CULTURE: NASHVILLE FANTASY BALL FOUNDERS
PROMISE AN ELEVATED RENAISSANCE FEST
What do the Arcade’s tenants think about its latest chapter?
BY COLE VILLENA AND LAURA HUTSON HUNTER
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
WITNESS HISTORY
JD Souther bought this 1968 Gibson Dove guitar at his father’s music store in Amarillo, Texas, and played it with Glenn Frey in their duo Longbranch/Pennywhistle.
From the exhibit Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock, presented by City National Bank
artifact: Courtesy of JD Souther artifact photo: Bob Delevante
Vouchers, Immigration and Disaster Relief Pass During Special Session
A bird’s-eye view of the bills legislators passed to kick off the 114th General Assembly BY
NICOLLE S. PRAINO
Pith in the Wind
This week on the Scene’s news and politics blog
New Committee Wants People With Disabilities Involved in Nightlife
Punk artist and professor Cynthia George founds Disabled to the Front, plans data collection BY
HANNAH HERNER
Tennessee Education Shows
Steady but Unequal Progress
State improving quickly compared to national averages as topperforming students separate from their lowest-performing peers BY ELI
MOTYCKA
COVER STORY
A New Perspective
What do the Arcade’s tenants think about its latest chapter? BY COLE VILLENA AND LAURA HUTSON
HUNTER
Hearing From the Arcade’s New Owners
Talking to developer Rob Lowe and broker Elliott Kyle about charting a new course for the historic property BY COLE VILLENA
Spread the Love Night, & Juliet, Black History Month
Thelma and the Sleaze and more
The Fantasy Quadrant
Nashville Fantasy Ball founders promise an elevated Renaissance festival BY HANNAH HERNER
Safety Without Violence
Nashvillian Andrew Krinks turns a spiritual lens on race and mass incarceration BY DAVID
DARK; CHAPTER16.ORG
MUSIC
Turning Pro
Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears make a way to get by with Head in the Sand BY SEAN L. MALONEY
What the World Needs Now
World traveler Sunny Dada and His Afrokokoroot Afrobeat Ensemble find home in Nashville BY SEAN L. MALONEY
The Spin
The Scene’s live-review column checks out The Wooten Brothers, Lillie Mae and more during 615 Indie Live BY P.J. KINZER AND EDD HURT
FILM
Theocratic Stranglehold
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is the political thriller the Iranian government doesn’t want you to see BY KEN ARNOLD
In Russ We Trust
Talking about legendary grindhouse auteur Russ Meyer with David Gregory and Erica Gavin BY JASON
SHAWHAN
NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD AND THIS MODERN WORLD MARKETPLACE
ON THE COVER:
Sarah Clinton painting the Arcade outside her artistin-residence studio. Photo by Eric England.
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Sarah Clinton painting the Arcade outside her artist-in-residence studio • PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND
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FEATURING WORKS BY MONET, RENOIR, GAUGUIN, AND MORE
THROUGH MAY 4
The Frist Art Museum presents Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism, an exhibition that focuses on late 19th-century France and showcases approximately 50 paintings and sculptures by well-known artists who sought to capture the nation’s unique relationship with food—from production to presentation and consumption.
Tennessee Harvest, 1870s–1920s , a companion exhibition running concurrently, highlights connections between paintings created in Tennessee or by Tennesseans and artworks featured in Farm to Table
Victor Gabriel Gilbert. Le Carreau des Halles (detail) 1880. Oil on panel; 21 1/8 x 29 in. Musée d’art moderne André Malraux, Le Havre
Platinum Sponsor Education and Community Engagement Supporter
The Frist Art Museum is supported in part by
Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism is organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Chrysler Museum of Art. The exhibition is generously supported by Martha MacMillan and Monique Schoen Warshaw. Additional support has been provided by Betsy S. Barbanell, Lee White Galvis, Allan Green, Clare E. McKeon, Betsy Pinover Schiff, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Dr. Lee MacCormick Edwards Charitable Foundation, and the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Live Music at ON BROADWAY
Salute the Songbird with Maggie Rose
Radney Foster w/ Special Guest Logan Mac
Graham Brown
From platinum-selling chart-toppers to underground , household names to undiscovered gems, Chief’s Neon Steeple is c bringing the very best national and regional talent back to Broadway.
FEBRUARY LINE UP
2.1 Karen Waldrup w/ Special Guest Joey Green
2.7 Aaron Nichols & The Travellers Chris Stapleton Tribute – Free Show
2.8 Livin’ the Write Life feat. Dave Gibson, Jet Harvey, Anthony Smith, Anthony Carpenter
2.11 Salute the Songbird with Maggie Rose, Special Guest: Brittney Spencer
2.12 Uncle B’s Drunk with Power String Band feat. Bryan Simpson w/ Ben Chapman, Thad Cockrell, Trey Hensley, Meg McRee
2.13 Chase Rice – Songs From I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell SOLD OUT
2.14 Chase Rice – Songs From Go Down Singin’ SOLD OUT
2.15 8Track Annual VD Party!
2.28 Jamie O’Neal Album Preview Show GET TICKETS AT CHIEFSONBROADWAY.COM FOLLOW US @ChiefSBROADWAY om cha ons, t s, eeple committed mmi
2.16 Radney Foster w/ Special Guest Logan Mac
2.19 Heather Morgan, Tiera Kennedy, Iris Copperman w/ Ross Copperman
2.20 T. Graham Brown
2.21 James Esaw & Triad4Christ
2.22 Waymore’s Outlaws –Runnin’ With Ol’ Waylon
2.23 Pick Pick Pass w/ Kevin Mac, Craig Wayne Boyd, Jake Hoot
2.24 Buddy’s Place Writer’s Round w/ Girl Named Tom, Gina Venier, Sam Williams
2.26 Josh Weathers w/ The Lowdown Drifters
Chief’s
understand
nashvilleshakes.org
February 20 - March 2, 2025
Troutt Theater at Belmont University
Directed by Jason Spelbring
VOUCHERS, IMMIGRATION AND DISASTER RELIEF PASS DURING SPECIAL SESSION
A bird’s-eye view of the bills legislators passed to kick off the 114th General Assembly
BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO
A LOT HAPPENED in just four days as the 114th General Assembly convened for a special session called by Gov. Bill Lee: The legislature sent seven pieces of legislation through committees and brought them to a vote on the floor.
By the end of the week, Lee and his fellow Republican leaders in the House and Senate celebrated a win for their agendas on education and immigration enforcement, while also touting success for passing much-needed relief for disaster-stricken East Tennessee.
IMMIGRATION
In a press conference after the special session, Lee echoed a talking point of Republicans nationwide that the election of President Donald Trump was “a mandate to secure the border.” He added that with this legislation in Tennessee, the state will be able to “assist the president in his further agenda for public safety.”
The bill creates the Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division within the Department of Safety to be led by a chief immigration enforcement officer who will be appointed by the governor. That person, along with the state’s commissioner of safety (Jeff Long, former Williamson County sheriff), is tasked by the bill to work on an agreement for enforcement of federal immigration law with the U.S. attorney general. The new department will cost the state $563,651 to create. That amount includes salaries and benefits for the CIED (which receives the largest amount at $231,401) and three other staff members.
The bill also creates a class-E felony for local officials who vote to adopt a sanctuary city policy. The state attorney general can issue an order to comply with the law, and if a local official does not, the AG can remove that official from office. That part of the bill has already received backlash from the ACLU of Tennessee, which issued a press release calling the legislation unconstitutional and noting plans to challenge the law in court. “This is a gross escalation, criminalizing votes and speeches that members of a legislative body make on the floor,” Metro Nashville’s legal director Wally Dietz told reporters last week. “This is a very dangerous step they have taken. We cautioned against it. Their own lawyers cautioned them against it. It is a dramatic escalation.”
“Nobody up here wants to be overly alarmist,” Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) said of the bill. “But when you see people who have power decide that the rules don’t apply, decide that the laws don’t apply, that’s a dangerous place, and that’s where we are.”
Originally the legislation carried a price tag of more than $20 million, but it was adjusted
to around $5 million after the administration decided to lower the amount in grant funding it would offer to local governments who enter agreements with the federal government. The fiscal note acknowledges that local entities may have to spend more if the funds are not sufficient to meet requirements based on an agreement with the federal government.
Gov. Lee told the Scene further funding in the regular session is possible. “We wanted to put the vehicle in place so that we could coordinate with the federal government,” he said. “That was step one, and there’ll be further steps going forward as we understand what’s needed to cooperate.”
EDUCATION
The bill that garnered the most attention all week was Lee’s push to fund school vouchers for families who choose to send their students to private schools. The governor attempted to pass the legislation last year, but the party was not able to get on the same page by the end of the session.
Republicans have taken issue with the word “voucher,” and in committee meetings asked Democrats more than once not to use the word, calling it “political language.” They say there is no voucher language in the bill, and opt instead for the word “scholarship.” The definition of voucher is clear, however. From Merriam-Webster: “a coupon issued by government to a parent or guardian to be used to fund a child’s education in either a public or private school.”
The Education Freedom Act created 20,000 scholarships for students that are worth around $7,000 apiece for private school tuition and other educational expenses. Recipients will have specific scholarship accounts where the funds are deposited. The bill also creates a $2,000 bonus for teachers and puts 80 percent
of the collected sports betting tax ($62.7 million this year) toward school infrastructure spending. Many legislators took issue with that use of money, as it is currently used in funding for HOPE scholarships. An added amendment ensures that if there is a deficit in HOPE funds, the sports betting tax money will first be applied to that before being used for infrastructure purposes. Ultimately, the bill was still a close vote for Republicans in both the House (54-44-4) and Senate (20-13).
Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) called the bill one of the biggest scams in Tennessee history.
“[Republicans] had a large amount of people who oppose vouchers,” Clemmons said. “I applaud [Republicans who voted against the legislation] for having the courage to stand up and do what’s right, and buck their party, buck their leadership, and buck this governor who’s pushing a scam on the Tennessee people. I applaud them for that and I acknowledge that courage.”
DISASTER RELIEF
Three bills offering relief for East Tennessee following Hurricane Helene passed quickly, but they aren’t enough to cover the cost of the disaster according to an estimate Lee gave at a press conference after the session.
“We now know that the cost of this disaster exceeds $1.2 billion, far more than any previous disaster in our state,” Lee said. “Many of these counties that were affected are rural. They are at-risk and distressed, and frankly, the counties cannot shoulder the burden of the cost of this disaster alone, and they shouldn’t have to, and now they won’t have to.”
One of the bills removes governmental red tape so local governments can request help from the Tennessee Emergency Management
Agency more quickly. Another bill creates two funds: one to help local governments affected by the hurricane pay back interest on money borrowed to cover disaster relief costs, and another that creates a pot of money for more general disaster recovery costs. The third bill creates a fund for those who had their property destroyed to receive funding that covers their property tax plus 30 percent.
Clemmons said Democrats came into the special session with the priority of getting “overdue flood relief” to those in East Tennessee.
“We didn’t even pass enough relief, to be honest with you,” Clemmons said. “It took us four months to get up here and do anything, because the governor was pushing this voucher scam and trying to work votes on a voucher scam.”
Democrats have accused Republican leadership of tying the education bill to the disaster relief funds through this special session — a notion that Republicans have pushed back against by saying all the legislation is still separate and one has nothing to do with another. The bills’ appropriations were ultimately passed all in one funding bill. While that’s not an unusual practice for passing funds, Democrats did make an attempt to separate the funding bills so that those who wanted to vote for disaster relief did not have to make the concession of voting to also fund the education and immigration bills.
“We can pass any number of appropriations bills to fund any sort of thing,” Clemmons said.
“You know, they like to say a lot of things. ‘Oh, well, we’ve never done that,’ or, ‘Well this is how it’s traditionally done.’ Guess what. They run this place. They can do whatever they want within the rules, and that’s within the rules. So, you know, I call BS.” ▼
ON NASHVILLESCENE.COM/NEWS/ PITHINTHEWIND
THUNDER THORNTON ORDERED TO PAY MORE THAN $200K IN LEGAL FEES
Last month, Judge Justin C. Angel ruled that Thunder Air, a company of East Tennessee developer John “Thunder” Thornton, must pay the attorneys of Joey Blevins and the late Ronnie Kennedy $211,345.40 in legal fees. In September, the same judge ruled that Thunder had violated the free speech of both men under the Tennessee Public Participation Act, or TPPA. Thornton sued the two for libel after Kennedy said River Gorge Ranch (RGR), Thunder’s mountaintop development, sits above abandoned coal mines. Read more via our news and politics blog, Pith in the Wind.
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
GOV. BILL LEE AND REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP ON THE FINAL DAY OF SPECIAL SESSION, JAN. 30
NEW COMMITTEE WANTS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES INVOLVED IN NIGHTLIFE
Punk artist and professor Cynthia George founds Disabled to the Front, plans data collection
BY HANNAH HERNER
PUNK FRONTWOMAN AND professor Cynthia George grew up frequenting Nashville’s Rock Block and other indie music venues. Accessing nightlife in town changed when she started using a walker following a car accident in 2022. At times it’s challenging enough that she’ll leave the walker at home.
“If I leave it, I’m a risk, because I’m a fall risk without it,” she tells the Scene. “But there are some environments that just have so many barriers that I would not be able to go if I took my walker, and that means that a person in a wheelchair would not be able to go at all.”
George’s experiences inspired her to create a committee within the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife, the Disabled to the Front advisory group.
George spoke with the Scene about her plans for the committee, as well as how bars and venues can better accommodate people with disabilities.
SHE NEEDS COMMITTEE MEMBERS
George is looking for people with disabilities to share their experiences in nightlife and meet with her regularly to chart the path of the committee.
Her ethos for the group stems from the riot grrrl feminist-punk movement of the ’90s, when female-fronted bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile would chant “girls to the front” in an effort to protect women at their concerts. Identifying as an “old riot grrrl” herself, George wants to put together a packet of best practices to allow people with disabilities to get more involved in nightlife, and do so safely.
TENNESSEE
EDUCATION SHOWS STEADY BUT UNEQUAL PROGRESS
State improving quickly compared to national averages as topperforming students separate from their lowest-performing peers
BY ELI MOTYCKA
TENNESSEE SCHOOLS’ POST-COVID improvements in math and reading have outpaced most other states since 2022, according to the National Assessment for Educational Progress. Released last week, the sweeping federal survey — often referred to as the “nation’s report card” — also shows a widening testing gap between students in the 90th and 10th percentiles that has increased gradually since 2009. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Colorado sit at or near the top of NAEP rankings across grade levels and subjects.
Then she’ll elevate it to RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities), a national group, so that night mayors in other cities can use the same standards. (She says Nashville’s night mayor, Benton McDonough, was one of the most receptive compared to her peers in RAMPD’s experiences with officials in other cities.)
PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION ARE PRIORITIES
Transportation and parking are the first concern for many people with disabilities looking to attend a nighttime event, George says. They can’t just get a rideshare the same way non-disabled people can. There must often be room for a walker or wheelchair, and room to unload at the destination. Sidewalks, curbs and construction zones can be treacherous.
If the attendee drives, some venues don’t have disabled parking, or allow the performing band to park there. A simple fix is ensuring the disabled spot is used only by someone who has a disabled tag, she says.
Privatization of parking is also a problem, George adds. A person with a disabled tag can park in municipal lots for free according to the Americans with Disabilities Act — but meters and private parking are less accessible.
SHE’LL COLLECT HER OWN DATA
A Tennessee State University professor and behavioral scientist, George is all about data. One of the events she wants to organize with
the committee is a night out in downtown Nashville. For the event, a group of disabled people will go out for fun while also collecting data on the problem spots for accessibility.
“Every single time I go anywhere downtown, it is always an adventure — just in and of itself,” she says. “How many times am I gonna have to lift my walker? Am I gonna need physical assistance? Can I park there? Is there going to be a bump that I can’t get over?”
VENUE COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT
George acknowledges that many of
While trend lines are positive, Tennessee students continue to perform at or below national standards overall. In 2024, less than a third of Tennessee fourth- and eighth-graders demonstrated proficiency in math and reading. Between 25 and 40 percent of Tennessee students tested below a basic level of competence for math and reading, significantly underperforming the national baseline. National testing still sits below 2019 scores.
“For the last five years, we as a state have focused time, attention and energy prioritizing student-focused policies, research-backed interventions, that are supporting student learning and the recovery of some of
Nashville’s independent music venues are struggling just to make ends meet, but they can offer small services to make things more accessible. Even venues without an accessible bathroom can work with a nearby business to allow patrons to use theirs, she suggests.
Because each person with a disability needs different accommodations, it’s important for venues to monitor email or other messaging platforms to answer questions patrons may have, and relay those concerns to the staff on the day of the event.
“We want to keep our nightlife and our music venues open,” George says. “We love them, and so it is about creating that opportunity to have those conversations and make sure that those [accessibility] standards are met. They have been overlooked not because they hate people with disabilities, but just because the system does not support these policies.”
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WANT THE DIGNITY OF RISK
George says people with disabilities are often sheltered and at the mercy of caregivers’ interests and abilities. They want adventure, she says.
“We’ve got good money,” she says. “We want to come and buy drinks and pay for tickets and buy merch, and have a good time, just like anybody else.”
“People with disabilities really are in a phase of the movement where we need disability joy, and going out at night and having equal access to those spaces is important.” ▼
the impacts that we saw in the 2022 NAEP results,” David Mansouri, CEO of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education, explained in a webinar after the 2024 NAEP results were released. “This year, with the 2024 NAEP results, for the first time Tennessee now scores above the national average in fourth- and eighth-grade [English learning] and math. We just think this is a remarkable story of a focus, investment, prioritization of education, and of recovery.”
Mansouri also highlighted significant gains by Black students in Tennessee, who still trail white students’ testing performance by double digits. English learners
also showed substantial progress from 2022 testing in elementary and middle school math and English. The federal Department of Education publishes NAEP every other year based on testing data in math and reading in fourth, eighth and 12th grades. Only data from fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading was released on Jan. 29. Tennessee’s highlights include improvements from 2022, specifically among elementary and middle school students, that place the state in the nation’s top 10 for growth. Black students and English learners have made notable strides since 2022. The biennial report paints a bleak picture of rural education, where reading and math scores for fourth- and eighth-graders are stagnant or declining.
Charter schools and Gov. Bill Lee’s push for school vouchers, which put state dollars toward private school tuition, have significantly altered Tennessee’s public education environment in recent years. School vouchers will be available to 20,000 students next year after state lawmakers passed a $447 million education package last week in a special legislative session convened by Lee. Now entering the penultimate year of his second term, the governor had previously failed to expand school vouchers due to protests from lawmakers within his own party. ▼
PHOTO: H.N. JAMES
CYNTHIA GEORGE
PHOTO: ANGELINA CASTILLO
JANUARY 25 – MARCH 16
Nashville’s Best Thai Street Food
FEBRUARY 9
SWAN LAKE
MAY 1
MADDIE & TAE WITH KASEY TYNDALL
MAY 2 2ND SHOW ADDED DREW & ELLIE HOLCOMB ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM
MAY 7
RHIANNON GIDDENS & THE OLD-TIME REVUE ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM
JUNE 17-JULY 22
SPRINGER MOUNTAIN FARMS BLUEGRASS NIGHTS AT THE RYMAN SEASON PASSES AVAILABLE NOW
An exhibition of 10 new paintings by Becky Suss was inspired by author Ann Patchett’s 2019 novel, The Dutch House, underscoring the complex interplay between contemporary art and storytelling.
The Dutch House is organized by ICA Chattanooga, a program of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Originating support for The Dutch House is provided by UTC College of Arts and Sciences.
BECKY SUSS: THE DUTCH HOUSE Reserve tickets at cheekwood.org
AUGUST 21
SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM OCTOBER 8
THE TEMPTATIONS & THE FOUR TOPS ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM
Becky Suss (American, b. 1980), The Dutch House (Maeve’s Room), 2023, oil on canvas, ©Becky Suss, Courtesy of JLS Collection; Becky Suss (American, b. 1980), The Dutch House (Drawing Room), 2023, oil on canvas. ©Becky Suss, Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
What do the Arcade’s tenants think about its latest chapter?
BY COLE VILLENA AND LAURA HUTSON HUNTER
NASHVILLE’S ARCADE has a storied history. It first opened in 1902, with architecture based on the open-air bazaars of Milan, Italy, and became a hub for downtown foot traffic long before the honky-tonks of Lower Broadway. In more recent years, it’s become an engine for the local art community as the home of the First Saturday Art Crawl. But Nashville’s rapid growth brought new places to eat, shop and do business. More than a century after the Arcade’s construction, the pandemic — which accelerated a trend toward remote work — further drove downtown office workers to spots far away from Fourth and Fifth avenues.
RESPONDENTS
Lyon Porter: East Nashville-based developer behind properties like Urban Cowboy and The Dive Motel. He’s bringing a two-story Urban Cowboy cocktail lounge to the Arcade.
Anna Yi: Co-owner of Tony’s Shoe Service, which has operated in the Arcade since 1963. The store recently moved from a ground-floor storefront at the Arcade to an upstairs location.
Jacob Strang: Nashville hospitality industry veteran and co-founder of Ugly Bagel alongside Jeff Crabiel. The fast-casual bagel shop opened in November.
The Arcade’s new owners want to help bring people back. In April 2021, a group of investors — including local real estate power player Rob Lowe and an affiliate of the Manhattan-based real estate company Linfield Capital — purchased the property for $28 million. Since then, they’ve begun a push toward a “vibrant, urban-scale destination in the heart of Music City.” Over the past four years, the new owners have brought on new businesses as tenants to
Brittany Cobb: Founder of Flea Style, a Dallas-based boutique opening in the Arcade. The store opened a location in 12South in May.
Rebecca Davis: Founder of several boutiques in Franklin, including Mimi + Dottie and Jondie. Davis is a longtime Middle Tennessee resident opening her first store in Nashville with Mimi + Dottie at the Arcade.
Marrah Florita: Founder of From Nashville with Love. Florita has created, exhibited and sold jewelry in various spaces throughout the Arcade for more than a decade.
XPayne: An Arcade Arts artist-in-residence and former Best of Nashville Best Artist of the
reach that goal. Several are slated to open in the next few months, from national clothing retailer Faherty to new outposts of Nashville favorites like Roze Pony and Urban Cowboy. A handful of longtime tenants like From Nashville With Love and Percy’s Shoe Shine are also staying on. In 2023, Arcade Arts was founded to host a rotating cast of 12 artists-in-residence who work from the small studios that line the Arcade’s second story. By covering the costs of artists’ rent and organizing various gallery and cultural events — including the newly established
Year, XPayne is known for a singular style that fuses Afrofuturism and pop culture.
Mandy Rogers Horton: An Arcade Arts artist-in-residence and professor at Watkins College at Belmont University, Horton was a founding member of Coop gallery, which was originally housed just a few doors down from her current studio. Her recent work reflects an interest in rubble and transformation — the perfect subject matter for her studio in the ever-shifting Arcade.
Cesar Pita: A sculptor and Arcade Arts artist-in-residence, Pita also teaches community education classes at Buchanan Arts in North Nashville. His 2024 show at Elephant Gallery, Raíces en Arcilla (Roots in
Second Saturday Art Crawl — Arcade Arts is carrying on one of Nashville’s most relevant art traditions, and in the process hopefully ingratiating downtown Nashville with both visitors and longtime residents.
The Scene spoke to 13 tenants at the Arcade, including longtime small businesses, working artists, new businesses setting up shop and one recently opened restaurant. The assortment of responses we received reflects the architecture of the Arcade itself — varied and at times discordant, but always sharing a common framework.
Clay), showcased the artist’s mastery over terra-cotta.
Mike Mitchell: The self-proclaimed “fun uncle” of Nashville’s art scene, Mitchell is an artist, TSU professor and Arcade Arts artist-in-residence. He founded the TSU Skateboarding Club, which hosts weekly skate meetups for all skill levels, and hosts a visual-art podcast called Drawing South
Sarah Clinton: Primarily a plein-air painter, Clinton is an Arcade Arts artist-in-residence whose practice developed after the birth of her daughter, who has a rare genetic disorder. She credits her painterly ability to reframe reality to her daughter’s distinct perspective on the world.
Rod McGaha: McGaha is an Arcade Arts artist-in-residence whose practice spans disciplines — he is an established sound artist and trumpet player, and his work in photography and collage was part of the Frist Art Museum’s 2023 exhibition Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage
Katherine Frensley: A fiber artist and Arcade Arts artist-in-residence, Frensley regularly hosts natural dye workshops, where she sources various natural dyes from her own garden.
PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND
WHY INVEST IN THE ARCADE NOW (OR WHY STAY THERE)?
Lyon Porter: I always like to build what I want, maybe what I’m missing. I come down and go to Robert’s [Western World], and there’s a few other spots, but I really wanted to build our own cocktail lounge downtown that felt beautiful and comfortable and was available to locals and visitors alike.
Anna Yi: In 1963, my store [opened] downstairs. Over 60 years, everybody has good memories. Their daddy, granddaddy, came together along this road. Good memories. That’s why I don’t want to just move to another store. It’s keeping the good customers, good memories, everything, keeping here.
Rebecca Davis: I just felt like the Arcade was a really unique opportunity. It’s such a beautiful space with so much history. With my other stores being founded in historic downtown
Franklin in really old buildings, it just kind of felt like a good vibe. It just felt like really the right place for us.
Brittany Cobb: When we were presented with the Arcade project, we really fell in love with it because it’s very representative of our story, which is supporting things that are vintage and have a great story. … I also love the location being near downtown and capturing and kind of celebrating a different kind of customer than we find on 12South.
Marrah Florita: I’m like part tour guide at my shop down here. I answer the same questions probably like five to 10 times a day: This building was built in 1902. The Peanut Shop was actually a Planters Peanut shop originally. … I’m from Nashville, so as you know, everything is getting torn down, knocked down and rebuilt 20 stories higher around here. I do like being attached to this piece of history of Nashville.
Hearing From the Arcade’s New Owners
Talking to developer Rob Lowe and broker Elliott Kyle about charting a new course for the historic property BY COLE
VILLENA
THE ARCADE’S NEW LOOK Started to take shape after a group of investors — including local real estate power player Rob Lowe and an affiliate of the Manhattan-based real estate company Linfield Capital — purchased the property for $28 million in April 2021. The new owners have worked to renovate the space and secure new tenants, charting a new course for the historic property.
The Scene asked members of the ownership group about their strategy and hopes for the Arcade moving forward. Lowe (of the ownership group) and real estate broker Elliott Kyle (who has worked to bring on tenants) responded via email.
NASHVILLE SEEMS TO BE EMBRACING PEDESTRIAN-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, WITH THE 2021 OPENING OF FIFTH + BROADWAY SERVING AS AN EXAMPLE OF A DOWNTOWN PROPERTY THAT CATERS TO BOTH VISITORS AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES AND RESIDENTS. IS THERE AN APPETITE FOR THIS SORT OF DEVELOPMENT IN NASHVILLE? WHAT’S
“I’M FROM NASHVILLE, SO AS YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING IS GETTING TORN DOWN, KNOCKED DOWN AND REBUILT 20 STORIES HIGHER AROUND HERE. I DO LIKE BEING ATTACHED TO THIS PIECE OF HISTORY OF NASHVILLE.” —MARRAH FLORITA
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE (OTHER) NEW BUSINESSES THAT ARE COMING IN?
Rebecca Davis: I really think it’s going to be a really interesting and unique spot. The restaurants that are coming in, the little bars — it just seems like it’s going to be very vibrant and fun. I’m excited about being a part of that. Hopefully we’re going to draw people all times of day and into the evening with the mix that we have.
Lyon Porter: I’m super excited. I love the arts programs. I think that’s the coolest thing ever, and I can’t wait to collaborate. Since we’re upstairs and downstairs, I can’t wait to kind of bridge the gap between the two and hopefully have a lot of fun Art Crawls end here and begin here.
Marrah Florita: The courthouse is nearby, this is also the capital of Tennessee, there’s a lot of government workers down here. … It felt like they were catering to almost like, not the tourists, but kind of more young professionals. Not even young professionals, but kind of preppy professionals in a sense with the shoe brands and the clothing brands. And then there’s a couple fun, happy-hour, more local-vibe-type bars and restaurants coming in.
THE KEY TO MAKING IT WORK?
Rob Lowe: Absolutely, the Arcade builds on Nashville’s enthusiasm for pedestrian-friendly spaces by creating a curated, walkable destination that combines dining, retail and arts in the heart of the city.
WHAT DID YOU LOOK FOR IN SELECTING NEW TENANTS? WHAT’S YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER?
Elliott Kyle: We curated a mix of iconic local and regional bars and restaurants — Urban Cowboy by creator Lyon Porter, Roberta’s Pizza of New York, Bar Roze by Julia Jaksic, Buddy’s from the creators of Tiger Bar and Pearl Diver, Nashville Showstop, Ugly Bagel, a locally owned startup by the owners of The Bobby Hotel, and Beignets and Brew. All stores who will be opening their doors over this year. Additionally, the Arcade welcomes esteemed retailers such as Faherty, Flea Style, Any Old Iron and Mimi & Dottie, alongside longtime staples The Peanut Shop, From Nashville With Love and Percy’s, to create a destination that appeals to those locals and tourists seeking distinctive, high-quality experiences.
ROB, YOU TOLD THE NASHVILLE POST IN 2021 THAT YOU INTEND “TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE HISTORIC PROPERTY.” WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO PRESERVE THE HISTORIC CHARACTER OF THE ARCADE?
Rob Lowe: The ownership worked tirelessly over the past three years with local firms Dryden Architecture and the R.C. Mathews company to ensure the Arcade’s historic elements were thoughtfully preserved while renovating the Arcade’s mechanical, electrical, infrastructure and lighting to support a mix of tenants who can generate the buzz and vibrancy that characterized the building’s early-1900s charm as a city destination.
SINCE THE 2022 SCENE STORY ABOUT THE ARCADE, AT LEAST
Jacob Strang: We were one of the first to open aside from some of the folks who were lucky enough to stay here, but we’re excited for some of the retail that’s coming in. I feel like it’s really bringing a higher-end feel to the Arcade.
Anna Yi: I don’t know. Nobody knows that, because it looks like a gamble. I don’t know exactly.
Mandy Rogers Horton: Ugly Bagel is a great spot for a meal or a snack while I am working in the studio, and the smell of fresh bagels is always tempting.
Sarah Clinton: It is a huge positive to me that the Arcade supports local small businesses from Nashville — it helps make the Arcade a unique spot to visit rather than a mall containing stores that you can find everywhere and anywhere.
Rod McGaha: The new businesses bring a fresh energy and dynamic creativity to the Arcade. It’s exciting to see how they’re contributing to the vibrancy of the space while blending with its rich history.
Katherine Frensley: As a Nashville native who also lives downtown, I love to see new places in the area. I remember coming downtown with my parents as a young girl, and it was so much fun to see and explore all the shops and galler-
ONE LONGTIME BUSINESS, MANNY’S HOUSE OF PIZZA, HAS CLOSED PERMANENTLY. WHAT’S BEEN YOUR MESSAGE TO TENANTS — AND CUSTOMERS — WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT LOSING LONGTIME STAPLES? DID YOU COMMUNICATE WITH AND GET FEEDBACK FROM LONGTIME TENANTS AS THE RENOVATIONS HAVE TAKEN PLACE?
Rob Lowe: The ownership’s approach is centered around honoring the Arcade’s legacy by retaining beloved longtime tenants The Peanut Shop, From Nashville With Love and Percy’s, while maintaining open communication from these original tenants throughout the renovation process to ensure their continued success alongside the new additions.
ARTS EDITOR LAURA HUTSON HUNTER IS SPEAKING WITH SOME OF THE ARTISTS WHO USE STUDIOS IN THE ARCADE. WHY IS IT SUCH A PRIORITY TO PROVIDE ROOM FOR ARTISTS IN THIS SPACE?
Rob Lowe: Providing spaces for artists through the Arcade Arts Program is essential to preserving and supporting the creators in our community. Not only does the ownership believe it’s an attractive draw for those seeking a unique experience, but to showcase creative talent is to foster the very cultural experience they hope thrives within this historic landmark.
WHAT DO YOU IMAGINE WHEN YOU THINK OF A TYPICAL DAY AT THE NEW-LOOK ARCADE?
Rob Lowe: The Arcade is a [dawn-to-dusk] destination where locals and visitors alike can shop and dine for hours, while discovering something new at every turn and each visit, whether it’s an art exhibition, a boutique’s offering or time with friends at a beloved local eatery or bar.
The owners declined to answer how much money they’ve spent on renovations since the 2021 purchase. ▼
PHOTO: ANGELINA CASTILLO
LYON PORTER, URBAN COWBOY
“THE CITY IS RESHAPING ITSELF IN FRONT OF OUR EYES, BUT THE ULTIMATE IMPACT IS UNPREDICTABLE. I SOMETIMES SCAVENGE DEBRIS AND CAST-OFF MATERIALS FROM THE CONSTRUCTION SITES TO INCORPORATE IN MY INSTALLATIONS.”—MANDY ROGERS HORTON
ies. It is sad to see those who have been around for a while leave or be replaced, but seeing the new generation and what is to come is exciting.
WHAT HAS BUSINESS BEEN LIKE IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS AS RENOVATIONS HAVE STARTED TO TAKE SHAPE?
Jacob Strang: It’s been great. We’re still doing little pop-ups in some of the offices, letting people know we’re here, but it’s been really well-received. We’re starting to see some regulars on a daily or every-other-day basis. When other stores open in the Arcade and we start getting even more foot traffic, business will continue to grow.
Marrah Florita: Just from being down here for a long time, I know that, once we hit spring break, it does not slow down until around August. … I’m optimistic. But you know, it has been really slow. It’s even been slower for me, having a new neighbor across from me, than it was last year. Anna Yi: More slow. We’re keeping the old customers. Yeah, everybody’s happy. That’s why I’m not moving.
WHAT’S THE VALUE OF WORKING ALONGSIDE LEGACY BUSINESSES?
Lyon Porter: [Tony’s] repairs my shoes. They’re amazing. … All of them have this amazing romantic nostalgia for this place, and I think honoring that kind of history is something they’ve done a really great job of that we want to keep doing as well.
Jacob Strang: I guess they’re the OG, right? They’ve been here. They’ve serviced Nashville for a long time before Nashville even blew up, really. So they’ve really put their time in at the Arcade, and I think it’s a nice blend of new and old.
Rebecca Davis: My business started in downtown Franklin, and I actually started my business by making handmade jewelry, and I was using antique jewelry and repurposing it. … I love that there is going to be this really interesting mix of businesses that have been around for a long time and then new businesses that want to come in and create a new atmosphere. But it’s not a different atmosphere. I feel like, at least for us, we want to fit in.
Mandy Rogers Horton: The sense of history and continuity is invaluable. With such an influx of non-Tennessee natives such as myself, it is important for New Nashville to keep a connection to Old Nashville. [Alterations by] Semra has been in the Arcade for something like 30 years, and I’ve had great conversations with her while having some pants altered. She is a wealth of insights and stories.
Mike Mitchell: The idea that I have a studio space that almost everyone I know from Nashville has a connection to, from as many as 50 years back, is pretty incredible.
Rod McGaha: Legacy businesses like Percy’s Shoe Shine provide a deep sense of history and continuity. Their presence reminds us of the Arcade’s roots and creates a unique blend of tradition and innovation that you can’t find anywhere else.
Katherine Frensley: Much of what I have learned has to do with the quality of the work and connections. When it comes to the art world, networking and creating connections is what helps us thrive.
Sarah Clinton: These legacy businesses are both a connection to the past and also a reminder of the importance of how local people have invested so much in the city.
WHAT MAKES WORKING FROM THE ARCADE DIFFERENT FROM WORKING FROM OTHER PLACES IN TOWN?
Lyon Porter: You’re downtown in a historic corridor, but you’re not on Broadway, right? It’s another iteration of what downtown Nashville is to all of us. A lot of locals don’t come downtown as much, and my hope is that this will give all of us a reason to be down here as well as tourists.
Jacob Strang: Jeff [Crabiel, co-founder of Ugly Bagels] and I both were in the hotel industry, so I can say, I think it’s a great location because we get a good mix of some tourists. I think as other stores open, there will be a little more foot traffic with tourists. But I think it’s just [as] accessible to locals as well.
Rebecca Davis: It’s going to be kind of new for us because we haven’t been in downtown Nashville, but I feel like it’s still a similar customer. One thing I feel like is, just with the history and the uniqueness of the atmosphere of the Arcade, I think it’s just going to be a really interesting and cool place for people to come.
Brittany Cobb: [In our 12South store] there’s no landlord, and we’re not in a development, if you will. But I also think it’s just a very different customer and experience. When someone’s leaving a hotel near the Arcade or downtown, they have a really different reason for being there than they do on 12South. I like that we have a wide net in Nashville.
Cesar Pita: Being in an area that is also a public space gives a different energy to being in the studio. At another spot, I might feel secluded. Here I get just the right amount of social interaction by just knowing that there’s people walking around. The fact that the studios are downtown has been an interesting adjustment. Downtown always
seemed so intimidating when I first got to Nashville. I was an Uber driver for a couple of years, and was always trying to drive through insane crowds to pick up/drop off passengers. Being able to walk around more freely, and at a much slower pace, has allowed me to get to know the area better and feel as a part of the community.
XPayne: It’s kind of surreal, especially considering what I’m doing. I remember yearning to see artworks downtown that reflected my own feelings as a Black person here. Now I get the chance to feed my own desires for downtown. Honestly, I feel like the stakes for my work are higher.
Mandy Rogers Horton: It has been fascinating to spend more time downtown. I have been in Nashville 20 years now, but my relationship to downtown has mainly been driving through or going around it to get across town. There is a lot of joy and energy in the bustle of the downtown area with a mix of locals and tourists. Having closer contact by walking rather than driving through the streets gives a sense of being and sharing in it together. … The city is reshaping itself in front of our eyes, but the ultimate impact is unpredictable. I sometimes scavenge debris and cast-off materials from the construction sites to incorporate in my installations.
Rod McGaha: The Arcade is a hub of creativity, with an inspiring mix of artists, small businesses and history all under one roof. It’s not just a workspace — it’s a community that fuels ideas and collaboration.
DO YOU FEEL THAT THE NEW OWNERS SOUGHT INSIGHT FROM LONGTIME TENANTS?
Marrah Florita: There’s two ways you can
PHOTOS: ERIC ENGLAND
CESAR PITA
MANDY ROGERS HORTON
KATHERINE FRENSLEY
MIKE MITCHELL XPAYNE
definitely look at it. Business has to evolve, and when you as a business owner don’t own the property your business is in, you have no control over the future. And I feel like when you look at it from that direction, it was only going to evolve in this way. I hate to say it that way, and it really does break my heart that some of those businesses that have been here for like 60 years weren’t allowed to come back, but I also understand the price tag that this property was sold for and that the new ownership was kind of doing what they have to do, in their eyes, to make it thrive.
Anna Yi: I’ve never seen this owner. I’ve never seen them. Just the manager, the company. I’ve never talked to this owner.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CLOSURE OF LONGTIME BUSINESSES LIKE MANNY’S?
Anna Yi: Everybody’s angry because it’s [been there] a long time. [Manny’s opened in the mid-1980s.] Everybody liked the pizza store. But right now, everybody’s angry. Same here. Everybody’s talking. Same, angry.
Marrah Florita: In my business, I’ve had to pivot a lot. And I understand that that is too hard for some businesses to do. I respect and love the hell out of Manny and the House of Pizza family. [The new owners] really did try to work with them and move them, and they didn’t want to move. There were so many businesses I’ve seen leave that also tried to be like, “Stick it out with me.” I can see both sides, certainly. But I do think that the owners of the Arcade were fair in their strategic planning.
ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THIS NEW CHAPTER?
Anna Yi: For my store, good or not? I don’t know. I don’t know. Nobody knows that. Everywhere in the Arcade, nobody knows. … My pocket money is different. Much, much different. But I want to keep my customers. Good customers.
Marrah Florita: I am very optimistic. In general,
I will say it has been a little scary because it has been slower. I don’t ever want to get political, but I feel like ever since the election, it’s been very slow. Like, unusually slow. So I’m hoping in March that we get busy like usual. I think I have been a little bit wary in the last month, like, “Is business ever going to come back?” In general, I’m very optimistic. I think this will be a really cool place.
WHAT
DO YOU
IMAGINE
WHEN YOU THINK OF A TYPICAL DAY AT THE NEWLOOK ARCADE?
Katherine Frensley: When I describe the Arcade to people who have never been or haven’t heard of it, I like to describe it as a terrarium. Yes, in a way, it looks like a terrarium with a glass ceiling with the sun shining through, but it is also a space that promotes a multitude of growth. Not only are artists given the space to grow within their practice, but they are also becoming and integrating themselves into the Nashville art community and scene.
Cesar Pita: So far it’s been pretty chill. I park, walk to the space, say hello to the Arcade staff, who are always friendly and happy to see us.
Sometimes I get a breakfast sandwich from Ugly Bagel before walking upstairs and seeing some of the other residents working in their spaces. I get to my studio and get to work. It’s a comforting setup for me to be in a space where I can feel a good sense of privacy while also feeling the energy and social interaction of people walking around the space.
XPayne: I would like to see the new-look Arcade as a place for avant-garde projects. Ideally I think a typical day would see local and touring creatives walking around the top level, and absorbing the work of everything going on. We know malls are dying everywhere, but this is a historic mall that could easily become a cultural hub if that’s what we want as a city.
Mandy Rogers Horton: I imagine more bustling traffic, especially Thursdays through Sundays when both locals and tourists are out for shopping and fun. The mix of shopping, good food
and art studios will offer a really balanced encounter for anyone — much better than the overload of a typical shopping mall or strip mall.
Mike Mitchell: Hopefully it will be Nashvillians and tourists supporting Nashville businesses, tipping well, and buying art from Arcade Arts residents!
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OTHER ARTISTS AND BUSINESSES HERE?
Cesar Pita: I enjoy seeing the other artists in their spaces and have gotten to know everyone so much better. Being artists-in-arms is always a good feeling of belonging.
XPayne: All of the other artists in the residency are cool. I don’t get to see everyone that often because of schedules, but we hang out after the Art Crawl, which is fun. Cesar and I are planning to do an art swap — I’m super excited to see what he has for me.
Mandy Rogers Horton: I love the spirit of the Arcade artists and businesses. Though we operate on different schedules, I am always looking at what the other artists are up to in their studios. There is a good sense of shared momentum and encouragement. Each Art Crawl is a good chance to catch up with each other as a whole group, and we often go out for drinks after the Art Crawl.
Sarah Clinton: It is such a supportive community of passionate and engaged artists, and it has been a privilege to spend time with them and learn from them. It is always nice to be able to just say, “Hey, what do you think of this?” but also share projects we have been working on, and share opportunities that we come across that might be suited for one another. I think some unique collaborations will evolve!
Rod McGaha: The relationships here feel like a creative family. There’s a lot of mutual respect and collaboration, and everyone genuinely wants to see each other succeed. The energy here fosters creativity and growth in ways that wouldn’t happen in isolation.
MORE FROM THE ARCADE’S LONGTIME TENANTS.
Tony’s recently moved from its downstairs location to a smaller space on the Arcade’s second floor, and From Nashville With Love is also set to move to a different location in the Arcade. In 2022, the Scene spoke to beloved longtime Arcade shoe shiner Robert “Percy” Person about the then-upcoming renovations. “I don’t have the slightest idea of what it’s gonna be,” he told writer Erica Ciccarone. “I just hope I still be here.”
He told our photographers in January that business is still slow since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and high parking prices in the area mean he’s decided to take the bus to work rather than driving.
Marrah Florita: We were the ones who installed these hardwood floors [in our store]. We really spent so much time, love and attention to fixing this place up. Sometimes I’ll groan, like, “Oh, my God! I can’t believe we’re leaving this!” or “They’re just going to demolish it!” At the same time, I also have a background in construction. ... Every other space in this building right now is new, as far as electrical and the bones. … So I’m sure everybody wants the peace of mind of all the bones being brandnew and not having to worry about wiring from the early 1900s. … It’s a huge, substantial jump to where they want to be charging rent from what I was paying with the old owners. I am very optimistic, but I also know I’m going to give it a shot for this amount of time, and hopefully it works. Obviously, if it doesn’t, I won’t be here for very long.
Anna Yi: Downstairs is so-so, but here, nobody knows [if it’s] good or not [upstairs]. I don’t know. That’s why it’s just a six-month contract. If I see, six months later it’s a little better, I’ll keep it here. But [if I] lose money too much, I cannot. I’ll give up. … [I moved] upstairs, over here. It’s a different space. It was almost 900 square feet. Right now, [I’m in] 360 square feet. Three times as small, but rent has more than doubled. ▼
PHOTOS: ERIC ENGLAND
ROBERT “PERCY” PERSON AT PERCY’S SHINE SERVICE
UGLY BAGEL
ANNA YI AND SAMUEL YI AT TONY’S SHOE SERVICE
FEB 6 TO
Nicholas Hersh,
ChoralperformancesaregenerouslysupportedbyC.B.RaglandCompany.
FEB
THURSDAY, FEB. 6
MUSIC [SMOOTH MOVE]
SPREAD THE LOVE NIGHT FEAT. ERIC SLICK, MARCO WITH LOVE & THE TOWER BROTHERS
Peanut butter and its various nut-butter relatives are nonperishable, nutrient-dense, suitable for a variety of different diets and in plenty of folks’ opinion (including mine) damn delicious — all the more reason to share some. I was surprised to read that Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, a nonprofit that works year-round to feed our neighbors coping with food insecurity, doesn’t get a lot of donations of nut butters. Throughout February, they’re running a special campaign
Visit calendar.nashvillescene.com for more event listings
THURSDAY / 2.6
[LEAVE YOUR ROSES BY THE STAIRS]
FOOD & DRINK
DRINK-182
Hearts and flowers are everywhere, but they’re not for everyone. If you think Valentine’s Day is an overrated Hallmark holiday, you should head to Sidebar any night through Feb. 15. The bar inside Bode Nashville has been transformed again into Drink-182, the annual anti-Valentine’s Day pop-up. You’ll listen to 2000s love ballads, eat bar bites and drink cocktails or mocktails without a candy-shaped chocolate box in sight. The playlists are filled with breakup songs from the past — the ones with lyrics you know by (broken) heart. Advance tickets are not required, but if you nab one, you get a free themed shot, a temporary tattoo and guaranteed entry, even if the space is packed with other angsty folks who are less about P-D-A and more E-M-O. While you don’t have to dress entirely in black, it will fit the vibe, and probably your mood. MARGARET LITTMAN THROUGH FEB. 15 AT SIDEBAR 401 PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN WAY
THEATER
[COMING DOWN WITH THE THEATER BUG] THE
TEN-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL
Nashville makes the big city feel like a small town. Everyone knows everyone, and you might run into an old friend at the grocery store. But Nashville is also like a small town in the sense that it’s a thriving, close-knit community — the kind that cares about its youth and encourages young professionals in their chosen fields. The Ten-Minute Play festival at Riverside Revival is a chance for Nashville to invest in its student art programming, aiding in young artists’ growth as the future of Nashville’s theater scene. The festival features eight short plays (only 10 minutes apiece), all written by Nashville students. This year, students explored subject matter including
called Spread the Love to help boost their stock, including a fantastic show on Thursday at Vinyl Tap. The lineup includes rocking songsmith Eric Slick, who released the fantastically funky New Age Rage last year, as well as groovitudinous rockers Marco With Love and indie-rock ensemble The Tower Brothers. As usual at Vinyl Tap, there’s no cover, but monetary donations for Second Harvest will be accepted as well as donations of nut butters. If you can’t make it out on Thursday, there’ll also be collection boxes at the venue ahead of the show. STEPHEN TRAGESER 7 P.M. AT VINYL TAP 2038 GREENWOOD AVE.
ERIC SLICK
the struggle of family ties, coming-of-age stories and “the eye-popping adventures of an intergalactic beverage salesman.” Tickets are just $15, providing an accessible way to be deeply moved, experience belly-aching laughter and invest in the future of the Nashville arts community. Check thetheaterbug.org for information about the festival’s two separate programs. KATIE BETH CANNON
7 P.M. AT RIVERSIDE REVIVAL
1600 RIVERSIDE DRIVE
[IN A DREAMSCAPE]
MUSIC
JOSH ROUSE RESIDENCY
Twenty years ago, Nashville indie rockers applied 1960s and ’70s aesthetics to singersongwriter tunes. For, say, Lambchop, this meant playing Burt Bacharach-style music in a way that drifted into avant-garde territory by way of Nashville’s history of glossy countrypolitan productions. Meanwhile, Nebraska-born singer and songwriter Josh Rouse made early-Aughts records that contained elements of ’70s power pop and indie rock. This month at The 5 Spot, Rouse settles in for a Thursday night residency that will feature the musician, who turns 53 in March, playing his 2005 full-length Nashville. The album was produced by Brad Jones, who’s also known for his work with onetime Nashville power poppers The Shazam and guitar-pop giant Marshall Crenshaw. With three excellent co-writes by fellow Music City pop adept Daniel Tashian, Nashville peaks with “Winter in the Hamptons,” which evokes an alternate version of the ’70s that manages to elude my efforts to characterize it. In other words, Rouse perfected a dreamscape on Nashville that still sounds potent today. Rouse is an excellent songwriter who might remain somewhat underrated, and that’s an injustice. He shows off his taste in covers on 2024’s Streets of Your Town, which includes The Go-Betweens’ title track and material by Kevin Ayers and The Cure. EDD HURT
FEB. 6, 13, 20 & 27 AT THE 5 SPOT 1006 FORREST AVE.
FRIDAY
/ 2.7
[THAT’S THE WAY]
MUSIC
WHOLE LOTTA ZEPPELIN
These days, rock tributes can turn out to be as exciting as seeing the real thing in action. Whole Lotta Zeppelin is a recurring show at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge that’s led by vocalist Chris Mitchell. Tackling Zeppelin tunes is no joke — the band could be delicate, brutal and nuanced all at once. Mitchell & Co. do a great job of reanimating the Zeppelin catalog, and Mitchell can wail like Robert Plant. Also on board to pay respects to the world’s greatest heavy-metal-folk-blues band will be longtime Nashville singer Jonell Mosser, who sounds at home with the blues, along with Canadian-born guitarist David Newbould. Meanwhile, violinist Peter Hyrka, whose credits include work with Memphis New Wave band Human Radio and the jazz group The Gypsy Hombres, will lend his
touch to Mitchell’s cover of “Kashmir.” Expect guest turns from guitarist Laur Joamets, who has been playing with Sturgill Simpson of late, and singer Kristi Rose and stringed-instrument master Fats Kaplin. EDD HURT
9 P.M. AT DEE’S COUNTRY COCKTAIL LOUNGE
102 E. PALESTINE AVE., MADISON
[WEST OF WORDS]
THEATER
STREET THEATRE COMPANY: ALICE BY
HEART
Duncan Sheik first burst onto the music scene in the mid-’90s with his hit song “Barely Breathing.” But Sheik is also widely known for his work in film and theater, having earned the 2007 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations for Spring Awakening
This weekend, you can check out some more of Sheik’s work as Street Theatre Company presents Alice by Heart. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the story follows an imaginative teen forced to take shelter in an underground tube station during the London Blitz of World War II. Featuring music by Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater (Spring Awakening) and book by Sater and Jessie Nelson (Waitress), this thoughtful work premiered off-Broadway in 2019 with a cast that included Molly Gordon and Colton Ryan. Frequent Street collaborator Leslie Marberry directs this production (with musical direction by Randy Craft), and the cast features some really outstanding young talent, including Sachiko Nicholson, Simon Elliott, Savannah Stein, Ben Friesen, Grayson Stranko, Marco Tomás, Shelby Talbert, Xavier Wilson, Xavier May, Robert Parker Jenkins and Eve Petty. Audiences can also look forward to dreamy choreography by Joi Ware. AMY STUMPFL
THROUGH FEB. 22 AT THE BARBERSHOP THEATER 4003 INDIANA AVE.
FILM [YOU HAD ME AT ‘HELLO!’] MIDNIGHT MOVIE: THE PRINCESS BRIDE
I recently screened The Princess Bride, a film that came out on VHS when I was the age my 8-year-old daughter is now, and my God, it’s just as good as you remember. In fact, it might be even better. There are no slow moments, and each classic line delivery still hits as hard as it did in 1987. Watching beloved films with your kid is a great way to see how nostalgia corrupts judgment — The Goonies is dumb, you guys. It is! But The Princess Bride is, honestly, pretty close to perfect. I’m writing this under the assumption that, if you’re reading it, you’ve already seen the film. If you’re alive and reading American publications in 2025, you are aware of The Princess Bride, you probably have Wallace Shawn’s lisp committed to memory, you might have even read Cary Elwes’ fantastic memoir As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From the Making of The Princess Bride. What I’m here to tell you is this: The Princess Bride is the best family film of all time, better even than Mary Poppins or The Wizard of Oz. It is also the perfect Midnight Movie, because even after all its adoration, it still maintains a kind of underdog vibe that makes
NASHVILLE SCENE • FEBRUARY 6 – FEBRUARY 12, 2025 • nashvillescene.com
its fandom feel like a real community. Come for the perfect breasts, stay for the miserable, vomitous mass. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER MIDNIGHT AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.
SATURDAY / 2.8
[SUPPORT BLACK
BUSINESSES]
CELEBRATION
BLACK HISTORY MONTH EXPO
Did you know that the oldest continuously operating minority-owned bank in the United States is located here in Nashville? In 1904, three African American entrepreneurs founded the One-Cent Savings Bank in in downtown’s Historic Black Business District. The institution now known as Citizen’s Bank is currently headquartered on Heiman Street in North Nashville. With cornerstone civil rights under threat nationwide, there’s no better time than now to support the many Black- and minority-owned businesses right here in Davidson County. The Nashville Black Market presents the Black History Month Expo, featuring more than 100 Black-owned businesses, during the two-day event. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate innovation, resilience and creativity within the community,” says NBM co-founder Carlos Partee. “It’s more than just economic impact — it’s about fostering connections, building generational wealth and amplifying voices that deserve to be heard.”
Radio DJ Mani Millss from 101.1 The Beat is set to host the expo, which includes an Afro Caribbean stilts performer, the Stratford High School marching band, vendors, food trucks and games by Just Play Entertainment. Admission is free for the family-friendly celebration. JASON VERSTEGEN FEB. 8-9 AT THE FAIRGROUNDS NASHVILLE 625 SMITH AVE.
MUSIC [GET THERE EARLY] EARLY JAMES
If there’s one troubadour onstage in Nashville this week who can’t be missed, it’s Early James. A native of small-town Troy, Ala., James makes music that feels a bit like playing
with an Etch A Sketch. There’s a through line in his albums, but each new song represents another artful twist or turn. Once you think you’ve defined his music, he stirs up the creative sand, leaving space to start anew. One moment, it could resemble eccentric, time-tested folk music, while the next song could dip into a blues riff, a roots-rock thump or a twangy country melody. Listeners can hear James’ latest songs on Medium Raw, a collection of earthy, organic tunes cut in a century-old Nashville home and produced by The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach. The album debuted earlier this year via Auerbach’s tastemaking Easy Eye Sound, and is James’ third release on the label.
MATTHEW LEIMKUEHLER
8 P.M. AT THE ’58 AT EASTSIDE BOWL 1508 GALLATIN PIKE S., MADISON
MUSIC
[RE-UP ON THE FLAVORS, APPRECIATE THE FAVOR]
FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF BRIAN BROWN’S JOURNEY FEAT. ALEX MURPHY
East Nashville-born-and-raised rap ace Brian Brown released his debut full-length Journey on Jan. 31, 2020, just a few weeks before COVID lockdown swept across the U.S. Even with the deck stacked against it that way, Journey is a landmark release in Music City hip-hop. While it’s a showcase for superb bars and charismatic delivery from Brown — one of the best MCs in a city full of them, with a knack for being introspective and relatable like your favorite big brother — it’s also got fascinating beats built on in-the-pocket live-band R&B and jazz. Appropriately enough, Brown will celebrate the fifth anniversary on Saturday at Rudy’s Jazz Room with pianist Alex Murphy and his trio, “some of the baddest mf’rs to ever pick up an instrument,” according to Brown himself. They’ll perform new arrangements of this body of work that it feels right to call a contemporary classic.
STEPHEN TRAGESER
5:30 P.M. AT RUDY’S JAZZ ROOM
809 GLEAVES ST.
EARLY JAMES
FEBRUARY
LOVE
FEBRUARY
DANCING
FAMILY
FEBRUARY
SUNDAY / 2.9
SPORTS
[THE EXPECTATION IS KILLING ME] SUPER
BOWL LIX
It’s confession time, readers. I’m a Chiefs fan. I know, I know … the worst, right? Some of my most cherished childhood memories include high-fiving fans in the bitter cold of Arrowhead Stadium after an electric Tony Gonzalez touchdown or gathering with family each January in hopes of watching Marty Schottenheimer pull together a playoff win. (Spoiler: He didn’t.) I waited decades for this mostly-good-but-never-great team to compete for a Super Bowl. Now, after a whole lot of winning, I’ve seen my team succeed long enough to become villainous in most people’s eyes — and I really don’t blame y’all. There are the quarterback and tight end who publicly party with Nashville’s chair-throwing hitmaker. There’s the kicker who proudly embraces backward ideology. And there’s the seemingly countless off-the-field negatives, from stadium chants to pending and past legal troubles for players. But I can’t not cheer on my team. The kid deep down wants to see a three-peat. And sure, this love-or-hate run may come to an end with Saquon Barkley ripping off 200 yards as the Eagles finally give Kansas City its due. Or it may not. Regardless of outcome, I hope every football fan — Titans or otherwise (looking at you, transplants) — gets to go on a ride where your team reaches supervillain heights. In Nashville, Chiefs fans can head to Chief’s on Broadway for discount wings and beer or Nashville Underground, which regularly hosts Kansas City watch parties. Eagles fans typically flock to Tin Roof on Broadway or Sports & Social in Green Hills. MATTHEW LEIMKUEHLER 5:30 P.M. AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS
TUESDAY / 2.11
[LIFE AFTER ROMEO] & JULIET
In what often feels like a never-ending parade of jukebox musicals, & Juliet distinguishes itself by asking a particularly enticing question — what might have happened if Shakespeare’s star-crossed maiden had decided not to throw it all away over Romeo? Theater lovers will find out for themselves next week as the Tony-nominated musical — which is still going strong at Broadway’s Stephen Sondheim Theatre — arrives at Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Tuesday. Featuring an irreverent book by David West Read (Schitt’s Creek), & Juliet showcases the music of the Grammy-winning Swedish songwriter/producer Max Martin — who’s been credited with more No. 1 hits than any other artist in the 21st century. It’s a fun, clever concept that totally flips the script on Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy. But let’s face it — the real star of this show is the music itself, including familiar pop anthems like “I Want It That Way,” “Roar,” “… Baby One More Time,” “It’s My Life,” “I Kissed
a Girl,” “Since U Been Gone,” “Larger Than Life,” “Can’t Stop the Feeling” and more. AMY STUMPFL THROUGH FEB. 16 AT TPAC’S JACKSON HALL
505 DEADERICK ST.
WEDNESDAY / 2.12
MUSIC
[LENDING A HAND ACROSS THE LAND] FROM NASHVILLE WITH LOVE BENEFIT SHOW
Los Angeles is experiencing a crisis, and it’s easy to feel helpless about it way over here in Tennessee. Many local businesses are offering their comfort and condolences following the extensive wildfire damage throughout Southern California, but Nashville’s Vinyl Tap is taking it one step further. The city’s premiere spot for perusing new and used vinyl with a craft beer in hand is pouring one out with a night of music and raffles to benefit music industry workers impacted by the fires. For most of the scheduled performers, the event hits close to home. The lineup consists of artists like Luna Aura, JMSEY and Lou Ridley, all of whom have lived in L.A. but call Nashville home. The event will culminate with a night of recognition for the music industry employees who often struggle to get by, even in the best of times, and it will serve as a way for the local Nashville business to support a fellow creative community. The 21-and-up event is free, but in an effort to extend a helping hand from one music city to another, organizers encourage donations. BAILEY BRANTINGHAM
7:30 P.M. AT VINYL TAP
2038 GREENWOOD AVE.
FILM [RETURN] NEW RELEASES: DAHOMEY AT THE BELCOURT
French actress/Palme d’Or-winning filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics) has gone the nonfiction route for her latest feature, the 68-minute documentary Dahomey. She follows a collection of 26 royal treasures (out of 7,000) from the titular kingdom that were taken by the French during the region’s colonial period. As the artifacts are boxed up and returned to the Republic of Benin (their land of origin), Diop provides the voice for one of them, lamenting the artifacts’ stolen history during scenes of literal darkness: “There are thousands of us in this night. We all bear the same scars. Uprooted, ripped out.” For Diop, these pieces are basically in the same boat as the Africans who were chained and taken away by European slave ships during the Atlantic slave trade. Dahomey is an illuminating study of generational trauma and physical cultural appropriation, as longlost historical items are given back to a stillfrustrated people — with some of them more offended than grateful. In French, Fon and English with English subtitles. Visit belcourt.org for showtimes. CRAIG D. LINDSEY
FEB. 12-13 & 16 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.
MUSIC
[TAKE IT SLEAZY] THELMA AND THE SLEAZE
Any time I hear someone talking about how rock ’n’ roll is over, I just turn up Thelma and the Sleaze and drown them out. Frontwoman Lauren “L.G.” Gilbert, the sole constant member over the band’s decade-and-a-half existence, is a force of nature on par with any frontperson you care to name — the swagger of Little Richard,
the guitar chops of Nancy Wilson and so on — but is clearly always doing her own thing. Since we last caught up with Gilbert about TATS’ 2021 album Fuck Marry Kill, she released the searing, smoldering rocker Holey Water in 2023. She followed that in September with Ain’t Country, an acoustic-focused, country-kissed breakup album. It’s a solo affair that keeps on normalizing same-sex relationships with a reminder that they can sting as much as any. It’s exceptionally raunchy and funny as hell (it is state Rep. Gino Bulso’s own fault that I think of him when I hear “Cousins”) all while being very heartfelt. TATS’ 2016 Kandyland tour, which included 31 shows in 29 days at spots all over Nashville, is the stuff of legend. Supporting will be Frown Town — the solo endeavor of Shane Perry from old-school pop-rock champs The Medium — and nimble rock quintet The Company Car. STEPHEN TRAGESER
9 P.M. AT SPRINGWATER
115 27TH AVE. N.
& JULIET
PHOTO:
Saturday, February 8
SONGWRITER SESSION
Abbey Cone
Sunday, February 9
MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT
Jedd Hughes
1:00 pm · FORD THEATER
Saturday, February 15
SONGWRITER SESSION
Kasey Tyndall
NOON · FORD THEATER
Saturday, February 15
PANEL DISCUSSION
Johnny Bragg
They’re Talking About Me
2:30 pm · FORD THEATER
Sunday, February 16
MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT
Luke McQueary
1:00 pm · FORD THEATER
Museum
Receive
Saturday, February 22
SONGWRITER SESSION
Cary Barlowe NOON · FORD THEATER
Saturday, February 22
BOOK TALK
Author Geoffrey Himes
With Guest Artists
2:30 pm · FORD THEATER
Sunday, February 23
MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT
Chris Tuttle
1:00 pm · FORD THEATER
Saturday, March 1
SONGWRITER SESSION
Don Schlitz
NOON · FORD THEATER
Sunday, March 2
MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT
Kristen Rogers
1:00
· FORD THEATER
CULTURE
THE FANTASY QUADRANT
BY HANNAH HERNER
WHEN TICKETS TO The Nashville Fantasy Ball’s inaugural event went on sale in August, the 350 tickets sold out in around two minutes. Then the wait list grew to thousands. In response, the creators added a second night. That one sold out in about 15 minutes.
With their Forbidden Fantasies ball, set for Feb. 7 and 8, Jenna Wolf and Caitlin Hart (together WolfHart Productions) have struck gold. Garnering $250 for general admission and $400 for VIP tickets means Hart was able to make the newly formed agency her full-time job.
“I think we’re learning through this process to start trusting what things feel like, because we
felt that energy there,” Hart tells the Scene. “But you don’t know until it happens. ‘Is all of this excitement and energy we’re feeling actually going to translate to ticket sales?’ And it was like, ‘Yes, it is.’”
The closest reference for the event is an elevated Renaissance festival — minus the mud — hosted at event venue The Bedford. Guests will enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres, an open bar with custom cocktails, a nonalcoholic bar sponsored by Nashville-based beverage company Killjoy, a photo booth, a portrait studio, tarot card readings and shopping from local vendors. A DJ as well as the Atwood Quartet — which was
makes the timing ripe for such events, but the shadow of serious viral flops like Detroit’s Bridgerton Ball and Scotland’s Wonka Experience looms. To combat possible comparisons, Hart and Wolf make a point to show their faces.
“It is the Wild West of the event world, because not many [fantasy-centric events] have happened,” Wolf says. “There’s not much standardization. … Our intention as creators and holding this brand is to really build trust with our community.”
While such balls may seem trendy now, the WolfHart Productions team wants Nashville Fantasy Ball events to have longevity, like the Anne Rice annual vampire ball in New Orleans (which just celebrated its 36th year) or the Labyrinth Masquerade (which held its 26th event in 2024). WolfHart Productions has planned out its entire 2025 calendar with two more balls and a series of smaller events.
Events are not something the pair has a lot of experience in, so they brought in experienced event planners. They do, however, have backgrounds in wellness, which makes them adept at “creating experiences,” says Wolf, who owns massage and reiki business The Lotus Room.
Hart and Wolf are lifelong fantasy literature fans, growing up on Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Hart rediscovered the genre when she was making the difficult decision to sell her own spa business in 2024. The pair bonded over The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros. Then they saw footage from a fantasy ball in Scotland.
“We were both at this point in our lives where we were really seeking out more experiences that were just for fun, and not like a business trip,” Hart says.
So they created WolfHart Productions to be the party they wished to see. The event has a Discord group, and attendees have made plans to go together.
On the mood board (and Amazon storefront) for Forbidden Fantasies are Romeo and Juliet, Hades and Persephone, and Renaissance- and Victorian-era aesthetics, all based on the enemies-to-lovers trope. What ties all of their references together in this event and future events, Hart explains, is magic.
featured in the third season of the Netflix series Bridgerton — will soundtrack the night. Hired actors are tasked with “guiding the storyline” for the evening too.
VIP tickets include a private event the night before the ball, swag bags, early entry and a private section at the event itself.
“We come into this as consumers and as creatives who just want to elevate every aspect,” Hart says. “We go to events and we’re like, ‘This could have been nicer. This could have been more over-the-top.’ We are team ‘more is more.’” “Maximalists,” Wolf adds.
A renewed cultural interest in fantasy books
“There has to be magic, an element of that — which can go a lot of different directions,” she says. “It can go mythology, it can go literature. It can go sci-fi at times, but there has to be some kind of magical element. We do definitely attract mostly people that got into this world through literature, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.”
Attendees can choose a character to embody, if they wish. It’s elevated cosplay, becoming the “most extravagant version of yourself or your favorite character.” They also expect lots of fairy ears. The main stipulation: Dress up. It’s formal.
“Our goal with these events is to cast a broad net for people to embody the energy of the event,” Wolf says.
The next ball, Garden of the Gods Summer Solstice Ball, has tickets available. ▼
CAITLIN HART (LEFT) AND JENNA WOLF
SAFETY WITHOUT VIOLENCE
Nashvillian Andrew Krinks turns a spiritual lens on race and mass incarceration
BY DAVID DARK
I FIRST MET Andrew Krinks when he was an undergraduate at Lipscomb University. He was part of a loose community of folks committed to friendship and solidarity with one another despite the fact of incarceration: a mix of students, scholars, lawyers, caged and uncaged. Among them were Cyntoia Brown, Rahim Buford, Harmon Wray, Janet Wolf, Richard Goode, Preston Shipp, Jeannie Alexander and Krinks’ partner Lindsey Krinks.
Whether offering instruction through a megaphone at a demonstration, a poetry workshop at the Tennessee Prison for Women or in classrooms at TSU or Vanderbilt, Krinks appeals to people’s conscience and creativity with his own. His book White Property, Black Trespass examines mass incarceration and racial hierarchies through a spiritual lens, with a perspective rooted in the belief that “there is life beyond the present order of exploitation, dispossession, and death.” He answered questions by email.
You speak of whiteness as a religion, and you understand that clinging to “racial, gender, and class inheritances” as a means to wholeness is “spiritual death.” Could you say more about how whiteness is a religion and clinging to it is a form of death? I understand religion as the myriad ways that humans attempt to transcend, transform and make ultimate meaning of the conditions of mortal finitude. People navigate and make sense of the human condition in quite different ways. This is why religion is and always has been many things, including both life-giving and death-making.
Whiteness constitutes a religion, first, because it came into being as an inhabitable idea in and through the theological reasoning and violent acts of dispossession carried out by early European Christian colonizers and capitalists. There was no such thing as “white people” before about 1700. There were English, French, Dutch, German and other people of European descent, but there was no such thing as a consolidated “white” identity.
Whiteness came into existence when European men of property defined themselves in absolute opposition to all others. This is why I understand whiteness as a pursuit of self-deification that ultimately results in self-debasement instead. It is an attempt to escape the world on the bent backs of those it sacrifices in pursuit of its transcendent power.
What words might you have for the white person who beholds your title and feels doomed? I don’t believe that guilt motivates the kind of action needed to transform our world. So I’m not interested in making white people — myself in-
cluded — feel bad as individuals for inheriting what amounts to a curse. I’m more interested in inviting people to locate pathways to a personhood beyond the confines of spiritual death, a personhood based on the truth that Fannie Lou Hamer and others named when they said that none of us are free until all of us are free.
What is the Doctrine of Discovery, and is it still on the books? The Doctrine of Discovery — the idea that God invites people of European descent to conquer Indigenous people’s lands — and later John Locke’s rationalization of private possession as obedience to a God who commands humans to “subdue” the Earth led to incalculable levels of displacement and death over the course of centuries, both in Europe and on Turtle Island. So what do criminalization and incarceration have to do with this history? Many of the tens of thousands of people displaced from commonly tenured lands in England a few centuries ago found themselves subject to labor and vagrancy laws that criminalized the refusal to be properly subject to capital. For centuries, those so criminalized were brutally tortured or even executed in public, often with clergy leading the procession. When the state moved away from public torture and execution for people’s state of dispossession, it transitioned toward what would eventually become the modern prison. The first prisons were full of poor folks. Very little has changed since then.
Name: CLYDE
1 years
You propose data-driven approaches to harm that “refuse to eliminate people who have hurt others, recognizing that everyone who hurts someone in a significant, life-altering way are themselves survivors of some significant harm.” How did you arrive at this recognition? I arrived at this first through relationships with criminalized and incarcerated people, which began for me about 15 years ago. Many of the incarcerated people I have known often say that “hurt people hurt people.” There is endless research showing that the vast majority of people who end up in prison are survivors of violence and usually of poverty as well. Police and prisons are definitionally incapable of disrupting violence, because police and prisons are explicitly based on the use of violence.
I love the way you frame “noncarceral modes of accountability” as ancient and also ascendant. How is it that so many of us imagine creatively nonviolent
responses to harm as rare? If we have ever accompanied a friend navigating emotional trauma or mental illness, talked someone down from verbal or physical retaliation after being hurt or apologized to a partner for saying or doing something harmful, then we already know some of the essential ingredients of safety that don’t resort to violence.
I believe that we lose sight of these things because the social order we live in depends upon our devotion to “public safety” in the form of state violence to maintain the hierarchies that grant power and wealth to a few, while subjecting many to perpetual vulnerability. People with a lot of power and wealth do whatever they can to protect and fund police because police are essential to the task of maintaining their power and wealth.
To read an uncut version of this interview — and more local book coverage — please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee. ▼
By Andrew Krinks NYU Press
327 pages, $35
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White Property, Black Trespass
MUSIC
AS I’M WRITING this, the world is on fire, and I am too overwhelmed to process it all. There’s so much to process — a new horror on the hour, every hour! — and it all comes with a debilitating sense of déjà vu. But weird times call for weird ears, and we are lucky enough to be on this rock at the same time as Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears and their excellent new album Head in the Sand. It is an album about the process of processing life tragedies big and small, and it couldn’t have arrived at a more appropriate time.
Psychedelic and probing, Head in the Sand captures the local guitarist and in-demand side player dealing with things like the death of a parent, the end of a relationship, the passing of a beloved pet — all eminently relatable but rarely the province of records with this many sick guitar solos. The sound is spaced-out, but in that fugue-state sort of way that feels oh-so contemporary. Written in a year when he played more than 200 shows (including both his work with folks like Erin Rae and his solo performances), Head in the Sand finds bliss in simple moments and beautiful sounds.
“Being on the road for so long in my life, over and over and over again, and experiencing just about every kind of chaotic scenario that you can — and there have been some big ones,” explains Thompson, “I think it’s afforded me the ability — or taught me the ability — to roll with it, and think on my feet, and just be able to be more flexible.”
That personal and emotional adaptability translates into a sonic proprioception that allows Thompson’s songwriting and instrumental performance to wander far afield without falling off a cliff into self-indulgence. His guitar playing has taken on a new, even broader palette of influences, becoming more improv-informed and jazz-like — ready to jam at a moment’s notice. Beyond technical leaps and bounds that he’s made since his 2022 solo debut LP Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears, his playing has become more expressive, conveying the granular emotions that words might wash away.
“I’ve tried really hard to become really disciplined about playing and practicing, and diving into the inner machinations of music more than I ever really have,” he says. “And that’s helped me fall in love with it all over again too. Just the mystery of it all, and the theory and the inner workings of chords and melody, that shit is really inspiring — having such an intimate relationship with the notes that you can elicit emotion in a way that I think is hard to do if you don’t have that grasp, and that sort of understanding of music.”
While Head in the Sand may technically be a solo record, in reality it’s a community effort. Featuring a who’s who of Music City’s outré
TURNING PRO
Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears make a way to get by with Head in the Sand
BY SEAN L. MALONEY
Americana crowd — including Michael Ruth, Spencer Cullum, Jo Schornikow, Ben Parks and the aforementioned Erin Rae — the album’s best vibes radiate from the group’s interplay, its higher-language conversations.
“I just wanted to try something that was a lot different, a lot more musically forward in a way,” Thompson says. “Just heavier, more intentional about musical interludes. … I just really wanted to do a lot more guitar-y stuff, and jammed-out stuff, and more lively improvisation — and not being as precious about perfection and takes, and trying to focus more on spontaneity.
“The players are so good that I just wanted to create things that felt pretty open-ended
and had a lot of room for interpretation — and so much room for these amazing players to just do what comes naturally. … I’ve called in 3 billion favors from everybody, and it makes me feel pretty humbled and grateful to be a part of something that’s so vibrant and special — and how many brilliant people that are around us here.”
It’s a testament to Thompson’s flexibility that the emotional tenor never overwhelms the musical timbre. “Roll on Buddy” could be a Coil-level pit of despair, but instead it keeps on chooglin’ — the song’s swinging momentum pushes the writer and the listener through the gray clouds. “Taste of Tennessee” shines like an early summer and unconditional love.
Album closer “Song From the Heart” is a deep meditation on the healing power of music (as well as a candidate for the Bong Hits Before Bedtime song of the winter). In all, Head in the Sand marks a huge artistic leap for Thompson with more exciting sounds on the horizon. That’s an especially fortuitous stroke when the world at large isn’t the most hopeful place to be.
“It’s good to know that in this absolute dumpster-fire state of musical media, business-y stuff, that there’s this warmth and comfort — just knowing that there’s a bunch of killer players that I get to play with, and that we have a community. And it’s important for me to remember this.” ▼
Playing 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, at The Blue Room at Third Man Records Head in the Sand out Feb. 7 via Ears Over America/Missing Piece Performance and signing 5 p.m. Feb. 7 at Grimey’s Listening party 5 p.m. Feb. 8 at The Green Ray
PHOTO:
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW
Because Nashville is so much more than honky-tonks and bachelorettes...
World traveler Sunny Dada and His Afrokokoroot Afrobeat Ensemble find home in Nashville BY
SEAN L. MALONEY
SUNNY DADA AND HIS Afrokokoroot Afrobeat Ensemble — known to Nashvillians by the shorter name Afrokokoroot — are celebrating the release of their full-length World Peace Friday night at Eastside Bowl, and it’s not a moment too soon. To say “the vibe is off around here lately” is an understatement when current events have been dicey, divisive and downright debilitating. But World Peace and its propulsive, collective grooves and sense of dance-floor diplomacy might just be the corrective we need.
he says that music saved him, he means it. “I was caught by the rebels,” he explains. “I was put into the cell — the rebel jail. … Anytime [the troops’ commander came] to the prison, they always kill someone — like, kill one of the prisoners. The commander was kind of staring at me. He was looking at me, he’s like, ‘I think I know you, boy.’ So I used to play jazz music with my jazz band. That’s where the commander recognized me — because then I’m always the show boy. I use my leg, I use my hand, my elbow, my head to play drums when they gave me solos. … So the commander said: ‘OK, this boy, I know him. He’s a musician.’ So that’s how I escape that: music.”
says Dada, whose local shows have included a longstanding recurring Afrobeat Night at The 5 Spot. “My spirit was kind of guiding me because that’s being a spiritual person. I always follow my spirit. So the way Nashville accepted me — I’m home. I’m home.”
That spirit of gratitude, that big thankful vibe, runs through World Peace. The record is a labor of love years in the making. Dada began recording in China and continued in Nigeria before making his way to Middle Tennessee, where he finished the tracks at Broken Door Studios in Nashville and the studios at MTSU. The finished product is cohesive and coherent in a way that belies its polyglot essence. The polyrhythms and performances on World Peace burst from the speakers with vitality and excitement, feeling both classic and contemporary. Dada is relieved and excited for the work to find its place in the community.
“I’m a man of peace,” the Nigerian-born Dada tells the Scene. “I’m a man of hope. I’m a man of unity. I’m a man of people. I’m a man of people that see when there’s war, there’s a crisis. I like to bring my sunshine, my peace — the love of bringing people together.”
Dada’s music and teaching have taken him to more than 70 countries across Africa, Europe and Asia. They’ve led him into all sorts of adventures, including being imprisoned in Monrovia during the Liberian civil war of the 1990s. When
A songwriter, arranger and percussionist, Dada brings together a big band with up to a dozen players — keys, horns, backup singers, a whole crew — while creating acoustic frameworks that let the individuals shine and give him plenty of opportunity to unleash his full powers as a charismatic showman. While Dada is obviously indebted to the fundamental work of Fela Kuti and the heavy funk sounds of Lagos, Dada’s hometown, the globetrotting musician’s collaborative skills bring influences to the party from across the jazz-fusion diaspora. World Peace standout “Love” has Mizzell Brothers-esque swagger, and the keys on “China Go” channel early ’70s Deodato. Every bar is packed full of rich, vibrant textures and the sort of jaw-dropping instrumentalism that makes Afrokokoroot fit right into Nashville.
“So I end up falling in love with Nashville,”
“Everything that was so difficult — that was so, so frustrating — became easy after seeing everything completed. I was full of joy. I was so happy that at last I have the cassette tape in my hand.” ▼ World Peace out Friday, Feb. 7 Playing 8 p.m. Feb. 7 at Eastside Bowl
DO IT LIVE
BY P.J. KINZER AND EDD HURT
KEEPING AN INDEPENDENT venue alive and thriving has never been simple, despite how important these spaces are to the music and cultural ecosystem in cities around the world that are lucky enough to have them. Even years after COVID lockdown, it still seems harder than ever for indie venues to keep doing the valuable work they do in Nashville. Last year, data backing up that intuition was published in two studies, the Nashville Independent Venues Study and the Greater Nashville Music Census. To shine a spotlight on mom-and-pop venues at work, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp and Music Venue Alliance Nashville teamed up to put on 615 Indie Live, a festival featuring some 50 artists — running the gamut from hip-hop to punk to soul to Americana to soul and beyond — onstage at 17 venues on Saturday, Feb. 1, and we caught a few of the sets.
Shows that were part of the fest began at noon. By 8 p.m., when The Wooten Brothers started their set at Rudy’s Jazz Room — the Gulcharea hotspot named for their late brother, saxophonist Rudy Wooten — the line extended from the entrance to the end of the block. Bless the door guy: He had to explain to those in line that the venue was already at the “one-in, one-out” part of the night since many of the patrons who showed up for the 5:30 set (from a group led by saxman Jeff Coffin) were sticking around to see the storied Wootens. At the back of the line, I was puzzling out how to navigate this situation, but the damp and the near-freezing temps did my work for me. Would-be guests made the call to go instead to one of the other shows their wristband would get them into, and my showgoing buddy and I found ourselves inside before too long.
Well, inside the door, that is. Few were inclined to leave while the Wootens — keyboardist Joseph Wooten (aka “The Hands of Soul”), guitarist Regi Wooten (aka “Teacha”), bassist Victor Wooten and drummer Roy Wooten (aka “Futureman”) — were cooking, and we listened to the first half of the two-hour performance from the hallway while we waited for seats to open up. Having seen the group several times in the past 27 years, I knew what to expect: the lockgroove tightness of a family band who’s been jamming on the one together for more than five decades. We were escorted to two seats in the front row, and I found myself with the headstock of Victor’s bass just two feet from my face.
Watching the skill, intensity and sheer joy of these masterful players is always such a pleasure. Their set was perfectly tailored for a festival, giving new fans the full arc of their legacy. The highlight for me was their original composition “Consuela Smiles,” a spacious number that unwinds into a meditative groove. The piece is an ode to their college jazz instructor Consuela Lee, a Fisk alum and composer who once penned music for her nephew Spike’s movie
School Daze. The brothers amped up the funkiness later with a James Brown medley and their own 2023 single “Sweat,” a track reminiscent of Earth, Wind & Fire’s slickest work. Wrapping it up at 10:15, the quartet made the evening well worth the wait.
Meanwhile over at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, there was also a full house waiting to see Lillie Mae, and that seemed appropriate for an artist who bends genres with ease. Dee’s has become a hotbed of bluegrass, post-bluegrass and singer-songwriter Americana over the past couple of years. Since she moved to Nashville with her family 25 years ago, Lillie Mae Rische has built up an amazing list of credits. She’s worked with late producer and Memphis-to-Nashville legend Cowboy Jack Clement, and toured and recorded with Jack White. She’s currently working with Jim Lauderdale and the Game Changers and playing fiddle on tour with Post Malone. She’s an adventurous singer and commanding musician, and she knows how to lead a band.
With her brother Frank Rische on electric guitar along with sisters Grace McKenna Rische and Scarlett Rische, Lillie Mae played folk-rock-country during her set. Second guitarist Craig Smith paired with Frank Rische to insert perfectly rendered, Allman Brothers-style twin guitars on a couple of songs. The band turned “Pretty Polly” doomy while rocking it out, and their versions of songs from Lillie Mae’s 2023 album Festival Eyes — “Cherry Pie” was delivered with panache — were brilliant. The band closed with a cover of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly’s “I Drove All Night,” which stood up to the familiar versions by Roy Orbison, Celine Dion and Cyndi Lauper. Turning the singer-songwriter template into an infinitely flexible medium is what Lindsay Lou, who closed out the night at Dee’s, is about. Her 2023 album Queen of Time also partakes of the timeless English-folk-meets-Nashville feel that Lillie Mae favors, but Lindsay Lou comes across as more contemplative. With Kyle Tuttle joining her on a few numbers, Lindsay Lou switched from guitar to banjo, quipping, “Just in case anybody needed an opportunity for an exit, we are going to have two banjos onstage now.” No one minded, and she played the new album’s titular tune and “On Your Side (Starman),” a pop song David Bowie might have envied. When she sang “The River Jordan,” which appears on her 2015 album Ionia, you felt like there might be room for the right kind of religion in this world. ▼
THEOCRATIC STRANGLEHOLD
The Seed of the Sacred Fig is the political thriller the Iranian government doesn’t want you to see
BY KEN ARNOLD
2/8 Street Art 101
2/9 Introduction to Metal Working: Part 2
2/9 Introduction to Stained Glass
2/11 Introduction to Adobe Illustrator
2/11 Create Your own End-Grain Cutting Board: Part 1
2/12 CNC 101
2/12 Build Your own Picture Frame: Part 1
2/13 Laser 101
2/14 Metal Shop for Homeschool
2/15 Introduction to MIG Welding
2/16 Introduction to Woodturning Workshop
2/18 Create Your own End-Grain Cutting Board: Part 2
2/20 Introduction to Felting
2/20 Alaina Miller: Solo Exhibition
2/21 Metal Shop for Homeschool 101
2/22 Introduction to Knife Forging: Part 1
2/22 Fused Glass Workshop: Sculptural Bowl
2/23 Introduction to Knife Forging: Part 2
2/26 Build Your own Picture Frame: Part 2
2/28 Metal Shop for Homeschool 201
DIRECTOR MOHAMMAD RASOULOF has had a lot of conflict with the Islamic Republic government of his home country, Iran. In 2019 Rasoulof was sentenced to a year in prison for his 2017 film A Man of Integrity, which won Cannes’ Un Certain Regard award. He was given another one-year sentence after his 2020 film There Is No Evil, which won Berlinale Film Festival’s Golden Bear. Both times he was charged with producing anti-government propaganda. During production of The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Rasoulof worked in secret. Now facing an eight-year prison sentence, Rasoulof opted to leave Iran on foot through the mountains, eventually seeking asylum in Germany before arriving in Cannes for Sacred Fig’s premiere.
The film centers on Iman (Missagh Zareh), who was recently promoted to an investigating judge position in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court. His predecessor refused to sign a death sentence — which becomes Iman’s first assignment in his new position. His wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) is helping their daughters Sana (Setareh Maleki) and Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) prepare for school when protests land over the death of Jina “Mahsa” Amini, and the family begins to clash over who’s in the wrong.
Amini was a real-world victim of Iran’s religious morality police, taken into custody for not wearing a hijab in 2022. According to eyewitness accounts, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman was beaten by police until her eventual death due to cerebral hemorrhage. The outrage surrounding Amini’s death led to massive protests in Iran, resulting in clashes between Iranian civilians and government authorities and the
deaths of more than 500 people, with hundreds more injured. This is the boiling point at which the film is set, and The Seed of the Sacred Fig uses Instagram Reels — social media posts made in opposition of official government reports on the protests — that were taken during the real-world violence to tell its story. In the age of social media and VPNs, the flow of information has become a lot more complicated and thus harder for one entity to control. The film stands as a representation of the cracks in controlled media, not just in the content of the film, but also by virtue of the film’s very existence — The Seed of the Sacred Fig even existing is an act of protest against the regime and its attempts to control information.
Rasoulof is part of a greater movement in modern Iranian cinema. Around the same time he was arrested, fellow directors Jafar Panahi (best known for 2015’s Golden Bear-winning Taxi) and Mostafa Al-Ahmad were arrested on similar charges for their work. Iranian filmmakers living in exile include Ali Abbasi and Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who teamed up for the 2022 Cannes selection Holy Spider, and Marjane Satrapi, who documented her own experience in her graphic novel and feature-length animated film Persepolis. Together these great artists have fought the regime in their own ways, speaking up through art despite the very real threat it brings upon them.
Sacred Fig is the type of work that is monumental simply for existing — but it’s also a gripping political thriller that is approachable for general audiences and gives insight to the horror inflicted by the Iranian regime. It’s a
for help from the Iranian people to the world. ▼
The Seed of the Sacred Fig PG-13, 168 minutes; in Persian with English subtitles Opening Friday, Feb. 7, at the Belcourt and AMC Thoroughbred 20
IN RUSS WE TRUST
Talking about legendary grindhouse auteur Russ Meyer with David Gregory and Erica Gavin
BY JASON SHAWHAN
THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES you just don’t pass up. As the great philosopher Tom Jones once said, “Tomorrow is promised to no one,” and when a chance at joy comes your way, especially at this moment in history, you’re well-served by grabbing hold and not letting go until it thunders. And that’s how I found myself talking to Vixen herself, the legendary Erica Gavin. It begins with David Gregory, the head of Severin Films. Gregory basically did the independent film equivalent of finding the Holy Grail when he worked out a deal with the estate of legendary filmmaker Russ Meyer to bring three of his titles into the HD/4K era. Meyer’s films are American originals — hard-hitting melodrama, a
draining yet entertaining piece that is begging to be seen, a cry
bounty of bosoms, white-hot thrills and a preternatural ability never to wear out their welcome. And other than very basic DVD editions from back at the dawn of the millennium, they’ve not been easy to get hold of.
With the Vixen Trilogy (1968’s Vixen!, 1975’s Supervixen and 1979’s Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens) making that HD leap, it’s a chance to pay tribute to one of the great directors in American film, but also one of its greatest stars.
So how does it feel for you coming back to Vixen, this character you created who is no less vivacious, shocking, liberating and complicated now, 57 years on?
Erica Gavin: I don’t think it’s really hit me yet, just how big this is. People tell me it’s big. But it just feels great to be talked to about it.
In the past few years, Severin has been doing an incredible job finding films featuring singular women of cult and exploitation cinema and saying, “These iconic women deserve your attention and respect.” And as far as I’m concerned, bringing Erica Gavin to the forefront and saying, “This is a big deal” is both accurate and fair.
EG: It certainly points toward liberating all these actresses, and Severin has stepped outside the box to do it.
David Gregory: What we like to champion is the work of true filmmakers and performers who were going out and making entertaining and well-made movies with limited resources. And that, for me, is very exciting. When people are getting a band of like-minded people together and by hook or by crook, getting something in the can in order to make a film, and then coming out with something that stands the test of time — particularly like Vixen!, where it was a massive hit at the time and has remained for me an important American independent film — that’s something we’re very happy to champion.
JS: Have you run into any issues with this new restoration due to it still technically being banned in several counties in Ohio?
DG: Interestingly, we are trying to organize the first legal screening of Vixen! right now in Cincinnati, due to the film still being banned there. Which is absurd. It’s that no one has tested that theory in recent years, so we’re working on that. But it is still on the books. And there are certain hoops to be jumped through to make that happen. I don’t think anyone would raid the cinema like they did back in the day, but that might be cool too.
EG: It would! It would certainly draw a crowd.
DG: It would get a lot of attention. If Vixen! was still
being seized.
EG: I was just looking at a newspaper clipping of the vice cops going in to see Vixen! in Ohio, and that whole movement was led by [disgraced conservative activist and convicted felon] Charles Keating. And he was a very upstanding citizen, what with his S&L crisis.
DG: As is often the case with people who are moral crusaders, who want to get into the way of other people’s liberties, they’re often hiding something in their closet themselves.
EG: And he wasn’t hiding it very much, was he? Vixen! is such a quintessentially American film. It’s about sex and hypocrisy and racism and Viet nam, and what happens when you stir that particu lar gumbo together.
EG: Russ was very good about addressing whatever was in the news at the time; he was almost ahead of it. Just look at the end of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls the Manson murders. How he had that insight, I don’t know. I guess that’s genius.
The chain of events it must have taken for this release to happen is impressive: You have the Meyer estate, you have Severin, you have the Museum of Modern Art, who supervised the remastering. And that is a dinner party I would love to be a fly on the wall at.
EG: [Laughs] Agreed.
DG: Oh, absolutely. Working with the Russ Meyer Trust has been very good for us. At the heart of it, they want to make sure that Russ’ work is preserved and pre sented in the best possible way to a contemporary audi ence, and that’s what we have gone to pains to deliver. We retained the graphic design he used on his VHS re leases and brought those over to the disc format — that was very important to the trust. We had to imagine what he would want with his films if he were with us now.
EG: This was what he would have been going for in the time that the films were made, he just didn’t have the technology that we do now.
Special thanks for assistance in preparing for this interview to Jess Bennett. ▼
(that’s
Troublesome threes, e.g.
1 “Jeopardy!” offering
2 12-time Olympic swimming medalist Ryan ___
3 Worn at the edges
4 Prefix with sexual
5 Possible response to “Where are you?”
6 Craft kit fabrics
7 “Right away, boss!”
8 Comedian Trevor
9 “___ Game” (1986 Hugo Award winner)
10 Cot alternative
11 Wear out one’s welcome, say
12 Achilles, for two
13 Muesli bit
21 Underworld figure
22 Is in the past
26 Chain parts: Abbr.
28 Singer Tori
29 Head liners?
30 Choquequirao inhabitant
33 “Let ___!”
34 Urban addr. specification
35 Like cuisine with lumpia and longganisa
36 “Looks that way, unfortunately”
37 Minimal
38 Bread box?
39 Noxious
42 “Qué ___?” (“How’s it going?,” in Spanish)
43 Only U.S. president buried in Washington, D.C.
45 Home of Firenze
46 They have nine players
47 Get released
49 Early text messager
50 One of a Disney septet
53 Root of resentment, at times
54 Reckon
55 Word before and after an ampersand, in the grocery
56 Maker of toys for girls and boys
a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/studentcrosswords.
PUZZLE
I IN THE CHANCERY COURT FOR THE STATE OF TENNESSEE TWENTIETH JUDICIAL DISTRICT, DAVIDSON COUNTY No. 24-1273-II
IN RE: THE MATTER OF NAME CHANGE OF KALIYHA FINLEY-GRAY BY NEXT FRIEND: PATRICIA GRAY Petitioner, vs. TARVISO FINLEY Whereabouts Unknown Respondent.
ORDER
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the Motion for Service by Publication filed by Petitioner, Patricia Gray, as Next Friend of her granddaughter, Kaliyha FinleyGray, is hereby granted and it is hereby ordered that Respondent, Tarviso Finley, will be served by publication notice in The Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Davidson County, Tennessee for a period of four (4) consecutive weeks.
IT IS ORDERED.
ANNE C. MARTIN CHANCELLOR, PART II
APPROVED FOR ENTRY:
Marykate E. Williams #041708
CAMPBELL PERKY JOHNSON, PLLC 329 S. Royal Oaks Blvd., Suite 205 Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615)914-3038 marykate@cpj.law
NSC 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, 2/27/25
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