Nashville Music Blog

Not to flog the already raggedy-pink NBN '09 horse carcass beyond recognition, but as you already know, we're kinda suckers for these You Tell Concerts vids, especially when they feature people we know being very drunk and liking things. Not as much when they feature that guy who's always sticking his face in our face and the faces of others, but lots when we hear about how people from distant lands see our fair city, its festivus and the rest of us. Best part: the shuttle! I've already forgotten which bands are in which video, but I think this one has the all-female Rage Against the Machine cover band.

While you're at it, check out part 1 & part 2.

So it's been a week since Next Big Nashville 2009. Now that the dust has settled and the hangovers have subsided, the folks over at NBN would like to know what you thought. They've posted a general survey online that all are welcomed and encouraged to take. Check it out here and submit your email addy to win tickets to next year's NBN festivities.

I'd really like to know what y'all thought of the festival as well. Were you exposed to any bands you weren't yet familiar with? Did YOUR band get any exposure you feel you otherwise wouldn't have gotten? Did you have a good time? What do you feel the festival accomplished? Did you get laid? Who do you think has that "X" factor? Did you see the next Kings of Leon, or the next Ligion? Who do you think is behind Jazzolagate? Are you still pissed that your band didn't get asked to play but Mike's Pawn Shop did? Please discuss below.

'As Long As We're Not Dead': You can trust Monotonix with your beer, as long as you don't mind it getting poured down the singer's pants. (Playing Saturday, 17th at Exit/In. Read the full interview with guitarist Yonatan Gat here.)

Is It Getting Heavy? Solid new albums by JEFF the Brotherhood and Turbo Fruits show strength, growth and more strength. (Playing Saturday, 17th at Exit/In.)

Everything's Coming Up Roses: James McMurtry has a new live album and a way of getting to the bottom of things. (Playing Tuesday, 20th at Mercy Lounge.)

Luck Be a Leon: Kings of Leon blink in the glare of mainstream adoration. (Playing Friday, 15th at the Sommet Center.)

Classical: Composer/Violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain challenges stylistic boundaries.

In The Spin: Next Big Nashville '09 feat. Phosphorescent, Lucero, The Black Angels, Cortney Tidwell, Natural Child, Jemina Pearl, How Cozy! and many more jazzola-bangers.

And don't forget Best of Nashville 2009: Music feat. Mia Calderon, The Features "Pavement," Kidsmeal, Those Darlins y mucho más.

An artist's rendering of Col. Jazzola, given context clues. To create your own rendering, visit flashface.ctapt.de.

​All right, Col. Jazzola. So you survived NBN with your anonymity intact. We have our inklings about who you might be--oh believe me, we have our inklings--but for now, your true identity remains sealed. What I want to know is this: If we provide you a year-round forum in which to publish your uproarious batshit screeds, are you going to crack under the pressure? Are you going to get unfunny, or worse, stop bein' real about the scene? Little did we know at the start of this year's Next Big Nashville that the virginity of our collective jazzola was about to be robbed so unceremoniously. But now that we've been banged there so thoroughly by the "dick of fun," we must have it on the reg. Give it to us on the reg.

Read Jazzola's parting words regarding Next Big Nashville after the jump.

Photo courtesy Next Big Nashville

See the slideshow for more photos.

The Rock Block was an easy choice Saturday night. We walked into The End in time to catch the debut of art-punk trio Wright's Jambuliyea Fest dealing out a badass rendition of Devo's "Uncontrollable Urge." Following were short, sweet, fast and fun punk rock sets by Cy and then The Cannonmen. The high evening's highlight was easily Natural Child, who play quirky punk jams executed with an open-chord jangle underneath scream-sung melodies--which sounds like the standard formula for most Infinity Cat bands, only this time it's all a little hazier, lazier and more calculated. Closing with a precisely sloppy rendition of The Who's "Baba O'Riley," they gave us exactly what our week had been missing: a rousing, drunken sing-a-long.

Photo courtesy Next Big Nashville

See the slideshow for more photos.

We kicked off Friday night with NBN's boldest experiment yet: The Honky Tonk Takeover. Four venues on Lower Broadway typically relegated strictly to acts of the country variety reluctantly opened their stages to some of Music City's finest rock 'n' roll bands. We started things off at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. Downstairs, the place looked like any other night of the year: a house full of tourists, baby boomers and regulars enjoying a set of standards by the house bands. Upstairs, however, Black Diamond Heavies were rocking a fierce and filthy rumble they've described themselves as the "punk-ass blues."

Photo courtesy Next Big Nashville

See the slideshow for more photos.

Knowing we had a long Friday evening ahead of us on the Rock Block, we had ourselves a casual pre-game at Gold Rush before strolling over to Exit/In to catch the last bit of Bear in Heaven's synth-y, washed-out, psychedelic, swelling drone. We soon discovered that all of Exit/In's proceedings had been delayed 45 minutes because of a mix-up regarding the venue's published "door" time versus their announced "bands start" time. It certainly worked out in Bear in Heaven's favor, though, because there was a relatively sizable crowd gathered for the Brooklyn-facial-hair-sporting four-piece, whose sound was something like a less compelling version of Yeasayer.

Photo courtesy Next Big Nashville

Tristen

See the slideshow for more photos.

Thursdays ("Little Fridays") can be rough nights to navigate for music-lovers, and doubly so during a festival. You want fun, entertainment, rock 'n' roll and good times, but you have to work tomorrow! What is one to do? Fuck it, that's what.

By the time we got to Cannery Row on Thursday we were well on our way to wasted after an excellent VIP party featuring free booze, mind-blowing ribs from Jimmy Carl's Lunch Box and the smooth soul sounds of local up-and-comer William Davenport. It was a seriously boss party, even if they were sorta skimpin' on the vodka.

Newest Privates press photo

Oh joy! Nashville awesome-rockers The Privates have just been added to tonight's Exit/In NBN show. That show also features Jemina Pearl, Matt Friction and the Cheap Shots, Other Girls and Taxicab Racers.

We also heard a rumor about a certain band of brothers who will make a surprise late-night appearance to close out the Infinity Cat showcase across the street at The End. But that's just a rumor.

All of the women pictured are currently being treated for severe burns.

​So if you haven't been keeping up, I'll give you a brief recap: An anonymous emailer claiming to be a Next Big Nashville intern started sending some bizarre but hilarious emails to various organizers and bloggers under the NBN banner. Well, turns out that not only is the address from which these emails are being sent totally bunk, but also NBN honcho Jason Moon Wilkins tells us that there are no NBN interns. At all.

Having attended Cortney Tidwell's set at Exit/In, I can tell you that there was no sort of pyrotechnics mishap, and no one was badly burned/killed--certainly not any pregnant ladies. I can also tell you that Dean Shortland is younger than 47, Denney and the Jets are not made up of "Wings/Moody Blues axeman Denny Lane sitting in with a reunited Jets," and Jemina Pearl smells lovely as a rose. That said, what follows is a pretty exceptional little bit of parody that we just couldn't keep from our readers. Full email after the jump.

As far as I'm concerned, one emerging artist has already come out on top during this year's festival. The anonymous Next Big Nashville prankster included a poem in one of his/her (probably his) hilariously uninformative emails of misinformation and lies that I think really sums up what a musician--particularly a Nashville musician--goes through in times like these:

oh city with horned tower
promising gold to those who come to its gates
reaping the past to disown the present
a bubble of hope rises up from the dust of forgotten dreams
"why?" a child cries in the night, helpless, clinging to a drink ticket
abortions of art creep in a nearby alley
green hills swinger and east side mumblers conjugate in a field
the only fence being stacks of cd-rs
to keep the dogs out or in as it were
hungry, but hungry for what, i ask?
the rot of unfeathered dead chicken erases the
glory hole of
something
fuck

Beautiful. More absurdity after the jump.

ALERT: If you've received an email that appears to be from Next Big Nashville (email address: nextbignashville09@gmail.com), and it says that Eureka Gold has canceled their show tonight because their bass player had "an unfortunate trip to the barber," do not believe it, even though that's sort of a funny thing to say. This email account is not associated with Next Big Nashville in any way, and whoever is sending the emails is not an intern at NBN.

"We don't have interns," is what director Jason Moon Wilkins told me, and he should know. Wilkins adds that he doesn't mind people criticizing NBN (and, one can assume, Eli Beaird's haircut), he just objects to someone misrepresenting the festival and misleading people.

So, to recap: Eureka Gold is playing tonight at The End. Emails from nextbignashville09@gmail.com are not coming from the festival--ignore them. As you were.

​
If at some point last night, while you were out and about at Next Big Nashville, an uneasy feeling washed over you, as if you sensed something had gone terribly awry--that's because it had. Much like the tragic turn taken at Woodstock '99, this monstrosity has officially careened out of control and casualties are already piling up. I've seen a lot of things in my day, folks. But nothing that compares to the likes of this, and only halfway through the goddamn thing, mind you.

Actually, it's a lot like college, even down to the seating arrangement. In a bizarre repeat of Paul Allen's Spring '06 Artist Management class I ended up with Mikky Ekko and Jordan Maddison of Teleprompt Management trying desperately to stay awake. Weird. The panels have been a steady reminder that I owe tens of thousands of dollars to MTSU, and have a snowball's chance in hell of paying it back--this was driven home when a fellow conference-goer got a call from the Student Assistance Corporation, our mutual loan shark. Let's hope they wait until after the festival to break our knees.

Eric England

Two down, two to go. If you're anything like the beer bottle-biting, drink-spilling, cigarette-dropping and otherwise party-overdrive whoopin'-it-uppers I ran into last night, you've got some convalescing to do and some acetaminophen intake to attend to this morning before starting all over again. And we will start all over again.

If you don't already have a glossy ish at your fingertips, here's your guide to our guide to Next Big Nashville:

Friday: The Black Angels, Cortney Tidwell and more at Exit/In, while The Kindergarten Circus, Twin Tigers, Eureka Gold and more get it on at The End. Plus, you've got your Ramblin' Roadshow and Memphis Revue at The Cannery and The Honky-Tonk Takeover hitting Lower Broad. Check it.

Photo courtesy Next Big Nashville

Phosphorescent

The Southern Girls Rock 'n' Roll Camp Showcase at Grimey's yesterday evening was populated by mothers, mentors and record store patrons eager to check out just what the kids had been learning down in Murfreesboro.

Smack Talk (all 14-ish) were first, and their camcorder-wielding moms were right up front. They did two covers, a Nashville-appropriate "Steady, As She Goes" and the one we had to Google because we're old, "Into the Night" by Santana and Chad Kroeger. We much preferred the Raconteurs song--good bass playing, a charming gum-chewing guitarist and a girl who is obviously has a voice for pop music singing a rock song equal fun times.

By now you're probably familiar with the fact that we've got a huge boner for local party-rap crew The Billy Goats. What you might not know, however, is that said boner has been exclusively tethered to the world's worst format--the MySpace music player. Luckily The Billy Goats just hooked us up with a promo of their forthcoming debut There's No U in Team, so now we're free from Rupert Murdoch's vicious grip on our short 'n' curlies--trust me, it's quite the relief. MC Iller, 24/7 and DJ Eticut have assembled a record better suited for rollin' round town than staying cooped up in front of your computer.

"Look at me! I'm a gnarly griffin!"

Hey kids, you like the HD, you like the rock 'n' roll musics, you wanna be in a real live music video on the Internets? Tonight's Next Big Nashville show at Mercy Lounge featuring How I Became the Bomb, The Non-Commissioned Officers, Tristen, Elle Macho and Bad Cop will be recorded for an upcoming installment of the Lake Fever Sessions. If you're not already hip to it, LFS is an ongoing Web series of live performances, and it's awesome. The fine gentlemen of Tugboat Productions handle the visuals. Of course, this show is only part of the Thursday NBN awesomeness, but c'mon.

Also, if you pick up one of those Next Big Nashville guidebooks around town, it mistakenly says this show is at The Rutledge. It's not--it's at Mercy Lounge. Mercy Lounge, I say! So there you have it. Be there tonight, please.

If you were among those that got a jump start last night on this week's festivities, you may or may not have noticed your fellow attendees were vibrating at a very high frequency in anticipation of getting knee-deep in Nashville's biggest annual pep rally yet. Folks were indeed in good spirits. Backs were slapped, egos were stroked and I recall reciprocating more than a few high-fives. I don't know much about astrology and such, but I'm pretty sure some planets and stars and nebula have lined up over Tennessee this week, bringing in a tide of homebodies out of their respective holes for the week.

If you've got the creds and started the week off right, you were at the Nashville Music Awards. Free eats and complimentary booze makes any gathering more than worth my time. Some colleagues and I briefly pondered the point of throwing such a small awards ceremony wherein the nominees (the likes of Jack White, Taylor Swift and the Brothers Followill) were too famous to care to show up, but hey--free booze, free food, no complaints.

If any of you Dave, Nickelback or Lenny Kravitz fans want to give me an overdue punch in the face, I'll be at the Nashville premier of We Fun--local filmmaker Matthew Robison's documentary about Atlanta bands the likes of Deerhunter, The Black Lips, King Kahn and the Shrines and Mastadon. The premier is part of Next Big Nashville opening night festivities and is happening at 7 p.m. Come say hi!

It's Next Big Nashville time, people. Among those bands contributing to the nextier and bigger feel of this year's fest is Brooklyn's Phosphorescent. Whatchoo know about Phosphorescent? From our Critics' Picks, the affable "It's so Cold in the" D. Patrick Rodgers:

Yes, Phosphorescent is one of the larger-name, non-Nashville acts booked at Next Big Nashville in order to raise the burgeoning local festival's national recognition. But primary member and songwriter Matthew Houck certainly isn't a bad man to have at the helm of The End's inaugural NBN '09 show. This year's To Willie, a collection of Willie Nelson covers, is a beautifully executed homage to the Redheaded Stranger, and Houck's original records are trad country-influenced, vulnerable but gritty collections that sprawl epically across vast, barren landscapes. Houck has a knack for poignant delivery, but the Athens, Ga., songsmith doesn't sacrifice character with his fragile, reticent croon. Opening are Luke and the Late Nights and Alberta Cross, as well as Caitlin Rose, another traditionally influenced artist who's moving young country music in a nuanced, intelligent direction.

There's also the Southern Girls Rock 'n' Roll Camp showcase at Grimey's, Nashville Music Awards (followed by Ten out of Tenn) at The Cannery, and don't forget the panels today, too (you'll need a badge for those). Check the schej, and we'll see you out.

If you're involved in the music scene in this town in any way, you probably have an opinion about the bands, their strategies, the clubs, the record sales, the fanbase, the labels, the Internet and everything in between.

And yet there's been no organized way to hobnob, analyze, debate and discuss these critical elements of the rock biz for years--at least not in any way that doesn't involve heinous trollery. That is, until Next Big Nashville added the conference dimension to the rock festival. This year's panels--which require a badge for entry--are bigger and better. So don't resist this genuine opportunity to get schooled by folks who have more than just opinions on subjects near and dear to your hearts--they have actual jobs and experience in the actual industry dealing with these very topics. At the very least, don't all you armchair A&R folks want to find out if you're really as smart as you think you are?

This Thursday, The Belcourt will show All the Way From Michigan Not Mars, a doc about troubadour Rosie Thomas that features Sufjan Stevens and was directed by Nashville native Matt Boyd. Ms. Thomas will be in attendance, and will be performing--both as herself and as her comedy alter ego, the neck brace-sporting Sheila Saputo. We've got two wristbands (good for the screening and all other things Next Big Nashville for the night) and two copies of All the Way on DVD to give away. So whatchya got to do?

​Yeah yeah, Pitchfork is full of hipster elite snobby obsessives who wouldn't know good music if it shit on their white capris, but we're excited to see them mention the Next Big Nashville festival in a news roundup yesterday. Why? Because it's proof of what we suspected was happening when we noticed Jason Moon Wilkins began expanding the festival along regional and national lines.

It's here! It's here! Next Big Nashville honcho Jason Moon Wilkins has sent along the full list of NBN bands, and we've got the exclusive for you. Locals missing from the initial list that turned up here include The Kindergarten Circus, Umbrella Tree, Tristen, Keegan DeWitt, Kopecky Family Band, Bad Cop and more. But a few remain conspicuously absent. No Features and no Privates--though The Features' nationwide tour probably has a lot to do with that. There's also no mention of Eliza the Arrow, Kintaro, The Mattoid, JEFF the Bro'hood or Turbo Fruits. Again, a couple of said absences are due to touring.

Now, Wilkins has informed us that "There will be about a dozen or [so] additions/changes, but this is 95% of it." So yes, there is a very narrow window through which the hope of future inclusion and inevitable local stardom shine for you and your experimental dub flamenco metalcore one-piece. We'll let you know when those "additions/changes" come rolling 'round the bend. But as for now, without further ado, we give you the (almost) full lineup of Next Big Nashville 2009, alphabetized for your convenience.

VersaEmerge bring the emo to Next Big Nashville

The band you see at the right is NOT Paramore, at least not in name. They're called VersaEmerge, and they're a symptom of the Paramore virus. They're playing Next Big Nashville along with this band from Boston. VersaEmerge is from Florida--a state that, last I checked, hadn't produced a good band since Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers--and they're the latest rising stars to join the Fueled by Ramen roster. Fueled by Ramen is the label that, among other transgressions, gave Fallout Boy bass player--and the Fred Durst of emo--Pete Wentz an imprint label. They put out records by Cobra Starship, The Academy Is..., Panic! at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes and more. They're the worst.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because VersaEmerge are slated to play Next Big Nashville on the festival's "Next Warped Nashville" stage. According to a press release sent to the Scene by NBN proprietor Jason Moon Wilkins:

Continuing its efforts to promote new talent, the [corporate name redacted] WARPED TOUR has announced 'Next Warped Nashville,' a [corporate name redacted] Warped Tour stage set to debut at this year's Next BIG Nashville Music Festival and Conference on October 10. Next Warped Nashville will feature performances from Warped bands Therefore I Am, VersaEmerge and Conditions, along with several emerging artists...[corporate name redacted] WARPED TOUR founder and producer Kevin Lyman says: 'What Jason has created with Next Big Nashville over the years is instrumental in Nashville's music scene and something we are proud to be a part of. We've enjoyed holding similar showcases at SXSW and Canadian Music Week, and when given this opportunity from Jason, we were more than excited to be a part of it. Some of the bands playing the showcase, like Versa Emerge and Therefore I Am, have toured with Warped and we know will make for a great show.'

'NBN is very excited to be able to bring a little bit of Warped back to Nashville for this special event,' notes Next BIG Nashville co-founder Jason Moon Wilkins. 'Warped has been an integral part in exposing the next generation of punk and indie artists to the mainstream, ala middle Tennessee's own Paramore, so it just made sense to have a Warped stage during Next BIG Nashville for local and national acts on the verge of breaking out.'

The past couple weeks have seen a whole lotta nail biting from local bands as they first were given notice of whether or not they were selected to play in this year's Next Big Nashville Festival, and second were informed of where in the festival they are slotted. Everywhere I've gone for the past few days, members of local bands have been either complaining or rejoicing at the news. Regardless, Nashville is talking.

Many in the local rock scene were surprised to hear of certain bands who were not selected, especially in the case of Murfreesboro mainstays Kindergarten Circus and Hammertorch. Both bands have released records this year. Both records are great. Kindergarten Circus played the festival in '07 and '08 and their self-titled debut was put out this year by Grand Palace Records--who have hosted showcases at NBN for the past two years. You'd think they'd be a shoo-in. Hammertorch have backed Caitlin Rose for more than a year--including her set at last year's NBN--and are some of Murfreesboro's best representatives. Singer Jason Yeary told the Scene that he is "disappointed" by the NBN panel's decision.

Last week was a mixture of celebration and heartache for local rock musicians as acceptance and rejection emails for this year's NBN festival were sent to bands across Middle Tennessee. While festival organizers are still nailing down the final lineup they have released a preliminary list of who we can expect to see at this year's best weekend of local music. Tickets for individual nights as well as wristbands and VIP badges are currently on sale at TicketsNashville.com. Wristbands and badges will get you into exclusive NBN afterparties as well as delivering special NBN-only discounts at select retail outlets, bars, coffeehouses and restaurants throughout the NBN week. Wristbands are $40 and VIP badges are $100.

The festival will go down Oct. 7-11 at venues such as Exit/In, 12th & Porter, Cannery Ballroom, The End, The Rutledge, Mercy Lounge, The Basement, The 5 Spot, Bluebird Cafe, The Belcourt and more. We've heard some exciting rumors of national acts slated to be added to the bill and there is still plenty of NBN info to announce in the days to come. For now, check out the initial lineup after the jump.

 If you were hoping to play Next Big Nashville (Oct. 7 - 11) this year and you somehow missed the extended artist submission deadline on July 17, well tough shit, because you blew it.

But if you're interested in attending NBN this year--with all the wham-bam extras like more panels, parties and shows than ever--you can go ahead and purchase a discounted pass now. Right here. It's $75 for a VIP pass, which gets you into all the aforementioned hullabaloo, and $35 for a wristband, for the down-and-dirty shows-only access. These prices are available until they're not anymore, so choose wisely. Hey, you know what Rush said: "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."