Nashville Scene 3-16-23

CITY LIMITS: NASHVILLE PREPARES TO BATTLE

COUNCIL-REDUCTION

LEGISLATION

PAGE 7

CULTURE: TALKING WITH SARAH SILVERMAN ABOUT DRAG BANS AND THE DAILY SHOW PAGE 34

The

presented by

7

CITY LIMITS

Metro Nashville Prepares to Battle the State’s Council-Reduction Legislation 7

According to Councilmember Zulfat Suara, ‘Those voices that allow us to serve all of Nashville could be silenced’

BY CONNOR DARYANI

One-Track Mind .......................................... 8

Volunteer-led Nashville Steam Preservation Society enters ‘final mile’ of restoration on steam engine 576

BY HANNAH HERNER

Pith in the Wind 8

This week on the Scene’s news and politics blog Street View: Metro Clears the Homeless Encampment in Wentworth-Caldwell Park ............................................................ 9

Councilmember Courtney Johnston has been coordinating efforts to rehouse the people living in the South Nashville park

BY LENA MAZEL

COVER STORY

The People Issue 2023

Legendary Female Impersonator Tina Louise ...................................................... 10

The trailblazing performer and Nashville native celebrates 50 years in drag

BY D. PATRICK RODGERS

Radio Voice Khalil Ekulona 11

A winding path to journalism gives the This Is Nashville host unique skills for leading the city in conversation

BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

Astronomer Billy Teets 12

The president of Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory brings outer space home

BY HANNAH HERNER

Renaissance Man James Rudolph II 14

The Nashville native — and cake maker — has worked with virtually every theater company in town

BY AMY STUMPFL

Nashville Typewriter’s Kirk Jackson 16 Jackson enjoys connecting with other typewriter lovers — including his old pal Tom Hanks

BY ERICA CICCARONE

RNBW’s Emily and Jamie Dryburgh 17

The organizers’ collective builds vital community spaces for songsmiths from the LGBTQ community

BY STEPHEN TRAGESER

Flutebae Ashley Crawford ...................... 18

The TSU professor and Instagram sensation, from Mozart to ‘Mask Off’

BY KELSEY BEYELER

Franklin Community Organizer Kevin Riggs 20

‘The way you serve a God you cannot see is by serving those you can see’

BY COLE VILLENA

Fat Positive Nashville’s Kimmy Styled... 22

The self-styled content creator started what she describes as a community for fat people by fat people

BY KIM BALDWIN

Ryan Collingwood, the Elvis of Franklin 23

The stylist and Elvis tribute artist runs Blue Suede Salon in downtown Franklin

BY JARRETT VAN METER

Author Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez ....24

Mojica Rodríguez tackles stereotypes, misogyny and more for an audience of Latinx readers

BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

27

CRITICS’ PICKS

BoDeans, Bryan Cates, Leprechaun, Love Rising, Sweet Pill and more

34

CULTURE Saving Silverman

Talking with comedy legend Sarah Silverman about drag bans and The Daily Show ahead of her appearance at the Ryman

BY KELSEY BEYELER

35

BOOKS Wounded Eagle Matthew Desmond’s new book dispels myths about poverty in America

BY

LIZ GARRIGAN; CHAPTER16.ORG

Dial-a-John 38

They Might Be Giants look back — finally — on 30 years of their standout LP Flood

BY CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

The Spin 39

The Scene’s live-review column checks out Margo Price at the Ryman

BY STEPHEN TRAGESER

FILM

Seoul Searching

Return to Seoul is a surprising, vulnerable exploration of personal identity

BY NADINE SMITH

Allison Russell, Mary Gauthier, Many More Will Perform in Support of LGTBQ Rights

Randy McNally and Our State’s Long History of Conformity

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten Reflects on One Year in Nashville

‘Scream VI’ Gets the Franchise Back on Track

ON

•

• A new community is forming on a beautiful farm with woodlands and a stream in Burns TN.

• This cohousing neighborhood o ers private homes and a professionally managed farm.

•

Tina Louise at Skull’s Rainbow Room

Photo by Angelina Castillo

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METRO NASHVILLE PREPARES TO BATTLE THE STATE’S COUNCILREDUCTION LEGISLATION

BY CONNOR DARYANI

Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation last week to cut Nashville’s 40-member Metro Council, a product of the civil rights era, in half. With a reduction in the body’s number of seats, historical experts, state legislators and councilmembers say we could lose not only minority representation, but class representation along with it.

The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County was created in 1963 after a previous attempt to consolidate the city and county failed, with Black voters and greater Davidson County voters in opposition. Davidson County needed access to public resources that the city could provide, and the city needed access to a larger tax base to provide those resources — but a referendum on consolidation failed in 1958.

“So the new commission started by saying, ‘What did we do wrong, why did it not pass?’” says Davidson County Historian Carole Bucy. “And the thing they came up with was: not a big enough council to represent all the people.” Bucy says that after interviewing 33 people who were involved with the consolidation, she found that the only major difference between the first attempt and the second was an increase in the proposed council size — from 21 to 40.

The 40-person legislative body — 35 district representatives and five at-large members — has remained in place ever since. In 2017, Davidson County voters were given the opportunity to vote on a referendum to reduce the size of the council to 27 members. They resoundingly voted no.

“The council will automatically, if you have it down to 20, represent twice as many people as they represent now,” says Bucy.

“And the population has grown so much since ’63, when we had created the 40-member council. So you know, being a councilperson is going to [become] a full-time job.”

With the August elections fast approaching, Metro is scrambling to prepare for a smaller council, redrawing districts, and possibly budgeting to pay councilmembers full time. Many of the members hold day jobs, and with the increase in responsibilities this legislation would bring, some are worried it would make it difficult for everyday Nashvillians to run for seats.

“It becomes, who can raise the most money?” says Councilmember At-Large Zulfat Suara. “It becomes who can campaign? And it means that [historically Black] North Nashville, which has three representatives, may end up only having one.”

Suara, who secured the fifth and final atlarge spot in the 2019 runoff election, says

that had this legislation gone into effect four years ago, she does not think she would have been able to win a seat. One possibility should Nashville be forced to reconfigure its council is a body with 17 district representatives and three at-large representatives. Presumably, campaigning for those seats would require more resources than campaigning for one of 35 districts or five at-large seats. And with it still being unclear how many at-large seats would exist following redistricting, Suara is skeptical that she would be able to win a seat on a 20-person council even now.

“I don’t even know if people in the Muslim community will be able to have that much access without somebody saying, ‘We’re here too,’” says Suara, who is Muslim. “Or the Hispanic community. That’s what [Latina Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda] does. And so those voices that allow us to serve all of Nashville could be silenced.”

This legislation arrives alongside a number of bills still under consideration that many see as attacks on Nashville, including a bill to take over the sports authority board and another that would eliminate runoff elections. Many see these bills as retaliation from the state over the Metro Council’s decision not to host the 2024 Republican National Convention in Nashville. But newly elected state Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) points to the silence of organizations like the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, who she says typically go to bat for Nashville, but could in this case have something to gain from the legislation.

“The timing is right before a mayoral election, when we’re about to change over the entire leadership of the city,” says Oliver. “Someone wants to profit and continue to profit off of the growth of the city and ensure that their legislation, their agenda, gets passed through the council. And how do you ensure and influence that council? By

shrinking the size.”

With the bill already signed into law, Metro’s only course of action is through the courts. The city filed a suit on Monday over the legislation, which Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz says illegally targets Nashville and would be impossible to implement before the fast-approaching election.

In the suit, Metro argues that the legislation violates the home rule amendment in the Tennessee Constitution, which outlaws bills that target only one local government. Because Metro is the only metropolitan form of government with more than 20 councilmembers, it is the only local government affected by this legislation.

The suit also argues that the election cycle is already too far underway for any changes, and that the provisions in the legislation cited as solutions to the time crunch would be unconstitutional to implement.

“Over 40 candidates have already appointed treasurers and are actively raising money for council districts that ostensibly will no longer exist,” says Dietz via a statement released last week. “Even if the Planning Commission prepares a map and the current Metro Council passes a redistricting plan by May 1, the confusion and uncertainty that follows will be prime for legal challenges from a range of affected parties.”

Argues Metro in the suit: “In imposing these council-reduction requirements on Metro Nashville just before a local election, the General Assembly undermines the purpose of local-government consolidation, ignores numerous other constitutional prohibitions on such a reduction, and creates confusion and chaos among citizens and candidates. The Court must issue an injunction to halt this unconstitutional legislative overreach.”

An initial court hearing is being sought for as early as next week.

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

According to Councilmember Zulfat Suara, ‘Those voices that allow us to serve all of Nashville could be silenced’

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

METRO COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 2021

ONE-TRACK MIND

Volunteer-led Nashville Steam Preservation Society enters ‘final mile’ of restoration on steam engine 576

BY HANNAH HERNER

Remember that train engine that used to sit in Centennial Park? It’s on its way back to the rails.

The restoration process for steam engine 576 (proper name Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576) is in its “final mile” when it comes to fundraising and physical work. The Nashville Steam Preservation Society has $350,000 left to raise on the way to its $2.5 million goal.

Volunteers have been working on the train since 2019, and have at least another year to go.

What keeps them going is the sheer desire to see the train back on the tracks. The bulk of the funding is inspired by that same ethos — individual donations, money from wills, and matching grants from train lovers.

“There’s a whole faction of people out there, like me, that seek these older steam locomotives out just for a chance to ride behind them,” says Joey Bryan, spokesper-

son for the Nashville Steam Preservation Society. “We’ve gotten individual donations from just about every state and several foreign countries — people that know what this means to not only Nashville’s history, but the country’s history, and wanting to have the opportunity to ride behind it.”

When the preservation society got wind that Centennial Park restoration would involve moving the locomotive, which had sat in the park since 1954, they offered to take it off the park’s hands and make it an economic attraction. When it’s finished, it will be used for excursions, similar to those offered by partner organization Tennessee Central Railway Museum.

The 576 is the only one of its kind left — the other 19 went to scrap. It had its heyday in the ’40s, mainly taking passengers from Nashville to Chattanooga before being retired in 1953 when diesel trains entered the picture. Steam engines like 576 became obsolete, as diesel trains are more efficient to operate, can carry more and are easier to maintain.

In a five-plus-year process that involves tediously cutting, cleaning and reinstalling more than 1,000 bolts, what keeps the volunteers from losing steam? It’s the camaraderie.

“It’s trains all the time,” says volunteer coordinator Stephen Hook. “We could sit here and talk about trains all day long for weeks and weeks and weeks and never run out of anything to say about it. It became less about the goal and more about the love of coming here and doing it every day.”

Volunteer Jim Painter is honoring his

uncle, who drove the train in its prime. Like many, Nashville native Sam Mallory — model-train guy turned real-train guy — has memories of playing on the 576 as a child in the park. Floyd Jennings was there from the start of the restoration process, and drives in from White Bluff two days per week to volunteer his time. Hunter Coley wins the prize for driving the farthest just to work on the steam engine — eight hours from southern Georgia.

Coley puts it simply: “It’s work that you feel good about doing.”

For Bryan and the Nashville Steam Preservation Society, the move is about bringing back a piece of Old Nashville.

THIS WEEK ON OUR NEWS AND POLITICS BLOG:

Saturday Night Live and other late-night shows lampooned Lt. Gov. Randy McNally for his social media behavior. Last week, the Tennessee Holler uncovered comments from McNally, a Republican who presides over the state Senate, heaping praise on provocative photos posted by young gay performer Franklin McClure. McNally has helped pass some of the nation’s most restrictive laws targeting LGBTQ individuals in Tennessee. … A packed house rallied at Tribe in Nashville to protest the state’s persecution of trans and queer people. The event, hosted by the Tennessee Equality Project, the Human Rights Campaign and the ACLU, featured drag performances and speeches from local and national advocates. … Six candidates attended the first mayoral forum ahead of this year’s Aug. 3 election. The event, hosted at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, brought together hopefuls Alice Rolli, Matt Wiltshire, Freddie O’Connell, Jeff Yarbro, Jim Gingrich and Sharon Hurt to discuss a new Titans stadium, crime, policing and their visions for Nashville. … Staff of local workers’ organization Workers’ Dignity went on strike to protest the firing of director Cecilia Prado. The nonprofit’s threemember board alleges a pattern of harassment and mismanagement from Prado, while staff criticizes the board for resisting proposed changes in the organization. Each faction has aired accusations and staked out support in public letters. … Colum-

And with it, they’re bringing the sounds that inspired musicians, especially country artists in Nashville. Those sounds haven’t been heard here since the ’50s.

“There are hard days, for sure,” Bryan says. “Like, why did we ever go down this path? This past year, we took the whistle from this locomotive and put it on a different steam locomotive that is operational just to hear what it would sound like. Once we heard that sound, it’s like, all right, we gotta keep going, we gotta get this thing done.”

The volunteers keep coming back for the chance to have the first ride.

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

nist Nicole Williams recapped an eventful Metro Council meeting in her column On First Reading Debate started on official terms for a new Titans stadium and attempted to manage a quickly disintegrating working relationship with state lawmakers. … The Metro Planning Department has begun working on new Metro Council districts following the passage of state law imposing a 20-member maximum on the 40-person body. … Local painters’ union International Union of Painters and Allied Trades/Local 456 protested at a Dickerson Pike job site, demanding fair pay and better treatment for workers from contractor CPR Construction, currently under investigation by the federal government for labor violations. … In a federal lawsuit, two former Circuit Court clerk employees claim that their firings in August were politically motivated. The lawsuit names current Circuit Court Clerk Joseph Day, former Clerk Richard Rooker and the Metro government as defendants, and aims to recover $1.2 million in damages for the plaintiffs. … Mayoral candidate and District 19 Councilmember Freddie O’Connell spoke with the Nashville Banner about his campaign, which he says focuses on affordability, transit and housing. A widely shared recent campaign ad from O’Connell, titled “I Want You to Stay,” appeals to residents considering moving out of the city. … Contributor Betsy Phillips connects Lt. Gov. McNally’s comments to a longer history of oppressive conformity in Tennessee, and the harm it continues to perpetuate across people and families.

NASHVILLESCENE.COM/PITHINTHEWIND

ARCHIVE PHOTO OF STEAM ENGINE 576

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR STEPHEN HOOK

STEAM ENGINE 576 UNDER REPAIR PHOTOS: ERIC ENGLAND

STREET VIEW: METRO CLEARS THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT IN WENTWORTH-

CALDWELL PARK

Councilmember Courtney Johnston has been coordinating efforts to rehouse the people living in the South Nashville park

BY LENA MAZEL

Street View is a monthly column in which we’ll take a close look at developmentrelated issues affecting different neighborhoods throughout the city.

Wentworth-Caldwell

Park sits on the corner of Nolensville Pike and Edmondson Pike in South Nashville.

Historically prone to flooding, the park recently has had a homeless encampment containing about 40 people. This month Metro Nashville is clearing the camp, with plans to connect its residents to more permanent housing opportunities and support services.

Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston represents District 26, which contains the park. For the past two months, she’s been coordinating efforts to rehouse the people living there.

“Currently we are in the outreach-andengagement phase, where caseworkers and nonprofit partners are engaging with individuals to educate them on what’s happening with the park, identifying their needs and matching them with services and transitional housing opportunities,” Johnston tells

the Scene.

Johnston’s initial goal was to have everyone in the park rehoused by the end of February, but her new goal is to rehouse everyone in the park by March 15 — shortly after this story goes to press — with a park cleanup planned for March 16. By March 6, the Metro Homeless Impact Division had placed five people in temporary housing.

In an online statement, Johnston highlights the need for long-term solutions beyond just removing people from the encampment. “Providing housing without services has proven unsuccessful, and the probability of the individual going back out onto the street is high,” she writes.

Johnston says her office initially thought about 25 people lived in the park, but they later found out the number was closer to 40.

The encampment at Wentworth-Caldwell Park is a safety hazard because of its proximity to Seven Mile Creek, a South Nashville tributary prone to flooding nearby areas. In 2021, flooding from Seven Mile Creek took the lives of Fredrick Richards and Melissa Conquest, who were living in a nearby encampment. South Nashville is particularly vulnerable to flooding: In 2022, disaster recovery group Hands On Nashville told the Scene

that the area consistently floods after heavy rain events because of factors like poor infrastructure and loss of natural flood barriers.

In January, the Metro Homeless Impact Division’s interim director April Calvin told NewsChannel 5 that Wentworth-Caldwell Park provided a good opportunity to implement some of the lessons they learned from clearing the large encampment in Brookmeade Park earlier this year. “What we want to do from this is kind of do lessons learned, do a little bit of a debriefing with our community,” Calvin said. “Where do we stand, and gathering the resources that we have available before we move forward with the next one.”

In October, the Metro Nashville government released a $50 million “Housing First” plan to help tackle the issues the city’s unhoused community faces — the money will build more subsidized housing, create a larger safety net to prevent people from becoming homeless, and connect currently unhoused people with housing and support resources.

Metro Homeless Impact Division is creating case files for each person at WentworthCaldwell so they can connect to more permanent housing and other wraparound services. Harriet Wallace, the communications director at MHID, says case managers first informed people living in the park that the “housing surge” would happen in the coming weeks. Then they followed up at the beginning of the surge by offering a variety of housing options to people. “They are then given the opportunity to choose their preferred housing option,” says Wallace.

Wallace says MHID has a wide variety of housing options available. Once case managers assess people’s needs, they can offer housing places in addiction support and mental health facilities, senior and veteran housing, domestic violence shelters, or more traditional apartments and townhomes

— including through the Low Barrier Housing Collective program, in which landlords relax income and criminal record screening requirements on certain properties.

Once people have chosen their preferred housing option, MHID provides tubs to pack belongings in, storage (if needed) and shuttle services. “We are also providing transitional support that educates them on how to transition to independent living,” Wallace says. “What’s key to this is, we take our time with them, and they get to choose where they want to live next.”

After the park’s clear-out, Johnston says the Metro Parks Department will begin “extensive cleanup and renovation” — including a new fence and hedging and an electronic gate for the entrance to the park. Metro Parks will also install new lighting, and Parks and the Metro Nashville Police Department will temporarily provide extra security to deter people from resettling in Wentworth-Caldwell.

Moving forward, Johnston plans to have a “zero-tolerance policy” for people living in the park. “To allow this to grow again would be a travesty from a humanitarian perspective and would make all our efforts simply an exercise in futility, not to mention a massive waste of your tax dollars,” she told her constituents in a statement posted to her Facebook page.

With individuals transitioning to new housing, Johnston is also organizing “care kits” to distribute — including essentials like soap, toothpaste, sheets, towels, pillows and cleaning supplies. Nashville residents will have the opportunity to contribute to these kits by buying items from an Amazon wish list Johnston created.

Both MHID and Johnston stress the complexity of the issues unhoused people face; clearing the park wasn’t as simple as just moving people into housing, but instead meant a case management system that provided long-term supportive solutions.

“Uprooting someone from a place they’ve called home for a long time can be challenging, but we are making sure that we walk with them hand-in-hand through this entire process, even beyond when they move in,” says Wallace. “Our job doesn’t end once they move out of the outdoor community.”

“There’s nothing good about someone living outside,” Johnston tells the Scene “I think we all agree on that.”

WENTWORTHCALDWELL PARK ENCAMPMENT

COUNCILMEMBER COURTNEY JOHNSTON AT WHITFIELD PARK IN SOUTH NASHVILLE PHOTOS: ERIC ENGLAND

The

People Issue 2023

LEGENDARY FEMALE IMPERSONATOR TINA LOUISE

The trailblazing performer and Nashville native celebrates 50 years in drag

BY D. PATRICK RODGERS

“When I started out, that’s what we were called,” Tina Louise says of being referred to as a “female impersonator” or, better still, a “female illusionist.” “The ‘drag’ thing was just a derogatory term. Now it’s endearing to be called a drag queen. It doesn’t matter to me, but I’m a professional, so I prefer female impersonator or female illusionist. That’s just me. It’s like, I’d rather be called a movie star than a television star.”

Tina Louise is seated by the piano at legendary Printers Alley burlesque joint Skull’s Rainbow Room, where she’s part of the

club’s Drag Brunch performances on the last Sunday of every month. The Scene catches up with her on a Wednesday as the afternoon sunlight glints off her gold, embellished gown. She’s small in stature, but her outsized, glamorous presence fills the showroom.

In August, Tina Louise was recognized during a ceremony at Pecker’s Bar & Grill for her 50 years as a Nashville performer. An East Nashville native, she began her career in 1972, around the time she came across a print ad seeking female impersonators at Second Avenue gay show bar Watch Your Hat and Coat Saloon.

“I just lived across the bridge on Shelby Street,” she says. “I’d come over and start peeking through the little-bitty small window — you had to peek, it was real up-high. That kinda started it.”

Before diving into the drag world, Tina Louise didn’t know much about the art form aside from what she’d seen from performers like Jim Bailey on The Carol Burnett Show. But that Watch Your Hat and Coat ad — along with a community she connected with in historically Black North Nashville — kicked off a lifelong passion.

“We did what you’d call street drag,” she says of her early days. “Me and a couple other queens would dress up and go out and meet other people mainly in North Nashville, in the Black community, [where] they were a lot more accepting in the ’70s of gay people. And we knew a lot of the Black queens in the neighborhood, and so we went out with them a few times.”

Health issues sidelined Tina Louise back in 2019, and the loss of her beloved Pomeranian Rosie had her in a funk. Though she wanted to come back to performing, she found that many establishments expected performers to work solely for tips, which she found “disrespectful” to those who, like her, had been doing it for so long. But after the Pecker’s ceremony honoring Tina Louise back in the summer, Skull’s manager Rodney Mitchell connected with her and asked her to join the Drag Brunch. It’s been a good fit.

These days, while she occasionally performs R&B and other genres, Tina Louise says she mostly prefers the country classics, which set her apart from most other contemporary performers. And for all that’s changed over the past half-century, she says the audiences are still the same — fun, high-energy, happy to be there and be entertained.

Even so, it isn’t all joyous. Tina Louise sees Tennessee’s socalled anti-drag legislation as targeting performers like herself — it’s a “hot mess” that’s “setting us back” to the mentality that was pervasive when she first started performing a half-century ago. “It’s the same laws that we had 50 years ago,” she says, noting that female impersonators were often targeted and picked up for minor ordinance violations.

“I don’t get it, I think it’s wrong. I think it’s just done out of fear — a fear of the unknown.”

Photographed by Angelina Castillo at Skull’s Rainbow Room

Profiling some of Nashville’s most interesting people, from drag legend Tina Louise to TSU’s Flutebae and more

KHALIL EKULONA

A winding path to journalism gives the This Is Nashville host unique skills for leading the city in conversation

BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

In the one year since WPLN’s noontime show This Is Nashville premiered, host Khalil Ekulona has spoken to roughly 1,400 people on air. Guests have included politicians, comedians, Instagram influencers and musicians — even his own parents for an episode about Kwanzaa. He was especially honored to speak with civil rights legends King Hollands, Frankie Henry and Gloria McKissack for an episode about Nashville’s lunch counter sit-ins.

“It was like talking to a page from the history book,” says Ekulona, 49, about the activists.

The usual format of the show is a roundtable discussion with up to five people, debating and discussing topics ranging from the proposal for a new Titans stadium to local barbershop culture to the city’s dynamic food scene. But Ekulona treasures the focused, intimate one-on-one interviews he occasionally conducts, like those with country singer Margo Price and Nashville SC star Hany Mukhtar.

“The microphones disappear,” says Ekulona. “The studio disappears, and we’re sitting in someone’s living room or house having a conversation, two people getting to know each other.” He says he also hopes to sit down with Dolly Parton one on one someday, of course.

Ekulona brings a deep voice and professional stage presence to the show, but he’s also bringing his full self — he’s the same guy on air and at the bar and at the grocery store, he says. As such, some episodes have affected him personally, like how a segment on natural burial site Larkspur Conservation helped him address the grief he was feeling for recently lost friends and family.

Ekulona grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore and got into journalism in 2014 while living in Albuquerque, N.M., contributing to a local morning television show. He wasn’t a reporter, but was no stranger to the nuts and bolts of local media — he was an entertainer who founded a hip-hop group called Fresh Air, and his father was an executive producer for Maryland Public Television. He eventually landed occasional work as a morning show anchor.

But he also learned a lot about managing an audience and facilitating discussions from his years as a teacher in Los Angeles and Albuquerque.

“Being a teacher is probably one of the greatest skills you can pick up because you’re onstage,” he says. “You are trying to get a group of 10 to 30 … kindergarteners [or] high school seniors to buy into your program, so you then can take the time to educate them.”

He was even a bartender part time in Albuquerque, getting to know local journalists who talked shop over drinks.

Shortly after he secured a hosting gig with NPR-affiliate KUNM for a podcast about local government, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. It was time for another pivot for Ekulona. He became the co-host of a new KUNM podcast, No More Normal, covering the unprecedented crisis. Ekulona says his experience on that show gave him a crash course in news reporting. He credits that experience with landing him the job at This Is Nashville. Ekulona gushes about the team, steered by executive producer Andrea Tudhope, and the steady work the crew does five days a week.

Ekulona says Nashvillians have welcomed him warmly to town, both on and off air, and that locals have been eager to share different sides of Nashville with him. And he thinks his varied career helps him navigate different perspectives of the most heated debates.

“People want to talk about the things that are important to them,” he says. “And it’s not simply political talking points from one perspective or the other. These are, at the end of the day, human stories that really can affect us all.”

Photographed by Angelina Castillo at WPLN

ASTRONOMER BILLY TEETS

The president of Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory brings outer space home

BY HANNAH HERNER

When Billy Teets tells people he’s an astronomer, there are a few common questions that come up. Does he believe in aliens?

“I do believe in aliens,” he says. But there’s a caveat. “When I say ‘alien,’ do I mean a little creature in a spaceship? No, not necessarily. I mean life outside of our solar system. When you look at all the planets we’ve found, we know we’re not the only planet in the universe. There’s going to be other planets like Earth out there, and I think there’s definitely a good chance there’s going to be life elsewhere.”

Would he like to go to space?

“Yes, for a day,” Teets says. “I want to see things from above and then come back. I wouldn’t want to spend a year in space.”

What’s the coolest thing he has seen?

It’s all cool when put into perspective — something that Teets helps people do as president of Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory.

“Even when you can barely see something in a telescope, it’s still really incredible,” Teets says. “Especially when you think about what you’re seeing and how far away it is, how big it is, how long ago you’re seeing it, because it takes time to get to us.”

When Teets hosts school field trips at the observatory, the conversation often quickly turns to black holes. Teets, with his methodical and patient nature, welcomes it. He wants people of all ages to be able to ask their own questions about space during their time at the observatory.

Dyer Observatory, high atop a hill near Radnor Lake, is celebrating its 70th year. It’s a quiet and peaceful space, perfect for reflecting on the mysteries of life, or life beyond Earth. The location is also necessary to be able to see things in the dark sky, away from city light pollution.

Teets began working at the observatory in 2006 as a graduate student. He’s been interested in outer space since childhood, and began amateur astronomy in high school, looking through his telescope at the night sky over Clarksville. When it came time to choose an area of study, he considered engineering, but ultimately decided on a physics major and went on to graduate from Vanderbilt’s competitive physics Ph.D. program with a focus on astronomy. He likes to work with his hands, and he got to flex that skill in 2017 while restoring the now 70-year-old reflecting telescope, the largest and most powerful in the observatory. He also made an impressive interactive 3D model of the many visible stars from Earth, among a number of other projects throughout the building.

With its small staff (four including Teets), the observatory hopes to reach more people in 2023. The organization attracts visitors with its summer camps, Bluebird on the Mountain summer concerts, Opera on the Mountain performances and its most popular event, monthly telescope nights. Something Teets and the staff pride themselves on is having brains available for picking, as well as hands-on experiences (ever held a meteorite?). The observatory offers monthly open houses, Q&A sessions with scientists and astronomers, and daytime guided tours.

“You can ask some astronomers, and especially very well-known astronomers, ‘Do we know how stars form?’ and they’ll say, ‘A little bit,’” he says. “We keep making bigger and better telescopes, and [astronomers] keep observing a lot of the same objects. We’re getting more and more of these observations to figure out some of these very fine details that help bring this giant puzzle all together.”

When Teets was in elementary school, scientists only knew of planets in our own solar system. He can tell students today about more than 5,000 planets found orbiting other stars. He estimates that by the time these students are his age, tens of thousands of planets will have been discovered.

“It would be fun to be able to go back in time,” he says. “Galileo saw Jupiter with his telescope, and it looked like a small ball. I’d love to see his face to show him a picture of Jupiter from orbit. That was just 400 years ago, so to go another 400 years, it’s going to be astonishing to think about what we might have by then.”

Photographed by Angelina Castillo at Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory

RENAISSANCE MAN JAMES

RUDOLPH II

The Nashville native — and cake maker — has worked with virtually every theater company in town

BY AMY STUMPFL

James Rudolph II may not have planned on a career in the arts, but he’s always been a performer.

“I was sort of a party trick for my family,” the Nashville native says. “It was like, ‘Jay, come do that thing you were working on!’ I’m sure there’s probably video somewhere of me doing Michael Jackson’s Thriller — I mean, I had every move down. So I always loved to perform, but I never saw it as a viable career.”

Rudolph says he received plenty of encouragement from teachers and friends over the years, but it wasn’t until someone suggested he audition for a show at Street Theatre Company that he really considered a future on the stage.

“I was 24, working in a restaurant, and people kept

asking me if I was an actor or comedian,” he says. “It felt like the universe was trying to tell me something. I ended up trying out for Bat Boy: The Musical at Street Theatre, and it just took off from there.”

Since then, Rudolph has worked with virtually every company in town, including Nashville Rep, Studio Tenn, Nashville Story Garden and Kindling Arts Festival, to name a few. This season has kept him particularly busy at the Nashville Children’s Theatre, where he regularly performs and also works as a teaching artist.

“Working with the Children’s Theatre is one of the coolest things I’ve done as a professional actor,” says Rudolph, who’s currently gearing up for NCT’s Hip Hop Cinderella and recently earned his Actors’ Equity card. “I grew up coming to this theater, and now I get to be part of the next generation of artists. It’s an honor and a privilege that I do not take lightly. I’ve grown so much as an artist here, and get to play such fun characters. I mean, where else could I play a snail or a robot?”

But as much as Rudolph enjoys playing such varied roles, he wasn’t quite prepared for all the backlash — including national headlines, threats and more — surrounding his performance as Miss Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West in NCT’s recent staging of The Wizard of Oz

“The thing that was so frustrating was that everyone skipped over the fact that we had women playing the traditionally male roles of the Wizard and the Lion,” he

says. “They just wanted to be mad about the boy in the dress, because they equated that with drag. There’s so much to talk about with that production — actors playing their own instruments, a woman of color in the lead role. But no — for some people, it was all about me wearing a dress. To me, playing the Witch is no different than playing a snail or a robot. The only difference was this ridiculous internet outrage. But the kids loved it, so that’s my focus. As long as my director’s happy, and the kids are happy, then I’ve done my job. People can say what they want. I’m going to focus on the work.”

That focus seems to carry through in all of Rudolph’s pursuits. Currently pursuing a music degree, he plays several instruments, enjoys writing and even has his own baking business — JR’s Cake Company.

“My mom had three boys, and made sure we all learned to cook,” he says. “But I was always in charge of desserts. I remember making a SpongeBob cake for my nephew, and my brother said, ‘Where’d you buy that cake?’ I thought, ‘Well, all right, maybe I can do this!’ Over the years, I’ve had to set it aside and pick it back up, depending on my schedule. But I love trying new recipes — new ideas for cakes. I guess it all just feeds that artistic side of me. My art, my cakes — they’re all part of who I am.”

Photographed by Angelina Castillo at Nashville Children’s Theatre

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APRIL 19

ZANIES 40TH ANNIVERSARY COMEDY ALLSTARS

ON SALE WEDNESDAY AT 10 AM

MAY 13

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JUNE 9

FEID ON SALE THURSDAY AT 10 AM

JUNE 19

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AUGUST 14 LIVE AT THE OPRY HOUSE COUNTING

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WITH DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

NASHVILLE TYPEWRITER’S KIRK JACKSON

Jackson enjoys connecting with other typewriter lovers — including his old pal Tom Hanks

BY ERICA CICCARONE

Sitting in his sunny Goodlettsville shop, surrounded by a collection of typewriters that were manufactured over the course of a century, Kirk Jackson describes his love of the machines as something completely out of his control.

“When I got bit by this bug,” Jackson says, “I got bit pretty hard.”

He started Nashville Typewriter in his barn a few years back and opened the brick-and-mortar a little more than a year ago. Jackson describes himself as a blue-collar handyman who has always been drawn to the arts — visual art first, then writing, poetry. But writing on computers didn’t suit him. The internet is distracting as hell, and his handwriting is messy. The physical act of writing with these tools didn’t make sense. Jackson was browsing in beloved local vintage store Dead People’s Things — which was owned by Shayne Parker, who died in 2021 — when he saw a Remington Quiet-Riter.

“I popped it open and started just kind of futzing around with it a little bit,” he says. “I ended up buying it and got it home. … That was all it took for me to fall in love with them. … One typewriter became three, and then 10.”

The biggest draw for Jackson is the tactile experience. “It’s a very deliberate writing technique, you know? It’s like every word, you have to kind of think before you put it down on paper. It’s that visceral, tactile experience, where it’s like you’re using mechanics to make the words happen. It felt a little bit more like sculpting or painting or playing the piano — it’s got that kind of a feel to it.”

He’s not alone — folks come in from places as close as East Nashville and as far-flung as Italy to browse and buy typewriters. Jackson taught himself to service them, too. “These machines, nine times out of 10 … they just need a very good cleaning and some adjustment, and just a little love.”

He keeps that first machine, the Quiet-Riter, in the front of his shop. His favorite, though, is a 1930 Olympia SG1. “A big boy,” he says. It has an Art Deco sans serif typeface, and he found it here in Nashville at Music City Thrift. Each machine in his showroom has its own personality, both in appearance and in functionality. He always invites his clients to try some out, including little kids. He wants the next generation of typewriter lovers to get the bug.

Jackson has this in common with his friend Tom — America’s Dad, Tom Hanks. Hanks loves typewriters and makes it a point to visit shops around the world. He’s visited Jackson twice. He’s totally genuine, Jackson says — just “a dude who is so excited about typewriters.” But Jackson isn’t flashy about their kinship. I’m in the shop for more than an hour before Jackson mentions that just the day before, Hanks shipped him a typewriter overnight from California.

It’s 1954 R.C. Allen VisOmatic — a large desktop typewriter with forest-green keys. It came along with a note — typewritten, of course — from Hanks that reads, in part:

“You just may be giving this miracle of a machine a fuller, newer life of use.” Typewriter copy, of course, is prone to more typos than what’s written with a word processor. “Take good care of it,” Hanks wrote, “and halp it keep doing it’s job for another hundred years.”

Jackson will oblige.

Photographed by Eric England at Nashville Typewriter

RNBW’S JAMIE AND EMILY DRYBURGH

The organizers’ collective builds vital community spaces for songsmiths from the LGBTQ community

BY STEPHEN TRAGESER

In recent years, it’s been much easier to see the wealth of talented LGBTQ musicians across Nashville’s ecosystem of music scenes. In large part, that’s thanks to organizers who are intentional about making safe spaces for queer musicians.

“Having a tribe and being accepted is just important for being human, and your survival,” says Emily Dryburgh. She’s seated in a booth by her twin sister Jamie, shielded from the afternoon sun by the multicolored curtain lining the stage at beloved East Nashville lesbian bar Lipstick Lounge. “I can’t tell you how many friends we have who at one point were homeless or broke, or have a lot of residual trauma.”

Raised in upstate New York, Emily and Jamie — both of whom identify as queer — made their way to Belmont University’s music business program in the early 2010s. When we speak, they’re taking a break from planning for

their organization RNBW Queer Music Collective. Among myriad other events, there are details to pin down for RNBW’s fifth annual stage at Nashville Pride, an event called Country Pride that’s coming to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and RNBW’s second Country Pride showcase at CMA Fest. Last year’s inaugural Country Pride marked the first official celebration of queer artists during the behemoth CMA Fest; as far as the Dryburghs know, it was the first one ever at a country fest. A few hours after our conversation, they went back to Lipstick for that week’s installment of RNBW Queer Music Nights, the Tuesday songwriter showcase they’ve put on there since COVID restrictions began to ease in early 2021.

Jamie recalls that the inspiration for the weekly show came from a queer songwriters’ round put on by a friend before the pandemic. The positive atmosphere and the size of the crowd left a big impression, but the momentum stalled after just one show. The sisters put the relationships and marketing skills they developed on Music Row to work, cultivating a consistent presence on social media and at Lipstick Lounge with their version of the event, which has become a community staple. RNBW Queer Music Nights has hosted more than 600 queer songsmiths, including Jake Wesley Rogers and Joy Oladokun near the pop end of the spectrum, as well as artists like Shelly Fairchild and The Kentucky Gentlemen who hew closer to mainstream country. “We’ve had everybody from Grammy-nominated [artists], to CMA-winning [artists], to huge pop artists, to kids who

have hardly picked up a guitar and played,” says Emily. “And this is the only space some of them have to be. They don’t feel comfortable going on Broadway — they can’t sing their pronouns or tell their stories.”

The Dryburghs have developed programming for other Nashville bars looking to make their spaces welcoming for the LGBTQ community. And they’ve been fielding offers to curate RNBW nights in places like Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Chattanooga.

“Initially we didn’t really have big plans — we’re just going, ‘We’re gonna create a space for needs to be served, let’s do it,’” says Jamie.

Jamie and Emily highlight the importance of support from within the industry, including from partners in some of their events like CMA, CMT and country news site The Nash News — all of whom the sisters praise for their work to incorporate LGBTQ voices into the mainstream. While progress is never as fast as it could be, it’s significant to have artists like Brothers Osborne — whose singer T.J. Osborne came out in 2021 — on the charts, and artists like Lily Rose opening dates on major tours for Shania Twain and Sam Hunt. In light of the anti-queer and anti-trans bills that have made their way through the state legislature this year, every ounce of energy is meaningful.

“We’re here, we’re queer, we’re not going anywhere,” says Emily. “We just have to learn from it and continue to grow and expand.”

Photographed by Angelina Castillo at Lipstick Lounge

People Issue The FLUTEBAE ASHLEY CRAWFORD

The TSU professor and Instagram sensation, from Mozart to ‘Mask Off’

BY KELSEY BEYELER

Ashley Crawford didn’t give herself the moniker Flutebae — the internet did. And she ran with it.

The classically trained flutist is extremely talented. She has a master’s degree in instrumental pedagogy and classical flute performance to prove it. But it’s the way she uses her flute — and the way she uses social media — that makes Crawford unique.

Crawford wears many hats, from flute professor at Tennessee State University to her roles as conductor and musical director of the Nashville Philharmonic Flute Ensemble, president of the Nashville African American Wind Symphony, a mother and more. She’s collaborated with myriad artists and helped create TSU’s Aristocrat of Bands’ Grammy-winning album The Urban Hymnal She’s featured (as Flutebae) on the Aristocrats of Bands single Fly. Her Instagram account (@profflutebae), which has roughly 23,000 followers, is full of original music and flute renditions of songs from pop artists like Beyoncé and Doja Cat.

Flutebae’s internet fame was kicked off in 2017 with the #MaskOffChallenge, a social media trend fueled by the Future single “Mask Off.”

“The first person that I saw do it was Lizzo,” says Crawford. “People kept tagging me in her video, and I’m like ‘What is this song she’s playing?’... Different instrumentalists were learning this line and posting themselves playing it — #MaskOffChallenge. So I was like, ‘OK, well, I’m gonna do it.’ … It took off so fast. And there was no watermark on the video, no one knew who I was. So people called me Flutebae.”

Crawford is a trailblazer, but her path to success presented challenges. After earning her master’s degree, Crawford was prepared to start working with symphonies, but a flurry of auditions throughout the country yielded no job offers. “Unfortunately, or should I say fortunately, it didn’t work out the way that I intended [it] to,” says Crawford. “That was pretty heartbreaking for me, because I was like, OK, well, what am I gonna do now? This was supposed to be the thing that deemed success on this instrument.’”

Crawford started teaching flute lessons and eventually landed her current gig at TSU — her undergrad alma mater. Then, of course, came the #MaskOffChallenge and its subsequent opportunities.

“What this did for me is it liberated me from basically the constraints of classical music,” says Crawford. “I don’t have to worry about someone feeling some type of way because I didn’t interpret Mozart the way that you felt like I should. But I’m gonna play this rap song, or I’m gonna play these classical lines over this rap song — the way that Flutebae wants to do it. And now no one can say anything. So just from unlocking that, I feel like it was a self-realization within myself, like this is the freedom that I need. … Now you’re seeing an intersectionality with it. Not only are you seeing this classical flutist flex all of these things on these tracks, but you’re seeing a Black classical flutist do it.” Crawford also imparts the lessons she’s learned to her current students.

“None of them are music majors, but they love to play the flute,” says Crawford. “I feel like what I do keeps that fire ignited in them. Because they see that there’s more out there than what they learned in high school or what the classical, more uptight, traditional flute study would be. It’s way more lax with me. If you want to do classical track, we can do classical track; if you want to do jazz, we can do jazz; if you want to learn how to play hip-hop, we can do that.”

Photographed by Eric England at Tennessee State University

Sing Me Back Home: Folk Roots to the Present

EXHIBIT NOW OPEN

FRANKLIN COMMUNITY ORGANIZER KEVIN RIGGS

BY COLE VILLENA

No one should be homeless in Williamson County. The largely suburban county south of Nashville is one of the wealthiest in the country, with a median income of $115,806. There’s a thriving community of churches, charitable organizations and wealthy donors who gladly throw money at causes from historic preservation to food insecurity.

But every day, Kevin Riggs, the pastor at Franklin Community Church and the head of the Williamson County Homeless Alliance, sees people experiencing homelessness with nowhere to turn.

Riggs says he started the alliance once he realized there was not an organization dedicated solely to caring for the county’s homeless community — “Franklin doesn’t need another church, Franklin doesn’t need another nonprofit,” he says. The organization operates out of a nondescript office just a five-minute drive off Franklin’s picturesque city square. It provides daytime shelter, job resources, financial support and occasionally just a place to get showered for work. For residents who struggle to find housing in a county where the median home price is around $830,000 but the minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour, it’s a lifeline.

But Riggs knows there’s more work to do. There always is in Franklin.

“I know that, when push comes to shove, to do what needs to be done with the homeless is going to be hard in Franklin,” Riggs says. “There’s this mentality — it’s a white-privilege mentality, really — that all you’ve got to do is get a homeless person a job, and they’ll be OK.”

Riggs recently cut the ribbon on the John and Joyce McMillen House, a group home meant to be a stable base for formerly homeless people transitioning into permanent housing. He helped spearhead Franklin’s Fuller Story project, which worked with city government to bring a statue honoring Black Civil War veterans to the city square and bring Black history to the fore in the majority-white county. He’s written letters denouncing the death penalty, and he visited the state Capitol to call upon Gov. Bill Lee to enact a “moral policy agenda” in Tennessee that, among other things, rejects discriminatory bills against the LGBTQ community.

“I feel strongly that one of the primary roles of a pastor and the church is to be the conscience of the community,” Riggs says. “Somebody’s got to stand up and say, ‘This is what’s going on, and it needs to change.’”

It can feel like an endless struggle in a place like Franklin, where well-to-do churchgoers might donate money to serve impoverished communities abroad but ignore vulnerable communities in their own backyard. It’s not like there’s no money for charitable causes: In 2022, the county opened a new $18 million animal shelter funded by taxpayer dollars and charitable contributions. But Williamson County does not have a full-time homeless shelter.

“I love animals, so I’m glad they built that,” Riggs says. Even so, he says, “We were able to put $15 million [in county tax dollars] toward an animal shelter, but we’re not willing to do that to help house the homeless.”

Riggs has lost friends and associates by raising his voice so loudly. Evangelical Christianity is widespread in Williamson County, and many of the faith’s loudest adherents are politicians like Gov. Lee or megachurch pastors who, at best, shy away from topics like systemic racism or inequality.

“There are evangelical pastors who think I’ve lost my soul,” Riggs says with a soft smile. “No, that’s not true. If anything, I’ve found it, seeing what’s going on, reading scripture.”

This week, he traveled to Oxford University to attend a colloquium about racialized Christian nationalism. When he was first invited to the event, he thought it was about “radicalized Christian nationalism” — not that there’s not much of a difference in his eyes.

“I’m almost convinced that, in Tennessee, they want a theocracy,” Riggs says. “The Bible and history have shown that theocracy is a horrible idea and highly oppressive.”

Riggs still considers himself, “at least theologically, a conservative evangelical.” For him, that means basing his faith on the Bible that calls on him to love others and fight for justice. “The way you love a God you cannot see is loving those you can see. The way you serve a God you cannot see is by serving those you can see.”

This credo, adapted from a passage in 1 John, is a key part of his personal faith. It’s what helps him keep pushing through the endless battles in Franklin.

“If I do something and no one notices, and no one says, ‘Thank you,’ it doesn’t really matter, because I didn’t do it for you,” Riggs says. “This is my service to God and the way I worship God.”

‘The way you serve a God you cannot see is by serving those you can see’

Photographed by Eric England at Williamson County Homeless Alliance

FAT POSITIVE

NASHVILLE’S KIMMY STYLED

The self-styled content creator started what she describes as a community for fat people by fat people

BY KIM BALDWIN

Kimmy Styled is just like the rest of us: sitting on a couch, waiting in the virtual queue for Beyoncé tickets.

Kimmy is a content creator with 50,000 Instagram followers and 72,000 TikTok followers. If the term “content creator” is throwing you for a loop, that’s what we used to call an influencer. But content creation is much more than what you may remember from the early Instagram days. Content creators build community, land paid sponsorships, learn how to film and edit videos and much more. What used to be written off as a side hustle is now a legitimate career.

Kimmy’s content ranges from outfit-of-the-day posts and posts about local plus-size shops to solo travel tips and details about living with chronic illness. She is also embarking on an aerial yoga journey that is a joy to watch.

I ask Kimmy what the hardest part about being a content creator is, and her answer surprises me. I expect her to say Instagram Reels, but she says parasocial relationships — when social media followers who don’t know you in real life consider you a friend and engage with your content as if you’re in a reciprocal relationship.

“Luckily, I haven’t had anything terrible or weird happen,” says Kimmy. “I try to be pretty upfront, like, ‘Hey, I am here to be a resource, but also I’m a whole human being that has feelings and you don’t know my full life.’”

At this point in the interview we pause for Beyoncé. Kimmy’s number is up in the queue. After a tense few minutes, Kimmy says, “Oh, my stars. Oh! Oh my God! Beyoncé! Beyoncé!” I am happy to report that she was successful, and many screenshots and text messages later, we resume our chat.

Kimmy started Fat Positive Nashville (@fatpositivenashville), which in an intro post on Instagram she describes as a community for fat people by fat people: “All fat people are welcome in this intersectional and inclusive space. This is an anti-diet space where you can find other fat folks who just get it. ... It’s for real fat folks who desire community, fun, joy, and freedom from diet, wellness, health, and weight loss talk.”

The genesis of the group came from something many people experienced in recent years: loneliness and isolation during COVID lockdown. Like a lot of us, Kimmy noticed how hard it became to make and maintain friendships. “So many people have families and partners, and that’s the most important thing, and that’s great,” she says. “But also those people maybe want another space to have friends. I want a space where people prioritize relationships like friendship relationships.”

Kimmy also noticed that Nashville doesn’t seem to have any other specific groups around this kind of issue.

“There’s not anyone saying the word ‘fat,’ and I think that’s really important,” she says. “You can say ‘plus-size’ or ‘chubby’ or all these cute little words, and that’s great, but I want a space for people who identify with the term ‘fat’ because it’s so polarizing. And I know if I say the word ‘fat,’ the people will come who want to come.”

If you’re searching for fat community, look into Fat Positive Nashville. Kimmy’s goal is to join Nashvillians through events like book clubs, group hikes and game nights and to eventually be a resource for folks looking for weight-neutral doctors, dietitians, therapists, endocrinologists and other specialists.

“I just felt like there was an opportunity to find more community and real-life people who value friendships, who want a community. We still care about things, but we don’t have to talk about diets.”

Photographed by Eric England at W Nashville

THE ELVIS OF FRANKLIN

The stylist and Elvis tribute artist runs Blue Suede Salon in downtown Franklin

BY JARRETT VAN METER

When Ryan Collingwood was a highschooler, his parents made him start paying for his own haircuts. He asked around, found a place, and forked over $15 — roughly four hours of wages from his job at Carl’s Jr.

“It was the worst haircut I ever got,” says Collingwood, now 47.

The following payday he spent another $15 to buy his own scissors and clippers, and when he was due for another trim, he did it himself. It wasn’t perfect, but it was an improvement. His two best friends took notice and asked him to cut theirs for $5 apiece. He was in business.

Three decades later, Collingwood is still doing hair, but take one look around his Blue Suede Salon in downtown Franklin and it’s clear that hair is only half the story. Before Carl’s Jr., before he bought his own scissors, Ryan Collingwood was an Elvis Presley fan. The King passed away on Collingwood’s second birthday, forging a reverence that only crystallized with age. On the night of his 30th birthday, during a family trip to Hawaii, Collingwood requested they go see local Elvis tribute artist Ron Short perform in Waikiki. Wearing all denim, Short worked the stage until it was time for “Love Me Tender.” When the song came on, the faux Elvis stepped off the stage and began making his way around the small showroom. Arriving in front of Collingwood’s table, Short decided to outsource a few lines. He held the microphone in front of the birthday boy, who dutifully took over.

“You have made my life complete, and I love you so …”

The lyrics fell like the final petals from a stem. Beautiful, velvety, melodic. For several seconds the room was silent, then Short reclaimed the mic and spoke.

“Man, he’s taking my job soon.”

It was an awakening. The career hairdresser entered his first amateur Elvis tribute artist contest later that year and has been competing ever since.

Collingwood arrived in Tennessee last year with his wife and two children, settling in Franklin after 15 years in San Diego and seven in Eagle, Colo. Yet despite being new to town, he has already carved out a niche within both of his worlds. As a tribute artist, he has served as the resident Elvis of the Beale Street Hard Rock Cafe in Memphis. As a stylist, he has become the go-to guy among other Elvis tribute artists both locally and nationally. The night before Victor Trevino won last year’s Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest — the top competition in the field — Collingwood cut Trevino’s hair in a Memphis hotel room. Twenty-year-old Clarksville native Riley Jenkins, another top young “ETA,” drives two hours each way for his monthly cut at Blue Suede.

“It’s very hard to find people these days that can cut hair like how Elvis wore it,” Jenkins says one afternoon as Collingwood works on his bangs.

Jenkins was preparing for a multistate tour to celebrate Elvis’ birthday back in January. While Collingwood worked, the pair swapped stories and notes about their hero. The walls of Blue Suede are decorated with Elvis photos, posters and calendars. The television stays tuned to old Elvis movies. Collingwood insists that cutting hair comes first, but admits he gets something from performing, from being the King, that he can’t find anywhere else.

“You feel like you are just in it,” Collingwood says. “Then it’s just over, and you don’t even know, you’ve got to watch it to see what happened.”

Photographed by Eric England at Blue Suede Salon, cutting the hair of Elvis impersonator Ben King

AUTHOR PRISCA DORCAS MOJICA RODRÍGUEZ

Mojica Rodríguez tackles stereotypes, misogyny and more for an audience of Latinx readers

BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez makes a fist and shows off the word “LOCA” inked across her knuckles. Men, other women and even her parents had called her crazy in attempts to dismiss her, so she took ownership of the word. She wrote about the tattoo in her first book, For Brown Girls With Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts: A Love Letter to Women of Color, and the idea of reclaiming and reimagining the words used to hurt people informs her sophomore effort.

“Latinas get stereotyped into either the sexy spitfire … or we get put into the chola scene,” says Mojica Rodríguez . “And so I wanted

to write a book about what it would look like to actually talk about us outside of the stereotypes.”

The forthcoming Tias and Primas will deconstruct stereotypes about Latinas and explore 25 different archetypes of women in Latin American families, each one a different aunt or cousin. There’s the tia who talks to plants and the tia who sees ghosts, for example.

Mojica Rodríguez has experienced stereotyping, saying peers at the Vanderbilt University School of Divinity would call her “spicy.” Rather than shrug it off, she wants to push back.

“I think we become numb to our own stereotypes, because I’ve seen other Latinas be like, ‘I’m just spicy, I’m Latin,’” she says. “And it’s not just this fun little thing. It comes with other dehumanizing aspects. When somebody sees you as literally just a condiment … they cannot see you as human.”

The author, 37, says she never felt pressure to assimilate into U.S. culture until she moved to Nashville in her 20s. She arrived in the U.S. in 1992 at age 7, immigrating with her family from Nicaragua. She grew up in Miami, which she says is “a very Latinx space” in a way Nashville isn’t.

Her grad school experiences informed her debut book in complicated ways. That 10-chapter book tackles subjects that have academic roots but have also become common in online discourse, like toxic masculinity, imposter syndrome and intergenerational trauma. But Mojica Rodríguez’s experience at Vanderbilt Divinity — and her frustrations with how exclusive and impenetrable academic writing

can be — infuses her prose with a drive to make these topics accessible, understandable and personal.

That same drive led to her start the Instagram page Latina Rebels (@latinarebels) in 2013 — it currently has 209,000 followers. That platform lets her discuss topics like oppression and toxic masculinity in a more digestible medium, aimed at teenage Latinas. The page attracted attention from an editor at HuffPost, who invited Mojica Rodríguez to contribute to the outlet, kicking off a literary career.

While she’s proud of For Brown Girls With Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts, Mojica Rodríguez says she wants to move away from writing that tackles trauma in such a raw way. (“You can hear me crying in parts of the audio book,” she says.) She’s especially wary of the way white audiences consume the stories of the pain and struggles that people of color experience. She wants to pursue an anthology of Nicaraguan writing, a graphic novel and even a cookbook. Whatever’s next, she doesn’t want to compromise who she’s writing for.

“I really have an audience of Latinas who have created my whole career,” she says. “I’ve sold over 55,000 copies of my book in a little over a year. And I don’t think anybody expected it, because I don’t write for white people, [who] are considered the mainstream audience. … I hope that people understand that there is a way to make it without catering to white people. And I hope that I can be an example of that.”

Photographed by Mercedes Zapata EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

CRITICS’ PICKS

WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF THINGS TO DO

THURSDAY / 3.16

MUSIC

[PARTS UNKNOWN] BODEANS

BoDeans have come a long way since 1987, when Rolling Stone readers picked them as the best new American rock band of that transitional moment in the history of roots rock. The Wisconsin group made a splash with the 1986 debut full-length Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, which peaks with “She’s a Runaway,” the tale of a woman who shoots an abusive partner and takes off for parts unknown. The rest of the album didn’t come close to that track, though something titled “Misery” does well enough as a version of country music that’s filtered through a post-punk sensibility. The band’s second album, 1987’s Outside Looking In, found bandleader Kurt Neumann hemmed in by Jerry Harrison’s obtrusive production style, and David Z’s production on 1991’s Black and White made it clear that BoDeans wanted to shed their rootsy influences and become, you know, a modern rock band. These days Neumann is basically the group, and his work on 2022’s 4 the Last Time folds in keyboards to create a sound that evokes the sonics of contemporary country. The themes of 4 the Last Time also bear comparison to the preoccupations of country music. Sometimes Neumann sounds goopy, as on “A Little More Time,” but songs like “Ya Gotta Go Crazy” and “I’m a Mess” are solid examinations of the malaise and doubt many rock fans feel as they approach old age. 4 the Last Time isn’t roots rock — I’m glad to see Neumann has progressed.

8 p.m. at City Winery, 609 Lafayette St.

EDD HURT

[COUNTRY ROCK CHANTEUSE]

MUSIC

ELIZABETH COOK AT OPRY COUNTRY CLASSICS

For the first time in 15 years, Elizabeth Cook is taking a hiatus from touring. “I’ve got three records in the works right now — a movie soundtrack, a follow-up to Aftermath and a classic country record,” the countryrock recording artist and SiriusXM radio personality tells the Scene by phone. “So I’m staying home and focusing on getting all that organized and lined up with the material.” Although Cook is taking a break from the road, she will make occasional special appearances “for friends or charity or the Opry,” and that includes a headlining slot Thursday night on the weekly Opry Country Classics series. Larry Gatlin will host the show, which will also feature performances by Shane Hennessy, The Gatlin Brothers and The Oak Ridge Boys. “I’ll do three country classic songs with the Opry house band,” Cook says. “It’s cool. It’s like my favorite thing. It’s a night that you can go to the Opry and hear classic country music at a very high level.” 7 p.m. at the Grand Ole Opry House, 600 Opry Mills Drive DARYL SANDERS

MUSIC

CHLOÉ ARNOLD’S SYNCOPATED LADIES

[FORTUNATELY

NOT GONE] THE BREEDERS W/BULLY

What started as a Pixies side project became one of the best alternative bands of the ’90s. The Breeders, led by Kim Deal and her twin sister, Kelley, will headline The Basement East on March 16 with support from Nashville’s own Bully. The Breeders come co-signed by ’90s rock legends — Kurt Cobain cited them as one of his favorite bands and an influence on Nirvana, and legendary producer Steve Albini lists their 1990 album Pod as one of his best works. Their music is equal parts weird and wonderful, and it’s easy to see their influence on what alternative music has become today. The Breeders were ahead of their time, but there’s no better time to see them rock than now, especially during Women’s History Month. Alicia Bognanno’s Bully recently released a new collaboration with Soccer Mommy, a track titled “Lose You” that lucky attendees might get to hear

her play live for the first time. The show is currently sold out, but if you manage to get a ticket, it will be well worth your while for this killer lineup. 8 p.m. at The Basement East, 917 Woodland St. HANNAH CRON

FRIDAY / 3.17

[I’LL

THEATER

DRINK TO THAT]

INEBRIATED SHAKESPEARE

Inebriated Shakespeare is back and ready to kick off its seventh season with a decidedly fast-paced production of Twelfth Night (currently playing in repertory with Romeo & Juliet). For those who’ve never experienced an Inebriated Shakespeare show, the setup is simple — the actors start off each performance by drinking a couple of shots, then attempt to “soliloquy under the influence.” Audience members can

get in on the fun by purchasing shots for $5 (don’t forget to bring your cash!), with proceeds going to support the nonprofit theater company. The troupe, which performs in bars and clubs throughout the area, is definitely a rollicking good time. But keep in mind that Inebriated Shakespeare encourages responsible drinking for both its cast and audience. To learn more about Inebriated Shakespeare and its upcoming performances, check out inebriatedshakespeare.com. 9 p.m. at Third Coast Comedy Club, 1310 Clinton St. AMY STUMPFL

DANCE

[NOT YOUR GRANDMA’S TAP]

CHLOÉ ARNOLD’S SYNCOPATED LADIES

There are two main types of tap: Broadway and rhythm. Broadway (aka musical) tap is what you tend to see in old movies, and rhythm tap is much more intricate — even edgy. The Syncopated

MARCH 17

TPAC’s Polk Theater

Ladies are a prime example of the latter. Audiences may recognize the most-viewed female tap band in history from their viral Prince tribute or Beyoncé collaboration.

Debbie Allen protégé and group founder Chloé Arnold is most recently the Emmynominated choreographer behind The Late Late Show With James Corden, and the spectacularly dance-heavy Spirited with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. Tap often just makes up a few minutes in an hours-long show, or is an afterthought in dance training, so it’s exciting to see the percussive style so full of cultural history (look it up, start with the Nicholas Brothers) take center stage. It’s not an oversell to say this is the best tap you’ll ever see, and will rank among the best dancing. The Syncopated Ladies give all people who tap dance (hi, it’s me) a cooler frame of reference, but also reintroduce tap to the world in a way that’s moving and modern.

THEATER [SOMETHING (EXTRA)ORDINARY] ORDINARY DAYS

[TUFFIN’ UP]

KING TUFF

7:30 p.m. at TPAC’s Polk Theater, 505 Deaderick St. HANNAH HERNER MUSIC

Vermont native and current Angeleno

Kyle Thomas has made a long and rich career of cranking out rock ’n’ roll. In his early days he played and recorded with artists including Ty Segall, Hunx and His Punx and the J Mascis-featuring stonerrock outfit Witch, but he’s of course best known for his output as the freak-flag-flying King Tuff. As Tuff, Thomas has issued a half-dozen studio albums, plus a number of EPs and live albums, rife with riffs and psychedelic sounds indebted to legends like The Kinks, Roky Erickson and The Seeds.

January’s Smalltown Stardust — King Tuff’s fourth LP for Seattle indie mainstay Sub Pop — is an introspective affair, less reliant on punky energy and shredding than early Tuff records like Was Dead. Standouts include the bright and sunshiny “Portrait of God” and the ’70s-harkening AM-radio sounds of “How I Love,” one of several tracks featuring stellar backing vocals from coproducer and co-writer Sasami Ashworth. New York trio Tchotchke will appear in support. 8 p.m. at The Basement East, 917 Woodland St. D. PATRICK RODGERS

MUSIC

[IDOL WORSHIP] BRYAN

CATES

Someone texted me that I should listen to Bryan Cates’ new album Any Way You Are. They said I would like it. The text was from a person who is pretty damn picky about the music they listen to — someone whose opinion I trust. Then … a few more people texted me about Bryan Cates’ new album, and they were the same kind of people: people who are serious about music. They were all correct! I love it! Nashville folks can be pretty jaded when it comes to music, and these Nashville people shared Bryan’s album with me like it was a sacred secret. At a time when not much is secret or sacred, Any Way You Are arrives like a hopeful message in a bottle. It’s catchy, but not easily classifiable. It’s also wise, and his lyrics are amazing. “If you built up a shrine in your own image, don’t you gotta break it down?” he sings in “Idols.” “It don’t recognize its maker, it just sees a dangerous rival.” In his native North Carolina, he

and now-cult-legend Seth Kauffman (aka Floating Action) played music together. Bryan moved to Nashville in 2007, where he is becoming a cult legend. Any Way You Are, beautifully produced by his longtime friend Bill Reynolds (Band of Horses), is Cates’ first solo full-length LP. 8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S. CHRIS CROFTON

[GOOD CRAIC]

FILM

LEPRECHAUN AT FULL MOON CINEPLEX, LEPRECHAUN 3 AT THE BELCOURT

While SyFy will play the Leprechaun movies all day on St. Patrick’s Day, anyone who grew up watching those campy-as-fuck horror flicks on cable or VHS will have the chance to finally catch some blarney bloodshed on the big screen. Full Moon Cineplex kicks things off Friday with an early-evening screening of the 1993 original, in which Warwick Davis’ gold-craving gnome begins his reign of terror, hunting down poor young bastards, including a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston. Later the Belcourt will have a midnight screening of the franchise’s third installment, wherein that little muhfucka incites some fear and loathing in Las Vegas. Someone had the bright idea to hire Ozploitation auteur Brian Trenchard-Smith to direct, and the film ended up becoming the highestgrossing direct-to-video release of 1995. (Trenchard-Smith has recorded an intro for this screening, BTW.) I’m a bit disappointed no one around here was ballsy enough to screen the fifth film, Leprechaun in the Hood. The title tells you all you need to know. Leprechaun 7 p.m. at Full Moon Cineplex, 3455 Lebanon Pike; Leprechaun 3 midnight at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave.

CRAIG D. LINDSEY

[HARD PLACE]

CONVENTION

ROCKNPOD EXPO 2023

For better, mostly — though certainly sometimes for worse — the internet makes it possible for folks to commune with others who share their interests in ways and on a scale that once seemed impossible. But even communities that could live in cyberspace in perpetuity benefit from getting together in real life. Launched in Music City in 2017, the RockNPod Expo brings together hard rock and heavy metal podcasters, a wide spectrum of fans and tons of musicians. This year’s three-day event kicks off Friday night with an all-ages show at Eastside Bowl featuring Rare Hare, an ensemble that gathers top touring and studio talent to play deep-cut metal favorites. Saturday, the Expo proper takes over The Fairgrounds Nashville with scads of panel discussions, podcaster education programs, vendor booths and live podcast interviews with (and performances from) heaps of guest musicians. A small sampling includes Mr. Big’s Eric Martin and Twisted Sister’s Eddie Ojeda, as well as Music City’s own Warner E. Hodges, Dylana Nova Scott, Bebe Buell and Jeremy Asbrock. Ron Keel, Steeler and others will perform at Bowie’s Saturday evening for Keel Fest II. Sunday, Full Moon Cineplex has a matinee screening of the 1987 documentary KISS Exposed, while a music-and-comedy grand finale called Punchlines and Backlines brings Craig Gass, Don Jamieson, the aforementioned Eric Martin and more to The Vinyl Lounge. An array of different passes are available, including options to stream selected panel discussions — check out nashvillerocknpodexpo.com for the full rundown. March 17-19 at various locations

STEPHEN TRAGESER

Street Theatre Company has earned a solid reputation for producing unconventional, off-the-beaten-path works. That description certainly applies when it comes to Ordinary Days, which will receive its regional premiere at The Barbershop Theater this weekend. Featuring music and lyrics by Adam Gwon, this unusual song cycle draws us into the tumultuous world of four very different New Yorkers as they struggle to navigate life and love in the Big Apple. Ordinary Days made its off-Broadway debut in 2009 at Roundabout Theatre Company’s Black Box Theatre and soon developed something of a cult following. Street Theatre’s production is directed by Leslie Marberry, with musical direction by Randy Craft, and the cast features a great mix of new and familiar talent including Ang Madaline-Johnson, Alan Smith, Grant Weathington and Sachiko Nicholson. Ordinary Days marks Street’s first production at The Barbershop since announcing its new partnership with Verge Theater Company (and Barbershop residency) in January. March 17-April 1 at The Barbershop Theater, 4003 Indiana Ave. AMY STUMPFL

SATURDAY / 3.18

MUSIC

NEVER DIE] BUDDY GUY W/ CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM

[LEGENDS

The polka-dot prince of blues music, Buddy Guy, embarked on his farewell tour in February. From his beginnings as a crossroads acolyte to his status as an international-crossover sensation, the legendary bluesman is celebrating an extraordinary career that spanned 70 years and earned countless accolades. He’s a pillar of American roots music. Guy may just be the last remaining connection to the pinnacle of Chicago-blues music born within the Mississippi Delta and bred among the urban juke joints strung along Maxwell Street during the ’50s — but in the words of his mentor Muddy Waters, Guy “can’t be satisfied.” Guy’s universal influence is encapsulated by his 2022 album The Blues Don’t Lie. Featuring collaborations with Mavis Staples, Elvis Costello and Jason Isbell, the record is as fervent as any in Guy’s extensive discography. Howling over the buzz of his electric guitar, Guy proclaims, “The world needs love, like never before,” on the album’s third track “The World Needs Love.” Blues-rock disciple and torchbearer Christone “Kingfish” Ingram will kick things off. 8 p.m. at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N. JASON VERSTEGEN

FILM

[OH MY GODDD!]

MIDNIGHT MOVIES: TROLL 2 AT THE BELCOURT

Much like that other midnight-movie monstrosity The Room, the 1990 “sequel” to 1986’s horror-comedy Troll is a nonsensical but entertaining train wreck made with the most sincere of intentions. But I truly believe that the people behind Troll 2 have a better handle on filmmaking than The Room’s very sketchy director

BRYAN CATES

Live Piano Karaoke

GUITAR LESSONS

with former Musicians Institute and Austin Guitar School instructor MARK BISH

Saturday, March 18

SONGWRITER SESSION

Steve Dean and Bill Whyte

NOON · FORD THEATER

Sunday, March 19

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT

Deanie Richardson

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Saturday, March 25

SONGWRITER SESSION

Jazz, Rock, Blues, Country, Fusion, Funk, Flamenco, etc. Technique, theory, songwriting. Programs available. 40 years exp. 512-619-3209 markbishmusic@gmail.com

Sunday, April 2

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT

Derek Wells

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Saturday, April 8

SONGWRITER SESSION

Ben Johnson

NOON · FORD THEATER

Saturday, April 15

SONGWRITER SESSION

Harley

1508A Gallatin Pike S Madison TN 37115

Eastside Headbanger Ball featuring tributes to Pantera, Killswitch Engage & White Zombie

Janelle

Arthur and Ryan Larkins

NOON · FORD THEATER

Saturday, April 1

SONGWRITER SESSION

Terry McBride

NOON · FORD THEATER

Acoustic Guitar Project

NOON · FORD THEATER

Saturday, April 22

HATCH SHOW PRINT

Block Party

10:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:30 pm

HATCH SHOW PRINT SHOP LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Check our calendar for a full schedule of upcoming programs and events.

Museum Membership

Members receive free Museum admission and access to weekly programming, concert ticket presale opportunities, and much more.

JOIN TODAY: CountryMusicHallofFame.org/Membership

MAR 17 RockNPod Pre-Party: Rare Hare

MAR 19 Clan Of Xymox

MAR 21 Real Friends & Knuckle Puck

MAR 22 Mod Sun

MAR 23 Harley Kimbro Lewis

MAR 24 Marauda: Rage Room Tour

MAR 25 Eastside Headbanger Ball

MAR 26 SiSSi: A Queer Competition (Rd. 2)

MAR 28 The Battle Of Nashville: Tribute To Rage Against The Machine

MAR 31 IV & the Strange Band

APR 1 Emo Nite

APR 2 North Star Boys

APR 6 Elise Trouw: Losing Sleep Tour

APR 11 Kevn Kinney

APR 14 The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

APR 15 Wildermiss

APR 16 SiSSi: A Queer Competition (Rd. 3)

APR 18 The Plot In You

APR 20 Molchat Doma

APR 21 Microwave

APR 26 Kevn Kinney Residency

Low Volume Lounge 8PM Free please mind the tip hat!

EVERY FRIDAY IN FEBRUARY Foster’s First Fridays

MAR 16 Austin John Organ Trio

MAR 17 Nicky G & Friends

MAR 21 Robbie Crowell & Friends

MAR 22 Patrick Sweany

MAR 23 Sam Hawksley

MAR 24 The Criminal Mind (songs of Tom Petty)

MAR 29 The Coal Men

MAR 31 Kevin Gordon

APR 5 Joe McMahan Quartet

APR 6 Laid Back Country Picker

APR 7 7PM Fosters First Friday

CRITICS’ PICKS

Tommy Wiseau. Italian filmmaker Claudio Fragasso (directing under the pseudonym Drake Floyd) and his screenwriter wife Rossella Drudi (who came up with the script as a fuck-you to friends who became vegetarians) came over to these parts to make a supposed scare-fest in which a vacationing family tries not to turn into plant food for vegetarian goblins. If you do catch this on the big screen — in glorious 35 mm! — you gotta head over to your nearest streaming platform afterward and check out Best Worst Movie, the 2009 doc (directed by Michael Stephenson, who plays a troublesensing kid in the movie). The doc features the cast and filmmakers soaking in the love when the film becomes a so-bad-it’s-good favorite. Midnight at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave. CRAIG D.

LINDSEY

MUSIC & FILM

[SOUPED UP]

RATATOUILLE IN CONCERT

For a long time, Templeton from Charlotte’s Web was the best-known rat in children’s lore. He’s greedy, selfish and cunning — we all know the type. Thankfully, the folks at Pixar came along to reboot the rat race. Released in 2007, Ratatouille is the tale of a determined young rat with a sophisticated palate who achieves his dream of cooking in a French restaurant. Now audiences of all ages can watch the film in high definition on the big screen while the Nashville Symphony performs Michael Giacchino’s award-winning score. Hearing conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez lead the live score will certainly be a thrill. The music will have a depth you simply can’t achieve with generic household speakers (or iPads). So while watching Ratatouille is a delicious treat in itself, watching it with the Nashville Symphony will be a true delicacy. March 1719 at the Schermerhorn, 1 Symphony Place TOBY LOWENFELS

SUNDAY / 3.19

[TOO MUCH HORROR BUSINESS]

MUSIC

MURF, SKIN TENSION & DISTEND

The latest spawn of the long lineage linking loud, aggressive music to grindhouse horror and sci-fi is Minneapolis’ Murf. The band, which is presumably named after RoboCop alter ego Lt. Alex Murphy, has a track list that looks more like a B-movie marathon than song titles. And their blown-out noise punk backs up the goremovie themes. A few years ago, psychedelic noise monsters Skin Tension came onto my radar and I was immediately hooked. Their experimental racket doesn’t really fit neatly into metal or early industrial or free jazz or no wave, but is certainly a stew spiced with those musical ideas. Post-hardcore locals Distend are a must too, recalling ’90s music like Slint, early Gravity Records releases and Orchid. 9 p.m. at Springwater, 115 27th Ave.

N. P.J. KINZER

ALIENS [I WANT TO BELIEVE] ALIEN ABDUCTION DAY RUN

Every week, I try to find the weirdest event possible to recommend in this section. Not to brag, but I think I’ve outdone myself this time. Every year on March 20, extraterrestrial enthusiasts celebrate Alien

Abduction Day. How do people celebrate that, you ask? Well, they stand outside and wait for a bright light to come and lift them into oblivion … or at least some of them do. Others decide to run. Running organization Moon Joggers is organizing a running event to celebrate, with runners’ choice between a 1-mile, 5K, 10K, a halfmarathon or a full marathon. Really, you can run whatever distance suits you, since you are just running in any location of your choosing in March. Registration for the race comes with a bib and an Alien Abduction Day race medal made in the organizers’ garage. Since each racer is in a different place, chosen course lengths and finish times will be reported online. Instructions will be sent through letters moving around in your alphabet cereal … wait, never mind, that was Muppets From Space. On a serious note, according to the event website, at least 15 percent of each registration fee will be donated to Operation Underground Railroad, an anti-child-sextrafficking organization. For this event fun is guaranteed, but unfortunately UFO sightings are not. Through March 31 at Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, Western Spiral Arm of the Galaxy HANNAH CRON

[THE CHARM IS FIRM AND GOOD]

MUSIC

EMILY SCOTT ROBINSON, ALISA AMADOR AND VIOLET BELL

Just before Halloween, stellar singer-

songwriter Emily Scott Robinson released a collection of songs called Built on Bones, which Robinson wrote for a production of Macbeth in her native Colorado, in which she also performed. The tunes play elegantly on the plot and themes of the eerie tragedy; the new lyrics and folk-y, bluesy musical setting fit in perfectly with the three witches’ commentary on the unfolding story. They also help Robinson achieve an additional goal: restoring some of the grace

and dignity that has historically been taken from women who have power that men deem threatening and persecute them for. Robinson was joined in the studio by fellow songsmiths Lizzy Ross (of the duo Violet Bell) and Alisa Amador. Sunday, the stars align, and Robinson, Amador and Violet Bell will gather to perform short solo sets and collaborate on the songs from Built on Bones 7 p.m. at City Winery, 609 Lafayette St. STEPHEN TRAGESER

MONDAY / 3.20

MUSIC

[MAKING A STAND]

LOVE RISING: LET FREEDOM SING (AND DANCE)

In response to recent hateful legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community in Tennessee — putting trans people, in particular, at risk — a stacked roster of artists has teamed up to present “Love Rising,” a collaborative concert benefiting Inclusion Tennessee, Tennessee Equality Project, Out Memphis and the Tennessee Pride Chamber in partnership with Looking Out Foundation. On Monday at Bridgestone Arena, Love Rising: Let Freedom Sing (and Dance) will bring together Allison Russell, Brittany Howard, Hayley Williams, Joy Oladokun, Mya Byrne, Hozier and many more for a celebratory evening of community and uplift. In a release announcing the event, performer Jason Isbell says powerfully of the evening’s mission: “These bills add up to an attempt to eradicate a valuable part of our community and force good people to live in fear. We can’t in good conscience just stand by and let that happen.”

7:30 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway BRITTNEY MCKENNA

TUESDAY / 3.21

THEATER

[GET READY!]

AIN’T TOO PROUD

Get ready, Nashville — ’cause here they come! Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations arrives at TPAC’s Jackson Hall on Tuesday, promising a full evening of high-octane fun. Featuring

ALLISON RUSSELL

AIN’T TOO PROUD

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

GALLATIN AVE @THEEASTROOM

UPCOMING EVENTS

PARNASSUSBOOKS.NET/EVENT FOR TICKETS & UPDATES

6:30PM

THURSDAY, MARCH 16

ANDREW MCFADYEN-KETCHUM at PARNASSUS Fight or Flight

6:30PM

STEPHANIE

TUESDAY, MARCH 21

BUY TICKETS

a book by playwright Dominique Morisseau (Pipeline, Skeleton Crew), Ain’t Too Proud explores the humble beginnings of one of music’s biggest success stories. The musical opened at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre in 2019, and was nominated for a whopping 12 Tony Awards. It would go on to win for Sergio Trujillo’s dazzling choreography, which manages to capture The Temptations’ signature moves. But as with any jukebox musical, the real star of this show is the music itself, and Ain’t Too Proud delivers a steady parade of hits including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” “Get Ready,” “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” and more. As a bonus, audiences may recognize a few familiar faces onstage, including Fisk graduates Jeremy Kelsey and Dwayne P. Mitchell, plus Ryan M. Hunt — who spent several years performing here in Nashville, most recently visiting TPAC while on tour with Rock of Ages March 2126 at TPAC’s Jackson Hall, 505 Deaderick AMY STUMPFL

MUSIC

[DON’T SWEAT THE TECHNIQUE] SWEET PILL

I don’t usually quote press releases or descriptions of albums written by the people who made them. In the case of the Philadelphia emo-prog-rock band Sweet Pill, the group offers up this bit of prose on the Bandcamp page for their 2022 debut

Where the Heart Is: “The result is an amalgam of complex song structures and flourishes of technical acumen, wholly unconcerned with genre.” Sweet Pill played its first show in May 2021 and put together a record that is indeed complex and math-rocky, with plenty of technique on display. Vocalist Zanya Youssef emotes over the shifting time signatures and tempo shifts the band lays down, and every song on Where the Heart Is offers up its own formalist pleasures. Getting back to the description I quoted earlier, I think the band undervalues its contributions to emo by saying they’re unconcerned with genre. If you ask me, virtually all popular music exists within some kind of genre — it wouldn’t be pop if it didn’t follow a set of

rules and conventions that constitute the very definition of genre. Where the Heart Is evokes the work of, say, Paramore and Pavement and Tortoise without sounding like any of those bands. The contrast between Youssef’s subtly tortured singing and the precision of all those proggy, mathrock flourishes defines not only Sweet Pill’s style but the emo genre itself. NYC-based indie outfit Strange Ranger opens. 8 p.m. at Drkmttr, 1111 Dickerson Pike EDD HURT

WEDNESDAY / 3.22

MUSIC

[LOVE WILL TEAR US APART]

CHIIILD W/ISAIA HURON

I never would have thought to draw a Venn diagram in which ideas from mainstream pop music, experimental pop music and the past two decades of R&B overlap — at least until I took a listen to Better Luck in the Next Life, the new LP from Chiiild. The project is the brainchild of Angeleno-by-way-of-Montreal Yonatan Ayal, aka xSDTRK, who also has an extensive résumé of credits as a producer. Released March 3, the new album is rich with unexpected and expansive soundscapes that support thoughtful, complex narratives. On closing track “You Get Me (A Final Word)” — whose core of strummed acoustic guitar and twangy swells he told Complex were inspired by a visit to Nashville — Ayal sings of a lonely, sinking feeling, about how the overwhelming rush of sensory input that marks contemporary life is going to destroy the intimacy that makes a relationship work. It’s heavy but delivered with incredible delicacy. Nashville-residing kindred spirit Isaia Huron is supporting Chiiild’s entire tour, including the band’s stop in Music City. 8

at The Basement East, 917 Woodland St. STEPHEN TRAGESER

SWEET PILL

INTRODUCING OUR 2023 CHEF COMPETITORS!

Thursday, April 6 / 6-9:30pm / musicians hall of fame and museum

Four of Nashville’s best chefs will throw down in a head-to-head cooking competition featuring one secret ingredient to win the coveted Iron Fork trophy! Watch the competition go down while you enjoy samples from 20+ of the best restaurants in town and sip on cocktails, beer and wine.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT IRONFORKNASHVILLE.COM

Presented by

arnold myint chef/owner

charles hunter iII chef/owner

chris neff executive chef

kristin beringson Executive Chef

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SAVING SILVERMAN

Talking with comedy legend Sarah Silverman about drag bans and The Daily Show ahead of her appearance at the Ryman

BY KELSEY BEYELER

You don’t have to be very familiar with comedy to know who Sarah Silverman is. Since she first garnered attention as a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live in the early ’90s, Silverman has secured her status as an alternative-comedy legend through myriad writing, acting and stand-up gigs. In 2020, she started The Sarah Silverman Podcast, and in February she joined the pantheon of rotating guest hosts for The Daily Show. Earlier this month she kicked off her Grow Some Lips Tour, which stops in at the Ryman on March 22. She caught up with the Scene to talk comedy, politics and Dolly Parton.

How would you describe the experience of guest-hosting The Daily Show? Were there any surprises or challenges from that that you weren’t expecting? Not really, but it’s a completely different skill set. … I had experienced things like that before, I’ve hosted shows and stuff. But the immediacy of it being daily was an incredible experience. Just how jokes can’t be precious. You can’t spend too much time — the producer Jen Flanz is there while you’re working on the content for the show. And if we spend too much time on a joke, she’s like, “Keep it, leave it, move on,” to keep us on track. And it was so cool. I really loved the feeling of immediacy. You know, it’s a completely different approach to the material, because you want it to be as good as it can be. But you also have to just move on, keep going.

Who’s someone you’d love to see guest host? Oh my gosh, I don’t know, so many people. I think a Tig Notaro guest host would be hilarious. I mean, really anyone. I’d like to see what Zach Galifianakis [does] with it. I mean, there’s so many people, so many comics that’d be fun. I know Al Franken is coming up. And Chelsea Handler did a phenomenal job the week before me. She can do that in her sleep, and it’s just so fun to watch. Do you find that your jokes hit differently in red states or blue states? Or do you craft any specific material for different states based on their local politics? For example, here in Tennessee, Republicans are attacking queer people pretty heavily right now despite Nashville being a mostly progressive city. How do you kind of factor all that into your performances? I mean yeah, sometimes. I know about this [drag bill] that just passed that’s fucking gross. And obviously I’ve got a lot of abortion material, and it’s wild to go to states where it’s illegal. But I think all the more reason to be talking about it. It’s just so bizarre. Every state is both, really. I mean, people think of California as so blue, but there’s so much red in California if you go to Orange County and Sacramento and all these places. But that’s why I love doing those states, because people are psyched to come out for it. It doesn’t represent every-

one in every state. And I like to think that I can be entertaining to everybody, but I’m not for everyone. I’m far less political in my stand-up, but I still am. I talk about abortion, gay rights, gay stuff — gay stuff! So yeah, it’s always interesting, but I feel like in red states, it’s even more appreciated, to be honest. But yeah, Tennessee, man. I love it, lovehate. I mean, I’m from New Hampshire, which is the same kind of, like, blue and red, but like lots of red, but loud, proud blue, too. … Not to be so partisan, by the way. I mean, I’m not like — well, yeah, I’m as left as you can be, but I get annoyed with others on the left as well.

You mentioned the drag show bill. Yeah. … Like are we gonna stop car shows? Because that would be fair as well. It’s just so bizarre. DeSantis in Florida too, this kind of like, anything that is anti-woke, it doesn’t matter if it hurts people, helps people, it’s just vindictive. It’s purely egobased stuff, and they’re hurting people. It’s just gross. I mean, and this is the party of “less government” telling us what shows we can put on. Fuck you.

I bet Dolly Parton will speak out, because she’s Tennessee royalty and no one supports drag more than her. She considers herself as drag. … She’s putting on a face, a mask and a wig and she puts on this outer shell that she thinks of as drag. And also there are so

many drag Dollies, and she loves them, she supports them. I hope she’s outspoken about this. I bet she will be. I love her so much. She’s one of the few things the right and the left can agree on — that Dolly Parton’s the shit.

What would you say to a young comic who worries about how their jokes might age in this ever-evolving culture where the target of fair game always seems to be moving? It’s a really tough one, because I think the enemy of comedy is second-guessing your audience. But the good news is — go with your gut, go with your heart. If you feel a weird tinge inside when you say things, maybe you don’t want to say it somewhere in there, you know? But you have to be free. That said, you should be really equipped to be able to use all sorts of language, and if you find out a word bums out a whole bunch of people — you’re a person of words, you’ve got a million new words you can use. Maybe you want to piss people off, maybe you don’t. But I don’t think fear is the right reaction. There’s so many ways we can express ourselves in comedy. Just listen to your gut. Listen to, like, if there’s a physical tinge when you talk about something or say a certain word, then maybe rethink it. But you have to go with what you think is funny, number one. And just get stage time to get your 10,000 hours in.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

7 P.M. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, AT THE RYMAN READ THE FULL INTERVIEW AT NASHVILLESCENE.COM.

PHOTO: ROBYN VON

WOUNDED EAGLE

Matthew Desmond’s new book dispels myths about poverty in America

BY LIZ GARRIGAN

Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond, author of Poverty, by America, has been interested since childhood in the complexities of poverty, what keeps people poor and the miserable entrapments that accompany this condition for those who have never known economic security.

The son of a small-town Arizona pastor, Desmond never had to wonder where his next meal was coming from, but neither did he enjoy the spoils of wealth like many of his peers. To put himself through college, he took on debt and worked as a barista, a wildland firefighter, even a telemarketer. “My classmates were going out for sushi,” he writes.

adults disconnected from the labor market. “This is decidedly not a picture of welfare dependency.”

What’s more, the aid and subsidies on offer for those who need them most are dwarfed by the benefits provided to those with pressed pants, yachts and assets such as homes, retirement accounts and educational savings accounts for their college-bound children. “We prioritize the subsidization of affluence over the alleviation of poverty,” Desmond writes.

“I stocked canned sardines and saltine crackers in my dorm room.” In college

he began hanging out with homeless people around the Arizona State University campus, just to try to understand the stories of their lives and what had landed them destitute.

Which is to say that Desmond, who won the Pulitzer Prize — and a raft of other notable literary awards — for his 2016 book Evicted, doesn’t approach the subject of his life’s work in merely an academic way. He’s more than an Important Ivy League Department Chair, more than someone who is publishing based on essential research. It would be fair to characterize him as an intellectual evangelical trying to effect change in the ways lawmakers, lenders and consumers underwrite the middle class and wealthy to the detriment of the poor.

In essence, Poverty, by America is a compelling takedown of our welfare state, but not the one readers might imagine. The United States subsidizes the wealthy and middle class to the tune of billions more than the poor and hungry, including children. Contrary to the predictable political rhetoric of talking heads and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, recipients of America’s social programs for the poor generally do not become dependent on them. Mothers on welfare, for example, cycle off the program within two years on average.

In fact, hundreds of billions of dollars in aid for low-income families and individuals are left on the table every year in the United States, with 7 million people eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, for example, never taking advantage. The same goes for unemployment, food stamps and Supplemental Security Income. In fact, Desmond writes, only 3 in 100 poor people are working-age

America’s welfare state (as a share of its gross domestic product) is the second biggest in the world, after France’s. But, as Desmond notes, that’s the case only when accounting for benefits enjoyed by Americans who live above the poverty line: government-subsidized retirement account benefits provided by employers, student loans and 529 savings plans, child tax credits, and homeowner subsidies. “If you put aside these tax breaks and judge the United States solely by the share of its GDP allocated to programs directed at low-income citizens, then our investment in poverty reduction is much smaller than that of other rich nations,” he writes. “The American welfare state is lopsided.”

Worse, the tragic irony is that poverty is expensive, with those living beneath the poverty line paying a much greater share of their earnings in taxes and for housing — many of them often being fleeced by payday lenders and other unscrupulous loan sharks who exploit their desperation. There are very clear structures in place in the United States that keep the poor shut out and deprive them of opportunity to climb out of that circumstance. Exclusionary zoning keeps affordable housing out of better neighborhoods, and noncompete clauses for blue-collar workers of giant corporations mean that talented, hard-working employees of one franchise can’t take a better job at another. Many lenders don’t want to offer home loans on housing that falls beneath a certain threshold.

These and so many more of our societal norms, Desmond argues, conspire in plain sight to dispossess American workers of upward mobility. And in the meantime, the health and well-being of parents who work multiple jobs to make ends meet, along with their children who are surrounded by the byproducts of poverty, suffer.

It’s no wonder that Politico listed Desmond as one of “fifty people across the country who are most influencing the national political debate.” His compassionate and convincing work is incredibly readable for being so thoroughly chock-full of research, and it should be required reading for anyone in public life. It serves as both a censure of the status quo and a humane plea for Americans to cease living their lives at the expense of our poorest citizens.

For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

Twen Joywave w/ Dizzy & Elliot Lee

Dan Deacon Church of The Cosmic Skull w/ Valley Of The Sun and Lord Buffalo

Ron Gallo w/ John Roseboro

Built To Spill w/ Disco Doom and Oruã

Cold w/ Divide The Fall, Awake for Days, Sygnal to Noise

David Morris

The Happy Fits w/ The Hails

Aoife O’Donovan plays Nebraska w/ The Westerlies

TWRP w/ Magic Sword

The Heavy Heavy w/ Shane Guerrette

The Lemon Twigs w/ Andrew H. Smith

Spencer Sutherland w/ JORDY and Michael Minelli

Kitchen Dwellers w/ Sicard Hollow

Copeland w/ Kevin Garrett

COPELAND

Rittz w/ Emilio Rojas & Noble Poets

Felly w/ ThankGod4Cody

The Band of Heathens w/ Them Coulee Boys

w/ People Museum

FIGHTER FEST CALL ON THE FIGHTER FEAT. Maddye Trew, Anthony Smith, Jim Brown, Darryl Worley & Rich Gootee

AUSTIN MEADE with The Dirty Streets & Myron Elkins

(Formerly Jared & The Mill) (9pm)

Pastel w/ Caroline Romano (7pm)

Ultra w/ The Year B4, Jonathon Plevyak (9pm)

Carlisle w/ Willy Tea Taylor (9pm)

LaRen, Delaney Ramsdell, Grace Tyler (7pm) Psybin (7pm) Paul Vinson w/ Hugh Lindsey, Common Man (9pm)

w/ Dead Runes (8pm) Razor Braids w/ Purser & Lily Ohphelia (9pm)

Nicotine Dolls (7pm)

The Absurd w/ Echo Pilot and Brad Stag (9pm)

The Dead Deads, The Black Moods (8pm)

Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters, The Comancheros (7pm)

Gloom Girl MFG w/ Flight Attendant and Shedonist (9pm)

Lucas Carpenter, Eva Cassel, Katie Pederson (7pm)

Stacey Kelleher, Lia Knapp, Discofox, Emma Rowley, Brad Sample, Sarah Manzo, Shlomo Franklin (7pm)

Alex Lambert (7pm)

Michael Conley, Meredith Rounsley (7pm)

Eleganza, Titans Of Siren, Fuh Kos (9pm)

Tommy Prine (7pm)

WMOT ROOTS RADIO FINALLY FRIDAYS FEAT. Jade Beyer, Caitlin Canty & Miss Tess

FREESHOW

FAB NASHVILLE A BEATLES TRIBUTE is joined by Let It Rain covering the Great Eric Clapton

BACKSTAGE NASHVILLE FEAT. Tony Arata, Jason Matthews, Ray Stephenson, Ray Stephenson with Kasey Tyndall and Gloria Anderson

JEFFREY STEELE with Kurt Stevens

SOLDOUT

BLUEBIRD ON 3RD FEAT. Garry Burr, Georgia Middleman, Don Henry + Amber Sweeney & Jacob Rice

THE TIME JUMPERS

THREE TIMES A LADY FEAT. Lauren Mascitti, Hannah Blaylock & Kennedy Scott

CASS JONES with Sydney Adams & Jordan Foster

DIRECTIONS HOME

Willi Carlisle dives into the uncomfortable on Peculiar, Missouri

BY LORIE LIEBIG

Alittle more than eight months after Willi Carlisle released his critically acclaimed second full-length Peculiar, Missouri, the Arkansas singersongwriter’s career just keeps gathering speed. During a brief quiet moment between sets at the Back Porch Festival in Northampton, Mass., the poetic storyteller reflects on the response to his record, laughing with bewilderment.

“It’s been absurd,” says Carlisle. “I’ve been surprised by it, because sometimes I run around with my middle fingers up as if they were six-shooters or something. It’s been really wonderful.”

Carlisle says there were “zero compromises” in making Peculiar, a collection of 12 tracks that runs the stylistic gamut from honky-tonk waltzes and fiddle tunes to country-rock and Mexican folk music. Carlisle also pulls absolutely no punches with the rawness of his narratives, whether they’re stories from his life or others he’s reflecting through his lens.

As a youngster in the Midwest, he performed in musicals and sang in the choir, and his ears were further opened when he discovered punk and folk music in college. He took a position teaching at the University of Arkansas, and began to explore the region’s deep creative roots and the way they organically relate to living.

“When I got to the Ozarks, I really wanted to sing ballads and play old-time music,” he

INTO YOUR EYES

Clan of Xymox marks 40 years of profoundly affecting darkwave

BY JASON SHAWHAN

explains. “Their hangouts were so wonderful and organic. For example, I was somebody that couldn’t cook at all, but I could go to the best potluck that the county was having, square dance and meet a bunch of new people.”

With a gentle twang in Carlisle’s voice, the unfussy but magnetic power in his language and his focus on marginalized people, it’s easy to compare Carlisle to icons like Woody Guthrie. But Carlisle has worked hard at finding his own way to tell stories that need to be told despite it being more convenient or comfortable to cast your eyes somewhere else. In “The Grand Design,” he holds himself accountable for saying a lot while doing little. In “Vanlife,” he observes all the things you lose when you don’t have a home — and how capitalism has made the circumstance appealing to people who have a choice in the matter. Carlisle is queer, and he sings profoundly about sexuality as well. In “Buffalo Bill,” he brilliantly transforms a segment of an e.e. cummings poem that admires the Old West figure’s handsome features.

“There’s a lot of different ways to call up those ghosts,” he says. “And I kept thinking about ideas for songs from forgotten people or from places unknown. By trying to set that [poem] to some polyrhythmic stuff that would’ve been done in the 19th century on the banjo, that’s me trying to make that ghost dance a little bit.”

In “Este Mundo,” Carlisle shares the story of a Texas farmer named Antonio Lopez, who lost his land to a water company. A poet documented Lopez’s reflection on industrialization, which was then translated and set to music by two cowboy songwriters decades later. Carlisle says he hopes to one day create a documentary film to give listeners a deeper understanding of the song’s origins.

“If I could get away with that,” he says, “I would visit the archive where they found the song with the two original songwriters and go through those photos.”

Making Peculiar, Missouri into everything Carlisle knew it could be required some creative risks. He credits the crew at Free Dirt Records for giving him the opportunity to dig in.

“I literally met those guys at a squaredance camp,” Carlisle recalls. “That connection was so organic that I knew I wanted to try to fire on all of those fronts. I knew I had a group of people that wouldn’t view putting a honky-tonk number next to a banjo number as somehow incongruous.”

With a trove of songs in hand, Carlisle headed to Grammy-winning musician and producer Joel Savoy’s remote Louisiana home studio. A stream of talented players from across the region dropped by to contribute to the songs.

“I left that session thinking that we had done our best work — I don’t believe I’ve ever felt that way … and I may never again,” says Carlisle with a slight laugh. “Joel was from a line of Cajun musicians, and the visitors that were coming to the house were kind of royalty to me.”

Although Peculiar, Missouri is a phenomenal, widely praised record that’s currently getting a second vinyl pressing, Carlisle has already been hard at work on a new album. And the road that he’s come to know so well continues on in front of him. Aside from getting to play the songs that have so quickly connected with listeners, Carlisle says he finds joy in seeing just how wide a reach Peculiar has.

“I knew that we had a fan base, but I think that working with American Aquarium, Lost Dog Street Band and Amigo the Devil last year has meant that the fan base is, like, really varied — between people in Charley Crockett shirts, folk-punk kids and folk-music-loving adults that might listen to WMOT or Mountain Stage all the time. It’s been a really gorgeous cross-section, and I think that’s been my favorite part of it all.”

EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

There’s something to the sound of Clan of Xymox that sticks with you the first time you hear it. That occasion might have been on MTV when the network decided to try to whet the public appetite with “Obsession” back in the late ’80s, or Vanderbilt student radio station 91 Rock’s devotion to the singles from 1989’s Twist of Shadows and 1991’s Phoenix. The moment could just as easily have been in “Last Scene,” the 1986 episode Paul Verhoeven directed for HBO’s neon noir series The Hitchhiker. There’s a mystery that leads to a nightclub, wherein you hear “Stranger” from Xymox’s self-titled first album. Even in the then-standard mono TV mix, the bass booms, and every aspect of the song — the cold swoop of the synth hook, the classical guitars, the enigmatic vocal — feels like a rift in the very fabric of space and time. This transmission from Planet Netherlands resonates across multiple levels, and it’s in that complex blend of sounds that one can trace the history of the Xymox project.

Treasured by the goth, darkwave, EBM (for the unfamiliar, that’s “electronic body music”), college radio and industrial communities, Clan of Xymox has weathered the vicissitudes of lineup shifts, radio whims and the collapse of the organized music industry. They remain to tell the tale, celebrating their 40th anniversary as a band this year. In advance of Clan of Xymox’s upcoming show at Eastside Bowl on Sunday, singer-guitarist Ronny Moorings — the only original member in the current lineup — spoke with the Scene

What’s the song you love playing live the most? “A Day,” because it has been a cult club hit for a long time, and all our fans know this one inside-out.

From a purely technological perspective, is it easier to tour now? You’re able to store more sounds and sequences in smaller amounts of equipment than in the 1980s. Yes, indeed. I remember the times that we had to ship over a container with live gear. That was my entire studio, with all the synths, keyboards, sequencers — and

PLAYING SUNDAY, MARCH 19, AT EASTSIDE BOWL

PLAYING SATURDAY, MARCH 18, AT THE BASEMENT

MUSIC

of course the guitars and everything else. Now you can do a lot with a MIDI keyboard and have all the keyboards as plug-ins in your MacBook. So much easier, indeed!

Adam Wingard’s 2014 film The Guest features several of your songs, to marvelous effect. When you see a film that uses one of your songs, how do you process the tension between approving a song for a film license and when you finally see how it’s used therein? I love it when a film director thinks our music is suitable for a movie. Most of the time I get to see a snippet of the movie where it is used and the story line. So far I had never any trouble

DIAL-A-JOHN

They Might Be Giants look back — finally — on 30 years of their standout LP Flood

BY CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

On greeting John Flansburgh — one-half of legendary NYC pop duo They Might Be Giants — via telephone, I find the script has been flipped.

“Oh, hey Charlie,” Flansburgh says. “I’ve got my questions prepared. Here’s one for you: How is the Nashville Scene?”

“The newspaper, or the scene itself?” I ask. Deadpans Flansburgh: “Yes.”

So begins a wide-ranging, 45-minute discussion that kicks off with talk of surviving alt-weeklies, pondering the number of home studios in Music City and “out” music as a rebellious act.

“There’s only one Nashville,” Flansburgh says with a laugh. “And Memphis, too — I just saw the Big Star documentary [Nothing Can Hurt Me], and hadn’t realized how unrelentingly cruel life was to those guys, just how much reality kicked them around. The one lucky thing that happens to most bands is one more than what happened to Big Star. It’s remarkable how they persevered, with no lucky breaks. Their records testify to how stuff of quality will get discovered, however long after its pop moment.”

The conversation turns to TMBG’s history. Flansburgh, 62, is speaking to the Scene from Reservoir Studios in Midtown Manhattan, a newer facility in the same spot where he and partner-in-crime John Linnell recorded their seminal third LP Flood during the heady twilight of the 1980s. As Flansburgh remembers, he and Linnell tracked “Birdhouse in Your Soul,” “Particle Man” and other future Giants staples one room over from C&C Music Factory.

“We got to hear ‘Everybody Dance Now’ before the rest of the world — and got to know them in the lounge where people hung out, smoked, watched TV, took naps,” he says. “[People] often act as if different genres, different bands, are at war with each other — when in fact, any session musician has more in common with a random person busking than anyone would imagine.”

Flood was TMBG’s first of four albums for Elektra, and the duo’s major commercial breakthrough. It hit stores in January 1990, following the group’s eponymous 1986 LP

with the use of our music, and I certainly appreciate it as it is a welcome attention to the band as well.

As someone who’s had a CD of Phoenix for quite a few years, I have always wondered how exactly “Wild Thing” ended up in “Phoenix of My Heart.” It’s a remarkable feint that feels organic and perfect. Yes — when I wrote the song, I noticed the chords in the end were perfect to include in this outro. I didn’t plan it, but it came spontaneously in the studio.

It still works, and it still feels liberatory and sneaky. What’s your preferred instrument for composing? Keyboard and guitar. Most of the time I

start with the keyboard and some basic programming before I grab a guitar.

How do you feel about remixing, both the act of and the art of doing so? As long as there are not too many remixes, I am fine with it. It is fun to toy with someone else’s song and create something out of it. It’s a good way to trade remixes. Often I ask an artist to do a remix for me, and in return I make one for them.

How did the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affect your preparations for this tour? I’m still in awe that you’re playing Nashville. If someone had told me back when “Obsession” was all over

edgier local radio that we’d get the chance to see you here, I’d have doubted their sanity. Here in Europe there is no talk about the “pandemic” or “COVID” anymore. Life is normal for quite some time now, luckily, and we do what we do with our lives as always. We have to still catch up with the postponed tours from this period, so a lot of dates are more cramped together, which we would normally not do. I hope in the U.S.A. also life is back to normal, and we can enjoy again touring in the States. We had to wait two years in order to come back again. But better late than never.

EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

— highlighted by the college-radio classic “Don’t Let’s Start” — and 1988 second effort Lincoln, featuring the heart-tugging “Ana Ng.” Flood also marked the Johns’ secondto-last outing as a primitive drum-machinepowered duo, and its darkest tracks (“Lucky Ball & Chain,” “Your Racist Friend,” “Minimum Wage”) feel even more relevant now than they did then.

Inside this dichotomy — of sad and funny, between whimsical and existentially heavy — is where TMBG thrives. For obvious reasons, the group has struggled to commemorate Flood’s 30th anniversary. A tour was indeed scheduled: I had a ticket for the St. Louis show, originally slated for May 2020, but that got postponed so many times that once it finally happened in fall 2022, I’d missed the memo.

“Our first decade on the road felt like being shot out of a cannon,” Flansburgh remembers. “The Pixies opened for us in Boston before they were famous. I saw their sound check. It was really interesting, impressive — they were the loudest band I’d

ever been in the same room with. … But as a headliner, I can’t take in the opening act. I can’t relax. I fret about the theater of what we’re doing more than I should be. Now it’s all pretty dynamic. We’ll never do the same show twice. We look up what we played last time in each town, just to make sure.”

All the same, revisiting the Flood material for the current tour was a musical challenge to begin with. Flansburgh explains that doing so post-lockdown only made it more daunting.

“We were psychically traumatized by COVID,” says Flansburgh. “Very early on, when Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne died of it, that made us very afraid. It was like standing next to someone struck by lightning.”

Many Flood standouts — like the creepy “Hearing Aid,” wordy “Letterbox” and emotive “Someone Keeps Moving My Chair” — hadn’t been explored much in the live setting since they’d been written.

“We used to spend a lot of time thinking about small-combo arrangements,” Flans-

burgh says. “On this tour, we’re working with a three-piece horn section, which can be a majestic thing.”

In 2001, my dad and I caught the Giants at the Wiltern Theater in L.A., exactly one week after 9/11. The set’s standout wasn’t an original, but rather a cover of “New York City” by Vancouver, B.C., twee-punk trio Cub, which moved the sold-out crowd to tears. Flansburgh remembers the tour well.

“I can’t believe we actually did that tour,” he says. “It started on 9/11. We were flying out to the first show — there was a tour bus waiting for us in Boise, Idaho. All was beautiful. Then the event happened. … But there was never any question we’d keep going. Being in a band your whole life, it’s just the thing that’s happening while everything else is happening.”

Flansburgh and Linnell’s music, oft oversimplified when described as comedic rock, never hit harder. And with what we’ve been through the past few years, Wednesday and Thursday’s shows promise similar catharsis.

EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

PLAYING MARCH 22 AND 23

AT BROOKLYN BOWL

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS’ JOHN LINNELL (LEFT) AND JOHN FLANSBURGH

THE SPIN

HOME COURT

BY STEPHEN TRAGESER

Thursday night, Margo Price wrapped her winter tour following the January release of her fourth solo LP Strays with a homecoming show at the Ryman. Stating the facts makes it seem routine. But as Price has consistently reminded us in her songs, her shows and her memoir Maybe We’ll Make It, living on earth is rich and complicated. Her life in particular and the lives of anyone trying to survive the 21st century are a roller coaster of heartbreaks and triumphs; artistic expression is a vital tool for processing it that’s vastly undervalued. She headlined the Mother Church of Country Music for her fourth time, on her own terms and in full command of her wideranging psych-soul-country sound, which is nothing short of amazing.

When the lights went down, a single spotlight trained on Jeremy Ivey and his acoustic guitar. He quipped affably about being grateful to his wife and frequent musical collaborator Price for letting him play, saying he had a hard time getting on the calendar at The 5 Spot. He also joked about their son working the merch table alongside Price’s sister: “Don’t call the Department of Labor, we don’t pay him — only in tacos.”

Since 2019, Ivey has re leased three solo LPs, and he played a song or two from each. Pared back to his gentle vocals and understated fingerpicking, the haunted and haunting nature of the tunes came to the fore. He played a handful of songs from an album he’s working on, and Price came out to sing harmony and play tambourine on his final three: the poignant titular tune of Ivey’s first record The Dream and the Dreamer, a new country tune called “Your Memory Is Out Tonight,” and the couple’s rollicking oneoff single “All Kinds of Blue.”

A short while later Price returned, leading outlaw country legend Jessi Colter to the piano at center stage. “It’s kinda scary to be back in Tennessee,” Colter said with a chuckle. “Margo came and pulled me off the desert.” Colter built up a head of steam as a solo artist in the early 1970s and shined along with Tompall Glaser, Willie Nelson and her husband Waylon Jennings as a member of The Outlaws. Though her records have been few and far between in the past 40 years, Colter recorded a new LP of originals with Price producing in 2019. Friday afternoon, word went out that Appalachia Record Co. is set to release the LP, called Edge of Forever, in September.

Colter’s band was full of ringers, including steel master Brett Resnick and songsmith and multi-instrumentalist Lillie Mae on acoustic guitar. At the top of the set, you could tell they were still feeling their way around

the tunes and playing together. I can’t tell you what it sounded like onstage, but the house mix was also all over the place early on. Eventually the ensemble gelled, the mix got dialed in, and the power of the new songs shined through. One standout was the lush ballad “The Secret Place,” which Colter wrote with her daughter Jenny Lynn Young, who was on hand to sing harmony. They wrapped the set with Colter’s melancholy breakthrough single “I’m Not Lisa” and a triumphant rendition of her propulsive “Why You Been Gone So Long” from Wanted! The Outlaws.

When the curtain came up, Price’s band — illuminated mostly by the liquid-lightshowstyle animation projected on-screen behind them — came roaring out of the gate, playing Price to her mic with the gritty, Stooges-esque riff of Strays’ opening salvo “Been to the Mountain.” The set ebbed and flowed organically from the raucous and soulful “Four Years of Chances” from Price’s 2016 debut Midwest Farmer’s Daughter to the relaxed groove of Strays’ “Anytime You Call,” with The Watson Twins joining in for some synchronized dance moves and to sing harmony. Price’s second LP All American Made was her only solo release not represented in this set.

As the liquid-lightshow-style animations danced on the projector screens, Price visited every corner of the stage, playing guitar, tambourine, cowbell and drums. Her band — bassist Kevin Black, drummer Dillon Napier, keyboard maestro Micah Hulscher, guitarist Jamie Davis and multi-instrumentalist Alex Munoz, with Ivey sitting in on 12-string acoustic — was a well-oiled machine. Over a run of more than 90 minutes, they followed every shift in mood and tone from the gentle and dreamy “Landfill,” to the anthemic “Radio” (which Price sang through the receiver of an old telephone), to a medley of “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)” and “Whiskey River” with Mickey Raphael on harmonica, to the closing all-y’all-get-back-out-here singalong, a cover of Wings’ ebullient “Let Me Roll It.”

The most moving moment came midset when things got quiet and the band left the stage, replaced by a string quartet including cellist Larissa Maestro and violinist Chauntee Ross. As they settled in to back Price on “Lydia” — a stark, tender portrait of a woman pushed to the limit as every kind of safety net fails her — Price addressed the crowd, reflecting on the recent spate of anti-LGBTQ legislation that’s passed through the state legislature.

“I’ve lived in Tennessee for 20 years, and one day I’ll probably be buried here,” Price said. “I may not get along with all the policies and the politics, but I love this state.”

The avalanche of news about hateful, backward-ass policies that threaten our queer neighbors is frustrating and exhausting. Seeing people — especially those with big platforms that they’re not afraid to use — gathering their resources to push back is a serious shot in the arm.

EMAIL THESPIN@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

UPCOMING SHOWS AT THE MUSEUM’S CMA THEATER

IVEY

BY NADINE SMITH

In a world of global networks and frequently porous borders, the old framework of “foreign” cinema seems increasingly outdated — what does it mean for a movie, let alone a human being, to be from one single place? Director Davy Chou’s unpredictable new film Return to Seoul takes that kind of question as a challenge, exploring the notion of diaspora through an appropriately international mélange of influences. It’s at once a vulnerable exploration of personal identity and a beguiling kaleidoscope of bold color and pop music.

The film’s first scene is a moment of recognition that immediately frames our understanding of its protagonist: Frédérique Benoît (Park Ji-min) is ethnically Korean, but she’s clocked as a foreign tourist when checking into a hotel in Seoul, unable to speak the language. Freddie, as everyone calls her, was born in South Korea, but was given up for adoption and placed with a family in France, the place she’s called home since her faintest memories. But it’s obvious that something here is gnawing at her, drawing her back to a culture and world she can feel within her but has never really known.

Freddie reaches out to her birth parents, but only her father wants to meet. The

circumstances could not be more strained, as she’s awkwardly inducted into a family she had no idea existed: an evangelical grandmother who prays for her salvation, half-sisters who meet her with unexpected curiosity, and an aunt who attempts to facilitate the emotional negotiations through her limited knowledge of English. Though Freddie’s father (veteran Korean actor Oh Kwang-rok) claims to have found peace with his new wife and children, it’s evident that he’s not standing on emotionally solid ground — a faraway look in his eyes and a drinking problem suggest he never really made peace with the decision to give up his firstborn daughter.

When we first meet Freddie, there’s a slight immaturity about her, but a perceptiveness as well. Despite her age, you can tell that people feel a little intimidated around her, with a gaze that pierces right through you and a tendency to implode social situations with a dramatic flair. As the years go by and the film makes several disarming time jumps, we see the evolution of Freddie — from disaffected student to party animal to international girlboss, a person constantly mutating but always in search of a true self.

First-time actor Park Ji-min is an absolute marvel as Freddie, a complicated woman who reinvents herself at every turn. Like the character she plays, Park is impossible to pin down, infusing her character with a singularly manic energy; there’s a true sense of aliveness to her

role that so few actors are ever able to achieve, a perfect fusion of character and artist. Like the lead of a French New Wave film, she throws herself into life with wild abandon, unsettling the careful orbit of those around her.

In terms of style, filmmaker Davy Chou mimics his main character, shifting the tone and even the genre at a moment’s notice. While there’s a tenderness and patience to conversations, Return to Seoul can erupt into a frenzy without warning as Freddie follows her instincts, guided by a soundtrack of vintage Korean pop and hard-hitting techno. In a bizarre side plot, Return to Seoul even hints at transforming itself into a spy movie, as Freddie becomes an arms dealer, the kind of international woman of intrigue who might lead an Oliver Assayas thriller.

But for every club scene or genre twist, there’s another moment of restraint and contemplativeness, as Chou creates a distinct blend of influences: Though the story is not directly his own, the Cambodian-French filmmaker clearly sees himself in a character caught between multiple worlds and selves. Though certain story elements, like the arms dealer subplot, might feel slightly underbaked, Davy Chou and Park Ji-min make for a richly productive pairing as director and performer, each one fully committing to a spirit of restless creativity.

As a film that proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, Return to Seoul suggests that culture is not just a static identity, something you’re assigned at birth, but a living process of osmosis and reinvention. Every place you’ve been and every song you hear is carried somewhere within, leaving traces as your life unwinds.

EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

RETURN TO SEOUL R, 115 MINUTES; IN FRENCH, KOREAN AND ENGLISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES OPENING FRIDAY, MARCH 17, AT THE BELCOURT

ACROSS

1 Like some committees

6 Many a Syrian or Yemeni

10 “Ri-i-i-ight”

14 “Je t’aime” : French :: “___” : Spanish

15 Does some tech work

17 Firm fruit

18 With 66-Across, hint for solving this puzzle

20 “Roll doubles to get out of jail” or “You do not talk about Fight Club”

21 Supreme Egyptian deity 22 Centerpiece of an agenda

24 Actor George of “The Goldbergs”

27 Museum curators’ degs.

28 “Lah-di-___!”

31 Some nightclub performances 33 Sound of impact 36 Vexed 38 Garment patented in 1914 by Mary Phelps Jacob 39 “My alarm didn’t go off,” for one 41 Young musician

74 Senator Joni of

42 Object of hatewatching, perhaps

43 Giant storybook

46 Not very much

48 Rod used to make yarn

51 1978 movie musical starring Diana Ross

52 U.N. member until 1991

54 Like a neutron star

56 Not as nasty

57 Part IV

58 Evidence of expiration

59 Cold Asian desert

60 National flower of England

62 Cold Spanish dessert

63 Pelts

64 Lampooned, with “up”

67 Pan Asian

68 Rock hard

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

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Non-Resident Notice

Sixth Circuit Docket No. 22C2675

ELLIOT J. SCHUCHARDT vs. DAVID DELL'AQUILA

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a nonresident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon DAVID DELL'AQUILA. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HIS appearance herein with thirty (30) days after MARCH 30, 2023, same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken o n May 1st, 2023.

It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day, Clerk

B. Poole, Deputy Clerk

Date: March 1, 2023

Elliot J. Schuchardt Attorney for Plaintiff

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Non-Resident Notice

Third Circuit

Docket No. 22D1726

VERONICA HERNANDEZ SOTO vs. ARMANDO DIAZ AISPURO

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a nonresident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon ARMANDO DIAZ AISPURO. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HIS appearance herein with thirty (30) days after MARCH 16, 2023 same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on April 17 2023.

It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day, Clerk

M. De Jesus, Deputy Clerk

Date: February 16, 2023

Matt Maniatis Attorney for Plaintiff

NSC 2/23, 3/2, 3/9, 3/16/23

VERONICA HERNANDEZ SOTO

ARMANDO DIAZ AISPURO

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a nonresident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon ARMANDO DIAZ AISPURO. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HIS appearance herein with thirty (30) days after MARCH 16, 2023 same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on April 17, 2023. It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day Clerk

M. De Jesus Deputy Clerk

Date: February 16, 2023

Matt Maniatis Attorney for Plaintiff

NSC 2/23, 3/2, 3/9, 3/16/23

Non-Resident Notice Third Circuit Docket No. 22D1606

BRENDA NICOLE ADAGEYUDI vs. REGINALD ADAGEYUDI

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a nonresident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon REGINALD ADAGEYUDI. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HIS appearance herein with thirty (30) days after MARCH 16, 2023, same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on April 17, 2023.

It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day Clerk

M. De Jesus, Deputy Clerk

Date: February 16, 2023

M. Oliver Osemwegie Attorney for Plaintiff

NSC 2/23, 3/2, 3/9, 3/16/23

thirty (30) days after MARCH 16, 2023, same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on April 17, 2023.

It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day, Clerk

M. De Jesus , Deputy Clerk Date: February 16, 2023

M. Oliver Osemwegie Attorney for Plaintiff

NSC 2/23, 3/2 3/9, 3/16/23

Non-Resident Notice

Fourth Circuit Docket No. 22D309

AMBER M. WORD vs. THOMAS L. DILLARD

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a nonresident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon THOMAS L. DILLARD. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HIS appearance herein with thirty (30) days after MARCH 16, 2023, same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on April 17, 2023.

It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day, Clerk

L Chappell, Deputy Clerk

Date: February 15, 2023

Robyn L. Ryan Attorney for Plaintiff

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cession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day Clerk

L Chappell, Deputy Clerk

Date: February 15, 2023

Robyn L. Ryan Attorney for Plaintiff

NSC 2/23, 3/2, 3/9, 3/16/23

Non-Resident Notice

Third Circuit

Docket No. 22D1838

JACOB JEROME REYNOLDS vs. JULIE NICOLE REYNOLDS

In this cause it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant is a nonresident of the State of Tennessee, therefore the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon JULIE NICOLE REYNOLDS. It is ordered that said Defendant enter HER appearance herein with thirty (30) days after MARCH 23, 2023 same being the date of the last publication of this notice to be held at the Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on April 24, 2023. It is therefore ordered that a copy of this Order be published for four (4) weeks succession in the Nashville Scene, a newspaper published in Nashville.

Joseph P. Day, Clerk

M. De Jesus Deputy Clerk

Date: February 16, 2023

Trudy L Bloodworth Attorney for Plaintiff

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