Nashville Scene 6-22-23

CITY LIMITS: OB-GYNS AND ADVOCATES REFLECT ON THE FIRST YEAR WITHOUT ROE PAGE 7

FOOD & DRINK: MADISON’S DINING SCENE IS BEGINNING TO BOOM PAGE 31

PRIDE

Highlighting the best of Nashville Pride Festival, celebrating queer voices, talking to Aura Mayari and more

WAY LATE PLAY DATE

8.25.23

Electrify date night at Nashville’s most unique 21+ event. We’re tackling wacky and wonderful topics like plastic-eating fungi, electric pickles, and supermassive black holes. Grab your ticket at Adventuresci.org.

JUNE

7

CITY LIMITS

OB-GYNs

FOOD AND DRINK

Gallatin Pike Gastronomy

Pinky Ring Pizza, Shotgun Willie’s and MaeMax Market are building Madison’s dining scene

BY COLE VILLENA

THIS WEEK ON THE WEB:

Major Music Publishers Sue Twitter for

BY HANNAH HERNER

BOOKS

Choice Poor

Julia Franks’ The Say So recalls a time when unwed mothers were hidden

Aftyn

BY ELI MOTYCKA

BY LIZ GARRIGAN, CHAPTER16.ORG

VODKA

In last week’s cover package, “Seeking Council,” the Scene incorrectly reported that District 23 Councilmember Thom Druffel voted in favor of the Belle Meade Plaza development. Druffel voted against the rezoning. We regret the error and are happy to set the record straight.

ON THE COVER: Aura Mayari

DARYANI,

BY BRITTNEY M c KENNA

BY KIM BALDWIN

BY KASHIF ANDREW GRAHAM

BY KELSEY BEYELER AND HANNAH HERNER

CRITICS’

• A new community is forming on a beautiful farm with

Photo by Angelina Castillo; location: Play

PET OF THE WEEK!

HI, MY NAME IS MORGAN.

I’m a 3-year-old Pittie Mix that weighs 45 pounds. I walk really well on the leash AND I have excellent inside potty manners. I was found as a stray and was super skinny when found, but now I get lots of foodies and treats and at a healthy weight. I am the most loving boy who sometimes gets so excited my tail goes a little rogue and knocks things over. Oopsie. I would love forever home with a yard, tons of toys and a lap to sleep in. Oh yeah, did I mention? I’m a total lap dog!

THE INDICTMENT OF FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP CALLS FOR SERIOUS EXAMINATION

Former President Donald Trump is in the news again with yet another indictment. The latest indictment relates to 37 felony counts of alleged misconduct and wrongdoing, including the mishandling and the deliberate withholding of top-secret and classified documents. This includes documents that put national security at risk. If you read the indictment and examine it for yourself, you will see the charges are of serious concern. This could be the time that Trump’s actions face genuine consequences — he faces real legal repercussions, including imprisonment.

The case is stronger than some might think. As reported by The New York Times on June 11, the indictment contains “extensive” and “damaging” testimony from two former attorneys of former President Trump. The Times reports that “M. Evan Corcoran, who was hired to represent the former president after the Justice Department issued a subpoena for classified documents at Mara-Lago, could be a key witness in the trial.” Corcoran had written notes quoting Trump as saying: “I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t. I don’t want you looking through my boxes.” Corcoran’s notes also show Mr. Trump suggesting that Corcoran should “pluck” any incriminating documents out before turning materials over to the federal investigators.

According to the indictment, as further reported by Tennessee Lookout, “Trump brought boxes of classified documents with him from Washington to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, when he left office.” Moreover, “many documents were marked top secret and contained highly sensitive information about U.S. and foreign military capabilities. Trump knew the materials were classified and went to great lengths to conceal his possession of them, even after the grand jury subpoenaed them, according to the indictment.”

Preserving our national security should be of the utmost importance to any president! While it is true that other former officials have made mistakes and self-reported improper possession of sensitive documents, federal prosecutors believe Trump’s actions were intentional — especially considering his ongoing efforts to conceal his possession of the materials. Trump’s proclamations of innocence on social media have done little to allay these concerns.

Within the Republican Party, reactions to the former president’s indictment have been mixed. Yes, some — like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson — would like Trump to drop out of the presidential race. Others continue to show loyalty to Trump, despite the mounting scandals, no doubt driven by their desire to maintain the support of his

fervent base.

Let me say clearly here that an indictment alone doesn’t automatically make Trump guilty. Every defendant deserves the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise. However, like Arizona Republic opinion columnist EJ Montini, I advise you to read the indictment. Do not solely rely on the media’s interpretations. Despite the hard work of those in the media, it’s always best to examine the facts for yourself. Only then can we shape an informed opinion based on the evidence presented.

For better or worse, and if not convicted or jailed, Trump could still become president if he wins the GOP nomination. As reported by NPR, there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits candidates with criminal records from holding office. This means Trump could weather the indictment and win the presidency; he could avoid conviction but fail to secure the presidency; or he could face imprisonment. As The Hill’s opinion contributor Jonathan Turley said on Fox News, “All the government has to do is stick the landing on one count, and [Trump] could have a terminal sentence. You’re talking about crimes that have a 10- or 20-year period as a maximum.”

But you can bet it won’t be as easy as that. As NPR further reported, “Expect Trump’s team to file lots of motions with the goal of dismissing the cases, but also to hold the ball out, hoping he wins the presidency again and potentially takes steps to shut down these cases and investigations.” And though Republicans may be divided in their support for Trump, there is still no way of knowing whether his legal troubles will diminish his prospects for a successful presidential campaign in 2024.

In addition to reading the indictment, I would also encourage everyone reading this to use this moment as an opportunity. As Americans, we can come together and demand a better future, guided by leaders who prioritize our nation’s security and who will work toward a more united society. Though the Constitution does not prohibit candidates with criminal records from holding office, it does allow each of us to have a voice. We can use our voices to ensure we gain or keep a president who upholds the principles we hold dear, placing the reputation and well-being of America above personal interests. Let us demand accountability, integrity and true leadership from our elected officials. Our nation’s future depends on it.

Bill Freeman

Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post, and The News.

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PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

DONALD TRUMP IN NASHVILLE, 2022

OB-GYNS AND ADVOCATES REFLECT ON THE FIRST YEAR WITHOUT ROE

Tennessee’s restrictive abortion legislation leaves providers saying, ‘Please let me do my job’

BY HANNAH HERNER

Dr. Laura Andreson hired a lawyer to be on retainer for the past year. In the beginning, Andreson called her nearly every day. Meanwhile, Dr. Nicole Schlechter, chief of women’s services at a local hospital, answers calls from clinicians almost daily to advise on whether a pregnant person is close enough to death to justify terminating a pregnancy to save their life.

Since a Supreme Court ruling overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 and Tennessee’s trigger law went into effect in August, physicians now have to weigh the risk of being convicted of a class-C felony under Tennessee’s near-total abortion ban.

“When I heard it was going to happen, I called people who run the hospital system at the national level and said, ‘I need to know where you stand on this because we are going to break the law and I need your help,’” Schlechter says.

At the legislature this year, a small exception was added for abortions in cases of ectopic pregnancies, a dead fetus or molar pregnancies. Still, a big barrier to OB-GYNs providing care to pregnant people is fetal cardiac activity, even at gestational ages that could never survive outside of the womb. Andreson and Schlecter both say they’ve sent pregnant people out of state for abortions for fatal fetal anomalies.

“Let’s say you come in and you’re bleeding, and you’re bleeding heavily to where you’re requiring transfusion and you’re 16

BOARD OUSTS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT McNEILLY CENTER FOR CHILDREN

Abrupt departure of executive director, real estate rumors mark uncertain future for century-old East Nashville child care center

BY ELI MOTYCKA

Afew days after packing up her office at McNeilly Center for Children, the 107-year-old early childhood education center in McFerrin Park, Alyssa Dituro found out she had resigned. It was two years after she started as the site’s

weeks pregnant, and that baby has a heartbeat,” Andreson says. “At this point, I would have to contact legal.”

Schlechter says she treated a patient who didn’t know she was pregnant and suffered a ruptured ectopic pregnancy that ultimately caused her death. She was in intensive care on the upper floor of the hospital, when another ectopic pregnancy came in the emergency room.

“Is it not a medical emergency?” Schlechter says. “I have a patient upstairs who’s in ICU who is brain-dead. It ruptured that quickly. Now I’ve got this other patient. Do I send her home? Do I keep her in the hospital until she ruptures and I can justify it? Hell no, we took her to the operating room and we took the tube out because it was the right thing to do.”

Without case law in place, physicians operate in a gray area and hold their breath until one of them is made an example. At both Schlecter and Andreson’s hospitals, more than one physician signs off on cases of terminating a pregnancy to save the life of the mother. Having more experts agree on a case could prevent litigation, but it could also put more people at risk of losing their jobs or facing jail time.

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk vowed not to prosecute women who seek abortions or doctors who perform them after the fall of Roe. But state law allows for Attorney General Anthony Skrmetti to appoint a special prosecutor in counties where a DA declines to enforce certain laws. The

Metro Nashville Police Department has also provided a statement that it is “not the abortion police.”

“Don’t tell me it’s OK because they’ve said they aren’t going to charge anybody,” Schlecter says. “Somebody else can be in that job next week, and get pissed, or just not like me. That is no security for me.”

Local reproductive health care advocacy organization Healthy and Free Tennessee saw a win in the legislature this year: Senate Bill 745 repealed a Tennessee law that criminalized “attempted procurement of a miscarriage,” a law that landed one Tennessee woman in jail for a year as recently as 2015. The political will to decriminalize pregnancy wasn’t there before the fall of Roe, says Healthy and Free interim executive director Briana Perry.

“This criminalization language really resonated with a lot of people, including legislators,” Perry says. “Even conservative legislators don’t want pregnant women to be criminalized. It was a huge win.”

The organization inched forward, introducing a resolution that clarified that contraception should be accessible in the state, which failed. Despite public support of exceptions to the abortion ban in cases of rape and incest, a bill that would have allowed that failed in the legislature this year. Even so, exceptions rarely benefit the people they

ecutive director. The move by Jarvis and his colleagues followed almost a year of friction with Dituro, who managed the center’s day-to-day work. McNeilly has an annual operating budget of $2.6 million and provides low-cost child care to a client base that is almost entirely low-income families of color in East Nashville.

Jarvis did not respond to a request for comment by the Scene. Board member Tommy Bethel, along with several other members of the board, declined to comment on Dituro’s departure or plans for a site redevelopment. Board member Marty Mayer could not be reached. Instead, the board offered a statement.

seek to help, Perry says.

“There are so many barriers to go through the legal process as a survivor of sexual assault, especially communities of color who are more often not believed in these circumstances,” Perry says. “We are not pushing for exceptions — we are pushing for abortion access to be available in Tennessee again.”

The road to abortion access will be long and arduous, but OB-GYNs anticipate a more immediate effect on the field. Andreson currently serves people from surrounding counties and out of state because of a scarcity of providers.

“I think we need to provide some sense of normalcy for the providers in this state, or I think our attrition rate will be remarkable,” Andreson says. “I’m at a point in my career, I could probably practice another 10 to 15 years, and I just don’t know — if I am in this type of setting — that I could keep doing that. I think it’ll make people retire earlier. I think it’ll make people go to just GYN only or maybe consultative work.”

“What I take care of every day are people who really want a pregnancy and something’s wrong,” Schlechter adds. “Please let me do my job.”

Schlechter and Andreson’s views do not reflect the views of their employers.

EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

requested by the Scene

McNeilly is one of the city’s nonprofit crown jewels. It operates with funding from the city’s top charitable institutions, which see it as an example of what nonprofits should do: provide direct, critical services to people who need them. Dituro’s abrupt departure has left unanswered questions swirling among the city’s major funders as well as her own staff, who now field calls from those same funders curious about the future and stability of the organization.

executive director and exactly a year since she learned about a board plan to sell McNeilly’s land — 4.16 acres of prime real estate near the booming East Bank.

“My email signature said, ‘I’m no longer with McNeilly. I resigned May 17, 2023,’ which was weird, because I didn’t write that,” Dituro tells the Scene in early June. “There was no letter and no process — my staff was told I resigned. No one had a straight answer.”

She had left McNeilly that day in May under the impression that the board — or rather, a chosen subset of the board, led by chair Adam Jarvis — had given her a 30-day suspension from her duties as McNeilly’s ex-

“There are no current plans to sell the McNeilly Center for Children,” the statement reads. “Unfortunately, very preliminary conversations about development opportunities were incorrectly shared with you. Ms. Dituro provided her resignation at the May 17 Board of Directors meeting. The Board accepted her resignation, and we have named an interim director while we begin a search for the next executive director.”

The board’s statement conflicts with documents reviewed by the Scene, including a PowerPoint presentation on real estate options. The board did not provide details about any ongoing real estate conversations or a letter of resignation from Dituro, both of which were

Sitting just across from RiverChase Apartments, McNeilly used to provide child care for many RiverChase families until the complex was razed last year following a prolonged fight between developers and community members wary of the displacement of low-income families. McNeilly still serves lots of families who live nearby in Sam Levy Homes, an MDHA property.

The center owns its own land, which was appraised by Metro at $5.6 million in 2021. Since then, area real estate value has climbed to new highs. A massive revamp of the neighboring East Bank — centered on a new domed $2.2 billion Titans stadium — and in-progress plans for surrounding land, like for the former RiverChase site, have developers sizing up every parcel in the neighborhood.

PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

PROTESTERS AT THE STATE CAPITOL IN JUNE 2022

McNEILLY CENTER FOR CHILDREN

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

“McNeilly is prime real estate,” says a board member who spoke to the Scene on the condition of anonymity. “That whole block where McNeilly Center is located, you probably have every property owner being courted heavily or solicited to sell. But we’re talking about a child care center that has been there over 100 years. Losing that would be to the [detriment] of the entire community.”

Jarvis, the board chair, sent out nondisclosure agreements to his board regarding Dituro’s departure. Some have signed, some have not. Many are still confused about what exactly has gone on between board leadership and their executive director.

A year ago, Jarvis, along with fellow McNeilly board members Bethel and Mayer, took Dituro to see Salama Urban Ministries’ new home on the ground floor of Hillside Flats, a mixed-use incomerestricted project developed in 2021 by local real estate giants Elmington Capital Group. The same group could take over McNeilly, Dituro was told, and leave room for a child care center while also exploring apartment units and retail space.

She urged the board to consider other options, like working with Pillars Development, a Black-led real estate firm, and going more slowly, and keeping McNeilly’s mission at the center of any plans. Bethel, Mayer and Jarvis, all white, kept pushing the Hillside Flats vision and seemed to favor Elmington Capital. They asked Dituro to show up during non-working hours to show developers their land or to give them a key so they could access the building themselves.

“I have never heard of a board member having a key to the building in 10 years of nonprofit work,” says Dituro. “What they needed and wanted didn’t make sense for us, nor did it make sense for us to move so quickly. We had discussed some rejuvenation and revitalization initiatives with the people who bought RiverChase. We had begun working with local developers, like Pillars, to come up with some plans that would preserve the center. My development director was considering a capital plan. We were trying to keep McNeilly’s mission and feedback from our families at the center of everything we do.”

At three more quarterly meetings through the fall and winter, the board formed a real estate committee — headed by Bethel, Mayer and Jarvis — to explore development options. The committee took another field trip to Hillside Flats in March. Few if any updates came back to Dituro, who realized some potential developers had connections to board members via Ensworth, a private school in West Nashville. She contacted the Center for Nonprofit Management and the Nashville Center for Conflict Resolution and pushed for anti-bias and conflict-of-interest measures, as well as guidelines to address what Dituro considered racist language and actions directed toward her, a Black executive director, by the majority-white board.

Dituro says Jarvis dismissed her suggestions and cast her approach as evidence of harassment and bullying, prompting his own investigation, which he carried out on behalf of the board. The tensions built to a closed-door board meeting on May 17, attended by a fraction of the board’s 26 listed board members.

After handing down Dituro’s suspension, Jarvis followed her to McNeilly, where she gathered personal items from her office.

“When I saw the police outside of McNeilly, I thought there must be an active shooter in the area,” Dituro recalls. “They told me someone had called in a disturbance. I realized they were there for me.” EMAIL

MAYORAL CANDIDATES TALK HOUSING, POLICE AND DEVELOPMENT AT SCENE/POST/BANNER FORUM

Read a recap of June 13’s event at Fat Bottom Brewing BY CONNOR

DARYANI, NASHVILLE BANNER

This story is a partnership between the Nashville Banner and the Nashville Scene

The Banner is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news and will launch later this year. For more information, visit NashvilleBanner.com.

The Nashville Banner, the Nashville Post and the Nashville Scene co-hosted a mayoral forum on June 13 featuring the main mayoral candidates.

Eight were invited: Heidi Campbell, Sharon Hurt, Vivian Wilhoite, Jim Gingrich, Alice Rolli, Jeff Yarbro, Freddie O’Connell and Matt Wiltshire. Rather than the typical format, this event featured each candidate onstage individually for a 10-minute interview with either the Post’s Stephen Elliott or the Banner’s Demetria Kalodimos.

Here’s some of what the candidates had to say. Visit nashvillescene.com to see video of each candidate’s interview.

Heidi Campbell, who promptly kicked off her shoes upon sitting down and took advantage of the casual atmosphere, just released a 15-page plan for what she will do as mayor. When asked how she would pay for the priorities in her administration, such as sustainability and affordable housing, she spoke about inefficiencies in Metro government and how there is an opportunity cost with everything. When asked about her letter to the Metro Council in May asking to defer a vote on the Belle Meade Plaza development, she said she was not necessarily against the plan, but was just representing her constituents. She placed a large priority on making sure future development in the

city is sustainable.

Sharon Hurt debuted a new anecdote involving Elvis, Memphis and buses. With the Nashville General Hospital deal at Meharry ending in 2027, she was asked where she believes Nashville General should be located next. Hurt said she has had conversations with Joseph Webb, the CEO, about possibly placing it in Bordeaux, where the community is underserved and facing health disparities. She was also very excited about future East Bank development, saying it could be an “economic tsunami.”

Vivian Wilhoite has been critical of the Metro Council’s decision to turn down the 2024 Republican National Convention, a decision that some have blamed for the state’s attacks on the city. When asked how realistic it is to say that open lines of communication between the city and the state are the cure to stop attacks from the legislature, Wilhoite said the city needs to not “poke the bear.” She also said a top priority for her administration would be giving pay raises to Metro employees, but would not give a specific source for the revenue, instead saying, “Vote for me and we’ll find out.” When asked what would fall lower on the priorities list because of this being a top priority, she said nothing would, and that by giving people more money we would also be alleviating the affordable housing crisis.

Jim Gingrich continued to emphasize his place as a “political outsider” who will run Nashville like a business. He said his success has always been based on surrounding himself with the right people and that making sure the people around him would do a good job was the “thing I was good at.” Gingrich is one of two candidates who has

released television ads. In several of those ads, he refers to his “plan” to manage Nashville’s growth. When asked for details on the plan, he said it’s coming soon.

Alice Rolli was the lone Republican candidate at Tuesday’s forum. When asked who her first hire would be, Rolli instead talked about what a great job Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake has done. She spent much of the time detailing a need for more police officers, noting that the number of officers per thousand residents in Nashville lags other peer cities. How would she pay for this? Rolli said Metro is spending too much money on bureaucracy in areas like the Parks Department.

Jeff Yarbro started his time by talking about needing to soothe relationships with the state, saying the situation was like “getting in a fight with your spouse and burning down the garage to get even.” When asked for his thoughts on the closing of homeless encampments and what he would do to solve the problem of homelessness in Nashville, he pointed to Houston, Atlanta and Milwaukee as cities that have been more successful in addressing the issue. He said the normal pathway of first making homelessness less visible is wrong, and Nashville needs to follow a housing-first approach. When asked who he thinks has been the most effective mayor in Nashville history, he said it was hard to name just one, but the one he admired most was Phil Bredesen.

Freddie O’Connell placed a strong emphasis on making sure the East Bank plan is one that has lots of public amenities, such as housing that the employees working in the new stadium can afford to live in. District 19, which he has represented for the past eight years, has been one of the fastest developing parts of Nashville over the past decade, and in response to a question about making sure residents in Black neighborhoods are not being pushed out, he talked about the importance of informing people about the property tax relief program. O’Connell was a supporter of the failed transit referendum of 2018, and he said there were a lot of flaws in that plan that he would do differently as mayor, namely limiting the light rail portion. He said the city needs to invest in visible and usable transit infrastructure.

Matt Wiltshire used the first minute of his time to lead the room in singing “Happy Birthday” to his wife, who was in attendance. He spoke about the issues Nashville is facing because of its growth, saying he doesn’t want to downplay those issues, but contrasted them with other cities and said they are good problems to have — it means there are a lot of people doing great things in Nashville. A former MDHA executive, Wiltshire spent a lot of time talking about affordable housing, including specific places across the city that he says could be developed to provide at least 6,000 to 7,000 units. Wiltshire is the second candidate who has released television ads, and his latest focused on education, and providing more funding to Metro Nashville Public Schools. He said Metro schools need to have higher standards, and that while he was against the state’s third-grade retention legislation because it was rushed and poorly executed, he is not fully opposed to the concept.

PHOTO:

HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

DEMETRIA KALODIMOS, VIVIAN WILHOITE AND STEPHEN ELLIOTT

Highlighting the best of Nashville Pride Festival, celebrating queer voices, talking to Aura Mayari and more

PRIDE

It’s been 54 years since police raids in New York City’s Greenwich Village resulted in the historic Stonewall riots — an occasion marked every June by Pride celebrations all over the world. Even though more than a half-century has passed since members of New York’s LGBTQ community fought back against that injustice, marginalization of queer folks continues throughout our country, particularly right here in Tennessee. But the LGBTQ community is a resilient one, capable of fighting ongoing oppression and celebrating the joy of their existence.

PRIDE IN THE NAME OF LOVE

A quick-reference guide to the music of Nashville Pride 2023

BY BRITTNEY M c KENNA

AS LGBTQ AMERICANS face attacks of increasing frequency and intensity from right-wing politicians and religious groups, it’s more important than ever to celebrate and lift up our queer community in Nashville. The annual Nashville Pride Festival and Parade continues to grow each year, bringing together a bevy of diverse national and local acts to showcase the many facets and perspectives of queer musicianship.

This year’s roster is an especially stacked one. You’ll find major talent like pop star Fletcher and danceable R&B champs Fitz and the Tantrums headlining the Equality Main Stage, alongside an eclectic undercard of up-and-comers sure to please just about any musical sensibility, plus an array of queer songwriters across many traditions

on the Rainbow Stage. Country fans will find their folks in performances from artists like Mercy Bell, Mark Robert Cash and Chris Housman. Those looking to dance will have no shortage of opportunities, like when twangy pop artist Adam Mac or rapper Saucy Santana performs. And rock is wellrepresented too, with local favorites Tayls and Los Angeles’ Lauren Sanderson joining the proceedings. We’ve shared our notes on a handful of the many wonderful artists performing this weekend — check out the full lineup and schedule at nashvillepride.org/ entertainment.

AUTUMN NICHOLAS

Singer-songwriter Autumn Nicholas has found acclaim in recent years with her honest, confessional lyrics, which grapple with identity and liberation, as well as her genrebending sound, which pulls from pop, folk, country, R&B and more.

“Not Gonna Do This Anymore,” recently released as a single, is one of Nicholas’ best to date, an anthem for choosing to believe in yourself in the face of oppression. 12:30 p.m.

Saturday at the Equality Main Stage

TAYLS

Local self-described “friendship punks”

Tayls finally make their Nashville Pride debut this year, after having sets canceled in 2021 and 2022 due to COVID-19 and rain, re-

In this week’s issue, we check out some of the hottest talent performing at this weekend’s Nashville Pride Festival and Parade, explore the history of beloved local gay bar Play and interview RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Aura Mayari. We also hear from contributor Kashif Andrew Graham on his experience as a queer Black man in the Christian South and speak with members of the transgender community — both about the challenges they face and the joy they experience.

Read on, and happy Pride!

spectively. The band is fresh off the release of the heavy but hopeful “Nightmare,” with the playfully titled “Star Dom” set to hit streaming on June 23. 2 p.m. Saturday at the Equality Main Stage

SAUCY SANTANA

Rapper Saucy Santana is one of the most exciting new voices in the genre — not just for being one of a few out artists in hip-hop, but for crafting infectious, pop-tinged trap with swagger for days. Songs like this year’s “1-800-Bad-Bxtch,” which oozes with sassy charisma, and the Lattofeaturing “Booty” are sure to get things moving. 6:45 p.m. Saturday at the Equality Main Stage

FLETCHER

Fletcher has amassed a rabid following, particularly among young queer women, with her hooky, edgy songs about hook-ups gone wrong and — humorously but accurately — crushing on an ex’s new flame, à la the delightful and relatable “Becky’s So Hot.” Look for her to pull from her acclaimed 2022 album Girl of My Dreams, a heady and revealing collection of queer pop gems. 8 p.m. Saturday at the Equality Main Stage

COROOK

Few artists could pull off a lyric like “I’ll make a fart joke when we’re in a fight” in any context — let alone as part of their deeply vulnerable, Phoebe Bridgers-style piano ballad “Serious Person.” Few artists make music like Nashville’s own Corook, though — a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose impressive stylistic range is broad enough to draw comparisons to Bridgers and Stephen Sondheim. Look for them to serve up an eclectic, likely hilarious set. 2:15 p.m. Sunday at the Equality Main Stage

ADAM MAC

Adam Mac’s Instagram bio describes him as “your musical, mystical, spiritual guide through the wild world of homosexuality,” a fitting characterization for the colorful artist behind this year’s fun, sparkly and boundary-breaking LP Disco Cowboy. As a vocalist, Mac is a little gritty and heavy on soul, with production that leans on dance-floorready pop and subtly nods to country’s disco moments — think Kacey Musgraves’ “High Horse” or Dolly Parton’s “Baby I’m Burnin’.” TBA Sunday at the Rainbow Stage ■

NASHVILLE PRIDE FESTIVAL & PARADE

JUNE 24-25 AT BICENTENNIAL CAPITOL MALL STATE PARK

READING YOUR AURA

Hometown queen Aura

Mayari talks visibility, Pride, Drag Race and more

BY KIM BALDWIN

IT’S THE FRIDAY before Memorial Day when I arrive at Play. I’ve been to countless shows at Play, so it’s odd to be there in daylight. Aura Mayari rushes out to greet me from backstage in full makeup and hair, wearing a T-shirt and shorts. She may be in half-drag, but she is fully gorgeous.

Maybe you’ve heard of Mayari. She appeared on a little television show called RuPaul’s Drag Race, which has won 26 Emmy Awards. Racers, start your engines.

Originally from the Philippines, Mayari got her drag start in Chicago when she was cast as Angel in a local production of Rent. Depressed working an office job, she started practicing makeup and performance. Monday to Friday, she was at the office. But at night, she was doing drag.

“When I was younger, I thought I was going to be an entertainer,” Mayari says. “Somebody who was going to be a leader or a representation for something.”

Mayari and her partner moved to Nashville during the pandemic. “Play realized that I moved here and contacted me,” Mayari says. “They were so good at selling, and they booked me multiple times. I liked the feeling of that. It felt different. I felt alive.”

Four months later, Drag Race auditions were announced. Mayari auditioned and was cast as a contestant on the 15th season.

“Oh, my goodness — the first day, I was shitting my pants,” says Mayari. “I can swear, right?”

During a Zoom interview a few days before her photo shoot at Play, Mayari has just gotten home from the gym. She’s wearing a T-shirt and a backward baseball hat. When she’s out of drag, you notice how warm her eyes are, how much she lights up when talking about drag and how quick she is to laugh. She’s an animated storyteller, and every time she gestures, I catch glimpses of the tattoos covering her forearms. “So RuPaul walked in. I was like, ‘Holy shit, this person is so fucking tall.’ I’ve never been starstruck. I was intimidated. It was an out-of-body experience.”

Being present was the hardest part of Drag Race for Mayari. Contestants are isolated and away from their families. Not being able to talk to them is difficult — it’s not something you can mentally prepare for.

Mayari sashayed away in the seventh episode. She was relieved to go home and see her partner, but critical of herself for

not making it further. After some time, Mayari came to feel pride — pride in what she did and confidence that she was enough.

Pride is important to Mayari because selfacceptance didn’t come easily. In addition to being Asian American and what Mayari calls “a minority, as well as a minority in the minority,” she had to learn how to accept herself. Like so many things, it’s a journey, and one she wouldn’t change for anything.

Knowing how important it is to grow up seeing yourself represented on TV, Mayari appreciates the Drag Race platform allowing her to be the representation a lot of kids need.

“We don’t belong in the closet,” Mayari says. “We’re real people.”

All over the country, the LGBTQ community is under attack. In Tennessee, the trans and drag communities have found themselves targets of hateful, discriminatory legislation. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Shelby County

ruled Tennessee’s drag ban unconstitutional and halted its enforcement.

“It’s not just that they’re restricting drag performers,” Mayari says. “It teaches other communities that don’t know anything about us that we are a menace to society. We feel that. Even if you’re not involved in the drag scene. Just being a gay person, you feel that sense of being targeted.”

In addition to performing drag, Mayari is making music, a longtime dream of hers. She’s working with an L.A.-based music producer, has sent in a demo and is trying to find time to record. Her latest is an upbeat dance-pop song. She sees it as a gift to her drag sisters, because of the hate and bullying they’ve experienced online.

“Pride is every day,” she says. “Pride is not a month. You should always have pride for yourself. Be brighter than the colors of the rainbow and whatever people throw at us. We have a great and brave community to stand behind you.” ■

“

PRIDE IS EVERY DAY. PRIDE IS NOT A MONTH. ”

PHOTO: ANGELINA CASTILLO; LOCATION: PLAY

COME OUT AND PLAY

Joey Brown, Todd Roman and two decades of Play, Nashville’s storied gay bar

BY MIKEIE HONDA REILAND

NEAR THE END of the 20th century, when he was 15 years old, Joey Brown stood by his brother’s grave and struggled to breathe. Joey’s childhood, if you didn’t dig deeper, might’ve seemed like a Tom Petty song. Fairhaired, blue-eyed, good-looking, he grew up poor, raised in the Nazarene Church, working the fields in and around Clarksville for extra money, growing strong as he chopped tobacco in the Tennessee heat. He was the youngest of four, his parents divorced when he was 6, and his mother Brenda remarried when he was 8. Brenda had another child with Joey’s stepfather, and then they opened McCoy’s Market, a bait shop and grocery store out in the country.

In his early teens, Joey was summoned to court. He learned that his father had abused his three older siblings, and that once he remarried, he’d abused his new wife’s children. Junior, Joey’s 25-year-old brother, took the stand and talked about what their father had done to him. For the first time, Joey learned that his older brother was gay. Junior was HIV-positive. And he was dying.

After the trial, in the middle of his ninthgrade year at Northwest High, Joey began to dread cross-country practice. Each day, during long runs with the team, Joey would fall behind and drag himself over the finish line. He used Junior as an excuse to skip practice.

“He’s sick,” Joey told his coaches. “My brother’s sick.”

At Junior’s funeral, and throughout the years that followed, guilt threatened to swallow Joey whole. His chest tightened, his breathing came fast and shallow. When he could no longer stare at Junior’s grave, Joey looked up at a nearby tree. A red-tailed hawk rested among its branches, staring back at him.

Joey watched the hawk for a few moments. Then it flew away.

THREE YEARS after burying his brother, Joey lay broken on a mattress in a psych ward.

He was just 18, halfway through his freshman year of a nursing program at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. The hours Joey had spent in the hospital with Junior left a scar, and he wanted to help people in similar situations. Getting away from home, if only a few miles up the road, might’ve offered an escape. But freshman year morphed into one of the worst periods of Joey’s life. He didn’t know how to process what had happened with his family, and he’d begun to question his upbringing in the Nazarene Church. Above all, he knew he was gay, and he had no idea how to tell his mom, who’d watched Joey’s older brother die of AIDS.

Joey couldn’t picture a solution. At his lowest point, he tried to take his own life. He ended up in that psych ward for a week. Once Joey was allowed to see visitors,

Brenda showed up at his bedside along with John, Joey’s baby brother.

“Why’d you do it?” Brenda asked Joey. He paused for a second. This, he knew, was the moment.

“Because I’m gay,” he said. “And I can’t deal with this.”

John started to cry. Joey felt awful. John was 8 years old, and he was just happy to see his big brother alive.

Brenda didn’t hesitate. “I don’t care,” she told Joey. Her words were alchemy. The weight he carried began to lighten.

Around the same time, a friend from Clarksville brought Joey to Nashville to visit a gay bar called The Connection, which operated at Fifth and Demonbreun. Joey felt queasy when he walked in. He couldn’t grasp what he was seeing — drag queens, the thrum beneath the party, flashing lights, waves of uninhibited humanity. He saw men kissing each other, in public, without fear. He was shocked. He was euphoric. Twothirty in the morning arrived, and he found himself still dancing, hooked on a feeling.

Before long, Joey was the one moshing on the raised platform, shirtless, sweaty, having the time of his life. The queasy feeling hadn’t entirely vanished. On several nights out, he saw Junior’s ex at The Connection. But Joey felt whole when he was in the bar. One night, he walked over to ask a bartender for a glass of water. Only, he didn’t really ask — it was more of a demand. He stated, in a flat tone and without preamble, “Water.”

Todd Roman grabbed Joey Brown by the back of his neck. Todd was manager at The Connection, and had been named Best Bartender in the Scene’s Best of Nashville issue. He prided himself on his handshake — he grew up on a farm, so his grip wasn’t gentle. He pulled Joey toward his face, until they were nose to nose.

“You should always say please and thank you,” Todd whispered.

Joey was shocked, and also a little chastened. He apologized. From then on, whenever Joey came to the bar, he and Todd always talked. A friendship began, and briefly, a relationship. Before long, Joey got a job waiting tables at The Connection. He began to realize that he didn’t love nursing, that what he felt out at the bar was a feeling worth chasing.

Over time, Joey and Todd both grew frustrated with The Connection’s ownership, who they didn’t think paid their employees well. If Joey and Todd wanted any sort of future, something needed to change. The breaking point arrived on a holiday, when ownership decided to raise the door cover. Todd argued that they should at least hire some entertainers, since the customers would expect something special if they paid extra.

“Fuck ’em,” the owner said. “Where else are they gonna go?”

Todd despised this attitude, and he said so.

“If you think you can do it better,” the owner replied, “then go do it. Until then, you’ll do what I say.”

THE NIGHT BEFORE they opened Play, their very own club on Church Street, Joey and Todd lay on their shiny, spotless dance floor and stared up at the ceiling. They’d just finished the sound system, so they turned on the dance lights and the music. It was just the two of them.

After arguing with The Connection’s owners, Todd realized that he could, in fact, do it better. He talked to Joey about opening their own club, knowing that Joey — who’d grown up buying and reselling candy, watching his parents run McCoy’s Market — would make a great entrepreneur. Their first step was leaving The Connection. Through a mutual friend, Todd met David Taylor and Keith Blaydes, who’d just opened a bar called Tribe on Church Street. Todd tended bar for them and helped them launch the business. They knew he wanted to start his own bar, and that eventuality was part of their initial agreement. Soon after, Joey left The Connection and joined Tribe.

Meanwhile, Joey and Todd saved every penny they could. Todd sold his Acura NSX, but they still couldn’t quite get over the finish line. In the end, Todd went to his father, who was supportive, and took out a $100,000 loan.

On opening night in 2004, Play was packed. Joey and Todd watched it all from the elevated DJ booth, working the lights, looking down at smiling faces. They’d managed to bottle that first-time feeling — the queasiness and euphoria, the exhilaration cut with a hint of fear, that anticipation that makes you shiver. Show up any night, two decades later, and you’ll feel it still.

A few months after Play opened, The Connection went out of business. By the time Joey turned 28, Todd says, he was a millionaire.

“I still think about my brother,” he says, years later, sitting in his club’s lounge.

“I think he’d be really proud.”

ONE NIGHT at a party, Joey’s friend Lana told him she wanted to run a marathon.

“Yeah,” he told Lana. “I’d like to do one, too.”

As they began training, Lana thrived while Joey struggled. He hadn’t run since he was a freshman skipping cross-country practice, grieving Junior.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Lana asked him.

“I’m going to run a marathon,” Joey

assured her. For his brother’s sake, he wouldn’t quit.

Two months out, during a 16-mile run, Lana got injured. She wouldn’t be able to race. Joey’s confidence began to trickle away. Lana had been the one to push him, and now, he’d have to finish training on his own. One day, on Percy Warner’s 11mile paved loop, weaving through trees and fighting up hills, Joey could go no further. He was so mad at himself that he started to cry.

I’m gonna quit, he realized. I’m just gonna quit.

Twenty feet from where he’d stopped, a red-tailed hawk swooped down and landed on a tree branch. For a moment, the world went silent. Time froze. No one else was around. Just Joey and Junior.

On the day of the Country Music Marathon, as he raced across Nashville, Joey scanned the skies. It felt written, preordained. He was so ready for the moment, so primed for that huge emotional payoff, but it never arrived. When he crossed the finish line, he knew he’d accomplished something big. And yet, in spite of what he’d just done, he couldn’t help but feel let down.

When he got back to the house he and Todd shared, Todd and Lana waited outside. “Why don’t you come upstairs?” they asked him. “We got something for you.”

Joey climbed the stairs and opened the door to his bedroom.

There, lying on his bed, was a statue. It looked just like a red-tailed hawk. ■

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

TODD ROMAN AND JOEY BROWN

PLAY

NOTES ON [JEREMY]

CAMP

Black, queer reflections on a Christian music icon

BY KASHIF ANDREW GRAHAM

Jeremy Thomas Camp is a Grammynominated contemporary Christian music artist. His first major label studio album, Stay (2002), earned him chart-topping recognition. Camp is also known for his rock aesthetic and physique.

I DIDN’T REMEMBER Jeremy Camp until my therapist assigned me that damn exercise for the third time: Go and write your ideal partner. My ideal partner? At that point, I’d lived in Nashville for five years, in Tennessee for nine, and white gay Nashville was a thing of silence to me. Tinder matches with no responses. Unanswered DMs — Hey, I really appreciate your vibe. I’d love to grab coffee, if you are game! And then of course, that wall of white, Greek torsos otherwise known as Grindr. (Greek, not for their ethnicity, but more for their silence — like Greek, ab-bearing statues of old.) None of this was ideal. Sorrow had turned to anger, and anger unexpressed had given way to rage.

Around the same time, I began writing a story called “All About Adam.” It was the only place I felt safe putting my rage. This was in a long tradition of Black gay men writing, painting, filming, poetizing their fury at finding themselves invisible in white gay communities. Reginald Shepherd’s 1991 essay “On Not Being White” is in this tradition. I wrote about a Black boy’s infatuation with his white classmate, Adam. But I found it difficult to write Adam, as his face belonged to the many men in Nashville who had looked above, around, behind me — never at me. Feeling dehumanized, I had decided to respond in kind, and so I’d eventually forgotten what their faces looked like. If I was going to bring the reader into the face of Adam, I needed a muse.

It was a simple Google search that opened all this shit back up. At first it was the features: chinstrap beard, spiky brown hair. And then a name from years before came to my mind: Jeremy Camp. For days on end, I looked at scores of Jeremy Camp photos, but I kept going back to one black-and-white image in which he sits, folded over, hands on knees. He gazes out with eyes that are warm and attentive. This became the face of my fictional Adam. But even after the story was sent to my agent, I found myself sweetly haunted by that gaze — because I had seen it before, when I was 16 and desperately trying to fight off the sin of homosexuality.

My church community fed me the narrative that I was struggling because I lacked masculine role models and did not have enough male friends. The latter was its own issue, but I tried to find every male Christian role model I could. This was mainly through music, since my little sister was engaged in a quiet rebellion of her own — bringing contemporary Christian

music into our strict Jamaican Pentecostal household. In the first picture I remember of Jeremy Camp, he’s looking down into the camera. Both his eyes and the sky behind him are a soft blue. His hair is a mountain range of spikes. He looks rugged but gentle. I remember wanting to be in the picture with him. He’d be my brother and my guide into the type of young manhood where boys got dirty and then read their Bibles, which were smudged with sunscreen and carried the odor of grill smoke.

Jeremy became my rescuer. On days when I was defeated, when I had looked at gay porn and felt useless, I would walk the Bronx River Trail and listen to Jeremy’s hit song “Take You Back.” It’s still hard to think about the Sunday afternoon when I walked so far that I had to take the train home. I waited at the train station with Jeremy’s voice in my ears: “I’ll take you back always / even when your fight is over now.” He was with me when I got to college. I was often overwhelmed by “gay feelings” and would lie on my bed and let his lyrics wash over me: “Letting go of all my pain and all my fears.” I took up running — miles of his music. But my body was still on fire. No amount of post-run showers, no quantity of cold-water baptisms could cool me. I still found men sexually attractive. I wanted to be close to Jeremy because I found him sexually attractive, too — even though I buried this thought and told myself that I really did not like him, but instead wanted to be like him.

In 2014, I set out for Tennessee. The Bible Belt felt like my surest chance at Christian brotherhood, which was what I needed to be healed. I’d attend graduate classes

at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary in Cleveland, Tenn., and work full time at the Lee University library. The first week, I called one of my new co-workers to see if she was aware of any youth group gatherings. She reached out to the many people she knew and offered me a quiet explanation: “Well, the youth groups meet on Wednesdays, but, you know … they are high school and college ministries.” At 22, I was too old. I later realized that my status as an employee at the university also meant I couldn’t participate in the kind of student life that would seat me next to a Jeremy at a bonfire. I continued to search for that gaze for the next three years, until it became, for me, a myth. In that sweet Southern nexus of Christian community, I was alone. But instead of turning again to Jeremy Camp’s baritone voice, I comforted myself by falling into the spaciousness of ambient music.

When I finally found the courage to yield to my therapist’s assignment, I excavated Jeremy from the place where I had buried good things. There was immense grief and possibility. I let myself write all of that softness down. I explored the question: What if I had found a Jeremy in Tennessee? That intuitive exercise brought me back to daily life in Cleveland, eating at the taco truck, getting my brakes done, thrifting, hiking near the Ocoee River — all with his warm presence. In seeing that individual — not the literal person Jeremy Camp, but the person I created in my mind from that gaze — I was able to look into the face of my desires. It was an experience that I named “Jeremy’s Valley.”

But I know of too many Black gay boys who have made a life in that ancient verbal

construction, which captures longing on a cellular level: Oh, would that it were! They live in a subjunctive nightmare. The most difficult task for me has been integrating the lessons from that sweet valley experience with my public life. Finding that gaze again. Finding it in Nashville.

I later learned that the “Adam” picture of Jeremy is the cover art for his 2003 single “Right Here.” And when I finally revisited his album Carried Me: The Worship Project, I found another image from that same photo shoot. It is almost identical to the first, except here Jeremy is smiling — a woundingly handsome grin. Shockingly, the first emotion I felt was anger. I’d seen that same sharp-jawed smile all over Nashville. The men whose DMs I slid into who never replied. Then, at the bars, I’d see them in conversation with each other, those beautiful grins like a uniform. Sometimes, a white gay friend would introduce me to them with such exultations of their kindness. I was often afraid to reveal that I had already tried to make the connection. Too many times, after shaking my hand, they would never remember my name.

A very close friend once asked if Jeremy was like a messiah to me. I said no, angry at the question. I’d had latenight conversations with Black gay men about rejecting white supremacist beauty standards. I’d subjected my desires to examination by people whose opinions I held higher than my own vision. I lived under the hot lights of their disapproval for a long time. But then came the Valley So the truth is — yes, he is. And we all need a Jesus. Or at the very least, someone to gaze at us, at long last, like we are a thing of wonder. ■

PHOTO: MATTHEW BARNES

JUNE 29

SPRINGER MOUNTAIN FARMS BLUEGRASS NIGHTS AT THE RYMAN

JERRY DOUGLAS BAND AND PETER ROWAN

JULY 15

SAVE THE MORRIS BUILDING BENEFIT:

GRANDMASTER FLASH & FRIENDS

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

AUGUST 26

MATT MAESON

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

SEPTEMBER 7

EDDIE IZZARD

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

SEPTEMBER 21 LATE SHOW ADDED!

DANIEL TOSH

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

OCTOBER 11

RAPHAEL SAADIQ

REVISITS TONY! TONI! TONÉ!

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 9 AM

OCTOBER 16

RENEÉ RAPP

WITH ALEXANDER 23 AND TOWA BIRD

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM

TO FAMILIES WITH TRANS CHILDREN

Banned gender-af rming health care for youth forces families to ee the state

BY HANNAH HERNER

GINA’S FAMILY has their house on the market with plans to move from Tennessee to Minnesota. They hope it will sell before their teen’s hormone therapy and puberty blockers run out.

On May 31, Vanderbilt University Pediatric Transgender Clinic sent an email to Gina letting her know that her 15-yearold transgender teen son would no longer be able to get a refill for his prescriptions, as of the next day. Earlier in the year, her younger son, who is also trans, had his first appointment at the clinic canceled. It’s all due to a Tennessee law passed this year.

“Your current medication prescription is affected by the laws coming into effect regarding gender affirming care,” the email reads.

“I have a lot of families all panicking, including myself,” says Gina, whose name we’ve changed to protect her privacy. “We thought we had until July 1. Everything was timed out to get as much as we could. But they’ve already canceled that.”

Despite pending lawsuits, right-wing activists have gotten their way. Genderaffirming care for trans youth in Tennessee has become unavailable. Earlier this year, the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation that puts doctors at risk of losing their licenses for providing genderaffirming care to minors. It was a return on a promise legislators made at an October anti-trans rally hosted by right-wing media figure Matt Walsh, who launched his own attack on the VUMC clinic via Twitter weeks earlier, and was backed by Gov. Bill Lee. The legislation was set to take effect July 1 and would require trans youth currently receiving gender-affirming care to end that care within nine months. The ACLU of Tennessee and others, including a Nashville family, filed a lawsuit to block the legislation in April, and the Department of Justice made an attempt to block the law as well.

(In 2022, Alabama was the first state to make providing gender-affirming medical treatment a felony. Like in Tennessee, the U.S. Department of Justice promptly

challenged the law, and eventually a judge ruled to allow hormones and puberty blockers but not surgeries. Alabama also has a similar ongoing lawsuit.)

“I don’t begrudge them because they took excellent care of my kids, but it is very frustrating,” Gina says of VUMC. “We had like 24 hours’ notice that they were canceling all medications, and we weren’t told that that was going to happen ahead of time.”

VUMC suspended gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth beginning in October. Before putting the practice on hold, the clinic also confirmed that it performed only about five surgeries per year on minors age 16 or older, and none of them were genital surgeries. The clinic has been largely silent on the matters, though quietly disabled the clinic’s website sometime in February or March of this year, as indicated by internet database the Wayback Machine. VUMC declined to comment further beyond a statement that reads: “We continue to fully comply with all federal and state laws and are carefully following the legal proceedings challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee’s new law.”

Gina tells the Scene that the clinic prefers at least a year of mental health work before becoming a patient there, including letters from mental health professionals and pediatricians. Appointments were always three months apart, she says.

“What we were always instructed was that surgeries were something that we would talk about 18-plus,” she says. “It was never offered. It was never suggested.”

Gina leads a support group for Tennessee families with transgender kids, and she says some parents are going as far as Asheville, N.C., and Carbondale, Ill., to receive care now. Others are also contemplating moving, or sending their children to live with family out of state.

“When my kids started getting care, it was like light came back into them and into their life and our family and everything,” she says. “As soon as things started to change again, and it’s taken away, we are back to self-harm and depression.”

Gina’s family is against the clock, hoping to get their younger son access to genderaffirming care before puberty hits and gender dysphoria worsens further. She hopes the law will turn around by the time some of the younger transgender children in her group come of age. The group is in contact with about 90 families, and just about as many signed up at Franklin Pride, she says.

“I don’t want to feel like I’m leaving anybody,” she says. “It was kind of bittersweet. I want to stay and fight, but at the same time, my kids have had to fight for this many years already, and they shouldn’t have to.” ■

FINDING TRANS JOY

Speaking with members of Nashville’s transgender community about nding joy in representation and community

BY KELSEY BEYELER AND HANNAH HERNER

AFTER A VOCAL PUSH from right-wing activists and politicians in Tennessee, a law banning gender-affirming care for minors passed in the state legislature earlier this year. As a result, the Pediatric Transgender Clinic at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently stopped serving patients.

With the rights and well-being of transgender citizens under attack here in Tennessee and across the nation, the Scene decided to reach out to members of the trans community and hear from them directly on their experiences — not just the bad, but the good and joyful, in their own words. Here’s what we heard from three members of Nashville’s trans community when we reached out to them for our Pride Issue.

KARA ROBBINS

“I’ve found a really good friend group. We’re all queer parents around the same age, and we all let our kids run around and we just hang out. We get together two or three times a week. Every Monday night we have family dinner and we rotate whose house it’s at. Every Thursday night we meet at a local pavilion and skate.

“I guess it’s just freeing. Strap some wheels to your feet and you can fly. Pre-transition I actually used to ride BMX. I lost all my upper body strength, but I found out that my leg strength was still there. I started roller-skating when I was 7, but I used to just do the rink. I found YouTube videos of people skating skate parks on oldschool roller skates and I was like, ‘Yep, that’s what I’m doing.’

“One thing that I really like about skating is that it forces you to get out of your head. If you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing, you’re going to crash and you’re going to bleed. It’s very in-the-moment.

“There’s just a lot of anxiety around existing, and it gets very tiring. I try to just hang out in my happy little bubble with my happy people.” As told to HANNAH HERNER

ROBERTO CHE ESPINOZA

When the Scene reached out to local theologian and ethicist Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza to talk about trans joy, he agreed. But when we meet up a few weeks later, Espinoza is having trouble accessing that joy. But that led to an important conversation about the duality of joy and hardship.

“I don’t think you have joy without the struggle, you don’t have joy without reality,” says Espinoza. “And what is real for trans people right now is a lot of fear of the criminalization of being trans, and the economic burden.”

Espinoza teaches at Duke University, writes a Substack and has authored two books — Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation and Activist Theology — among many other accomplishments. He tells the Scene that helping others describe their feelings fosters joy.

“For me the joy is helping people feel, and knowing that maybe I’m planting seeds for someone to stay alive. But I have to do that myself, too. … A lot of us are struggling with the impetus to remain alive in the face of such political devastation.”

On difficult days, Espinoza seeks joy where he can — taking siestas, drinking tea, adding garlic-scape butter to a mushroom risotto that he’ll serve to friends later.

“There is an existential threat against trans people,” says Espinoza. “And I think we have to hold onto the joy and the pain simultaneously. And remember that hope is knowing that all possibilities aren’t exhausted.”

KELSEY BEYELER

JACE WILDER

We have a lot to thank Jace Wilder for. As an education manager for the Tennessee Equality Project, Wilder has advocated for trans rights by educating lawmakers, media outlets and classrooms about trans people. Outside of his work, Jace enjoys hiking, painting, decorating his space, making Marvel-inspired jewelry, reading comics, caring for his cat Moon and spending time with his community. Community is crucial.

“[People] don’t get to witness the beauty of the celebration and happiness that occurs with having gender-affirming care, or having your pronouns said for the first time or having your name said for the first time properly,” says Jace. “Those are moments that I wish people would step back and be able to witness.”

KELSEY BEYELER

“ WHEN MY KIDS STARTED GETTING CARE, IT WAS LIKE LIGHT CAME BACK INTO THEM AND INTO THEIR LIFE AND OUR FAMILY AND EVERYTHING. ”

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

PHOTO: EMILY APRIL ALLEN

Live at the Schermerhorn

GET HAPPY: A JUDY GARLAND CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

June 30

JURASSIC PARK IN CONCERT

July 6 & 7

JOHNNY MATHIS THE VOICE OF ROMANCE TOUR July 9

UB40 July 11*

1964 THE TRIBUTE July 14*

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE USA WITH HILARY HAHN July 20*

WANT SYMPHONIC: RUFUS WAINWRIGHT with the Nashville Symphony, An Americanafest Special Event September 19

RUBEN STUDDARD & CLAY AIKEN: TWENTY YEARS | ONE NIGHT

October 8*

Nathan Aspinall, conductor

CRITICS’ PICKS

WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF THINGS TO DO

THURSDAY / 6.22

ISABEL PLESS

up the tune. As befits a linguistics student who graduated from Massachusetts’ Wellesley College in 2022, Pless turns the tropes of confessional pop to her own purposes. On the evidence of “Bechdel Test” and “Keeping Score,” Pless has developed her own style in a world full of Taylor Swift imitators. Bridey Costello and Amber Ais open. 8 p.m. at The East Room, 2412 Gallatin Pike EDD HURT

[SO BORED OF 22]

MUSIC

WALLICE

this month, but given the strength of her work so far, I’m confident she’ll come back here soon. (Please?) 8 p.m. at The End, 2219 Elliston Place COLE VILLENA

FRIDAY / 6.23

[HAPPY BELATED]

MUSIC

JEREMY LISTER

MUSIC [VOCABULARY TEST]

ISABEL PLESS

Isabel Pless, hailing from Vermont and currently living in Nashville, is a guitarist, singer and songwriter who shows off a finely judged sense of pop classicism on what may be her best track to date, 2021’s “Bechdel Test.” The tune is named after a test that analyzes the representation of women in films, and it shows off Pless’ post-

folk guitar work and a set of chord changes that you don’t get from the average exponent of teen pop. Pless moved to town in 2022 after releasing the 2021 EP Too Big for the Playground, Too Small for the Big Leagues, which she recorded herself. It’s a superb record — Pless has a way of reinforcing her melodies with music that sounds like she’s absorbed the vocabulary of classic pop, and she’s a first-rate singer and guitarist. Meanwhile, her 2022 single “Keeping Score” sports a bridge that opens

My musical heroes growing up were mainly the white guys with guitars who dominated rock radio and CD sales during the 2000s and 2010s, so it is extremely gratifying to see so many popular releases from Asian acts these days. London’s Dirty Hit Records has brought several such artists to Nashville recently, from beabadoobee at Marathon Music Works to Rina Sawayama, who just played Bonnaroo. The Dirty Hit artist I’m maybe most excited for, though, is L.A.-based indie popster Wallice. Her songs about the chaos and opportunity of your early 20s just work, recalling ill-advised text conversations with former lovers (“Punching Bag”), late-night parties that stretch on a bit too long (“Hey Michael”) and the feeling that things just have to get better when you’re a little bit older (“23,” which is significantly less whiny than the Blink-182 song about being that age). But her songwriting suggests she’ll have a lot more to say than just “being young is hard!” as her career grows: “Japan,” which Wallice released in both English and Japanese, is a tender acoustic number that rings true for any second-generation immigrant unpacking where “home” is. Wallice’s strongest songs all feature riffy, guitar-driven choruses that propel them past bedroom-pop melodrama, and it’s great to hear that approach on recently released single “disappear.” It is a cruel twist of fate that I will be in Wallice’s native California when she plays The End

Pop-rock singer-songwriter Jeremy Lister is throwing a party Friday night at Eastside Bowl to celebrate the vinyl release of The Bed You Made, an album he recorded more than a decade ago that never got its full due. The album fell victim to an old record business story — the Warner Bros. A&R exec who signed Lister left before the album was released. But the exec did Lister a favor before his exit and gave him the rights to the album, which he self-released in 2011. “I’m calling it the 10-year anniversary,” Lister tells the Scene. “I’m just not including the pandemic years because in 2021, I was planning on doing something like this, but obviously the world had other plans.” Lister will perform material from the album with backing from his brothers Jonathan (guitar, vocals) and Richie (keys, vocals), as well as Court Clement (lead guitar), Adam Binder (bass) and Doy Gardner (drums). The show’s opening set, which will feature appearances by Leigh Nash, Trent Dabbs, KS Rhoads, Tyler James, Matthew Perryman Jones and others, will be a reunion of sorts for some of the Nashville-based pop-rock artists who toured together and contributed to four compilation albums under the banner Ten Out of Tenn between 2005 and 2011. 8 p.m. at Eastside Bowl, 1508 Gallatin Pike S.

DARYL SANDERS

THEATER [ON THE BORDER]

17 BORDER CROSSINGS

Thaddeus Phillips’ theater career has taken him around the globe. With his

THURSDAY, JUNE 22

The East Room

JEREMY LISTER

connection: invite big-name politicians, upstart candidates, longtime community organizers and neighborhood veterans to parse the city’s most fundamental issues over a slice (or two) of pizza. The seat can get hot; without being combative, Moore makes a point to ask his guests hard questions that lead to complex answers. Now celebrating the two-year mark with Deep Dish Conversations: Voices of Social Change in Nashville, he’ll appear with This Is Nashville host Khalil Ekulona to discuss his work at the book’s launch event on June 23. Nashville Public Television, where Moore took his talents last year, will host. 6 p.m. at Nashville Public Television, 161 Rains Ave. ELI MOTYCKA

X W/SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS

thought-provoking solo piece 17 Border Crossings — onstage this weekend as part of TPAC’s Perspectives Theatre Series — this multi-talented director/designer/writer/ performer invites audiences to tag along as he explores “the imaginary lines that divide up the world and the very real barriers they create.” Phillips (whose work has been seen at the BAM Next Wave Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, the Perth International Arts Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and more) has a real gift for language, easily slipping into different characters and accents. Balancing personal narrative with thoughtful design, he re-creates border crossing experiences — sometimes humorous and sometimes harrowing. Armed with little more than a table, a chair and some creative lighting, Phillips conjures a series of vignettes that include “invasive body searches at Charles de Gaulle, runins with Ace of Base on Croatian ferries, KFC smuggling in Palestine and ayahuasca experiments in the Amazon.” June 23-25 at TPAC’s Johnson Theater, 505 Deaderick St. AMY STUMPFL

[GENIUS MARKETING] RE:SET CONCERT SERIES

If you’ve tried to buy tickets to a show in the past six months or even just Googled the word “concert,” you have probably gotten an onslaught of ads for

the Re:SET concert tour. It’s undoubtedly a cash-grab marketing scheme for liveevents conglomerate AEG, but the lineup is stacked enough that even the most anti-capitalist music fan would cave to the scheme. Jayson Green and the local DJs of Sparkle City Disco will warm up the crowd Friday afternoon, followed by L’Rain, Idles, Jamie xx and headliner LCD Soundsystem. LCD released a single last year and recently returned to touring, so one can hope a new album is on the horizon. On Saturday, chart-topper Steve Lacy leads the lineup with support from Fousheé, Toro y Moi and James Blake. The final day in Music City will kick off with tunes from Bartees Strange, followed by Dijon, Clairo and headlining trio boygenius playing songs from their acclaimed full-length debut the record. Doors open at 3 p.m. each day with music starting on 4 at the Great Lawn in Centennial Park. June 23-25 at Centennial Park, 2500 West End Ave.

HANNAH CRON

COMMUNITY

TO THE BOTTOM OF IT] DEEP DISH CONVERSATIONS : JEROME MOORE

[GET

Since launching Deep Dish Conversations in 2021, Jerome Moore has covered more ground across the city than many media institutions in Nashville. The premise of Moore’s one-man interview project is a testament to the power of

In the era when American punk bands were out to destroy the dinosaurs of rock, few wore the tradition of early rock ’n’ roll on their sleeves quite as blatantly as Los Angeles’s X. The quartet was looking to their roots for inspiration, incorporating hillbilly music and getting Doors organist Ray Manzarek to produce their first album. John Doe focused on songwriting that wove tales of the L.A. culture around him, speaking to the disenfranchised youth allegorically, rather than the vérité reactionary lyrics of Black Flag or The Germs. While X left a legacy of ’80s masterpieces, the band returned to the newrelease sections for the first time in 27 years with the phenomonal album Alphabetland in 2020. With cover art by Middle Tennessee native and MTSU alum Wayne White, Alphabetland was a successful example of what X could be and an album that feels just as important as the band’s early work. Often grouped in with the corny swing of Royal Crown Review and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers threw themselves fully into the Victrola sounds of Romani guitarist Django Reinhardt and hottest Manouche jazz. They’ll open for X at The Caverns. 8 p.m. at The Caverns, 555 Charlie Roberts Road, Pelham, Tenn.

P.J. KINZER

FILM [HACK THE PLANET!] MIDNIGHT MOVIES: TRON & HACKERS

For this weekend’s installments of its long-running late-night Midnight Movies series, the Belcourt is cueing up a pair of far-out sci-fi action romps — both of which have delightfully outrageous depictions of

contemporaneous technology. Up first is writer-director Steven Lisberger’s twiceOscar-nominated 1982 film Tron, quaint in its reverent portrayal of just how much it seems to think early-’80s computing power was capable of. Outdated though they may be, Tron’s visuals are nevertheless trippy and fun, and Jeff Bridges — playing both Kevin Flynn, a programmer who is somehow sucked into cyberspace, and Clu, a hacking program with Flynn’s likeness — always delivers. Just as absurd but less acclaimed and financially successful is Saturday’s Midnight Movie Hackers, a mid’90s relic that’s about nine parts style, one part substance. Featuring a Prodigy-heavy soundtrack and a young knockout cast (Angelina Jolie! Her then-romantic-partner Jonny Lee Miller! The incomparable Matthew Lillard! Succession’s Fisher Stevens as a greaseball villain!), Hackers doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it works if you take Roger Ebert’s advice: “The movie is smart and entertaining, then, as long as you don’t take the computer stuff very seriously,” Ebert once wrote. “I didn’t. I took it approximately as seriously as the archeology in Indiana Jones.” Tron Friday at midnight, Hackers Saturday at midnight at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave.

D. PATRICK RODGERS

MUSIC [PORTRAITURE]

BROOK SUTTON & FRIENDS PLAY MINGUS

There are enough ideas under the broad umbrella of “jazz” that I’ll certainly never know but a fraction of what there is to know. But I learned a hell of a lot from the work of the late, great Charles Mingus: The master composer, bandleader and bassist’s 1959 landmark Mingus Ah Um opened my ears by offering a huge variety of connections to important ideas in jazz. Within just this one snapshot from a lifetime of work, Mingus and his band balance compositional prowess and inspired improvisation (“Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” a salute to late tenor sax icon Lester Young), reinterpret the traditions that feed into jazz (the gospel-inflected “Better Git It in Your Soul”), and use the music to advocate for civil rights (“Fables of Faubus,” whose titular Arkansas governor Orval Faubus called in the National Guard to stop the integration of Little Rock public schools) — and more. Outstanding Nashville bassist Brook Sutton, whom you might have seen playing in the quartet of Scene

RE:SET CONCERT SERIES FEATURING BOYGENIUS

DEEP DISH CONVERSATIONS: JEROME MOORE

Saturday, June 24

HATCH SHOW PRINT

Block Party

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

HATCH SHOW PRINT SHOP LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Saturday, June 24

SONGWRITER SESSION

Adam Wood

NOON · FORD THEATER

Sunday, June 25

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT

Dom Flemons

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Sunday, June 25

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT AND GUIDED TOURS

Storied Strings:

The Guitar in American Art

1:00 pm · FORD THEATER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FRIST ART MUSEUM

AMYTHYST KIAH

AUTUMN NICHOLAS

DARLINGSIDE

JAIMEE HARRIS

JESSYE DESILVA

JOHNNYSWIM

KYLE TUTTLE

LIV GREENE

MARY GAUTHIER

MIGHTY POPLAR

MYA BYRNE

NICK SHOULDERS

ODIE LEIGH

PALMYRA

Monday, June 26 – Saturday, July 1

FAMILY PROGRAM

String City

Nashville’s Tradition of Music and Puppetry

10:00 am and 11:30 am · FORD THEATER FREE

Thursday, June 29

PERFORMANCE

String City

Marionettes and Margaritas

7:00 pm · FORD THEATER

Saturday, July 1

HATCH SHOW PRINT

SARAH JAROSZ

SHOVELS & ROPE

SUNNY WAR

THE WATSON TWINS

WILLI CARLISLE

Plus many more

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contributing editor Jack Silverman lately, will gather a band of aces to pay tribute to the legend Friday night at Rudy’s. Whether you’re an aficionado or merely jazz-curious, you’ll want to be there. 8 p.m. at Rudy’s Jazz Room, 809 Gleaves St. STEPHEN TRAGESER

MUSIC

[POOLS OF SORROW, WAVES OF JOY] LINDSEY LOMIS

The last time I caught Lindsey Lomis, she was part of an all-aces writers’ round at a benefit for the great nonprofit Girls Write Nashville, of whose songwriting program she’s an alum. Both her songs and her acoustic funk-soul guitar chops were impressive, and another solo performance would be cause enough for excitement. But she’s doing us one better: In the wake of her April EP Universe, she’s touring with a full band to bring the whole spectrum of her warped, danceable pop — whose sonic family tree includes branches like Sign ‘O’ the Times, Whoa, Nelly! and Stranger in the Alps — to life. One standout on the record is “Bad News/Good News,” in which Lomis steps back to examine the dual nature of her attitude toward her significant other’s ex. Lomis wants her partner all to herself, but at the same time, what does hoping that his ex is someone without a lot of redeeming qualities say about him — or herself, for that matter? Get ready to dive deep into this and other social and emotional conundrums when Lomis’ tour makes a homecoming stop at Exit/In on Friday. 7 p.m. at Exit/In, 2208 Elliston Place STEPHEN TRAGESER

MUSIC [DETROIT VS. EVERYBODY] PROTOMARTYR

Protomartyr may not be a household name outside the abodes of post-punk appreciators, but it should be. Formed in 2010, with six LPs and counting, the Detroit foursome, which has never had a member change, has consistently met the moment lyrically (2017’s peak Trump-era Relatives in Descent landed in my top 10 of the decade) while breaking its own mold sonically. The past two Protomartyr efforts, 2020’s uncompromisingly dark Ultimate Success Today and the brand-new Formal Growth in the Desert (which frontmanwordsmith Joe Casey described to the

Scene last year as more upbeat than usual — “a happy record, just as we slide into nuclear war”) are as unpredictable as they are compelling. I’d follow them anywhere. Fellow Motor Citians Vinny Moonshine support. 8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 623 Seventh Ave. S.

CHARLIE ZAILLIAN

SATURDAY / 6.24

[FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY]

THEATER

CHERRY BOMB IMPROVISED MUSICAL

Cherry Bomb has returned, and I know what you’re thinking, but no: It isn’t a musical featuring the songs of The Runaways. Third Coast Comedy Club is once again showcasing their hourlong, completely improvised musicals every other Saturday starting June 24. The cast will be composed of performers hailing from all over the country, with many local talents as well. The show of the night will be totally dependent on audience suggestions. Will there be a steamy ballad? Maybe a whimsical jazz number? Perhaps some kind of power anthem? That will be up to you (and whoever else happens to be in the audience with you). Somehow, even with the entire show being made up on the spot, it will be tied together to form a cohesive story. It can best be summed up as: “Broadway, NYC, meets Broadway, Nashville.” 9 p.m. at Third Coast Comedy Club, 1310 Clinton St. BRADEN SIMMONS

CARS

[THREE STRIKES, YOU’RE OUT]

SUMMER DEMO SERIES: DAVIS DIVAN

The third installment of Lane Motor Museum’s summer demo series features the rare three-wheeled wonder known as the Davis Divan. As a used car dealer turned entrepreneur in Southern California, Gary Davis hoped to strike it rich off the post-WWII demand for new automobiles during the late ’40s. The Divan’s bulbous aircraft-inspired styling and single front wheel, which allowed for an advanced turning radius, set the unusual car apart from popular-brand vehicles of the era. Davis was a steadfast promoter, notoriously

Nashville Beatles Brunch

Featuring John Salaway and Friends Billy Joel Tribute THE STRANGER featuring Mike Santoro

with David Cook

CMA THEATER • August 29 & 30 TWO EXCLUSIVE EVENINGS

TICKETS ON SALE JUNE 23

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known to embellish the Divan’s futuristic features to investors and dealerships. However, his deception would lead to Davis’ demise. Only 17 Divans were ever produced despite over a million dollars in funding and promised wages to employees. Legal action was brought against Davis, resulting in a two-year prison sentence on 20 counts of fraud and eight counts of grand theft. It’s said that Davis was hiding in his daughter’s closet when police arrived to arrest him. The monthly family-friendly series includes some of Lane Motor’s most unique automobiles and takes place outdoors in the museum’s back parking lot. Noon at Lane Motor Museum, 702 Murfreesboro Pike

JASON VERSTEGEN

COMEDY

[NO FILTER]

LESLIE JONES

You probably know Leslie Jones best for her outrageous antics on Saturday Night Live. But this Memphis native — and three-time Emmy nominee — has been a fixture in the standup comedy world since the late ’80s. After Chris Rock reportedly helped her get an audition for SNL, Jones became the oldest cast member ever to join the show at age 47. Since her departure in 2019, Jones has been busy with various television and film projects, including her own Netflix special, Leslie Jones: Time Machine, and HBO Max’s hilarious Our Flag Means Death, among others. She’s currently working on an untitled Christmas comedy for Lionsgate, along with her new podcast, The Fckry, with co-host Lenny Marcus. Her new memoir, Leslie F*cking Jones, is due out in September. This weekend, you can catch her doing what she does best — delivering unfiltered, no-holds-barred comedy. 7 p.m. at TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater, 505 Deaderick St. AMY STUMPFL

SUNDAY / 6.25

MUSIC

from a working-class town that gave the world Joy Division, The Smiths and The Stone Roses. Since 2011, Noel’s HFB have functioned as his vehicle for his supersonic psych pop and maximum R&B. Embarking on a 24-date trek from the Pacific Northwest to New England, Gallagher will be splitting the co-headlining bill with ’90s MTV Buzz Bin veterans Garbage. But far from offering a mere Gen X nostalgia trip, Gallagher will be performing new material from HFB’s Council Skies album, released just weeks ago. Opening the amphitheater gig will be Canadian art rockers Metric. 7 p.m. at FirstBank Amphitheater, 4525 Graystone Quarry Lane, Franklin P.J. KINZER

MONDAY / 6.26

[LEND A HAND]

FOOD & DRINK

[WHERE WERE YOU WHILE WE WERE GETTING HIGH?] NOEL

GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS W/GARBAGE & METRIC

With Manchester City winning the 2023 crowns in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, Noel Gallagher is free to leave the Citizens for the summer and travel the world with his High Flying Birds. As half of Man City’s most famous family of fans (with his brother/nemesis/Oasis bandmate Liam), the mod master is one of Manchester’s most accomplished artists,

TWO

HANDS TO GIVE: A NIGHT OUT TO SUPPORT COVENANT SURVIVORS

A lot has happened in Nashville in the nearly three months since the Covenant School shooting upended the community. It’s almost hard to keep track of all the changes since that morning. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the need to support those who were there on the day of the shooting. On June 26, Australian restaurant Two Hands is hosting a night of food, drinks and music to raise funds for the Covenant survivors through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Tickets to the Two Hands to Give: A Night Out to Support fundraiser at the restaurant’s Gulch location are $65 and include passed appetizers and a glass of Prosecco plus live music performances. The Spark Collection will be on site selling permanent welded jewelry, and 10 percent of those jewelry sales will support Covenant survivors. 6-9 p.m. at Two Hands, 606 Eighth Ave. S. MARGARET LITTMAN

[FISH ARE

OUTDOORS

JUMPIN’]

EVENING KAYAK FLOAT

I always felt like social studies was everyone’s easiest subject. It was as if America gave it to you as a gift. I’ve been revisiting the topic as an adult, studying the steady stream of worksheets coming home from my kids’ elementary school. You too can learn a lot about our beautiful state by cracking open these lessons. Or maybe you already know. Pop quiz, hot shot: What’s the Tennessee state fish? Smallmouth bass! See this wonder and more when you clock

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out of work early to take a peaceful float across the 110-acre Couchville Lake at Long Hunter State Park. Meet at the Couchville Boathouse and join your host to rent a kayak and explore Tennessee’s natural gifts. The float costs $20 per person and will be hosted by park ranger Hannah Bell. 4 p.m. at Long Hunter State Park, 2910 Hobson Pike, Hermitage TOBY ROSE

MUSIC [FLOW MOTION] BLACK MIDI

For the most part, prog has been a playground for English musicians who seem comfortable with the mock-classical tone that characterizes Yes’ 1971 album Fragile and Genesis’ Selling England by the Pound, from 1973. What the London band Black Midi undertakes on their three studio albums is a reclamation of prog as a genre that includes the history of rock since the ’70s, and they’re making some of the most advanced — and densest — quasi-popular music of this moment. Led by singer Geordie Greep, Black Midi got together while they were playing in workshops at London performing-arts school The Brit School. What you hear on, say, their second album, 2021’s Cavalcade, is a take on prog that folds in the rhythmic distensions of Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa along with variations on krautrock, hardcore, punk, Brazilian pop and Burt Bacharach. The band honors the concept of classicalprog-rock via their ability to mess with form while creating rigorously constructed pieces of theme-and-variation music that are incredibly kinetic. In short, every track on Cavalcade, 2019’s Schlagenheim and 2022’s Hellfire goes somewhere you only think you imagined, and their feel for pop history comes through on the amazing Cavalcade track “Ascending Forth,” which is sort of like Scott Walker fronting King Crimson on a beautiful — and more or less standardly constructed — song that never falters over nearly 10 minutes. Hellfire contains theatrical rock vocals from Greep that blur the edges between spoken word and song, and the music is brilliant. Indie rockers Friko open. 8 p.m. at The Basement East, 917 Woodland St. EDD HURT

[OBSCURED BY CLOUDS]

FILM

SQUARING THE CIRCLE: THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS

No design team defined the look of ’70s rock quite like Hipgnosis. Working with the likes of Scorpions, Wings, Pink Floyd and ELO, the graphic design firm made some of the wildest and most recognizable album covers of the era. Formed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell in the swinging London of 1968, Hipgnosis was bent on redefining the boundaries of what an LP cover could be. With the addition of their third partner Peter Christopherson, who later founded industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle and Coil, Hipgnosis became the most successful graphic artists of their era. Dutch director Anton Corbijn is a guy who knows a thing or two about album art, given that his photos have made the cover of records by U2, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave and Metallica. His first documentary feature, Squaring the Circle, is a study of what overindulgence in creativity can be. Along with interviews with Po and Thorgerson, the film features Paul

McCartney, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour and other 20th-century rock royalty. And if you don’t get enough of Noel Gallagher at Ascend Amphitheater, he makes the interviewee list too. 3:20 and 8 p.m. at the Belcourt, 2102 Belcourt Ave. P.J. KINZER

[TURN THE PAGE]

NHL AWARDS AND ENTRY DRAFT

It is unfortunate that Nashville will host the NHL’s biggest annual off-ice events after a middling Predators season in which the boys in gold and blue neither made the playoffs nor did poorly enough to get a top pick in the draft. They weren’t great, but they didn’t suck either, so is it really all anyone’s fault? But the NHL Awards and Entry Draft come at the start of a new era for the team. David Poile, who’s been the Preds’ general manager since their inception in 1998, stepped down and was replaced by Barry Trotz. Trotz has experience both in Nashville and in winning things — he was the team’s first head coach and won a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018 — and will aim to bolster the ranks for Andrew Brunette’s first full-time gig as a head coach. For the events themselves, don’t expect the same all-encompassing extravaganza that was the NFL Draft in 2019, but you’ll still see a ton of people in hockey sweaters partying (and sweating) it up on Lower Broadway along with a musical performance from Dierks Bentley. As a Carolina Hurricanes fan, I can’t wait for the Florida Panthers to win “most unlikable underdog team that everyone loved to see lose.” June 2629 at Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway

COLE VILLENA

WEDNESDAY / 6.28

ART [SONGS OF THE SOUTH] KRISTINE POTTER: DARK WATERS

“The American South didn’t invent the murder ballad, but it certainly keeps the genre alive.” That’s how Nashville-based author and New York Times columnist Margaret Renkl began a recent essay about a new book of photographs by Kristine Potter. Renkl goes on to consider how Potter’s works examine the Southern terrain where, so the songs say, such murders might very well have occurred. The book, Dark Waters — out now though Aperture — shows how Southern landscapes can change when viewed through the lens (so to speak) of danger. It’s a captivating book with many layers — studio portraits, murder ballad lyrics, even a short story — interspersed throughout. So it will be interesting to hear Potter speak about the work at The Green Ray on Wednesday. I reviewed Dark Waters in our June 8 issue and will join Potter and The Green Ray’s Rebecca Moon Cullum to discuss the photos and celebrate the book’s release. Drinks will be provided by Wiseacre Brewery. 6-8 p.m. at The Green Ray, 3237 Gallatin Pike LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

GALLATIN PIKE GASTRONOMY

Pinky Ring Pizza, Shotgun Willie’s and MaeMax Market are building Madison’s dining scene

BY COLE VILLENA

When you’re driving north on Gallatin Pike, it’s easy to think you’re wheeling ever further from the trendy restaurants and award-winning eateries of downtown and East Nashville into a culinary dead zone of fast-food spots and chains.

But look beyond the Golden Arches: Madison is establishing itself as a destination for great local eats. Drive up to Tacos y Mariscos Lindo Mexico and pick up the pollo asado al carbon (a favorite of Scene editor-in-chief D. Patrick Rodgers) or a spread of tacos for just $2 each. Just barely over the Goodlettsville city limits you’ll find Green Chili serving a delicious tandoori chicken and other Indian staples. Even the music venue Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge features solid dishes you can munch on during a show, including its beloved Frito pie.

Now new restaurateurs are planting their own flags in the northeast Nashville neighborhood’s culinary scene.

“Creating more options that are not fast food — and it doesn’t have to be all fine dining — and just breaking that mold of rubberstamped food, especially out this way, is really exciting,” says Bill Laviolette, who is set to relocate Texas barbecue spot Shotgun Willie’s to Madison later this year.

Laviolette opened Shotgun Willie’s less than a mile away from his Inglewood home in 2018. His choice in location was easy: He wanted to feed his neighbors in the cozy East Nashville neighborhood.

“I look at this in some ways like you’re just coming to my house for a cookout,” Laviolette says. He laughs, then adds: “But I’ve got to charge you.”

As word spread about the wonderfully smoked brisket from Shotgun Willie’s, more folks from outside the neighborhood started to visit. Laviolette announced in April he would be moving the store into a larger space just a few minutes north on Gallatin Pike. It’ll stand next to Eastside Bowl, a former Kmart converted into a bowling alley and concert venue by a pair of similarly minded entrepreneurs who saw potential in Madison.

Laviolette jokes that the extra 1.3 miles have tripled his commute, but he expects the same neighborhood vibe at the new location.

“Where I’m going is kind of where I wanted to go four years ago, but my mentality at the time was, ‘I need to be closer to downtown,’” Laviolette says. “Now as we’ve grown as a business, we’ve become a destination. Whether I put this five miles closer to Nashville or five miles further away from where I’m going now, people are going to find us.”

But there’s always room for completely new additions to the area. Right now, East Nashvillians have to drive across the Cumberland to pick up imported snacks,

kitchen staples and specialty products from an Asian grocery store. Chriss Goyenechea, owner of La Vergne’s Filipino grocery store MaeMax Market, says that gives him an opportunity.

“For Filipino cuisine to thrive, those things have to go hand in hand — the grocery store and the restaurant,” Goyenechea says.

MaeMax’s second location is slated to open in a nearly 9,000-square-foot space at 2106 Gallatin Pike N. this summer and will include retail space, backroom storage and a restaurant. It’s closer to Nashville’s urban core than the La Vergne location but will still have lots of room to cook up lumpia, longanisa and adobo.

“The kitchen we have in Madison is at least four times bigger than the one we have in La Vergne, so we could basically crank out a lot of Filipino food,” Goyenechea says.

Don Hernandez, a Nashville restaurant biz veteran with experience at places like The Patterson House, opened the first restaurant he’s ever owned personally back in November. Pinky Ring Pizza is his spin on the idyllic neighborhood pizza place, where folks wander in and hang out over slices of pepperoni and Parmesan.

The restaurant isn’t quite the same as the old Sir Pizza, whose building it occupies: The main dining space is an outdoor deck, and Hernandez prides himself on the

restaurant’s extensive nonalcoholic beverage options, including craft mocktails. Yet again, the whole place represents a restaurateur finding their own lane in the Madison community.

“Sometimes you may feel uncomfortable around drinkers because you don’t have a drink in your hand,” Hernandez told the Scene in November. “We’re looking at how we can meet in the middle and bring everyone together.”

There is of course one decidedly nonlocal restaurant that’s opened on Gallatin recently: Whataburger, the Texas-based chain

serving the decent fast-food burgers that your friend from Houston raves about. The restaurant is the chain’s closest location to Nashville proper, and its opening in June raises an important question: When California fast-food phenom In-N-Out comes to Nashville, will it open its own location here in Madison?

For those who prefer chains, there may be no more eagerly awaited restaurant opening in the entire Madison area. As for us, we’ll keep working our way through the ever-growing menu of great local spots.

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PINKY RING PIZZA

SHOTGUN WILLIE’S

PHOTO: MAYTER SCOTT

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

CHOICE POOR

BY LIZ GARRIGAN

Julia Franks’ new novel The Say So reminds us that, in some ways, expectations for young women in the 1950s weren’t so different from today: to look pretty and be desired. Back then, society expected young men to chase skirts and occasionally get lucky — boys will be boys, after all — but if a young woman succumbed to desire and became pregnant before marrying, the fault was hers alone.

Those with resources and families they could lean on were quietly sent to homes for unwed mothers, the kind with “damask, sagging furniture, faded cabbage roses climbing the wallpaper,” Franks writes. Young women in these places were often systematically brainwashed into believing they had become pregnant because of a psychiatric defect that rendered them in need of rehabilitation.

refuses to sign the relinquishment documents, and shows up on Luce’s doorstep.

What follows in the narrative is complicated by the characters’ pride, imperfect memory and a sequence of events Edie misunderstands. It is only when the two women are well into late middle age — and Luce’s daughter Meera becomes unexpectedly pregnant — that Edie fully processes the loss of her baby, and the two friends try to untangle what led to their broken bond. Their attempt to find meaning in heartache and Edie’s painful confusion about what she did so wrong inspire some of Franks’ most poignant writing:

“It’s just that I grew up with this idea that the only thing required of girls was that you look pretty and be nice to people,” Edie reflects to Meera. “But none of us knew how impossible that bargain was. I sure didn’t. For half my life I was dumb enough to keep worrying away at both those things. Being nice and being pretty. So dumb. So impossible.”

In The Say So, set in 1959 Charlotte, N.C., high school senior Edie Carrigan’s illegitimate pregnancy is all the more complicated because her boyfriend is Jewish. Carrigan’s family is Catholic, but since moving to Charlotte from Atlanta, they attend the Methodist church “so as to blend.”

Aside from Edie’s boyfriend Simon Bloom, four years her senior and destined for medical school, her support system is primarily her unlikely friend Lucille Waddell, or Luce, a Central High debate team phenom who comes from a broken home and refuses to live according to the expected roles for young women. “She could have been pretty, sort of, if she smiled and did something with her hair,” Edie observes. Shortly after the two meet, Edie stays after school to watch her new friend practice a political debate, thereby witnessing Luce’s “desire to accomplish, and then to accomplish something else,” Franks writes.

Despite Edie’s more conventional approach to teenage life, which ultimately finds her spending increasing amounts of time alone with Simon in his photography darkroom, she and Luce become each other’s closest confidante. Edie gets pregnant and is sent away and given a new name (“Susannah”) in her group home, but even then, the two friends are unwavering in their loyalty to one another — until Edie gives birth,

It is also impossible to consider this novel outside the context of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade. As Franks notes in her “Notes and Sources” section at the end of the novel, people such as Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Samuel Alito have long made the case that women need not choose abortion when adoption is an option. It is a choice that Franks herself made in the 1980s. “I was pro-choice and unreligious,” she writes. “But for complicated reasons, many of them naïve and cocksure, I decided to bring my child to term and relinquish him for adoption.”

The difference, of course, between Franks’ own experience and Edie’s is that Franks had a choice. Even so, she describes the relinquishment process as devastating and ventures that, if she were faced with the same circumstances again, she would choose an early abortion — assuming she could get one. “Women who choose adoption are not so different from women seeking abortion rights,” Franks writes. “All of them, all of us, are fighting for the same thing, the say-so over our own bodies and decisions.”

For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee. EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

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A NEW MOVEMENT

On the wonder and musicality of womanhood

BY OLIVIA BLAKE

Vodka Yonic features a rotating cast of women and nonbinary writers from around the world sharing stories that are alternately humorous, sobering, intellectual, erotic, religious or painfully personal. You never know what you’ll find in this column, but we hope this potent mix of stories encourages conversation.

“Mom, is this progesterone?”

The smooth, tan, oval pills gleamed in the fluorescent lights of her hospital room. I had been fishing through my mother’s purse to find her regular medication, one of the small reminders of life outside the sterile walls of this beeping purgatory. We had found ourselves there after a pain in her neck suddenly morphed into an almost incomprehensible nightmare: stage IV liver cancer.

I recognized the progesterone. It had been added to my regimen of hormone replacement therapy around six months earlier in addition to my daily anti-androgen and my weekly injectable estrogen. As the conversation unfolded, I came to learn that she also used synthetic estrogen as a part of her ongoing routine of care. We have both used these medicines to feel like ourselves in our bodies, and yet only one of us has become a political punching bag because of it.

Receiving the news of my mother’s cancer diagnosis in this particular hospital was especially fraught with complicated emotions. When I was 10 years old, my father had been in this same building for an extended stay that began with a kidney transplant. He had been so fatigued in the years leading up to the surgery that I barely have any memories of him being conscious. Although the process ultimately led to many wonderful years ahead, he suffered significant and unexpected complications that could have cost him his life. I remember my mother on the phone coordinating care for me, fielding calls from doctors and still going to work. I imagine she still carries it all in her shoulders. Her voice is tense and firm, yet kind.

My own daughter is almost 10. Like my mother before me, I find myself stretched between caring for a loved one and for my own children, and although history isn’t repeating, it certainly loves a defined rhyme scheme. I see a tapestry of womanhood woven through the generations. My mind wanders into the distant past — to foremothers I never knew who also were well-acquainted with the expectation of caring for those around them — of the emotional and physical gymnastics it demands.

This is what I feel is so easily lost in the current politicized conversation about trans identities. The mechanics of transition are

dissected and debated — the binders, bras and pills; the policies and procedures. What is so often overlooked is the deep alignment and satisfaction that comes with moving toward wholeness in your body and soul. I have found that with every step I take toward becoming myself in the body that I desire, there is a spiritual resonance at the core of my being.

The start of this journey for me was a faint curiosity about how it would feel to have fabric dance around my ankles in the breeze. I leaned into giving myself permission to dream about who I could become. This transformed into a small yearning, then a full-bodied acknowledgement of the dissonant hum I had come to accept as part of my life. Like the seventh note on a scale, I felt no resolution but a yearning to be complete. I could not imagine the path forward.

Now, nearly two years into the process of transitioning, the symphony has shifted into a new movement — a crescendo of resolution with an always-deepening impact. As new ways of exploring, cherishing and presenting my femininity emerge, new themes and harmonies intertwine. At the center of it all, I am discovering my power as its conductor, honing my attentiveness to the various aspects of the ensemble, drawing out the beauty and complexity of my being. This is how womanhood has enveloped me — with musicality and wonder.

I found this same wonder echoing through the halls of the hospital — in brushing my mother’s hair in her hospital bed, holding her hand in moments that felt too heavy for words, listening to her breath come and go as she slept. In these moments, my awareness of her presence and care over the years was amplified and brought sharply into focus — a clarity that came through refinement by fire.

And so I will keep going, keep stretching, keep blooming — conscious of the lineage of womanhood I share and that I will pass on.

I HAVE FOUND THAT WITH EVERY STEP I TAKE TOWARD BECOMING MYSELF IN THE BODY THAT I DESIRE, THERE IS A SPIRITUAL RESONANCE AT THE CORE OF MY BEING.

NEAL JOHNSTON STEVE AUSTIN

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IF YA HEAR ME

The Watson Twins widen their circle for Holler

BY BRITTNEY M c KENNA

It’s no secret that the idea of family is at the root of The Watson Twins’ music. Composed of identical twins Chandra and Leigh Watson, the duo has long captivated listeners with the interplay of their two voices, as well as their uncanny ability to sing in unison as well as in harmony. On the Watsons’ new album Holler, out Friday, that familial core expands to welcome longtime collaborators more closely into the mix, making for their most ambitious record yet.

To produce Holler, the twins tapped Butch Walker, a longtime friend and collaborator who understands their motivations and has an ear tuned to their two voices and the possibilities therein. The trio first entertained the idea of working on an album together when the twins sang backup vocals on Walk-

er’s 2022 album Butch Walker as… Glenn

“It’s just a really familial setting,” Leigh says of working with Walker. “We were chatting with him about a show that we had coming up at Musicians Corner. We had taken a break during COVID, of course, and Musicians Corner was our first show back after the extensive touring we did in 2018 and 2019. When we decided to do the show, we really wanted to have new music to release.”

The twins turned to a longtime staple of their live set that, somehow, they hadn’t yet recorded: “Two Timin’.” The playful, honkytonk-inspired piece, which Chandra wrote, had become a fan favorite over the years, so much so that concertgoers would approach the twins after shows to ask where they could find a recorded version of the track.

“Musically, we never really found a home for it,” Leigh explains. “But we always just really loved the song. So we were having this conversation with Butch and we said, ‘We have this song and we really want to record it in a studio where all the musicians can be just recorded live and have that energy, because it’s really hard to capture it. And he just was like, ‘Let’s do it here. I’m here until Monday.’”

It had been six months since the twins had played with their band and they weren’t even sure that all of the players would be able to come together on such short notice,

but after 20 minutes and a few text chains, everyone agreed. The time spent recording “Two Timin’” was natural and fun, and left the twins eager to do more.

On 2018’s Duo, Chandra and Leigh first tried their hand at writing songs together, something they’d only done as individuals until that point. They found that the process took a little getting used to, but it was fruitful. The scope of that collaborative approach broadened when they sat down to write what would become Holler, as they co-wrote with producer Jacob Sooter and The Lone Bellow’s Brian Elmquist. Both Chandra and Leigh say the spirit of collaboration shines through the entire LP.

“The beauty of this record is that we weren’t striving for perfection,” Chandra says. “We were striving for an actual feeling. We’ve done records before where we’ve been trying to be perfect. Sometimes you take the authenticity and the character out of it because you want it to be crystal clean. But our musical history has brought us to this point of understanding that the imperfections are what make it real.”

The LP’s best moments brim with those special qualities, epitomized in “Two Timin’” but found throughout the album. “Sissy Said” is a rollicking rocker punctuated by nuggets of wisdom, as they sing, “You gotta love your life or you’re gonna be dead.” The

anthemic title track, which opens the LP, was written in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. It’s anchored by a passionate resolve to remain hopeful and steadfast in the face of rising oppression. And in a turn that’s both nostalgic and reflective of the duo’s forward thinking, the twins recorded a new version of “Southern Manners,” a song that nods to their roots growing up in Louisville, Ky.

At the start of our interview, the Watsons were midway through practicing this new material for a string of tour dates to celebrate the album. Practicing isn’t their favorite part of being artists, but as Chandra quips, “Turns out after you make a record, you have to practice it.”

On Friday, The Watson Twins will play a release party at Riverside Revival. As both sisters live in the Inglewood area, they’re thrilled to play a venue that’s truly on their home turf. They’re also glad to see such a new space open up to artists following the closing of longtime local venues like those at Cannery Row, which offered space to artists small and large.

“We were like, ‘Wait, we can go home after soundcheck?’” Chandra says. “And most of our friends and family live on this side of town, so it just felt right to do it here.”

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HOLLER OUT FRIDAY, JUNE 23, VIA BLOODSHOT; PLAYING FRIDAY AT RIVERSIDE REVIVAL

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A MATTER OF TIME

Peace Police probes art, commerce and other complicated relationships on 2020

BY STEPHEN TRAGESER

For many of us who lived through pandemic lockdown, we need only think of “2020” and an array of feelings and memories comes welling up: loneliness, weird disjunctions in time, unease on a cosmic scale. On Tuesday, Peace Police — the project of New York-born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Francesco Saxton, who moved to East Nashville in 2017 — will release 2020, its second LP of distinctive, melancholy folk-schooled rock. The album’s title and the emotional landscape Saxton explores might suggest that it’s a reflection on COVID quarantine, but Saxton simply names Peace Police albums for the year they’re finished; 2020 was nearly complete when the pandemic began.

“I would have loved to have had it come out [earlier], because I do resonate with the moment, and I do try to speak about what it feels like to be alive today,” Saxton tells the Scene. “And I think that there’s a lot of humor in what I do, and there’s a lot of heart, but they’re not, like, party records. I don’t sacrifice what I want to say or the complexity of what I want to express for the sake of accessibility or commercial viability. I feel an obligation as an artist not to sugarcoat how it feels to be alive and to struggle with everything that everybody struggles with.”

Saxton’s lyrics — which often work excellently as poetry, a rare occurrence despite the natural overlap between the two distinct art forms — sometimes explore maintaining hope in trying circumstances, and sometimes examine living when hope has not just vanished but been violently eradicated. His portrayal of the weariness and bitterness that comes with those experiences feels honest, and it hits close to home whether it’s been a while since you’ve been through a similar kind of turbulence or you’re living through it right now.

One theme running through 2020 is the long-lasting impact of relationships, strained though they may be. In the title track, the narrator salutes the memory of a friend and mentor they’d lost touch with long ago, whom they hear has recently died. It’s implied that the late friend struggled to survive as an artist in a capitalist economy that does not account for the cultural value of art. That’s another prominent theme in 2020, especially the closing trio of “Rags to Riches to Rags,” “Life Is Like the Movies” and “Song4Sale.”

“I read a thing in the New Yorker today, a profile on private parties and artists performing for billionaires,” says Saxton. “It’s a pretty dramatic feast-or-famine type of landscape that’s going on — it’s kind of like, people are having pyramids built for them,

and then other people are in the sun, you know, pushing the rocks and getting flogged. … I have no problem with people making accessible or commercial music, I enjoy some of that. The thing that I take issue with is when that kind of stuff gets kind of hyperbolized, or touted as poetic or artistic, because I think that dilutes what’s going on. There are other artists who have the courage to do rigorous work.”

The new album follows Peace Police’s debut 2022, a collection of songs Saxton wrote and recorded at home in a quick burst and released in November. That process was more in line with the working method of Heaven’s Jail, the band he fronted from the Aughts until their amicable dissolution in 2016. They made four albums of snarling, simmering rock with elements of folk deep in its DNA — a sound aptly compared to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Thin Lizzy — with Saxton’s rich, articulate tenor voice riding on top.

In contrast, 2020 was recorded over several months of late-night sessions at Berry Hill studio Club Roar. Though Saxton plays many instruments on it himself, it features a variety of collaborations with friends old and new, including longtime locals and recent transplants. Bassist Kevin Black, keyboardist Jo Schornikow and cellist Austin Hoke “fit into the constellation right away,” as Saxton says. Marissa Nadler contributes ethereal vocals, while Creston Spiers and Kyle Spence from Athens, Ga., rockers Harvey Milk appear on guitar and drums, respectively, and guitar master Ben Chasny, aka Six Organs of Admittance, plays in a style that complements Saxton’s own.

Saxton looks at his life and his work — from writing to playing guitar to directing his own music videos — as parts of a complete artistic package. His songs on 2020 and 2022 scan as rooted in folk, with understated fingerpicking on acoustic and electric guitar and a focus on narrative; he mentions the

effort he’s put in to make his voice and his playing blend into a signature sound, they way they have for Joni Mitchell or the late, great Gordon Lightfoot. But Saxton also points to the influence of heavy metal and hip-hop, his first two loves as a youngster.

“There’s a lot of — you could call them, like, riffs or licks in there, that are sort of repeating phrases,” he says. “Sometimes I write in stanzas where it’s building to a punch line in the fourth line. I feel like that’s something that comes from all the rap music that I listen to, where there’s sort of building up, and then the last line that they say is the real knockout blow.”

You’re not likely to feel all warm and fuzzy in the wake of such haymakers as: “I can’t explain / Sometimes it’s all too much / You might as well / Ask a bell / ‘Hey, what’s it like being struck?’” But that discomfort can be just the catalyst for building the world you want to live in.

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SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER

THE SPIN

JUST LIKE THAT RIVER

BY HANNAH HERNER

When I interviewed Duran Duran co-founder John Taylor ahead of the band’s Bridgestone Arena tour stop on June 13, we talked about how the way we consume music has changed since the band started their career — of more than four decades and 15 albums so far — back in 1978. My dad, who came with me to the show, became a fan of Duran Duran in 1981, and I wouldn’t even exist until 1995, so the way we remember the music differs, too.

“Rio” was played last in the set Tuesday night, but it is Dad’s favorite song of all time, one he listened to on repeat via 8-track tape in his 1977 Chevy van on the way to high school. “Rio” puts me back in my childhood basement, watching Duran Duran music videos on a projector screen. I was enthralled with the bright suits, the painted faces and the part when Rio yanks the cord on the landline phone that has mysteriously emerged from the ocean, sending singer Simon LeBon careening off the deck of his yacht!

LeBon, Taylor, drummer Roger Taylor (no relation), keymaster Nick Rhodes and longtime touring guitarist Dom Brown brought the fans to their feet on Tuesday. Duran Duran’s special guests — one of their fundamental influences in the form of Nile Rodgers and Chic, plus contemporary followers represented by Bastille — did more than just lend a hand, as well.

Chic’s “Le Freak” is one of the first 45 RPM records my dad bought for himself; he was 11 years old, and it cost him 98 cents. I discovered it around the same age, playing Dance Dance Revolution with my neighbor. Rodgers & Co. brilliantly opted to fill their set with songs Rodgers wrote and produced beyond Chic. It was hit after hit: Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out,” Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” Madonna’s “Material Girl.” The list keeps growing, including the most recent entry, Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning viral hit “Cuff It” (sure to make an appearance when Queen

Bey arrives at Nissan Stadium July 15).

I do not envy Bastille having to follow an act like Chic. While many of the old-school fans took the opportunity to sit down, the Bastille fans had their moment. I witnessed at least one friendship formed to the soundtrack of pop staples “Good Grief” and “Pompeii.”

Then it was time for the men of the hour, who led off with the relative deep cut “Night Boat,” followed shortly by “The Wild Boys” — the only Duran Duran song on Limewire when I was setting up my first MP3 player, which also means I listened to it while getting my braces on. Bond theme “A View to a Kill,” which came early in the set right after the indelible “Hungry Like the Wolf,” is playing in the background in my parents’ wedding video, as they and their bridal party jump into the hotel hot tub fully clothed.

LeBon dedicated “Ordinary World,” from their self-titled 1993 comeback album, to the people of Ukraine. Its music video features an actual (extremely stylized) wedding; the song was a favorite of my mom’s maid of honor, who tried to convince her not to get into the hot tub in her wedding gown. Everyone in the arena had their own story to bring to the parade of hits and fan favorites, but our group thought of Jessie, who passed unexpectedly in 2016.

The band leaned heavily on their first two albums for most of the set, including their first three singles: “Planet Earth,” “Careless Memories,” and their first hit, “Girls on Film.” Only two songs from their most recent album, 2021’s Future Past, made an appearance: “Anniversary” and “Give It All Up.” Longtime fans got treated to more early tunes you’d never include in a hits-only revue, like “Friends of Mine” and “Lonely in Your Nightmare.”

At the end, LeBon stood with his arms out for at least a full minute. He and his bandmates have many more live shows behind them than ahead of them, and it was evident they were joyfully soaking it in.

“This would be like you seeing the One Direction reunion tour!” Dad leaned over to tell me. One of the biggest things I’ve learned from watching my dad and others love Duran Duran and other pop megastars through the years — and sometimes tears, as we passed a sobbing fan being consoled

by her husband and adult children on our way out — is that no matter how you come to it, being a fan is fun and worthwhile.

’ROO ARE YOU?

BY KAHWIT TELA AND STEPHEN TRAGESER

THURSDAY AFTERNOON, a storm system bounded across the Midstate like a puppy through a mud puddle. It came to Manchester, Tenn., just in time to delay the first day of Bonnaroo — for which full-weekend passes had sold out — from getting underway exactly as scheduled. But by 5 p.m., the evening sun peeked through the clouds, arepas sizzled away at various stands, and ’Roovians clad in colorful garb and toting totems roamed freely.

The day was heavy on Nashville talent, and that’s where we focused a significant amount of our attention Thursday. The Who Stage has progressively grown over the years and is far from the smallest in Centeroo; this time out, it seemed to be on par with the main stage you might see at a smaller fest. A curious crowd — appreciative but not totally revved-up just yet — gathered for The Medium’s Badfingeresque pop ’n’ rock. As when they played YK

Records’ anniversary show at The 5 Spot in April, they focused on songs even newer than those on their 2022 LP For Horses

Later on in the same spot, Venus & the Flytraps made their ’Roo debut with an electric set of heavy, hook-laden, emotionally focused post-grunge rock. They were clearly feeding off the audience’s energy, and singer-guitarist Brenna Kassis and singer Ceci Tomé took time out to interact with the folks up front as well as each other. Kassis introduced their song “Boys Are Cuter When They’re Crying” by talking about how she’d written part of it in hopes that asking Tomé to help her finish it would kick off a friendship; later, she expressed her deep gratitude for that relationship, noting, “I believe I know what true love is because of Ceci.”

Bluegrass guitar phenom Molly Tuttle and her band Golden Highway walked out at That Tent to incredibly loud cheers and nonchalantly reeled off solos that felt like they couldn’t wait to come bursting out of their instruments. From the titular tune of their excellent 2022 LP Crooked Tree to “Down Home Dispensary” from their forthcoming City of Gold to a rollicking cover of John Hartford’s “Up on the Hill Where They Do the Boogie,” the set overflowed with reminders of the mess our world is — and how much better it can be if we focus on

DURAN DURAN PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

MOLLY TUTTLE

PHOTOS: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS

treating individuality and inclusivity as the strengths they are rather than the weaknesses some would have you believe.

It wasn’t all about Nashville, of course. At This Tent, Celisse and her stellar band gave a masterclass in the power, breadth and depth of Black music, effortlessly sliding between soul, blues, jazz and funk. Emotional peaks included the live debut of a song about letting go of a partner who can’t love themselves, and a gritty, stretched-out take on Bill Withers’ classic “Use Me.”

A few hours later, Afro Cuban maestro Cimafunk got the audience moving and grooving with an irresistibly energetic set. Sporting his signature flattop haircut and shades, he brought a masterfully eclectic mix of rumba, funk and hip-hop, brimming over with powerful horns and vibrant dancing. It felt like everyone in the tent had moves to show off, and they waved their hands on command until Cimafunk gathered his bandmates at center stage for a graceful bow. Back on the “loving on locals” tip, Rich Ruth and his deluxe ensemble laid down a heady, rich, fluid sound that slowly but surely drew the crowd in to fill up the Who Stage tent. Their blend of Tangerine Dreamy electronics, grand Pink Floydian gestures and an expansive, organic, jazz-schooled sensibility is yet another thing Nashville should be famous for.

Rounding out our first day on the Farm was the long-awaited ’Roo return of Diarrhea Planet. The homegrown, four-guitars-strong punk-popsters called it a day in 2018, after spending the prior nine years maturing into a powerhouse band with an international fan base, playing big roles both within Nashville’s rock scene and beyond it. They reunited for a couple of shows to salute the long-running iteration of Exit/In that closed after Thanksgiving, and appeared on the Bonnaroo lineup announcement in January. They also played a little warm-up gig on Wednesday, June 14, headlining the Ryman. There was crowd surfing on Thursday, to be sure, though nothing quite as wild as the “Glenn Danzig’s House comes to Manchester” vibe of their 2014 Bonnaroo appearance. Perhaps it was absence making the heart grow fonder, but the Planeteers sounded better than ever as they ripped through a set spanning their full catalog. Standouts included the poppy and heartfelt “Separations,” the sincere “Bob Dylan’s Grandma” and the silly-as-ever “Ghost With a Boner,” which — with a segue into Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” — closed the show. “My God, have we fuckin’ missed you guys,” said frontman Jordan Smith, and it seemed clear the feeling was mutual.

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CIMAFUNK

SPLICES

Asteroid City , Camp Belcourt and a Jennifer Lawrence sex comedy, all hitting screens this week

BY D. PATRICK RODGERS

This week, Wes Anderson’s 11th feature, Asteroid City, opens at the Belcourt and AMC and Regal locations.

With a script penned by Anderson and his frequent collaborator Roman Coppola, Asteroid is set in a fictitious desert town in 1955 and features a stacked ensemble cast, naturally — Jason Schwartzman, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Steve Carell, Jeffrey Wright, and on and on. While we weren’t able to review that one in time for print, keep your eyes on nashvillescene.com for our thoughts.

Meanwhile, Nashville’s beloved arthouse theater continues with its summertime Camp Belcourt series, which kicked off last week with Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. Still to come there are ’90s comedy romp Heavy-

STREAM ON

Serial killers, whistleblowers and tech innovators, now available to stream

BY LOGAN BUTTS

BLACKBERRY VIA VIDEO ON DEMAND

What’s with the glut of corporate origin story movies this year? Air, Tetris, Flamin’ Hot, the forthcoming The Beanie Bubble. As much as I loved Air, Ben Affleck’s Moneyball-lite romp, BlackBerry surpasses all the other tech bros, marketing execs and startup ghouls to take the pole position in the 2023 corporate-origin-story power rankings. As a newcomer to the films of Matt Johnson, I’m as surprised as you are. But as a longstanding member of the Jay Baruchel fan club, I’m proud to see that he finally got The Role with BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis. Glenn Howerton (as BlackBerry Co-CEO Jim Balsillie) is also given a fastball right down the middle with a role perfectly suited to his skills (i.e., slimy and angry), and he knocks it out of the park. A few killer garage-rock needle drops give this Social Network B-side the juice it needs to make up for a relatively lower budget than the other corporate movies.

weights (June 24-25), absolutely bonkers cultclassic ’80s slasher Sleepaway Camp (June 27), the wondrous Tennessee-shot Jim Varney vehicle Ernest Goes to Camp (July 1-2) and eminently quotable satirical comedy Wet Hot American Summer (July 4), itself largely inspired by Sleepaway Camp

Coming-of-age sex comedy No Hard Feelings drops in the megaplexes Friday. That features Academy Award winner Jennifer

MISSING STREAMING ON NETFLIX

Who would have thought the Aneesh Chaganty Cinematic Universe would be three movies strong in 2023? The director behind 2018’s Searching and 2020’s Run is back with another seat-gripping thriller, Missing, which takes place in the same universe as his previous two films. This time, however, Chaganty has limited himself to a producer-writer role, handing over the directing duties to Will Merrick and Nick Johnson, the editing duo behind his first two films. Like Searching, Missing is a screen-life thriller, meaning it takes place entirely on the screens of computers, phones, tablets, smart watches, Ring cameras and surveillance drones. What is often a gimmicky tactic does add a sense of propulsive urgency to the story. Missing smartly inverts the parent-looking-for-a-child plot of Searching, which makes the screen-life aspect feel more natural, as June (19-year-old Storm Reid) uses every piece of technology at her disposal to try to find her missing mother (Nia Long). The story has about three twists too many, but I can’t lie — I was hooked all the way through.

BOSTON STRANGLER ON HULU

Announcing instantly with the vibe and look of your trailer that your movie is heavily indebted to any director — much less David Fincher — is bold. Sometimes it works, like with 2020’s cult object of fascination The Empty Man. Sometimes it turns out to be The

Lawrence as a financially unstable Uber driver who gives a 19-year-old the girlfriend experience at the behest of his parents, agreeing to “date his brains out” (their words, not mine) in exchange for a Buick Regal. Not your speed? Also landing Friday is God Is a Bullet from writer-director Nick Cassavetes (yes, son of John). That action thriller features Jamie Foxx, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, January Jones and Andrew “Dice” Clay.

Still in theaters this week are a pair of superhero flicks — the surprisingly wellreceived The Flash and the unsurprisingly well-received Spider-Man: Across the SpiderVerse, the latter of which made $390 million globally in its opening weekend alone — as well as horror-comedy The Blackening. The Belcourt continues its run of the “achingly romantic” Past Lives, with documentary Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis — about iconic album-art designers Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell — showing twice on June 26.

Aside from the Camp Belcourt series, the Belcourt has a number of other repertory screenings lined up in the coming weeks, including Tron and Hackers as this weekend’s Midnight Movies (more on that in our Critics’ Picks), Jaws July 2-4 (also showing at Full Moon Cineplex in Hermitage June 30-July 1), and the always-excellent Queer Qlassics series — featuring To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, among other bangers — dropping in July. We at the Scene will wrap up our free annual Movies in the Park series with Lightyear on Thursday, and thanks to Fathom Events, fans of the worst films in history can look forward to a one-night-only showing of The Room June 27 at Regal locations.

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Snowman, a laughably bad disaster. Boston Strangler is somewhere between those two. It’s tough to stand out when your movie is basically a straight-to-streaming Zodiac — right down to its style, character beats and even plot points. But a B-version of Zodiac is still pretty damn compelling, especially when Carrie Coon is playing the Robert Downey Jr. role and Keira Knightley slots into the Jake Gyllenhaal spot. Did this movie have to be two-and-a-half hours or more to fully flesh out a story as complex and riveting as that of the real-life reporters (Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole) who investigated the Boston Strangler murders? Yes. This is the rare occasion in which a streaming movie needed more run time added. But as a journalist and a crime film enthusiast, I found it easy to be sucked in here. Your mileage may vary.

REALITY ON MAX

The Euphoria kids continue to give us interesting movie performances, and I’m thankful they’re using their well-earned clout to help worthwhile films get made. Reality, directed and adapted by Tina Satter from her own play centering on NSA whistleblower Reality Winner, doesn’t work without a fully committed Sydney Sweeney performance. Luckily, the burgeoning movie star was ready for the challenge. The majority of Reality is a conversation between Sweeney’s Reality Winner and two FBI agents, played by Josh Hamilton (Eighth Grade) and relative newcomer Marchánt

Davis. All of the dialogue is taken directly from transcripts of the FBI agents’ recordings made on June 3, 2017, as the feds searched Winner’s house and questioned her over the leaking of documents to The Intercept involving Russia’s interference with the 2016 election. No matter how realistic a film is, real people simply do not talk like movie characters, making this adapted-directly-from-the-recordings experiment a difficult task for the cast. All three nail the assignment, giving the pauses, stumbles, filler words and coughs an eerie, unnerving feeling.

SICK ON PEACOCK

Most depictions of the COVID pandemic on film so far have been cringeworthy at best. But this slasher directed by a straight-to-VOD auteur that was unceremoniously dumped on Peacock actually deals with the subject matter in a fresh and non-eyeroll-inducing way. I’ve long read about the praise for John Hyams and his Universal Soldier sequels but had never seen his work. Let me join in the chorus of hosannas — this man is a hell of an action director. The second act of this movie is one gnarly, breathless set piece after another. I’ve rarely seen anything like it in the slasher universe. I’d love to see what Hyams could do with a bigger budget. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson basically apes his Scream script throughout, but since he wrote the ur-text, it’s fine.

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ASTEROID CITY

BOSTON STRANGLER

BLACKBERRY

ACROSS

1 Total dud

5 Science fair locale, often

8 The “home” in “There’s no place like home”

14 Chloé who directed “Nomadland”

15 Grazing ground

16 Nipple ring?

17 Slang, for many

19 Video game franchise featuring a clone assassin

20 With 2-Down, the oldest sister city in the U.S.

21 Massage parlor supply

23 Dead ___

24 I, for one

28 Betraying no emotion

30 Opposite of a heads up?

31 When repeated, a sound from a brass instrument

32 Mideast leader

34 Big to-dos

37 Scientific definition, for short

41 “My words fly up, my thoughts remain ___”: “Hamlet”

42 Aroma that may induce meowing

43 Simu ___, portrayer of Marvel’s Shang-Chi

44 Keats or Wordsworth

46 Darlington Hall, in “The Remains of the Day”

49 Length, for example 52 ___ Bo 53 Fracas 54 Go through the roof

3 Chain letter?

4 Cuban song genre that shares its name with a Spanish dance

5 Like Eeyore vis-àvis his storybook companions

6 Want

7 Wall builder

8 Coffee liqueur brand

45 Tickets

47 Psionic counselor on “Star Trek: T.N.G.”

48 Be on the up and up?

49 Sketch done in preparation for a finished piece

50 “The Facts in the Case of ___”

(Andrew Sinclair novel that pays homage to a mystery writer)

51 Dead meat, so to speak

55 Mini display?

56 Where Zeus trapped the monster Typhon, in myth

57 Bolshevik’s bane

59 Something to feed or stroke

60 Backing

62 Sine qua ___

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

1 [Wrong answer!]

2 See 20-Across

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 9,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/ crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

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Metropolitan Circuit Court located at 1 Public Square, Room 302, Nashville, Tennessee, and defend or default will be taken on July 31st 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

Bill Riggs, Deputy Clerk

Date: June 2, 2023

L.R.Demarco

Attorneys for Plaintiff

NSC 6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29/23

Third Circuit

Docket No. 14D573

Ersel Tim Cooper vs. Connie Sue Cooper

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 Ersel Tim Cooper. It is ordered that said Defendant enter him appearance herein with thirty (30) days after June 15th 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 July 17th 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

Bill Riggs, Deputy Clerk

Date: May 18, 2023

Morgan E. Smith

Attorneys for Plaintiff NSC 5/25, 6/1, 6/8, 6/15/23

Non-Resident Notice

Fourth Circuit

Docket No. 23D590

Qingzhe Gao

vs. Ziyan Gao

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 Ziyan Gao It is ordered that said Defendant enter his appearance herein with thirty (30) days after July 13th 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 August 14th 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 Bill Riggs, Deputy Clerk

Date: June 15 2023

Randi Benton Attorney for Plaintiff

NSC 6/22, 6/29, 7/6, 7/13/23

vs. Ziyan Gao

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 Ziyan Gao It is ordered that said Defendant enter his appearance herein with thirty (30) days after July 13th 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 August 14th 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

Bill Riggs, Deputy Clerk

Date: June 15 2023

Randi Benton Attorney for Plaintiff

NSC 6/22, 6/29, 7/6, 7/13/23

NOTICE OF SALE UNDER

MECHANIC’S AND ARTISAN’S LIEN

Cumberland International Trucks, Inc. (“Secured Party”), pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 66-14-103, 66-19-101, and pursuant to a Notice of Claim of Mechanic’s/ Artisan’s Lien dated May 3, 2023, holds a lien for repairs against a certain 2009 International 8000

VIN: 1HSHXAHR59H131888 (the “Vehicle”) owned by KMH Systems, Inc (KMH Systems). and operated by Midnight Ryder Transportation, which Secured Party improved by providing various service, labor, and parts.

Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 6614-104, notice is hereby given that Secured Party, pursuant to applicable law, will sell the Vehicle described above by Public Sale as follows:

Date of Sale: July 11, 2023

Time of Sale: 1:00 p.m. CST

Place of Sale: Exo Legal PLLC

818 18th Avenue South, Tenth Floor Nashville, Tennessee 37203

Agent for Creditor: Exo Legal PLLC

The Public Sale will be conducted by Exo Legal PLLC, pursuant to a separate notice provided to all interested parties. For information, contact David Anthony, Exo Legal PLLC, at (615) 869-0634.

As to all or any part of the Vehicle, the right is reserved to: (i) delay, continue, adjourn, cancel or postpone the sale; and/or (ii) to sell to the next highest bidder in the event any high bidder does not comply with the terms of the sale.

Secured Party shall sell to the successful purchaser all of the right, title, and interest in and to the Vehicle which Secured Party has a right to sell as a Secured Party and no further or otherwise. The Vehicle will be sold “as is”, “where is”, and “with all faults”, without any representations or warranties, expressed or implied, including no representations or warranties regarding the Vehicle, the condition of the Vehicle, warranty of title or marketability of title.

David M. Anthony, Exo Legal PLLC 818

scale. Qualified Applicants apply through SHProfRecruitingcc@ubs.com. Please reference 001175. NO CALLS PLEASE. EOE/M/F/D/V.

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UBS Business Solutions US LLC seeks a Director, Cloud Site Reliability Engineer, in Nashville, TN. Work on tickets and improvements that deliver engineering solutions that improve instrumentation, ease of deployment, service orchestration and other aspects of production support. Reduce the burden of manual work involved as systems and user volumes scale. Qualified Applicants apply through SHProfRecruitingcc@ubs.com.