first or second Sunday I was here, we had 20 Airbnb-ers come up Sunday morning for breakfast,” he says. “They thought, because of the name, that it was a diner.”

Now Brown’s is open in the mornings and serves an all-day breakfast menu, including hash browns as big as your head, with onions and other add-ons. The menu includes buttermilk biscuits, gravy, egg sandwiches, pancakes and coffee from Drew’s Brews.

Tuck upgraded the quality of the meat for the Brown’s burger, which is now served on buns from Charpier’s Bakery, but otherwise he left that classic alone. The full menu has some options for healthier eating, such as salads and wraps and a turkey burger — but wings, fried pickles and other standard diner dishes are there too. Tuck’s mom bakes cakes for the diner, and varieties change daily. Brown’s $3 hot dog could legitimately be called a “Recession Special.” This year, Brown’s launched a cocktail menu, with classics like the Tom Collins and the Old Fashioned, plus brunch cocktails to go along with the new breakfast menu.

But Brown’s is not just about being a diner with a reliable burger and a beer.

“Brown’s is known around the world for the hamburger, but it’s also a big songwriter hangout,” Kimbro says. “It was before I worked there, and hopefully when I’m gone. All the greatest songwriters in the world hung out there.”

staff members who have been loyal for decades. Ron Kimbro has worked behind the bar at Brown’s since 1986 and is determined to stay put until 2027, when the restaurant will hit its 100-year mark. Brown’s employees remember regulars’ orders and keep the peace — Kimbro says he knows of only two fights that have broken out in the decades he’s worked there. The Brown’s employees, with their relationships to longtime customers and their understanding of how the business worked and how the burger was seasoned, agreed to stay on after the sale. And that was part of what gave Tuck confidence that he could turn things around. He also knew it “was going to be real tough.”

One of his first days after buying the business, a crowd of regulars, including Gill, were eating burgers and talking. Someone asked, “Is that the new owner?” Tuck said yes. He started to intro-

Generally they do so on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, he says, because those are the nights people aren’t on the road. (Brown’s is open seven days a week.) Kimbro lists big-name customers — not just Prine and Gill, but Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, SteelDrivers founding member Richard Bailey, Don Everly and many more. (“Al Gore came in too, if you care about politicians.”) More than a decade ago, The Black Keys picked Brown’s as the locale for their first interview with the Scene

“People come to town, [and] if they meet one famous songwriter, they are happy,” Kimbro says. “But where I was at Brown’s, I didn’t have to know them, they had to know me. I got to know them as people. Some of them were really great, and some of them you wouldn’t invite to your funeral.” (Kimbro also plays music, but is modest about his own contributions: “I strum a little bit, no threat to anyone who comes through.”)

BRET TUCK, OWNER OF BROWN’S DINER

BURGER, FRIES AND SALAD AT BROWN’S DINER

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Call 615.352.1010 or visit nashvillehumane.org

The acts who played at Brown’s in the past were customers who just happened to play, stepping over cardboard boxes to make room for a guitar. “The music, we never advertised,” says Kimbro. “We used to call it ‘The Brown’s Rehearsal Hall.’”

Still, given the level of chops among the songwriters sitting at the bar, the lineups were impressive. As with the kitchen, Tuck decided to take the music lineup a little more seriously when he took over, clearing out the space to the side of the bar for a more definable stage and hiring someone to book acts, which are now publicized in advance. No one would call the now-cleared-out space for musicians a hightech stage, but this is a gig many acclaimed songwriters want.

“The great thing about Nashville for me is a place like Brown’s that’s unassuming, slightly

Burch. “I want to sing where John Prine and Don Everly drank a beer and had a burger.”

Most of the Brown’s upgrades seem to have passed the regulars’ test. The deck is busy most of the day, and it appears that, now that Tuck is a few years in, folks don’t seem to think he “fucked it up.” There’s one change, however, that Gill laments: painting over the graffiti on the men’s bathroom walls. There used to be a line, a response to the famous quote from actor Will Rogers: “I never met a man I didn’t like.”

“It said, ‘Will Rogers never met [name redacted],’” Gill laughs as he tells the story. He mentions the graffiti in “Brown’s Diner Bar,” his recorded-but-not-yet-released song about his favorite burger stop.

He’s talking about the graffiti when he sings: “The words on the walls of the men’s room are gold / Some were funny as hell, and some were

“Brown’s

Diner Bar” by Vince Gill

Brown’s Diner Bar is my favorite in town.

Back when I drank beer I poured quite a few down. The burgers are greasy, and they still taste the same. Pushing a hundred years old and not much has changed.

The words on the walls of the men’s room are gold. Some were funny as hell, and some were just cold. The waitresses smiled when you walked through the door. Man there ain’t many places like Brown’s anymore.

So many memories in those 40-some years.

But the one that sticks with me still brings me to tears

The night John Prine was singing on the jukebox.

And mama danced with Hal Ketchum in the parking lot.

Songwriters and dreamers all came with their songs. Every hillbilly singer had a place to belong.

We all felt like locals in that old trolley car.

There’s a whole lot of history in that Brown’s Diner Bar.

30 TO JUN 1 | 7:30 PM & JUN 2 | 2 PM

CARMINA BURANA

Nashville Symphony & Chorus

Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor

Tucker Biddlecombe, chorus director

Meechot Marrero, soprano

Randall Scotting, countertenor

Sidney Outlaw, baritone Vanderbilt Youth Choirs

Mary Biddlecombe, Vanderbilt youth choirs director

SupportedbytheMaryC.RaglandFoundation

AN EVENING WITH TITUSS BURGESS

Nashville Symphony | Enrico Lopez-Yañez, conductor

COMING SOON

JUN 22 | 8 PM

Ascend Amphitheater cypress hill performs "black sunday" with the Nashville Symphony

JUN 28 | 8 PM

Ascend Amphitheater THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS with the Nashville Symphony

JUN 23 | 7:30 PM

Presentation THE FAB FOUR: THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE

PresentedwithouttheNashvilleSymphony.

JUN 30 | 7:30 PM

Presentation

LITTLE RIVER BAND

JUN 25 & 26 | 7:30 PM Special Event

JUN 20 & 21 | 7:30 PM

Nashville Symphony | Sarah Hicks, conductor

Pleasenotethatthefirstpartoftheconcertwillpresentorchestrawithout SmokeyRobinson.Followingintermission,theprogramwillfeature SmokeyRobinsonwithorchestra.

BEN RECTOR & CODY FRY Live with the Nashville Symphony

PresentedwithouttheNashvilleSymphony. JUL 2 | 7:30 PM Special Event NATALIE MERCHANT: KEEP YOUR COURAGE TOUR with the Nashville Symphony

JUN 27 | 7:30 PM

Fundraising Event

SPIRITS OF SUMMER “Symphonic Nights” Live Orchestra + Craft Cocktail Competition

JUL 5 & 6 | 7:30 PM

Special Event

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST IN CONCERT with the Nashville Symphony

THURSDAY, MAY 30

COMEDY [SHE BUILT A PORCH]

ASHLEY GAVIN

If your algorithms are anything like mine, Ashley Gavin’s backwards cap and energized crowd work have appeared on your TikTok feed at least a few times. Mic to her mouth, eyes trained down and smirking, Ashley might ask for a name, job, what brought you there or sometimes just, “Gay?” — and then it’s off to the races. Ashley’s riffing abilities are unparalleled. Confident, authentic and unrelenting, her crowd work could be a show of its own. Throughout her first special (free to watch on YouTube), Ashley is tightly attuned to the audience, even in the less improvisational, edgier portions of her show. She’ll often note, in the middle of a joke, “I feel you pulling back!” which just serves to break the crowd again — a hilarious push-and-pull from the first minute, with the audience laughing at the material and at themselves. Ashley Gavin is a perfect fit for fans of the dark and irreverent — think Bill Burr or Tom Segura — and she’s performing five shows throughout the weekend. Just be brave if you’re going to sit near the front.

RYNE WALKER MAY 30 TO JUNE 1 AT ZANIES 2025 EIGHTH AVE. S. Visit calendar.nashvillescene.com for more event listings

THURSDAY / 5.30

COMEDY

[LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT] RHETT & LINK: GOOD MYTHICAL MORNING LIVE

Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal have been internet stars for a decade-and-a-half and best friends for nearly 40 years. The North Carolinaborn comedy duo has made everything from skits to music videos to local commercials on YouTube, with many of their videos becoming “viral content” in a pre-TikTok world where the term still meant something. But their most successful venture has been the daily show Good Mythical Morning, where they play games, taste-test crazy foods and generally embrace an attitude of “curiosity, creativity and tomfoolery.” You get to see them live out a lifelong friendship in real time each day, and the success has allowed them to experiment creatively by writing books, producing podcasts, filming a scripted miniseries and heading out on the road.

CARMINA

Attendees at their live Ryman show can expect the same high jinks as in their YouTube videos, but don’t be surprised if they break out a guitar during the night. The pair are legit country music fans — Rhett has his own music project, James and the Shame, with which he explores themes related to evangelical deconstruction over twangy tones — and the last time they were at the Mother Church, they played a cover of Merle Haggard deep cut “Driftwood” on the hallowed stage. COLE VILLENA

7:30 P.M. AT THE RYMAN

116 REP. JOHN LEWIS WAY N.

MUSIC

[GAY COUNTRY] BRIAN FALDUTO

Stay with me here: Do you remember the kid from School of Rock who was tasked with styling the band? They called him Mr. Fancypants. Well, now he’s a country artist. Brian Falduto is making a stop in Nashville to promote his album Gay Country ahead of a slate of June Pride shows. A lifelong fan of country music who served a stint at a country radio station, Falduto was inspired to make his own songs, hoping to see queer love stories on the charts. “Same Old Country Love Song” makes this sentiment clear. “Hottest Guy Here,” meanwhile, is probably his catchiest, with a killer pedal steel lick. During his upcoming Midtown set, Falduto will surely play his latest single, a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That.” It’s fun to see a child star have another turn in the spotlight and more queer music see the light of day. But mostly, this is a chance to get out and hear some quality country music on an intimate Nashville stage. HANNAH HERNER

6 P.M. AT THE STILLERY MIDTOWN 1921 BROADWAY

ART [POWER COUPLE]

LEE ALEXANDER M CQUEEN & ANN RAY: RENDEZ-VOUS

Lee Alexander McQueen was one of the most important designers of his era. Even people who aren’t into fashion likely know his work, whether it’s David Bowie’s Union Jack coat, Janet Jackson’s infamous Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show ensemble, or those skull scarves

everyone was wearing in the indie-sleaze era. Since McQueen’s death in 2010, his work has been the subject of several museum exhibitions — most significantly 2011’s Savage Beauty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was one of the most popular exhibitions in the museum’s history despite being up for only three months. That sets a high bar for the Frist’s new McQueen exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen & Ann Ray: Rendez-Vous, which opens this week. The show includes more than 60 pieces from McQueen’s career in addition to 65 photographs by Ann Ray, McQueen’s close friend and collaborator. While the fashion is the real star, Ray’s personal and intimate connection with McQueen is likely to offer essential context. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER THROUGH AUG. 25 AT THE FRIST 919 BROADWAY

[TANGLED

DANCE

UP IN BLUE] NAVY BLUE

For more than a decade, OZ Arts has built its reputation on presenting fresh, innovative artists who aren’t afraid to tackle socially relevant ideas and issues. That’s certainly the

case with Northern Irish choreographer Oona Doherty, who brings her compelling new work Navy Blue to OZ this week. Billed as a “thrilling, in-your-face mash-up of visceral movement, spoken word poetry, and political candor,” Navy Blue takes on everything from personal fears and freedom to the existential dread so prevalent in today’s world. The piece opens with the achingly beautiful music of Sergei Rachmaninoff before shifting into the more ambient, pulsating sounds of British indie artist and DJ Jamie xx. It’s a sensational way to close another exciting season at OZ Arts. And local dancers will also have the opportunity to join members of Doherty’s dance company for a pair of master classes — offered June 1 at Centennial Performing Arts Studios. AMY STUMPFL

MAY 30 TO JUNE 1 AT OZ ARTS

6172 COCKRILL BEND CIRCLE

MUSIC [O FORTUNA!] CARMINA BURANA

The Nashville Symphony closes its season this week with one of classical music’s most celebrated — and perhaps most easily recognized — works, Carl Orff’s magnificent Carmina Burana. It would be hard to miss the cantata’s best-known song, “O Fortuna,” which has been widely featured in television, advertising, film and even video games. But you may not know that Carmina Burana was actually inspired by a collection of poetry written around the 11th to 13th centuries. Never fear — this medieval text is anything but stodgy, as it explores various themes of love, lust and the pleasures of life. Music director Giancarlo Guerrero will be on hand to lead the full orchestra, and audiences can also look forward to hearing the Nashville Symphony Chorus and Vanderbilt Youth Choirs along with soloists Meechot Marrero, Randall Scotting and Sidney Outlaw. The program also includes Alban Berg’s poetic “Seven Early Songs” and Gustav Mahler’s autobiographical song cycle Songs of a Wayfarer It’s an ambitious lineup, and perfectly suited to

the incredible acoustics of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. AMY STUMPFL MAY 30 TO JUNE 2 AT THE SCHERMERHORN 1 SYMPHONY PLACE

FRIDAY / 5.31

MUSIC

[SHOOTING STAR] MIKE HICKS

Did you miss out on the total solar eclipse in April? How about the rare appearance of the aurora borealis in the sky in mid-May? With regard to, er, stellar phenomena, you have an opportunity on Friday to at least make the record 1 for 3 this spring. Mike Hicks is a go-to keyboardist on tour and in the studio for tons of headliners, with an arm’s-length list of credits developed over about two decades of playing professionally. When we checked in with him for the Side Player Sidebar Survey in our 2023 Year in Music Issue, he’d spent the year on the road with Paulina Jayne, The Shindellas and Rascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox among other gigs; in the past, artists as diverse as Amy Grant, Michael McDonald and Keb’ Mo’ have called on his talents. So it’s a special treat to catch him playing around his hometown as the marquee artist, as he will at the Nashville Jazz Workshop.

NAVY BLUE

PHOTO: D. MATVEJEVAS

PHOTO: JASON MYERS

MIKE HICKS

BRIAN FALDUTO

SATURDAY STORYTIME with MAGGIE & ROSALIND BUNN at PARNASSUS All Aboard, Tennessee

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

4:30PM NASHVILLE SOUNDS PRIDE NIGHT BOOK FAIR at FIRST HORIZON PARK

6:30AM LISA WINGATE at PARNASSUS Shelterwood

6:30PM

TUESDAY, JUNE 11

MELISSA COLLINGS with LAUREN KUNG JESSEN at PARNASSUS The False Flat

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12

6:30PM ANN POWERS at PARNASSUS Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell

TUESDAY, JUNE 18

6:30PM

DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN with JON MEACHAM at MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY An Unfinished Love Story parnassusbooks parnassusbooksnashville parnassusbooks parnassusbooks1 3900 Hillsboro Pike Suite 14 | Nashville, TN 37215 (615) 953-2243 Shop online at parnassusbooks.net

SLIM + HUSKY’S & BMI PRESENTS UNPLUGGED

Highlighting emerging talent and diverse sounds of Black musicians, this event transcends the ordinary night out – it’s a vibrant celebration of Black Country music. Prepare to be transported by soulful melodies to the essence of Country music.

Hicks’ own music tends to be upbeat, funky and thoughtful: His most recent release, 2021’s I Am Who We Are, is a total knockout, a groovy and heartfelt celebration of Black pride both in general and with special regard to his family. Loosen up those hips in preparation for dipping and don’t miss out on this one. STEPHEN TRAGESER

7:30 P.M. AT NASHVILLE JAZZ WORKSHOP

1012 BUCHANAN ST.

[WHIRLWIND]

MUSIC

LAINEY WILSON

These days, there’s plenty for Lainey Wilson to celebrate. The small-town Louisiana native — who cut her teeth in Nashville for years before breaking out as a bona fide Music Row hitmaker, Yellowstone actor and 2024 Grammy Award winner — plays two headlining nights at Ascend Amphitheater as the newly crowned ACM Entertainer of the Year (and defending CMA Entertainer of the Year, a rare feat for a woman in an industry often dominated by men). She’s become a powerhouse force in country music, churning out radio anthems and adopting trendsetting styles — fans sporting signature bell-bottoms feels like a can’t-miss at today’s country gigs — while proving a versatile

talent who can duet with Kelly Clarkson and open for the Rolling Stones. The two-night run at Ascend Amphitheater doubles as the opening night of her summer Country’s Cool Again tour and may serve as a testing ground for new music. In May, Wilson announced that her aptly titled new album Whirlwind will debut later this summer. Ian Munsick plays main support, and Zach Top opens the show. MATTHEW LEIMKUEHLER MAY 31 TO JUNE 1 AT ASCEND AMPHITHEATER 310 FIRST AVE. S.

MUSIC

[I AM THE VOICE INSIDE YOUR HEAD] MICROWAVE

Are you bored of being sad? There’s a show for that. Microwave — Altanta’s rocksolid indie-alternative-emo (or whatever holy-shit-this-makes-me-feel-things genre you prefer) band — plays Cannery Hall this weekend in support of Let’s Start Degeneracy, a new studio full-length out via Nashville punk label Pure Noise. Since releasing debut album Stovall in 2014, Microwave’s built a dedicated following behind stellar live shows and anthemic songs chronicling self-sabotage,

substance dependency, fast-burning love and life lived in the moments between. Let’s Start Degeneracy finds the band experimenting with new pockets of sound, like the jazz-tinged “Huperzine Dream,” trance-inducing “Ferrari” and shoegaze-y “Straw Hat.” And don’t sleep on “Bored of Being Sad,” the album’s standout number, where singer Nathan Hardy declares, “I’m so bored of being sad / It’s not cool anymore / It’s old and I’m bored / Shit’s really not so bad.” Support on the bill comes from Origami Angel, Heart Attack Man and Carpool Tunnel.

MATTHEW LEIMKUEHLER

7 P.M. AT CANNERY HALL

1 CANNERY ROW

MUSIC

[ALL AROUND THE WORLD] MUSICIANS CORNER FEAT. THE KENTUCKY GENTLEMEN, PETER ONE & MANY MORE

Musicians Corner keeps the late spring/early summer vibes rolling with another weekend of free local music in the shadow of Centennial Park’s Parthenon. This edition offers a journey around the musical (and literal) map courtesy of country duo The Kentucky Gentlemen — twin brothers who recently graced the cover of the Scene’s Summer Guide — plus Ivorian folk artist Peter One, East Nashville rockers Them Vibes, Canadian folk singer-songwriter Ruth Moody and Texas storyteller Jarrod Dickenson. Saturday’s lineup skews toward the rockier side of things with Austin’s Strand of Oaks, Cuba’s Sweet Lizzy Project and Nashville outfits The Sewing Club and Shanny and the East Men, but Romanian-born Vlad Holiday will add some lo-fi flair for good measure. COLE VILLENA MAY 31 TO JUNE 1 AT CENTENNIAL PARK 2500 WEST END AVE.

FESTIVAL

[WHO WEARS JORT JORTS] JORTS

FEST

Mohawks, spiky vests and plaid pants be damned — punk rock’s most underrated fashion statement is the humble pair of jeans turned midthigh-level shorts: jorts. In cheeky honor of the do-it-yourself denim trousers, Nashville’s very own Never Nude Records presents Jorts Fest. Organizers have billed the festival as a “couple of days, bunch of bands, tons of booze and a few people.” As the main sponsor, Pabst Blue Ribbon promises to keep the beer flowing while a stacked lineup of bands crisscrosses three stages over two days of rock ’n’ roll debauchery. The fest features local and out-of-town acts including Dollar Signs, Doom Gong, Dad Hats, Mouth Reader, Hussy Fit, A-Okay, Black Guy Fawkes and many more. Get out an old pair of jeans and have your scissors handy. JASON VERSTEGEN

MAY 31 TO JUNE 1 AT THE COBRA 2511 GALLATIN AVE.

FILM

[TONIGHT WE’RE GONNA PARTY] 1999: MAGNOLIA , THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY , THE MATRIX , THE VIRGIN SUICIDES , & AFTER LIFE

The Belcourt is ready to take you back to a simpler time when jeans were baggy, Britney

NASHVILLE SCENE MAY 30 – JUNE 5, 2024 • nashvillescene.com

Spears was just a teen-pop singer who didn’t play with knives, and the president could have an extramarital affair and not worry about going to jail over it. The Belcourt has 25 films lined up for its repertory series honoring 1999, also known as the Greatest Freakin’ Year in Movies of All Time! Just look at the movies that’ll be kicking things off this week. We have two acclaimed Academy Award-nominated prestige pictures, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (showing in glorious 35 mm!) and Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, which shockingly didn’t win any statuettes. We also have the Wachowskis’ sci-fi action blockbuster The Matrix, which won all five Oscars it was nominated for. (Of course, most of them were in the sound and visual effects categories.) This week’s teen movie from that year (and trust me, there are a bunch of them) is Sofia Coppola’s spellbinding The Virgin Suicides. It didn’t get released around these parts until 2000, but it premiered at Cannes in ’99 — so it counts, damn it! And in the foreign-film slot, we have Hirokazu Kore-eda’s oh-so-heavenly After Life. It originally premiered at Toronto in ’98, but it got released here a year later — so it counts, damn it! Visit belcourt.org for showtimes.

CRAIG D. LINDSEY

SERIES RUNS MAY 31 TO JUNE 28 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.

SATURDAY / 6.1

FESTIVAL

[PARLEZ-VOUS DOTHRAKI?] NASHVILLE COMIC CON

If you’re a Comic Con person, you don’t need me to go into details about why attending a comic book convention can be some of the most fun a geek can have standing up. So I’m going to talk to the new nerd for a second, the sci-fi layperson, the anime curious, the first-time D&D player — in the same way comic-book conventions involve a whole lot more than just comics, the conventions themselves involve more than just booths, signings and cosplay. These are the features, yes, but the heart of these things is the unbridled, nerd-tastic joy of fandom. You don’t have to speak Dothraki or own a bat’leth to find your people. Nashville Comic Con is pea-sized compared to the Atlanta or San Diego behemoths, yes, but local artists, crafters, authors, cosplayers, game masters and collectors will still abound. And if it’s at all your thing, I do recommend going in cosplay. The spike of dopamine you’ll get when excited fellow fans find you, and ask breathlessly to take a selfie, is worth the work of assembling a costume.

RYNE WALKER

JUNE 1-2 AT THE FAIRGROUNDS NASHVILLE

401 WINGROVE ST.

[SOAK UP THE SUN]

DRAG

BATH & BODY NASHVILLE PRIDE POOL PARTY FEAT. NAOMI SMALLS

Kick off Pride Month with the Bath & Body Nashville Pride Pool Party on June 1. The event promises an evening of fun and fabulous performances, headlined by Naomi Smalls,

the iconic drag queen known for her stunning shows — and legs, diva. Smalls, a fan favorite from RuPaul’s Drag Race, will bring her signature style and energy poolside for an unforgettable night. Hosted at Nashville’s outpost of Virgin Hotels, the party will feature music, drinks and an atmosphere bursting with pride and positivity. Attendees can expect live DJ sets by Manrelic, AfroSheen and Girl Friday, drag performances by Nashville drag icons and plenty of opportunities to dance. This event is not just a party, but a celebration of diversity and inclusion, highlighting the spirit of Pride. It offers a chance to come together, celebrate love and acceptance, and start Pride Month with a splash — whether you’re a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community or joining the festivities for the first time. ISAAC NORRIS

6 P.M. AT THE VIRGIN HOTEL

1 MUSIC SQUARE W.

SUNDAY / 6.2

MUSIC [SUPER GROUPS] PIXIES & MODEST MOUSE W/CAT POWER

The isolation of the pandemic years has left everyone with a skewed sense of how old they are. I imagine myself looking around Ascend on Sunday and wondering why there are so many middle-aged people in the house — before realizing we’re all repping the same crew. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way. Pixies fans are elite, and now we can watch them play at early-bird time. The band’s late-’80s/early-’90s output is unmatched: pop enough to warrant repeat listens but weird enough to freak out the squares. Modest Mouse had a similar track record of tight, propulsive songs in the ’90s that remain personal favorites, but with Isaac Brock & Co. celebrating the 20th anniversary of their fourth album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that they have time to squeeze in both “Dramamine” and “Long Distance Drunk.” I have to wonder if the nostalgia-heavy set lists from Pixies and Modest Mouse will influence Cat Power’s Chan Marshall to make similar selections. Don’t get me wrong, I love Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert as much as the next guy, but how cool would it be to hear “Cross Bones Style” or “He War” the same night as “Wave of Mutilation”? LAURA HUTSON HUNTER 6:30 P.M. AT ASCEND AMPHITHEATER 310 FIRST AVE. S.

MONDAY

/ 6.3

MUSIC

[THE CRAIC] NIALL HORAN

It’s hard to explain my feelings toward Niall Horan. What started out as a crush in 2011 now feels like an old friendship, or even a relationship with a family member I haven’t heard from in a while. I don’t want to necessarily get in his pants anymore — I want to crawl

LAINEY WILSON

inside his brain and live there for a while, where I could listen to his laugh and watch memories of the first time One Direction visited Japan on a little projector screen. Horan could ruin my day and I’d say thank you, but in an effort to be slightly more objective, I must say the vocals on his latest album The Show are angelic. In his new love songs, including “Heaven” and “You Could Start a Cult,” Horan brings the earnestness that made the entire world fall in love with him in the first place. When he visits Nashville with opening act Del Water Gap in tow, fans can expect a 20-song set list including an acoustic interlude. Horan is never one to phone it in.

HANNAH HERNER

7:30 P.M. AT BRIDGESTONE ARENA

501 BROADWAY

MUSIC

[FORGOT ABOUT DRE] NO STRINGS ATTACHED: A LIVE ORCHESTRAL RENDITION OF DR. DRE’S 2001

tireless road-dog mentality has brought the band back over and over again over the past two decades. Show up early for the other three rippers. Oxnard, Calif.’s Dead Heat just inked a deal to release their next album with the legendary Metal Blade Records. Like many of their Nard-core forefathers, Dead Heat blends skate-punk riffing with thrash-metal aggression. Also in the lineup are Baltimore’s End It and Angel Du$t, two of the biggest names from the white-hot Charm City scene. While End It’s incredible ACAB heaviness is as iron-clad as it gets, Angel Du$t’s winding new album Brand New Soul is a melody-driven LP that pushes the boundaries of what the underground can accept as “punk.” P.J. KINZER

7 P.M. AT BROOKLYN BOWL

925 THIRD AVE. N.

WEDNESDAY

/ 6.5

Listening to a sonically rich hip-hop album performed with a live orchestra can take an already beloved classic to another level of appreciation. In 2021, I saw Nas perform his landmark album Illmatic with the Nashville Symphony in its entirety. Hearing those iconic boom-bap beats supplemented by cellos and a brass section was goosebump-inducing. Jay-Z’s Unplugged with The Roots as his backing band produces a similar feeling. Nashvillians will get another chance to see a canonical rap album with an orchestral backing when No Strings Attached, a collection of acclaimed European musicians, performs Dr. Dre’s 2001 at Brooklyn Bowl. 2001, Dre’s follow-up to the genre-shifting The Chronic, is the perfect album to hear in this format with its expansive (and expensive!) instrumentals. Dre himself is not slated to appear, but expect appearances from DJs, lyricists and vocalists to add to the experience.

LOGAN BUTTS

8 P.M. AT BROOKLYN BOWL

925 THIRD AVE. N.

TUESDAY / 6.4

MUSIC

[GOOD GOOD THINGS] DRAIN W/DEAD HEAD, TERROR, ANGEL DU$T & END IT

Some things about summer are inevitable: mosquitoes, humidity, sunburn and hardcore mega-tours featuring far too many bands. Santa Cruz’s Drain has a reputation for being one of the most fun bands to catch this year. Their crunchy California crossover comes equipped with good vibes, stage dives and plenty of cartoon sharks, propelling the band to headline venues often too large for hardcore shows. Their sophomore album, Living Proof, bursts with dogpile sing-alongs and chuggy guitars. Upstate New York’s middle-aged hardcore staple Scott Vogel has been the king of summertime mosh calls for more than 30 years. Terror — what oldheads still refer to as his “new band” — played their first Nashville gig at The Muse in 2002, when they only had a demo CD-R. But Vogel’s

MUSIC [IN THE GARDEN]

STRAWBERRY GUY

Welsh-born pop musician Strawberry Guy has a thing for the 19th century. The keyboardist, singer and bedroom-pop auteur also known as Alex Stephens lives in Liverpool, England, a city celebrated for performers like Badfinger, The La’s and, yeah, The Beatles. As Strawberry Guy, Stephens makes lush post-classical pop out of drum samples he downloads from the internet, along with piano and his gauzy vocals. Strawberry Guy’s 2021 debut full-length Sun Outside My Window is a version of English pastoral music that draws from ’60s film music and the work of composer Gustav Holst. Like his great progenitor Paul McCartney, Strawberry Guy drapes his melodies in a harmonic structure that harks back to an earlier time, and you end up appreciating the even flow of Sun Outside without lighting on specific songs. Sun Outside is one step away from similar folk-pop-classical amalgams like English singer Labi Siffre’s 1972 song “Cannock Chase.” Strawberry Guy seems comfortable referencing the music of the late 19th century — Debussy was a gas — and it sounds like he has the chops to continue making innovative pop. File Sun Outside My Window with The Left Banke’s 1968 orchestralpop masterpiece The Left Banke Too EDD HURT

8 P.M. AT THE BLUE ROOM AT THIRD MAN RECORDS 623 SEVENTH AVE. S.

STRAWBERRY GUY

DIVING IN

Nashville’s remaining dives survive on cheap beer and respect

BY ELI MOTYCKA

FRANCES ELIZABETH ADAMS says it takes just one thing to run a successful bar: respect.

“A real bar is making your customers feel welcome, like they have a place at your bar,” Adams tells the Scene. “You have to gain respect from customers, let them know you’re not gonna have any problems, and they will keep coming back.”

We talk off Dickerson Pike outside Fran’s — the signage reads “Fran’s Dive Bar,” though it used to be (and sometimes still is) known as Fran’s Eastside. It used to be on Greenwood Avenue near Porter Road, and before that it was on Gallatin Avenue (in the same spot that currently houses The Cobra). Adams, who turns 81 this fall, traces her lineage all the way back to Lower Broadway, where she broke into the industry with a rougher but busier bar

called Kitty Cat’s in 1968. She sold stew and beans from a crockpot for 50 cents per bowl and beer by the pitcher for a couple dollars.

Every few sentences, Adams hits on another story from her decades as a bartender and bar owner — peep shows, a bank robber named Two-Dollar Joe, a quiet regular she passed off as Johnny Cash’s brother, organized crime she refers to only as “the syndicate” — reciting current and former Metro Beer Permit Board regulations from memory. Slowly, Adams reveals the hard-earned combination of street sense and business acumen necessary to make it not just as a bar but as a dive bar.

“A dive bar is history, and it’s a country bar — crap on the walls, things there is only one of in the world,“ she says, gesturing at the bar’s locally famous cat tapestry, which hangs

FRAN’S

FRAN’S PHOTOS: ANGELINA CASTILLO

behind the karaoke stage. “Cold beer that’s cheap. I’ve never had liquor. It’s trouble, and you can’t control your sales.”

Basic beers cost $2.50, wine coolers go at $3, and premium beers run $3.50 each. Bartenders track beers and wine coolers by the drink and save premium bottles, per Fran’s policy, so she can count them the next morning. She grimaces at the thought of a quarter-dollar increase. It’s been a decade since she last raised prices, and she knows the time is coming.

Fran’s daughter Katrina closes four nights a week. She packs the bar calendar with events and will book nearly any band “as long as there’s a following,” which helps get people paying covers and buying drinks.

There’s poetry night on Monday, live music on Wednesday, open mic on Thursday, monthly burlesque shows, and Fran’s lauded karaoke Friday and Saturday till 2:45 a.m.

Fran’s longtime regulars followed the bar from Greenwood, where rent doubled in July 2022. Then, after more than a decade, her landlord (whom Adams describes with an expletive) ultimately refused to renew the lease. She specifically wants to thank the 308 people who donated more than $15,000 to help the move to her current spot — a small plaza just past Trinity Lane, which she fixed up with help from Katrina and her husband Ron. It’s affordable but lacks the East Nashville foot traffic. Adams plans to be in business for as long as she can. The “millenniums,” as she calls them, keep coming in.

While Ron insists that Fran’s has no peers across the city, a few bars command comparable atmosphere and history. A few more, like Ethel’s Tabernacle across the street, desperately try to capture the essence that makes an older dive both unique and familiar.

“A dive is just a little beer joint,” says Scott, a regular at Betty’s Grill off Charlotte Avenue. He’s been drinking here a few times a week for 40 years. “It’s not as busy as it used to be. It’s not as redneck as it used to be. But I think if we go to some of these other bars, we might freak them out. Or, I don’t know, fit right in.”

Like Fran’s, Betty’s does not serve liquor. Beer comes in a bottle or frozen mug, a refreshing touch the bar shares with West Side neighbor Brown’s Diner, which recently expanded its hours and menu to include breakfast. (More on that in this week’s cover story.)

Both Betty’s and Brown’s sit at the end of retired Nashville trolley lines. They owe their narrow doorways, small windows and low ceilings to the railcar bones that initially housed each bar. Formerly called “The Trolley,” or just “Trolley’s,” Betty’s sits on top of an original trolley car chassis, says Scott — a trivia fact proudly confirmed by two other regulars. Local cult favorites Styrofoam Winos recently played a whole night of ’90s covers at Betty’s, part of the offbeat live programming that brings new patrons through the doors. Branding includes an active Facebook page and a painted “Betty’s” sign down 49th

Avenue hoping to draw traffic from Charlotte.

These drinking institutions share deep roots in the neighborhood, a dedicated regular crowd and a willingness to try out creative entertainment to get people in the door. Cold beer for a few dollars, sometimes in a frosty mug, often comes with pool, darts and a dedicated smoking area (now that it’s illegal by Metro Council ordinance to light up indoors). These establishments often come with their own rulebooks pieced together from handwritten notices posted on the door or behind the bar. While there might have been more a few decades ago, Nashville still nurtures too many old dives to list — Santa’s Pub, Bobby’s Idle Hour, The Villager Tavern and Springwater have survived in particularly aggressive real estate markets — and a few juvenile spots celebrating second or third decades, like Rosie’s Twin Kegs and Mickey’s (too young and bare to be a proper dive, according to Fran Adams). For an hour each Friday, Schulman’s — recently opened at the same intersection where Fran’s used to live — flirts with dive-level volume when it sells frosty 40-ounce Miller Lites for $4.

“As the day progresses, the clientele gets younger and more rowdy,” says Don McGreevy, a Mickey’s bartender. “Some Saturdays I’ll have regulars two or three deep at the bar, plus people coming in who have never been here before. I’ll see IDs from dozens of different states.” ▼

PHOTOS: ANGELINA CASTILLO

SPRINGWATER

BETTY’S GRILL

BETTY’S GRILL

sylvan supply 4101 charlotte ave. details @punkwok on cheap eats! drink specials! doors at 9:30 pm

A PACKED SHOW AT PACKING PLANT AND SOUTHERN ABSTRACTION AT TINNEY

Red 225’s Intimacism leads our highlights of this month’s art exhibitions

BY JOE NOLAN

JUNE’S FIRST SATURDAY events find Nashville’s visual art scene at the end of its spring season, and overwhelmed by the incessant choruses of Cicada Orgy ’24. Those red-eyed horndogs are going to make for a wild crawl this weekend, where the highlights include Southern-centric abstract painting, an ambitious and vast survey of women’s art, and a down-home display of oddball found-object assemblages that’ll have you slappin’ your grandma till the cows come home.

WEDGEWOOD-HOUSTON

Austin Reavis’ Red State at Neue Welt isn’t inspired by one of Kevin Smith’s best films, and it’s not a collection of activist art brimming with political commentary during this presidential election year. The exhibition’s title refers to Reavis’ upbringing in rural Tennessee, in a house his hippie parents built in the woods in Sewanee. With this in mind, Red State is a little like a collection of landscape works made from materials and objects directly gathered from grocery store dumpsters, alleyway trash cans, yard sales, flea markets and even the Chattanooga-area Craigslist — its “free”category features a variety of orthopedic devices, lots of bike parts and endless wooden pallets.

I’ve been following Reavis’ work for years. It’s always been a little weird, a little whimsical. But when he became more active on his Instagram account (@austinhammetreavis) about a year ago, it was clear that Reavis thought he might

have something worth sharing. He was right. The work is still weird, still whimsical, but also much more formally coherent and technically innovative. Reavis has cut the colorful brims off trucker hats and arranged them on gallery walls to look like outcroppings of bracket fungi. He’s applied hide glue to camouflage hunting coveralls and formed the woodsy onesies into sculptures that resemble animal forms. He’s turned hot-rodded Realtree Camo pants into soft, glowing lamps that cast light like the sun setting in the Tennessee woods. He’s created surprisingly striking sculptures by stacking stainless-steel ice tea urns on top of one another, erecting gleaming obelisks to summertime refreshment. Reavis’ formal ingenuity puts his art firmly in the contemporary art conversation, and his materials and old-fashioned countryboy resourcefulness make it as familiar and accessible as a Cottonwood shed or the icy touch of a TVA dam tailwater. I’m not sure exactly what Reavis has planned for Red State, but I predict at least one ant farm, and probably at least a few cicadas crashing the opening.

➡ DETAILS: Opening reception from 5-9 p.m. at Neue Welt, 507 Hagan St.

Curator Kathleen Boyle’s Red 225 space at The Packing Plant has become a hot spot for small solo exhibitions from artists like Chris Cheney, Lauren Markham, Bryan Jones and Kevan Joseph O’Connor. Boyle’s been following the artists on her roster for years, and part of the inspiration

behind her gallery was simply having a space where she could put her unique spotlight on the work and the artists that she’s been inspired by. The solo show formula is a great fit for Red 225, as the gallery’s dimensions can most favorably be described as “cozy.” By my estimation it’s the smallest space in The Packing Plant, and it even has a big front window that eats up a large chunk of valuable art-hanging space. It’s made a perfect home for single artists to display small bodies of work, and that formula could easily be branded as Red 225’s curatorial signature. But Boyle doesn’t seem interested in letting a little thing like actual wall space cramp her style. Intimacism is a show she’s been conceptualizing and reimagining for 20 years. This month, the exhibition of women artists will finally become a reality. Intimacism offers feminine and feminist takes on familial, sexual, emotional and spiritual intimacy. When I got the press release, none of this took me by surprise — until I saw that the show’s lineup includes single works from 80 international artists. The artists are all given a 2-square-foot limit. Although the gallery does have a high-ish ceiling, I’m at a loss to understand how this show will actually work. It’s definitely going to be one of the most unique and immersive displays opening in Nashville this weekend. Nashville artists in the Intimacism lineup include Alison Mosshart, Alison Underwood, Amy Hoskins, Anna Wise, Ashleigh York, Bex Olesek, Bridget Curtis, Cara Lynch, Charlotte Strauss, Christiana Odum, Dalia Garcia, Eliana Gorden,

Emoke Pulay, Eve Greenberg, Jess Peoples, Lauren Markham, Leslie Marnett, Lindsey Goller, Liz Chagnon, Margaret Pesek, Marla Faith, Meg Jordan, Melissa Newman, Nija Woods, Martha Morales Purucker, Paz Suay, Rachel Karr, Shahnaz Lighari, Wendy French Barrett and Tara Dugger

➡ DETAILS: Opening reception 5-8 p.m. at Red 225, 507 Hagan St.

DOWNTOWN

I keep writing about how the future of American painting will look like a return to the abstracted landscapes of early modernism in the U.S., and Elspeth Schulze’s Hold Water at Tinney Contemporary is a multimedia example of the trend. Schulze was raised in Southern Louisiana in the liminal marshlands that mark the ever-changing boundaries between soil and sea. Schulze uses paint along with cut paper, wood, ceramics, dyed linen and CNC-cut frames with unique forms. The techniques and materials blur the lines between handmade and digital, and the overall effect of their combinations is a blend of natural forms and floral motifs that seem simultaneously artificial and magically emergent. Schulze extends her aesthetic into furniture, textiles and wall sculptures to create a complete environment you’ll want to linger in and savor.

➡ DETAILS: Opening reception 2-8 p.m. at Tinney Contemporary, 237 Rep. John Lewis Way N. ▼

“FROLICKING

“UNTITLED,” AUSTIN REAVIS

INTIMACISM AT RED 225 RED STATE AT NEUE WELT

NASHTRASH TOURS’ SHERI LYNN

BUCY HANGS UP HER JUGGS

After 28 years, one of Nashville’s beloved Jugg Sisters is leaving the transpotainment business

BY BEN ODDO

IT IS THE END of an era in Nashville.

No, I am not referring to the closing of FGL House. I am referring to the retirement of one Sheri Lynn Bucy, she of Jugg Sisters fame. After 28 years and thousands of hours spent polluting the minds of tourists and locals alike, the wig-wearing co-owner of NashTrash Tours is finally ready to hang them up (her Juggs). Her sister and partner-in-crime, Brenda Kay, will carry on their legacy with The Brenda Kay Jugg Tour — alongside a bevy of other talented performers, including the great Jenny Littleton — but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a moment to weep and consider the impact the duo has had on this city.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Jugg Sisters, allow me to enlighten you: They are the OGs of Nashville’s transpotainment industry. Long before pedal taverns or party wagons or a rolling hot tub graced our streets, their Big Pink Bus was a staple of Lower Broadway and Music Row, offering a musical comedy show on wheels that was the first of its kind.

And get this: The show is actually good. Score a coveted seat on one of their two-hour romps, and you’re liable to be complimented on your cleavage, told about their court-ordered hysterectomies and served cheese from a can. Maybe you’ll learn something, but I doubt it. “There goes Lance Armstrong,” they might say in a fake Southern accent any time an unsuspecting cyclist rides by on a bike. “That one-nut bastard.”

But that’s not why I love them, or why we should honor Sheri on this day. I love them because they are great stewards of this city.

According to the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, an estimated 16.2 million tourists came to Nashville in 2022 — and they are a

peculiar lot. I should know. For several years, I hosted my own tour on the Jugg Sisters bus, and every weekend I had to face down red-blooded Americans from places like Columbus and Schaumburg and Broward County, Fla. — all of whom wanted to see the Jugg Sisters, but who got me instead because they booked late. Once during the 2019 NFL Draft, streets were shut down for two weeks, and my scripted route had to be altered significantly.

“And here is where we would usually go by the Cumberland River,” I would say as we rolled past an abandoned parking garage.

The customers were not pleased. That week, a woman left a one-star review whose title simply read, “Whaaaaaat haaaaappened???”

As though spending an hour-and-a-half with me was tantamount to the shell shock of war.

I imagined her limp body being wheeled into the hospital, eyes glazed over, brain-dead. “I’m sorry,” the doctor would later tell her bereft husband. “There’s nothing we could do. The tour fucking killed her.”

The Juggs faced no such issues. While they often like to joke that “the customer is always wrong,” they made customer service a cornerstone of their business. Every tour, they go around the bus, learning their passengers’ names and where they’re from. Later, they incorporate them into the show, whether that means anointing one of them that week’s boyfriend or riffing on an embarrassing fact someone offered up at the beginning of the tour. It makes for a memorable and positive experience for these visitors, and by extension, a memorable and positive experience of Nashville. By the end of the tour, there’s seldom a person on that bus who doesn’t feel like they’re Sheri’s best friend — which I sense she hates. We could all learn

a thing or two about how to treat our guests based on the way the Juggs treat theirs — regardless of our industry.

The Juggs also manage to do all of this without sacrificing their principles or losing their edge. We locals like to complain about the transpotainment companies, but the Juggs are able to convey the city’s collective frustrations while not biting the hand that feeds them. They care about the preservation of country music, have outlawed bachelorettes from going on their tours and call out anything they deem stupid. (That last bit is usually directed toward the state Capitol.) They’re also staunch advocates of organizations like Nashville CARES and Nashville Pride, and they

regularly tip our service workers as if it’s their last day on earth. Yes, they have told people that the red, roller-coaster-like sculpture on the Cumberland River (aka “Ghost Ballet”) floated down here from Six Flags Kentucky during the 2010 floods. But otherwise: flawless record.

So if you have a moment, head on down to the Nashville Farmers’ Market before June 2 and pay your respects. Buy some merch, or lay a wreath for Sheri and her trusty blue-haired assistant, Beth, who is also retiring. Rejoice in the fact that Brenda is continuing on as a solo act, and tell Sheri, from the bottom of your heart, that she’s your best friend. I’m sure she’d love it. Thanks for the mammaries, Sheri. ▼

SHERI LYNN (LEFT) AND BRENDA KAY

Friday, May 31

BOOK TALK

Broadcasting the Ozarks

With authors Kitty Ledbetter and Scott Foster Siman

11:00 am

TAYLOR SWIFT EDUCATION CENTER

Saturday, June 1

HATCH SHOW PRINT

Block Party

9:30 am, NOON, and 2:30 pm

HATCH SHOW PRINT SHOP

LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Saturday, June 1

SONGWRITER SESSION

Leslie Satcher

NOON · FORD THEATER

Museum

Receive

Sunday, June 2

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Audio Architects of the Nashville Sound

Audio Engineering Society 1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Thursday, June 6

CONCERT AND CONVERSATION

Lorrie Morgan

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Friday, June 7

CONCERT AND CONVERSATION

CMT’s Next Women of Country

Featuring Tanner Adell, Mae Estes, Kylie Frey, Emily Ann Roberts, and Tigirlily Gold

12:30 pm · CMA THEATER

JASON EADY with MIDNIGHT RIVER CHOIR

Bluebird on 3rd featuring VICTORIA BANKS, PHIL BARTON & EMILY SHACKELTON + ALLISON CLARKE & BEN WAGNER

THE TIME JUMPERS

WMOT Roots Radio Presents Finally Friday featuring GHALIA VOLT, STEPHANIE LAMBRING & SINGA B JESSE DANIEL with ALEX WILLIAMS WILLIAM LEE GOLDEN & THE GOLDENS with JOSHUA QUIMBY

Backstage Nashville! Daytime Hit Songwriters Show featuring BOB DIPIERO, TIM JAMES, RAY STEPHENSON & SJ MCDONALD + GLORIA ANDERSSON

SMOKING SECTION

EMPIRE STRIKES BRASS

SOLDOUT!

Country For A Cause Hosted By TG SHEPPARD & KELLY LANG feat. LEE GREENWOOD, CRYSTAL GAYLE, CHAPEL HART , T. GRAHAM BROWN, LACY J. DALTON, TERRI GIBBS, THE KODY NORRIS SHOW, MIKE FARRIS, JOHN BERRY, MOE BANDY, CHAD BROCK, SISTER SADIE, MAKENZIE PHIPPS, DARIN & BROOKE ALDRIDGE, STEPHANIE QUAYLE, LEONA WILLIAMS & more

COMING

Raitiere, The Band Loula, Ashley Ray & Meg McRee zebra w/ the great affairs & in theory six one tribe, brian brown & sweet poison the dead daisies w/ rock city machine co. baroness w/ portrayal of guilt & filth is eternal jmsn w/ 2oo7 paris paloma the taylor party: the ts dance party - 18+ athena up all night: a one direction party five iron frenzy w/ spoken in tongues & lo(u)ser

joshua quimby w/ chloe kimes, liam st. john, dylan smucker & angela autumn (7pm) rose hotel w/ heaven hotel & zilched (9pm)

matt woods & tyler walker gill (7pm)

zena lynn carpenter w/ jess craven (7pm)

jake burman

leon majcen w/ thomas rowland & presley drake (9pm)

rachel horter & jonathan soul (7pm)

matthew logan vasquez w/ justin and the comics (9pm)

symbasyd

jace everett w/ jacques merlino (7pm)

maxxwellhouse, elora dash, brian sour (9pm) hunter root (7pm)

gay ole opry w/ again (&again), silvie, bridey costello, summer joy & melody walker (9pm)

MUSIC ARC OF HISTORY

Concurrence’s Indivisible spotlights the power of Black American communities in spite of the damage done by interstate construction

BY RON WYNN

FOR MORE THAN two decades, bassist and broadcast host Greg Bryant and keyboardist and composer Paul Horton have worked together as Concurrence. Over that time they’ve specialized in making improvised music with an adventurous edge that’s arranged and performed in a manner that can simultaneously please both hardcore jazz fans and those whose tastes run to other genres. But their newest release Indivisible, a sprawling 22-track album out June 7 via Brooklyn indie La Reserve, is not only their boldest effort but also their finest musical statement.

In a joint interview, Horton and Bryant explain that Indivisible marks the first time Concurrence has made a concept album. Their subject: the havoc that the construction of America’s interstates wrought on Black communities, as I-40 did when it was built through North Nashville in the late 1960s.

“We’re secondary survivors and witnesses to this, Paul and I,” Bryant tells the Scene. “The Nashville I grew up in reflected the aftermath of I-40’s devastation on the Black community. I saw worship centers and nonprofit organizations that fought to thrive and survive. I saw Fisk University, Tennessee State University and Meharry Medical College still educating the best and brightest under enormous fiscal difficulties.”

Concurrence’s music — “from the head and from the heart,” as they describe it — is inspired by years of gigging along with research, digging in archives and speaking with historians. They aim to bring attention to the story of their own artistic home in North Nashville, with specific references to bygone clubs like the Del Morocco and one intense track called “I-40 Was a Razor,” but also wish to highlight similar cases all around the United States.

“There is a focus on Nashville, but because this happened all across the country it’s something that we feel folks in every city in the U.S. should know about and connect with,” says Horton. “Through the music, we cover and pay homage to the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the music scene and nightlife on North Nashville’s historic Jefferson Street and the destructive nature of the interstate. We also reflect on the protests and organizing to prevent it, the aftermath and resilience of the Black community and how we all have to stay informed and ready to put up a resistance to these policies when they arise — whether it be infringing on voting rights or a movement to stop educating our youth on the deplorable aspects of U.S. history.”

Recorded in sessions that began in October 2022, Indivisible also puts on full display the pair’s versatility and imagination, with collabo-

rations that range across the spectrum of Black music. Elements of jazz, rock, blues, soul and pop seamlessly converge in the tracks, while the vocals and spoken-word passages detail the often ugly story of community displacement and turmoil caused by the highway project. The assembled cast of contributors and collaborators includes drummers and percussionists Nasheet Waits, Tommy Crane, Marcus Finnie, Derrek Phillips, Aaron Smith and Giovanni Rodriguez (who’s perhaps best known as a bassist with his band 12 Manos but has notable percussion credits as well). The roster also includes trumpeter Rod “Preacherman” McGaha, turntablist DJ Colonel Austin and saxophonist Reagan Mitchell, and there are vital contributions from vocalists and spoken-word artists Rashad tha Poet, Tracy P. Beard, Lo Naurel, Lloyd Buchanan and Dara Starr Tucker.

As with any good concept album, the entire release flows smoothly through the wealth of tracks. Snippets of narration and other sounds bridge the gaps between performances.

“[Those elements] are things I sampled from my kitchen table and that Greg sampled from his patio deck, that are just as important compositionally as things played on traditional instruments,” says Horton. “People and bands like Weather Report, De La Soul, Public Enemy, MF DOOM, Madlib, Dilla and Georgia Anne Muldrow were on our mind when thinking about shaping the overall sound of the album. One thing those artists have in common is they are not concerned with what a ‘traditional’ song looks like. We had something like nearly 20 instrumental beats of different shapes and sizes by the end of 2023. We picked our favorites and coupled some of those with the live and studio tracks to make songs that flow in a way that Greg and I connect with. Sometimes that means

that the listener will, in some cases, only hear three or eight seconds of a stand-alone track that was much longer.”

Bryant explains that a significant portion of the record comes from a single session. He, Horton and Crane recorded about 10 pieces as a trio with Canadian engineer Warren Spicer, nine of which appear in one form or another on the finished album. This was all accomplished in one 12-hour session, during which Bryant and Horton also knocked out their overdubs. Such an extended session might be considered grueling under some circumstances, but not this time.

“We liked Warren’s tracking so much that we asked him to mix the entire album,” Bryant says. “He has such a great ear for what we’re trying to do. He also got us in touch with Dave Cooley out in Los Angeles, who mastered J Dilla’s Donuts album and many more for Dilla and Madlib. Indivisible has become a family album for Concurrence and has reignited my own personal creativity.”

After debuting Indivisible with dates in New York and Philadelphia at the end of May, Concurrence will have an official release party at Rudy’s on June 1 with drummer Aaron Smith and other special guests. The next afternoon, they’ll participate in a program called In Conversation With Concurrence at the Nashville Jazz Workshop, moderated by newly named NJW performance curator David M. Rodgers. Proceeds from the conversation event will go to the Jefferson Street Sound Museum and the NJW.

“We embrace the full continuum of Black music,” Bryant says, “from avant-garde elements to straight-up grooving. It all comes from the same spirit. Paul’s producer acumen is precise; the music must drive the messages. As there are deep and layered sonic intricacies in the recipe, you’ll still be able to get into what we’re cooking right away.” ▼

Playing 8 p.m. Saturday, June 1, at Rudy’s Jazz Room Appearing in conversation June 2 at Nashville Jazz Workshop Indivisible out June 7 via La Reserve

JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN

Budge explores the intersection of power pop and grunge on their debut EP Hrtstrngs BY KATHERINE

OUNG

BUDGE KNOWS HOW to throw a good party, even if they have to set it up on the fly. For one such occasion in late March, the rising Music City rock band had plenty to celebrate: the release of their debut EP’s titular single “Hrtstrngs,” drummer Adam Miller’s 20th birthday and the start of their first tour. Just five days before the big night, they secured a backyard for this concert-slashcookout-slash-birthday bash, undeterred when booking options at local venues fell through.

Frontwoman Jessie Hopson and her three bandmates, whom she affectionately calls “the boys,” launched into a lively set on the patio. The band’s sweet and spirited melodies crescendoed into explosive drum fills and riffs traded between Miller, guitarist Jackson Berra and bassist Chandler Bostick. By the time Hopson screamed, “Don’t treat me like your doll!” at the climax of “Blame,” a boisterous jumble of audience members was crowd-surfing across the yard.

Since Hopson brought Budge together in 2021, while she was still a teen, the quartet has been playing across Nashville at a frenetic pace. They’ve performed at mainstays like The Blue Room at Third Man Records, all-ages spot Drkmttr and Soft Junk as well as at drag charity events and DIY skate-park shows.

Budge played its inaugural out-of-state gig at an unofficial SXSW showcase in early March. Right after the backyard party, the group took on its first tour, a weeklong spin around the Midwest. “We were ready to spread our wings,” says Hopson during a recent sitdown with the Scene and the rest of the band. The tour came with its own host of challenges. The band didn’t have much experience playing outside the

PHOTO: ROD MCGAHA

local scene they’d grown up in. They didn’t own a van. Hopson and Miller weren’t yet 21. But the band took it all in stride: making new friends, chugging along in Berra’s mom’s ancient Honda Odyssey and connecting with all-ages venues across several states, including a memorable stop at an abandoned chapel turned community event space in Louisville, Ky.

Budge practices in the basement of Hopson’s childhood home, where her father and oldest brother Johnny (who leads the band Future Crib) pursued their own musical aspirations before her. Hopson grew up listening to ’90s alt-rock legends like Pavement, The Smashing Pumpkins and Built to Spill, while spending her weekends watching Johnny onstage and thinking, “I want to do that so bad.”

Hopson and the boys share a taste for alternative music’s up-and-comers, especially other groups fronted by women. They bounce ideas for how to translate these influences into their own unique sound, somewhere between Momma’s brash guitar lines, Feeble Little Horse’s

ANOTHER LOOK

The Scene’s music writers recommend recent releases from Kandace Springs, Kings of Leon, Qualls and more

SUMMER IS HERE — in spirit, at least. Summertime touring and festivals are about to hit full swing, and Nashville musicians keep on releasing records you’ll want to know better. The Scene’s music writers have eight new recommendations for you, so add ’em to your streaming queue or pick them up from your favorite record store. Some of our picks are also available to buy directly from the artists on Bandcamp. However, the Bandcamp Friday promotion — in which the platform waives its cut of sales for a 24-hour period — is on a summer break, and will return Sept. 6.

KANDACE SPRINGS, RUN YOUR RACE (SRP)

There’s both a brilliance and sadness to Kandace Springs’ Run Your Race. The title track is her homage to her late father, outstanding vocalist Kenneth “Scat” Springs, who died in 2021. It references both his youth as a track star and his importance to her as a mentor, influence and friend. Though it’s a new project, some of the songs like “So Far, So Near” and “Look” she originally penned as a teen, and she voices them with the vigor and command that are a benefit of maturity. The entire LP deftly juggles jazz flair and soulful passion, even on a powerful cover

turbulent forays into noise and Slow Pulp’s dreamy, jangly hooks.

“It’s really inspiring seeing someone playing at Drkmttr who’s, like, the best band you’ve seen in months,” says Berra. Budge fires off a list of local bands like Baby Wave, Impediment, Finger Foods and Bats who they love listening to and sharing bills with.

Hopson gravitates toward what she calls “sad little heartbreak songs,” but her verses are succinct and matter-of-fact. The band’s energetic arrangements refuse to wallow or drag, and they don’t take themselves too seriously with their aesthetics. In the music video for the Hrtstrngs song “Say Less,” Hopson sings, “You walked away too soon / Now I’m running to keep up,” as the group cavorts around an outdoor track, decked out in striped headbands, ankle socks and short shorts with “Budge” printed across their butts.

Over the course of “figuring out how to do this whole band thing,” as Berra explains, the group has developed an earnest camaraderie. They joke about starting a

KINGS OF LEON, CAN WE PLEASE HAVE FUN (LOVETAP/CAPITOL)

During their rise to international superstardom, Kings of Leon — brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill — gradually evolved from the unruly Southern garage rockers who set the world on fire into the platinum arena rock act that has reigned for nearly two decades. Along the way, they lost some of the edge that fueled their initial success, and their records, although superior in some ways, reflected that. Most of the dozen tracks on their ninth studio album Can We Please Have Fun show the band successfully building on the polished, alt-rock sound they’ve become known for. But the Kings have not totally lost their youthful edge, as evidenced by the record’s two most interesting tracks. With arrangements that are more raw and manic than the rest of the record, “Nothing to Do” as well as the first single “Mustang” harken back to the band’s earliest intoxicating work. DARYL SANDERS

EMILY

Aside from a cover of Terry Allen’s boisterous

bowling league and “get way too competitive about air hockey,” according to Bostick. Collaboration flows easily; Berra shared his first songwriting credit on the EP’s upbeat power-pop number “Lights Off,” and a song co-written by Miller is on the way.

Nashville indie stalwart To-Go Records released Hrtstrings May 24, and Budge will celebrate the occasion with a release party Thursday night at American Legion Post 82 in Inglewood. Melania Kol and Joiner support, and there’ll be plenty of cassettes and hand-painted merch for sale. For the hell of it, Miller even put up a Craigslist ad looking for a magician; at press time, none has reached out to him yet. ▼

Playing 8 p.m. Thursday, May 30, at American Legion Post 82 Hrtstrings out now via To-Go Records

country classic “Amarillo Highway,” Emily Nenni wrote every song on Drive & Cry by herself, a first for the Nashville artist with three LPs now under her belt buckle. Her breakthrough record, 2021’s On the Ranch, saw her zigzagging across the country on a two-year, nearly constant tour with her backing band, aka country-rockers Teddy and the Rough Riders. Between all that driving, she found the time to, presumably, cry and write these hard-hitting, beautiful songs. The bright vocal delivery that’s synonymous with a Nenni song belies the fact that she’s often singing about how life can be so damn hard. Her incisive lyrics also prove that growing pains and change — and all the loves lost and gained — are worth experiencing and remembering in a country song. Nenni’s songwriting and indomitable spirit led to her triumphant Grand Ole Opry debut in May, an achievement well deserved.

JACQUELINE ZEISLOFT

QUALLS, “TENDERNESS” AND “POE MAN’S CHANT” (POWER/BEATROOT)

On previous releases like All Is Well and Until We Meet Again, masterful rapper Qualls laid a lot of groundwork, getting introspective as he set himself up to be the person and artist he wants to be. The loosies he’s released so far this year focus on the fruits of those labors. “Poe Man’s Chant,” released in January, has groove and swagger to spare as Qualls puts MCs who want to act a fool on notice and puts his work ethic in the spotlight. April’s “Tenderness,” meanwhile, is all about celebrating romantic commitment; while it’s a top-notch slow jam with an unbeatable breathy hook from Shelldhn, Qualls brings the bars to this one too. STEPHEN TRAGESER

BULLSHARK, “SHOULD’VE KNOWN” AND “BLOOMING” (SELF-RELEASED)

In the churning waters of Music City, all full of sand and dirt and glitter, Bullshark circles quietly. Songwriter and producer Sissy Dinkle’s baritone guitar sparkles low against Blood Root central figure Taylor Wafford’s spectral slides on their first singles “Blooming” and “Should’ve Known.” I imagine the narrator of “Blooming” singing to herself in the mirror; at the climax, Dinkle proclaims, “Sometimes I’m still afraid to look into your eyes / But I shouldn’t feel ashamed to live inside this body,” which makes for a gently fantastic trans bildungsroman. CLAIRE STEELE

KELSEY ABBOTT, THE CABIN (SELF-RELEASED)

Indie rocker Kelsey Abbott’s latest EP chronicles a love’s rise and fall. Released in November, The Cabin is a deeply personal project, with each track a vulnerable chapter in Abbott’s two-year journey of love and loss. It’s a bewitching slow burn, with opening tracks “Does It Make Sense” and “Night Vision Goggles” recalling vignettes from a relationship that’s run its course, while “Weekend Baby” captures the thrill of fleeting romance. The gritty “Focus” and gentle closer “I Miss You Like I Miss My Mom” illustrate the tug-

PHOTO:

of Billie Eilish’s Barbie theme “What Was I Made For.” RON WYNN

NENNI, DRIVE & CRY (NEW WEST)

of-war between the need to let go and the desire to hold on amid the inevitable grief of heartbreak.

JAYME FOLTZ

LORI TRIPLETT, WHEN THE MORNING COMES (SELF-RELEASED)

Lori Triplett delivers complex life lessons against a backdrop of uncluttered folk music on When the Morning Comes. Released in March and produced by five-time Grammy nominee Paul Moak, the LP flows with a quiet strength and easy pop sensibility that turns Triplett’s difficult truths into common sense. At first blush, “Mexico” is a breezy postcard of good times with dear friends, but it slowly unfurls into a breakup song. “Things You Said to Me” is more direct, but no less devastating: a catalog of unfulfilled promises told with humor and bitterness. Triplett wrote this album amid a number of difficult experiences, and that pain is very much present on the album. But there’s also a stubborn shadow of hope on songs like “The Good in Us” and the transcendent “Night Rider.” The music itself goes down easy, with foot-tapping grooves and melodies born to be sung along to. But that doesn’t change the bitterness of the medicine: Sometimes life is tough, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. RACHEL CHOLST

MAT & PAUL, JESUS + MORE (TABLEAUX)

The album title Jesus + More puts me in mind of praise music, but singer-songwriters Mat Davidson (aka Twain) and Erin Rae and multi-instrumentalist Paul Defiglia have not gone CCM with this collection. The record features gorgeous covers, grounded in vocal harmony and acoustic instruments, of songs that explore the mysteries of spirituality and the complexities of existence. Sometimes the narratives intersect with religion and sometimes they don’t; sometimes they zoom in tight, and often they’re at cosmic scale. It’s a great introduction to fantastic songwriters you may not know or not know well, including Judee Sill, Blaze Foley, Dan Reeder and Big Kitty’s Clark Williams. The trio doesn’t try to answer the question “Just what am I doing here?” but their music is a good companion anytime you’re wondering. STEPHEN TRAGESER

MUSIC: THE SPIN

BEST CASE SCENARIO

BY HANNAH CRON

AMERICANA ROCKER Katie Pruitt brought the first leg of the tour for their stellar second album Mantras home to Brooklyn Bowl Thursday night. After the cycle for Pruitt’s first record Expectations was derailed by the pandemic, it’s great to see their latest project launch into the world unabated.

Opener Jack Van Cleaf was on tour with Pruitt & Co. for the past few months, and they closed out the run together in their shared hometown. A Nashvillian by way of California, Van Cleaf might just be what would happen if you took Noah Kahan out of Vermont and brought him to the South. An especially touching interaction happened during the song “Terrestrial Man,” written about Van Cleaf’s father, who is a pilot, and the feeling that you don’t have any one place to belong. A cute family moment ensued: The elder Van Cleaf was in the audience, filming the performance on his phone, and he made sure to interject an assuring, “You were!” when Jack sang a line in which he admits to being an asshole. The songsmith rounded out his set with a few new tunes and a pop-in from Pruitt for a duet on “Wild Roses.”

After the crowd bopped along to a set-change playlist that was at least 50 percent Chappell Roan, Pruitt hit the stage again with a three-piece band in tow: guitarist Johnny Williamson, bassist Taylor Ivey and drummer Aaron Lawson No more than 30 seconds into the set, newcomers were made aware of what longtime Katie Pruitt fans know so well: They have a voice you’ll never recover from. It swoops and soars adeptly, just as it pierces deep beneath your skin with surgical precision.

In their songwriting, Pruitt has a knack for hitting you where it hurts and then healing you right back up again. There’s no better example than “White Lies, White Jesus and You,” a hard-hitting critique on the weaponization of faith against marginalized people. If you grew up in church and have any kind of complicated feelings about it, you won’t get through the song without your eyes getting a little damp. The song also showcases Pruitt’s stunning guitar work, with riffs and a rocking rhythm that make you wonder how they aren’t a household name.

While I haven’t seen Pruitt’s name on any arena marquees yet, it seems that day may be swiftly coming.

The show attracted fans from every walk of life, from groups of wine moms and middle-aged dads to Gen Z music lovers and at least one queer couple actively going through a breakup (y’all OK?). The crowd was a bit chatty, but every time Pruitt’s mouth opened and lyrics started spilling out, the room silenced, hypnotized with awe.

For the last portion of the set, Pruitt brought out an array of special guests to join the show — it’s Nashville, what did you expect? Lockeland Strings (minus Lydia Luce) performed as a quartet on a chilling rendition of “Standstill,” and Jess Nolan and Hadley Kennary sang harmonies together on “Expectations.” Each backed up Pruitt on some songs on their own — Kennary on “Worst Case Scenario,” and Nolan on “Phases of the Moon” and encore “Out of the Blue.”

It’s not easy to be in or believe in the music industry these days. Leviathan corporations and monopolistic practices have all but ruined the live-performance ecosystem, decent pay is unfairly hard to come by, and it often seems nearly impossible to rise above the noise. But musicians like Pruitt are a reminder of the good that comes out of Music City, as broken and infested — literally, thanks to Brood XIX — as it may be.

Listening to their songs reminds me why I fell in love with music in the first place. It breeds connection, bringing people together who might never have met otherwise, reminding us of how much we have in common. Music is cathartic and joyful, the purest form of human expression. And Pruitt does it so well, as a little corner of Nashville learned Thursday night. If loving Katie Pruitt is wrong, what’s the point in being right? ▼

ERIN

BETWEEN DESTINATIONS: JACK VAN CLEAF

SHRINKING VIOLENT

Slasher In a Violent Nature’s process is more interesting than its product

BY JASON SHAWHAN

THE RED-BAND TRAILER for In a Violent Nature is the greatest trailer (so far) for a 2024 release, and that’s kind of the problem. It’s a masterwork of setting a mood and making a promise, and it fulfills the ultimate goal of all social-media-era publicity — it baits its hook with immaculate vibes so you get drawn in without specifics getting in the way.

And that hook here is nigh-irresistible: We’ve got a process-oriented slasher film. We are bound to our hulking killer, but not through a subjective camera that makes our

THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS AND WE

In a Violent Nature R, 94 minutes

Opening Friday, May 31, at select theaters

eyes into theirs. We’re bound to Johnny like in a Dardennes film, or Grand Theft Auto. We’re following this brick wall of gristle and goreoriented (goriented?) tendencies as he works his way through a bunch of friends camping out in the woods, but we’re only seeing things from his perspective. Which is awesome! Until it stops being that and starts trying to split the difference between the Hatchet films and the Terrifier films.

Perhaps this is meant as the inverse of how audiences have started shorthanding “A24

On the cultural significance of The Muppet Movie, returning to theaters for its 45th anniversary

BY JASON SHAWHAN

PERHAPS THERE’S A bedrock upon which to build a healthy appreciation for vaudeville shtick, the value of impractical persistence, adaptive imagination, finding your friends and family in unexpected places, valuing your image and IP, and never letting the opportunity for a quality pun slip by that is more endearing and enduring than 1979’s The Muppet Movie. But if so, I’ve yet to encounter it, and that is the specific blend of elements you’ll spend your whole life looking for.

The Muppet Movie is back in Regal and AMC theaters via Fathom Events on June 2 and 3. At its simplest, this is a film about the origins of an artistic collective. About finding a similarly inclined bunch of weirdos and workers with a common goal and figuring out how best to use everyone’s strengths without falling prey to everyone’s weaknesses. (It is a tragedy that business majors are caught up in their Sun Tzu and their G. Gordon Liddy instead of their Muppetry, because the idea of balancing the fanciful and the pragmatic is literally the dialectic at the heart of all That Which Muppets.)

The Muppet Movie really is a remarkable film. It ages very well, maintaining an emotional relevance that evolves throughout a viewer’s life, speaking

horror” as art films with a moment of horror. In a Violent Nature has been sold as an art film that is, in fact, aiming for Art the Clown’s audience — not Shahram Mokri’s. Advance word on this one leaned hard into the arthouse pedigree — “like if Béla Tarr made a slasher” and “a blend of Gerry and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” were among what I was hearing from the Sundance crew, and as a fan of both horror and formalist art cinema, I was on board. And then came that exquisite red-band trailer, which dots all the i’s and crosses all the t’s for something truly distinctive. But in the very first scene, writerdirector Chris Nash starts hedging his bets, using garbage dialogue instead of relying on his remarkable mise-en-scène. (Seriously, for a film with this strong a sense of place and structure, it has Aggro Dr1ft-level dialogue that seemingly exists only for viewers who’ve never seen a slasher before — until the very last five minutes of the film, which are so good that you can’t help but be furious at the qualitative zigzagging that had been going on for the previous hour-and-a-half.)

The Belcourt’s 1999 retrospective kicks off this week. Read more about that in our Critics’ Picks, or visit nashvillescene.com for Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s thoughts on the series. (Yes, really.)

deliver baroque murderscapes that can outdo whatever else is currently in the zeitgeist. This film’s “yoga kill” is the kind of sequence that can play a crowded festival theater audience like a symphony, something so nasty (in both senses of the word) and gross that you have to respect the ambition. But it’s completely out of place in the rules the film has been establishing for itself. (See also: 2017’s It Comes at Night, which also promised something innovative and spectacular and ultimately ended up wasting its audience’s time.)

But the thing that ultimately torpedoes In a Violent Nature is that it has used that disciplined, formalist approach to camera as a Trojan horse. As soon as our killer starts cutting loose and winnowing down the cast, it becomes really obvious that this film doesn’t really care about its artistic reach — it just wants to

to the burgeoning imaginations of children with the same sincere and wry kindnesses that it uses to address the minefield of the business world and making adult relationships work. In the way that Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ On Death and Dying gave us as a culture a system by which to understand the process of grieving and loss, perhaps there is also a Kermit Continuum for all that life is, because Kermit the Frog is always teaching us something about being alive and present in the slow-motion parade that is human development. And honestly, that’s a lot for one frog to bear. But even when things skew dark (and in The Muppet Movie, loneliness, industrial theft, nonconsensual body modification and depression are all in play), there’s a feeling that there is a purpose to it.

Also, there are the songs. Gonzo’s “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday” is like an unexpected punch in the gut. And as deeply moving as it and the peerless “Rainbow Connection” are, that’s how imaginative the freaky rock stomp of “Can You Picture That?” lands. Has there ever been a musical that features nonstop bangers from beginning to end to the extent that The Muppet Movie does? Purple Rain does, and Xanadu comes very close, but there’s an impasse that keeps good-to-great musicals from ascending to flawless. And composers Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher are in flawless mode here. It warms my heart that Orson Welles was down with the Muppets. There’s a nobility in holding space for both high and low culture, and this is something that becomes all the more apparent as you return to this film at various points in life. Celebrating its 45th anniversary (1979 was a staggering year for film) is as good a reason as any to take another trip with the Muppets, or to introduce someone new to the experience. As difficult as the shoot was

It’s also a big, flashing warning sign that, sadly, there’s not really anything special to be found here. Nash can compose the hell out of a frame, using the Academy ratio in a way that calls to mind VHS transfers as well as Alan Clarke/ Frederick Wiseman 16 mm. There are sustained sequences herein that are all-timers for the genre. It’s not the kills but rather the process that distinguishes In a Violent Nature, and to some extent the film seems to know that. There’s nothing in the kills to knock Victor Crowley or Art the Clown down a peg or two. But the approach that defines the film (until it doesn’t) is something different, something special, and ultimately it feels disposable once you’re actually experiencing the film.

But yeah, you got me, I watched your movie. And that red-band trailer … that’s still a masterpiece. ▼

(director James Frawley was not particularly happy during the making of the film), it still endures as a shining beacon of sincere optimism twinkling from between the Nixon and Reagan eras — a promise and a presence for all who have grown up in its wake. ▼

The Muppet Movie G, 95 minutes

Screening June 2-3 at Regal and AMC theaters

1

3 Ire

1, 2, 3, etc.

5 Have because of 6 Leads of “La La Land”?

7 Low-tech security measures on some doors

8 Procedure performed by an OB

9 Popular backyard game

10 Important info for a connection, in brief

11 Smoke

12 Address abbr.

13 Detroit ___, nickname for Malcolm X

15 Expressing wonder

20 Instruction to open some restaurant menus

21 Burdens (with)

22 Ingenuous person

23 Historian’s verb

24 Spider-Man adversary played by Jamie Foxx

25 Novel parodied by Umberto Eco’s “Granita”

26 Tenant

27 Prodigy

28 Laptop brand

32 From, in France

33 Letters on an ambulance

34 Break down

37 Something checkered in New York’s past?

40 Creature of fantasy

41 Harsh cries

42 Like like like this clue clue clue ...

44 Not retail

47 Sinks the putt

48 What “ecto-” means as a prefix

49 Artoo-___

52 E’er so frequently

53 “Pass”

54 Suffix with methyl

55 Journalist Tarbell

56 “That’s the spot!”

57 Former AT&T competitor

58 Where peas are queued?

59 Powerful card in the game President

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 9,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/ crosswords ($39.95 a year).

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