CRITICS’ PICKS

Weekly

THURSDAY / 5.25

MUSIC

[REMOTE CONTROL] SLEEPING WITH SIRENS

Complete Collapse is an appropriate title for longtime post-hardcore-emo-pop band Sleeping With Sirens’ latest album, which hit the market in October. Complete Collapse makes its case for the worldview of a group of dedicated followers of various dystopian fashions, for whom losing control is a function of both personal and geopolitical realities. Sleeping With Sirens’ music avoids total breakdown via the band’s ability to contrast sections of hardcore — with vocalist Kellin Quinn screaming in defiance of the forces that threaten to control him — with melodic hooks drawn from punk, classic rock and prog. For these guys, who started their career in Florida and now reside in Michigan, the pop moments might come as a relief, and Complete Collapse is a hybrid with its own integrity. “Family Tree” and “Apathetic” come across as sincere efforts to come to grips with the dissolution of culture and the lack of trust Quinn & Co. presumably see all around them. Meanwhile, “Mr. Nice Guy” is about being fed up with fake people who offer nothing but excuses, and it’s also one of the most straightforward tracks on Complete Collapse. Dayseeker and M.A.G.S. open. 7:30 p.m. at Marathon Music Works, 1402 Clinton St. EDD HURT

[FLUTEBAE HERE TO PLAY] ASHLEY CRAWFORD

[MINNESOTA

UNITED]

Joe Rainey

If you don’t already, it’s time you know about Flutebae — aka Ashley Crawford. The classically trained flutist is a Tennessee State University flute professor, director of the Nashville Philharmonic Flute Ensemble, president of the Nashville African American Wind Symphony and an internet sensation. She has garnered a huge online following while sharing videos that showcase her musical talents, from covering SZA songs on the flute to sharing her own genre-bending compositions. She’s created and collaborated with some of the greatest in Nashville, like TSU’s Grammywinning Aristocrat of Bands, Brassville and more. On Thursday, she’ll perform her “Black Prelude” at the Nashville Jazz Workshop with drummer Derrick Greene, bassist Mike Majett, tenor saxophonist Jovan Quallo and Lance Lucas on the keys. If you’re wondering what you may be getting into, check out her Instagram (@profflutebae) for a sneak peek. While you’re there, give her a follow for the continued flute content you didn’t know you needed. 7:30 p.m. at the Nashville Jazz Workshop, 1012 Buchanan St. KELSEY BEYELER MUSIC

There’s no easy way to categorize the music of Joe Rainey, because we haven’t ever heard music as unorthodox as the sound that the Twin Cities powwow singer makes. A member of northern Minnesota’s Red Lake Nation of the Ojibwe people, Rainey takes an innovative approach to the powwow tradition handed down from Native singer to Native singer, echoed across the lakelands of his home state. Having sampled field recordings of powwow singers/ drummers that he documented himself, he earned himself a record deal with the 37d03d label, founded by The National’s Dessner brothers and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. His nontraditional take on the 2022 single “Once the Reaper” highlights what makes him so special – buzzing synthesizers, layers of phantasmal vocal samples and throbbing bass drums to piecemeal music that drifts between ancient invocations and industrial dance. 8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S.

P.J. KINZER

ART [SNAKE

EYES] BJ BARBEE: REVERENCE/RELEVANCE

Musician, visual artist and longtime Nashvillian BJ Barbee isn’t shy about how his upbringing in East Tennessee’s Appalachian foothills shaped his perspective as an artist. As he recently put it, “Growing up I became fascinated with the overlap of spirituality and sound” — and that overlap informs Barbee’s current exhibition at Julia Martin Gallery, Reverence/Relevance. As his artist’s statement puts it, Reverence/ Relevance combines “mystical components of a religious cult upbringing with images of legendary musicians, mythical preachers and bewitching bombshells.” Barbee’s most interesting works, to me, are his paintings of classic country and bluegrass performers paired with serpents — his portrait of West Virginia banjo man Don Stover in front of an ouroboros is particularly haunting. Also appearing in Barbee’s paintings are iconic figures including Waylon Jennings, dastardly televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and even Winnie-the-Pooh. The man contains

FRIDAY / 5.26

Music

[RIGHT KIND OF CRAZY] DEVON GILFILLIAN

RODGERS

multitudes, and while the show covers a lot of ground, all of his work is shot through with dark and stirring imagery that’ll likely stick with you. Barbee’s show is paired with ceramics by Becca Jane Koehler, and is on view by appointment or on its final day, this Saturday. Through May 27 at Julia Martin Gallery, 444 Humphreys St. D. PATRICK comic thriller Gremlins. But he’s also ready to present his socially conscious side; the ready-to-be-an-anthem “Let the Water Flow” was influenced by the fight against voter suppression in Georgia. While most of his music has him sounding like Leon Bridges if he ate ’shroom chocolates or The Weeknd if he didn’t think about coke or your teenage daughter, never forget that Gilfillian is a serious soulster when he wants to be. Watch him and fellow talent Emily King go at it live at the Ryman. 8 p.m. at the Ryman, 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N. CRAIG D. LINDSEY

W/EMILY KING

I’ve been down with Nashville R&B singer-songwriter Devon Gilfillian ever since his 2020 debut Black Hole Rainbow, on which he dropped fun, poppy ditties, but also on-point heartbreakers like “Thank Me Later.” These days, he’s got a ramen-noodle ’fro and is performing tunes from his latest release Love You Anyway. The album shows he’s not afraid to get naughty and nocturnal, like on “Better Broken,” perhaps the only quiet-storm number inspired by the ’80s

Music

[JUST

MY IMAGINATION]

Senses Fail

The emo tendencies that typify many current North American bands come through on Senses Fail’s 2022 album Hell Is in Your Head, but the New Jersey band has been around long enough to have shifted membership many times and more or less perfected their classic-rock variation on emo. This means Hell hews closely to the British Invasion usages rock has been recycling for decades, and the album comes across as straightforward — almost, you know, uncomplicated. The band’s kiss-off to an odious star of right-wing media, “Lush Rimbaugh,” gets its message across, while “The Fire Sermon” sports a pretty lush set of chord changes. Hell is definitely emo — this is a band that seems terrified of the world, and in the title track, they sing: “From what I can tell / I think I have a disease.” The album peaks with something titled “Miles to Go,” in which they mention the disappearance of polar bears and the high cost of living in an inflationary bubble that’s only fun when you’ve got the money. Opening will be The Home Team and Action/ Adventure. 8 p.m. at The Basement East, 917 Woodland St. EDD HURT

MUSIC

[DON’T STOP]

CHRISTINE M c VIE TRIBUTE

The music industry and the world at large lost an artistic titan when Christine McVie passed late last year. Often the unsung hero of Fleetwood Mac, McVie has never quite received her due, despite writing some of the group’s best songs. While McVie didn’t attract the acclaim some of her bandmates have, drummer Mick Fleetwood acknowledged her as “the glue” that held Fleetwood Mac together. From “Say You Love Me” to “You Make Loving Fun” and “Everywhere,” McVie’s songs more than hold their own. Artists Heaven Honey and Abby Johnson have put together a tribute to the late legend, featuring a who’s-who lineup of local singer-songwriters including Caitlin Rose, Molly Martin, Lola Kirke and Be Your Own Pet’s Jemina Pearl. The band for the evening will feature Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears, Josh Halper and The Volunteer Department. 8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S. HANNAH CRON

ART [STRING THEORY] STORIED STRINGS: THE GUITAR IN AMERICAN ART

Lovers of visual art, music and American history will be united at the Frist this season. The first exhibition to explore the guitar as a symbol in American art, Storied Strings includes more than 100 works — from John

Baldessari and Thomas Hart Benton to Dorothea Lange and Romare Bearden. The exhibit is divided into 12 sections that span American art from the early 18th century until now: “Leisure, Culture, and Comfort: 19th Century America;” “Amateurs and Professionals;” “Hispanicization;” “Hawaiiana;” “Blues and Folk;” “A Change Is Coming;” “Iconic Women in Country Music;” “Cowboy Guitars;” “Making a Living;” “The Visual Culture of Early Rock and Roll;” “Personification;” and “Aestheticizing a Motif.” Included among the artworks are examples of actual guitars, many of which were borrowed from local collectors. May 26-Aug. 13 at the Frist, 919

Broadway LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

ART [WORLD OF WONDER] RON JUDE: 12 HZ

Photographer Ron Jude’s large-scale black-and-white photographs of landscapes were taken in Oregon, California, Hawaii and Iceland, but often feel otherworldly. Lava flows and cracked glaciers permeate the photo space, and might make you think of a 21st-century Ansel Adams. The exhibition’s title — 12 Hz — references the lowest threshold of human hearing, which the show information says suggests “the powerful yet frequently imperceptible forces that shape the physical world and the limits of human perception.” On Friday at noon, Jude will give a talk about the exhibition with Toby Jurovics, the director of the Barry Lopez Foundation for Art & Environment, which is the lead organizer of the show. Lopez was himself an admirer of Jude, saying of his work: “When I saw Ron Jude’s photographs for the first time, it took me about 20 minutes to catch up to the scale of what he was doing, and the way he was using tonal values, and destroying the notion of boundedness in a ‘work of art.’ I felt small in what he was doing and overwhelmed by something that wasn’t all that big.”

May 26-Aug. 13 at the Frist, 919 Broadway LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

FILM [HOLY MOLY]

MIDNIGHT MOVIE: THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1973 masterpiece The Holy Mountain is as much of a capital-E Experience as any film I can think of. It’s gorgeous, disturbing, thrilling, tedious and completely fucking wild. The plot barely matters — this is a visual experience that defies description — but if you’re a stickler for those details, a messiah figure and an alchemist set out to achieve enlightenment atop a holy mountain. But it’s the unforgettable vignettes that will stick with you forever — crucified lizards, shaved heads, anus alchemy, eye-shaped flaming tables, hats for days. It’s playing as part of the Belcourt’s ongoing 1973 series and gets the Midnight Movie treatment this weekend, which means that only the weirdest of Nashville will be there — the cinephiles, the satanists, the ultra cool.

Midnight at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave.

LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

MUSIC

[ANTS MARCHING]

DAVE MATTHEWS

Band

There’s nothing like heading into Bridgestone Arena and joining the

Saturday, May 27

SONGWRITER SESSION Porter Howell

NOON · FORD THEATER

Sunday, May 28

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT Alison Prestwood

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Saturday, June 3

HATCH SHOW PRINT

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

HATCH SHOW PRINT SHOP

LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Saturday, June 3

SONGWRITER SESSION

Carson Beyer and Michael Lotten

NOON · FORD THEATER

Sunday, June 4

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT

Nick Scallorn

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Friday, June 9

CONVERSATION AND PERFORMANCE

CMT’s

Next Women of Country

featuring Kimberly Kelly, Catie Offerman, MaRynn Taylor, Kasey Tyndall, and Julie Williams

12:30 pm · CMA THEATER

Saturday, June 10

SONGWRITER SESSION

Laura Veltz

NOON · FORD THEATER

Saturday, June 10

FILM SCREENING Fan Fair Phenomenon (1997)

2:30 pm · FORD THEATER crowds of excitable white people for the Dave Matthews Band. I kid, I kid. Here’s the truth: When a Dave Matthews song comes on the radio, I stick with it. His music takes me back to a time in my life when I was making out as the scents of CK One and Zima filled the air. DMB made music for horny teens, and everyone who got to second base in the mid-’90s should forever be indebted to him. Now his legacy almost doesn’t seem true — it’s too much of a punchline to consider after the disdain campaigns I later practiced against him when my musical tastes shifted. But I’ve come around to admitting the simple pleasures of being a Basic Btch. And the fact that he’s playing arenas 30 years after the release of Under the Table and Dreaming shows that there’s still a lot of us out there. 7:30 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway TOBY ROSE

MUSIC

[GOT ’EM CORNERED]

MUSICIANS CORNER FEAT. HAYES

CARLL, AMYTHYST KIAH & MORE

Much-loved concert series Musicians Corner continues its long-standing tradition of bringing phenomenal talent to Centennial Park at family-friendly times with an entry fee of exactly zero dollars. The series’ three-day Memorial Day weekend run starts Friday evening with performances from top songsmiths like Hayes Carll and Crys Matthews, as well as great songwriter and stellar fiddler Lillie Mae. Saturday afternoon, check out rocking songsmiths Amythyst Kiah and Tristen and rising country-folk champ Denitia, among others. The mini festival draws to a close on Sunday, but not without a duo set from Ricky Young and Joel King from pop-mericana group Wild Feathers, a performance from film star and country singer Lola Kirke and more. That “more” includes hometown heroes and cosmic-pastoral instrumental rock champs William Tyler and the Impossible Truth; their most recent local gig, at Vinyl Tap in April for Record Store Day, featured some special guest singers, so be ready for some fun surprises. Friday through Sunday at Centennial Park, 2500 West End Ave.

STEPHEN TRAGESER

FILM [KICK FLICKS]

1973: ENTER THE DRAGON

Every so often, a movie comes along with an impact so seismic that its influence can still be felt reverberating throughout pop culture decades later. The Belcourt is celebrating a handful of these films as part of its series on the movies of 1973, including Enter the Dragon. I could try to convince you to see this iconic work by telling you it’s the Greatest Martial Arts Film of All Time, which it is. I could describe the trippy, The Lady From Shanghai-esque hall-of-mirrors sequence, which has been re-created in everything from John Wick: Chapter 2 to MacGyver. I could try to distill its massive cultural footprint down to a few items (we’ll go with the Wu-Tang Clan and Dragon Ball Z). I could even mention that co-star John Saxon lived in the Nashville area before his death in 2020. But this is a movie in which Bruce Lee and Jim Kelly, two of the coolest people in the history of mankind, take on an island of evil goons by themselves. That’s all you need to know. May 26, 28 & 30 at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt

SATURDAY / 5.27

THEATER

[PUT THEIR SERVICE TO THE TEST]

Backlight Productions Presents Beauty And The Beast

For more than a decade, Backlight Productions has been helping adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities grow and succeed through arts education, providing them with top-notch training and resources and a warm, welcoming community that they’ll never “age out of.” While partnering with professional artists and theater companies, Backlight offers a wide range of programs throughout the year and produces fun shows that allow their participants to really shine. This weekend, the Franklin-based nonprofit will take the stage at Nashville Children’s Theatre to perform Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version features all your favorite songs, along with a few you may not know. And with 42 developmentally disabled artists performing alongside local professionals and student actors, it promises to be a heartwarming evening. May 27-28 at Nashville Children’s Theatre, 25 Middleton St. AMY STUMPFL

Cars

[DOUBLE VISION]

Summer Demo Series

The second installment of Lane Motor Museum’s Summer Demo series features the 1952 Citroën 2CV Bicephale “Cogolin’’ Replica. The car is unique in that it’s basically two Citroën CV front halves put together, and its curved hoods may remind readers of the popular Volkswagen Beetle released in the ’60s. A practical purpose gave birth to such a quirky car: In the city of Cogolin in the French countryside, firefighters on night patrol would sometimes have to reverse up to a mile in the dark after reaching the end of a narrow rural road. By simply pinning one set of wheels in place and switching over to the opposite driver’s seat, firefighters were able to drive directly back down the road. Remarkably, the Bicephale can also be operated by two drivers at once, which will be on full display during the demonstration. The monthly family-friendly series includes some of the museum’s oddest automobiles in the museum’s back parking lot. Noon at the Lane Motor Museum, 702 Murfreesboro Pike

JASON VERSTEGEN

[MINOR ROLES]

FILM

1973: PAPER MOON

Paper Moon is one of those rare cases in which the film is as spectacular as the novel. The book, Addie Pray, came out in 1971 and tells the rollicking story of a con man and the young girl who accompanies him during the Great Depression. They’re a lovable pair of scammers. The film, released two years later, stars the real-life father-and-daughter pairing of Ryan and Tatum O’Neal. Except for changing the setting from the Deep South to the Midwest, the movie stays loyal to the novel. All charm remains. At 9 years old, Tatum O’Neal portrayed Addie Loggins and became the youngest Academy Award winner in history — and she won because she didn’t play cute à la Shirley Temple (who, incidentally, won the honorary Academy Juvenile Award at just 6 years old in 1934). Actually, Tatum doesn’t have an ounce of sweetness to her, making her edge of wit the rarest gift of all. Showing as part of the Belcourt’s 1973 series. May 27, 29 and 31 at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave. TOBY ROSE

SUNDAY / 5.28

THEATER

[HOMETOWN CABARET] IF LOVE IS OVERRATED

Deonté L. Warren’s career has taken them around the globe, performing on cruise ships, in touring productions of Sister Act and Dreamgirls, and even on Broadway in Disney’s Aladdin. Currently serving as an assistant professor and coordinator of musical theater at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Warren continues to perform here and there most recently turning in an electrifying performance as Angel in Nashville Rep’s terrific production of Rent. Local audiences can catch this multitalented Nashville native this weekend in If Love Is Overrated, a new cabaret performance at Street Theatre Company. Audiences can look forward to a wide range of songs and musical styles, including music by jazz greats like Gregory Porter, Nina Simone, Esperanza Spalding and more, along with works from musical theater legends such as Stephen Sondheim and Jason Robert Brown. At the intimate Barbershop Theater, Deonté will surely have you swaying in the seat. 7 p.m. at The Barbershop Theater, 4003 Indiana Ave. AMY STUMPFL

FILM [UNCOMPLICATED]

1973: THE WAY WE WERE

Air Mail critic James Wolcott recently called Sydney Pollack’s beloved, Oscarwinning, magic/tragic romance from 1973 a “honey trap of Hollywood hooey.” But I dare anyone to watch old-school tearjerker The Way We Were and not root for Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand’s night-andday couple to stay in hand-holding love for the rest of the movie. In a film adapted from a novel by Arthur Laurents (who wrote the script), Streisand’s commie idealist and Redford’s upper-crust pragmatist have an on-again, off-again thang through most of the early 20th century. While some weirdass things keep their home from being continuously happy (Francoist Spain, the death of FDR, McCarthyism), the pop icon and the Sundance Kid have an offthe-charts chemistry that — in this age of movie stars giving off chaste, neutered energy on screen — is both refreshing and intoxicating. And I don’t care what Redford says about wearing two pairs of drawers an independent bookstore for independent people

6:30AM

Bureau of Imagination

TUESDAY, MAY 30

MEG MASON with ANN PATCHETT at PARNASSUS Sorrow and Bliss

THURSDAY, JUNE 1

6:30AM

JONATHAN EIG with DR. LEAROTHA WILLIAMS at PARNASSUS King: A Life

MONDAY, JUNE 5

6:30AM

HOLLY GOLDBERG SLOAN with GIGI LEVANGIE at PARNASSUS Pieces of Blue

6:30AM

CIDNY BULLENS at PARNASSUS

TUESDAY, JUNE 6

TransElectric: My Life as a Cosmic Rock Star

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

6:30AM

M HENDRIX at PARNASSUS

The Chaperone

3900 Hillsboro Pike Suite 14 | Nashville, TN 37215 (615) 953-2243

Shop online at parnassusbooks.net

@parnassusbooks1 @parnassusbooks

@parnassusbooks1 Parnassus Books

CRITICS’ PICKS

to protect himself from Streisand during filming. Every time Babs looks at the dude in a scene, you can tell those two smashed all through filming. May 28 & 30, June 1 at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave. CRAIG D. LINDSEY

MONDAY / 5.29

[I ONLY WANT TO SAY]

FILM

1973: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

It’s the crossover event of the century — that is, the first century. As part of both the ongoing Music City Mondays series and the monthlong 50th-anniversary celebration of films released in 1973, the Belcourt will show Norman Jewison’s adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar. The film takes Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s cult-favorite rock-opera concept album turned Broadway sensation to new, meta heights. The story depicts six days in Jesus’ life leading up to his — spoiler alert — death, told through the perspective of the notoriously complicated Judas Iscariot. Jesus Christ Superstar has always been controversial, with some religious groups hailing it for its humanization of biblical characters and broad reach, and others condemning it for innumerable reasons. But no take on Superstar can outshine its fantastic soundtrack. The film brings together much of the original cast, taking the outstanding score and passionate vocals to the sprawling backdrop of Israel. The on-location filming elevates the already outstanding opera to an unforgettable cinematic journey. It’s distinctly ’70s, a little bit camp and, according to a Huffington Post bracket, the “best Jesus movie,” beating out classics like Godspell and Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter May 29 & June 1 at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave. HANNAH CRON

TUESDAY / 5.30

[DREAM A LITTLE DREAM]

Music

JEROMES DREAM W/ELIZABETH COLOUR WHEEL & SECOND SPIRIT

In the earliest days of Jeromes Dream, the band toured with New England hardcore instigators Orchid and played a sparsely attended Nashville show. Having written only a few songs before Orchid invited them on the road, Jeromes Dream eradicated the few of us in the room with their 13-minute set. What they lacked in material, the Vulcan-rockers made up for in sass, vigor and tinnitus-inducing art-punk. Almost a quarter-century later, Jeromes Dream is coming back in support of a new LP on Iodine Records. Their sound remains a relentless barrage of lightspeed emo-thrash and brash noise, never allowing their age to water down their piss and vinegar. The Drkmttr gig kicks off with the sparse, dreary psychedelia of Boston’s Elizabeth Colour Wheel and locals Second Spirit. 7 p.m. at Drkmttr, 1111 Dickerson Pike

P.J. KINZER

WEDNESDAY / 5.31

MUSIC [APOLLO PROJECT] MOONY

Not to be confused with the early-Aughts Italian dance music diva of the same name, Moony is a captivating project from musical polymath Seth Findley, one that gloriously finds its own way of defining what “Nashville music” even means. To call Moony one of the more innovative rock projects out there feels a bit unfair — there are all kinds of influences, textures and vibes to be found — but this is a sound that feels raring up to break out of an idiom. At times, Findley uses distortion as an instrument of jagged, maximal intimacy (the kind that was all over Charli XCX’s How I’m Feeling Now), working as both barrier and guide for the listener. Abundant with muscular hooks and a sense of external perspective, the recent Podunk EP (which gathers a few previous tracks and some new work) is visceral and immediate and hits hard. It takes no time to dawdle, instead aiming for maximum impact in its 18 minutes (and its Pierre et Gilles-adjacent cover art), and it serves as the exact right kind of taster for Wednesday’s show at The End. Even if we’d only been offered the exquisite bossa nova Auto-Tune arena anthem “Sacreligious,” it would be enough to fix eyes and ears on wherever this project is bound for. 8 p.m. at The End, 2219 Elliston Place

JASON SHAWHAN