Nashville Scene 9-16-21

SEPTEMBER 16–22, 2021 I VOLUME 40 I NUMBER 33 I NASHVILLESCENE.COM I FREE

CITY LIMITS: HOW PREPARED IS NASHVILLE FOR FUTURE CLIMATE DISASTERS? PAGE 8

MUSIC: ADIA VICTORIA RECLAIMS THE SOUTH ON A SOUTHERN GOTHIC PAGE 32

MISS NASHVILLE PRIDE NYKEMA CHILES AND MR. NASHVILLE PRIDE GRAYSIN HALE

PRIDE In celebration of Nashville Pride, we check out the festival and hear from some of Music City’s LGBTQ voices

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NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

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Walk a Mile: Salemtown ...........................7

Sugar Shock: Cake for One

CITY LIMITS

FOOD AND DRINK

In the 21st installment of his column, J.R. Lind walks a neighborhood with blue-collar roots and a witch-deterrent sulphur spring

A tour of some of Nashville’s best singleserving cake options

BY J.R. LIND

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Assessing Nashville’s Disaster Preparedness in an Era of Cascading Crises .......................................8 There will be more disasters — wind, water and otherwise. How ready are we?

BY MEGAN SELING

CULTURE

Horny on Main

BY STEVEN HALE

HUMP! will disrupt the way you see, make and share porn

Dripping With Legacy ............................. 10

BY LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

Fisk’s Dr. Karida Brown on serving the legacies of Diane Nash and John Lewis

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BY KELSEY BEYELER

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COVER STORY The Pride Issue 2021

Meet Mr. and Miss Nashville Pride ........ 13 Get to know Nykema Chiles and Graysin Hale, this year’s Pride ambassadors

BY LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

The Bis Have It ........................................ 14

BOOKS

A Light on in the Mica Windows Joy Harjo’s Poet Warrior illuminates her journey with words

BY JANE MARCELLUS AND CHAPTER 16

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BY ERICA CICCARONE

There Is a Season ................................... 33

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

Drag Me! .................................................. 17

ON THE COVER:

Miss Nashville Pride Nykema Chiles and Mr. Nashville Pride Graysin Hale Photo by Eric England Location: Play Dance Bar

BY OLIVIA LADD

Essential Listening .................................. 33 Pure represents Robben Ford at his best

BY J.R. LIND

34 FILM

BY BRITTNEY McKENNA

Zed’s Head ............................................... 34

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Mogul Mowgli deftly explores past, family and identity

Books, Bars & Guitars: Reckoning, PARK(ing) Day, Alanis Morissette w/Garbage & Cat Power, The Offspring, In Conversation: Elaine Weiss With Carole Bucy, The Tiger Beats, Big Thief, TLC w/Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, AmericanaFest and more

Talking with DJ Tan about Dons of Disco, now available to stream

CRITICS’ PICKS

Metro Council’s Minority Caucus Calls for Investigation of Metro Arts Commission

Jessica Breanne finds strength in opening herself up on Rosebud Queen

BY RON WYNN

Nashville Pride’s musical offerings include SaltN-Pepa, Kim Petras, Orville Peck and more

Titans Add Impressive Local Dining Options at Nissan Stadium

BY BRITTNEY McKENNA

Drag culture is now fully in the mainstream, and Nashville’s got the brunch shows to prove it

Loud and Proud ...................................... 18

Metro Council Bill Aims to Rein in Lower Broadway’s Party Vehicles

House and Home .................................... 32 Adia Victoria reclaims the South on A Southern Gothic

A pioneering gay Nashville newspaper finds new life online

Mickey Guyton, Chris Stapleton, More Nominated for 55th CMA Awards

MUSIC

With The Nashville Bi Diaries, photographer Emily April Allen shows the expansiveness of bisexuality

Paragraphs Lost ...................................... 16

THIS WEEK ON THE WEB:

BY SADAF AHSAN

Primal Stream 67 ................................... 35

BY JASON SHAWHAN

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NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

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nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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FROM BILL FREEMAN IS LOWER BROADWAY UNDERGOING ANOTHER “REBIRTH”?

The transformation of Lower Broadway over Nashville’s long history has reflected much about how the city sees and presents itself. Now it appears as though the downtown thoroughfare could be undergoing another transformation — a “rebirth.” But what will this rebirth look like?

Established by white settlers in the late 1700s and early 1800s, Nashville grew up along the Cumberland River and what is now First Avenue, originally called Front Street. The buildings built along the riverfront are considered the “birthplace” of Nashville as we know it. Warehouses were aligned to receive goods delivered by boat, which were then sold on Market Street (now Second Avenue). By the 1860s, Nashville was thriving. Then came the Civil War, and the city suffered tremendously.

Dan Pomeroy, chief curator and director of collections at the Tennessee State Museum, recently explained to WKRN that another change came with the addition of the Silver Dollar Saloon in 1890. The Silver Dollar served riverboat crews, creating a “rough and tumble district.” Once modern transportation arrived, the river was no longer as vital. After World War II, many businesses and their customers left downtown, and the commercial district crumbled.

Still, the iconic Ernest Tubb Record Shop — opened in 1947 — was there, and there remained an interest in country music.

In the 1960s, the city had a rebirth of sorts. To save the historic riverfront buildings, the nonprofit Historic Nashville Inc. was formed, and events were planned to attract tourists back to downtown. Country music artists brought the honky-tonk vibe back to Broadway, and stars performed on the Grand Ole Opry, then held at the Ryman.

But in 1974, the Grand Ole Opry left the Ryman to settle into its new home at The Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland. In the years following, there was talk of destroying the Ryman. Country music artists Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris and others — along with then-Gaylord Entertainment president and CEO Bud Wendell — eventually saved it. But for years the downtown district featured a lot of empty buildings, the Mother Church of Country Music among them. By 1994, the Ryman was reopened as a concert venue, and tourists began to return.

In 1985, two historic buildings that had existed since before the Civil War burned, and wrecking balls demolished any remnants of them. The Metro Council in 1996 adopted a historic zoning overlay for Second Avenue, preventing owners from changing the appearance of their historic buildings. This era was more or less the start of another rebirth for Nashville. The Tennessee Titans were recruited to Nashville, and Nissan Stadium (then called Adelphia Coliseum) opened in 1999. Bridgestone Arena (then Nashville Arena) was completed in 1996, and soon after the city landed a National Hockey League expansion team — the Predators.

Professional sports became a significant catalyst for Nashville’s growth and the resurgence of Lower Broadway.

In 2006, world-class concert venue the Schermerhorn Symphony Center came to Lower Broad. Nashville had all the big-city amenities — pro sports, museums, art and

music. Great cuisine followed soon after as tourists flocked to our city. Lower Broadway became known as the place to host big events, like 2019’s NFL Draft, which drew an estimated 600,000 fans to Nashville.

Then, nine months into a global pandemic, on Christmas Day 2020, a bomb went off on Second Avenue, nearly destroying several historic buildings that were protected by the 1996 overlay. What will happen now? Davidson County historian Carole Bucy says “another rebirth” could be spurred in the aftermath of the destruction.

Some of the owners of the damaged buildings think there is no way to reestablish their original use or appearance. Owners of four of the buildings hope to develop a boutique hotel in the area and keep the “historic fabric” intact. Nashville history experts like Bucy and Pomeroy think Nashvillians should have a hand in the next rebirth.

Pomeroy says that those on the Metro Council will be “making decisions that will affect the future of this city and … the quality of life for each and every one of us.”

While we definitely should do what we can to keep the historic fabric of our city intact, we face other obstacles in maintaining our city’s reputation — things that could define us perhaps even more than our history. One obstacle is unregulated entertainment vehicles. Since the 22-year-old tourist fell from one of these party vessels back in July, Nashville leaders are more concerned than ever about the lack of regulations. Just last week, Metro Councilmember Freddie O’Connell introduced a bill that would regulate these vehicles and ban alcohol on them.

Alongside this issue is the rising crime rate in Nashville, particularly downtown. In May, nearly 200 calls for police service were made over the course of one weekend.

Perhaps a “rebirth” is exactly what we need.

Broadway has seen lots of ups and downs over the years. The opening of the new Fifth + Broadway development, which houses dozens of retail and dining spots, brought a new look and a new energy to the area, as did the excellent new National Museum of African American Music. I certainly hope the district grows out from there and keeps attracting people who want to enjoy Nashville’s history, music and other amenities.

If a rebirth means we have to crack the whip on some of the partygoers — then let’s get cracking.

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

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NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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M A R C H 2 4 — 2 7 , 2 O 2 2 / K N OX V I L L E , T N • U S A

JOHN ZORN • MOSES SUMNEY • MEREDITH MONK • SPARKS • KIM GORDON ANIMAL COLLECTIVE • PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND • ANNETTE PEACOCK • KRONOS QUARTET BILL FRISELL • SONS OF KEMET • JASON MORAN • BILL CALLAHAN • LOW • MARC RIBOT YVES TUMOR • CAROLINE SHAW • JOE HENRY • EFTERKLANG • MDOU MOCTAR • AROOJ AFTAB GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW • BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS • ANDREW CYRILLE • RON MILES QUINTET TERRY ALLEN & THE PANHANDLE MYSTERY BAND • SŌ PERCUSSION • NATHALIE JOACHIM SHABAKA HUTCHINGS & KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA • DAWN RICHARD • SAUL WILLIAMS 75 DOLLAR BILL • 79RS GANG • JOSHUA ABRAMS NATURAL INFORMATION SOCIETY • ARENI AGBABIAN • AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE ATTACCA QUARTET • BALÚN • JAIMIE BRANCH FLY OR DIE • JOSEPH BRANCIFORTE & THEO BLECKMANN • THEON CROSS SARAH DAVACHI • KRIS DAVIS DIATOM RIBBONS • ANGEL BAT DAWID SISTAZZ OF THE NITTY GRITTY • BONNY LIGHT HORSEMAN ALABASTER DEPLUME • DOS SANTOS • FENNESZ • NUBYA GARCIA • HARRIET TUBMAN • JOHN HOLLENBECK • VAL JEANTY CASSANDRA JENKINS • L’RAIN • LAKOU MIZIK • MARY LATTIMORE • DAMON LOCKS BLACK MONUMENT ENSEMBLE • LISEL ELLIS LUDWIG-LEONE • PEDRITO MARTINEZ • LEYLA MCCALLA • JAMES MCVINNIE • MYRA MELFORD SNOWY EGRET • MSSV AURORA NEALAND & THE ROYAL ROSES • ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN • JEFF PARKER & THE NEW BREED • TRISTAN PERICH LIDO PIMIENTA • DAFNIS PRIETO SÍ O SÍ QUARTET • RAM • ELLEN REID SOUNDWALK ENSEMBLE • GYAN RILEY ELIXIR CHRISTIAN SCOTT ATUNDE ADJUAH • ANDY SHAUF • CHES SMITH WE ALL BREAK • SPEKTRAL QUARTET • SPORTY’S BRASS BAND SUDAN ARCHIVES • CRAIG TABORN • WILLIAM TYLER • DAN WEISS STAREBABY • AND MANY MORE

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NOLA / HAITI AND BEYOND Featuring Big Ears’ first-ever Krewe du Kanaval curated by Preservation Hall’s Ben Jaffe

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CITY LIMITS

SALEMTOWN

In the 21st installment of his column, J.R. Lind walks a neighborhood with blue-collar roots and a witch-deterrent sulphur spring

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THE ROUTE: Starting at the southwest corner of Morgan Park, north on Fifth Avenue North, then right on Buchanan Street. Right on Third Avenue, then right on the greenway into the park and back to the beginning.

CRANES: 5 ABANDONED SCOOTERS: 0 CATS: 0 WITCHES: 0

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

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ater bubbles up from places unseen into a stone fountain at the southwest entrance of Morgan Park in Salemtown. The water feature is decorated with tiny taps, dripping water into a narrow trough that carries the stream downhill into the park proper.

The dogs out for their morning constitutionals ignore the warning that the water is not for drinking. (Dogs will drink anything.)

Their people heed the caution.

The pleasant little bubbler is an homage to the early history of Morgan Park.

In 1909, Nashville’s Park Board purchased Frederick Laitenberger’s beer garden, which occupied the entire block at Hume Street and Fifth Avenue, and turned it into a park for the workers at the nearby Warioto Cotton Mills and the Morgan-Hamilton Bag Co. (later, and still, Werthan Mills).

The park was named for Samuel Dodd Morgan, who founded those companies and had died nearly 30 years earlier. Morgan, “The Merchant Prince of Nashville,” is perhaps best known today as the man who chaired the commission responsible for the construction of the Tennessee State Capitol.

He’s buried inside the walls, along with architect William Strickland. The men were often at loggerheads — as the arty minds of architects and the practical minds of the moneymen are frequently at odds — and

the legend goes that their spirits can still be heard arguing today.

When Morgan was building his mills, workers drilled for water, hoping to hit one of the many springs that undergird this section of the city. They indeed hit a spring but learned quickly — no doubt via their olfactory nerves — that the water was sulphured, which would damage the mill’s equipment.

Nevertheless, the spring became popular among Nashvillians, who believed the water cured a host of ailments — and also kept away cats and witches.

So popular was the water that when Nashville opened the park, they piped the water there and allowed Nashvillians to fill jugs, free of charge, for their own personal use (and also cat- and witch-deterrent purposes). In fact, the fountain was maintained well into the 1950s, and then the source was moved a few blocks south to Taylor Street.

Today, the sulphur spring is buried and unpiped, the little fountain at Morgan Park simply commemorating it. (In addition to being unsuitable for human consumption, the water in the fountain is unsulphured.)

Morgan Park sits elevated above Fifth Avenue, a stone wall of some age holding back the earth. The community center is an amalgam of styles: the back section a rather conventional example of late-20th-century practicalism attached to a charming little fin de siècle structure that was the park’s original “House of Comfort,” which sounds euphemistic but isn’t.

While various exemplars of “It City”-era architecture run along the stretch of Fifth across from the park, they more or less give way to lovingly refurbished, renovated and restored homes of Salemtown’s original period, around the time the mills opened. The mills’ workers came primarily from DeKalb County, 60 miles east, so the area was known as Kalb Hollow. A group of Methodist women opened a settlement house for the newly urbanized workforce. (Later it merged with other similar Methodist projects and became

the Bethlehem Centers of Nashville.)

Salemtown remained a working-class neighborhood until fairly recently. Price pressure from similarly situated Germantown, new condo and apartment construction, and the conversion of Werthan Mills into luxury lofts — plus the general trend of real estate in the city — have home prices here in

the high six or low seven figures, a stark departure from the area’s blue-collar roots.

This stretch of Fifth has pleasantly wide sidewalks, allowing for plenty of room — even in these Somehow Still Socially Distanced Times — to allow a wide berth with two-way traffic. Almost every house has street parking exclusively, though

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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CITY LIMITS

the curbside spots are set off nicely by semicircular offsets — a traffic-calming measure — with blooming trees. Though not technically a designated historic district, the neighborhood maintains its classic character, no doubt a testament to an active group of homeowners. Even the new builds fit in. What would inevitably be tall-andskinnies in other changing neighborhoods are, in Salemtown, not as tall and not as skinny and at least have a sense of the area’s architectural history.

Occupied now by the North Head Start, the Fehr School, built in 1924, was the site of a vitriolic protest in 1955 as four Black firstgraders integrated the elementary school.

ASSESSING NASHVILLE’S DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IN AN ERA OF CASCADING CRISES There will be more disasters — wind, water and otherwise.

How ready are we?

BY STEVEN HALE

T

he past 18 months have seen a cascade of disasters, both natural and man-made, and shown how easily a natural calamity can be exacerbated by poor planning and inadequate response. Fires out west and recent hurricane-induced flooding have raised questions about how our country and its infrastructure will hold up against increasingly frequent extreme weather events born of global climate change. And Nashvillians have not needed to watch the national news to confront these questions.

Since March 2020, the city has endured a deadly tornado, flash flooding, a bombing, an ice storm and more flash flooding, all with the COVID-19 pandemic ebbing and flowing in the background. We can be sure there is more to come, be it from wind or water.

And that raises a question: How ready are we?

The Office of Emergency Management, led by

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More than 200 people jeered as they enrolled.

Two churches, which may seem a touch out place, are just beyond Fifth and Garfield. Saint Petka, a diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was consecrated in 2019.

Two doors down: Clifton Avenue United Baptist, some four miles from Clifton Avenue. Oddly, Cowan Street Missionary Baptist is also nearby, two miles and a river away from Cowan Street itself.

An old commercial space at the corner of Fifth and Buchanan is now home to a Scout’s Barbershop, a sure sign the neighborhood’s collar is more white than blue these days.

The north side of Buchanan here is either vacant lots or commercial and warehouse

space, while residences hang in on the south side, including a 121-year-old home under renovation at Fifth and Buchanan itself. One of the aforementioned warehouses features an abstract mural with the color palette of a 1990s All-Star game logo.

The sidewalk disappears at Buchanan and Third, but a brick ranch stubbornly stands guard as the tall-and-skinnies, townhouses and various other semi-attached pieces of modernity spring up alongside.

A massive wastewater plant construction project is underway next to the Metro Water Services customer service center and with it, according to District 19 Councilmember Freddie O’Connell, will come full sidewalk

coverage, creating what he calls “effectively a linear park.”

Third Avenue slides down to Morgan Park’s northeast side, which features a grand, open lawn slightly sloping to a wider if slightly less dominating analog of The Allee at Percy Warner Park.

A greenway connector sneaks into the park, an abandoned watercourse on one side and shady trees — welcome on a rapidly warming September morning — on the other. The trail winds up the hill and passes by the homage to the old sulphur spring. A few dogs lick at it curiously.

But no cats and witches are to be found.

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

District Chief Jay Servais, is the Metro agency tasked with disaster preparedness and response. Servais calls Nashville “one of the most prepared cities in the country,” citing a culture of collaboration between different departments where there might otherwise be struggles for influence, power or credit. He says the OEM conducts emergency planning exercises with different Metro departments and emphasizes the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, which includes every city agency as well as nonprofits and other partners, outlining roles and plans for cooperation during a crisis. Asked if there is a scary folder somewhere in his office listing various hypothetical disasters his agency might have to respond to, Servais says, basically, yes.

“We try to have, annually, each department have a scenario-based table-top exercise, where we come together and we talk about, ‘What’s it going to take to tax our resources?’ ” Servais says.

Among the areas where the city could improve its disaster preparedness and response, he says, are a plan and ability to shelter displaced people for longer periods of time as well as more effective use of translators.

Unfortunately, flash flooding is a fairly common occurrence in Middle Tennessee, and after each such event, the OEM — which has a swift-water rescue team — reviews how effective its response was and how it might improve.

For many Nashvillians, any instance of heavy rain stirs up memories of the historic and devastating 2010 flood, and that catastrophic event was the impetus for a variety of steps that mitigate against disasters today. According to Metro Water Services, the city has purchased more than 400 homes located in flood-risk areas as part of its home buyout program and demolished most of them, creating more than 200 acres of

open space. The 2010 flood also led to the creation of a tool called SAFE (Situational Awareness for Flood Events) in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Weather Service and other agencies. Using information from a variety of sources, SAFE helps city officials forecast the severity of flooding events. Metro Water currently has 22 river gauges providing data to SAFE, with 24 additional sensors planned. Both of the city’s water plants have also been upgraded with “new electrical power feed systems and emergency power generation facilities that allow them to operate indefinitely without public power supplies,” according to the department.

But some steps forward in terms of disaster preparedness have been walked back in recent years.

In 2016, then-Mayor Megan Barry created the Office of Resilience inside the mayor’s office in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities. The office, according to an announcement at the time, was meant “to lead city-wide efforts to help Nashville prepare for, withstand, and bounce back from the ‘shocks’ — catastrophic events like floods, tornadoes, and fires — and ‘stresses’ — slow-moving disasters like unemployment, affordable housing, and poverty and inequality — that are increasingly part of 21st century life.” But after restructuring in the mayor’s office by Mayor David Briley, the Office of Resilience was eliminated in 2019.

City officials at the time said the office’s work would continue in other ways, but Metro Councilmember Freddie O’Connell — who represents much of the city’s downtown core — saw it as a promising vehicle for addressing likely future crises. For instance, the office worked with Metro Water to create an in-depth flood mitigation analysis for every council district.

Recent disasters — wrought by nature or inflicted by one disturbed man — have highlighted areas

SINCE MARCH 2020, THE CITY HAS ENDURED A DEADLY TORNADO, FLASH FLOODING, A BOMBING, AN ICE STORM AND MORE FLASH FLOODING, ALL WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC EBBING AND FLOWING IN THE BACKGROUND. where Nashville is vulnerable. Like Servais, O’Connell points to the challenge of sheltering and assisting displaced residents. Beyond that, the tornado — which killed two Nashvillians and could have claimed many more in the city given its terrifying path through residential neighborhoods — highlighted the risk of traditional above-ground power lines. Burying these lines would be a serious undertaking, but would have obvious benefits even if it was done only in the urban core, O’Connell says. The Christmas Day bombing knocked out telecommunications across the region, which O’Connell says underlines the need to consider building redundancies into the city’s emergency communications system so it’s not disrupted during such an event in the future.

“The idea of resiliency is not just the capabilities that you need to react to a crisis,” O’Connell says.

“Sometimes it’s doing the strategic work upfront to mitigate the impact of the crisis.”

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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Fisk’s Dr. Karida Brown on serving the legacies of Diane Nash and John Lewis

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t the beginning of the school year, Dr. Karida Brown joined Fisk as the university’s inaugural visiting Diane Nash Descendants of the Emancipation chair and director of the John Lewis Center for Social Justice — both roles named for and established in the spirit of Fisk graduates and icons of the civil rights movement. The endowed chair position, which Brown describes as “dripping with legacy,” was established in May as part of a $2.5 million grant from Amy and Frank Garrison.

Brown brings experience as a professor at UCLA’s departments of African American Studies and Sociology and director of racial equity and action for the L.A. Lakers. Though she will be on official leave from UCLA, she will continue her role with the Lakers and serve on the boards of the Obama Presidency Oral History Project and the Du Boisian Scholar Network. Her husband, artist Charly Palmer, is also teaching at Fisk. The Scene spoke with Brown to discuss her goals for the coming year.

What do you hope to bring to your role at Fisk?

My term is a one-year appointment, so I really want to be focused on setting an agenda for the [John Lewis Center for Social Justice]. While the center has been around for a little over a year, coming back to the campus in this hopefully tail end of the pandemic, my goal is to hit the ground running by setting an agenda with programming, but also doing a lot of listening with faculty, staff and students to animate the center. The purpose of a center on any college or university campus is to serve as the lifeblood [of the] campus, connecting departments across disciplines, connecting people across their various interests, but also a conduit for doing outreach … into the community. So with the John Lewis Center for Social Justice, our aim will always be rooted in justice-oriented initiatives, organizing programming and scholarship, but the point is to be that throughway, that lifeblood that I mentioned.

Are you receiving a lot of guidance as you step into this new role, or is it open for you to interpret and shape as you see fit? The role was created out of a very generous endowment by the Garrison family of Nashville. In that process, the endowed chair was imagined with some parameters around it there. By the time I came into the conversation with the Fisk administration, there was lots of room to have a lot of dialogue about what resources particularly could I bring to the table in serving as the visiting chair in this one-year capacity. So there were some things that they obviously would like, which includes teaching, which I can’t wait to do — I’ll be teaching two courses come this spring in the center — and some programming that the John Lewis Center for Social Justice already had underway before I came, so I’ll assume those responsibilities as well. What’s super exciting about this chair and the fact that it is an inaugural chair is the fact that I do get to bring ideas to help shape the role and to really animate the programmatic aspect of the position, and that’s the part that I’m really excited about, and committed to doing this role justice.

Can you talk some about Diane Nash’s legacy here in Nashville? Diane Nash’s legacy, yes, is rooted and centered in Nashville and a part of Nashville civil

rights history and city history, but I think it’s important to remember that her reputation and her legacy has a global reach. She’s been honored with a National Medal of Freedom. She is one of the leaders of and architects of the American civil rights movement as we know it. So yes those roots run deep in the city of Nashville, and I’m really excited to get more intimate with that as I come onto campus and learn more about the city and Fisk University. But when I first heard of this chair, and from what I know about Diane Nash through my own research and study, I’ve always understood her to be a global legend and a hero.

Have you been able to consult with her about this role? Not yet, but I’m so excited about that. That is one of the first things that I plan to do in this role. … For me, I just want to say thank you. I want to thank her for the sacrifices and commitment that she has made in her life, especially during her time at Fisk to make that commitment to the civil rights movement, to the Black freedom struggle. I want to thank her for allowing her name to be used in this chair, in this most honorable way, and also make the commitment to her that I plan to do this named chair justice, keeping her legacy in mind.

Is there a Fisk alumnus in particular that you connect with the most, or who is the most influential to you? There are just so many, I feel like that question is totally unfair because there are so many of our elders and ancestors who really just blazed a trail for me to even be able to exist in this space right now.

Lots of that comes from the contributions that they’ve made. But if I had to name a person … it would have to be W.E.B. Du Bois, whose alma mater is Fisk University. He is one of my intellectual heroes. I’m a sociologist by training, and Du Bois was a sociologist. One of the reasons why I decided to earn my Ph.D. in that discipline was because of Du Bois’ 1903 book The Souls of Black Folk. It changed my life, and just knowing all that he did over his 95-year life, completely dedicated to — not only, yes, the Black freedom struggle — but he fought for all people of color, and all humans to have an equal place of safety and quality of life and rights and justice in this world. And he did that in so many different and amazing ways. But the fire was lit in his belly a lot at Fisk, and he writes a lot about that, about how his time at Fisk left an indelible mark with him, especially with the awakening of his racial consciousness. So I’d have to say Du Bois, so much so that myself and my co-author José Itzigsohn recently published a book on The Sociology of W.E.B. Du Bois. That book came out in March of 2020, so I mean it when I say he’s my hero.

What are some aspects of Nashville that excite or concern you? Nashville’s history is so very rich, and that is one of the things that, again, I plan to dive deeply into in a very intimate way. So I don’t know that Nashville always comes to top of mind in the metanarrative about the origins of the civil rights movement or the Black freedom struggle more broadly. And I say that to say, you’ve got lots of activism and organizing that came out of this city. … I think that the stories need to be told in a more amplified way to just remind folks — Nashville is here. It’s been on the map, it’s going to stay on the map, and Nashville still has something to say in this realm of social justice.

Could you see yourself sticking around after this one-year appointment is up? Anything is possible. I’ll just say, circle back with me in a year and let’s see how it goes. But I can tell you that for the year that I have committed, I’m going to leave it all on the court. I plan to just hit the ground running and be here ... listen to folks, partner and collaborate and make an impact. That’s what I’m coming here for. So for how long, we’ll see how that goes, but you know you’ve got me for the year.

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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GRAYSIN HALE AND NYKEMA CHILES AT PLAY DANCE BAR

THE

PRIDE

ISSUE

In celebration of Nashville Pride, we check out the festival and hear from some of Music City’s LGBTQ voices

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Pride has come to Nashville at last,

PHOTOS: ERIC ENGLAND

and in this issue, we celebrate the visibility of our LGBTQ community. We dive into Middle Tennessee State University’s archives to explore what a groundbreaking local publication looked like. Queer Nashvillians continue to find innovative ways to be seen authentically, including in a photography series that aims to chronicle the expansiveness of bisexuality. Meanwhile, our resident drag expert takes us on a tour of drag brunches in town, and we talk to the recently crowned Mr. and Miss Nashville Pride.

Plus, we’ve got everything you need to party this weekend. The two-day Nashville Pride Festival begins Saturday at 10 a.m. with the Nashville Pride Parade, kicking off from the Woodland Street Bridge. Marchers will move west on Union Street and then north on Sixth Avenue North to Charlotte, looping around the Tennessee State Capitol to Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. In addition to music (read on p. 18), scores of vendors will be on site, and you can peruse all of our city’s LGBTQ-friendly organizations that show up. When you get hungry, you’ll have plenty of options, among them the Banh Mi & Roll Factory, The Grilled Cheeserie, Daddy’s Dogs and Nashville Cotton Candy Co. From noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the Kids & Family Zone will host the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Musical Petting Zoo, Turnip Green Creative Reuse, Mr. Bond’s Science Guys and other kid-friendly activities. Get the full schedule of events and other info at nashvillepride.org, or download the festival’s app. A note: Nashville Pride will require attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test (taken within 72 hours of the festival) upon entry. So have your info ready and prepare to party.

NYKEMA CHILES

GRAYSIN HALE

MEET MR. AND MISS NASHVILLE PRIDE Get to know Nykema Chiles and Graysin Hale, this year’s Pride ambassadors

S

tand before Nykema Chiles and Graysin Hale, and know you’re in the company of greatness.

Mr. Nashville Pride, Graysin Hale, has claimed three drag-king titles in two months. That’s quite an achievement, especially considering the fact that he’s a relative newcomer to drag, having donned a beard for the first time about two years ago. The transformation was more than just a physical one — his partner Tina remembers seeing an almost immediate change. “[Graysin]’s such an introvert,” Tina tells the Scene during our photo shoot at Play Dance Bar. “But as soon as the beard came on, he became extroverted.”

“It’s like an alter ego,” says Graysin. “When I get onstage, something else comes out — somebody else who’s not me.”

Miss Nashville Pride, Nykema Chiles, describes a

BY LAURA HUTSON HUNTER similar transformation.

“I’m two totally different people,” she says. “Drag is something I’ve wanted to do ever since I came here in 2006 to go to TSU.” She beams, her brightred glitter-covered lips matching her elbow-length leather gloves.

She was able to financially support herself as a drag performer — being Nykema helped her pay her way through school.

“It took me a while to polish my brand,” she says of her act, 16 years in the making. She’s well-decorated, and has been crowned Miss Americana, Miss Glamor and Miss Mid-South Pride. She currently performs at Illusions Drag as both Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. For this year’s Pride pageant, however, she performed a monologue and song from Broadway’s The Color Purple. The theme of the pageant, which took place last month at Play, was “Sex, Drag, and Rock and Roll,” with the contestants judged in the

categories of Creative Presentation, Evening Gown/ Formal Wear and Talent.

Graysin’s pageant performance was a little different — he performed Godsmack’s “Under Your Scars.” He also often performs as Eric Church.

“I like to stay versatile,” he says. He cleans up well — the rhinestone-encrusted suit he wears to the photo shoot is his own creation. He’d stayed up until 2 a.m. the night before putting the sparkly details together, and paired it with red patent oxfords that match Nykema’s gown perfectly.

Nykema’s attention to detail is similarly wellhoned — she is instantly striking with “ring-light gray” colored contacts and eyelashes so long that they graze her brows.

“I always wanted to be a part of Pride, and this year my dreams came true,” she says. “Nykema has truly made me a better person. She just made me a lover — a lover of life, and a lover of happiness.”

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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THE BIS HAVE IT

With The Nashville Bi Diaries, photographer Emily April Allen shows the expansiveness of bisexuality

BY ERICA CICCARONE

W

hen the world shut down in March 2020, photographer Emily April Allen launched Nashville Queers in Quarantine, a portrait series in which she photographed LGBTQ Nashvillians outside their homes from a safe distance.

“It’s not as much about the photo as it is about what the photo represents,” Allen explains. “In this case, it’s the queer community still being here in Nashville, and people living their lives in their homes and discovering new things about themselves.

It was about maintaining visibility when everybody was behind closed doors.”

Allen photographed more than 150 people for the series, posting the portraits on her Instagram account (@emdashphotos) with captions about who is pictured. Some people appear with partners, family members and pets. Some are decked out, their wardrobes, hair and makeup meticulously styled. Oth-

ers appear in pajamas. A local hemp grower wears a pink unicorn costume, her dog by her side. Another participant pushes a lawn mower while wearing a ball gown and a denim jacket. An artist leaps high into the air, his arms posed as if he’s sprinting.

“I feel honored that people trust me to help document their lives,” Allen says, “especially some really significant or intimate moments. When you’re queer, it’s important to have that be done in a space that feels authentic and comfortable and safe.”

Allen — who maintains a part-time job and also freelances as a portrait and event photographer — just wrapped up another project with activist Amo Elizabeth in which she photographed local businesses and organizations that support and celebrate trans lives. Restaurants, boutiques, health care centers and many others participated and spread the love to our trans community. Without stopping for a break, she’s launched a new series that has special meaning for her.

“I wanted to do a project that focused on

the expansiveness of the bi-plus spectrum and all of the different emotions that come from it — the excitement of realizing, ‘Oh! I’m bi!’ and claiming that. But then being like, ‘Oh, but where do I fit?’ ” Allen grew up in a family with two queer brothers and extremely supportive parents.

She was the director of her college’s queer assembly and volunteered as an advocate for LGBTQ organizations. Most of her friends were on the LGBTQ spectrum. But it wasn’t until she was 26 that she came out as bisexual. In The Nashville Bi Diaries, she’s taking portraits of bisexual people outside of their homes with the intention of making the expansiveness of their experiences visible.

“What I hear a lot from bisexual people — especially in reference to this project — is, ‘I don’t want to take up space in the community because I’m living this seemingly heterosexual life,’ ” says Allen. Of course, she says, that’s not the case for everyone. Plenty of bisexual people are in relationships that “look” queer from the outside. But for others who are in straight-passing relationships, owning one’s bisexuality can feel like straddling a line between two states, and wanting to live in them both each day.

She acknowledges that there is a lot of privilege that comes with being bisexual.

Technically, you can hide in plain sight. “The government or the person down the street will just assume,” says Allen, “and you’re

afforded all of these rights and protections and safety [of straight people].” But inside, she says, “There’s a curiosity. There’s a joy and there’s a pain and there’s a freedom.

There’s this expansiveness that you never quite realized, and the expansiveness gets larger and larger each day.”

That’s where her photography comes in.

“Having a queer photographer, or a photographer who is very familiar with queerness, you need to be able to let out that breath,” she says. “To strip away all of those societal barriers and just be there in the portrait, capturing visually and internally who you are in that moment. That’s something very, very special to me as a photographer, and as a queer person, it’s something I feel within myself.”

As part of the project, she’s asking bisexual Nashvillians to handwrite a page about themselves, diary style. These will appear on Instagram along with the portraits, and Allen hopes to see the project in print eventually as an exhibition or book. As it happens, Nashville Pride is taking place during Bi Visibility Week, when bis throughout the land call ourselves to be counted, in all of our vast and varied experiences.

“Through my photography,” says Allen, “I feel like I am always connecting to my queerness. It’s the lens through which I see the world. It’s how I connect with other people. It’s where I feel comfortable. It’s where I feel like home.”

PHOTOS: EMILY APRIL ALLEN

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

FOLLOW EMILY APRIL ALLEN ON INSTAGRAM AT @EMDASHPHOTOS

EMILY APRIL ALLEN

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NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

PARAGRAPHS LOST

A pioneering gay Nashville newspaper finds new life online

A

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

ccording to the types of people who would know, Dare (later renamed Query after a settlement with antidrug group D.A.R.E.) was the first of its kind in Nashville.

It was a plucky newspaper, largely produced by two founders — business and romantic partners Stuart Bivin and Jeff Ellis — starting in the spring of 1988. More importantly, it gave voice to a Nashville and Tennessee LGBTQ community that until then didn’t have much in terms of media representation.

“When we started, there really was nothing,” Ellis says. (Bivin died in 1997.)

“We went to cover an event after the first issue had come out, and we walked into this lecture hall at Vanderbilt and … it makes me emotional to talk about it … we walked into this lecture hall and everyone in that room was holding a copy of the paper looking at it. It was amazing.”

This was not an easy endeavor for Bivin, Ellis and the others who helped them out. After the first issue came out, their printer in Nashville refused to print the second, so they turned to the Lebanon Democrat, which printed the paper for about a decade despite pushback in the community.

There was the D.A.R.E. lawsuit too.

Though Bivin was worried it would spell the end of their upstart effort, it ended up being a boon, as a gay assistant at the anti-drug organization tipped them off that D.A.R.E. would offer to buy the name, and they should hold out for more.

That early cash helped the soon-to-berenamed Query move into a real office.

There were also violent threats, and not just from the KKK and antiLGBTQ bigots, though those were regular. In a time when Nashville was less accepting of LGBTQ people, some in that community did not like that the paper used people’s real names in news stories — but Ellis said he couldn’t run a newspaper without using people’s names.

“It’s not really pleasant for someone to threaten to kill you, but if they were really serious about it, I think they would’ve done it without any warning,” Ellis says with a laugh. “It meant we were doing something that ultimately would prove to be important.”

The run of the paper, which ended in the mid-2000s, overlapped with a dark time, especially for gay men. Both front-page stories from the inaugural 1988 issue were about the AIDS crisis, and Ellis would eventually grow tired of writing about so much death and sadness.

“At one point I felt like I can’t write anymore about AIDS,” he says. “I’ve written so much. It was so hard.”

There was also an increase in antiLGBTQ violence, across the country and in Nashville. The violence was

16

detailed on the front page, including Ellis’ reporting on a string of murders of gay men, but also in cheeky ads for selfdefense classes targeted at gay men.

The paper’s pages are a crucial link to an important but often-overlooked period of Nashville’s history. Until recently, old issues of Query and other pre-internet Nashville LGBTQ publications were either lost or confined to dusty archives. Query’s own archives were lost to flooding years ago. Vanderbilt University and other institutions have some of the papers on file, but they can only be accessed in person.

But in August, the Albert Gore Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University digitized and posted online about three years’ worth of Query, in addition to a few other publications.

The center is working on collecting and digitizing more. Anyone can now access at least some of Ellis’ reporting on AIDS and violent crimes against gay men, colorful classified sections from the late 1980s and early 1990s, and chatty gossip columns that paint a picture of a vibrant part of Nashville’s history.

“It’s not like The Tennessean was really writing stories about the queer community, so where would you get your news if you were a Nashville gay person?” says Sarah Calise, an archivist at the Gore center who digitized the newspapers. “You had nowhere to turn to.”

Being somewhere to turn to for Nashville LGBTQ people, especially young ones, was the part of running the paper that brought the most meaning to Ellis. As public figures in the stillsomewhat-underground community, Ellis and other representatives of the paper became something like spokespeople for the Nashville gay community. He remembers covering events in Chattanooga and Knoxville, where no local LGBTQ people would agree to be interviewed by TV crews, so he stepped in.

Later in the paper’s run, Ellis was interviewed for a TV news series on “the gay ’90s.” Shortly after the series ran, he noticed a young woman following him at a local mall, so he approached her.

“I want to thank you, because you’ve proven to me that I’m not the only one out there,” he remembers her saying.

“We were trying to give a voice to the people who could not have one,” Ellis says. “ ‘I knew I had a community because I read your newspaper.’ That’s tremendously gratifying, and it was also a big responsibility.”

And he’s especially grateful that Calise and the Gore center are publishing the paper online.

“The thing that has really made me proud … this sounds so fucking corny … is that it’s giving a whole new generation a chance to see what we did 30 years ago.”

“I KNEW I HAD A COMMUNITy BECAUSE I READ YOUR NEWSPAPER.”

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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DRAG ME!

Drag culture is now fully in the mainstream, and Nashville’s got the brunch shows to prove it

DRAG’N BRUNCH AT SUZY WONG’S HOUSE OF YUM

BY J.R. LIND

D

rag shows, depending on the definition, date back as long as culture itself.

In a broad sense, humans have been entertained by men dressed up as women for millennia. Greek drama featured men as women, and so famously did Shakespeare. For a real mind warp, think about this: Twelfth Night’s plot is based on men dressing as women and vice versa, but when it was first performed, all the parts were played by men. So whoever debuted, say, Viola was a man playing a woman playing a man.

Of course, what we in 2021 consider drag is something wholly different. For most of its existence, it was confined to gay bars and nightclubs, well outside the mainstream but thriving as a very specific part of the gay subculture — particularly in communities of color, as examined in the brilliant 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning. Drag now has its own lingua franca, mixing carnival lingo and gay slang and borrowing liberally from God knows what else.

Queen supreme RuPaul’s emergence as a cultural icon, starring in music videos and recording songs in her own right, along with co-opter supreme Madonna’s hit single “Vogue,” dragged (forgive me) drag into the mainstream, peaking with the cultural phenomenon that is Ru’s Drag Race, now in its 13th season. Much to the chagrin of fuddy-duddies everywhere, queens are everywhere now — including, yes, hosting

AFTER A LONG NIGHT OUT, WHAT’S BETTER THAN A HEARTY BRUNCH? AND ONE OF THE FEW THINGS THAT COULD IMPROVE THE BEST MEAL OF THE WEEK? DRAG QUEENS. storytime at libraries. And why the hell not? Drag queens are great: as quippy as a Borscht Belt legend, as quick with the comeback as a Dean Martin roast regular and, yes, stunning to look at.

Sure, late-night shows at the club are still fun and still the best way to get the true drag experience: the lip-synching, the dancing, the dollar bills and the kisses. But after a

long night out, what’s better than a hearty brunch? And one of the few things that could improve the best meal of the week?

Drag queens.

Those looking to combine eggs Benedict, faces beat to the gods and, yes, bachelorettes (one local queen has the excellent habit of referring to partying brides-to-be as “Pumpkin Spice Latte” while reading them for filth) have a surfeit of options.

TAVERN DRAG BRUNCH AT THE BOBBY HOTEL’S TAVERN

The original and still best-known is chef Arnold Myint’s Drag’n Brunch at Suzy Wong’s House of Yum on Church Street. With one show on Friday and two on each day of the weekend, there’s plenty of opportunity to indulge in the fusion of queen and brunch (itself a fusion of standard American fare and the Asian dishes Myint is known for). But be warned: There’s a reason the Drag’n Brunch is still in business after all these years. It’s extraordinarily popular, with the Saturday and Sunday seatings in particular booked up weeks in advance, especially during bachelorette season. Suzy Wong’s sister business, The Big Drag Bus, is a transpotainment alternative if brunch is booked (or if no one is in the mood to eat).

Excellence breeds imitation, naturally, so Suzy Wong’s is no longer the only game in town. Hosted by sharp-tongued local favorites Cya Inhale and Vidalia Anne Gentry, Tavern Drag Brunch at The Bobby Hotel’s Tavern is a little pricier than most ($45 for the prix-fixe menu). But the atmosphere is not unlike a Brat Packy night out (even if it is Sunday afternoon), with the restaurant decked in dark woods. Cya and Vidalia Anne are fixtures, but they regularly welcome other local and national favorites to their Sunday sashay sessions with plenty of floor room for all the voguing you can handle.

While Tavern and Suzy Wong’s offer consistent (and consistently great) brunches weekly, plenty of other venues around town are known to schedule regular and semiregular shows — including Illusions, the Show every weekend in downtown Nashville, where performers specialize in celebrity impressions. And if brunch isn’t your thing, first of all, you are a monster. Secondly, drag’s increasing ubiquity means you don’t have to like omelets, dark nightclubs or party buses to watch the beauties bounce.

Just keep your eyes peeled and your dollar bills ready.

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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LOUD AND PROUD Nashville Pride’s musical offerings include SaltN-Pepa, Kim Petras, Orville Peck and more

BY BRITTNEY McKENNA

KIM PETRAS

BROOKE EDEN ORVILLE PECK

A

MERCY BELL

fter a long delay due to COVID-19, Nashville Pride is finally happening this weekend. The annual festival is always one of the year’s biggest celebrations, bringing with it artists and vendors, musical and drag performances galore and, of course, the beloved Pride Parade.

The festival seems to grow with each passing year, booking a diverse array of national and local talent for one of Nashville’s more eclectic musical lineups. Whether you’re looking to bust a few moves with Kim Petras, discover singer-songwriters like Mercy Bell or indulge in a little musical nostalgia with Salt-N-Pepa, Pride’s two-day music programming is sure to have something for you.

Below, the Scene rounds up seven acts to catch at this weekend’s festival, which kicks off at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park on Saturday.

NASHVILLE PRIDE SEPT. 18-19 AT BICENTENNIAL CAPITOL MALL STATE PARK

VyRGO Vyrgo is an exciting local addition to the lineup, bringing her own brand of hiphop and R&B to the stage. Her 2019 single “Nipsey Hussle,” something of a tribute to the titular fallen rapper and activist, shows off her creative, unorthodox flow and hybrid approach to singing and rapping. She’s also recently hinted at new music on social media, writing on Facebook in late August, “I hope you’re ready to jam like it’s 1984!” Vyrgo performs at the Equality Stage on Saturday at noon.

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MERCY BELL

ORVILLE PECK

KIM PETRAS

Local favorite Mercy Bell has made a name for herself with thoughtful songwriting, powerful live performances and her serious vocal chops — which lend themselves well to the emotional brand of left-of-center country music she creates.

Bell’s project Golden Child was released in August to significant critical acclaim, while her activism has made her an important member of Nashville’s queer music community. Bell performs at the Equality Stage on Saturday at 3:40 p.m.

Though he has only one full-length album (2019’s Pony) under his rhinestone-studded belt, Orville Peck has quickly become something of an icon within the queer music community. His quick ascent owes as much to his signature look — a fringed mask (Peck was well ahead of the COVID curve), a cowboy hat and chic duds — as it does to his Roy Orbison-meets-Robert Smith sound. Peck is far more than just a well-styled persona, though, and will bring his showmanship and singular croon to the Equality Stage on Saturday at 6:40 p.m.

As one of the festival’s headliners, Kim Petras brings an international flair to this year’s Pride celebration. The L.A.-based, German-born singersongwriter is a dancefloor favorite, with hits like “Feeling of Falling” and “Heart to Break” sure to get the crowd moving. Petras just released a new single, “Future Starts Now,” and is rumored to have a new album on the way soon.

Here’s hoping Petras unveils some new tunes when she performs at the Equality Stage on Saturday at 8 p.m.

TAYLS Tayls is a self-described local “friendship punk band,” which perfectly encapsulates their joyful, energetic sound and dynamic live performances.

Tracks like “Have You Ever?” and “Scarlet Letter” overflow with crunchy pop hooks and communal energy, and the band is undoubtedly one of the city’s best live outfits. Tayls celebrated the release of a new album, Have You Ever? I’ve Always, in late July, so their set should be full of fresh material. Tayls performs at the Equality Stage on Sunday at 2:35 p.m.

BROOKE EDEN

SALT-N -PEPA

Brooke Eden is one of a growing number of young commercial country artists who have come out publicly.

The singer-songwriter shared details of her coming-out journey through new music earlier this year. Eden’s backstory may not fit the prevailing country narrative (and that’s a good thing!), but her music is pure popcountry gold. Songs like the breezy, effervescent “Sunroof” and the buoyant, soulful love song “Got No Choice” are tailor-made for an afternoon in the sun celebrating loud and proud. Eden performs at the Equality Stage on Sunday at 3:40 p.m.

Salt-N-Pepa need no introduction, as the legendary rap act long ago transcended their status as a hip-hop duo to become a household name. Massive hits like “Let’s Talk About Sex,” “Push It” and “Shoop” catapulted the group to mega-stardom in the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s, and are sure to be standout moments during an already stacked festival. SaltN-Pepa perform at the Equality Stage on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

Get the full lineup at nashvillepride.org, or download the festival’s app.

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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CRITICS’ PICKS W E E K L Y

R O U N D U P

O F

T H I N G S

T O

D O

[I RECKON]

BOOKS, BARS & GUITARS: RECKONING

THE BROTHERS OSBORNE

Appreciating country music in all its variety might require what I call a focal shift toward the conventional. Since country almost always uses ready-made musical forms, listening to it with an ear tuned to subtle variations in those forms makes sense — especially if you’re a hipster who wants to understand modern country.

Being one of those hipsters myself, I occasionally manage to tear myself away from my Fela and Gal Costa albums. When I do, this old country boy gets off on country stars The Brothers Osborne, who don’t include any longform saxophone solos or British Invasion-style guitar licks in their unabashedly commercial tunes. The Maryland-bred duo does boast a bluegrassfusion instrumental, 2020’s “Muskrat Greene,” that takes off where certified hipster country-jazz-boogie band Area Code 615 left the reins back in 1970. Meanwhile, the contrivance of chart-toppers like the duo’s 2015 tune “Stay a Little Longer” seems pretty, uh, organic to me. The Osbornes manage to combine schlock, fancy post-ZZ Top guitar moves and conventional songwriting on the 2020 album Skeletons.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 16 Ascend Amphitheater

The singing half of the duo, T.J. Osborne, came out as gay earlier this year — a brave gesture in a genre often dominated by retrograde attitudes. Meanwhile, the other Osborne sibling, guitarist John Thomas, plays very well indeed. The Osbornes make music that transcends the generic while remaining commercial, which is what highlevel modern country is all about. On the undercard for Thursday’s show at Ascend are country singers Travis Denning, from Georgia, and Tenille Townes, from Canada.

7:30 p.m. at Ascend Amphitheater, 301 First Ave. S. EDD HURT [SAMPLE PLATTER]

HOUSEQUAKE FEAT. AMAVA, ELLERY BONHAM, NATHAN ACHILLES & MORE

With the way contemporary dancekissed pop music is driven by streaming singles, you can probably get a decent survey of a given pop scene by seeking out playlists or making your own. But it’s a whole lot more fun if you can see for yourself what the performers bring to the stage. Enter the Housequake showcase at Mercy Lounge, which brings you a slew of rising local artists every month, along with at least one touring act. The out-of-towner for Thursday’s installment is Columbus, Ohio’s Spirit of the Bear, a group that leans more toward indie rock but incorporates a lot of the funk and ’70s R&B that today’s dance popsters often draw from. You can get a preview of Quarterlife Blur, the

forthcoming album from Music City’s own Ellery Bonham, who you might have heard under her previous moniker EZA, as well as the latest from Amava, Sela Bruce and Julianna Hale. Nathan Achilles’ whip-smart narrative tunes stand out for how much he leans into the most dramatic elements of the music — he hasn’t released a video for his recent single “Secondhand Smoke,” which is broadly about the discomfort of transitioning into adulthood, but the way he plays up the details, it’s hard not to imagine one in your head. 8 p.m. at Mercy Lounge, 1 Cannery Row STEPHEN TRAGESER [DOWNERS]

SEPTEMBER SUNDOWN: ALANNA ROYALE, MOLLY MARTIN, TEDDY AND THE ROUGH RIDERS & MORE

After seeing Alanna Royale at Exit/In in July, I can tell you — with zero hesitation — that this Musicians Corner concert is a must-see. The Exit/In show was a celebration to mark the release of Royale’s newest single “Fall in Love Again,” a slow, sexy groove that recalls other romantic R&B queens like Diana Ross and Donna Summer. Royale debuted a whole heap of captivating new material, some of which will surely make its way onto the set list Thursday night. Also on the bill for the free show in Centennial Park are: indie-rock singer-songwriter Molly Martin; countryrockers Teddy and the Rough Riders; recent Provo, Utah, transplants Desert Noises; and

neo-soul singer Arlana. Musicians Corner’s September Sundown’s fun continues Friday night with performances from Avi Kaplan, Bantug, Steve Stour, Kenny Dewitt and Kenna. Bring picnic supplies and a date — you’re gonna be in the mood for some kissin’ when Royale busts out “Fall in Love Again.” Sept. 16-17 at Musicians Corner in Centennial Park, 2500 West End Ave. MEGAN SELING

FRIDAY / 9.17 COMMUNITY

[TRIP IN THE COUNTRY]

T H E B R OT H E R S O S B O R N E

MUSIC

MUSIC

At the start of the pandemic, we at the Scene adjusted our Critics’ Picks section to suit the times, writing what felt like tomes of bite-size recommendations to keep you busy while sheltering in place. My colleague Megan Seling suggested that you keep a journal to record your experience during that unfathomable time. I did not.

For a while, it was hard enough to face a single day, let alone another blank page.

But other writers diligently doubled their efforts, writing essays, short stories and poetry bearing witness to 2020 from diverse angles. Local gem The Porch Writers’ Collective has gathered up some of these works from across the state in an anthology.

Reckoning: Tennessee Writers on 2020 tells stories “from a front porch in Knoxville to a virtual classroom in Johnson City; from the tornado-ravaged neighborhood of East Nashville to the sidewalks of Memphis,” providing “vivid glimpses of an unforgettable year, one in which we were all challenged to reckon with ourselves, our sense of community and safety, our commitment.”

The nonprofit will celebrate the release with a new installment of its popular Books, Bars & Guitars series. Authors will share the stage with powerhouse singer-songwriter Kyshona, as well as Scene faves Langhorne Slim and Andrew Combs. The Porch kindly asks you to sit this one out if you are unvaccinated. Another reason to get jabbed. 7 p.m. at Analog at the Hutton Hotel, 1808 West End Ave. ERICA CICCARONE

MUSIC

BOOKS

THURSDAY / 9.16

[ARMY OF PARKNESS]

PARK(ING) DAY

This event turning parking spots into parks is more than just wordplay — it’s a public participatory art project that makes activism out of design. Led in Nashville by the Civic Design Center, PARK(ing) Day has been transforming metered parking spaces downtown and beyond for one day a year since 2016, offering Golden Cone Awards to the best temporary parks. It’s sort of like a street fair, but instead of selling stuff, the participants just want to show you something new — whether it’s a creative art installation, a place to sit and relax, or a game to play. Visit civicdesigncenter.org for more information and details on how to build your own parklet. All day Friday throughout Nashville LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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HEIST! SERIES: BOTTLE ROCKET, THE LADYKILLERS AND HUSTLERS

The hits truly keep on coming as the Belcourt’s Heist! series continues to screen beloved cinematic capers. Wes Anderson’s 1996 debut Bottle Rocket (one of my favorite Wes Anderson films) will show on Friday and Tuesday. Go back to the filmmaker’s lesstwee years with this offbeat crime comedy, with brothers Owen and Luke Wilson as part of a crew of wannabe criminals looking to make a series of scores. Also this weekend, the theater will show the classic 1955 comedy The Ladykillers. Coming straight outta Ealing Studios, this pitch-black British farce has a squad of bank robbers (Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers among them) trying to keep their plans hidden from their meddling landlady. And on Monday, the sexy-ass 2019 flick Hustlers will be the latest Music City Mondays selection. Jennifer Lopez gives a pole-swinging performance leading a team of struggling exotic dancers in shaking down all the yuppie idiots who foolishly follow them to the Champagne room. Bottle Rocket Sept.

17 & 21; The Ladykillers Sept. 18-19; Hustlers Sept. 20 at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave.

UPCOMING EVENTS

GET TICKETS & LEARN MORE AT PARNASSUSBOOKS.NET/EVENT

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

HEATHER MONTGOMERY & REBECCA HIRSCH

AMOR TOWELS

on FB LIVE What’s In Your Pocket? & Night Creatures

OCT 6 at 6:30PM on Zoom Ticket Required

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 6:30PM

JERRY PARK

at PARNASSUS Slow Roads America 6:30PM

SALON@615 SPECIAL EDITION:

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

SUSAN ORLEAN

LESLIE HOOTON

with KEVIN WILSON at PARNASSUS The Secret of Rainy Days 6:00PM

ELIZABETH STROUT

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

OCT 20 at 6:15PM Montgomery Bell Academy Ticket Required

TRISHA YEARWOOD on CROWDCAST Trisha’s Kitchen 6:30PM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2

LOUISE ERDRICH

SHARON CAMERON

with J. T. ELLISON at PARNASSUS Bluebird 6:30PM

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4

JESS WALTER

GET TICKETS & RSVP AT PARNASSUSBOOKS.NET/EVENT

at PARNASSUS The Cold Millions 6:30PM

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5

ALIX HARROW

with HANNAH WHITTEN at PARNASSUS A Spindle Splintered 7:00PM

AMOR TOWLES

with ANN PATCHETT on ZOOM The Lincoln Highway

22

NOV 9 at 7:00PM on Crowdcast Ticket Required

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ALANIS MORISSETTE W/GARBAGE & CAT POWER

SATURDAY / 9.18

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6

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[BUT YOU’RE STILL ALIVE]

The 25th anniversary tour for Alanis Morissette’s groundbreaking third record Jagged Little Pill finally arrives at Bridgestone Arena, more than a year after the singer’s run of shows had to be rescheduled.

I was barely 15 years old when the seminal album was officially released, and despite it winning four Grammys and going platinum 17 times (!) in the U.S., I remember how often Morissette was characterized as a hysterical woman. Her bold vulnerability and unapologetically personal lyrics resonated with so many of the young women I knew, but many boys and men alike seemed confused, even insulted, that a woman would be so cocksure and emotional while audaciously singing all the secrets the men in her life were hoping she’d keep to herself.

Author and journalist Greg Kot wrote in the Chicago Tribune that Morissette sounded “histrionic.” David Browne, who is now a senior writer at Rolling Stone, claimed in Entertainment Weekly that Morissette “tends to wildly oversing every other line.” While many men may still not know what to make of an emotional woman now, in 2021, Morissette and Jagged Little Pill’s lasting success is proof to girls and women everywhere that our thoughts and feelings are valid, however we choose to express them. Hell, they may even win you a Tony someday.

(Yes, Morissette is currently nominated for one of those too.) Also playing are Garbage and Cat Power — two other long-running acts helmed by emotionally charged badass women. 7 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway MEGAN SELING

MUSIC

6:00PM

FALL EVENTS IN CONVERSATION WITH ANN PATCHETT

MUSIC

CRAIG D. LINDSEY

[AMERICANA]

THE OFFSPRING

Your mileage may vary on the revival of ’90s fashion and cultural trends — I, for one, will not be digging my baggy jeans

and extra-hold hair gel out of storage — but allow me to make the case for a rock band called The Offspring. First of all, songs like “Self Esteem,” “The Kids Aren’t Alright” and “Gone Away” still rip. Or slap? They slap, I think? Play ’em on a burned CD through a cassette-player adapter for full effect. Don’t get me wrong — some of the group’s biggest hits seem even more like a parody now than they did at the time — see, for example, “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy).” But I’ll take The Offspring over the recent wave of Limp Bizkit nostalgia any day. Beyond the music, you can trust that these dudes aren’t messing around during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontman Dexter Holland has a Ph.D. in molecular biology, and drummer Pete Parada was recently kicked out of the band for refusing to Get a Jab (heh). Put on a mask and come out and play. 8 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl, 925 Third Ave. N. STEVEN HALE

SUNDAY / 9.19 BOOKS

Winner: Readers’ poll

[THREE TO SEE]

[SUFFRAGETTE CITY]

IN CONVERSATION: ELAINE WEISS WITH CAROLE BUCY

Last year, our nation celebrated the centennial of the historic ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, sit on juries and run for public office across the country. The Tennessee State Museum illuminated the ratification across our state with a topflight exhibition that filled two expansive galleries and covered around 100 years of activism. To close the exhibition, the museum will hold a talk with Davidson County Historian Carole Bucy and Elaine Weiss, author of The Women’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote. In that book, Weiss chronicles the summer of 1920, when the “suffs” and the “antis” descended upon Nashville to fight it out as our state legislature cast the deciding vote for federal ratification. The book is a great read, and it doesn’t gloss over the racism in the suffrage movement — many white leaders refused to press the need for Black women to also be guaranteed enfranchisement. You can attend the talk at the museum or stream it live at tnmuseum.org/videos. 2 p.m. at the Tennessee State Museum, 1000 Rosa Parks Blvd. ERICA CICCARONE

MONDAY / 9.20 MUSIC

FILM

WANNA MAKE SOME DOUGH?

CRITICS’ PICKS

[LOOK WHAT YOU GET]

THE TIGER BEATS

If you find yourself rolling your eyes at all of the dubious product and six-string wankery that gets passed off under the label “blues” these days, come have your faith in the music’s power renewed on Mondays at The 5 Spot. At about 6 p.m., The Tiger Beats take the stage for their weekly deep dive into the relentlessly grooving, no-nonsense 1950s and ’60s heyday of electric blues and soul, when folks like Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Bobby Blue Bland ruled the roost. It may sound cliché to say the blues is all about the feel, not the notes, but it’s still a revelation when you hear a group of players really — and I mean really — nail it, and The Tiger Beats are that kind of band. Featuring ringleader Patrick Sweany, who’s been making his own

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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SEPTEMBER 19

CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM WITH SPECIAL GUEST THE CERNY BROTHERS SEPTEMBER 25

TOMMY EMMANUEL, CGP

WITH SPECIAL GUEST JORMA KAUKONEN OCTOBER 8 & 9

JOE BONAMASSA DOWNTOWN

Saturday, September 18

Saturday, October 2

SONGWRITER SESSION

LIVE IN CONCERT

J.T. Harding NOON – 12:45 pm

•

FORD THEATER

Friday, September 24 CONVERSATION AND PERFORMANCE

Jim Lauderdale’s Planet of Love 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

•

FORD THEATER

Saturday, September 25 SONGWRITER SESSION

Vincent Neil Emerson NOON – 12:45 pm

•

FORD THEATER

Lori McKenna The Two Birds Tour CMA THEATER

OCTOBER 11

BOZ SCAGGS

Saturday, October 23 LIVE ON STAGE

NOVEMBER 23

The PTO Comedy Tour CMA THEATER

OPETH AND MASTODON

Nurse Blake

Friday and Saturday, November 12 – 13 LIVE IN CONCERT

Willie Nelson And Family CMA THEATER

•

SOLD OUT

Saturday, October 2

WITH SPECIAL GUEST ZEAL & ARDOR ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM DECEMBER 20

JOSH TURNER

HOLIDAY & THE HITS

SONGWRITER SESSION

Matt Jenkins NOON – 12:45 pm

•

FORD THEATER

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

APRIL 13

LIVE AT THE OPRY HOUSE

JOHNNYSWIM

ON SALE FRIDAY, SEPT 24 AT 10 AM

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Members Get More Membership includes unlimited Museum admission, ticket pre-sale opportunities, and much more.

JOIN TODAY: CountryMusicHallofFame.org/Membership

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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917 Woodland Street Nashville, TN 37206 thebasementnashville.com

JORDY SEARCY // SEP 20

DK THE DRUMMER // SEP 29

FOZZY // SEP 30

JUKEBOX THE GHOST // OCT 1

W/ THROUGH FIRE, ROYAL BLISS & BLACK SATELLITE

FT. BRASSVILLE

PHOTO: MADISON THORN

W/ PALMERTREES

CRITICS’ PICKS

W/ FLEECE

THE TIGER BEATS

W/ TWEN

Upcoming shows sep 16 sep 17 sep 20 sep 21 sep 22 sep 23 sep 24 sep 25 sep 28 sep 29 sep 30 oct 1 oct 2 oct 5 oct 6 oct 7

THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR w/LO TALKER Summer Salt w/ Covey and Breakup Shoes Jordy Searcy w/PALMERTREES palomania! starring james intveld & rosie flores ft. jim lauderdale, jason ringenberg, chuck mead & more!

jonathan tyler Americanafest langhorne slim, jill andrews, peter bradley adams, s.g. goodman, katie toupin Americanafest songs of 1971 Americanafest carlene carter, lilly hiatt, sarah shook & the disarmers, charlie marie, adam chaffins Americanafest wild rivers w/ jillian jacqueline SOLD OUT! dk the drummer w/ brassville Fozzy w/ Through Fire, Royal Bliss & Black Satellite Jukebox the Ghost w/fleece Perpetual Groove the nude party w/twen freddie gibbs the emo night tour

oct 8 oct 11 oct 12 oct 14 oct 16 oct 17 Oct 18 oct 19 oct 20 oct 21 oct 22 oct 24 oct 26 Oct 27 Oct 28 Oct 29 Oct 31 nov 2 nov 3 nov 4 nov 8

sep 16 sep 17 sep 18 sep 19 sep 22 sep 23

sleaze

tauk badflower w/teenage wrist & dead poet society stephen day w/carly bannister shane smith & the saints susto w/Paul Whitacre the lemonheads w/soft kill & hey rocco

ME ND ADAM // OCT 5

PALM PALM // SEP 30 sep 16

Mae & The Juliana Theory k camp natalie hemby okey dokey w/nordista freeze & gatlin parker millsap w/molly parden noga erez w/mckinley dixon Madison Cunningham w/s. g. goodman gus dapperton w/spill tab how long gone the backseat lovers w/brandon anderson Pecos & the Rooftops southern underground pro wrestling tennis w/molly burch Jake Wesley Rogers shannon and the clams w/thelma and the

W/ EMILY DEAHL

UPCOMING SHOWS

jimbo mathus & the dialback sound, sep 24 schaefer lanna juliet hawkins, quinn o'donnell, nicole sep 25 boggs & the reel kirby brown w/maddie medley the schizophonics w/peachy and Justin & the sep 26 cosmics sep 27 jessica breanne w/kyshona and annie williams erin viancourt, granville automatic, sep 20 lonehollow Americanafest oct 2 india ramey, zach schmidt, phoebe oct 2 hunt & the gatherers, rach baiman, 0ct 4 oct 7 violet bell Americanafest

amy speace, ana egge, brit taylor, mac leaphart, ruthie collins Americanafest the whitmore sisters, sadie campbell, wesley dean, gabe lee, brooke stephenson Americanafest namir blade, seddy mac, vibeout melany watson, denitia, Brad Allen williams palm palm chip greene, katie cole jive talk, crumbsnatchers, travollta zoe cummins w/madeleine, allie dunn me Nd adam w/emily deahl

1604 8th Ave S Nashville, TN 37203 thebasementnash 24

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[HAIL TO THE THIEF]

BIG THIEF

When they played Ascend Amphitheater in May 2018, Big Thief didn’t warm up the stage for The National so much as torch it. The group’s set-closing “Not” — later immortalized on 2019’s Two Hands LP — culminated in an eat-your-heart-out-Sonic Youth feedback extravaganza from singerguitarist Adrianne Lenker, lying prostrate on the stage. On record, Lenker and sixstringer songwriting partner Buck Meek push the limits of tension-and-release, and conduct the band with the same defiant attitude they used to freak out squares on both sides of the river that night at Ascend. Big Thief would’ve likely scored a consensus No. 1 album of ’19, but the band split critics’ allegiances by releasing two albums that year — U.F.O.F. and the aforementioned Two Hands. Given the group’s prolific streak — Lenker and Meek’s solo albums are also worth hearing — one can likely count on notyet-released material during their Mother Church debut Monday night. Act fast and buy a ticket to find out why this is one of the most talked-about new bands to emerge in the late 2010s. Opening will be Drag City’s Mind Maintenance. 7:30 p.m. at the Ryman, 116 Fifth Ave. N. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

MUSIC

TUESDAY / 9.21 [CLASS IS IN]

ROBERT GLASPER

It’s hard to imagine an artist who connects as many threads of Black music in as many inventive and organic ways as Robert Glasper. You’ve heard his work on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly and Brittany Howard’s solo debut Jaime, among many other places. Glasper’s most recent solo LP, 2019’s Fuck Yo Feelings, features appearances from generation-spanning luminaries such as fellow keyboard master Herbie Hancock, singer Andra Day and rappers Yasiin Bey and Denzel Curry. Glasper’s roots are in jazz piano, and that’s where the center of his music is, though a given piece might register as progressive hip-hop or experimental electronic music. Jazz is one of the oldest traditions in uniquely and specifically African American art, and he’s spent much of his career pushing its vocabulary and boundaries forward. Sandwiched between gigs at The Kennedy Center (where he’s part of a series on the evolution of hiphop) and a residency throughout October at jazz mecca The Blue Note, he’s got a short tour that includes Tuesday’s two-show visit to City Winery. 6:30 & 9:30 p.m. at City Winery, 619 Lafayette St. STEPHEN TRAGESER MUSIC

PERPETUAL GROOVE // OCT 2

MUSIC

THE NUDE PARTY // OCT 5

righteous blues- and soul-influenced music for a couple of decades, the standard lineup also features the remarkable father-son duo of drummer Jason Smay (JD McPherson, Los Straitjackets) and his son McKinley James, an exceptionally tasteful and gifted blues and soul prodigy with a burgeoning career of his own. Throw in veteran bassist Ted Pecchio (Doyle Bramhall II, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Col. Bruce Hampton and the Codetalkers), and you’ve got one of the leanest, meanest blues combos around. With players of this stature, naturally, the lineup rotates as folks take their own shows on the road, but Sweany has no shortage of exceptionally capable players at his disposal to take the reins. 6 p.m. every Monday at The 5 Spot JACK SILVERMAN

[NOBODY IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW]

TLC W/BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY

Twenty-seven years ago this November, Atlanta-bred R&B trio TLC released its sophomore album CrazySexyCool, which would ultimately go on to be the best-selling album by an all-women American group in history. And looking back at the 16-song track list, it’s pretty plain to see why. Featuring certified iconic bangers like “Creep,” “Diggin’ on You,” “Red Light Special” and of course “Waterfalls” — which spent seven weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 — CrazySexyCool boasts writing credits from industry heavyweights like Jermaine Dupri, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Sean “Puffy” Combs and Prince. After the tragic death of then-30-year-old Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in a 2002 car accident, founding members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas opted to soldier on as a duo.

Earlier this month, the pair launched a tour in celebration of CrazySexyCool (because

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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9/17 THE MUSIC OF DON HENLEY & THE EAGLES SAT

GUILTY PLEASURES

8:00

SUN

HEARTLESS BASTARDS

8:00

9/18

9/19 W/ TELE NOVELLA TUE

9/21

KEITH ANDERSON’S PODUNK NIGHTS

8:00

AMERICANAFEST 2021 WED

7:00 KELSEY WALDON, LEAH BLEVINS, ASHLEY RAY, BRITTNEY SPENCER, BROCK GONYEA

PAUL THORN, TIM EASTON, DAVID NEWBOULD

10:00

THU

9/23

7:00

SIERRA FERRELL, AARON RAITIERE, JIM LAUDERDALE, HOGSLOP STRING BAND, TEDDY THOMPSON & JENNI MULDAUR

FRI

7:00

BRANDY CLARK, EMILY SCOTT ROBINSON, EVAN BARTELS, RODNEY CROWELL, JULIAN TAYLOR

SAT

THE TIME JUMPERS

MON

DEREK ST. HOLMES BAND WILDHEART WEDNESDAYS

TUE

8:00 8:00

FEAT: T. GRAHAM BROWN

9/22

AMERICANAFEST 2021

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9/16 PRESENTS MEGHAN PATRICK, JADEN

6:30

9/24 9/25 9/27 9/28 WED

FEAT. GEORGE SHINGLETON + ERIN GIBNEY, 9/29 HARPER GRACE AND KARISSA ELLA

JUST ANNOUNCED

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why wait 30 years!), which will bring them to Franklin’s FirstBank Amphitheater on Tuesday. Appearing in support will be fellow ’90s icons Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, whose Eazy-E-co-produced debut EP Creepin on ah Come Up was released just five months before CrazySexyCool. It’ll be a night of nostalgia overload, to be sure, but also one with loads of genuine talent on the bill. 7 p.m. at FirstBank Amphitheater, 4525 Graystone Quarry Lane D. PATRICK RODGERS

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[DID WE JUST BECOME BEST FRIENDS?]

NIGHTLIGHT 615 PRESENTS STEP BROTHERS

Listen, I know this batshit-insane 2008 comedy has gained a loyal following over the years, with fans quoting its most profane lines (“Boats ’n hoes!” “It’s the fucking Catalina Wine Mixer!”). But when you stop to think about it, Step Brothers is sad as hell.

A-list clown Will Ferrell and Oscar-nominated actor John C. Reilly play two grownass middle-aged men who become enemies turned brothers when their parents (Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins) tie the knot. It’s the sort of mad man-child romp that Ferrell, director/frequent collaborator Adam McKay and producer Judd Apatow turned into cottage industries back in the day. Ferrell and Reilly aren’t the only ones being comedically chaotic. This flick also shows off the hilarious skills of Adam Scott (as Ferrell’s douchey brother) and Kathryn Hahn (as Ferrell’s long-suffering wife, who gets the hots for Reilly). If you feel like taking in all this R-rated arrested development on a big outdoor screen, NightLight 615’s screening will feature food trucks like The Grilled Cheeserie and Daddy’s Dogs, as well as a beer tent and a selection of wine. 7 p.m. at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, 600 James Robertson Parkway CRAIG D. LINDSEY

STEPHEN TRAGESER

MUSIC

10/3

FILM

WEDNESDAY / 9.22

annual confab returns in person this year, with more than 200 performances all across Nashville over a four-day span. (If you purchased a full conference registration, there are many panel discussions for you to check out too.) This year, most of the action happens Thursday, Sept. 23, through Saturday, Sept. 25, and we’ll have a lot more info on that in the Sept. 23 issue of the Scene. But there’s quite a bit going on Wednesday as well. The fest’s keystone event and official kickoff is the Honors and Awards Ceremony, which runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Ryman (116 Fifth Ave. N.), where The Fisk Jubilee Singers, The Highwomen and lots more will perform with a topflight house band. If you missed out on the limited tickets to that event, the official watch party for the livestream is at City Winery (609 Lafayette St.), followed at 10 p.m. by performances from songwriters Steve Poltz and Riddy Arman.

If you prefer to kick off your fest with something a little different, singersongwriter and guitarist Anthony da Costa is bringing back his FOMO Party, which will run at the same time as the awards show over at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville (925 Third Ave. N.), and feature rock outfit Cordovas, songsmiths extraordinaire Kyshona and Tim Easton and lots more. There are several official late-night events on the books after the awards show, like a party beginning at 10 p.m. called Live From Historic Eastland (at a venue dubbed Historic Eastland inside a renovated church space at 1215 Gallatin Ave.). Organized by Olivia Management, it features mellifluous duos Hush Kids and Smooth Hound Smith, among others. As usual, you can also expect noteworthy events that aren’t officially part of the festival to pop up. One we can hip you to now is venerable country songsmith Loney Hutchins and his band, who play a free show at 11 p.m. on the stage of the revived Bobby’s Idle Hour (9 Music Square S.). Keep an eye on social media, americanamusic.org and the AmericanaFest app for updates.

[UNDER THE BIGTOP]

AMERICANAFEST

The Americana Music Association’s

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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9/10/21 2:51 PM

B E T H E M O M E N T. B E ST R O N G .

Martina McBride: The Power of Her Voice EXHIBIT NOW OPEN

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nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

27

9/10/21 10:15 AM

FOOD AND DRINK

CAKE FOR ONE A tour of some of Nashville’s best single-serving cake options

SUGAR SHOCK

BY MEGAN SELING

N

ashville is home to some truly talented cake bakers, many of whom will happily create the dessert of your dreams — whether you want something one, two or 10 tiers tall. But sometimes, a full-size cake is more than a person needs. Sometimes a single perfect slice will do.

Cake doesn’t have to be reserved for special occasions when friends and family gather en masse to celebrate birthdays, weddings, new babies or new jobs. Cake is for everyone! It’s for every day! And everyone deserves a delicious, fat slice of cake, layered with frosting and topped with sprinkles. Whether you’re celebrating surviving another year, or surviving another Wednesday, you deserve to have your cake and eat it too. Here’s where to find an amazing slice for your next party of one.

Chocolate creme, strawberry creme and coconut creme from Anne’s Cakes for $4.99 a slice; Firefly Cake and caramel cake from Dessert Designs by Leland for $8.95 a slice. Before you balk at that price, know that Leland Riggan’s caramel cake is truly supreme. Moist, sturdy pound cake is drenched in thick, gooey caramel — not light and whipped caramel frosting, mind you, but actual caramel that Riggan makes by slowly browning the sugar “the way your grandmother did.” The Firefly Cake is even more decadent. The top layer is that same buttery pound cake, but it rests on a layer of chocolate truffle cake that is more

truffle than cake, with a deep cocoa flavor and smooth, ganache-like texture. It too is drenched in that same golden caramel icing.

Nine bucks? Yeah, we know. But you’re worth it.

EL HORNITO BAKERY PANADERIA Y PASTELERIA 1053 Murfreesboro Pike, elhornitobakery.com The enticing scents hit you the moment you walk through El Hornito’s door — freshbaked bread, coconut and caramelized sugar waft through the air and pull you toward the confections like you’re Mickey Mouse floating to a pie cooling on a windowsill.

Once inside, you can grab a tray and a pair of tongs and help yourself to as many as you like of the baked delights on display — white and chocolate concha for just a buck each, flaky orejitas covered with cinnamon sugar and a rainbow of oversized sugar cookies. What cake fans should know is that El Hornito also sells its heavenly

tres leches cakes by the slice from the refrigerated case at the front of the store.

There, tall, slender three-layered stacks of cake are dutifully lined up and displayed in flavors like caramel, mocha, chocolate and strawberry. Some slices are finished off with fresh fruit and whipped cream, some are topped with a cherry — they’re all flawless. My personal favorite is the blackberry cream cheese, just $3.99 per slice. The delicate tang of the cream cheese filling and a gentle burst of berry offsets the sweetness of the milk-soaked cake and light whipped topping. It is divine.

GRAZE NASHVILLE 1888 Eastland Ave., grazenashville.com Are you vegan? Gluten-free? You deserve a personal cake party too. At Graze, the dessert station almost always boasts beautiful vegan cakes baked by Allison Lahrman of Bite Club Baked Goods. Recent flavors have included orange chocolate,

BAKED ON 8TH 1512 Eighth Ave. S., bakedon8th.com If you’re looking for the quintessential slice of cake, the kind of picture-perfect wedge an Instagram influencer would share in their stories when they’ve reached 100,000 followers, look no further than Baked on 8th. The bakery has perfected the art of putting a contemporary twist on classic recipes — almond-tinged iced cookies come in on-trend designs like unicorns and llamas, Rice Krispies treats and frosted brownies are finished with edible glitter and shimmering sprinkles.

Their cakes are just as eye-catching, wearing crowns of fat buttercream swirls and decadent drips of ganache. The inside of Baked on 8th is currently closed to the public, but all of the bakery’s goods are available for online ordering with same-day pickup — I ordered a slice of cake at 4:27 p.m. and it was ready to go just 15 minutes later. You can’t go wrong with The Classic, two layers of springy, moist yellow cake enrobed in rich chocolate buttercream.

And this chocolate buttercream isn’t the kind that looks like chocolate buttercream but tastes like nothing — this chocolate buttercream tastes like a thick cup of drinking chocolate as it melts in your mouth, requiring a chug of ice-cold milk to wash it down. I managed with a Black Razzberry La Croix — but trust me, if you drink milk, get some milk.

THE CLASSIC, BAKED ON 8TH

Don’t be fooled by Sperry’s Mercantile’s Instagram feed — it’s filled with photos of the marbled beef filets, ribeyes and New York strip steaks that fill the shop’s butcher case. It’s what fans of the long-standing Belle Meade steakhouse want to see. But the tiny grocer behind the restaurant is my own little corner of cake heaven. The shelves in the store’s refrigerated section are consistently stocked with slices of some of the best cakes you’ll find in Nashville.

food_9-16-21.indd 28

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

SPERRY’S MERCANTILE 5107 Harding Pike, sperrys.com

9/10/21 4:39 PM

FOOD AND DRINK

LIVE MUSIC | URBAN WINERY | RESTAURANT | BAR | PRIVATE EVENTS

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

LOW T I C K E T A L E RT

9.18

9.19

Dining with Divas Drag Brunch

Nashville Beatles Brunch

Benefitting Nashville Pride

EL HORNITO BAKERY PANADERIA Y PASTELERIA coconut lime and a gluten-free strawberriesand-cream cake. I recently had a slice of the citrus cinnamon cake — finished off with a ring of pretty candied slices of orange — and while the cake itself was a tad on the dense side (the way gluten-free baked goods often are), the texture was still nice, and the flavors were spot-on. The citrus cake was enrobed in a creamy cinnamon icing, an ideal flavor combination to welcome the impending fall. The price is a little high at $8 per slice, but each cake is three layers high, and Graze cuts very generous slices — they’re big enough to share, but no shame if you don’t — and plant-based ingredients are often more expensive than traditional cake ingredients like all-purpose flour and eggs. Lahrman uses a blend of almond, oat and rice flours in her cakes. Follow Graze on Instagram at @grazenashville to stay up to date on the rotating cake lineup.

MORE DESTINATION-WORTHY SLICES Shugga-Hi Bakery & Cafe is also a must-visit for cake fans, with the one hitch being that they’re currently open only on weekends,

J U ST A N N O U N C E D Friday through Sunday. Even so, the bakery — owned by sisters Sandra Austin and Kathy Leslie — always has at least a couple of pretty cakes ready for slicing.

Caramel, strawberry, German chocolate, red velvet and lemon — they’re all classic flavors done exceptionally well. For extra party points, keep an eye out for their booze-infused flavors like Jack and Coke and Bailey’s Cream.

The Horn on Murfreesboro Pike is known for its delicious sambusas and chai — the “BEST Chai in Nashville,” they say. But the Somali cafe also occasionally carries milk cake, individual servings of milk-soaked cakes baked by Dolsha Delights. They come in flavors like Biscoff cookie, pistachio, strawberry, caramel macchiato and Oreo, and they’re all drenched in a sweet combination of milk similar to tres leches and topped with frosting and sauces. Their availability is shaky — isn’t everything in 2021? — so follow Dolsha Delights and The Horn on Instagram to know when they’re back in stock.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

9.21

9.30

Robert Glasper 6:30pm & 9:30pm Shows

Living Colour & Hoobastank

J U ST A N N O U N C E D

J U ST A N N O U N C E D

10.31

11.01

AHI

Roxy Regional Theater Presents

The Rocky Horror Show

in the Lounge

9.19

A TALE OF TWO: ALBUM RELEASE SHOW IN THE LOUNGE

10.2

AN EVENING WITH RUBEN STUDDARD

9.19

JUST A FEMME PRESENTS: GREAT TASTE BURLESQUE: PRIDE EDITION

10.3

AN EVENING WITH RUBEN STUDDARD

9.21

ROBERT GLASPER 6:30PM & 9:30PM SHOWS

10.5

THE VOICE OF THE MOODY BLUES: JUSTIN HAYWARD - FT. MIKE DAWE

9.26

LADY LAMB WITH STRINGS

9.27

AN EVENING WITH MATISYAHU

10.5

LESLIE MENDELSON IN THE LOUNGE

9.28

ERIC HUTCHINSON (SOLO)

10.6

JORDAN TICE ALBUM RELEASE SHOW IN THE LOUNGE

THE JOHNNY FOLSOM 4 - ULTIMATE TRIBUTE TO JOHNNY CASHW

10.6

SIMRIT

9.29

10.7

JOSH KELLEY LOW TICKET ALERT

9.30

JOSLYN & THE SWEET COMPRESSION IN THE LOUNGE

10.8

JANE LYNCH & KATE FLANNERY: TWO LOST SOULS

10.1

BOBBY RUSH (FULL BAND) WITH JACKIE VENSON

10.10

ALICIA WITT IN THE LOUNGE

10.30 artists announced soon

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

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nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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29

9/10/21 4:39 PM

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CULTURE

HORNY ON MAIN

HUMP! will disrupt the way you see, make and share porn

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W

hen Dan Savage’s HUMP! Film Festival came to Nashville for the first time in 2019, it felt like a community-building experience. Nashville’s kink-friendly club HUMP! FILM FESTIVAL SEPT. 22-23 AT THE MARK, The Mark hosted the 346 HERRON DRIVE event, a melting pot HUMPFILMFEST.COM of experimental-film fans, LGBTQ advoTICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE. cates and regular PROOF OF VACCINATION Joes for a night of IS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY smartly curated sex— NO EXCEPTIONS. positive short films.

Over the course of the films — which included animation about experimenting with BDSM and lyrical underwater footage of an inter-abled couple — the audience warmed to each other. It’s a phenomenon that Savage — the writer behind longtime syndicated column Savage Love who screened the first iteration of HUMP! back in 2005 — is deeply, lovingly familiar with.

“What I’ve always said is interesting and even transformative about HUMP!, is that you end up watching stuff that’s not yours,” Savage tells the Scene by phone from his home in Seattle. “Either because it’s not the kind of person you’re attracted to, or it’s not the kind of sex acts you’re interested in. And you’re really very acutely aware of what you don’t share with someone who made a film or is in a film that doesn’t tap into your erotic imagination.

“But by watching HUMP!, you very quickly begin to recognize what is yours in every film,” he continues. “Intimacy, desire, vulnerability, a sense of humor. All of that we share, despite our differences in sexual orientation or gender or sexual interests are concerned. And in a way, those things are

bigger. The differences are like the icing on the cake — and the cake is what we all have in common.”

Experiencing that inclusivity is what makes being in the audience at a HUMP! event so essential. But don’t despair: This is a screening of erotic and pornographic films, and they’re often extremely, disarmingly sexy. On deck for this year’s event are 23 short films, including “Baiser (Kiss),” a cartoon of a squishy CGI form that shifts from tongue to vulva, and “Piss Off,” which documents the exploits of a world-traveling public water sports performer named Athleticpisspig. Variety, especially the unexpectedly erotic kind, is the spice of HUMP! “One of the things that’s always been fun for people about HUMP! is how broad our definition of erotica and pornography is,” says Savage.

He speaks about the films as if they’re his children — all lovely, all worthy of attention. But “Mes Chéris,” a documentary-porn hybrid that intercuts an erotic performance with documentary footage, is one that he singles out.

“It’s about a trans man before he has top surgery,” Savage explains. “It’s a film where this trans man says goodbye to his breasts, and talks about them in a very moving way.

It’s very heartfelt and very personal — and very unique in that this is somebody thanking their breasts and saying goodbye to them, which is not often the narrative around top surgery for a lot of trans men. It’s amazing, and it’s heartbreaking, and it’s very sexy.”

It’s an example of what Savage calls the transcendent potential of porn.

“You can make a good, short, funny film that’s riffing on a pornographic theme — and it can transcend the perceived limitations of the genre that is porn.”

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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9/10/21 11:15 AM

Nashville Public Library PRESENTS THE 18TH YEAR OF

BOOKS

Nashville Public Library

A LIGHT ON IN THE MICA WINDOWS

PRESENTS THE 18TH YEAR OF

Joy Harjo’s Poet Warrior illuminates her journey with words

BY JANE MARCELLUS

Virtual Courtyard Virtual Courtyard Concerts 2021 Every Tuesday, September 7 – Octo

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

Virtual Concerts Courtyard Concerts 2021 2021 JOY HARJO

PHOTO: SHAWN MILLER

N

ear the beginning of Poet Warrior: A Memoir, Joy Harjo recalls her ability as a small child to leave her body at night.

Rising up, she would see herself wrapped in a blanket on her POET WARRIOR: A MEMOIR small cot, then

BY JOY HARJO W.W. NORTON & COMPANY move through 240 PAGES, $25 the wall to see her father sleeping beneath a chenille bedspread. After visiting various dog friends around her neighborhood near Tulsa, Okla., she would go “to lands far away, and ancient times in those lands.” Sometimes, she visited the Old Ones of her people in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, one of the Native tribes forcibly moved to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) on the Trail of Tears.

At breakfast, Harjo would tell her mother about her nighttime adventures.

“You have quite the imagination, baby,” her mother would say.

“It really happened; it was not just a dream,” she countered, aware of the “frustrating gap between the earthly childmind and the mind not bound by time or space.”

Similar fluid movements between past and present, geography and genre recur in Poet Warrior, the second memoir by Harjo. She held the Hodges Chair of Excellence in the University of Tennessee’s English department before becoming the United States Poet Laureate in 2019. (She is now serving a rare third term.) Like her first, Crazy Brave, Poet Warrior is a memoir about becoming. But whereas Crazy Brave is a coming-of-age story, this new book describes Harjo’s coming into herself as a poet, or as she puts it, the journey from “Girl Warrior” to “Poet Warrior.”

The journey involves ordinary events — escaping her abusive stepfather and discovering her love for art at the Institute of American Indian Arts in New Mexico, becoming a mother in her teens, giving up pre-med to embrace poetry in college, and experiencing happiness and heartbreak in relationships and jobs. She narrates these events in plainspoken prose. “I am writing in an apartment in downtown Tulsa,” she tells us at one point, her lack of constructed persona noteworthy.

But the truer journey is Harjo’s internal one, recounted in poetry woven throughout.

Always in third person, the poetry is richly informed by the Old Ones and by intuition, which she calls “the knowing.”

Virtual Courtyard Concert Every Tuesday, September 7 – October 12 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. library.nashville.org/courtyardconcerts

library.nashville.org/courtyardcon

Every September Tuesday, Every Tuesday, Virtual Courtyard Concerts 20217 – October 12 September 7 – October 12 9/7 – Mei Han and Friends, Chinese Music and Beyond 9/14 – Karlton Taylor, Jazz Trio 9/21 – Kristi Rose and Fats Kaplin, Dramatic Americana Duo

9/28 – Crave On, Folk Rock 10/5 – Early Music City,

a.m.

– 12:45 9/711:45 – Mei Han and Friends, 9/28 – Crave O Baroque andp.m.

Beyond 11:45 a.m.

– 12:45 p.m.

10/12 – Tim O’Brien with Chinese Music and 10/5 – Early Mu Jan Fabricus, library.nashville.org/ library.nashville.org/courtyardconcerts Every Tuesday, – OctoberAmericana-Folk12 “tomato,” “robin.”

Sometimes she re- September 7 Beyond Baroque Bluegrass courtyardconcerts peated her father’s coarser language, 9/14 – Karlton Taylor, 10/12 – Tim O’B 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

which did not make him happy, so Jazz Trio Jan Fab and Friends, Roc library.nashville.org/courtyardconcerts again she learned outward silence. 9/7 – Mei Han 9/21 – Kristi Rose and9/28 Fats – Crave On, Folk Americ Chinese Music and Dramatic 10/5 – Early Music City, True communication took place within.

Kaplin, Bluegra

Beyond

Americana Duo

The Old Ones opened the ears of Girl Warrior Tempering the frequency before she left On her mission.

We are sending you, they said, To learn how to listen.

She does listen, both to living relatives and to the dead who accompany her as she works. “A family is essentially a field of stories, each intricately connected,” she writes.

“Death does not sever the connection; rather, the story expands as it continues inter-dimensionally.” Through this awareness, she braids her own story of a modern Native woman into the richer context of Native history.

In some ways, Poet Warrior revisits material covered in Crazy Brave but with greater attention to her journey with words. Unsurprisingly, Harjo liked the sound of certain words as a toddler, repeating them before understanding the meaning: “aggravate,”

Poet Warrior makes clear that Harjo’s life has not been easy. She regrets those times she did not follow “the knowing.” As a single mother in her 20s trying to make a living as a poet, she had little money, though her children “were slick otters of joy.”

And she is frank about difficulties she encountered as a Native woman in academia, where one department head called her a “primitive poet.”

Still, she sticks to her truth, and it’s worth noting that Harjo’s dead are as frank as she is. “Too many words,” she once heard a sixth greatgrandfather remark. Another ancestor asked, “What is it with you and all these English words?” Apparently she agrees. In the book’s back matter, she notes that she resisted having to italicize words in Mvskoke and considered italicizing English words instead. (She also dislikes the term “Native American,” which came out of academia, and prefers “Indigenous” or “Native.”)

Poet Warrior is a wise book and an inviting one. While some writers might fetishize otherworldly experiences as mystical, it’s their ordinariness in Harjo’s memoir that drew me in. They gave her strength to follow words. “Writing was my portal to grace,” she writes, “an opening in which I could hear my ancestors speaking, in which I knew we were cared for no matter my inadequacies or failings.”

For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

books_9-16-21.indd 31

Baroque and Beyon

9/14 – Karlton Taylor, 10/12 – Tim O’Brien with Girl Warrior was 9/7 – lonely Mei Han and Friends, 9/28 – Crave On, Folk Rock Jazz Trio Jan Fabricus, For the poetry-talk of the Old Ones.and Chinese Music 10/5 – Early Music City, 9/21 – Kristi Rose and Fats Americana-FolkThey spoke in metaphor, Beyond Baroque and Beyond Kaplin, Dramatic Bluegrass A way of language that alerted her 9/14 – Karlton Taylor, 10/12 – Tim O’Brien with Americana Duo imagination Jazz Trio Jan Fabricus, To the presence mystery 9/21 of – Kristi Rose and Fats Americana-FolkWhere there was always a light on in Kaplin, Dramatic Bluegrass the mica windows Americana Duo Of her soul’s house

31

9/10/21 11:14 AM

MUSIC

HOUSE AND HOME

Adia Victoria reclaims the South on A Southern Gothic

BY BRITTNEY McKENNA

T

PHOTO: HUY NGUYEN

he Southern Gothic genre carries some heavy weight.

The specters of major authors like Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner loom large over its legacy, while the term itself is tacked on as a descriptor — A SOUTHERN GOTHIC OUT FRIDAY, SEPT. 17, VIA sometimes deservCANVASBACK MUSIC edly, often not — to literature, music, film and art that reflects the darker aspects of Southern history. It’s easy to pull together imagery that evokes the Southern Gothic aesthetic: an empty farmhouse here, a wizened drifter there. But it’s a far more daunting task to create art that truly gets at the core of

the tradition.

On her new album A Southern Gothic, out Friday via Canvasback Music, Adia Victoria takes us deep beneath those flimsy aesthetic trappings. She digs down to the roots of the genre, to the plight of living — while Black, in Victoria’s case — in a region haunted by bloodshed, in denial of its own sins and mired in the contradictory coexistence of Southern hospitality and insidious racebased hatred. In doing so, she reclaims a genre associated with white artists whose work reflects a region built on the blood and sweat of Black people.

Victoria settled on the title after browsing her favorite local bookstore, Rhino Booksellers on Charlotte Avenue. Scanning the South-

ern literature section, she found what she calls “the usual suspects … Faulkner, Welty, O’Connor.” There were no Black authors.

“You had, you know, the people that we’re used to seeing,” Victoria tells the Scene.

“And I thought about what people think about when they think about the Southern Gothic — because they think a lot about darkness. They think a lot about the aspects of the South that are troubling or haunting.

Then I thought, ‘What is more Gothic than the Black Southerner’s experience?’ ” A Southern Gothic opens with the ominous acoustic guitar notes of “Magnolia Blues.”

The song sonically recalls Victoria’s first single “Stuck in the South,” a blues-inspired song that she’s been performing for nearly a decade about escaping “Southern hell.” The new song offers a fresh perspective on the old track’s thesis, as she sings: “I followed you into the blue / And north into the cold / You led me off my land / You led me far from home.” The narrator of “Magnolia Blues” is

struggling to get back home, to soothe the pain of abandoning her roots.

“For most people, their home is a place where you either love it blindly, as a child learns what love is, and avoid or evade the troubling aspects around it, or you run away from it,” says Victoria. “So both of those things — denial and the desire to be comfortable, and also the desire to flee — are two of the most common and complicated emotional situations that we can find ourselves in. And I feel like what is most common between people, that’s what is most ripe for artistic exploration.”

Victoria envisioned much of the album while traveling in France, a favorite place of hers to visit. Being in Paris, thousands of miles away from home and surrounded by a vastly different culture, gave her the perspective she needed to write about where she came from. She was able to do so in a way that shows the growth and evolution of her thinking since she first musically explored her Southern identity on her debut album, 2016’s Beyond the Bloodhounds.

“I’ve always found that Paris has been a place for me where I’m artistically most productive,” she says. “And I think it’s because I’ve had to check so much of my ego when I’ve spent extended time there, you know, because I’m not a native speaker. … So, there’s an economy to words when I’m there.”

She also researched the field recordings of Alan Lomax, many of which reminded her of the economy — due to lack of resources and fear of punishment, among other obstacles — with which so many Black artists have had to make music. The restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which kept Victoria from her job as a touring musician and led her to work in an Amazon warehouse, had an effect on her new music.

“This is not to compare myself with the folks that were in the field making these recordings,” she says. “But I felt a stripping down and stripping away of all the things that we would use to categorize someone as successful, or a person’s status and standing in society, over the past year.”

Victoria co-produced A Southern Gothic with T Bone Burnett, fulfilling a dream she’d had for years and expanding on a powerful creative relationship established with her 2020 single “South Gotta Change.”

Kyshona, Margo Price, Jason Isbell, Stone Jack Jones and The National’s Matt Berninger all appear on the LP. Mason Hickman — Victoria’s longtime bandmate and trusted creative partner, and as of recently, her fiancé — also played an integral role in bringing Victoria’s sonic visions to life. She and Hickman, limited by studio closures during the early months of the pandemic, recorded demos by themselves, each playing multiple instruments. Many of those tracks wound up nearly untouched on the final LP. Victoria hoped that by maintaining that rawness, by working within restrictions and using her own kind of economy, that she could best conjure the resolute, creative spirit of her complicated home.

“The human spirit finds ways to create art. I didn’t have any money. I didn’t have any interactions with outside people. I didn’t have my band. I had my guitar. I had my hands. I have a garden. So I was like, ‘What can you make from this?’ ” EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

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MUSIC

Jessica Breanne finds strength in opening herself up on Rosebud Queen

BY OLIVIA LADD

ESSENTIAL LISTENING

Pure represents Robben Ford at his best

BY RON WYNN

T

hough he’s an exceptional blues and jazz guitarist, Robben Ford has never restricted himself to any one style. His tremendous career began in the 1970s and continues on with vital energy. The list of PURE OUT NOW luminaries to whom Ford VIA EAR MUSIC has lent his signature dynamic riffs and inventive solos, in live settings or the studio, hints at the idiomatic diversity at his command. Jazz icon Miles Davis included Ford in his band in the 1980s. Ford and his brother Pat, a drummer, have played on several of blues harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite’s albums. In the mid-’70s, Ford joined the jazz fusion group The L.A. Express, and you hear him with the group backing Joni Mitchell on The Hissing of Summer Lawns. Jump-blues maestro Jimmy Witherspoon,

PHOTO: JO McCAUGHEY

J

essica Breanne’s new LP Rosebud Queen, out Friday, begins with its title track, opening on an ambient sampling of nature sounds. She creates a sense of place and opens a window to the world in which she tells her story. The ROSEBUD QUEEN WILL BE band sets up a loping SELF-RELEASED FRIDAY, groove with an unSEPT. 17; PLAYING SEPT. 19 usual harmony that AT THE BASEMENT doesn’t tell you quite how it expects you to respond emotionally.

A few bars later, her soulful voice, whose uniqueness and boldness bring to mind Joanna Newsom and Karen Dalton, comes in crooning. Breanne sings, “I love your beautiful face / Tell me, what was your rose / And your thorn today,” foreshadowing the themes of darkness and light she explores throughout the album. The longtime Nashvillian singer-songwriter originally hails from Uncertain, Texas, a small town on the Louisiana border characterized by wilderness and swamps. Breanne carries this environment with her everywhere she goes. It’s a primary influence on the overall Southern Gothic tone of the album, which confronts death, pain and loss through nature metaphors and literary storytelling.

Breanne formerly fronted a blues-rock outfit called The Electric Hearts, and Rosebud Queen is her debut album as a solo artist. Though she’s been making music as long as she can remember, making this record allowed her to start fresh and enter a new stage of life in which she used music to process her emotions. She found herself harnessing vulnerability as a strength in her songwriting for the first time.

“When I first sat down to do this writing,

I was starting over again,” Breanne tells the Scene by phone. “It was very scary at first. When you’re in a band, you can rely on other people to help you with some of the hard parts of creation. But I was so excited because, to be honest, I don’t even know how I lasted in that world for that long. [In the past], when I tried to write songs that were truly for my spirit, people would make fun of me. Being too vulnerable wasn’t cool. I used to beat myself up and think, when I started writing these songs, ‘This is ridiculous.’ Then I was like, ‘No, this is who I really am, without other people chiming in.’ ” While she wasn’t sure what she had to say when she first sat down to write, a series of traumatic events in her life began to take place: the suicide of one of her best friends, the death of her father from lung cancer and witnessing loved ones close to her lose their will to keep going. These experiences broke her spirit. But by using music as a way to process them, she was able to remain open instead of shutting herself off.

“That was a really dark time,” she recalls.

“I’d always been scared to talk about a lot of the darkness that has surrounded me. Really these songs are beacons of light that help me get through hard times. They’re all little quilts and palaces I’ve built to protect from dark and damaging things.”

Because she was treading new creative territory, Breanne thought long and hard about who she wanted to involve in the recording of the album. Alongside her creative and life partner John Fox, she enlisted guitarist Sean Thompson and engineer Jake Davis to coproduce and play on the record. Pianist Christina Norwood, drummer Nicholas Swafford and members of the ’70s-schooled pop band Ornament are among the other friends and co-conspirators who sat in on the sessions at Davis’ home studio, dubbed Big Planet Studios, which sits along the Cumberland River.

“It was a really great environment,” Breanne says. “It felt homey, and you got to see the river, and it kind of felt like you were in a different city. It was cool to be removed, especially since these songs feel so vulnerable and Nashville doesn’t always feel like a vulnerable place.”

soul queen Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, and even guitar wizards like Susan Tedeschi, John Mayall, Brad Paisley and Larry Carlton have all worked with Ford in one capacity or another.

Ford has received five Grammy nominations over the past three decades while cutting albums for several storied labels, among them Arhoolie (with his brothers under the name Charles Ford Band), Elektra, Warner Bros, Stretch/GRP, Provogue (which issued Ford’s classic 2014 release A Day in Nashville) and Concord. He co-founded much-loved jazz fusion group Yellow Jackets in the late ’70s and led a fine blues-rock trio called The Blue Line through most of the ’90s, and between 2001 and 2004, he made three outstanding records with the eclectic and entertaining trio Jing Chi, featuring bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta.

But Ford’s latest, Pure, released Aug. 27 via Ear Music, stands out even in such a wide-ranging catalog. It’s his first instrumental album since 1997’s acclaimed Tiger Walk, and the compositions run the gamut from jazz to R&B to funk to electric blues — all traditions near and dear to him.

“I called this album Pure because I really wanted to get back to the core of music, to the essence of sound,” Ford tells the Scene. “The beauty and

power of playing is something that’s very personal to me, and I wanted this album to reflect that. I really went all out musically on it — the melodies, some of the complex chords. These are compositions that I started working on back in May of 2020. It really took time to get things exactly right and get the sound that I wanted. For a long time I’ve thought about, ‘How do I make my playing work within certain frameworks with lyrics? What are the right notes to play in certain settings?’ This time I thought more about creating beautiful melodies, about making extended statements.”

Pure was co-produced by Ford and Casey Wasner and recorded primarily at Purple House Recording Studio in Leiper’s Fork, with additional recording done at Sound Emporium Studios and Blackbird Studios. The results reflect a grand combination of impressive technique and memorable tunes, particularly on such evocative pieces as “Blues for Lonnie Johnson,” which gives Ford room to stretch out in a luxurious blues groove. The driving roadhouse blues workout “White Rock Beer...8 Cents” rolls on for nearly six minutes, while the funky, horn-laced “Go” clocks in at just over five. The finale “If You Want Me To” brings all of those talents to bear on a rootsy, muscular piece that recalls Little Feat. (You won’t be surprised to learn that Ford played with them briefly,

The trust among everyone involved vibrates like a kind of cosmic chord through the songs. The dance between darkness and light plays out over a cinematic and very Southern soundscape. It’s filled to the brim with layers of searing electric guitar, staccato acoustic fingerpicking, delicate piano and meditative synth that sonically matches the depth of the lyrical material. The result is dramatic compositions with psychedelic flourishes.

The songs are tied together so well that it’s hard to separate one from the whole. Rollicking “Fireflies” and dance-tinged “Belle of the Ball” tap into the feeling of entrapment, whether it’s prompted by literal inspiration like quarantine or something more ephemeral like broken dreams and loneliness. In “Bloom,” reminiscent of swoony Roy Orbison, Breanne repeats like a mantra, “Digging up my dreams just to replant them / In hopes they’ll survive / It’s hard to tear the wings from my dreams sometimes / They say patience comes with wisdom / And then wisdom comes with time.” She places self-examination and hard-earned lessons at the forefront. On “Bad Shape,” she reclaims herself from someone who’s deceived her while letting go of the shame that comes with being fooled: “Steal the magic away from a woman / Just to try and fill your void / But that power is not yours to take.” Closing track “Garden” carries the softness of “Courtyard” by Bobbie Gentry, whose music and story are a huge influence on Breanne.

It leaves listeners with an encouraging benediction, “I wanna grow like my garden.”

The risk Breanne took in being vulnerable paid off on Rosebud Queen. She created a record that she hopes may help others facing the same darkness.

“It’s really being able to come face to face with all of the ugly stuff, knowing that there’s seasons for everything in life. Even though you feel like you’re in a part with stagnation, death and grief, it’s knowing that tomorrow, next week or next month, there will be something that will give you joy and spark you back into the light of life. I think it’s about resiliency.”

EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

PHOTO: MASCHA THOMPSON

THERE IS A SEASON

as well.) All nine selections are brilliantly executed, with Ford — a master at playing either with a pick or using his fingers — carefully building tension and navigating through the structure of each in ways that are delightfully unpredictable.

“I’m as proud of this one as anything I’ve ever done,” Ford says. “I really felt like now was the right time to make this type of album. Over the past few years I’ve focused on being a singer-songwriter and adjusted my playing to fit into that format. This time I got to really spotlight the instrumental side, and I think it really worked out well.”

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ZED’S HEAD Mogul Mowgli deftly explores past, family and identity

BY SADAF AHSAN

I

n order to communicate a defining experience, a film needs to engage the eye, the ear, the heart, the body.

It needs to move the viewer in more ways than one. Director Bassam Tariq’s debut feature Mogul Mowgli accomplishes MOGUL MOWGLI this, and does NR, 90 MINUTES so to such an OPENING FRIDAY, SEPT. 17, impressive degree AT THE BELCOURT that viewing it is an often uncomfortable experience. And why shouldn’t a story like this one — of a British-Pakistani rapper about to make it big but forced to let his dream go due to a degenerative illness — be uncomfortable?

That log line probably sounds somewhat familiar if you’ve seen 2020’s Sound of Metal, which — like Mowgli — stars Riz Ahmed. That film earned Ahmed an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, and saw him playing a musician whose career is halted after he loses his hearing. But Mogul Mowgli, which Ahmed co-wrote with Tariq, hums on an entirely other wavelength, right down to its stifling 4:3 aspect ratio. It feels like a fever dream, yanking Ahmed’s Zed from present to past to nightmares to hallucinations as he attempts to cope with NASHVI LLE, TN THERE’S his diagnosis and accept that his career has NOT NOT stopped short after 15 years of hustle and BOOZE traveling to the U.S., away from his family IN HERE in the U.K. Zed’s diagnosis — of an autoimmune disease that sees him progressively lose feeling in his legs — comes just as he heads home to visit his family. We quickly see that the chasm between Zed and his

parents, Bashir (Alyy Khan) and Nasra (Sudha Bhuchar), has been growing while he’s been away. It’s a space likely familiar to many children of immigrants attempting to reconcile our parents’ experiences and expectations with our own in a culture so different from theirs.

Such is the case with Zed — or rather, Zaheer — who chose a new moniker in his new home. “They gave us our names,” his brother bitterly reminds him as they discuss choosing “whiter” names for their future children to make their paths easier in life.

It’s one of the many scenes that held up a mirror for me: My own name has never been pronounced the way it’s meant to be by those around me. While I was growing up, people often didn’t want to learn how to say my name, and they struggled to do so, rarely without laughter. If it was easier for them to butcher my name — to colonize it — then it was easier for me, I decided; one small and lasting surrender. Now that I’m in my 30s, this has come to illustrate a key part of my Pakistani and Western identity, even as I’ve grown prouder of the former, and more critical of the latter.

That’s a lifelong journey, and one that Mogul Mowgli tackles with connective threads: assimilation, appropriation, generational trauma. This struggle with identity is there in the ways Zed and his cousins look for excuses to avoid roza (fasting), the way they fear their two-faced aunties, the way they roll their eyes at their parents’ superstitions, the way Zed fumbles while praying at the mosque. Minute and major, these struggles inspire shame, confusion, regret.

Zed is forced to confront his relationship with his father, whose memories of fleeing from India to Pakistan by train during 1947’s Partition color the film. He and Nasra have a deep need to take care of Zed, who couldn’t care less about their history and

spends his days self-soothing by free-styling lyrics about identity rather than actually exploring it. But ultimately it’s his father’s touch as he bathes Zed and helps him off the toilet seat that soothes him. The necessary tenderness is mutual, and reminded me of when I moved away from home and my mother longed to find ways to be needed by me. Like Zed, I resented it at first — why couldn’t she see that I could take care of myself? But today, I can say, “Can you show me how to cook this? I have a headache; do you have any remedies? I need new towels, what do you recommend?” For my mom, for Bashir and Nasra, this is healing. For myself and Zed, this is validation.

Ahmed himself is a British-Pakistani rapper, and he turns in a pulsating and vulnerable performance. Meanwhile, Tariq explores the spirit’s liminal spaces. Despite Zed spending much of the film in a chair or a hospital bed, Mogul Mowgli moves in provocative ways — most especially in the form of a foreboding figure who appears in the edges of Zed’s visions and dreams and calls himself “Toba Tek Singh!” Wearing a sehra (a kind of headdress worn by South Asian grooms at their weddings), he is a reminder of the culture gap weighing heavy on Zed during his time at home.

To truly parse the significance of this character, it’s worth reading beloved Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto — who my mother taught me about a year ago, while expressing concern over just how all-consuming a writer’s vocation can become — and his 1955 short story “Toba Tek Singh.”

Mogul Mowgli opts for a whole lot of metaphor, and that isn’t a bad thing. When you explore your identity, your past, your family, it isn’t ever straight and simple in your head — why should it be in a cinematic excavation?

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PRIMAL STREAM 67

Talking with DJ Tan about Dons of Disco, now available to stream

BY JASON SHAWHAN

T

he hook of Dons of Disco is a good one — a feud born of a business deal that left two performers unsatisfied even while dazzling audiences throughout Europe and Asia, and a seething resentment that has long outlived the DONS OF DISCO IS CURRENTLY STREAMING headlines that onetime ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO disco phenomenon Den Harrow generated ceaselessly during the ’80s. “Who is Den Harrow?” the average American might ask. Not model/dancer Stefano Zandri, who has performed as Harrow for decades now. And not Tom Hooker, the American who actually sang and co-wrote the songs on the first Harrow albums and biggest hits. Den Harrow was a cornerstone of the Italo disco sound during its reigning years in clubs the world over, and the heaps of drama about the particulars of this situation are the impetus for the documentary Dons of Disco, a captivating look at the passage of time and what popular music means to its creators and fans.

What’s both wild and encouraging about this documentary — which is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video — is that it’s going to increase the average American’s awareness of Italo disco exponentially. I find that deeply exciting as someone who loves a good electronic jam. The genre had a few domestic run-ins with pop radio — Baltimora’s “Tarzan Boy” and Paul Lekakis’ “Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back to My Room)” among them. But unless you were in on the ground level back in the day at The Warehouse or got into James Cathcart’s Space Is the Place nights at The Stone Fox, for a local Italo fix you had to dig deep and do the work. So, as I did when writing about queer history and Claire Denis’ Beau Travail, I sought out an expert on the subject, in this case Nashville’s own Tan, whose DJ nights and albums play in the fields of Italo, Hi-NRG, New Beat and all kinds of danceable subgenres.

I find it really interesting that Dons of Disco exists at all. Italo disco is still a niche subgenre in modern music discussions, especially in America — it’s still beloved around the world, and certainly responsible for an insane amount of great songs, but it’s a style of music that was a phenomenon many decades ago. It feels like the reason why this documentary has U.S. distribution is because Tom Hooker is an American, and that hook is necessary to make the vast majority of American citizens give a shit about disco. Which is sad. I’m assuming the GQ article [“Dance Battle! Meet the Warring Milli Vanilli of Italo Disco”] may have helped with this distribution deal, although I’m really not sure why they wrote about this beef. Maybe there is a super fan out there with deep pockets? Maybe Hooker helped fund it? Italo definitely gets little recognition in most of the U.S., but in L.A. and New York there are multiple Italo nights and a good amount of interest in the genre. Maybe the interest in bigger markets made investors less skeptical?

There’s a long history of manufactured pop music experiences, going back to The Archies. But it seems like there’s a narrative that the RIAA likes to push the idea that this phenomenon is something from decadent Europe. The Milli Vanilli shockwaves are still reverberating, and what happened to Loleatta Holloway and Martha Wash at the hands of Black Box still gets proffered in music business classes and cautionary tales as what can happen to American voices. But Wash was just

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16 11AM TO 4PM WALK OF FAME PARK IN DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE as exploited by America’s own C+C Music Factory.

Industries are all alike: If you dig deep enough, you find shocking secrets. Italo disco singers are like professional wrestlers to me. I am very aware, and I would think that most other fans of the genre also realize, that they are just characters, and usually models, who can’t actually sing. Are WWF wrestlers actually fighting? Are Italo disco singers actually singing? Does it really matter?

I guess it depends on what you want from pop music. In America, authenticity in pop music is a hot commodity, as the late Rob Pilatus observed firsthand. There’s so much drama between Hooker and Zandri, but if you look at a lot of the reviews from domestic critics, a lot of them view Dons of Disco like a Christopher Guest mockumentary. My theory is that it could seem ridiculous that people are so militant about synth pop, but I find that response only comes from people who can’t let themselves enjoy things. I get why people think it’s funny, especially if they aren’t a fan of Italo disco. It is pretty funny when you think about it. If Hooker was down on his luck and really struggling then I think it would be a different story. It would actually be kind of sad, but the guy drives a Ferrari. It’s interesting that the guy who actually struggled more in life was the guy who had all of the fame and not the guy complaining about lack of recognition.

The thing about this doc that I feel will resonate with audiences who happen upon it tooling around on Amazon Prime — or if their algorithm includes it among other music documentaries — is that these songs are so good. “Don’t Break My Heart,” the Den Harrow magnum opus, is an undeniable banger that even the most jaded Music Row casualty would have to acknowledge. Italo as a genre is stuffed to the gills with songs that delight audiences globally. One of the defining characteristics of Italo disco is catchy melodies. If you like melodic music and vintage synthesizers, then there is no better genre.

I guess some people can’t get over the campiness of it.

People either love it or hate it.

I unironically love it. And the whole reason I want people to see this captivating doc is that I want more people to learn to love this genre.

So, inspired by this, what is the microfocused music-industry beef you’d like to see get its own documentary? I’d love to see a film about the early days of ’90s house act Planet Soul, and the ensuing George Acosta/Nadine Renee conflict. Or whatever happened to Deborah Le Sage. The first one that comes to mind is the New Order feud. Peter Hook would be the perfect villain.

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$15 $ $$15 FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE $$15 $$$10 $10 $$10 15 15 OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF 10 10 OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF

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Columbia 1006 Carmack Blvd Columbia, TN 931-398-3350

nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

crossword_9-16-21.indd 37

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9/10/21 11:54 AM

Marketplace

Rocky McElhaney Law Firm InjuRy Auto ACCIdEnts WRongFul dEAth dAngERous And dEFECtIvE dRugs

Voted Best Attorney in Nashville Call 615-425-2500 for FREE Consultation

www.rockylawfirm.com LEGALS Non-Resident Notice Fourth Circuit Docket No. 21D633

Rental Scene

ANTHONY R.E. WALKER vs.

NICCI LYNN HAWKINS In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a non-resident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon NICCI LYNN HAWKINS. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HER appearance herein with thirty (30) days after September 30, 2021 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 November 1, 2021.

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.

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a non-resident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon NICCI LYNN HAWKINS. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HER appearance herein with thirty (30) days after September 30, 2021 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 November 1, 2021.

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.

Richard R. Rooker, Clerk L. Chappell Deputy Clerk Date: September 2, 2021 James V. Mondelli Attorney for Plaintiff NSC 9/9, 9/16, 9/23, 9/30/2021 Non-Resident Notice Fourth Circuit Docket No. 21D910 MARIA TERESA NUNEZ DUENAS vs.

MANUEL NUNEZ ESPARZA In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a non-resident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon MANUEL NUNEZ ESPARZA. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HIS appearance herein with thirty (30) days after October 7, 2021 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 November 8, 2021.

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.

Richard R. Rooker, Clerk L. Chappell Deputy Clerk Date: September 10, 2021

on November 8, 2021.

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.

Richard R. Rooker, Clerk L. Chappell Deputy Clerk Date: September 10, 2021 Matt Maniatis Attorney for Plaintiff NSC 9/16, 9/23, 9/30, 10/7/2021

EMPLOYMENT Medical - $95.00/hr for consulting Occupational Therapists to work in special education classrooms in Nashville.

Prior related experience is NOT required.

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Call Kevin at Worldwide Travel Staffing, 866-633-3700 or email kpeters@Worldwide TravelStaffing.com

Wanna make some dough?

Five Points Pizza is now hiring! $100 signing bonus available. Apply online at fivepointspizza.com/jobs.

Star Bagel in Sylvan Park neighborhood is hiring!

FT/PT...$18-24/hour including tips! email starbagel@icloud.com Sr. Administrators, IT Database.

Responsible for the recoverability, availability, performance, and compliance of a major retailer’s database environments. Employer: Tractor Supply Company. Location: Brentwood, TN. Multiple openings.

To apply, mail resume (no calls/emails) to P. Hatcher, 5401 Virginia Way, Brentwood, TN 37027 and reference job code 15-0162.

Vice-President, Operational Analysis needed for Medicredit, Inc dba The Outsource Group, Nashville, TN. Responsible for managing the operations and activities of the Revenue Cycle Point Solutions team and its performance across various lines of business.

Will apply optimal methods using computer-based analysis tools to develop and interpret information related to improve the efficiency of operations work flows and optimize staffing levels. Will collect and analyze information to define and identify business and scientific problems for resolution through electronic data.

Will apply systems analysis and design techniques to complex computer systems in a broad business application in order to assess needs.

Will identify profitability, identify lost opportunity and perform cost/benefit analysis.

Will oversee the design and development of management and client reports using various business intelligence and analytical tools. Will lead machine learning and data science initiatives to improve operational processes including scoring and segmentation analysis. Must have a BS degree in Business with 7 years of overall progressive exp. in the area of operations. Will also accept an MBA and 5 years of overall progressive exp. in the area of operations. Exp. must include Operations analysis, Revenue Cycle Solutions, Collection systems, Financial Analysis, staffing analysis, Healthcare domain, Crystal Reports, Business Objects, SSRS, SAS, VISIO, Process Mapping and predictive analytics. The employee may work remotely from home within commuting distance of Nashville, TN up to 3 days per week. Send resumes to: Sherri.Harbsmeier@parallon.com

Vice-President, Operational Analysis needed for Medicredit, Inc dba The Outsource Group, Nashville, TN. Responsible for managing the operations and activities of the Revenue Cycle Point Solutions team and its performance across various lines of business.

Will apply optimal methods using computer-based analysis tools to develop and interpret information related to improve the efficiency of operations work flows and optimize staffing levels. Will collect and analyze information to define and identify business and scientific problems for resolution through electronic data.

Will apply systems analysis and design techniques to complex computer systems in a broad business application in order to assess needs.

Will identify profitability, identify lost opportunity and perform cost/benefit analysis.

Will oversee the design and development of management and client reports using various business intelligence and analytical tools. Will lead machine learning and data science initiatives to improve operational processes including scoring and segmentation analysis. Must have a BS degree in Business with 7 years of overall progressive exp. in the area of operations. Will also accept an MBA and 5 years of overall progressive exp. in the area of operations. Exp. must include Operations analysis, Revenue Cycle Solutions, Collection systems, Financial Analysis, staffing analysis, Healthcare domain, Crystal Reports, Business Objects, SSRS, SAS, VISIO, Process Mapping and predictive analytics. The employee may work remotely from home within commuting distance of Nashville, TN up to 3 days per week. Send resumes to: Sherri.Harbsmeier@parallon.com

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Welcome to Sunrise Apartments Matt Maniatis Attorney for Plaintiff

NSC 9/16, 9/23, 9/30, 10/7/2021

Richard R. Rooker, Clerk L. Chappell Deputy Clerk Date: September 2, 2021 James V. Mondelli Attorney for Plaintiff NSC 9/9, 9/16, 9/23, 9/30/2021

Your Neighborhood

Local attractions: · Plaza Mariachi · Tennessee Agricultural Museum · Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery Neighborhood dining and drinks: · 404 Bar & Grill · Peachtree Drive-in · Rafferty’s Restaurant & Bar Enjoy the outdoors: · Cheekwood · Nashville Zoo · Radnor Lake State Park Best place near by to see a show: · Regal Hollywood 4DX, ScreenX & RPX · Nashville Repertory Theatre · Zanies Comedy Night Club

Favorite local neighborhood bar: · Wilhagan’s Sports Pub Best local family outing: · Adventure Science Center Your new home amenities: · Saltwater Swimming Pool · Community Vegetable Garden & Herb Garden · Dog Park · 24hr Onsite Laundry Facility · Picnic Areas with Grills · Beautiful & Expansive Lawn Area · Park Like Setting · Unique 1 bedroom community only

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NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 16 - SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

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FEATURED APARTMENT LIVING

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189 Wallace Rd Nashville, TN 37211 | sunrisenashville.com | 615.333.7733 38

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Cumberland Retreat 411 Annex Ave Nashville, TN 37209

2 floor plans

cumberlandretreatapartments.com | 615.356.0257

British Woods 264 British Woods Drive Nashville, TN 37217 1 bed / 1 bath 725 sq ft $1084+ per month

2 bed 1.5 / 2 bath

3 bed / 2.5 bath

1025 to 1150 sq ft $1227+ per month

1650 sq ft $1670+

Rental Scene

2 Bed /1 Bath 1008 sq ft $1329

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www.britishwoodsapartments.com | 615.205.1862

Gazebo Apartments 141 Neese Drive Nashville TN 37211 1 Bed / 1 Bath 756 sq ft $1,119 +

2 Bed / 1.5 Bath - 2 Bath 1,047 – 1,098 sq ft $1,299 +

3 Bed / 2 Bath 1201 sq ft $1,399 +

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gazeboapts.com | 615.551.3832 Sunrise Apartments 189 Wallace Rd Nashville, TN 37211 1 Bed / 1 bath 600 sq feet $950 - $1150

1 Bed / 1 bath 630 sq feet $999 - $1200

3 floor plans

sunrisenashville.com | 615.333.7733 Chase Cove Apartments 2999 Smith Springs Road, Nashville, TN 37217 1 Bed / 1 Bath 730 sq ft $930 +

2 Bed / 1 Bath 1050 – 1184 sq ft $959+ call for details 5 floor plans

3 Bed / 2 Bath 1225-1315 sq ft $1482 + call for details

chasecoveapartments.com | 615.813.6279 Brighton Valley 500 BrooksBoro Terrace, Nashville, TN 37217 1 Bedroom/1 bath 800 sq feet $1360

2 Bedrooms/ 2 baths 1100 sq feet $1490

3 Bedrooms/ 2 baths 1350 sq feet $1900

To advertise your property available for lease, contact Keith Wright at 615-557-4788 or kwright@fwpublishing.com

Studio 330 sq feet $900 - $1000

3 floor plans

brightonvalley.net | 615.366.5552 nashvillescene.com | SEPTEMBER 16 - SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | NASHVILLE SCENE

39

S U H P I TC

Nashville is a diverse city, and we want a pool of freelance contributors who reflect that diversity. We’re looking for new freelancers, and we particularly want to encourage writers of color & LGBTQ writers to pitch us.

Read more at our new pitch guide: nashvillescene.com/pitchguide BOTH LOCATIONS OPEN DAILY 11-9 FOR TAKE-OUT YOUR FAVORITE MEXICAN FOOD & ‘RITA, TOO! Happy Hour Sunday - Thursday 4-8

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Email Mike at msmith@nashvillescene.com to get started planning for a BIG 2021!

40

NASHVILLE SCENE | SEPTEMBER 9 - SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 | nashvillescene.com

Flat.

Studio.

Apartment.

Home.

Whatever you call it, find yours in the Rental Scene.

Nashville Scene’s Marketplace on pages 38 - 39.