Celebrate all things hip hop culture this Saturday, February 24, when you take a trip up the road from Nashville to Clarksville for the first annual Hip Hop Symposium.
The Love Bistro (1009 S. Riverside Dr., Clarksville) will host the event from 7 p.m.-midnight. The event is highlighted by feature appearances from notable middle Tennessee hip hop artists Locksmith and Top Notch, as well as vendors, an art show, panel discussions, and performances from Nashville’s top emerging hip hop artists.
Pre-sale tickets are available now for $20 at lovebistro.org. Learn more about Love Bistro’s mission and additional programs at this link.
NashLive! welcomes an interstellar lineup of Nashville-based artists for a first-of-its-kind live music and content creation experience — and you get to be a part of the magic!
Alexis Donn is a Nashville-based pop artist who writes music to remind you how powerful your soul really is. On March 23, she’ll give us a first glimpse into her Star Child Universe.
The Healers are Lord Goldie and Foundation Mecca, a duo of Nashville-based heal hop artists on a mission to heal the world through music. Both prolific in their own right, The Healers are among Nashville’s most prominent and best beloved hip hop acts.
On her newest record, Vices, ARREIS takes on the human condition and dives deeply into the the fact that everyone has a little bit of darkness in their lives. From fiery, bright reds to muted, sullen maroons, the red era is ready to make a dramatic mark on the world of pop music.
NashLive! is giving artists an opportunity to curate the live music experiences they’ve always dreamed of, while giving their audience an opportunity to be a part of the magic. Each live music experience is one-of-a-kind, and gives artists and fans an opportunity to connect and create moments that will last long after the lights go down.
Tickets are available now for $20 in advance (plus taxes and fees), and will move to $25 day of show. We expect to sell out, so click the button below to get your hands on yours before they’re gone!
On today’s #QuickSpinn edition of The Quinn Spinn, I welcome my NashLive! co-conspirator BREEZE to the show. A content creator, artist, and creative force, Breeze brings energy and insight from her years in the industry to any collaboration.
This conversation highlights the unique, curated live music experiences to be presented by NashLive!, as well as the winding roads that aided the evolution of the platform and our own lives.
This episode of The Quinn Spinn was recorded and produced at Helping Our Music Evolve, Nashville, TN.
Have you ever been to a writers round where everyone, across the board, was really, really good? We have!
OK, that statement can apply quite a few times over throughout UMC history. However, the most recent example took place this past Wednesday at 6th & Peabody in Nashville, where Native Manor hosted the February edition of their Heavy Hitters round.
We caught (and captured) most of the night. Of course, there was no shortage of country, but this eclectic lineup featured a couple different shades of pop, and even some Latin and worship music.
Below, you’ll find a lineup breakdown, in case you’re looking for some new artists to check out. All of the artists are also tagged in this Instagram post.
6:30 p.m.: Keifer Wiley, Clayton Shay, The Dryes 7:30 p.m.: Noah West, April Kry, Ben Fuller, Noah Sotillo 8:30 p.m.: Sarah Darling, Jimencio, Trevor Martin, Kayley Bishop 9:30 p.m.: Mark Addison Chandler, Rebecca Brunner, AJ Gatio
Checking in back home, our northern community partners at Your Next Favorite Band — who, you may remember, teamed up with us on something rather epic a few months ago — are bringing mental health awareness to the forefront this weekend.
The event — titled Listen to the Dissonance — will take place this Sunday, February 4 at 1:30 p.m. inside the Charles A. Brown Ice House in Bethlehem, PA. The event promises to be “full of brave stories and powerful music about mental health,” and will feature the talents of notable up-and-coming acts from the Philadelphia region.
Featured artists include Mike and Shannon Mains; Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise; Carly Comando of Slingshot Dakota; Seán Barna; and Rachel Ana Dobken.
“Listen to the Dissonance is more than just a concert – it’s a platform for open conversations, breaking stigmas, and fostering a supportive community,” said Phillip Reese of Your Next Favorite Band. “Come and be a part of this movement to promote mental health awareness through the universal language of music.”
Tickets for Listen to the Dissonance are available now for $10. Get yours here!
This past Thursday, Nashville’s Rock Block certainly lived up to its name.
On this particular night, we had a stellar trio of homegrown bands to thank for that, as a steadily packed house at The End had the opportunity to enjoy the sounds of Absolute Silence, Keep The Eleven, and YEARB4.
Absolute Silence led things off, fresh from a cowboy-themed music video shoot. Their expansive set touched on a variety of styles, with elements of garage rock, punk, Americana, and even a little bit of pop blended brilliantly together into their set. (Plus, there was this epic drum solo, which we still haven’t gotten over.)
Keep The Eleven was up next. The Chicagoland natives kept the momentum going, bringing a dynamic, high-energy performance to the stage that showcased their unbridled creative spirit. From start to finish, this garage rock power trio didn’t relent, opening up their diverse catalog and building connections with an audience who hung on their every note and lyric.
Speaking of audience connection, it was clear to anyone in attendance that YEARB4 has mastered the art. The band’s collective stage presence — led by confident and charismatic frontman Lucas Blair — is the perfect complement to their swaggering brand of modern rock, and made clear why this band has enjoyed success from coast to coast.
We just announced that we’re teaming up with Helping Our Music Evolve to create meaningful, memorable live music experiences through our NashLive! platform. This empowers independent artists with the opportunity to perform for their fans in an intimate setting, and receive professional-quality performance content to keep the buzz growing after the show.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jarrel “J” Pierson of Helping Our Music Evolve to chat about the re-launch — and the ways it gives independent creatives of all disciplines a chance to grow. Apply to perform now!
One of our goals for 2024? Get out on the town — that is, whichever town we happen to occupy at that time — at least once per week!
And so, we kicked off this noble pursuit by heading to Live Oak Nashville this past Wednesday, where our friends at Native Manor hosted their monthly Heavy Hitters songwriter round.
The evening consisted of four rounds of Nashville-based songwriters, encompassing genres like country, pop, soul, and more. This month’s lineup was as follows:
7 p.m.: Dan Harrison, Melissa Erin, Ryan Danvers, John Strandell 8 p.m.: Brian Fuller, Shantaia, Chris Sligh, Hannah Geiser 9 p.m.: Keith Eric, Kenny Dewitt, Tyra Madison 10 p.m.: Max Boyle, Jess Antonette, Bonner Black
We snapped a handful of photos, which you’ll find below. We’ll also be continually rolling out videos from the night on our YouTube channel (click those links above to watch the first couple).
Lastly, we’re excited to join Native Manor for the next Heavy Hitters night on February 7. The location changes every month, so stay tuned to their Native Manor Artist Instagram for updates!
Nashville’s Big Bash — featuring headline performances from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lainey Wilson, Elle King, and Thomas Rhett — brought a record number of revelers to the Bicentennial Capitol Mall. Final attendance numbers are estimated at 215,000 people, who celebrated the arrival of the New Year in downtown Nashville.
For those in attendance, the evening kicked off with a tribute to hip hop’s 50th anniversary, featuring performances from Nashville hip hop mainstays Daisha McBride and Tim Gent, with brief DJ sets to book-end the action.
Then, the CBS national broadcast began at 6:30 p.m. The aforementioned headliners delivering the goods onstage all night long, and were supported by cut-ins from New York City’s Times Square, and pre-recorded performances from other popular venues around Nashville. Comedian Rob Schneider — father of Elle King — even made a couple of guest appearances throughout the night.
We hope you had an amazing start to 2024. We certainly did, and we have the photographic evidence below!
1:16 a.m.: Home from an absolutely epic final night of 2023! Thank you to everyone who followed along, and special thanks to the organizers, performers, and anybody who made tonight possible.
Same time next year?
12:33 a.m.: Happy New Year, Nashville!
11:45 p.m.: The champagne is out. “Freebird” is on. All smiles over here!
11:39 p.m.: Our YouTube channel is having a career day right now. If you’ve joined us from over there, welcome! Hopefully you’ll stick with us to stay up on all the best in indie music and creativity in 2024!
11:22 p.m.: Our night in the pit may be over, but things are getting festive here on the media riser…
11:17 p.m.: Want some of that “Sweet Home Alabama” performance? Here it is!
11:09 p.m.: Happy New Year to our friends on the East Coast!
Lynyrd Skynyrd is on, rocking as they have for 50 years. We were also very fortunate to have Lainey Wilson and Elle King join them for “Sweet Home Alabama” while we were still in the pit. Iconic visuals incoming.
10:42 p.m.: That moment you realize that the podcast you started in your parents’ basement in 2013 has led you to enjoy some pretty ridiculous things in your life…
10:31 p.m.:Jackson Dean and Grace Bowers — with whom we spoke earlier — joined Lainey Wilson for her set finale.
Heading to the pit for Lynyrd Skynyrd shortly!
10:00 p.m.: Here’s Lainey Wilson performing her hit, “Heart Like a Truck.” Her ability to make this GIGANTIC stage feel like an intimate experience is a testament to her ability to connect with her audience.
9:47 p.m.: I remember seeing Lainey Wilson open for Delta Rae at The Basement within my first few weeks of moving to Nashville in 2018.
She was incredible then, but to witness her DOMINATE this stage tonight was otherworldly. Wow!
8:56 p.m.: Just kidding! Looks like we’re getting at least one more from Elle King.
8:53 p.m.: As promised, a snippet from Elle King‘s spirited performance. Lainey Wilson up next.
8:48 p.m.:Elle King‘s 6-song set is about to conclude with “America’s Sweetheart.” Excellent set — she’s a hell of a talent with a commanding presence. Video coming shortly
8:47 p.m.: To chants of “YOU CAN DO IT!”, Rob Schneider introduced daughter Elle King. Also, he tipped his fedora to me from the stage, which was pretty cool.
7:47 p.m.: The temperature is dropping pretty rapidly from this afternoon’s high of 56. With that said, nobody here seems to care!
7:41 p.m.: A little more from Daisha McBride’s set, as we wait to re-enter the pit for Elle King.
7:13 p.m.: We’re taking all kinds of photos, and would like to offer this shot of Tim Gent’s set as an appetizer.
Sidebar: This stage is MASSIVE.
7:03 p.m.: The crowd was READY for Thomas Rhett, who opened up tonight’s broadcast. Elle King is next.
6:19 p.m.:Tim Gent had the crowd rocking to celebrate 50 years of hip hop!
6:05 p.m.:Daisha McBride does a great job amping up the crowd and brings out a couple originals, alongside an affirmation for 2024.
5:25 p.m.: Hip hop tribute is underway with a quick DJ set!
4:50 p.m.: A quick video update before we officially get underway…
4:33 p.m.: A couple more behind the scenes shots from Jason Davis/Getty Images. Pictured: Executive Producer Robert Deaton, Lainey Wilson, Elle King and Executive Producer Mary Hilliard Harrington.
4:07 p.m.: Want a preview of what you can expect tonight? Here are a few rehearsal photos featuring headliners Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lainey Wilson, and Thomas Rhett, as well as co-host Elle King. Photos courtesy of Jason Davis/Getty Images.
3:54 p.m.: “Two days ago, I played a dive bar for 25 people.” -Grace Bowers, who says she’s “excited to see everyone out there.”
3:31 p.m.: “As a human, it’s hard to fathom that many eyeballs looking at you.” -Jackson Dean, when asked what it means to perform for an expected audience of 200,000 tonight.
3:22 p.m.: Waiting for media availability from guitarist Grace Bowers and singer-songwriter Jackson Dean.
12:28 p.m. CT: Good afternoon, and happy last day of 2023! We welcome you to the First-Annual Nash Bash NYE Blog-A-Thon. We will be providing live updates from Nashville’s Big Bash, featuring Thomas Rhett, Lainey Wilson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, a tribute to 50 years of Nashville hip hop, and much more!
Be sure to follow the adventure here and on YouTube, where we’ll be going live throughout the night beginning at 5 p.m. CT.
