I know this might break a lot of hearts, but doesn’t it already feel like summer is coming to an end? If you are “Sad As Fuck” about that, hold up… it also means that we are creeping ever closer to the explosion of fall touring schedules that will soon innundate the Nashville club scene. This week, however, features a largely local palate of talent to feast on. We have shows from hometown heroes like a two night run from Langhorne Slim, William Tyler & Friends, SIMO, Escondido, D. Watusi, SHEL, and so much more. Let us help you iron out your weekend plans with all of our staff picks in this week’s edition of TWiN!
FRIDAY
KIERNAN MCMULLEN
@ Soulshine Pizza Factory | 7pm | FREE | All Ages
Kiernan McMullen certainly doesn’t have the traditional story of most local singer-songwriters. Born in Hong Kong to parents of Australian and Irish decent, he has lived across the world, and honed his stories from a broader palate than most. Furthermore, by incorporating elements of hip-hop and soul, coupled that with his unique arrangements, it’s high time that Kiernan is recognized by Lightning 100 as their local artist of the week. Have a listen to “Speak Your Mind” below, then head over to Soulshine Pizza on Friday evening for Happy Hour specials and great music. [MH]
LANGHORNE SLIM & THE LAW w/ CLEAR PLASTIC MASKS
@ Mercy Lounge | 9pm | $15 | 18+
Easily my top pick for Friday and Saturday nights, Langhorne Slim & The Law will be making their triumphant return home to Music City after some serious touring and releasing their epic new record, The Spirit Moves. Night one of their two-gig stand at Mercy Lounge will be opened blog supported Clear Plastic Masks. Grab a ticket while you can, this one will most likely be selling out. [JR]
SIMO w/ BLACKFOOT GYPSIES
@ The High Watt | 9pm | $15 | 18+
Heavily influenced by the blues rock tradition, SIMO have built a name on performing at huge festivals like Bonnaroo and Mountain Jam. Guitarist J.D. Simo and company play a mix of blues, power rock, and jazz, always improvising and making every show unique. Like local opening band Blackfoot Gypsies, who we’ve been lucky enough to have play the last two No Country for New Nashville showcases at Acme Feed & Seed, they’ve built a following through the grueling work of touring and playing night after night. [MW]
LEO LIBER w/ WALKING MAN, BLUE BLOOD, EVAN P. DONOHUE
@ The Basement | 9pm | $5 | 21+
Gift Horse frontman Hunter Morris, has an excellently spaced out side project he’s calling Blue Blood, and they are part of an amazing bill also featuring former Diarrhea Planet member turned chamber pop performer Evan P. Donohue, local indie rock/folk-tinged three piece Walking Man and Leo Liber. All these tunes for just five bucks?! All my budgeting friends out there, you know where to be Friday night. [JR]
WILLIAM TYLER BAND AND FRIENDS
@ The Stone Fox | 9pm | $8 | 18+
Last November, William Tyler threw a post-Thanksgiving celebration like no other with a unique show at his home venue. This Friday, he’s doing it all again – it’s called William Tyler Band & Friends and it consists of a short set from the band themselves, followed by a covers set with guest singers from across the Nashville spectrum. This time around, guests include Kurt Wagner (Lambchop), Jemina Pearl (Be Your Own Pet), Alicia Bognanno (Bully), Joseph Plunket (JP5), William’s own father Dan Tyler and more. It’s the best karaoke night you can imagine. [CO]
DAN ANDRIANO IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM, JEFF ROSENSTOCK w/ PET SYMMETRY, SPRAYNARD
@ The End | 7:30pm | $12.50 | 18+
Best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of seminal punk group Alkaline Trio, Dan Andriano has been making solo music under the name Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room since 2011, and is out in support of his sophomore effort, Party Adjacent. Alkaline Trio fans, especially fans of Dan’s complimentary but divergent style from bandmate Matt Skiba, will definitely dig his solo stuff, and with Jeff Rosenstock, formerly of The Arrogant Sons of Bitches and Bomb the Music Industry! serving as co-headliner in support of his latest effort, We Cool?, this is sure to be one hell of a good show for punk fans. Pet Symmetry (featuring Evan Weiss of Into It. Over It.) and Spraynard support, making this a strong contender for best under the radar show of the weekend. And for the low price tag, you’d be crazy to pass it up. [PO]
KEVIN NEALON
@ City Winery | 7pm & 9:30pm | $40-50 | All Ages
Best known for his decade-long run on Saturday Night Live, his roles in many classic ’90s comedies, and for appearing on numerous television shows, most prominently Showtime’s Weeds, standup Kevin Nealon is bringing his hilarious live show to a space that seems well-suited for standup: City Winery. There’s both an early and late show, and meet and greets are available as well, so if you’re in the need of a weekend comedy fix, this is your best bet. [PO]
ESCONDIDO
@ The Basement East | 9pm | $8-10 | 21+
When Escondido’s Jessica Maros and Tyler James released their debut album, The Ghost of Escondido, a few years ago, they received praise from sources as varied as the Chicago Sun-Times and Vogue. The album layered instruments in a way that still sounded stark and was something completely fresh and unique. The previously Nashville based duo will be back in town Friday night at The Basement East alongside Austin Manuel and The Almanacks. [MW]
SATURDAY
LANGHORNE SLIM & THE LAW w/ MARGO AND THE PRICETAGS
@ Mercy Lounge | 9pm | $15 | 18+
One of the chosen ones of Nashville’s alt music scene, Langhorne Slim, will play TWO shows this weekend at Mercy Lounge. Saturday night’s opener is Margo and the Pricetags (who you might have seen around town making the circuit, especially as of late). Watch his performance on Conan from yesterday, where Langhorne is amped up to play his new single, “Strangers” off of his new album The Spirit Moves. His happy pappy vagabond attitude will lift your spirits. These shows are like fireflies in the night – don’t miss them! [OB]
HOT CHICKEN AND JORTS
@ Mayday Brewery (Murfreesboro) | 1pm | Free
For the third year in a row, Murfreesboro craft brewery Mayday is teaming up with Jubilee for the charity event Hot Chicken and Jorts, which runs from 1-9 p.m. Saturday and features variety of local brews and Nashville’s famous Hattie B’s hot chicken. This redneck costume party will be full of entertainment- from corn-hole, giant jenga and a rock, paper, scissors competitions to live music, to the crowning a Trailer Park King and Queen. You can enjoy jams from rockers Dagger Blue and Red Wine Hangover starting at 5 p.m., and, on top of all this, 20% of beer sales from today will go to help The Oasis Center, one Nashville’s biggest youth-serving organizations. This event is totally free to the public, and don’t worry- if you can’t make it out today you can catch the second Hot Chicken & Jorts at Paradise Trailer Park in Nashville next Saturday. Come out and support a great cause, let your taste buds run wild and hear some local music. [OL]
THE GAD GODS, BEHOLD THE BRAVE w/ GOOD ENGLISH, DARRIN BRADBURY
@ The High Watt | 8pm | $5 | 18+
Topping off a top-notch bill are local indie alt-rockers The Gad Gods, who have also invited No Country Presents Alumni Behold the Brave to a low dough show/party at The High Watt Saturday night. Look for self-described “riff-rock pimpstresses” Good English, and East Nashville based modern Americana picker Darrin Bradbury to kick off the evening. If you want to know more about the line-up, look for a full preview post tomorrow. [JR]
SONS OF ZEVON – 1973 FT. JAMIE RUBIN, AUDLEY FREED, KEVIN HORNBACK, AND MORE
@ 3rd & Lindsley | 8pm | $12 | All Ages
We’ve been telling you about the Sons Of Zevon collective for a few years now, and, if you haven’t seen the spectacle yet, you are truly missing out. This phenomena began as a tribute to the late Warren Zevon, and has since morphed into one of the greatest cover shows that you could imagine. Helmed by local badasses Jamie Rubin, Audley Freed, Kevin Hornback, Jen Gunderman, Marc Pisipia, Ryan Wariner, and special guests galore (the last one we caught featured an appearance from Peter Frampton), this is not your usual cover band, they dig DEEP to resurface some absolute gems turning their quarterly or so sessions into must see events. The last gathering we caught was 1971, where our stand out was Traffic’s “Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys,” so it will be interesting to see what 1973 hit from this weekend’s edition I’ll be humming for months to come. [MH]
D. WATUSI, THE PAPERHEAD, & SPECIAL GUEST
@ Queen Ave Art Collective | 9pm | $5 | All Ages
D. Watusi have seemingly been laying low for a while, but they’re back in action this Saturday as part of a killer lineup. Presumably playing material from their forthcoming new album, Dillon Watson & co. will be joined by local psych-rock favorites The Paperhead and a secret guest we cannot unveil yet. Suffice to say, you won’t want to miss it. On top of all that, it’s an all-ages show – so bring your little sibling and a $5 bill and catch maybe the best house show of the summer. [CO]
SHEL AND FRIENDS w/ GARETH DUNLOP
@ City Winery | 8pm | $10 | All ages
The ladies of SHEL are sure to dazzle City Winery on Saturday night with their harmonized vocals and unique blend of folk, bluegrass and pop. They’ve been traveling around the last year supporting their debut album, and recently teamed up with opener Gareth Dunlop to record a song that was featured in the movie The Best Of Me, so be sure to catch these gals while they’re in town. [MG]
KYLIE ROTHFIELD, YEAR OF OCTOBER, MIDNIGHT SNACK
@ fooBAR | 9pm | $5 | 21+
Kylie Rothfield is a soulful singer-songwriter with old blues and jazz influences. The independent California native has become quite the buzz with her many performances in Nashville. Year of October are a powerful Nashville blues outfit featuring sultry female vocals and stirring guitar riffs. Boston band Midnight Snack play spacey art rock, making them the perfect opener for the night. For just five bucks you can catch all of these talented artists at fooBAR and kick back on your Saturday night. [OL]
SUNDAY
AMERICAN AQUARIUM w/ FIREKID
@ 3rd & Lindsley | 8pm | $10 | All Ages
The Raleigh-based, alternative country band American Aquarium are no stranger to Nashville, having played during AmericanaFest and several other shows around town throughout the years. This time they come to us in support of their new album, Wolves, which came out in February and saw the band trade in their signature twang for a more roots rock approach. Fans seem to love it, though, and local singer-songwriter firekid will be a great addition to the lineup. [MG]
JOHN HIATT & THE COMBO AND THE TAJ MAHAL TRIO
@ Ryman Auditorium | 7:30pm | $35-60 | All Ages
It seems like they might have accidentally booked this one a little early for AmericanaFest. John Hiatt and Taj Mahal have both been awarded with Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2008 and 2014, repectively. It’s not a surpise that Hiatt’s award came in the songwriting catergory. He is an absolute monster songwriter who’s songs have been played by everyone from Bob Dylan to Willie Nelson to Eric Clapton, and has been a force in Nashville and beyond for over 40 years. Taj Mahal, personally changed the way I look at music in my life, and the multiple Grammy winner has gone on to influence an uncountable number of musicians with his genre spanning blues inspired music. Unbelivably, there are still tickets left. If you have the means, you should find a way there. [MH]
GIN BLOSSOMS
@ City Winery | 9pm | $38-45 | All Ages
The Gin Blossoms spent the ‘90s at the top of the charts; they had hit after hit on the radio, made the rounds of all the late night shows, and were practically inescapable. Though they took a four year hiatus, they’ve been playing together again for nearly 15 years. The band’s last album, which came out in 2010, went to #1 on Amazon. Their jangle-pop hits still hold up two decades later and will make for a fun Sunday evening. [MW]
[CO] Carson O’Shoney
[JR] Jacob Ryan
[MH] Matt Hall
[MW] Meagan Whitney
[MG] Meredith Galyon
[OB] Olivia Burd
[OL] Olivia Ladd
[PO] Philip Obenschain