September 22–28, 2011 I volume 30 I number 34 naShvilleScene.com I free

Justin townes earle leads the charge at the festival formerly known

as next Big nashville

Justin townes earle leads the charge at the festival formerly known

as next Big nashville

Photos By eric englandPhoto assistant: sinclair kelly

For five years, the Next Big Nashville music festival grew exponentially, incorporating more and more venues and more and more local and national

bands. It sprawled from Lower Broad to East Nashville to Germantown and The Gulch. Exciting though it was, NBN’s vastly inclusive, scattershot lineup proved to be somewhat self-defeating. Likeminded bands played in conflicting slots. Some venues were packed to capacity, while others languished emptily.

For the festival’s sixth installment, NBN chief Jason Moon Wilkins retooled his formula, reduced the number of venues and bands, and rechristened the whole thing SoundLand. Read on to see what’s changed and why (p. 18), an overview of SoundLand’s inter-venue shuttle system (p. 18) and conference-like, informative “field trip” schedule (p. 20), along with our crit-ics’ choices for the hottest performers and bills, from Justin Townes Earle, Yelawolf, Big K.R.I.T. and Bonobo to locals like Keegan DeWitt, Madi Diaz, Tristen, Natalie Prass, By Lightning!, Uncle Skeleton and more (p. 20).

Justin Townes Earle at the Tennessee

State Fair

By D. Patrick roDgers

Now in its sixth year, the Nashville-based music festival newly christened SoundLand (née Next Big Nashville) has undergone an extensive overhaul.

In years past, the fest sprawled to incorporate dozens of local venues — from rock and hip-hop clubs to honky-tonks and theaters — and hundreds of local bands. This year, festival honcho Jason Moon Wilkins has reduced the number of participating local venues to a much more manageable 11, eliminated the local-artist submission process and re-newed his focus on pulling in national acts.

So the obvious question: Why the change, and why now?

“When you say ‘Nashville’ — regardless of what I think, and regardless of what we’re trying to do, and regardless of who’s even booked — sponsors, consumers, whoever, would still think ‘country,’ ” says Wilkins. He’s an astute businessman with sharp taste and a keen awareness of the music industry. He has artist-management experience, but he mostly stays out of that end of the business these days. Except, that is, to represent local DIY indie-punk songwriter Daniel Pujol, whose project PUJOL will release an EP via indie gatekeepers Saddle Creek Records in October.

“[Running a festival called Next Big Nashville] was tough, you know, because obviously part of it was always to try and improve that image to the point that it means country plus all these things,” says Wilkins. “At some point, you have to realize there’s only so much a guy with no budget can do against millions and millions of dollars that brand [Nashville] that way every year.”

Wilkins explains that Next Big Nashville remains the name of the LLC behind Sound-Land, and that he hopes to plan other events throughout the year under the NBN ban-

ner. Events, he says, like the ones Next Big Nashville co-sponsored at last year’s South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas.

While South by Southwest is the quintes-sential template for city-based music festivals, Wilkins says that SXSW isn’t exactly what he’s going for. He instead sees Seattle’s suc-cessful Bumbershoot music and arts festival (now 40 years old) as the ideal — “more of a city festival that is multi-genre and reflects what the city is into and what the city cre-ates,” he explains. Wilkins also references the defunct Nashville Summer Lights festival, which attracted rock, pop, country, jazz and children’s performers in the ’80s and ’90s.

But if SoundLand is to be as lasting as Wilkins hopes — like, say, the 40-year-old Bumbershoot — the festival and its archi-tects’ aspirations need to evolve right along with the city itself. Wilkins says that one of the most common complaints he received in previous years was that the event wasn’t centralized enough. Bands with overlap-ping fan bases were occasionally found playing opposite one another at separate venues — on opposite sides of town.

Wilkins partially attributes the difficulty in booking a centralized music event to what he calls Nashville’s “facilities issue.” He hopes to incorporate the forthcoming convention center into the conference side of the fest in the future, but for this year, a major part of making SoundLand work was paring back the participating venues and eliminating the problematic sprawl. “It was difficult not to use Exit/In and The End,” says Wilkins. “It was difficult not to work with people who have been so cool with us, like The Rut-ledge and Hard Rock Cafe and The 5 Spot. Tough, emotional, personal decisions.”

The venues that remain are mostly in a tighter cluster: 12th & Porter, the nearby Mai th & Porter, the nearby Mai th

and the outdoor 12th Avenue Block Party th Avenue Block Party th

Stage; The Station Inn a few blocks away in The Gulch; Mercy Lounge and Cannery Ball-room on Cannery Row and their neighbors Third Man Records and The Basement. The less central War Memorial Auditorium and Neuhoff Factory will host a show each, and venues including The Belcourt and The Gib-son Guitar Showroom will host “field trips” — the educational component of the fest and this year’s alternative to single-venue conferences.

As far as the local-artist submission process goes, Wilkins claims it was something he was never a fan of in the first place. Describing the process as “more dishonest than honest,” he explains that he would rather trust the tastes and insights of his colleagues — promoters, venue owners, bookers and critics — than continue to utilize a process that requires so much time and resources and inevitably disappoints countless applicants anyhow.

So alongside successful non-local pop, hip-hop, rock and folk artists like Yelawolf, Big K.R.I.T., M. Ward, Foster the People and Ghostland Observatory, Wilkins & Co. booked the most exemplary artists Music City’s respective scenes have to offer. Hard-touring, on-the-rise artists with new releases and critical acclaim, like JEFF the Brotherhood, Those Darlins, Tristen, Caitlin Rose, Chancellor Warhol, Keegan DeWitt, PUJOL and Madi Diaz — not to mention former and sometime locals like Justin Townes Earle, Jonny Corndawg and Jessica Lea Mayfield.

It’s clear that Wilkins’ primary goal is to give Nashville a non-country mu-sic festival that will continue to grow with and benefit the city. And hear-ing him apply the lessons he learned from Next Big Nashville’s five-year run, you can’t deny he’s got the gall

and the gumption to roll with the punches and tailor what needs to be tailored.

But maybe you just don’t like the name “SoundLand.” If that’s your qualm, I’d like to call your attention to three completely absurd-sounding words that most of us have become disturbingly accustomed to say-become disturbingly accustomed to say-become disturbingly accustomed to saying: “Lollapalooza,” “Bumbershoot” and “Bonnaroo.” SoundLand — a moniker that Wilkins says was at least partially inspired by the memory of our dearly departed Opryland — doesn’t sound so bad now, does it? In three years, you won’t even notice.

“[The name SoundLand] does kinda sound like the name of a tape and CD store in a mall in, like, 1995,” Wilkins concedes. “Fair enough.”

Email music@nashvillescene.com.

Sound Investment SoundLand’s Jason Moon Wilkins stresses quality over quantity, SoundLand’s Jason Moon Wilkins stresses quality over quantity, SoundLand’s Jason Moon Wilkins stresses quality over quantity, SoundLand’s Jason Moon Wilkins stresses quality over quantity, SoundLand’s Jason Moon Wilkins stresses quality over quantity, SoundLand’s Jason Moon Wilkins stresses quality over quantity, SoundLand’s Jason Moon Wilkins stresses quality over quantity, SoundLand’s Jason Moon Wilkins stresses quality over quantity, and explains why the Next Big Nashville moniker is no moreand explains why the Next Big Nashville moniker is no moreand explains why the Next Big Nashville moniker is no moreand explains why the Next Big Nashville moniker is no moreand explains why the Next Big Nashville moniker is no moreand explains why the Next Big Nashville moniker is no moreand explains why the Next Big Nashville moniker is no moreand explains why the Next Big Nashville moniker is no moreand explains why the Next Big Nashville moniker is no more

Blasting Blasting OffTT

he nation’s shuttle program may have blasted off for the last time, but he nation’s shuttle program may have blasted off for the last time, but the SoundLand Shuttles are fully operational. The fleet of trolley-the SoundLand Shuttles are fully operational. The fleet of trolley-style mini-buses (a visual upgrade from previous years, thanks to style mini-buses (a visual upgrade from previous years, thanks to Gray Line) will be delivering SoundLanders from venue to venue Gray Line) will be delivering SoundLanders from venue to venue

throughout the festival — running from the 12throughout the festival — running from the 12thth Avenue area (Mai, 12 Avenue area (Mai, 12thth & Por & Porth & Porth -ter and the outdoor stage) to The Station Inn and on to Cannery Row (Mercy ter and the outdoor stage) to The Station Inn and on to Cannery Row (Mercy Lounge, The Cannery Ballroom). On Saturday only, The Basement will also Lounge, The Cannery Ballroom). On Saturday only, The Basement will also be part of the circuit. Show-hoppers don’t need to worry about parking for be part of the circuit. Show-hoppers don’t need to worry about parking for the entire night — or making bad decisions about driving. Shuttles run from the entire night — or making bad decisions about driving. Shuttles run from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and are free for wristband holders and VIPs. 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and are free for wristband holders and VIPs. stesteVVee H HararUUcHH

Jason Moon Wilkins

>> p20

This year’s SoundLand shuttle This year’s SoundLand shuttle This year’s SoundLand shuttle This year’s SoundLand shuttle service sees a significant upgradeservice sees a significant upgradeservice sees a significant upgradeservice sees a significant upgradeservice sees a significant upgradeservice sees a significant upgrade

8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and are free for wristband holders and VIPs. 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and are free for wristband holders and VIPs. ——steste

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Thursday, 22nd

Mercy LoungeWhile, say, 90 percent of this year’s lineup

features bands we figured we would see sooner rather than later, we never thought Bonobo was coming to town, SoundLand or otherwise. And we’re not going to lie: We did a whole lot of jumping and shouting when we found out this UK chill-out champion was on the festival lineup. Hell, we’re still bouncing off the walls. This dude has been one our favorite electronic artists for the better part of the decade, bang-ing out sophisticated, worldly future jazz. Bonobo’s music is the intellectual antidote to the knuckle-dragging, glowstick-clusterfuck-ing bro-tastic contemporary dance scene. With an ear for smooth hooks, deep, soulful bass lines and dynamic, shifting rhythms, Bonobo’s transcontinental funk is some of the best on the planet.

But don’t sleep on the Thursday night undercard — Ziggurat and Treekeeper are some of the city’s newest, freshest electronic artists. Experimental hip-hoppers Ziggurat make what we like to call “smooth glitch,” landing somewhere in between tweaked-out experimentalism and good, ol’ fashioned funky hip-hop, simultaneously challenging and familiar. Treekeeper drops deep, deep electro-influenced space funk — think Midnight Star swimming through a lake of Xanax, fighting evil robot fish. That gives us hope for the non-bro-steppin’ end of our local electronic music scene. 9:30 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —SEAN L. MALONEY

cuLtsGiven their snappy rise in the fledging “indie

mainstream,” chances are the Manhattan-based Cults have crossed your radar at least once since early 2010. Arriving on the national stage just weeks after posting three songs to their Bandcamp page, the duo — featuring former film students Madeline Fol-lin and Brian Oblivion — have since signed with Colum-bia, released a critically lauded debut and been featured

everywhere from Vogue to W to Pitchfork. And rightly so. Validating the incessant buzz that’s surrounded Cults since day one, their eponymous release finally re-casts the oft-referenced Brill Building sound in a new light, distinguishing the band from peers like Vivian Girls and Best Coast — peers who have mined early ’60s pop with less inspiring results. 8:15 p.m. at the 12th Avenue Block Party Stage —RYAN

BURLESON

Foster the PeoPLeWith their reputation preceding them —

thanks to the oh-my-God-it’s-everywhere, shimmering, saccharine single of the summer “Pumped Up Kicks” — LA’s indie-poppers Foster the People sold out their June 29 show at Mercy Lounge so swiftly that their gig was moved downstairs to the roughly twice-as-large Cannery Ballroom. Certainly more pop than indie, their debut full-length, Torches, isn’t without its moments, sparkling with sophisticated production and occasional melodic complexity. Their intermittent re-semblance to just-too-sugary outfits like Ma-roon 5, however, didn’t help on the blowback front. That said, the once-too-sugary Phoenix got much better with time, and FTP play re-ally well live. If you like the record (or, more importantly, the single), you won’t be disap-pointed. 9:15 p.m. at the 12th Avenue Block Party Stage —D. PATRICK RODGERS

how I BecaMe the BoMBIt’s been a minute since we’ve heard anything

from How I Became the Bomb. The band hasn’t played a local show since opening for Miami Horror at Mercy Lounge back in June, spending the time since playing for Big Lebowski fans in

Louisville and — from what we’ve heard — working on their long-awaited follow-up to the ambitious 2009 debut album Deadly Art. The Bomb’s new songs are still mostly a mystery, but if Deadly Art and Let’s Go are any indication, we’re in for another round of truly rad Devo-in-spired synth pop. 10:30 p.m. at Mai —LANCE CONZETT

Boss oF novaName sound familiar? It should. His work

with Chancellor Warhol is some of the most innovative pop Nashville has seen in years — a paradigm-shifting blur of electronica, pop and hip-hop on the forefront of the city’s new mu-sic community. Boss of Nova’s solo work goes further down the rabbit hole, finding deep-pop gems at the bottom of a blue electronic sea. 11:35 p.m. at Mai —SEAN L. MALONEY

KyLe andrewsIf there’s anyone worthy of repping the Music

City’s slowly unveiling diversity, it’s the genre-jumping Kyle Andrews. Andrews turned heads, blew minds and ignited ear buds this sum-mer with Robot Learn Love — a beat-blasting,

face-melting, heart-wrenching, toe-tapping concept album that pontificates not only on

modern life through the eyes of technology, but

the summation of everything

pop has come to mean in the last 40 years. 10:30 p.m. at 12th & Porter —SETH GRAVES

carL BroeMeLThe rise of Louisville’s

My Morning Jacket from alt-country cult fa-

vorites to festival-rock titans can be traced back, in no small part,

to the addition of lead guitarist and Nashville native Carl Broemel back in 2004. While Jim James has always been MMJ’s creative engine, Broemel was integral in helping the band branch

out into some pretty daring, diverse territory on its last three LPs. By comparison, Broemel’s solo material may be considerably less adventurous, but the pop sensibilities and pedal-steel sweet-ness of 2010’s All Birds Say made for a welcome return to basics. 10:20 p.m. at The Station Inn —ANDREW CLAYMAN

Ben soLLeeShortly into SoundLand, you’ll surely be sick

of guitars. Fortunately, Ben Sollee plays the cello. This is awesome. His skill on the instrument and the way he blends genres and styles into an un-deniably appealing package always feels fresh. His latest full-length, Inclusions, features the same wit, soul, subtlety and rich musicality as his breakout Learning to Bend. (Do yourself a favor and listen to “Bible Belt” now.) Sollee also has a sense of humor — a couple years ago, he released “Dear Kanye,” his heartfelt plea to a talented artist overindulging his more base commercial impulses. “You don’t need a light show,” he as-sures Mr. West, “just good flow.” 11:15 p.m. at The Station Inn —LEE STABERT

cheruBSimultaneously silky-smooth and impossibly

filthy, Cherub’s savant electro-funk is a spiritual descendent of late, lamented locals Spring Hill Spider Party — except without the jokes. We’re not sure when and how it happened, but an unironic love of Hall & Oates and ’80s disco funk has crept its way into the local scene, and it looks like it’s here to stay. Of all of the bands professing their love for Prince’s freakiest R&B tunes, Cher-ub’s variant is about as sincere as it is on point. We guarantee it: This is where the dance party will be, and as far as we’re concerned, Cherub is much more interesting than unctuous electro-funk headliners Ghostland Observatory. 10 p.m. at Cannery Ballroom —LANCE CONZETT

JasMIn KasetWhile we were all fawning over (admittedly

excellent) records by local singer-songwriters like Caitlin Rose and Elizabeth Cook for the last year’s annual “Best of” poll, one song-

BY SEAN L. MALONEY

Let’s just say it up front and honest-like: Conferences kinda blow. Uncomfortable seats, awkward conversations, cold weak coffee,

fluorescent lights and high-traffic carpet in a place where nobody would ever hang out if not for professional obligations. Yes, useful information is useful, but how useful is it if you’re nodding off in an uncomfort-able auditorium seat? Everyone knows that PowerPoint presentations are a natural sedative, and if we learned anything in our nine-and-a-half years of college, it’s that sitting in those auditorium-chair-desk things is a great cure for insomnia.

And the SoundLand-ers know this! This year’s fest finds the industry-info sessions breaking free from the staid professional shtick, hittin’ the road and crisscrossing the city on a rock ’n’ roll adventure. Thursday, the whole crew will head over to The Bel-

court for a case study with breakout folk duo The Civil Wars (1 p.m.) and music streaming upstarts Grooveshark (2 p.m.), then over to the Grammy House to shoot the shit with industry attorneys Loeb & Loeb, and then up the street and around the corner to the SoundLand Registration House (at 501 Eighth Ave. S.) for low-key chats with The Low Anthem (3 p.m.) and Justin Townes Earle (4 p.m.). Friday we start at CRAFT Stu-dio (noon), then head back to The Belcourt (1 p.m.) — which reminds us, does anyone know if the bar is going to be open? — for discus-sions on music supervision and A&R. Finally it’s over to the Gibson Guitar Showroom (3 p.m.) for convos on that fancy new digital mu-sic the kids are all talking about these days.

So yeah, that totally beats sitting in the same place all day. For a full sched-ule and more details, visit SoundLand’s website (nbnsoundland.com).

Email music@nashvillescene.com.

Daytripper

uncLe sKeLetonDropping by Cannery Row to see Uncle Skeleton play a rare show upstairs before RJD2’s headlining set in Cannery proved to be one of my best decisions of last year’s Next Big Nashville. Armed with practically a full orchestra, Uncle Skeleton plays music unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Equal parts progressive and familiar, the band’s style regularly defies music critics’ built-in genre-assignment software. Electro-soul jazz? Ambient summer pop? Something-something-dance-something? Whatever it is, it blew hundreds of awed onlookers away when they opened Bonnaroo this year, and Uncle Skeleton is poised to become your new favorite band. 11:35 p.m. at 12th & Porter —LANCE CONZETT

>> p22

This year’s SoundLand trades conventional conferences for “field trip” sessions

Uncle Skeleton’s Ross Wariner

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stress in particular was criminally overlooked. Jasmin Kaset’s Hell and Half of Jordan is only 20 Hell and Half of Jordan is only 20 Hell and Half of Jordanminutes long, but it’s 20 of the strongest minutes we’ve heard in a long time from a local artist. Ka-set’s songs have significant charm on their own merit, but the depth of production on the record gives them an irresistible quality that can only come from incredibly strong songwriting and ar-come from incredibly strong songwriting and ar-come from incredibly strong songwriting and arrangement. 9 p.m. at The Basement —LANCE CONZETT

The Low AnThemLike the Minnesota band that shares the word

“Low” in its name, The Low Anthem does not make music for the easily distracted. Theirs is a slow unfurling — a deal with the listener to hang in there for the entire, glacial sweep of a song. It’s a gradual and ultimately rewarding accrual of heft assembled from the sparest arrangements and impossibly delicate vocals. And it’s a deal worth making. 10:40 p.m. at The Basement —STEVE

HARUCH

Friday, 23rd

12Th Avenue BLock PAock PAock P rTyTyTSorry, but we will never ever believe that a

block party featuring a bunch of indie-rock acts can actually be considered a block “party.” Now, hip-hop — founded on the block and in the parks — is the perfect music for a block party, and oh man, what a party this one is gonna be! Headliners Big K.R.I.T. and Yelawolfwere both in the running for best-rap-show-of-the-year for their respective sold-out gigs earlier in the one-one, but now that they’re on the same bill, we might as well just call it now: best show of the year.

K.R.I.T. and Yela are two sides of the same Southern Rap coin — one classicist, one futurist — and when you get them together in one spot — like on the recent “Happy Birthday Hip Hop” or Rittz’s “Full of Shit” — there is nothing finer. And when you get these dudes on stage? Pure fuck-when you get these dudes on stage? Pure fuck-when you get these dudes on stage? Pure fucking fire — each takes the art of performance to hitherto unforeseen levels of quality. And then, because it ain’t no fun if the local homies don’t get none, we’ve got the cream of the Nashville hip-hop community filling out a night of bangin’ beats and big-time fun. Sam & Tre and Sam & Tre and Sam & Tre Chan-cellor Warhol — both supporting killer new releases — are on the Block Party Stage, while inside at Mai you’ll find Scene favorites Scene favorites Scene Call It Dope!, Dee Goodz, Openmic and Openmic and Openmic Stix Izza. 9 p.m. at the 12th Avenue Block Party Stageth Avenue Block Party Stageth —SEAN L.

MALONEY

cAnnery BALLroomI’d dare not nominate this fine lineup for

something as hokey and misguided as “The Highwaymen: The Next Generation,” but the storyline does kind of write itself. Here you’ve got a marriage of indie rock’s foremost Americana labels — New West and Blood-shot — showcasing three torch-carrying but refreshingly original voices in a dilapidated “alt-country” universe. Former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell plays the rebellious rocker, broken free of his old gang and on the run with a new bunch of bandits out of Ala-bama called the 400 Unit. Out of Houston, we have the wide-eyed 22-year-old Robert Ellis— already a walking encyclopedia of classic C&W music, but equally at ease with a sparse, Townes Van Zandt-ish folk ballad as a lushly produced George Jones number. And speaking of Townes, there’s his partial namesake Justin Townes Earle, son of the legendary Steve, but

quickly escaping that shadow and his own in-ner demons to become one of America’s most acclaimed young singer-songwriters. If you know someone still ignorantly bemoaning the death of “real country music” and the genera-tion that supposedly killed it, please do us all a favor and drag them to Cannery for this one. 7:20 p.m. at Cannery Ballroom —ANDREW CLAYMAN7:20 p.m. at Cannery Ballroom —ANDREW CLAYMAN7:20 p.m. at Cannery Ballroom

The BAsemenTAs a discerning festivalgoer, you demand qual-

ity. Well, Friday night at The Basement has got your quality rock ’n’ roll. First! The two-piece Action!, starring husband-and-wife team Dan and Robyn Burns. Their engaging, anticipa-tory harmonies evoke the rising … well, action of dramatic structure, and climax without devolving into melodrama. With evocative melodies that avoid spilling into cloying territory, it’s hard not to wonder which song you want playing during a mon-tage in the short film of your life. Next! We’ve got newish band Tiger High. Did you know Tiger High is Memphis-based? In fact, urbandic-tionary.com informs us that “tiger high” is in fact a derisive nickname for the University of Memphis. Such sass. The group, comprised of brothers Jake and Toby Vest, Greg Faison and former Reigning Sound drummer Greg Roberson, have the solid ’60s rock numbers on lock. Then! After that is Ri¢hie, (rather-difficult-to-Google-unless-you’re-looking-up-Macaulay Culkin-films), the new project from Richie Kirkpatrick of Ghostfinger renown. The Stonesy and cock-rocky moments remain, but with a newfound, streamlined vigor. Finally! Ending the evening are The Ettes, just a few weeks off the release of their latest, Wicked Will. Fuzzy, kinda menacing garage-surf tunes coupled with self-assured, world-class perfor-coupled with self-assured, world-class perfor-coupled with self-assured, world-class performances pretty damn well guarantee a stompin’ end to your oh-so-quality evening. 9 p.m. at The end to your oh-so-quality evening. 9 p.m. at The end to your oh-so-quality eveningBasement —ASHLEY SPURGEON

Third mAn recordsOf those punctual enough to have gotten in,

who could ever forget last year’s raucous Next Big Nashville shindigs at Third Man Records? Turbo Fruits frontman Jonas Stein crowd-surfed across the Blue Room mid-guitar solo, Cheap Time made a rare appearance and JEFF the Brotherhood cut a killer live record.

The packed-out pair of shows — hosted in conjunction with popular local punk blog Nashville’s Dead — was a local coronation for Jack White’s downtown record store and venue, marking the first time White and his Third Man cohorts involved themselves directly in such a Music City-centric event. And just as Next Big Nashville’s metamorphosis into SoundLand is a move to the center — between local love and na-tional exposure — so is the year’s festival’s show at Third Man.

Three-parts regional and two-parts national, the local tip on this five-act bill will feature the retro soul grooves and laid-back instrumenta-tion of tion of tion Athens, Ala., foursome The Alabama Shakes, the bedraggled, rampageous garage-punk of Hans Condor and rapid-fire, sneerHans Condor and rapid-fire, sneerHans Condor - and rapid-fire, sneer- and rapid-fire, sneering pop-hockery of PUJOL — the latter of PUJOL — the latter of PUJOLwhom also appeared at last year’s Third Man throw-down. In the time since, the budding songwriter, Daniel Pujol, has switched backing bands, crisscrossed the country on tour with Ted Leo and inked a deal with top-dog indie label Saddle Creek Records. His first release for the label, an EP titled Nasty, Brutish,and Short, and Short, and Shortis set to drop in October.

By LighTning!The phrase “supergroup” is often

used pejoratively in modern rock circles — consider how most of us feel about Audioslave. But it carries a very differ-Audioslave. But it carries a very differ-Audioslave. But it carries a very different connotation when it comes to By Lightning!, a promising new ensemble featuring seven seasoned members of Nashville’s rock and folk music com-munities. Mostly pulled from Dixie Dirt (R.I.P.), De Novo Dahl (kinda R.I.P.?) and Hands Down Eugene, the vets in By Light-Hands Down Eugene, the vets in By Light-Hands Down Eugene, the vets in By Lightning! marry porch-perfect Americana, scuzzy, J Mascis-ian rock and the type of no-nonsense attitude you would expect from a group that’s collectively seen it all industry-wise. Indeed, their excellent debut, Sand Down the Edges, feels at once effortlessly constructed and devoid of the try-hard motif that many in Nashville can’t help but embrace. 8 p.m. at Mercy Lounge—RYAN BURLESON

The siLver Lver L seAsCo-founded by frontman-guitarist Dan-

iel Tashian and engineer to the stars (and one helluva keyboardist) Jason Lehning, The Silver Seas craft airy, pulsing pop songs that should appeal to anyone who

longs for the days of mid- to late-’70s FM radio — echoes of everyone from Fleet-radio — echoes of everyone from Fleet-radio — echoes of everyone from Fleetwood Mac and Hall & Oates to ELO and Boz Scaggs can be heard on 2010’s Cha-teau Revenge. They’re fresh off some well-received dates in the U.K., so they should be firing on all cylinders. 10 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —JACK SILVERMAN

keegAn dewiTT & TT & TT mAdi diAzPeople are always trying to convince

the world that Nashville’s rock scene can compete with the Country Music Indus-trial Complex, but many ignore the city’s burgeoning underground pop scene. Touring buddies and collaborators Kee-gan DeWitt and Madi Diaz both produce bright, catchy tunes with an assist from layered, thoughtful production. Diaz hews a little closer to traditional singer-songwriter territory with love songs and pretty, emotive vocals. DeWitt, on the other hand, is more likely to get you moving, as on the sparkly, danceable “Say La La” or the moody, insistent “Hearts Beat Loud.” Keegan DeWitt 8:50 p.m. at Mercy Lounge; Madi Diaz 11:30 p.m. at Mercy Lounge—LEE STABERT

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By Lightning! at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds

Madi Diaz and Keegan DeWitt at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds

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And on the national tip, the bill will see the Nashville debut of deconstructionist, experi-mental Detroit garage rockers Human Eye, featuring volatile former Clone Defects singer Tim Vulgar, who are known for their stage-ravaging, ear-splitting live shows.

Rounding this onslaught of harum-scarum rock ’n’ roll and adding insult to deafening in-jury is yet another (not to complain) Nashville appearance from relentlessly confrontational comedic persona Neil Hamburgercomedic persona Neil Hamburgercomedic persona , whose poor-man’s-Don-Rickles-goes-to-Williams-burgh-2011-instead-of-The-Copa one-liners, pop-cultural and societal indictments are, again, sure to offend as many as they inspire. Such is the case with comb-overs. 7:45 p.m. at Third Man Records —ADAM GOLD

Roman CandleWhenNashville-by-way-of-NorthCarolina

familybandRomanCandle loanedbrotherLoganMatheny toTheRosebuds (whoweretouring in support ofBon Iver this summer),husband-and-wifeduoandcentralmembersSkip andTimshelMathenyhit the road.Withtheir three children in tow, theduoplayedliving roomsacross the country, road-testingtunes for a forthcoming record. It’s a story thatmightmake for a good sitcom, except thatRo-manCandle’s songs areprobably just toogood.

TheirOh Tall Tree in the Ear,released in2009, featuresthe sort of bold, diverseinstrumentation, anthemicverve and folk-rootedexper-imentation that justmightmakeyou thinkofWilco’slate ’90s andearlyAughtsoutput.Waybetter thanThePartridgeFamily. 10:20 p.m. at The Station Inn —D. PATRICK

RODGERS

ColoRfeelsIt’sbeenawhilesince

we’veheardanyonetrytotakeaswingat theor-or-orchestral folkthatSufjanStevensdidsowell—untilhestartedwritingscoresformultimediaexplorationsofexpresswaysandgenerallybeingapretentious jerkoff.Thankfully,Colorfeelssoundlikethey’vetakentheSufjanearnestnessandleftbehindtheSufjandickishness.Theirdebut,Syzygy,Syzygy,Syzygy is fullofmulti-instrumentalheartandpromisestobeasurprisingcultureclashfor thehip-hopheavyweightsplayingatMaiandon theBlockParty stageat the sametime. 11:10 at 12th

& Porter —LANCE CONZETT

The non-Commissioned offiCeRsHavewementioned latelyhowthrilledwe

are thatTheNon-CommissionedOfficersdecidednot tobreakupafter thepremiereofMake-Out With Violence—the locally shotzombiemovie thatbrought theband togetherin the firstplace—atNextBigNashvillewayback in2008?Thoughmanyof theoriginalmembershavemovedon,TheNon-Commsarestill oneofNashville’sbest rockbands.There’sagoodreasonwhywhywh theyeasilywontheir roundofRoad toBonnaroo last year—theirEno-in-spiredsynthrockmanages toblendcatchinesswith thehorror-filmdarkness that character-character-characterized their first efforts. 12:40 a.m. at 12th & Porter—LANCE CONZETT

Saturday, 24th

meRCy lounge Therearegreat showsallover towntoday,

butMercyLounge is shutting itdownonSat-urdaywith local rockbandsofall stripesandalate-nightrenditionofanalbumyoualmostcer-cer-certainlyown(ed).Dancerock,post-punk,powerpop.They’vegot it all, andthat’showit’skickingoffwithCheer Up Charlie Daniels,Evan P. DonohueandThe Pink Spiders, respectively.In fact, therecentlyreconvenedSpidershavebeenhawkingtheir sonicwaresontourburstseast-ishof theMississippi foraminute—andsohaselectro/rockbandPaper Route,who,ac-cording to theirTwitteraccount, shouldhaveanewalbumoutsoon.They’vegotperformanceswithParamoreandquitea fewsoundtracknumbersunder theirbeltat thispoint,whichshouldadduptoa fine, tight-as-tightshow.Thisparticularwriter is looking forwardtoPaperRoutebecause,hell,wehaven’t seenthemsincethe“RebuildThisCity” floodbenefit showway

back in2010.Localall-’90scoveroutfitMy So-Called Bandwill closeout thenightwithatop-to-bottomperformanceofNirvana’s semi-nal 1991release,Nevermind.WilldrummerSamSmithchannel thegood-naturedgoofinessofDaveGrohl?Will singerDavePaulsonshootupheroinprior toperforming?Will thecrowdtakeasmokebreakduring“TerritorialPissings”?Onlyonewayto findout!9 p.m. at Mercy Lounge—ASHLEY SPURGEON

snowdenSixyearsbetweenalbumsmightaswellbe

a lifetime—TheRaconteurshavegoneonandreturnedfromhiatus in less time—butherecomesSnowdenagain.Lastseenopeningforev-ev-everyonefromClapYourHandsSayYeahtoKingsofLeon, themost-blogged-aboutbandof2006finallyhasnewmaterial.The Slow Soft SyrupEP,releasedearlier thisyearasapreviewofanewalbum,featuresthesamelanguidaffectandshimmeringguitar-tronicsthatmadeAnti-Antianauspiciousdebutwaybackwhen.8 p.m. at 12th

& Porter —STEVE HARUCH

The CadillaC BlaCkIt’snocoincidence their initials areTCB.

These formerAmericanBang-ersare throwingdown lightningboltsofno-nonsenseSouthernrockpunctuatedwithkaratekicks toyourwigdome,dude.Heavyasall getout, freakedout,fuzzedout, thesedudes traded in theirpolishfor someredclayandasound that, frankly,wealwaysknewtheyhad in them—TheCadillacBlackpummelscountry, bluesandall theirbas-tardprogeny intohurricane-forcehipster-billyrawk. 10:30 p.m. at 12th & Porter —SEAN L. MALONEY

CaiTlin Rose Nashville songstressCaitlinRose recently

announced the latest feather inhercap: adealwithATORecords,hometoMyMorningJacket,Drive-ByTruckersandPattyGriffin,amongothers. It’s apartnership thatmakesa lotof sense, andonTuesday,ATOwill re-releaseherarresting, artful full-lengthdebut,Own Side Now.Thealbumhasanundeniable,dreamycharm,whetherRose isdescribingheradventureson the streetsofNewYorkCityorthecarnageof abadbreakup.Given itspitch-perfect lilt andmodern twang, it’snowonderATOsnatched thisoneup. 11:10 p.m. at The Basement —LEE STABERT

naTaTa alie PTalie PT RassA frequent traveler along the line

between indie pop and spectral folkmelancholy,Natalie Prass has gottenpretty good at knowingwhen to leta songdrift towardone, andwhen todrift back toward the other. She’s gotan ear formelody andmakes gooduse of a restrained, airy singing style.InMay, Prass raised enoughmoneyonline viaKickstarter to record anew full-length album, andwe lookforward to the results. 8:45 p.m. at The Station Inn —STEVE HARUCH

neuhoff fafaf CToRy ouTdooR PaRTyRTyRTIf there’s one SoundLand showsure to embody the festival’s

musical-amusement-parkmotif aswell as capture a time-stampedsnapshot ofNashville rock circa-now, it’s this all-day Saturday soi-ree atNeuhoff Factory—agaping gravel-and-concrete industrialenclave inGermantown.At lastyear’sNextBigNashville,promoters test-drove the facility

withaVIPdayparty featuring freeelixirs, gamingstationsandaperformancecourtesyofTheFeatures.Judgingbythe funhadbythe thousand-plusmass that turnedout to indulge, theresultwas thesinglemost festive,SouthbySouthwest-worthyevent in the festival’s initialfive-yearrun—its successseeminglysetting thestage for themakeover that isSoundLand.Set toappearat this, essentiallySoundLand2011’smainevent, areMusic

City flagshipstoner-punkduoJEFF the Brotherhood, barn-burnin’Nashville-by-way-of-Murfreesboro jezebels (andbro)Those Darlins, garage-gothnewcomersandJackWhiteprotégésThe Black Belles, trad-pop-rocksavantTristen, local indie-AmericanatroupeThe Apache Relay,The Apache Relay,The Apache Relay part-timeNashville indwellerJessica Lea MayfieldandKnoxvilleneo-psychrockersRoyal Bangs. Inotherwords—forMusicCitydetractorswhohateus forourfreewheelin’ capacity tokickout the jams—betweenboththemusiciansandthe inevitableorbitof local luminariesonsite, there’snobetter theoretical timetorid therocksceneof itskeymembers.Todistract suchpotential threats toNash-onal security, theeventwillboast

a30-footwaterslide,agiant inflatabledragon(notkidding!)andanarmadaoflocal foodtrucks.2 p.m. at Neuhoff Factory —ADAM GOLD

Tristenat the Nashville Zoo

Natalie Prass

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