FRIDAY 8/31/2018
METH DAD & BASIC PRINTER
DUAL ALBUM RELEASE PARTY
MERCY LOUNGE
1CANNERY ROW, NASHVILLE
8PM $8ADV $10DOORS
SATURDAY 9/1/2018
COTTON CANDY EXTRAVAGANZA
CENTENNIAL PARK
2500 WEST END AVE, NASHVILLE
1PM-8PM
8:00 pm
STAR PARTY
BARNARD-SEYFERT ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY WILL BRING TELESCOPES FOR THE PUBLIC TO VIEW THE STARS
MONTGOMERY BELL STATE PARK
1020 JACKSON HILL ROAD
BURNS, TN 37029
8PM-10PM
SUNDAY 9/2/2018
Tonight 9PM CST
New and Indie artists in the southeast! Check it out 😎
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10218057604820572&id=1500335863
Little Harpeth Brewery located in Germantown is not only a great Nashville microbrewery, but inside holds a quaint event space. While enjoying one of their craft brews, including the ever popular Chicken Scratch, you can catch some original talent.
This past Saturday I ventured over to Little Harpeth for a friend’s show, among other artists that played that night.
The opener was a one man band, The Blues Against Youth. The man who is the band, Gianni Tbay, came to us from Rome, Italy. He had been on quite a journey starting in Italy, stopping in Chicago, with his final destination being Nashville, Tennessee. Half way through his first song, I was hooked. Gianni, on a borrowed guitar, simplified drum kit, and microphone belted out Hank Williams classics and tunes of his own in tride and true honky tonk form drenched in southern blues. His finger pickin’ suburb, voice laden with twang, I expected a native to rocky top Tennessee. His set was an absolute treat.
Followed by The Blues Against Youth was a singer songwriter, Sierra Ferrell. Sierra’s music was a delightful blend of folk, country and traditional Americana. Her voice was full of sweetness and her music had a bright personality. Sierra’s tunes had a definite Emmylou Harris influence with a bit more of a folksy vibe. Her music wrapped me in a sincere warm hug.
Lucas Denton with Special Guests finished the show with a full band and female trio on background vocals. Their set was mostly traditional Country and Americana, fronted by Luke, his vocals reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen. The set was lovingly punctuated with heart warming harmony and exquisitely executed lead guitar.
Little Harpeth hosts shows of many different genres, but it’s always magical to see what Nashville does best.
TACORAMA: All-you-can-eat tacos and competing for your vote for BEST TACO and custom Margaritas. Taco-eating and hot pepper-eating contests for cash prizes! PLUS LOCAL MUSIC.
GA – $15 – All-you-can-eat tacos from many local restaurants and amateur taco chefs. Your entry gets you a voting token to vote on your favorite taco!
VIP1 – $30 – This option gets you all-you-can-eat tacos, a voting token for the taco contest, two TC Craft cocktail tickets and a free Topo Chico!
VIP2 – $50 – This option gets you all-you-can-eat tacos, a voting token for the taco contest, a tasting of the TC Craft 9 year Anejo, access to the margarita contest and a free Topo Chico! You’ll be able to sample all of the margarita contest entries to vote on your favorite!
Back in 2013 when Twitter was somewhat of a foreign thing to me, I followed a food truck I had tried at The Porter Flea, that being Deg Thai. It was one of the first accounts I ever followed on Twitter. Among the ranks of Thought Catalog and Texts From Last Night, and well before The Donald’s covfefe. I wanted to know their schedule and where I could find them. I needed that flavor in my life as much as possible. Every since I’ve been a loyal follower.
Working in downtown Nashville for several years, I sampled the plethora of lunch options available. Even with many convenient and tasty spots a short walk away, I’d still make the trek to my favorite food truck. My office was located off 4th Avenue at Commerce Street. With an hour lunch and working at a busy law firm, I was committed to making that walk down to 7th ave on certain Thursdays. Even if I had to eat it while walking back to the ever growing pile of paperwork on my desk, it was well worth it to get my fix.
Back when I would visit Deg Thai downtown, they parked off 7th Avenue between Charlotte and Union by the War Memorial and Tennessee Tower. You can still find them there most Thursdays in addition to many other locations, including local events such as Live on the Green and Shakespeare in the Park.
Deg Thai never fails to exceed my expectations. Easily the best Thai option in Nashville and I have tried nearly all of them. With awards from Street Food and Best of Nashville in the Nashville Scene, I am not alone in my praise of this gem.
Deg Thai offers the American Thai favorites, including Pad Thai. Their Pad Thai is fantastic and made with care. The menu offers all of their main dishes with chicken, but a friendly disposition and polite request, they will happily make your dish with their exquisitely prepared Tofu. They also offer their dishes in Mild, Medium, Hot, Native Thai, and Ass Fire.
My go to is the Red Curry with Tofu. I like it Native Thai hot, but even without the heat, its well balanced. The Tofu is fried with a light crisp cooked to perfection, not too dense or too soft. The dish contains baby corn, mushrooms, peppers and fresh Thai Basil in a lightly sweet red curry sauce on a bed of rice. The proportion of Curry to rice is spot on, easily consumed with a fork or chop sticks. The Curry paired with their Thai Coffee of Thai Tea and you’ve got a banger.
Even if you’ve never sampled Thai Cuisine, this is a must try. For more information and schedule, visit: https://degthai.com/
McMinnville is another town of Appalachia, rich in southern culture, unspoken codes of conduct and whispered sins all washed away by Sunday morning service. McMinnville is about an hour and a half drive from Nashville and before Chattanooga. The drive consists of sparsely populated towns decorated by smokey rolling hills off Interstate 24. McMinnville borders Manchester, Tennessee. Manchester is the home of Bonnaroo.
Reggae looks, smells and feels a little like Bonnaroo. You’ve got your “Centeroo,” food trucks and beer tent. Close your eyes and you might think you’re on the farm. Now, I’ve been to the farm 3 times. I’ve been going to music festivals since my tween years. Bonnaroo is the dog’s bollocks of music festivals. Tis a magical place.
Reggae has its own magic. It has something Bonnaroo cannot touch. At Reggae, you can have a bonfire at your camp site, drink your own beer, enjoy your camp and still hear the music with the stages being a short walk away.
I’m a music lover. No particular genre. I feel it on a spiritual and visceral level. Fuck, I sleep to it. Forget sleep, I fuck to it. Music tells my story when I can’t squeak a peep. It licks my wounds and gets me high. I’m also what some call “outdoorsy.” I daydream about walking barefoot in green grass, taking in nightly rhythmic chatter, symphonies of snores. Score, if there’s a bullfrog or two. I sleep my best sweaty in a tent with my stomach and chest pressed against mother earth, save for a few thin layers of fabric, dreaming of another day ahead. Its where I come to life. My father, son, and holy ghost.
This was my second year at Reggae. This year I went to Reggae with a couple friends and quickly made more upon setting up camp in the rear of the Smooth Rapids property, Area 51.
One of our new friends was a local named Michael. Michael is a nomadic spirit with an easy smile, shoulder length dread locks and glasses. He regularly blessed the campgrounds with incense and donned a homemade Sawbriar pipe. Michael walked about playing his didjeridoo alerting all to his presence with uplifting melodic drones. The didjeridoo was a great addition to the many jam sessions that broke out at night.
Reggae is technically easy music. Its simple, but done well, its beautiful. Reggae is real talk. Its sexual. Its sunshine. The original punk rock. Most of the music at Reggae at Smooth Rapids was decent. A lot of the artists had a sound resembling Sublime with a touch of 311. I did have my favorites that have made their way onto my spotify playlists.
The festival opened with an EDM artist, LVNKY, who had a total of three sets on Friday night. LVNKY was probably my favorite performer of the entire weekend. LVNKY’s music is a delightful mix of EDM and hip-hop influence punctuated with delicious bass, ambient rap lyrics and soulful R&B mixed in. Its highly dance-able, creating an almost irresistible urge to move. LVNKY would be the perfect late night set, inviting festies to dance with the moonlight under the influence of festival haze. With only 2 EPs released in 2015, LVNKY is a budding hopeful talent. Another favorite, Of Good Nature, also played Friday night. I’m a sucker for brass and beachy vibes. The 4 man band, which includes a horn player, guitarist, bassist and drummer, Of Good Nature offers both and an overall feel good lighthearted sound. They closed their set with a cover of 311’s “Summertime,” which the crowd erupted to in unison. Whyte Noise and CCDE are a couple of artists worth mention. Their sets were fun and also dance-able. Afroman closed out Sunday night, which seemed to be the highlight of most everyone’s weekend.
Reggae is a regular ficture of my summer. See you back at Area 51.
The Esoteric Nashvillian 