Nashville Scene 6-15-23

STREET VIEW: A LOCAL NONPROFIT AIMS TO MAKE HOUSING AFFORDABLE PAGE 6

Seeking Council

FILM: OUR THOUGHTS ON THE BLACKENING, PAST LIVES AND THE FLASH, ALL OPENING THIS WEEK

PAGE 35

All 40 Metro Council seats are up for election. Early voting begins in one month. Here’s a look at some of the most competitive races.

The voice of the people speaks in chords.

Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art is the first exhibition to explore the instrument’s symbolism in American art from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Featuring over one hundred works of art and dozens of exceptional instruments, the exhibition demonstrates how guitars have served as symbols of American history, cultural attitudes, identities, and aspirations. Guitar Town: Picturing Performance Today, a companion photography exhibition that celebrates Nashville’s diverse music scene, is also on view.

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Michael C. Thorpe. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, 2021. Fabric; 46 x 33 1/4 in. Private collection, courtesy of LaiSun Keane, Boston

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District 25 18

Preptit, Toyos and Ackerman duke it out in ‘very engaged district’

BY KELSEY BEYELER

District 34

18

With term-limited Councilmember Angie Henderson vying for vice mayor, two longtime residents face off in a wealthy corner of the county

BY MATT MASTERS

CRITICS’ PICKS

Tegan and Sara, Kristin Chenoweth, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Top Gun: Maverick and more 28

FOOD AND DRINK

‘Life Is Good’

After many years slinging authentic Italian in Nashville, the Savarino family now thrives in Columbia

BY KAY WEST

ART

A Flat Circle

Three exhibitions at The Packing Plant reveal the past and point to the future

BY JOE NOLAN

BOOKS

American as Apple Pie

Friends turn to each other in Brandon Taylor’s

The Late Americans

BY

MUSIC

THIS WEEK ON THE WEB: Allison Russell Gets in the Groove in ‘The Returner’

Metro Sues State Over Airport Authority

Team Behind Common Ground Announces Expansion Into Berry Hill

The Morris Memorial Building Should Be Preserved as a Civil Rights Landmark

KASHIF ANDREW GRAHAM; CHAPTER16.ORG

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POLL HIGHLIGHTS STRONG BACKING FOR RACETRACK RENOVATIONS, NASCAR’S RETURN

A recent poll commissioned by Bristol Motor Speedway has shed some light on how Nashvillians feel about the proposed renovations at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and the return of NASCAR. The poll, conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Hart Research Associates, provides valuable insights into the opinions of our community. And in my mind, it highlights the overwhelming local support for the renovation project.

According to the poll results, many Nashvillians were not familiar with the details of the proposed deal between the city and Bristol Motor Speedway. However, when those polled were provided with an explanation of the proposal, support for the renovations outweighed opposition. After receiving a description of the deal, 67 percent of those polled countywide expressed their support, with 27 percent in opposition and 6 percent remaining uncertain. The numbers are even stronger among residents in the neighboring communities, where an overwhelming 72 percent rallied behind the renovations following a description.

As reported by The Tennessean, “Most respondents reported positive feelings toward the fairgrounds.” Nearly half (48 percent) of voters “said they have attended fairgrounds events in the last five years, and 21% said they’ve visited the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.” This signifies the potential for widespread enthusiasm among our residents once they become more informed about the project.

But it is also important to note that John Ingram, CEO of the Nashville Soccer Club, has raised concerns about the racetrack renovations. One of his chief concerns seems to be that the racetrack will be “competing” with the Nashville SC at Geodis Park. As a dedicated businessman, Ingram is naturally driven to protect his investments. Still, it is crucial for our city’s decision makers to consider the greater good of Nashville and listen to the voice of the people, remembering the potential benefits for our entire community. And as I mentioned in my last column, the Nashville Soccer Club built on its site with complete awareness of the speedway’s historic value and Nashville’s intention to maintain and improve the facilities. I also wrote, and still believe, that “through open dialogue and collaboration,” we can all win.

The speedway renovations hold great promise for our city. Not only will they bring back the thrill of NASCAR racing, but they will provide a catalyst for economic growth, job creation and cultural revitalization. As noted in a response letter by Jerry Caldwell,

president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway, the plan is “to restore the track, add additional parking for non-racing events such as soccer games, flea market, and concerts at GEODIS Park, build a sound absorption barrier to substantially reduce auto racing sounds, and provide hundreds of well-paying jobs for the community.” The positive impacts seem to far outweigh the negatives, and considering the numbers from the poll, many Nashvillians agree.

The renovations address the concerns raised by the community, including sound mitigation and increased parking for nonrace events. By actively addressing these issues, the project demonstrates a commitment to the well-being and comfort of both residents and visitors.

To boot, Metro Nashville’s fact sheet on the speedway provides comprehensive details about the funding structure, with public funding sources covering the majority of renovation and construction costs. This means Nashville taxpayers will not bear the burden of financing the project, creating a fair and equitable distribution of responsibility.

Though all concerns should be heard and addressed, let’s remember the potential of this project. It can revive a beloved venue, reignite the spirit of NASCAR, and unite our community in celebrating something good — something that families and neighbors can do together. By moving forward with this project, we invest in our city’s future, reputation, culture and wealth.

Nashville is changing so rapidly. Holding onto something that has been here for more than a century is a good idea. You can’t get back something once you tear it down. Today no one would ever consider tearing down the Parthenon or the Ryman. Think of how successful the Ryman has been since being brought back from the brink of destruction. Some wanted it razed. Nashville without the Ryman is unthinkable today. In 20 years, let’s hope people will be saying the same thing about Nashville and its racetrack.

As a proud citizen of Nashville, I wholeheartedly advocate for the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway renovations. The poll only emphasizes what this means to the people of Nashville — and to racing fans. I think this project symbolizes our city’s resilience, ambition and commitment to growth. I say we put the pedal to the metal — and go full speed ahead.

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THE HOUSING FUND NEARS COMPLETION OF ITS THIRD PROPERTY

The local nonpro t aims to make housing affordable for lower-income Nashvillians

BY LENA MAZEL

Street View is a monthly column in which we’ll take a close look at developmentrelated issues affecting different neighborhoods throughout the city.

On Maury Street in South Nashville, construction is nearly complete on a new house. It looks like many other Nashville properties: a residential construction site in a rapidly changing city.

But this house doesn’t face the same market pressures as the ones around it. Owned by local nonprofit The Housing Fund, it’s designed to make homeownership attainable by people who earn less than 80 percent of Nashville’s median income. Through a Community Land Trust program, The Housing Fund keeps the title to the land a home is built on, leasing the land to the homeowner. This allows the nonprofit to sell the home at a much more affordable price. As the Scene’s Alejandro Ramirez previously reported, The Housing Fund’s model helps people who have historically faced housing discrimination build generational wealth. Affordability isn’t the only unique feature of the house on Maury Street. It also sits on a significant housing resource: one of the hundreds of vacant residential land parcels owned by the Metro Nashville government. These parcels often come into Metro’s possession because of unpaid tax debts. Now they’re part of a citywide initiative to create more affordable housing.

Angie Hubbard is the director of the Metro Housing Division. “The Public Property Office periodically sends the Housing

Division a list of tax-delinquent parcels that are ready for disposal,” says Hubbard in an email to the Scene. From there, she explains, the Housing Division assesses whether these properties are “buildable.” Among other constraints, they need to meet a minimum size, not be in floodplains or other hazardous areas, and have street frontage — meaning the property line is directly next to a street.

If lots meet the Metro Housing Division’s requirements, then that department seeks approval from the Metro Council. After that, they can allocate lots to nonprofits through a partnership with the Barnes Housing Trust Fund.

So far, Hubbard says, Metro has awarded more than 100 properties to nonprofits, and plans to award six more soon. “We hope that these will come before council in July or August,” she says.

The Housing Fund owns 15 of these properties. The fund finished its first Community Land Trust property in January of last year and completed another a few months later. The Maury Street house will be its third finished property.

Once nonprofits acquire Metro property, they often face complications with the land’s title. “Nonprofits who have been awarded property have borne the time and costs of clearing title before developing the sites,” says Hubbard. “We are proposing to address this issue with our Fiscal Year 2024 funding request to create a mechanism for Metro to clear title and help bring the properties online faster.”

Alisha Haddock is senior vice president and director of community and economic

development at The Housing Fund. She says despite logistical challenges, the Community Land Trust program is an effective way to make first-time home buying possible.

“Clearing the titles so we can build on the land has been our biggest hurdle,” she says. “But other than that, this program has proven to be a successful tool and mechanism to activate land, keep it permanently affordable, but also create homeownership opportunities for people.”

The Housing Fund built its two latest properties in partnership with Moody Nolan, an architecture firm that donated its time and resources to help build the homes.

Of note, the home is also the subject of a recent lawsuit. On May 16, Nashville Lumber Co. filed a suit against The Housing Fund and its contractor, RK Junior LLC, alleging that The Housing Fund and RK Junior failed to pay for materials used for the Maury Street home and another property on Argyle Avenue. RK Junior did not respond to multiple requests to comment on the case, and attorneys for Nashville Lumber Co. declined to comment.

When asked about the case, The Housing Fund sent a statement reading, in part: “In the case of 97 Maury St., THF had a unique opportunity to partner with the local office of Moody Nolan — a prominent, minorityowned architectural firm with a 40-year history of development success. The firm’s Legacy Project is its philanthropic endeavor to provide under-resourced neighborhoods with architecturally modern houses, modeling a new approach to affordable housing. The national post-pandemic economic climate, combined with Nashville’s ongoing and rapid growth, has resulted in many labor/materials constraints for area builderdevelopers to navigate. Moody Nolan is currently working diligently with its General Contractor to resolve any outstanding construction challenges, and a new home at 97 Maury St. is approaching total completion.”

Hubbard says that if approved, the Fiscal Year 2024 budget will include three new Planning Division positions, which will focus on “planning and design services for Metro properties, including surplus MNPS property, and would allow Metro to explore the co-location of public/community spaces and housing options.” These efforts could help streamline the development process for nonprofits like The Housing Fund.

The 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force report suggested that in order to meet projected housing needs, Nashville needs to create 52,498 new affordable units by 2030. The report also recommended that The Housing Division audit its existing properties to find potential affordable housing sites.

Programs like The Housing Fund can help mitigate affordability and equity issues, but Haddock says they need to be part of a bigger picture. She hopes to see people and organizations beyond Metro get involved with housing equity. For example, she suggests, churches could join in by leasing or selling unused land to help people in need, and private companies can donate time and services.

“It can’t just be The Housing Fund, it can’t just be the local government, it can’t just be the Barnes Fund,” Haddock says. “It will have to take all of us. This is a space where everybody can play a part.”

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

Yard sign season officially started over the weekend. Through neighborhoods and intersections, Nashville drivers can see a rainbow of candidate endorsements ahead of Metro elections on Aug. 3. Independent polling finds no clear leader in the mayor’s race with about half the city undecided — a massive chunk of voters that candidates will vie for at forums, debates and town halls in the coming weeks. Councilmembers Freddie O’Connell and Sharon Hurt, state Sens. Heidi Campbell and Jeff Yarbro, and former city executive Matt Wiltshire are beginning to separate themselves into a top tier, but the race is still very much wide open. O’Connell leads a new report on candidates’ support for the arts, released by the Nashville Creators’ Coalition Jeff Syracuse and Marcia Masulla, both candidates for Metro Council’s five countywide at-large seats, spoke with the Scene about their campaigns. … After weeks of public pressure, Alive Hospice announced it will not sell to a private buyer and will remain a nonprofit organization providing hospice and palliative care. Steve Cavendish of the Nashville Banner first reported on Alive’s plans to sell, setting off fierce public outcry. … A deal between the city and NASCAR operator Speedway Motorsports (also known by its subsidiary, Bristol Motor Speedway) has hit a snag. Boosters hope to squeeze in approval before the end of the term — Mayor John Cooper’s last big push before he leaves office — but may not have enough meetings to do it. Cooper and Bristol have worked for years to finalize the $164 million, 30-year deal to overhaul the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, but would need to tweak procedure and rally last-minute support from councilmembers who report “deal fatigue” after the Titans stadium legislation. … Metro’s 10-member Planning Commission has struggled to make a quorum over the past few months due to absentee members and recusals. Two members, Jeff Haynes and Lillian Blackshear, ended their four-year terms in March but have stayed on at the request of the body while their replacements stall in the council confirmation process. One, real estate developer Matthew Smith, was grilled by councilmembers in May because of his deep ties to the development industry and potential conflicts of interest. … The Capital Improvements Budget includes $753 million in East Bank infrastructure upgrades, a price tag that nearly matches the city’s $760 million subsidy to the Titans for a new domed stadium. The upgrades would prepare the land around the stadium for commercial and residential development. The city is currently seeking a master developer to plan the future of the site and to work with private real estate interests to develop the area. … Scene contributor Betsy Phillips writes on the value of saving the Morris Memorial Building, a downtown behemoth that teems with historic significance and marks the site where Nashville’s biggest slave-trading firm, Dabbs & Porter, once stood. “Have the city buy the building and dedicate it, in part, for a museum devoted in some scope to civil rights and the African American experience in Nashville,” she writes.

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

HOME ON MAURY STREET OWNED BY THE HOUSING FUND

Seeking Council

All 40 Metro Council seats are up for election. Early voting begins in one month. Here’s a look at some of the most competitive races.

D

uring this year’s session, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill capping metropolitan legislative bodies at 20 members. As written, the law — signed in March by Gov. Bill Lee — applies statewide. But wouldn’t you know it, Nashville is the only metropolitan government in Tennessee with more than 20 councilmembers, and therefore the only city affected.

While we couldn’t fit stories on every race into this issue, what follows is a rundown of the at-large race, and stories on nine of the city’s most competitive district races. Several of these stories come to us via a partnership with the Nashville Banner, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news that will launch later this year. We’ll have more coverage of district races in the coming weeks, as well as interviews with several of the at-large candidates and coverage of the mayoral and vice mayoral races, at nashvillescene.com. (Note: Your Metro Council district may have moved due to redistricting following the 2020 Census — visit nashville.gov to find out.)

The voter registration deadline is July 5, and early voting begins on July 14.

D. PATRICK RODGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Williamson.)

BY STEVE CAVENDISH, NASHVILLE BANNER

SO YOU WANT TO BE an at-large councilmember. How exactly do you get a county of voters to pick you?

First, it’s not crucial, but it helps if your name is high in the alphabet. (We’re looking at you, Burkley Allen.) On a ballot with 20 or more names, there’s a non-zero portion of the electorate that isn’t going to look very far down the list. (Good luck, Jonathan

Second, if you’re attempting to step up from a district seat, you need to run an aggressive race. (We’re looking at an inbox full of fundraising emails from you, Jeff Syracuse.) The rare candidates who are able to make the leap understand that it takes a lot of work to go from needing as few as 800 votes in a district to needing 30,000-40,000 votes countywide. Syracuse started his run a year ago and has been relentless in fundraising and attempting to reach voters outside his Donelson district.

Third, it can help if you find a lane. (We’re looking at you, Steve Glover.) In a race where voters choose five names from a field, candidates who can effectively reach a large slice of the electorate can get elected. Glover, who resigned from the council in 2022 due to health reasons, was an outspoken Republican and rallied a swath of support. Though originally created as

Metro Council District Races

METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT RACES

35

2 5 6

19 20 21 22

23

34

17 18

24 25 26 27

14 15 16

28 29 30 31

7 8 4

32 33

DID YOU KNOW? Map Legend Races with incumbent - contested Races with incumbent - uncontested Races without incumbent - contested Races without incumbent - uncontested The Cumberland River 10 11 12 13

GRAPHIC: ABBEY PARCHMAN

21 candidates vie for the council’s ve citywide seats

a concession to white voters when Metro was formed, at-large seats have become a consistent expression of Black voting power in the past two decades, with Jerry Maynard and current mayoral candidate Sharon Hurt holding at-large seats.

Fourth, you’re going to have to raise a lot of money, and it helps if you can tap new sources. (We’re looking at you, Zulfat Suara.) In 2019, Suara successfully brought in more new big donors than anyone else, tapping the immigrant and Muslim communities in Nashville. With such a large, late-arriving mayoral field hammering donors for cash, finding new places to fundraise can be beneficial when the usual sources for an

$1,800 max donation get fatigued. And fifth, keep it positive. (We’re looking at all of you). At-large candidates have to be prepared to be someone’s second choice in both the general election and possibly a runoff. In 2019, only Bob Mendes was able to claim a seat in the first round, leaving eight candidates to slug it out for the final four positions in a runoff. The game theory of a multicandidate race states that voters often penalize candidates who are excessively negative when they get a second chance to vote for or against them. In a big field with multiple options, rarely does attacking another candidate pay off.

SO WHAT DOES THIS FIELD LOOK LIKE? THE INCUMBENTS

Allen and Suara are seeking reelection to their at-large positions.

STEPPING UP

Syracuse (District 15), Russ Pulley (District 25) and Delisha Porterfield (District 29) are all attempting to make the leap from district to at-large. Pulley might have the inside track on the Republican path from his Green Hills seat, while Syracuse was the first candidate to declare. Porterfield built up a lot of goodwill during the Justin Jones expulsion by nominating her former political opponent in state House District 52 back to his seat.

NAMES YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE

Chris Crofton is a comedian and musician who is the longtime Advice King columnist for the Nashville Scene. (The Scene has discontinued Crofton’s column during his run for office.)

Quin Evans Segall is a lawyer who serves on the Industrial Development Board — a body that has traditionally been a rubber stamp — where she pushed hard on deals the city has made.

Ronnie Greer represented District 17 from 1999 to 2007.

Arnold Hayes, a retired engineer, was previously chair of the Community Oversight Board.

Olivia Hill, a now-retired Vanderbilt employee, made news after suing the university for discriminating against her for being transgender.

Yolanda Hockett is a juvenile corrections administrator who previously ran for the District 2 seat in 2019.

Howard Jones has run for office multiple times, including last year for Circuit Court judge.

Marcia Masulla, a former aide to Mayor John Cooper, has been active in the nonprofit community and co-founded Nashville Fashion Week.

Gilbert Ramirez, a former MNPD officer who was decommissioned in 2019, briefly ran for mayor before switching over to at-large.

NEWCOMERS

Tony Chapman is a Republican who lives in Antioch.

Chris Cheng, an ex-Army officer who owns a hot sauce business in Old Hickory, grew up in Cane Ridge.

Stephen Downs, a retiree in Madison, says his No.1 priority is repairing the relationship between the city and state.

Brian Hellwig is an “asset protection specialist” for Home Depot.

Indrani Ray is a health care consultant who previously worked for Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the state.

Delores Vandivort is a registered nurse from West Nashville.

Jonathan Williamson is a former Davidson County Democratic Executive Committee member who works for Marriott.

METRO COUNCIL AT-LARGE CANDIDATES

BURKLEY ALLEN

BRIAN HELLWIG

ARNOLD HAYES

DELISHIA PORTERFIELD CHRIS CROFTON CHRIS CHENG

HOWARD JONES

GILBERT RAMIREZ

DELORIS VANDIVORT

JONATHAN WILLIAMSON

JEFF SYRACUSE

INDRANI RAY

QUIN EVANS SEGALL

OLIVIA HILL

MARCIA MASULLA

STEPHEN DOWNS

RUSS PULLEY

RONNIE GREER

TONY CHAPMAN

ZULFAT SUARA

YOLANDA HOCKETT

WITNESS HISTORY

“Harmonica Wizard” DeFord Bailey used this megaphone during his spellbinding performances. A founding member of the Grand Ole Opry, and the program’s first Black star, Bailey was among the show’s most popular early performers.

From the exhibit Sing Me Back Home: Folk Roots to the Present artifact: Courtesy of Dezerol Bailey Thomas artifact photo: Bob Delevante

District 1

Metro’s largest district seeks stability

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

IN 2018, the Scene dubbed District 1 “The District That Can’t Keep a Representative.”

The district, Metro’s largest, includes Joelton, Beaman Park and part of Bordeaux, spanning a large swath of the northwestern part of Davidson County. Starting in 2015, the district was represented by: Loniel Greene, who resigned a few months after he was elected; fill-in At-Large

District 4

Lame duck Swope picks

Blalock, while two newcomers look to bring fresh blood

BY HANNAH HERNER

IN DISTRICT 4, one Metro Council veteran and two newcomers are vying to fill an open seat.

All three candidates lived in District 27 before rezoning, which placed them in the wealthier District 4 situated at the southern edge of the county and closer to Brentwood. Candidate Davette Blalock served as councilmember for District 27 from 2011 to 2019. (She also ran for state office as a Republican in 2016.)

District 4 covers the Nippers Corner neighborhood and is marked by residential subdivisions, rolling hills, strip malls and chain restaurants, with a noticeable lack of tall-and-skinny new builds.

In his first run for office, Mike Cortese lost to now-outgoing District 4 Councilmember Robert Swope in 2019. Cortese, a Belmont adjunct professor and founder of a leadership training organization, names communication as the biggest issue in the district. He’s committed to monthly town halls if elected and thinks the district needs new

Councilmember Sharon Hurt; Nick Leonardo, who won a special election but resigned the next year when he was appointed to a judgeship; fill-in At-Large Councilmember (now Mayor) John Cooper; and finally Jonathan Hall, who won a 2018 special election followed by a full four-year term the next year.

Hall, facing a six-figure fine for campaign finance violations, is not running for reelection. Those aiming to succeed him — Ruby Baker, Sean Dailey, Rob Harris, Joy Kimbrough and Timothy Thompson — mostly think that’s a good thing for District 1.

Dailey, who does workforce development and analysis in the construction industry, calls Hall’s tenure “a dereliction.” Harris, a procurement officer for the state’s DeBerry Special Needs Facility, stresses that he does not want to disparage Hall but says the incumbent’s tenure has lacked accessibility, transparency, accountability and communication, all things he says he will bring to the district.

“I really hoped that Jonathan would be the answer,” Harris says.

Baker, a longtime neighborhood association leader in Bordeaux Hills who previously ran for the seat in 2015 and 2018, says, “The community wants

someone committed, dedicated and stable,” referencing her decades of work for the state.

District 1 is unique among the city’s 35, with its ample open space and remaining rural areas, plus a large Black population and a history of producing political leaders from that community. Residents in the area, the candidates say, are wary about development, in part because of “the way we get dumped on, literally and figuratively,” according to Kimbrough, alluding to unsavory industrial and waste projects that have been sited or proposed in the district.

Dailey says the next councilmember should treat the district’s natural beauty and open space as a feature. “My vision for District 1 would be to realize those assets and develop them while conserving them,” he says. “If you don’t recognize them as an asset, when this sprawl starts to happen in District 1 as it has in other neighborhoods, you’re going to lose the very thing that makes District 1 great. We have an opportunity to get it right and be one of the best districts in terms of conservation, in terms of being an affordable place for people to live.”

Kimbrough, who as an attorney has represented the families of Nashvillians killed by police officers, jumped in the race just a few days before the qualifying deadline. “It was truly the last minute,” she

says. “I had been trying to recruit people to run. … I couldn’t really get anybody to do it. I saw one of [the other candidates] in a picture with a developer. It sparked something in me. It was that quick.”

Like the other candidates, Kimbrough says she does not oppose all development, but “it’s got to be smart growth.” She and Baker both contend that Hall ignored residents and negotiated with developers behind closed doors, something they say they would change.

But Harris, another contender, says his experience “in the backroom meetings” as Mayor John Cooper’s liaison to the Metro Council prior to this current job has helped prepare him to serve on the council. “I’ve seen how the sausage is made,” he says.

Harris is not explicitly running on Cooper’s legacy, though: “I don’t tie myself to Mayor Cooper. I tie myself to my work in the community.”

Harris wants to work on infrastructure in Joelton (a priority mentioned by Baker, too), bring new private- or public-sector tenants to a city-owned former hospital and assisted living campus in the district, and attract limited development to the district’s busiest corridors while limiting growth in other areas.

“The city has given us everything that they don’t want,” Harris says. “We can’t be the solution to everything.” ■

blood in office.

“I have people who voted for Donald Trump twice with my signs in their yard, and I have people who voted for Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden with my signs in their yard,” Cortese says. “I believe that’s a place where I can really shine.”

Though the Metro Council is nonpartisan, term-limited Councilmember Swope was vocal about national politics during his tenure. He wanted to bring the Republican National Convention to the city — though that effort ultimately failed — and maintain an alliance with the Republican-dominated state legislature.

Swope has endorsed real estate agent Blalock for the upcoming election, but she says her conservative views will come into play only when it’s time to set the budget. When it comes to state interference in local politics, she’s “torn” — a point of difference between her and her opponents, who tell the Scene they are staunchly against it.

“There just needs to be more conversa-

tions between the state and the council,” Blalock says, noting her nonconfrontational nature. “I think [state lawmakers] have no idea what the majority of the council feels and desires.”

While the Tennessee General Assembly in this year’s session passed legislation to reduce the Metro Council from 40 members to 20, a three-panel judge ruled to delay that move at least until after the Aug. 3 election. “It’ll be just fine to have 20 [councilmembers],” Blalock says. “We’ll be just fine. When I put down the pros and cons, it almost equals out in my mind. It’ll just be very different.”

Blalock says traffic is the biggest issue in the district, and relatedly, one of her top goals going into office is to create a roundabout on Edmondson Pike. She also wants a park on Edmondson Pike and Clover Lane. During her first term in office, she put the brakes on zoning that allowed for more than two units on a property — halting tall-andskinnies.

Brian Sullivan, a former journalist and current PR agent, says street racing is a big issue in the area — something Swope has also spoken against recently. He wants to encourage area businesses to be part of the Safe Bar program to combat drugging in bars, and wants naloxone distribution to become ubiquitous. Sullivan is involved in the nonprofit world, and hopes to see the council replace some of the American Rescue Act funding set to run out for organizations like the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition in 2024.

“I’ve had people ask me when I’m canvassing, ‘What are you going to do about China?’ or, ‘What are you going to do about the debt ceiling?’” Sullivan says. “Some people don’t have a general education of what the council does. This is a nonpartisan election, and I want to make sure that your voice is heard. As far as things like development, roads, trash pickup, lights and overall tone of the city — that’s what I can do.” ■

DAVETTE BLALOCK

MIKE CORTESE BRIAN SULLIVAN

SPRINGER

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

OCTOBER

OCTOBER

District 6

Candidates pitch different versions of governance in an East Nashville district facing massive redevelopment

BY COLE VILLENA

EAST NASHVILLE RESIDENTS love to say the area, full of beloved local businesses, offbeat community events and wide neighborhood streets, is the best place to live in the city. For folks outside of East Nashville’s District 6, however, there’s an obvious headline for this council race: This district, currently home to the Tennessee Titans’ Nissan Stadium, will soon likely see billions of dollars in investment and development related to the new Titans stadium and East Bank buildouts. (The stadium is not included in the redrawn D6, but will still have a huge impact on the area.) The two leading candidates, public

defender Clay Capp and urban planner Daniel McDonell, are proud East Nashville dads who express similar priorities about managing development, improving transit options, increasing teacher pay and providing affordable housing. Both say they’re frustrated with the state legislature’s attacks on the rights of their LGBTQ neighbors. Neither feels that advocates for the $2.1 billion Titans stadium redevelopment adequately made the case for such a massive investment, and both wish the Metro Council had spent more time investigating the plan’s costs and benefits before it was put to a vote in May.

Indeed, there’s a lot of similarity

between the two, and it’s easy to imagine them voting similarly on the council. They pitch two different visions of what the job means: Is local government a project to be managed or a battle to be fought?

Capp, a public defender who grew up in Nashville and formerly served as legal director for the Tennessee Justice Center, says his top campaign priority is protecting and funding Nashville’s public schools. But he sees a necessary fight on the horizon as the Tennessee General Assembly attacks reproductive health care access, LGBTQ rights and Nashville’s ability to self-govern. Capp says he’s prepared for that fight because he advocates for clients every day in the courtroom.

“To me, the purpose of government is

District 17

Racially and economically diverse district presents unique challenges for candidates

BY CONNOR DARYANI, NASHVILLE BANNER

“DISTRICT 17 REMAINS a microcosm of what it means to live in the urban core of Nashville,” says term-limited District 17 Councilmember Colby Sledge.

What does that mean? Within the boundaries of the district lie some of the fastestgrowing neighborhoods in the city, as well as some of the most diverse. There’s the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, which seems to have a new development starting up constantly, and has begun to rival the trendiness of the 12South area, which also falls in the district.

By contrast, right down the road from 12South are MDHA’s Edgehill apartments and the Envision Edgehill affordable housing project, which seems to be in a constant state of disarray. Then, of course, on the top of everyone’s mind is The Fairgrounds Nashville area, which just a few years ago saw the construction of a new soccer stadium, and is currently the face of a debate over a huge racetrack project.

Whoever gets elected in August will face a very different district than the one Sledge was elected to represent in 2015. There are three candidates on the ballot: Teaka Jackson, Terry Vo and Tonya Esquibel

Vo has spent the least time in Nashville of the three candidates — relatively, at 14 years — but says she has become deeply ingrained in her community through nonprofit work and her service on the Chestnut Hill Neighborhood Association. Vo has the endorsement of Sledge, and largely seems to adhere to similar ideas. She places a strong emphasis on housing and community development.

“I want to make sure that we are not creating a place that is for haves and havenots,” says Vo. “I think it’s really important that neighbors, whether you’ve lived here five years or 50 years, that you’re part of the process.”

Jackson is the only lifelong Nashville resident of the three. She attended Metro Nashville Public Schools and now works as a litigation paralegal. Jackson is also the sole

founder of Love Thy Neighbors, a nonprofit geared toward community outreach through programs, events and initiatives providing services to marginalized groups. Her top priority is affordability.

“The people of District 17 need a transparent leader who is dedicated and engaged in the community while focusing on affordable, safe and high-quality places to live and work, and I have a proven track record of this,” says Jackson.

Esquibel has lived in Nashville for 26 years. A loan officer for CrossCountry Mortgage, she touts her recently completed bachelor’s degree in Christian leadership as transformative in her understanding of her community and learning how to serve. She places a strong emphasis on public safety, specifically on bolstering the Metro Nashville Police Department, and feels the biggest issue District 17 faces is future plans for the fairgrounds.

“I feel like just having the experience in running a [business], that will give me boots on the ground to be able to hear what

to protect the rights of the people, to guard the people and their fundamental rights,” Capp says. “The only dignified thing to do when they are threatened or taken away is to stand up, every lawful way that we can.”

Memphis native McDonell has held a variety of transit-focused roles since moving to Nashville in 2012 and currently manages the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Multimodal Planning Office. He says he likes to “nerd out” over how to make intersections safer, develop new solutions for commuting and secure the best funding for infrastructure projects around the city and state.

That experience, he says, makes him a perfect fit to head up the project of making East Nashville the best place it can be.

“The good end results we see on the ground as residents here are not inevitable,” McDonell says. “It takes someone pulling the funding buckets together, making the projects priorities.”

Family attorney Brandes Holcomb says he’s seen East Nashville transform through the two decades he’s lived there. He lags significantly behind in funding and name recognition and does not have a campaign website, but says his top priority is making it easier for residents to understand what’s behind the decisions that shape their neighborhood. ■

the constituents want,” says Esquibel, arguing this experience makes her uniquely qualified to negotiate with businesses and developers.

While we may not know what the state of the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway deal will be by the time Election Day rolls around on Aug. 3, all three candidates say it will be important for the District 17 representative to engage with the community to make sure the deal meets the needs of the surrounding neighborhood. We asked all three candidates: If you had to vote on the racetrack legislation as it stood as of June 7, how would you vote? Jackson and Vo both said they would vote against the updates, and Esquibel refused to take a position.

“I hope that the person who gets elected really looks at it and prioritizes the people who live here in the neighborhood, and the impact that their quality of life will have if the wrong deal is made,” says Shay Sapp, the board president of South Nashville Action People, the highly organized WedgewoodHouston neighborhood association. ■

CLAY CAPP

TEAKA JACKSON

TERRY VO

TONYA ESQUIBEL

DANIEL McDONELL

District 19

After eight years, the downtown district gets a new councilmember as Freddie O’Connell bids to be mayor

BY ADDISON WRIGHT, NASHVILLE BANNER

FOR YEARS, current Councilmember Freddie O’Connell has referred to District 19 as the city’s economic engine. The engine is about to get a new conductor.

Five candidates initially jumped into the race, but only three stayed in: Jacob Kupin, Jasper Hendricks III and Jonathan Turner. The trio is sprinting to stand out in one of Metro Council’s more crowded district races as July 14 early voting approaches.

“This district is the most important probably in the state, maybe the country, because of the amount of economic impact that [it] has,” says Hendricks. “District 19 actually feeds the entire state, and so it is important to have someone at the table that understands that.”

Originally from D.C., Hendricks served as outreach adviser to presidential and congressional campaigns, aide to three members of U.S. Congress and as national director of the NAACP’s Youth and College Voter Empowerment Program. He is currently a Fair Board commissioner. He says he wants to help

District 21

Incumbent Brandon Taylor faces a challenge from local organizer and activist Jamel Campbell-Gooch

BY ELI MOTYCKA

METRO COUNCILMEMBER Brandon Taylor is facing a second-term challenge from Jamel Campbell-Gooch, a local organizer and activist. District 21 covers North Nashville from Centennial Park up to Clay Street, including major commercial centers on Buchanan Street and Jefferson Street and around Tennessee State University.

Campbell-Gooch proudly identifies as a lifelong North Nashville resident who’s witnessed both the strength and beauty of North Nashville and the systemic ills that made 37208 the most incarcerated ZIP code in America. For years he has been speaking his politics, reflected in the platforms of politically aligned groups like the People’s Budget Coalition and the Black Nashville Assembly, which he

people by bringing together corporate and community partners as well as state and local legislators.

Turner notes his passion for the city is a natural result of being a multigenerational Nashville native and product of Metro Nashville Public Schools, Vanderbilt and Belmont. He currently works for a sales and marketing firm.

“I’m a native and born in the area,” says Turner. “Unfortunately, my opponents are not. They don’t know where we’ve been because they weren’t here. Sometimes in order to have a better understanding of Nashville and of Tennessee, you’ve got to be in it from start to finish.”

Kupin identifies himself as the “neighborhood guy.” After the former New Yorker fell in love with Nashville 10 years ago, he says, he worked to embed himself on a granular level through real estate and neighborhood associations.

“In this race, we’ve got someone running that lives in the Gulch, and we’ve got someone running that lives downtown, but we didn’t have anyone running that lived in the neighborhoods that understood that balance of what the neighborhood needs are,” says Kupin.

With the districts redrawn following the 2020 Census, the addition of the East Bank and Midtown neighborhoods adds new voters in D19 for the 2023 election. The new district will also add Nissan Stadium to a long list of revenue attractions already in the area.

O’Connell, the previous representative, dealt with issues like floods, tornadoes, a downtown bombing, transportation infrastructure, parking, education, energy systems, business improvement, neighborhood conservation, development and environmental issues with the Cumberland River.

“I think Freddie’s relationship with the

founded and where he organizes. He is an uncompromising critic of the police and the carceral state and has told voters that, if elected, he will work for large-scale change by investing in public goods and services while divesting the city from prisons, surveillance and aggressive law enforcement.

“For the past four years, there’s been a gap growing between the people and some of the elected officials,” Campbell-Gooch told councilmembers during a June 2 public hearing on the 2024 budget. “Communities are safe when we have investment in public goods. And when working-class people have the say-so over a continuously ballooning budget.”

While Campbell-Gooch has legitimate concerns with the priorities of Nashville’s ruling elite, it’s hard for him to pin the same criticisms on his immediate opponent, the incumbent Taylor. As much as Campbell-Gooch has shown his ambition and vision — he is a charismatic presence and gifted speaker with established, devoted support thanks to the reach of the Black Nashville Assembly — Taylor has spent his first four years tackling the practical problems facing residents in the historic heart of the city’s Black community.

“When we talk about gentrification and the rising cost of living, those things bubble up from the things we do on the ground,” Taylor tells the Scene. “Every decision we make about planning, zoning, building — I try to think how that fits into smart growth or how it will change the neighborhood years down the road.”

Taylor says the top concerns in District 21

HOAs and the community associations are great, but this district is going to be different from what Freddie currently represents,” says Hendricks. “How do we get the homeowners and the community associations together with the businesses so that we can figure out how to coexist?”

Hendricks and Kupin look to add to O’Connell’s work, while Turner does not align with the former representative.

“Freddie kind of beats to his own drum and has lived in a lot of other districts,” says Turner. “I am downtown. If you don’t live in it and experience it, you don’t know where you’ve been. You don’t know where you are, and certainly you’re not going to know where you’re going.”

Hendricks looks to combine subsidized housing solutions with job retention through a program he titles “Music City Heroes,” while Kupin wants to first define affordable housing to support more coherent collaboration.

“I’ve been shifting to what I’ve heard called income-aligned housing, because I’m seeing this issue, top to bottom, across all sorts of salary ranges,” says Kupin. “I think the other piece is going back to the ground level, going door to door, and then looking to the city resources to figure out what you can do.”

Turner sees an opportunity in the Nissan stadium bill.

“There’s just too much opportunity, and we’re just missing out on a lot,” says Turner. “We have the party buses, but what about the water taxis?”

“We’re not done until we figure out how to house everyone, how to educate everyone, make things accessible for everyone, which covers a lot of things … accessible housing, accessible infrastructure,” says Hendricks. “We have to come together.” ■

are crime, illegal dumping, traffic and speeding — basic quality-of-life issues shared by residents in any corner of Davidson County.

“People want clean, safe, healthy and vibrant communities where they don’t have a long drive to a grocery store,” Taylor says.

“They want sidewalks, accessible public transportation. Clean water and good water pressure and toilets that flush. My job is to bring that up in the right places — not all places — directly with the people who can make a difference, not always on the council floor.”

In perhaps the most radical political act of his first term, Taylor tried to amend the Titans’ deal to secure tax revenue for the city’s general fund as the deal’s terms moved through council in April. With public opinion shifting against the deal, the legislative maneuver — referred to in council lore as the “Taylor Amendment” — was perhaps the most significant council effort to change the terms of the deal and earned Taylor favor among Campbell-Gooch’s comrades on the activist left.

“There’s going to be a windfall for this city when the stadium comes through — it’s going to make money,” Taylor told colleagues. “We’re asking for this to go to the general fund so all 35 district councilmembers can get more. It doesn’t give us a whole lot more, but it gives us a little, so we can go back to our constituencies and say that we’re getting something out of this deal.”

The amendment passed that night, but was killed the following meeting with a Titansfriendly alternative. ■

District 23

Incumbent Druffel picks up a last-minute challenger in the Plaza-adjacent district BY ADDISON WRIGHT, NASHVILLE BANNER

Thom Druffel’s District 23 seat was safe and secure for months as he looked to coast to an easy reelection. And then, two days before the qualifying deadline, it all changed.

Lisa Williams’ petition to run against Druffel was verified the same day as Druffel’s vote in favor of the controversial Belle Meade Plaza bill for a mixeduse development at the corner of White Bridge Road and Harding Pike. Even though the intersection lies just beyond the district’s borders, it is extremely familiar to D23 residents. Did the plaza bring competition to the race?

“I am adamant that we don’t let people run unopposed,” says Williams. “I feel that democracy requires challenge. I have nothing against Thom; he’s a very nice guy. I think it’s important that we have challenges in these situations, and that it strengthens our representatives that they are always on their best game.”

Williams and Druffel agree the Plaza bill has insufficient traffic infrastructure, sidewalk planning and parking. But they reached different positions. Druffel voted in favor of the Plaza bill, and Williams says she would have “voted against a change of zoning for Belle Meade Plaza.”

But the Plaza, which roiled neighborhoods all around the project, is not the only issue in the race, both candidates say.

“I think that when you get a chance to get started on some of the legislation and some of the initiatives, you recognize that there’s an opportunity to continue to grow, and to do more,” says Druffel.

Druffel argues it takes time to make an impact in Nashville, and wants to grow his experience as a councilmember. He says he’s aiming for long-run problem-solving, also pursuing a Ph.D. in education. He has experience managing 40 hotels across the country.

“In government, management becomes a little different, because there’s so many diverse ideas and views. So you’ll learn it takes time to build strategic solutions,” says Druffel.

Williams argues a new, passionate perspective is needed to accomplish progress. She says she has experience taking difficult concepts and making them available to the public through

her time working in the technology transfer division of the NASA Ames Research Center in California.

But more importantly, Williams argues, Nashville needs a mom.

“Mr. Druffel is working on his Ph.D. in education — but as a mom, we get stuff done, and we get it done on coffee and dry shampoo,” says Williams. “It’s amazing how quickly women who are motivated can make things happen. My perspective is that Nashville has been dragging its feet on many topics. We just need to make stuff right, and I can do that.”

The District 23 race lands on the same theme as many other district races: As Nashville grapples with rising unaffordability, will a new, outside perspective or an experienced, inside perspective bring about more progress? The district is experiencing steady, rapid growth similar to the overall growth Davidson County is experiencing.

“The people that live in our district are in a lot of ways the engine of our city,” says Williams. “We encompass some of the neighborhoods where people who have some significant power in our city choose to live. It’s important we be aware that they have their finger on the pulse.”

Druffel prioritizes “protecting and enhancing” homes and neighborhoods, “increasing governmental transparency and accountability in Metro budgets,” “developing strategies for inequities in the city,” being “responsive” and participating in community “leadership” during his time as D23’s Metro Council representative.

Williams wants to focus on accessible voting, “continuing to inspire innovation” and the relationship between affordable housing and transportation. ■

District 25

Preptit, Toyos and Ackerman duke it out in ‘very engaged district’

BY KELSEY BEYELER

AS IT IS NOW DRAWN, Metro Council District 25 encompasses parts of Green Hills, Oak Hill and the Radnor Lake State Natural Area. It’s a sliver that stretches from the I-440 loop down to the southern border of Davidson County. Russ Pulley has represented the district for eight years, and tells the Scene he’d likely run again if he weren’t term-limited. Instead Pulley is running for an at-large Metro Council seat, and three candidates are vying for the D25 seat — Jeff Preptit, Rolando Toyos and David Ackerman

Folks may recognize Toyos and Preptit from previous elections. Preptit, who is on the board of the Davidson County Young Democrats, is a civil rights attorney and former public defender who in 2022 ran as a Democrat for state House District 59, but withdrew from the race after newly drawn legislative maps put him in a different district. Toyos is a former teacher and practicing physician with three clinics

in Nashville. He serves on the board of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and unsuccessfully ran as a Republican for the Shelby County Commission in 2010 and for U.S. Senate in 2018. Ackerman, who does not identify as a member of either party, works for a higher-education software company.

Toyos, the son of Cuban immigrants, compares his bid to running a medical practice — he wants people to discuss their problems openly and holistically. He says he wants available city services such as law enforcement to keep up with the growth the city is experiencing. “I’m running for my constituency,” says Toyos. “So what I’m trying to do is do some outreach now and see what issues are important to them.”

Preptit, whose parents immigrated from Haiti, has support from Democratic state House Reps. Caleb Hemmer and Bob Freeman. “I’m running on … equity, justice and community safety,” says Preptit. “I firmly believe that if we have those principles embedded in the policies that we enact, we’re going to have a better Nashville that actually works for the folks who live and work here.” He was the only candidate who addressed stormwater infrastructure during conversations with the Scene, and his website highlights matters including community safety, housing, education, development and infrastructure.

According to Ackerman’s website, he is running on the concepts of affordability, transit, education and public safety. “In every area of our government, there’s always room for improvement,” says Ackerman. “So it’s looking for, ‘What is that need, and how do we get on board to make that happen?’”

Pulley hasn’t endorsed a candidate, but he’s planning to host a forum with them at Lipscomb University on June 27.

“They need to be super responsive, because this is a very engaged district, and their expectation is that they can reach their councilmember,” says Pulley. “We do have some district councilmembers who tend to involve themselves more in countywide matters than they do their own district, and that’s not going to work very well here.” ■

District 34

With term-limited Councilmember Angie Henderson vying for vice mayor, two longtime residents face off in a wealthy corner of the county

BY MATT MASTERS

WITH TERM-LIMITED Metro Councilmember

Angie Henderson making a bid for vice mayor, District 34 will see a faceoff between seventh-generation Nashvillian Luke Elliott and 20-year resident Sandy Ewing. District 34 is situated at the southern edge of Davidson County; it includes Forest Hills, Edwin Warner Park and Vaughn’s Gap, and stretches north to Green Hills.

Elliott, a financial analyst, tells the Scene his greatest asset to voters would be his ability to mediate the relationship between the city and the state.

“The biggest issue that the council faces is that they are having all these blockades with the state,” Elliott says, citing relationships he formed while attending the University of Tennessee.

“I think our district in particular needs somebody who can negotiate, and I can get meetings with these people,” Elliott says. “I’m not going to grandstand on social issues and things like that. I am a Republican, but I mainly am a numbers guy — that’s what I do for a living.

“I want to preserve the culture of Nashville,” he continues, “not just in our district but in other districts, and I want to enforce zoning laws — I don’t think they’re being enforced properly. I want to make sure developers can’t ransack our communities, and I want to make sure that we act in a fiscally responsible manner, and I don’t think we’re doing that right now. That’s not to kick the current council in the pants, but I just don’t think there’s strong enough leadership and an understanding of municipal bonds and zoning laws.”

Elliott’s campaign website lists issues including collaborating with community organizations, the city and law enforcement to “address the root causes of crime,” and working to make sure communities benefit from tourism. He says he’s seen a shift in “modesty and politeness” in Nashville and sees unsustainable growth as one of the biggest challenges in the city’s future.

“Right now it seems like there’s a bunch of trust-fund babies moving in with Range Rovers, building massive houses, and that’s just not the Nashville I know,” Elliott says.

“I’m talking about focusing more on the

people that live here, rather than tourism, rather than huge projects.”

Meanwhile, Ewing’s main campaign issues include traffic-calming measures, stormwater management, protecting greenspaces, supporting increased police presence throughout the district, investment in public transportation and the addition of more sidewalks. Her campaign website also lists “resilience” among the issues she’s focused on, calling for “collaborating, coordinating and maintaining transparency in how the mayor’s office, council and city functions work together as stewards of Nashvillians’ tax dollars.”

According to her site, Ewing currently works in the private sector on sustainable military housing. She tells the Scene she’s married to a ninth-generation Nashvillian, and moved to the area to be near family. Over the past 20 years she’s seen the population boom and with it an increase in traffic and development, continued growth that she says is inevitable in Nashville.

“I think that a lot of that development has been done with developers taking the lead,” Ewing says. “Sometimes that has worked out fine, and sometimes I think that it would have been nice to have more input from the community and more guidance from Metro, from the council and the mayor’s office.

“As we grow,” she continues, “we need to make sure that we do so in a way that is sustainable, economically, environmentally, socially, that pays attention to issues like providing affordable housing for our first responders, for our musicians, for our artists, for people who are at lower income brackets and need options close by where they work, so that they can live in Nashville proper, because that’s better for everyone.

“I think that Nashville’s strength is its diversity, the vibrancy of the artistic community,” says Ewing. “We’re called Music City for a reason, so I think we need to hang onto the people who make our city shine.”

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

LUKE ELLIOTT

SANDY EWING

CRITICS’ PICKS

WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF THINGS TO DO

THURSDAY / 6.15

FILM

[TAKE OFF]

MOVIES IN THE PARK: TOP GUN: MAVERICK

At my previous newspaper job, I nearly got fired when I wrote a story about Tom Cruise selling his mansion in that town because I included a reference to the home’s rumored Xenu. I have largely forgiven Cruise in the years since, and it seems like the culture has too — for nearly losing my job and for his general support of a powerful and dangerous cult. We’ve forgiven him because he makes perfect movies. Top Gun: Maverick was the best movie of 2022. It might be the best movie ever made. I’m getting excited just thinking about the opening scene right now. Please watch this man’s movies before he inevitably dies on film. I imagine Cruise, he of the anti-motion-smoothing instructional video, might blanch at the outdoor presentation at the Scene’s Movies in the Park. Who cares, let’s ride. As always, food trucks will be there, as will games, giveaways and other activities, which kick off at 5 p.m. Show up by 8 p.m. to make sure you’re there in time for the movie, which starts at sundown. 5 p.m. at Elmington Park, 3531 West End Ave.

STEPHEN ELLIOTT

FRIDAY / 6.16

[LOVE CAN TELL A MILLION STORIES]

THEATER

FALSETTOS

Street Theatre Company has been on quite a roll lately with a terrific production of Ordinary Days in March and an ongoing cabaret series that showcases some of Nashville’s favorite artists. This weekend promises to continue that trend, as Street Theatre presents William Finn and James Lapine’s Tony Award-winning musical Falsettos. Tackling

everything from Jewish identity and gender roles to the AIDS epidemic, this sungthrough musical follows Marvin, a gay man struggling to navigate tricky relationships after leaving his wife and son to be with his lover, Whizzer. Despite the heavy themes, Falsettos is surprisingly funny, featuring memorable songs such as “Four Jews in a Room Bitching,” “Thrill of First Love” and “Unlikely Lovers.” It’s just the sort of meaty work we’ve come to expect from Street, and at a time when hate seems to be dominating the headlines, Falsettos offers a much-needed dose of humor, humanity and compassion. June 16-July 1 at The Barbershop Theater, 4003 Indiana Ave.

AMY STUMPFL

HISTORY

[SOUTHERN ROOTS]

BUILDING A BRIGHT FUTURE: BLACK COMMUNITIES AND ROSENWALD SCHOOLS IN TENNESSEE

In the early 20th century, businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald partnered with famed educator Booker T. Washington to establish a project known as the Rosenwald School. Between 1912 and 1937, roughly 5,000 of these schools for Black children were constructed throughout the South — 354 of them in Tennessee. A brand-new exhibit from the good folks at the Tennessee State Museum, in partnership with the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library at Fisk University, aims to examine the immense impact of Rosenwald Schools in Southern Black communities, focusing in particular on 16 Rosenwald communities in our state. Building a Bright Future: Black Communities and Rosenwald Schools in Tennessee is a 4,000-square-foot exhibit focusing on the stories of alumni, educators and their descendants. It’s an important piece of American history that connects deeply to the civil rights movement, and it’s a topic worth dedicating some thought and consideration to as we head toward this year’s Juneteenth holiday. The exhibit

CHRIST AND SHAME: A CONVERSATION WITH WILL MADDOXX AND DAVID DARK

SATURDAY, JUNE 17

6 p.m. at Elephant Gallery; ICONOCLASM is on view through June 2

opens on Friday, with a special opening reception to take place at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. But no worries if you can’t make the opening reception — you’ve got eight months to visit the museum and check it out before it closes. June 16-Feb. 25; opening reception 9:30 a.m. June 17; at the Tennessee State Museum, 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.

D. PATRICK RODGERS

MUSIC

POPULAR!] KRISTIN CHENOWETH

[SHE’S

Tennessee Performing Arts Center and Studio Tenn Theatre Company are wrapping up their 2022-23 Cabaret On Stage series with one of Broadway’s biggest names and one of Nashville’s newest residents. With a career that spans television, film, voiceover and stage, Kristin Chenoweth first dazzled Broadway

FALSETTOS PHOTO: ANDREW MORTON

audiences with her Tony Award-winning performance as Sally Brown in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. She would go on to originate the iconic role of Glinda in the musical phenomenon Wicked, also starring in hits such as Promises, Promises and On the Twentieth Century. More recently, you’ve probably seen her on Apple TV+’s hilarious comedy series Schmigadoon! But this weekend, she’s back in Music City, where she once spent a memorable summer performing in Opryland U.S.A.’s Way Out West. Chenoweth will be joined by musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell (a terrific conductor, composer and music director for Broadway shows such as Mean Girls and The Prom). I suspect that audiences can look forward to a fabulous evening packed with signature show tunes, standards and perhaps even a few stories. June 16-17 at TPAC’s Jackson Hall, 505 Deaderick St. AMY STUMPFL

SATURDAY / 6.17

[LOOK AT ME, I AM DAD, BUT I’M HAPPY]

WHO’S YA DADDY DAD ROCK TRIBUTE

Dads — what makes them cool is that they aren’t cool. From dad jokes to dad sneakers, we love to laugh at them, but of course we actually love them. Best of all is dad rock, the classic songs made by and for middle-aged white guys, the kinds of songs that play when a man in a Hawaiian shirt flips an overcooked steak on a grill or when you’re stuck in a suburban outlet mall. If you’re looking for some nontraditional Father’s Day plans, look no further. This Father’s Day Eve, All You Can Eat Productions will present Who’s Ya Daddy?

A Dad Music Tribute, featuring female and LGBTQ artists performing all your favorite dad tunes. Musicians like Debbie Pearl, Jess Le, Mary Jennings, Abra Myles and Kimi

Most are set to perform your dad’s favorite songs — from Steely Dan to Creedence Clearwater Revival. Guests must be 21 and up and are invited to come dressed as their favorite dad and to bring their dads or “whoever you call daddy.” 9 p.m. at The 5 Spot, 1006 Forrest Ave. HANNAH CRON

CHRIST AND SHAME: A CONVERSATION WITH WILL MADDOXX AND DAVID DARK

The large-scale figurative paintings that make up ICONOCLASM were supposed to be part of recent Belmont University grad Will Maddoxx’s senior thesis show. But the university has a rule about exhibiting sexually explicit art — they don’t. It’s a shame, because Maddoxx’s canvases are lush and ambitious, and it’s lucky that Elephant Gallery was able to make room for them. Speaking of shame, that’s the topic of Saturday’s conversation between Maddoxx and David Dark, a Belmont professor and author of several books, including Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious and The Sacredness of Questioning

Everything. It’s an apt pairing — Maddoxx calls ICONOCLASM a religious body of work made by an artist advocating for a fuller definition of God. From his artist’s statement: “I’ve tried to emphasize what God could be instead of what God is. I see Jesus as a figure that can be interpreted as an advocate for queer love. Growing up in Southern Baptist church, I’ve been exposed to spiritual abuse for as long as I can remember, and these paintings are my intentional, calculated response to the trauma queer people endure in the name of God.” 6 p.m. at Elephant Gallery, 1411 Buchanan St.; ICONOCLASM is on view through June 23

LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

out on the open sea before a gathering of angels sings to him a song of hope. Not hard to understand: It’s a prog-rock ballad about some fantasy stuff. But after the bridge, DeYoung sings one final verse: “I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise / They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skiiiiies!” Then DeYoung/ the angels/the aliens sing, “Come sail away with me!” until the song fades out. This line haunts me. Narratively speaking, where did the aliens come from? Why would he bring them up right before the song ends and then refuse to elaborate? Wasn’t the bit about the angels enough? Is the song a true story? I saw Styx on a bill with Foreigner and Kansas back in 2010 after DeYoung had quit the band to focus on his solo career, so I wasn’t able to ask him for insight on this enigma that has plagued humankind for nearly half a century. (I was also 12 years old.) Don’t expect any answers if you attend the band’s two-night stop at the Ryman, where they’ll perform with South Carolina-born singer-songwriter Edwin McCain. June 17-18 at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N. COLE VILLENA

BRUCE COCKBURN

Bruce Cockburn, one of the most celebrated songwriters and guitarists in Canada’s history, brings his 2023 North American tour to Nashville on Saturday night for a performance at The CMA Theater in support of his just-released 38th studio album, O Sun O Moon. Cockburn is best-known for his political and topical songwriting, and the new record finds him focusing more on his spiritual side. “I think it’s a product of age to a certain extent, and seeing the approaching horizon,” the 78-year-old artist explains. A 13-time Juno Award winner and a member of both the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the legendary troubadour recorded the new album in Nashville with producer Colin Linden. He was backed on the record by some of Music City’s finest, including bassist Viktor Krauss, drummer Chris Brown and multiinstrumentalist Jim Hoke. The album also features a number of stellar guest vocalists, including Shawn Colvin, Allison Russell, Sarah Jarosz and McCrary sisters Ann and Regina. Cockburn will be performing solo on Saturday, although some of his Nashville pals might join him onstage for a song or two. Singer-songwriter Dar Williams opens.

drive

up I-24 from Atlanta. Who knows?

Old Hickory native Nate Bargatze just broke the attendance record at Bridgestone Arena when he performed a standup set at the Lower Broadway megadome, and University School of Nashville alumnus

John Early just landed his first special, Now More Than Ever, on HBO. Show up Saturday, and you might get an early look at Nashville’s next great comedy star. 8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S. COLE VILLENA

COMMUNITY

[LIFT

EVERY VOICE]

JUNETEENTH 615

It’s taken 157 years for Tennessee to recognize Juneteenth as an official state holiday, but for the first time, this year state employees will get a paid day off to commemorate the emancipation of slaves in Texas. The day celebrates an important milestone: Though the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, it wasn’t until the Confederacy was defeated in 1865 that slaves in many Southern states were actually freed. Juneteenth 615 has compiled a host of events to both honor the day’s history and celebrate Black culture here in Nashville. Though Thursday will see a free live performance from Nick Tabron at the Frist Art Museum, the celebration kicks off in earnest Saturday, when you can join organizations like Bike for Equality, Black Girls Do Bike, Walk Bike Nashville and the Music City Dope Peddlers as they embark on 10- and 25-mile community rides around the city. Saturday will also see a number of block parties and more formal gatherings, including the Music City Freedom Fest at Hadley Park (so popular that it’s been extended to a two-day celebration), The Equity Alliance’s Black on Buchanan and the black-tie Legacy Ball before the National Museum of African American Music keeps the party going Sunday with the Bridge to Broadway party. Music will of course be a feature at all of these gatherings, and Sunday brings the Nashville African American Wind Symphony’s Celebration of Freedom performance, a performance from acclaimed tenor Limmie Pulliam (who also features elsewhere in the Critics’ Picks section) and a culminating fireworks display at Fort Negley. It’s a delight to say that our list of events is by no means comprehensive, so check out juneteenth615.com for more activities scheduled around the city. June 15-19 around Nashville COLE VILLENA

MUSIC [SOMEONE ELSE’S FANTASY] STYX

“Come Sail Away” is the emotional peak of Styx’s 1977 The Grand Illusion, and its sweeping synths and fist-pump-inducing guitars provide a solid taste of that tripleplatinum album. Dennis DeYoung’s lyrics tell the tale of a man who searches for freedom

7:30 p.m. at the CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 224 Rep. John Lewis Way S. DARYL SANDERS

COMEDY

SUNDAY / 6.18

[COMEDY

BLUE BLUE] BLUE ROOM COMEDY NIGHT FEAT. GABBIE WATTS, JUSTIN SMITH, CORTNEY WARNER & MORE

The Blue Room at Third Man Records is best known as a place where great musicians can play for great crowds (often composed of other great musicians), but Thursday, they’ll switch it up for a night of local laughs. It’ll be hosted by Cortney Warner, whose 2022 special Pointy Boys provides reflections on femininity, mid-20s adulthood and Asian identity. Don’t miss sets from locals Justin Smith, Marcus Lustig, Miriam Kirk, Kate Carter and Peter Depp alongside Gabbie Watts, who will make the

MUSIC [FOR EVERYMAN]

JACKSON BROWNE

Growing up the son of late-Boomers meant long drives with my dad as he alternated between sports talk call-in shows and cassettes by his favorite ’70s songwriters, purchased to replace his old eight-tracks. While the Eagles, James Taylor and Paul Simon were all in constant rotation, Jackson Browne’s songs had a certain magnetism that grabbed my elementary school imagination. The babyfaced troubadour got his start with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tim Buckley and Warhol muse Nico, offering him a bohemian

ART [PASSION PLAY]

[O SUN, O MOON, O CANADA]

KRISTIN CHENOWETH

JUNE 21

HEIDI BURSON WITH KHRISTIAN MIZZI

JUNE 23

BAILEY BRYAN with TO BE ANNOUNCED JILL ANDREWS with SAM JOHNSTON

BABY ROSE with HOUSTON KENDRICK

doors at 7pm FREE TO ENTER WITH RSVP RSVP AT BOBBYHOTEL.COM/BACKYARDSESSIONS2023 230

WIlLIS with AIRPARK

PRESENTS

THE WATSON TWINS WITH CAITLIN ROSE

JUNE 30

PRESENTS

JIM LAUDERDALE & THE GAME CHANGERS WITH LILLIE MAE

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

LadyCouch Presents: What’s Love Got To Do With It?

A Tribute to Tina Turner

Saturday, June 17

SONGWRITER SESSION

Erin Enderlin

NOON · FORD THEATER

Sunday, June 18

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT

Kristin Wilkinson

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Saturday, June 24

HATCH SHOW PRINT

Block Party

10:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:30 pm

HATCH SHOW PRINT SHOP LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Saturday, June 24

SONGWRITER SESSION

Adam Wood

NOON · FORD THEATER

Sunday, June 25

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT

Dom Flemons

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Sunday, June 25

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT AND GUIDED TOURS

Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Monday, June 26 – Saturday, July 1

FAMILY PROGRAM

String City

Nashville’s Tradition of Music and Puppetry

10:00 am and 11:30 am · FORD THEATER FREE

Thursday, June 29

PERFORMANCE String City

Marionettes and Margaritas

7:00 pm · FORD THEATER FREE

Museum Membership

Receive

CRITICS’ PICKS

N. FREE POOL & DARTS

charm that sets him apart from some of his rootsy California peers. Browne marries the sunny spirit of Laurel Canyon folk rock with the poetic underbelly of Greenwich Villagers, and his greatest asset has always been his ability to tell stories of small-town yearnings, weaving tales of innocence lost to those coming of age during Vietnam and Watergate. While the avant-garde lifestyle of a globetrotting balladeer was foreign to the workaday fans who were buying his records, his music was able to touch the hearts of middle American everymen the way Springsteen would nearly a decade later. 7:30 p.m. at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N. P.J. KINZER

FILM

[THE BIOLOGIST FROM THE ROUND LAGOON] TRENQUE LAUQUEN

Live Piano Karaoke

6 NIGHTS A WEEK! *Closed Tuesdays

EAS T NAS HVI LLE

THU 6.15 HAPPY HOUR KARAOKE 6-9 w/Benan

Piano karaoke 9-12 w/ Caleb Thomas

FRI 6.16 HAPPY HOUR KARAOKE 6-9 w/Dani Ivory

Piano karaoke 9-1 w/Kira Small

SAT 6.17 ANNA LEE PALMER 7-9

Piano karaoke 9-1 w/Alan Pelno

SUN 6.18 *INDUSTRY NIGHT* 6-1

Piano karaoke 8-12 w/Kira Small

MON 6.19 SHOW TUNES @ SID’S 7-9

Piano karaoke 9-12 w/Krazy Kyle

WED 6.21 HAGS REEL TO REEL HAPPY HOUR 6-8 BURLESK 8-9 ($7)

Piano karaoke 9-12 w/Paul Loren

*available for private parties!*

After hitting arthouse audiences with the 808-minute, six-episode 2018 saga La Flor (aka the longest film in the history of Argentine cinema), production group El Pampero Cine has decided to take it easy on us and present a two-part film that’s only 260 minutes in length. (That’s four hours and 20 minutes.) Co-writer/director Laura Citarella (Ostende) weaves quite the tangled web of obsession and discovery with this quietly unpredictable flick. It starts with two men looking for a young biologist (co-writer Laura Paredes) who disappeared from the titular Argentinian town. It turns out this woman has been doing some investigating of her own. The first half has her uncovering a torrid romance via love letters she finds secretly hidden in old books. Things get weird in the second half when she drops all that and goes on a new search that takes this originally romantic movie into the realm of elevated sci-fi. Well, if you’re willing to take this long, strange trip, the Belcourt will be showing it one time only this weekend.

2:40 p.m. at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave.

CRAIG D. LINDSEY

MUSIC [CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION]

AMAPIANO WAREHOUSE PARTY

house music, connects the electronic form’s Chicago roots with debonair Afro-futurism, the historical and cultural convergences of the sound making a perfect setting for some dancefloor liberation. As a genre, Amapiano is a celebration of the past and future of the diaspora, a fitting soundtrack for a party — and a building, and a business — that are staking a claim in the future of Nashville. 9 p.m. at Amapiano Warehouse, 1410 Buchanan St. SEAN L. MALONEY

FILM [HAVE A PLEASANT FLIGHT] MOVIES ON TAP: CON AIR

Back in the summer of 1997, Nicolas Cage starred in two summer blockbusters. There’s Face/Off, the batshitcrazy, John Woo-directed actioner wherein he swaps faces and personalities with a waytoo-game John Travolta. And then there’s the other one, which somehow manages to be even more over-the-top: Con Air. After co-headlining 1996’s The Rock with Sean Connery, Cage reteamed with producer Jerry Bruckheimer for this runaway-plane flick. Cage is a paroled ex-Army Ranger who gets into ass-kicking mode when the prison transport plane he’s on is hijacked by the inmates. And this inmate pool is filled with dudes you call on to play baddies: John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Danny Trejo, Dave Chappelle (?). Anyway, Jackalope Brewing Company and the Nashville Film Festival are teaming up for an outdoor Father’s Day screening of the film, where $25 gets you all-you-can-drink beers. This event is ideal for people whose idea of bonding time with Dad is to drink brewskis and watch a movie with a bunch of explosions — with absolutely no talking! 8 p.m. at Jackalope Brewing Company, 429B Houston St. CRAIG D. LINDSEY

MONDAY / 6.19

of her by Lawrence Fishburne. A snapshot of ’90s popular media might explain our obsession with this movie. We were fed a steady diet of Lifetime movies, The Ren & Stimpy Show and MTV’s Road Rules. It was a confusing time to figure out how much violence was too much violence. I assume I am not in the minority when I say that what Tina Turner endured at the hands of Ike Turner, depicted in the 1993 biopic, is too much violence. So much violence, in fact, that some would be mistaken to forget that she was so much more than what happened to her. In therapeutic circles there is something known as post-traumatic growth. It’s what my therapist refers to as a Jedi mind trick: taking something traumatic that happened to you and creating something positive out of the experience. It’s important to keep this in mind while watching What’s Love Got to Do With It, because Tina Turner thrived in her personal life and in her career after she divorced Ike Turner. She was a survivor, yes, but she was also so much more than that. 5:30 and 8 p.m. at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave KIM BALDWIN

MUSIC

ROMANCING THE STONE RODRIGO Y GABRIELA

Seeing Rodrigo y Gabriela in concert is the most romantic night you’ll have all month. I saw them play at the Hollywood Bowl once and floated on air for like three weeks afterward. Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero grew up in Mexico City, met as teenagers and became a couple shortly after. Although they’re no longer together-together, they’ve kept their musical legacy ticking. The acoustic guitar duo’s music is influenced by equal parts flamenco and heavy metal. Whether they’re covering Metallica or cycling through generations-old styles of music, Rodrigo y Garbriela — now on tour in support of their new record In Between Thoughts … a New World — are constantly flirting with the past while keeping a modern edge, and their live set is a jolt for the heart. So even if you’re not with anyone right now, take a good friend or just romance yourself. You deserve it, babe. 7:30 p.m. at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N. TOBY ROSE

STORYTELLING [STORYTIME]

TENX9 NASHVILLE STORYTELLING

3245 Gallatin Pike • Nashville TN 37216 sidgolds.com/nashville

There’s always some tension between observing an American holiday and celebrating it. As a nation we tend to get the day off for some fucked-up shit when maybe it’s not the best time to party. (Lookin’ at you, Thanksgiving!) But there’s a lot to celebrate when H2 Hospitality — locals Jordan Harris of Alkebu-Lan Images bookstore and Shon Harmon from SmoQe Signals BBQ — bring their Amapiano Warehouse Party back to Buchanan Street for Juneteenth. Amapiano, or South African

• 629.800.5847

FILM

[BASSETT’S BICEPS ON THE BIG SCREEN] MUSIC CITY MONDAY: WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO

DO WITH IT

As a proud Gen X-er, I am not ashamed to tell you I was in college when What’s Love Got to Do With It came out on VHS, which is (whispers) how we used to watch movies in the ’90s. On a basis so regular that someone should have asked us if we were OK, my college roommates and I would gather in our shared living room and bawl watching Angela Bassett get the absolute shit beat out

People sharing about things that happened to them is, in my opinion, one of the most important parts of human existence. Storytelling is imperative for connecting with others and keeping track of history, but also, it’s just fun. Tenx9 Nashville Storytelling perfectly champions this sentiment with its monthly storytelling events at Jackalope Brewing Company. Its tagline could be something like, “Get a beer and get the tea.” Nine people get 10 minutes each to tell a practiced and prewritten true story from their life centering on that month’s theme. This month: “It’s Complicated.” The stories have a range of tones: heartbreaking, triumphant and often funny. I still think about stories from past events, about a miscarriage, a haunted house, a first girlfriend. It’s truly one of the best ways to spend a Monday in Nashville. If you’re thinking of sharing a story at the event, let me be the first to say: I’d like to hear it! 6:30 p.m. at Jackalope Brewing Company, 429B Houston St. HANNAH HERNER

MON 6.19 BORDERLINE

LAURA PURSELL & THE NASHVILLE ALL-STARS

“Lost In Time - A Tribute to Bill Pursell” with Special Guest CHARLIE MCCOY

WMOT Roots Radio Presents

Finally Fridays feat. JESSE LYNN MADERA, CLAUDIA NYGAARD & SMALLTOWN STRINGS

MIDNIGHT RIDERS - Allman Brothers Tribute Band + BIG JIM SLADE

an independent bookstore for independent people

UPCOMING EVENTS

PARNASSUSBOOKS.NET/EVENT FOR TICKETS & UPDATES

THURSDAY, JUNE 15

Backstage Nashville feat. SKIP EWING, BRICE LONG, JESSE LEE & ABBY ANDERSON with GLORIA ANDERSON VINYL

6:30PM

ELI MERRITT with NICK ZEPPOS at PARNASSUS Disunion Among Ourselves

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21

Bluebird on 3rd featuring BRICE LONG, DYLAN ALTMAN, MARSHALL ALTMAN with BECCA RAE GREENE & ALLEN MORELL

7:30 THREE TIMES A LADY feat. LAUREN MASCITTI, HANNAH BLAYLOCK & KENNEDY SCOTT

SPREADING HOPE with KEITH GRINER COHOSTED BY ERYN COOPER featuring ERIC PASLAY, SPENCER CRANDALL, DYLAN SCHENIDER, ALEXIS WILKINS, ALLIE COLLEEN, AUSTIN JENCKES, DAVID J, JON WAYNE HATFIELD, MATT ROY & More!

6:30PM

HELEN ELLIS with ANN PATCHETT, ARIEL LAWHON, & MARY LAURA PHILPOTT at PARNASSUS Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge

6:30PM

THURSDAY,JUNE 22

VICTORIA BENTON FRANK at PARNASSUS My Magnolia Summer

SATURDAY, JUNE 24

2:00PM

TOM STURDEVANT at ELYSE ADLER at PARNASSUS Q-Less

6:30PM

LORI PUTNAM at PARNASSUS Lori Putnam: So Far

6:30PM

MONDAY, JUNE 26

TUESDAY, JULY 11

LINDSAY LYNCH with ANN PATCHETTat PARNASSUS Do Tell 3900 Hillsboro Pike Suite 14 | Nashville, TN 37215 (615) 953-2243

Shop online at parnassusbooks.net

@parnassusbooks1 @parnassusbooks @parnassusbooks1 Parnassus Books

[MAKE THEM HEAR YOU]

MUSIC

LIMMIE PULLIAM

Hot on the heels of his spectacular Carnegie Hall debut, the incredibly talented tenor Limmie Pulliam will team with pianist Mark Markham to bring an evening of spirituals and powerful yet intimate sound to Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Pulliam’s captivating Juneteenth program will be drawn from arrangements of tunes like “Great Day!,” “Wade in the Water,” “Ride on, King Jesus!,” “Another Man Done Gone,” and other spirituals. 8 p.m. at the Schermerhorn, One Symphony Place KARIN MATHIS

TUESDAY / 6.20

[GIRLS SING]

MUSIC

TEGAN AND SARA

If I were to write the encyclopedia entry for the word “underappreciated,” I would just include a picture of Tegan and Sara. Their first hit “Walking With a Ghost” is often misattributed to the White Stripes, who covered it. The duo’s 2007 album The Con is one of the best indie-rock albums to come out of that wave of the emo era, but it rarely makes “best of” retrospectives. Even

their more modern pop-influenced efforts haven’t had the staying power they should — “Closer” and “Boyfriend” are nearly perfect pop songs, and “Yellow” is the stuff beaniedonned hipsters would die for. Who knows, maybe the world at large just wasn’t ready for music from identical twin Canadian lesbians! Along with opener Carlie Hanson, Tegan and Sara will bring their Crybaby tour to the Ryman on Tuesday. The duo will host a Q&A and acoustic performance for VIP ticketholders before the show if you want to go the extra mile. It’ll be a night of great music, and maybe also “Everything Is AWESOME.” 7 p.m. at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N. HANNAH CRON

WEDNESDAY / 6.21

[JIVE TALK]

MUSIC

BODYBOX, JIVEBOMB, MEXICAN COKE & MORE

Summer is the time when crisscrossing van tours intersect in central cities, sometimes putting several out-of-town acts on the same stage. The Bodybox/No Zodiac tour is preparing for a head-on collision with the Jivebomb/Mexican Coke/Die tour on a Wednesday night on the Rock Block. The End and AM/PM Booking will host six bands for $15 in an underground Royal Rumble. Floridians Bodybox provide a lighthearted take on the death metal tradition of their homeland. Baltimore’s Jivebomb is the most recent spawn of the Charm City scene that gave us Bridgestone Arena regulars Turnstile, East Coast mosh revivalists End It, and feminist ragers War On Women. Jivebomb’s recent Primitive Desires EP is a bulletproof rampage of two-step chain punk. Houston masked men Mexican Coke forge a bestial blur of ’90s hardcore dirge, ballistic thrash and dissonant Disclose-oriented noise, releasing one of the most ferocious demos I’ve heard in years. The bill is filled out with locals Dogpile, blast-beaters No Zodiac and the spiteful skate-core of Chicago’s Die. Get there early and cop some merch, because DIY punk touring ain’t easy for anyone. 7 p.m. at The End, 2219 Elliston Place P.J. KINZER

PHOTO: DANIEL WELCH

Alesana w/ Limbs, Vampires Everywhere, & Across The White Water Tower Un Año Contigo: Bad Bunny Dance Party

The Beast Street Band: Bruce Springsteen tribute

The Rocket Summer w/ The Juliana Theory

Hermanos Gutiérrez

Faster Pussycat w/ Jason Charles Miller & The Bites

Mustache The Band: 90S COUNTRY PARTY

Pride Weekend Event: ATHENA

Sweet Tea Dance

Black Midi w/ Friko

Uncle Lucius W/ HOLLIER

The Motet w/ Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers

Annie DiRusso w/ Hannah Cole

THE EMO BAND: Emo + Pop Punk Live Band Karaoke Party

Them Vibes & Ace Monroe

The Dirty Nil & Daniel Romano's Outfit w/ Stoop Kids

Post Sex Nachos w/ Nordista Freeze & Adam Paddock

Sundy Best w/ The Jenkins Twins and Gil Costello & Friends

L.S. Dunes

Grace Bowers & Friends: A Benefit for Covenant Heals & MusiCares

Son Volt w/ Peter Bruntnell

L.A. Guns w/ Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts

K Pop Mixtape

Dexter And The Moonrocks W/ Mitchell

Ferguson

Rumours w/ Nomenclature

Stryper w/ Jamie Rowe, the Voice of Guardian

Good Looks (7pm)

Skylar Gregg, Stephie James, Nicole Boggs & The Reel (9pm)

Sam Greenfield W/ PHOEBE KATIS (7pm)

YGTUT w/ MICHAEL DA VINCI, BRIAN BROWN, CHRIS P, BIGG

CUP, $HOEY (9pm)

IMY2 w/ Sierra Annie (7pm)

Iguanahead, Zipp Zapp, Small Victory, DJ Tyler

Glaser (9pm)

The Chattahoochies w/ Kaylin Roberson (7pm)

Sugadaisy (7pm) Joseph Huber (7pm)

Billy Allen + The Pollies, Emily Justin (7pm)

Bonner Black w/ Julie Williams [9PM]

arries & jack the underdog [7pm]

certainly so, stranger boy [9pm]

angela petrilli [7pm]

Tom Petty Tribute FT. highway natives & friends [9pm]

pindrop songwriter series elliot greer bailey w/ emily chambers [7pm]

dylan mcdonald & the avians w/ peyton parker

jaygracias [9pm]

logan ledger w/ thomas csorba

‘LIFE IS GOOD’

After many years slinging authentic Italian in Nashville, the Savarino family now thrives in Columbia

BY KAY WEST

On a Friday afternoon in May, two generations of Savarino men — the father born in Sicily, the eldest son in Brooklyn, the youngest in Nashville — sit at a table on the small porch of a two-story 19thcentury brick building on the corner of West 11th and Parker streets in Columbia, Tenn.

Over their heads a sign reads “Savarino Italian Pastry,” and behind them in the retail

section of the shop are two cases stocked with pastry, cookies and cakes; two others with cheese and cured meats; a large cooler filled with aluminum family-size pans of baked pasta; shelving with loaves of bread and boxes of biscotti. Every 10 minutes or so, Corrado Sr. barks, “Go check the bread,” and Carmelo or Corrado Jr. dutifully heads inside to tend the loaves in the oven in the rear production room.

To be clear, the eldest Savarino is technically no longer in charge, as he was for the 15 years he ran three different Nashville locations of the family business. “I spend my time here doing nothin’,” Corrado says in his heavy Brooklyn accent, embedded in him after his parents immigrated there from Sicily when he was 9 years old. “This is his place,” he says, nodding to Carmelo.

Carmelo was almost 11, his older sister Francesca 13, when Corrado and his wife Marie left behind their home in Staten Island and bakery in Brooklyn seeking a better quality of life in Franklin, Tenn. Corrado’s uncle was already settled there, with a granite and marble business.

Though Corrado had scouted residential

neighborhoods, he grievously miscalculated a location for the first iteration of Savarino Italian Pastry — a Walmart shopping center at the intersection of Nolensville Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard. “The thing that got me was Walmart,” Corrado remembers. “The parking lot was so full. I was only here three months when I signed the lease. When I told Joey [Maca, of Joey’s House of Pizza], he said, ‘What are you, stupid?’ I didn’t know.”

The bakery opened May 7, 2002, and Corrado knew he was in trouble right away. He tried with increasing frustration to define biscotti (biscots, not biscuits!) and sell sfogliatelle to a clientele who couldn’t pronounce it, much less know it.

“I lost so much money there,” Corrado laments. The minute his three-year lease was done, he moved to a little house on Eugenia Avenue in Berry Hill, and shifted to wholesale bread. He built accounts with hotels and restaurants, and a community of fellow Italian men, most of whom, like him, had moved to Nashville from bigger cities. “They would come to Eugenia — we called it ‘the dump’ — on Saturday mornings as I was pulling the last loaves out of the oven. We’d split some

open, put some olive oil and herbs on it and eat. And bullshit. They brought homemade wine. Then they’d help me with deliveries. It was a great time.”

He recouped all the money he lost in the first location, and in late 2006, opened Savarino’s Cucina on Belcourt Avenue in Hillsboro Village. The restaurant/bakery was a family affair — he baked; Marie made pastas, sauces and salads; Carmelo helped with the baking and made sandwiches; Francesca greeted customers and worked the register. Corrado Jr., born in 2002, grew up there, under his sister’s watchful eye and in the raucous company of men who lunched almost daily at a corner table — Ed, Al, Nick, Frank, Mike, Richard, Felix and usually Corrado Sr. “We’d sit there two, three hours,” he says. “My wife would get so mad. We’d play poker upstairs every Tuesday night. Then I put in the bocce court, and it was worse!”

Savarino’s gained fame through its sandwiches named for that core group of men, who took pride in their places of honor on the chalkboard and endlessly argued over which was the most popular. All were named for men, with one notable exception — attor-

PHOTOS: ERIC ENGLAND

THE SAVARINO MEN, FROM LEFT: CARMELO, CORADO JR., CORADO SR.

ney Rose Palermo, who boasts a well-earned reputation as one of Nashville’s toughest divorce attorneys.

“Rose was a customer in the first place,” Corrado explains. “When we opened Belcourt, her secretary would call in sandwich orders for the office. One day she came to pick them up and handed me a piece of paper from Rose that said what she wanted on her sandwich. I told her, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do that.’ And Janine says, ‘You don’t understand. Rose says you’re going to put her sandwich on the board.’”

Carmelo laughs. “The Palermo was grilled chicken, marinara, mozzarella, prosciutto and roasted peppers. It was a good sandwich.”

In 2009, Ed Pontieri passed away. Then Al Bunetta’s son Yuri died in a tragic accident. Then Frank Dileo died, and in 2015, Al Bunetta. In 2016, Corrado told Marie he was done, ready to close the business. “We were fighting all the time. We were all burnt out. It was time.”

Carmelo had his eye on the future, which happened to be in Columbia. “I always wanted to do my own thing, and knew I couldn’t afford any property in Nashville or Franklin. I had friends in Columbia and started looking here.” He found a decrepit building that had been a jail, hotel and upholstery business. Corrado negotiated a price, and they bought it in November 2016. Savarino’s Cucina on Belcourt served its last sandwiches in April 2017, and the family went to Italy for a month.

When they returned, Carmelo took jobs at Bella Napoli and Cabana, with Corrado baking at the Music City Center. Together they began renovating the building in Columbia.

On July 4, 2019, Carmelo launched Sava-

rino’s Bakery, exclusively wholesale. He started with breads and cakes for restaurants. When the pandemic shut down that side of the business, he turned to cookies and biscotti, selling them by the box in liquor stores. “When you got nothin’, you come up with somethin’,” Corrado says. “Liquor stores were the only places open. That kept the business going until restaurants opened again.”

Carmelo continued growing his wholesale business, and Corrado Jr. came on full time after graduating high school in 2021. “He’s my muscle,” Carmelo says. Though his father urged him to stick to production, Carmelo says steady requests from old customers and social media followers for private orders convinced him to broaden his business. After outfitting and decorating the front room, in April he began opening for retail on Fridays and Saturdays. He intends to add more days, though not seating. The table on the porch is reserved for family.

On this Friday afternoon, a steady flow of customers comes by. Some pick up orders, some walk over from the coffeehouse across the street. The area has been designated Columbia Arts District, a sure sign of development to come.

“I grew up in this, and it’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” says Carmelo, packing a box with cannoli and bomboloni. “I love it.”

As both his sons tend to business inside, Corrado remains in his seat. “Those days at the dump and on Belcourt were great,” he says. “I’m glad Carmelo is doing this. You do things the right way, and people come to you. Do what you love, and life is good.”

A FLAT CIRCLE

Three exhibitions at The Packing Plant reveal the past and point to the future

BY JOE NOLAN

Atrio of new exhibitions opened at The Packing Plant this month, each of them relating to time — either by recalling the past or by providing a glimpse of the future. Touring these gallery displays is like tracing a Western cultural timeline, and the artists represent different generations at different points in their creative careers.

WILLIAM HUNTER, ROMANTICO

Independent curator Jay Sanchez has spent the past few years scheming and dreaming in the Wedgewood-Houston gallery scene. He has helped revive the city’s post-pandemic contemporary art community, and his behind-the-scenes moving and shaking has earned him the nickname “Ghost.” Sanchez and Lain York organized Barbarian Studios’ breakout exhibition at Zeitgeist in August, and Ghost curated TC and Ol Skool Mike’s show Back to the Southside (Pick Up the Pieces) at Coop in February. Now Sanchez has teamed up with Kathleen

artist Mikki Yamashiro’s display of crocheted fashions and accessories taps into the dystopian vibes of those perfect plastic places that promised everyone everything back in the day. She brings viewers a show about dying American dreams that sounds like Muzak and smells like Cinnabon. Yamashiro’s outfits hang on Coop’s walls like store displays. They feature cartoon characters like Bart Simpson, Garfield and Tweety Bird — Beavis and Butthead even make an appearance. The artist crafts shopping bags with satirical messages like “Forever 69” and “Thank you for stealing.” The show also includes a rendition of the once-reviled, now-iconic “swan dress” that Bjork wore to the Oscars in 2001, as well as a crocheted version of the pink suit and hat Jackie Kennedy wore in Dallas on Nov.

INHERITANCE

Contemporary gallery programming is

brimming with messages and meanings, identities and activism. But those trends are reversing in favor of art that values form over content. We’re already seeing a new generation returning to art-about-art in the Duchampian found-object sculptures of Paul Kneale, the vibrant abstraction of Jadé Fadojutimi and the “Nonsensical Formalism” of Michael C. Thorpe. The future of painting is formalist, abstract and uniquely personal, and it looks more like early modernism than midcentury Ab-Ex. Shahnaz Lighari’s Inheritance at Open Gallery is a window into this painterly tomorrow. Lighari is one to watch among Nashville’s emerging brush-slingers: She opened her first solo gallery exhibition, Transparency, at Random Sample back in February, and she teamed up with local poet Maggie Lee for the April publication of their Duomysticism book of verses and images. Lighari’s “Landscape 1” might have pulled its palette straight out of Kandinsky’s 1910 “Mountain Landscape With Church.” And the gooey, aggressive surface of “Grass” recalls the impasto applications of oil paints that Vincent van Gogh embraced in paintings like “Cypresses.” Lighari’s work is almost fully abstract, but her colors and forms lean into their natural inspirations just enough for viewers to make out a cloud here, a waterfall there. The works in the show are mostly small, and the exhibition reads like a meditative travel document or an Instagram photo dump after a long time away from home. It’s an exhibition that looks to the past to speak to the future, and it reminds viewers that sometimes the best artworks, like swaying trees and burbling streams, don’t “mean” or “say” anything. They simply are. And we take them on their own terms.

SHAHNAZ LIGHARI, INHERITANCE THROUGH JUNE 27 AT OPEN GALLERY

WILLIAM HUNTER, ROMANTICO

FAIRY,” WILLIAM HUNTER “SWAN DRESS,” MIKKI YAMASHIRO

AMERICAN AS APPLE PIE

Friends turn to each other in Brandon Taylor’s The Late Americans

BY KASHIF ANDREW GRAHAM

“‘How American,’ Ólafur said with a sneer, his voice a little cold. ‘Happiness.’” With his second novel, The Late Americans, Brandon Taylor invites us into a study on the intersection of loneliness, belonging and being happy.

The story centers on the lives of a hodgepodge of individuals in Iowa City. They are dancers and ex-dancers, poets, painters, future bankers and the like. “Iowa was a kind of cultural winter — they had all come to this speck of a city in the middle of a middle state in order to study art, to hone themselves and their ideas like perfect, terrifying weapons, and in the monastic kind of deprivation they found here, they turned to one another,” Taylor writes.

In true college-town fashion, the dissected Queen Anne-style homes many of the characters live in seem to reflect their patchwork lives. In each permanent makeshift apartment, a not-so-young adult attempts to reconcile dreaming and duty, and it is this work of becoming that brings them all together.

The Late Americans is woven through with Russian art, literary and cultural references. There’s a character named Fyodor who conjures up Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. Both appear in their respective novels as buffoons given to drinking, but Taylor’s Fyodor soon reveals himself to be a poet-philosopher, questioning his peers’ moralistic and hypocritical obsession with animal rights. Similarly, Taylor’s character named Ivan brings to mind Dostoevsky’s Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov. Their ethical journeys bear similar markers as they question issues of suffering and morality.

And then there is the presence of the late-19th-century painting by Ilya Repin, Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on 16 November 1581. The painting depicts the Russian tsar holding his dying son and heir apparent. Blood is dripping from the son’s forehead, caused by a blow from his wideeyed father. Beyond contributing a chapter title to Taylor’s book, the characters discuss the painting at length. The question seems to arise: Who is Ivan the Terrible? Perhaps it is the obvious, their own Ivan, who receives a toast late in the novel: “Cheers. To motherfucking Ivan the Terrible.” Or Bert, the closeted gay character who acts violently toward his lovers and then expresses horror at his own works. Is it the poet Seamus, who writes, discards what he writes, and then holds that emptiness like a dying son? Or perhaps (and most likely), we all have the propensity to become Ivan the Terrible, but Taylor invites us to the humanity that lies in that moment of wide-eyed realization.

The writing in The Late Americans is what we have come to expect of Taylor, who serves as an editor-at-large for the venera-

ble Sewanee Review. Sentences and clauses build upon one another, almost teetering, and just when the reader thinks that a sentence can hold no more, Taylor breaks the tension and moves on.

Taylor — author of the 2020 novel Real Life, which was a finalist for the Booker Prize, and the Story Prize-winning 2021 collection Filthy Animals — once again demonstrates his aptitude for vernacular. In this novel, he crafts with language related to several disparate fields. His character Fyodor works in the beef industry, and Taylor transports us into Fyodor’s factory straight away:

“His teeth hurt from the screech of the hydraulic presses, the pneumatic hiss of the air guns they used to blast away the powdered snow of bone dust and flash-dried flesh.”

In another instance, Taylor adeptly weaves the particularity of a dancer’s efforts at success with the universality of artistic struggle: “Noah perfected his port de bras, his carriage. He tried to force his turnout a little wider.” Readers might not know the ballet terms, but we know what it is to push the limits of our artistic capabilities. Later, Taylor brings us into a poetry workshop, where participants discuss the mechanics of a student’s piece: “‘And what to make of the form,’ the professor said. ‘A curious, almost classical form, yet it’s clearly free verse. I admit the scansion was … elementary. Almost as if a child wrote it.’” Again, readers might be unfamiliar with “scansion” (the rhythm of a line of poetry), but Taylor builds a tempo of deconstruction, so that with each additional term mentioned, we know we are closer to this student’s humiliation.

In The Late Americans, Taylor again proves himself to be a master of microcosm. He manages to pull together Black, biracial, white, white-passing, queer, straight and questioning, the monied and the impoverished. What emerges is a work that is driven by diverse philosophies but held together by people: “He could feel each of them in him, their happiness, their kindness, their love.”

To read an uncut version of this review — and more local book coverage — please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

THE LATE AMERICANS

BY BRANDON TAYLOR RIVERHEAD BOOKS 320 PAGES, $28

BEND WITH THE BREEZE

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit tweak their recipe on Weathervanes

BY HANNAH CRON

There’s an idea in our culture that something new always needs to be happening. We have an obsession with the idea of one-upping ourselves, doing something bigger and better than we’ve done before, charting new territory. But sometimes it’s wisest to follow the old adage: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s Weathervanes, released June 9 via Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers, follows a wellestablished formula — with a few notable alterations. But it’s one that is clearly still working, and Weathervanes joins the group’s catalog as yet another instant classic.

The new LP is Isbell & Co’s longest original work to date — only their covers album Georgia Blue is longer — with a runtime of just over an hour. Four of the 13 tracks last at least five minutes, with the final two songs running more than six minutes each. Long guitar solos pad the ending, wrapping up just short of gratuitous. Miraculously, Weathervanes doesn’t quite overstay its welcome. That’s not to say that the length is earned, but when an artist is as consistent as Isbell, an occasional extended listen is excusable.

Thematically, Weathervanes builds on many of the same ideas as its predecessors. As usual, the songs are a mix of personal confessions and writing exercises in which the songsmith inhabits different narrators. The ability to take on a different perspective is becoming a lost art in today’s musical landscape, with fan culture overtaken by parasocial fantasies and hungry audiences demanding authentic vulnerability. But Isbell knows what not every songwriter seems to understand — stories don’t have to be real to be true. Like many songwriting heroes of the past, the master storyteller is able to spin a tale from any moment, real or imagined, and make it real for each person lucky enough to hear it.

The four tracks released ahead of the album — “Death Wish,” “Middle of the Morning,” “Save the World” and “Cast Iron Skillet” — offer a wellrounded sampler of Weathervanes’ variety of topics and sounds. As the aforementioned cuts hint, the sonic landscape of the whole album is as varied as that of the South, the region that Isbell and the band have always called home and draw significant inspiration from. With Weathervanes, Isbell set out to make his most rock ’n’ roll album

since his early days with the Drive-By Truckers. It’s safe to say that he succeeds — fans of Isbell’s easy-listen Americana balladry will find plenty to love here, but the light country melodies are tucked gently between rollicking guitar riffs and stadium-sized anthems.

The stories wrapped up in the expansive Weathervanes show that Isbell still has his finger firmly on the pulse of workingclass America. Standout track “King of Oklahoma” is a shattering portrait of substance abuse, with Isbell mourning, “She used to make me feel like the king of Oklahoma / But nothing makes me feel like much of nothing anymore.” The brooding “When We Were Close” echoes the portrait of Isbell’s early music career painted in his recent HBO documentary Running

With Our Eyes Closed, a wild and shadowy mess of high-point performances and deep pitfalls. Isbell’s wife Amanda Shires is not part of the official 400 Unit lineup at present, but her fiddling and fiery but delicate harmonies are once again a

highlight of the record, elevating Isbell to a fuller version of his potential. On tracks like the penultimate rocker “This Ain’t It,” he howls at her and she growls back, ever unsatisfied with the state of the world.

Isbell cuts loose a bit on Weathervanes, taking charge of production on his own — not calling on longtime producer Dave Cobb, but bringing in an array of other production and engineering collaborators including Matt Pence, Gena Johnson, Matt Ross-Spang and Sylvia Massy. Fans initially drawn to the more delicate presentation on earlier 400 Unit records might mourn this as a loss, but the change feels like it’s just enough to push Isbell, allowing his familiar themes and lyrical style to take on new life.

The album is a gem of contemporary Southern rock, representing a cadre of records that your grandparents and your kids are likely to agree is “real, good music.” Change, as has been said often, is constant. But knowing what to hold onto is how we find ourselves better on the other side.

EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

MAKE IT REAL

Tracy Nelson interprets R&B on Life Don’t Miss Nobody

BY EDD HURT

The songs on Nashville-area singer and songwriter Tracy Nelson’s first album in 12 years, Life Don’t Miss Nobody, might represent an attempt to sum up the history of R&B — that useful blanket term for Black music in North America in the late 20th century — as an agent for social change.

Life Don’t Miss Nobody, released June 9, is the testament of one of the era’s finest singers, and Nelson applies her rich voice to a set of songs that register as post-blues, or maybe almostblues. It’s an album that’s composed of echoes from the past, but Nelson bears down on every song in a way that cuts through the jive in real time, just like blues is supposed to do.

WEATHERVANES OUT NOW VIA SOUTHEASTERN/ THIRTY TIGERS

LIFE DON’T MISS NOBODY OUT NOW VIA BMG

Nelson tracked Life Don’t Miss Nobody at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios with co-producer Roger Alan Nichols, and it was completed at various locations around the country. Life echoes the history of R&B via Nelson’s immaculate covers of songs that have been recorded by the likes of Irma Thomas and Johnny Adams. Nelson has, in fact, been a master singer since her days in the late ’60s as vocalist for the rock ’n’ roll-meets-R&B band Mother Earth. You can hear the influence of Irma Thomas and blues shouter Ma Rainey on her style, and Nelson is aware of her place in the lineage of those great singers.

“I had to kinda stop covering Irma [Thomas],” Nelson tells me from across the table at a West Nashville bar. She’s referring to an Allen Toussaint song titled “I Did My Part” that appears on Life Don’t Miss Nobody The cut on the album features vocals by Texas blues singer Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas herself, and Nelson first recorded the tune for Mother Earth’s 1968 debut album Living With the Animals. Nelson’s voice is heavier than it was then, when she was living in San Francisco during the era of the Grateful Dead and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

“I mean, it just got ridiculous,” Nelson continues. “Marcia [Ball] used to do that song too, so it was an obvious choice. But I went back and listened to Irma’s version, mainly ’cause I wanted to pick the key she did it in. I did it in the same key, and I listened to hers, and then mine — identical. It was embarrassing how much I just totally copied Irma.”

Nelson’s career includes stops on major labels, a Grammy nomination for a 1974 duet with Willie Nelson — who sings Hank Williams’ “Honky Tonkin’” on Life Don’t Miss Nobody — and a break from releasing albums that lasted from 1980 until 1993. Indeed, a

THE SPIN

CAN I SIT WITH YOU A WHILE?

BY HANNAH CRON

Seeing an artist play in a venue they could sell out many times over is nearly always a recipe for a great show. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s surprise album release party at Eastside Bowl Friday night was certainly no exception. The room’s capacity tops out at 750, a fraction of the audience Isbell & Co. usually play to — for comparison’s sake, they perform for a sold-out crowd of 2,362 on each night of their annual Ryman residency, which ran for eight nights each in 2021 and 2022. But the buzzing excitement in the jampacked room Friday would’ve convinced you the audience was a whole lot bigger.

After half an hour, Isbell and his band hit the stage running with “Save the World,” kicking off the celebration of their new LP Weathervanes with an early contender for fan favorite. The 400 Unit looks a little different than it did during October’s Ryman run. Many longtime members were there, including guitarist Sadler Vaden, keyboardist Derry DeBorja and drummer Chad Gamble. Bassist Anna Butterss (whom you’ve heard on boygenius’ the record) sat in for Jimbo Hart, while Will Johnson (whom the heads will know from the late, great Centro-Matic) made his debut as a touring multi-instrumentalist — playing guitar, a second drum kit and a gong. Stellar songsmith Amanda Shires, Isbell’s wife and

major theme throughout is the anxiety of influence that many blues artists have felt since the 1960s. Nelson might have named her rock band after a song by blues singer Memphis Slim, but she’s never been limited by the genre.

Nelson was born in Madison, Wis., in 1944, and she grew up listening to R&B on Nashville radio station WLAC and taking classical piano lessons. She heard the Chicago blues of Muddy Waters and Otis Spann in that city in the mid-’60s, and moved to the Bay Area in 1966. Along with fellow Mother Earth member Powell St. John, Nelson synthesized rock ’n’ roll and New Orleans R&B on Living With the Animals, which contains her best-known song, the metrically challenging 6/8 ballad “Down So Low.” The follow-up, 1969’s Make a Joyful Noise, was cut at Mt. Juliet studio Bradley’s Barn with a set of Nashville studio musicians that included pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins and pedal-steel player Pete Drake, among others.

Nelson made the move to Nashville in 1969 after touring with Mother Earth for Make a Joyful Noise. Later that year, she recorded the pioneering countryrock album Mother Earth Presents Tracy Nelson Country with former Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore, and she released four more albums with Mother Earth. (The group’s live sound is documented on 2017’s Live in New York 1971.) Nelson’s work on albums like 1973’s Poor Man’s Paradise has its moments — her takes on material by songwriters Eric Kaz and Bobby Charles are first-rate.

Every song on Life Don’t Miss Nobody makes its statement about transience, hard times and the political unrest that connects 1969 to 2023. Nelson rocks out Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Strange Things Happening Every Day” and explores fatalism in the Los Lobos-

meets-The Mavericks grooves of the title track, which she wrote with her partner, Mike Dysinger.

Still, it’s the hard grooves of Gene McDaniels’ 1966 social protest song “Compared to What” that anchor Life Don’t Miss Nobody. Les McCann and Eddie Harris’ 1969 hit version of the tune combined ’60s modal jazz with lyrics about the absurdity of politics. Nelson reclaims the song as a piece of living history, and her precise vibrato and immaculate phrasing make her version something more than just a cover of a well-known song.

“We tried to kinda go second-line,” she says about

the song. “But it’s like, [drummer] John Gardner and, you know, the Nashville session [musicians], how they do second-line. I’ve wanted to do that since I was in college, when I first heard the song.”

“Compared to What” is progressive music — Steve Conn’s piano and Terry Hanck’s saxophone hit as hard as anything you might hear this year. It encapsulates the approach of a singer who has made, somewhat improbably, what might be her finest album in the face of the disappearance of the history she’s known forever.

EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

throughout the album, and played a key role in the show as well. Isbell followed “When We Were Close” with “White Beretta,” in which he looks back on times when he didn’t show up for people the way he’d like to, centered on the story of a teenager driving his girlfriend to get an abortion. Later, he brought up more memories in “Cast Iron Skillet,” in which a childhood friend dies while serving a life sentence for murder and a neighbor gets disowned for dating outside her race.

frequent collaborator, isn’t part of the official lineup at present, but she did play with the group Friday. Her fiddling sang above the band, with white-hot spirals of melody enrapturing every careful listener.

Isbell’s previous record Reunions was released as the COVID-19 lockdown got in full swing, leading to a record cycle that played out much differently from normal. Isbell clearly relished being able to celebrate Weathervanes in person, as he told the crowd with a dose of his signature humor, “I don’t think a record’s really out until you go to Grimey’s and sign a bunch of records, and then you play a show at the bowling alley.”

Friday’s show appeared to run without a locked-in set list, with the group shuffling through Weathervanes in seemingly random order. The magic of playing such an intimate show for a small group of dedicated fans is you can do almost anything, and the crowd

will eat it up. Sometimes that means a drawnout jam on “King of Oklahoma.” Other times, it means playing the guitar solo in “If You Insist” three times till you finally get it just right.

Many artists write their songs long before an album sees the light of day, so by the time they expose what hurts to the world, the wounds are closer to scars. Not so with Weathervanes: The stories in all the songs are timeless, but some seemed to hit especially close to home, like “When We Were Close.” The lyrics brim with grief and guilt; references within them suggest the inspiration for the song is Justin Townes Earle, who was only 38 when he died in 2020. Isbell sang, “I am the last of the two of us,” in a way that made it clear the loss still sears nearly three years later. Afterward, Isbell reflected on the tune and his craft in general: “I say that song was about an old friend as if they all aren’t.”

Relationships lost to time are woven

Weathervanes and its predecessors share a lot of thematic ground, built around stories from Isbell’s life and from the lives of others who haven’t had the same good fortune. Sonically, the new record represents Isbell and the 400 Unit at their most transparent and most rocking. The live debut of the songs matched it, with rollicking riffs, anthemic choruses and guitar solos at every turn. If you’ve longed for a studio record that captures The 400 Unit’s live sound, Weathervanes is most certainly it.

As for the inaugural live performance, the updated lineup worked seamlessly. In the audience, toddlers watched from their parents’ shoulders, grown men giddily followed the contours of the set, and grandmothers shakily filmed their favorite songs. It was a gathering of old friends from many generations, united by a common admiration. Isbell closed out the show with two classics, “24 Frames” and “Cover Me Up,” and the crowd hung onto and sang along with every word.

With one last ring of the gong, Isbell beamed like a little kid, waving to the audience like they were long-lost friends. As he and Shires walked off the stage arm in arm, Weathervanes became the world’s story to share.

EMAIL THESPIN@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

PHOTO: ANGELINA CASTILLO

MAGIC

Two contributors and film experts discuss The Blackening

BY SHERONICA HAYES AND JASON SHAWHAN

Director Tim Story (Barbershop, India.Arie’s “Brown Skin” video, Shaft 2019) is breaking some new ground with his latest film, a horror-comedy that draws equally from Jordan Peele and the Keenen Ivory Wayans-era Scary Movies. While there have been horror films with predominantly Black casts before (Ax ’Em, Holla If I Kill You), The Blackening is getting a higher-profile release, and the time is absolutely right for it.

A friend group of Black people’s Juneteenth reunion at a luxe cabin in the woods with murder on the menu is absolutely something that mainstream exhibitors typically ignore, so for whatever reason, let’s hear it for some awareness. Below is a discussion between two of our contributors about The Blackening and its impact.

Jason Shawhan: When Diedrich Bader from Idiocracy and The Drew Carey Show turns up as Police Officer White, there’s a very specific tension that’s introduced that never fully gets defused, even through the very end of the film. Part of it is that he’s required to be whatever the story needs at several specific moments, but there’s that one scene where he talks about cookout theory and white presence, and I felt that like a ton of bricks. I’m honored that you asked me to be part of this discussion, and I promise to represent weirdo horror fans appropriately.

Sheronica Hayes: Ha! Officer White’s character is such an incredible translation of the complicated dichotomy between Black people and white allies. See, on the one hand, proximity to whiteness can provide safety and various other forms of privilege to people of color. But on the other hand, the omnipresent understanding that the switch can flip at any moment is so real. Black people know that our survivability is tethered to how palatable, submissive and overall desirable we are to the people in power. The symbolism of the friend group depending on Officer White, but side-eyeing him the entire time, was one of the most effective parts of the film for me!

JS: The titular game the friends play is incredibly striking because it’s never not upsetting to look at. It’s like the end credits for Bamboozled distilled into a single image.

SH: Ugh. It’s truly haunting. Literally any time a 3D face is protruding from a flat surface you know some fuckery is afoot. Between the Blackening game board and that cursed hand in A24’s Talk to Me (coming later this summer), I think we have two very strong horror-game contenders that can rival the Ouija board. It’s had a good run, but I think the culture really needs a change of scenery. Would you play the Blackening game if a friend broke it out at your next game night?

JS: That’s a very interesting question. I don’t think it would be appropriate, though it does feel like something that in theory could

pop up at a game night. But would the game even appear in a situation that wasn’t in an all-Black space? Is it another example of the film’s complicated perspective on cookout theory? But as far as pandimensional or supernatural game shenanigans, I wouldn’t hesitate to play Jumanji, Zathura or Beyond the Gates

SH: You’re right. The genesis of the game is about feeling ostracized in the Black community, so outside of the pure trivial elements of it, there would be no reason for the game to appear outside of a Black space.

JS: One of the film’s foundation points is how for so long, Black characters were often the first to die in horror films. And that immediately got me thinking about whether that is the case anymore. Looking at a lot of late ’70s through early ’90s horror, that feels like something that did happen — often enough to stick in the minds of socially conscious viewers. If anything, I think horror cinema has become aware enough of that trope to use it to play against the expectations of the audience — horror loves to evolve, often more quickly than mainstream society.

SH: It would be a disservice to not acknowledge that the “Black Guy Dies First” trope isn’t rooted in any sound reality. Intellectually, I know how this false phenomenon became a cultural truth, and it has to do with representation. Sure, sometimes the Black person dies first in horror movies, but more often than not, they don’t. More accurately, there is typically only one tokenized Black person in popular horror films, and when that character dies, as most characters inevitably do in the genre, their deaths are more impactful on the audience. So even if the trope isn’t objectively true, the sentiment is what’s important, and I believe that it did inspire horror filmmakers to reconcile with the fact that we are sick of seeing only white people survive. This has led to more diverse casting, increasing the odds of at least one person of color being alive when the end credits roll. It’s always been about who gets to live and who doesn’t, but that doesn’t have the same je ne sais quoi as “the Black guy dies first,” does it?

JS: One of the most fascinating things to me about The Blackening is how useful it is at teaching and illustrating intersectionality. As much as Hollywood likes to portray minorities as monoliths, even though all of the main characters are Black, there’s a lot more going on. Allison is multiracial, Dewayne is gay, Shanika is a BBW, Clifton is … well, Clifton. But when all your characters are Black, even the most blindered viewer

has to expand their perceptions.

SH: I’m so thankful you bring this up, because it directly ties into what I expressed earlier about representation. When there’s one token Black person in a film, of course they are monolithic. Quite literally. That character has to somehow become the mascot of an entire race of people, which we know is impossible. Especially when it’s a character of color born in the mind of a white man with a toe fetish or something. The beauty of horror movies like The Blackening is that we get to see identities across the spectrum of Blackness. Fully fleshedout individuals with unique personalities. Imagine you went to a symphony and it was nothing but 100 guys playing the tuba. That’s what the movie industry tries to do with Black characters in cinema. But like a symphony, there has to be diversity within any body of art that works harmoniously with all of the different variables to create a finished product that’s complex, beautiful and full of depth.

JS: Shanika (played by Emmy nominee X Mayo) is my favorite character, both because she’s a great personality but also she’s a plus-size woman who can still handle busi-

this is a case of the film addressing some things that society hasn’t?

SH: Ya know, that is the million-dollar question. I think Androids get a bad rep because they don’t foster the same sense of interconnectedness that iPhones do. Androids prove to have superior processing systems and cameras than iPhones year after year, but by God, the people want emojis and to see an ellipsis when someone is typing. Android has just never been able to achieve the cult-like reception that iPhones have, and part of that is lackluster branding. And what is racism, if not refusing to adopt ideas that make people feel like their wants and needs are being met?

JS: There are times when I watch queerthemed films, and things get a bit too real, and I find myself filing those works in a folder of art that I call “Not in Front of the Straight People.” Sometimes, there’s business that’s not for just anyone to see. And there are moments in The Blackening when I thought I might be trespassing a bit. I mean, a wide theatrical release is in theory meant for anybody and everybody. But do you feel that the film was telling too much?

SH: Oof. I’ve been spending so much of my

ness. Her weight is simply an aspect of who she is, and she’s an inspiration to my big ass just by being her.

SH: Our weight is simply an aspect of who any of us are, but for some reason, when it comes to Black women, Hollywood decided that weight was a personality type. Shanika is lovable because she’s fashionable as hell and down to earth while maintaining a great sense of humor, and you can tell that she has so much love for her friends. As a chunky gworl, I definitely find myself endeared to characters who have a body type similar to mine, but I know that if more women with average bodies were represented in media, we wouldn’t project on the ones who do make it so much.

JS: The question I keep asking myself after the film is, “Are Android phones racist?” I’m still pondering that. The internet, as you know, is kinda inconclusive. But it feels like

adult life combating respectability politics. I could write volumes about it, and how it shows up in media. I think it’s beautiful how contemporary cinema destigmatizes a lot of behaviors and narratives that have felt taboo for decades. However, I do think there are some cultural novelties that feel very sacred, and I totally understand wanting to keep them protected from the grubby hands of culture vultures. The Blackening is full of moments that I never thought I would witness in a mainstream horror film, such as a nod to dark-skinned Aunt Viv and that brilliant sequence where everyone shamefully knows too much about the show Friends. I guess ultimately where I land is: There’s way more value in sharing art that makes people feel more connected with their community than gatekeeping for fear that the sanctity of it will be ruined.

LIVES IN BALANCE

Director Celine Song crafts a brilliant debut in the achingly romantic Past Lives

BY DANA KOPP FRANKLIN

Past Lives opens with a shot of three people sitting at a bar in New York. From offcamera we hear the voices of a few other bar patrons, indulging in the time-honored sport of peoplewatching. Who are these three people, the observers speculate, noting that the trio consists of an Asian woman, an Asian man and a white guy? What’s their story? What’s their dynamic? Who’s married to who? Who loves who?

From there, the movie explores the story behind that simple image of three people perched along a row of barstools. Writer-director Celine Song, in her film debut, leads us on a memorable journey.

The narrative quickly flashes back more than 20 years, when two of the principals, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), meet as school kids in Seoul. They’re adorable besties, competing gleefully in academics and walking companionably home from school every day. But their lives are about to diverge, as Nora’s parents plan to relocate the family to Canada. Nora’s mom, knowing the trauma her daughter is about to experience, suggests the tweens go on a date. It’s one of the golden moments the film depicts, a gem on the string of incidents that make up their relationship.

One of the things to like about Past Lives

DC TALK

The Flash is interesting, complicated and sometimes wondrous

BY JASON SHAWHAN

When The Flash is nimble and firing on all cylinders, it’s a wonder to behold.

An opening hospital set piece involving the rescue of a fusillade of raining babies one-ups the Quicksilver run-throughs of the next-to-last two X-Men films with a leavening injection of Tex Avery/Hellzapoppin’ mayhem. It’s silly and joyful. And the film finishes just as strongly, with a couple of great comic reveals and unexpected cameos that amp up one’s sense of old-school comic book jollies. Director Andy Muschietti (It) and writers Christina Hodson and Joby Harold aim for quippy and brisk (a tattoo reveal being one of the comedic flourishes of the year), and they keep things going along well, even if the big reality-jumping center section of the film drags at times.

In the vastly superior Snyder Cut of Justice League, we learned that Barry Allen — the titular Flash — could engage with what’s known as the Speed Force

is that it depicts the congruence between a person as a child and an adult. Little Nora already has ambitions as a writer — she notes that leaving Korea for the West may give her a better shot at a Nobel prize.

Twelve years pass, and the two have grown into adults. Hae Sung tracks down Nora via Facebook, and the digital reconnection turns into an intense online-only relationship. But she lives in New York and he still lives in Seoul — there doesn’t seem much likelihood that they’ll meet up in person anytime soon. Feeling their longdistance circumstances are untenable, Nora decides the couple need to take a break. The die is cast when she meets and marries a fellow New York writer (John Magaro). After

further unfolding, the story reaches the movie’s present, the timeline of the trio’s visit to the New York bar. What happens is achingly sweet. Director Song manages to create a deeply emotional romance without tear-jerking or melodrama.

And we the audience surely need romances in today’s cinematic multiverse. It seems like the best that Hollywood can currently manage is the occasional formulaic rom-com, sticky with clichés.

Past Lives reminded me a bit of a very different film — The Way We Were, which screened recently as part of the Belcourt’s 1973 series. Though that film had richer layers of history in the narrative, and the iconic faces of Barbra Streisand and Robert Red-

ford, it also touched on the notions of intertwined lives and love tempered by wisdom. Invoking those superstars, of course, is unfair to Yoo and Lee. They have very different jobs in a film that chooses naturalism over Hollywood heart-string-yanking. Both deliver performances that are luminous yet relatable.

Song also has Nora bring up a Korean philosophy, perhaps derived from Buddhism, stating that people may appear to be perfect strangers but are secretly related by centuries of connection in previous lives. I’m not so sure about the concept of multiple lives, but I am sure it’s worth weaving this movie into your current one.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

must learn about themselves rather than picking and choosing moments to cultivate specific outcomes. It also makes the very interesting choice of keeping the theoretical, or potential, alternate things the characters encounter in divergent timelines as notquite-there CG models, which allows for a consistent delineation between The Real and The Possible.

and do an instant replay of things. This film takes that further — to the extent that he can go back in time and avert the tragic murder of his mother. Naturally, because this is a comic book movie, he does. But then he finds himself in a world without Superman, Wonder Woman or Aquaman. Also Batman is now different, triumphantly played by Michael Keaton once again after 30 years. And then Michael Shannon’s

Kryptonian space eugenicist General Zod shows up (with nothing to do, sadly also true of Sasha Calle’s Supergirl), and there’s a big battle (but no “Batdance”) and tragic lessons to be learned.

Given that seemingly every piece of media is unleashing its perception of whatever the multiverse may be, it’s refreshing that The Flash treats it as more of an existential test — an exercise by which one

As for the big elephant in the room, it’s impossible to divorce the presence of repeatedly accused criminal mastermind Ezra Miller from this film. What’s honestly staggering is that were it not for all those pending criminal cases, Hollywood would be rolling out the red carpet for the actor, because Miller gives two more-than-good and differentiated performances as the Barries Allen. It’s not an exaggeration to put them on par with Jeremy Irons and Rachel Weisz in both Dead Ringers incarnations, or Tatiana Maslany’s unparalleled Orphan Black triumph. But it’s impossible to fully get past. Ever since seeing Afterschool back in 2008, there was always the thought “I hope this kid is gonna be OK.” And there’s nothing I can say as a critic to stop anyone from seeing the film who wanted to, just as there’s nothing I can say to compel anyone to see it who wasn’t going to do so because of Miller anyway. There’s a certain irony about the immutability of fate being the thematic thrust of a generally delightful film that may well be the pinnacle of a promising career with nowhere to go.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

PAST LIVES

PG-13, 106 MINUTES; IN KOREAN AND ENGLISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES OPENING THURSDAY, JUNE 15, AT THE BELCOURT

THE FLASH

PG-13, 155 MINUTES OPENING WIDE FRIDAY, JUNE 16

ACROSS

1 Latin stars

6 “Star Wars” character who wears Mandalorian armor

10 Title for Abraham in the Quran

14 Fly in for the kill, say

15 Sweetums

16 Actress Rooney

17 Any of 12 children of Uranus and Gaea

18 Onetime extravaganzas that included diving displays and water ballets

20 Certain soccer shot

22 Dismantle

23 Cambodia’s Angkor

24 Prefix with practice

25 Makes bubbly

27 Word before and after “on,” “to” or “by”

28 Indoor recess

30 Buds

31 U.S.N. rank below capt.

32 Palates, e.g.

34 Assemblages

36 Like some concepts in theoretical physics

38 Most inert

40 Smooths, in a way

41 Very, in Vichy

42 640 acres: Abbr.

43 Cummerbund, e.g. 47 Div. 48 Turned on 51 Simu ___, first Asian actor to star in a Marvel movie

52 Like some minorleague baseball

53 Vial fluids 54 Ill-tempered 56 Standardized point of reference

59 Measurement whose name derives from the Latin for “elbow” 60 Per

61 What Heron’s formula measures for triangles

62 Coach Rockne 63 ___ of life

64 Salon job, informally

65 Mythical creature associated with Dionysus DOWN

1 Respiratory concern

2 Bit of latex pool attire

3 Sum of this and sum of that

4 It’s a drag

5 Sleep disorder

6 Org. issuing recalls

7 Expression of relativity depicted five times in this puzzle

8 Heckles

9 Word before secret or paperback

10 “___ big fan”

11 2020 Taylor Swift song with the lyric “You’ll poke that bear ’til her claws come out”

12 Celeb’s red-carpet companion, perhaps

13 Second degree?

19 Trig fig.

21 Help make viral, in a way

26 Rapids transit?

29 Great Lakes tribe

31 Swearing up a storm, say

33 Switch positions

34 Big name in organic snacks

35 Clear (of)

36 Graceful and stylish quality

37 Pet food brand

38 “Challenge accepted!”

39 Vehicle you’d buy if money were no object

42 Title lyric after “Ours is a love …” in a Jimmy Dorsey hit

44 Not quite

45 Video game whose working title was Micropolis

46 Orion, for one

48 Blond shade

49 Plot again

50 Avoids a fastball, say

55 Selene’s Roman counterpart

57 Tony-winning role for Mandy Patinkin

58 ___ Bird, Pulitzerwinning biographer of Robert Oppenheimer

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

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

Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/ studentcrosswords.

Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on July 31st 2023. It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day, Clerk

Bill Riggs, Deputy Clerk

Date: June 2, 2023

L.R.Demarco Attorneys for Plaintiff

NSC 6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29/23

Non-Resident Notice Third Circuit Docket No. 14D573

Ersel Tim Cooper vs. Connie Sue Cooper

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a nonresident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon Ersel Tim Cooper. It is ordered that said Defendant enter him appearance herein with thirty (30) days after June 15th 2023, same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on July 17th 2023. It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day, Clerk

Bill Riggs, Deputy Clerk

Date: May 18, 2023

Morgan E. Smith

Attorneys for Plaintiff NSC 5/25, 6/1, 6/8, 6/15/23

Non-Resident Notice

Third Circuit

Docket No. 23D298

Rasmieh Mustafa Rahhal vs. Ebrahem Rasoul Thaher

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a nonresident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon Ebrahem Rasoul Thaher. It is ordered that said Defendant enter him appearance herein with thirty (30) days after June 29th 2023 same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on July 31st 2023. It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day, Clerk

Bill Riggs, Deputy Clerk

Date: June 2 2023

L.R.Demarco

Attorneys for Plaintiff

NSC 6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29/23

vs. Ebrahem Rasoul Thaher

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a nonresident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon Ebrahem Rasoul Thaher. It is ordered that said Defendant enter him appearance herein with thirty (30) days after June 29th 2023 same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on July 31st 2023. It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day Clerk

Bill Riggs, Deputy Clerk

Date: June 2 2023

L.R.Demarco

Attorneys for Plaintiff

NSC 6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29/23

NOTICE OF SALE UNDER MECHANIC’S AND ARTISAN’S LIEN

Cumberland International Trucks, Inc. (“Secured Party”), pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 66-14-103, 66-19-101, and pursuant to a Notice of Claim of Mechanic’s/ Artisan’s Lien dated May 3, 2023, holds a lien for repairs against a certain 2009 International 8000

VIN: 1HSHXAHR59H131888 (the “Vehicle”) owned by KMH Systems, Inc (KMH Systems). and operated by Midnight Ryder Transportation, which Secured Party improved by providing various service, labor, and parts.

Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 6614-104, notice is hereby given that Secured Party, pursuant to applicable law, will sell the Vehicle described above by Public Sale as follows:

Date of Sale: July 11, 2023

Time of Sale: 1:00 p.m. CST

Place of Sale: Exo Legal PLLC 818 18th Avenue South, Tenth Floor

Nashville, Tennessee 37203

Agent for Creditor: Exo Legal PLLC

The Public Sale will be conducted by Exo Legal PLLC, pursuant to a separate notice provided to all interested parties. For information, contact David Anthony, Exo Legal PLLC, at (615) 869-0634.

As to all or any part of the Vehicle, the right is reserved to: (i) delay, continue, adjourn, cancel or postpone the sale; and/or (ii) to sell to the next highest bidder in the event any high bidder does not comply with the terms of the sale.

Secured Party shall sell to the successful purchaser all of the right, title, and interest in and to the Vehicle which Secured Party has a right to sell as a Secured Party and no further or otherwise.

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Call 1-866-566-1815

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