Talking with rock star Hayley Williams, counting down our favorite local albums and more
ADVOCATES, PUBLISHERS PUSH BACK AGAINST STATE BOOK REVIEW
PAGE 7
VAN EPPS’ CLOSE WIN IN THE 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BRINGS POLITICAL PROPHECIES FROM ALL SIDES
This gold and silver engraved belt buckle was presented to Rick Hall, who produced Jerry Reed’s chart-topping 1982 country hit “She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)” at FAME Recording Studios.
From the exhibit Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising
artifact: Courtesy of FAME Recording Studios artifact photo: Bob Delevante
Public Library Advocates, Publishers Push Back Against State Book Review
Protests over the state’s ‘age-appropriateness review’ directive flared up at a recent Rutherford County Library System meeting BY HAMILTON
MATTHEW MASTERS
Pith in the Wind
This week on the Scene’s news and politics blog
Van Epps’ Close Win Brings Political Prophecies From All Sides
Scrutiny and analysis abound after Aftyn Behn brings Democrats within striking distance of a redrawn congressional seat BY
ELI MOTYCKA
Undefeated Vanderbilt Basketball Teams Climb NCAA Rankings
Commodore programs are at a combined 18-0, led by stars Mikayla Blakes and Duke Miles BY ELI MOTYCKA
Up From Here
Talking with Hayley Williams about making her Grammynominated third solo LP Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party BY
HANNAH CRON
A Helping of Happenings
We run down developments in the Nashville venue world, standout releases across a variety of scenes in local music and more BY
STEPHEN TRAGESER
The Fourth Annual Side Player Sidebar Survey
Talking with superb instrumentalists Megan Jane, Sean Thompson, Matt Glassmeyer and Linwood Regensburg COMPILED BY SEAN L. MALONEY
Top Local Albums Critics’ Poll
The Scene on the Scene:
Our Local Music Poll
Musicians, bookers, producers and more respond to our annual survey about music in Nashville COMPILED BY STEPHEN TRAGESER
Nate Bargatze, The Symphony Ball, WMOT Roots Radio Benefit, Black Christmas and more
FOOD AND DRINK
New Deli
A wave of new sandwich spots pops up across the city, dominated by Italian classics BY ELI MOTYCKA
CULTURE
All the Small Things
Berry Hill’s Miniature Cottage nears 50 years of collectible minutiae BY HANNAH HERNER
VODKA YONIC
FILM
Blood in the Water
The Secret Agent shows just how strong the jaws of authoritarianism are BY KEN ARNOLD
NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD AND THIS MODERN WORLD
MARKETPLACE ON THE COVER:
Hayley Williams; photo by Elise Joseph James
From Hayley Williams and William Tyler to The Kentucky Gentlemen, Starlito and Don Trip and beyond, here are our favorite local LPs of the year SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER: nashvillescene.com/site/forms/subscription_services
Deer Me
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Showcasing 13 head-to-toe ensembles, New African Masquerades highlights the motivations, artistry, and economic foundations of four West African masquerade artists. This immersive experience offers visitors the opportunity to see masquerades rarely displayed in the US. Nearly all ensembles were commissioned expressly for this exhibition and represent a wide variety of masquerade practices and cultures.
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Protests over the state’s ‘age-appropriateness review’ directive flared up at a recent Rutherford County Library System meeting
ON NOV. 25, PEN America — a nonprofit organization that works to “defend writers, artists, and journalists and protect free expression worldwide” — issued an open letter to Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett. The letter demands “immediate clarification” from Hargett on an “age-appropriateness review” that, as the Scene previously reported, has raised more questions than it has answered.
“These types of reviews create immense administrative burdens for library systems and often lead to illegal censorship, which raises liability risks for local communities and the state,” the letter reads. “Many libraries, uncertain about the legal and procedural basis for the mandate, have had to redirect limited resources, with some temporarily closing branches to complete these reviews, which are implied to be necessary for future funding.”
Thirty-three other organizations signed onto the letter, including the American Library Association, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House Publishing and Simon & Schuster.
Hargett’s office this fall issued a statewide directive that was first made public via leaks from within the Stones River Regional Library system, which includes public libraries in roughly a dozen Middle Tennessee counties (not including Davidson County). In the directive, the secretary of state told recipients to “identify any materials that may be inconsistent with Tennessee age-appropriateness laws, in violation of any federal law, including President Trump’s [gender ideology] Executive Order, or otherwise contrary to any other applicable state or federal laws.”
The tension surrounding the review was most evident during a Dec. 1 Rutherford County Library System board meeting that drew more than 100 people, including dozens of supporters of the review process. The review’s supporters wore white shirts and gathered for a group prayer before the meeting inside Murfreesboro City Hall.
Several RCLS staff members also attended the meeting, all dressed in black. Dozens of other attendees were present to protest the review, many of whom wore purple — the color of the Rutherford County Library Alliance, a nonprofit that supports county libraries and librarians. Some of the protesters also called for the removal of Chairman Cody York, who survived a 2-7 vote to have him removed as chair after Rutherford County Library System Director Luanne James alleged that he pressured her to begin targeting books for removal.
When questioned about her allegations by board members, James said York’s directives were verbal in one-on-one meetings starting as early as her second day on the job — meaning she didn’t
BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
have evidence in writing to prove the allegations.
“I categorically deny any wrongdoing,” York said, adding that he “never requested information that is inappropriate.” York said the data he requested was information “that you couldn’t connect a person with a book that’s checked out.”
The allegations were met with verbal outrage from protesters, who also scoffed at York’s denial and rebuttal.
York did acknowledge, as James alleged, that he said the RCLS should not participate in an annual banned books week, saying, “Our funding bodies are paying attention to what we do.”
At one point, James — who was hired in July and recently passed an employment probationary period — tearfully buried her head in her hands, and asked for assurance that she would not be retaliated against for her testimony as a whistleblower.
“I’m being told on the second day what my vision should be for the next year with regards to removing books, and I had the reassurance that all of you would back me up,” James said. James alleged that York personally checked out several books he wanted permanently removed from library shelves, and later named other books he wanted removed — all before Hargett’s office issued its directive in October.
In addition to York’s role on the library board, he also works as the county’s chief information officer, “where he leads initiatives in cybersecurity, infrastructure modernization, and digital transformation.” He previously worked under Hargett as the director of the Division of Publications.
She also alleged that York requested private data including library patrons’ names, addresses, and number of children and adults in households. James said York asked for patrons’ checkout history, information she said she did not give
Republican senators presented a united front of support for car magnate Lee Beaman’s nomination to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors last week in a committee hearing in Washington, D.C. Beaman is a Trump megadonor who accumulated massive wealth through his Nashville car dealership, and his TVA position has the optics of a political favor in response to Beaman’s years of financial and vocal support. During an hourlong hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Beaman acknowledged various financial and personal conflicts of interest and awkwardly deflected questions about basic TVA subject matter, like modern energy production and the electric power grid. Tennessee’s Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty have both directly benefited from his election checkbook, as have Republican EPW committee members Dave McCormick, Cynthia Lummis and Lindsey Graham all of whom will vote on his confirmation.
him. York also allegedly demanded to review the response to a public records request before allowing the records and response be released.
The Dec. 1 meeting saw the board, as York put it, “ratify my decision to retain [legal] counsel” for the board throughout the review process. That decision was approved in a 7-2 vote. Several protesters took issue with York’s selection of the American Center for Law and Justice, an overtly right-wing Christian evangelical organization that was “founded in 1990 with the mandate to protect religious and constitutional freedoms.”
The agreement for the ACLJ to serve as the board’s counsel was authored by the group’s senior litigation counsel Abigail Southerland, who in a promotional video described some of the organization’s clients as “the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Hours before the Dec. 1 meeting, the National Coalition Against Censorship sent an open letter to the RCLS Board. The letter reads in part: “We urge you to remember that the First Amendment prevents a library from making viewpoint-based removals and trumps any federal or state law to the contrary. Any legal counsel advising the Board on its obligations should remind the library of the First Amendment’s supremacy over other laws, and certainly over partisan or political fights.”
The RCLS is still conducting a physical review of 2,200 books that could be recommended for permanent removal from library shelves, but more titles could be added to that list for review.
The Rutherford County Library System was granted a two-week extension by the secretary of state’s office to complete the review, with board members set to review the content of the books and issue their recommendations to the state during a Feb. 3 meeting. ▼
As home prices skyrocket and Nashville faces a growing demand for housing, the Metro Council passed two bills at last week’s meeting with the goal of addressing these matters. One of those bills creates two new zoning districts: residential neighborhood and residential limited. These allow for housing like townhomes, courtyards, triplexes and quadplexes to be built in areas that typically don’t allow such structures. At the meeting, the bill passed 28-10 with several amendments intended to quell concerns surrounding the legislation. Another bill received a final OK from the council, expanding options for detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs)
In July 2020, Harold Wayne Nichols was less than three weeks away from being strapped into Tennessee’s electric chair for the 1988 rape and murder of Karen Pulley when Gov. Bill Lee called off the execution. Thirty years after Nichols received his death sentence, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented it from being carried out. More than five years later, Nichols is due in the execution chamber again, and an intervention of that kind is unlikely. As of press time, he is set to be killed by lethal injection on Dec. 11, and neither the governor nor the courts have given any indication that they are inclined to stand in the way.
Scrutiny and analysis abound after Aftyn Behn brings Democrats within striking distance of a redrawn congressional seat
BY ELI MOTYCKA
REPUBLICAN MATT VAN EPPS won Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District in prime time last week, retaining the party’s slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Spirited campaigning from Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn, floods of cash behind both candidates, turbulent political winds and special-election limelight briefly brought national attention to Middle Tennessee, which has long been written off by Democrats as deep-red Trump country.
Some point to Van Epps’ 16,000-vote winning margin to say Republicans still do own the district. Others say the race’s shift leftward across every county reflects America’s recent turn against Republicans and their unpopular president. While Van Epps comfortably tucked himself into Trump’s pocket, deeper punditry continues to scrutinize Behn with counterfactuals and hypotheticals. Did this youthful progressive’s relentless focus on affordability and health care access find a formula for success in rural America? Or did her leftist aura alienate too many centrist voters, squandering a set of perfect electoral conditions tailor-made for a Democratic upset?
Media is big business, and elections provide abundant fodder for articles and takes — especially now, with a historically polarizing president hemorrhaging approval points and readers desperate to read tea leaves ahead of the 2026 midterms. Each slice of the political spectrum can spin — and has spun — opaque election data to fit prior opinions about American voters. In the end, votes shook out exactly the way GOP state legislators drew the district in 2022, with a third of Nashville’s strong Democratic vote diluted against 11 rural counties and conservative suburbs. Right now, all we have is another vote
Commodore programs are at a combined 18-0, led by stars Mikayla Blakes and Duke Miles
BY ELI MOTYCKA
VANDERBILT BASKETBALL can’t stop winning this year, as both men’s and women’s programs boast undefeated records and top 15 rankings. Teams have yet to enter conference play, where the SEC remains a domi-
tally from the Tennessee secretary of state. Behn’s 9 percentage-point margin was a dramatic improvement for Democrats following the district’s two previous elections. Republican Mark Green beat former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry by 21.5 percentage points and 69,200 votes in 2024, and beat Nashville organizer and activist Odessa Kelly by 22 percentage points and 39,500 votes in 2022. As an incumbent member of Congress, former Army surgeon Green — who resigned in July — enjoyed a fundraising platform and name recognition in both elections. Newcomer Van Epps had neither, though Green gave him a head start on the race with an early endorsement, and Van Epps beat well-funded opponents in the Republican primary.
In 2025, every county in the district shifted toward Democrats. But all counties are not made equal.
Behn juiced Davidson County for 33,000 votes, more than twice the total number of Nashville Democrats who voted in the primary. Notably, Behn lost the county’s primary to fellow state Rep. Vincent Dixie. Behn’s Davidson County turnout game was clear in the weeks leading up to the Dec. 2 general election. Beginning in early voting, district residents were bombarded with texts and calls, an easy way for outside groups to spend money without coordinating directly with Behn’s campaign. She beat Odessa Kelly’s 30,000 county votes during the 2022 midterms, but fell far short of Megan Barry’s 48,000 votes in 2024 (a presidential election year). Behn’s trend of beating Kelly’s numbers but lagging behind Barry’s holds up across the district’s population centers, Clarksville and Williamson County, reinforcing widely held special-election logic: Turnout is the largest
nant field in college sports, but early tests on the court have earned the school national attention over the first two months of college basketball. The men’s team has earned a reputation for fast pace of play, while the women’s team leads with aggressive defense and relies on historic scoring outputs from national superstar Mikayla Blakes. Both teams appeared in the NCAA March Madness tournament last year for the first time since 2012. In late November, both teams won Caribbean tournaments, with the men taking the Marriott Bonvoy Battle 4 Atlantis over St. Mary’s and the women’s team winning the Paradise Jam over Brigham Young University at St.
variable in a special election.
While Behn pulled in 13,000 more votes overall than Kelly did in 2022, Van Epps lost 11,000 Republican votes that went to Green that same year. This happened unevenly across the district. Behn’s urban and suburban vote margins far exceeded slight or negligible improvements in rural areas. Van Epps lost Republican voters around Nashville, Clarksville and Williamson County only slightly, but suffered a lack of interest from rural Tennessee. Many Republicans who turned out for Trump in 2024 and Green in 2022 just didn’t turn out for Van Epps. Final tallies alone do not clarify whether these are swing voters; Behn’s 81,100 special-election votes still fell short of Barry’s 2024 run, which captured 122,700 votes. In rural areas, margins stayed red
Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The women’s program currently holds a No. 14 national ranking, while the men’s team is ranked at No. 15. New personnel — namely Blakes — and successful NIL dealmaking have helped Vanderbilt usher in a golden era of athletics years in the making under athletic director Candice Storey Lee, a former women’s basketball standout.
Coaching contracts are now paying off too. Men’s coach Mark Byington now enters his second year after leading the men’s team back to March Madness for the first time since 2017. Over the summer, Byington brought on Brady Welsh, formerly of the University of Kentucky basketball program and an NBA trainer, to revamp the team’s strength and conditioning program. Women’s coach Shea Ralph, a former all-American guard and assistant coach at the University of Connecticut, has built a powerhouse program with two straight March Madness appearances since joining Vanderbilt in 2021.
In the age of paid college athletes, Vanderbilt’s deep-pocketed Anchor Impact fund has helped attract transfers like Duke Miles, a leading scorer on the men’s
but shifted toward Behn because Republicans didn’t turn out. In urban and suburban areas, margins shifted to Behn because Democrats did turn out.
Special-election postmortems continue to point to the same proven political science. Ballots bring out voters — both “for” and “against,” but mostly “for” in this district — when they have a familiar Republican name on them (i.e., Trump or Green). Republican support softened behind Van Epps. While she did not meaningfully win rural votes, Behn successfully rallied urban and suburban Democrats in high population areas. Midterms and the 2028 presidential race will likely bring much higher turnout, and hopefully, a real clash of ideas to replace what looks like an expensive round of partisan RSVPs. ▼
team now playing for his fourth school in four years, and women’s newcomer Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, a rebounding guard who reached last year’s Final Four with top-ranked University of Texas.
Blakes broke records last year with high-output games, including a 53-point show over Florida. A scorching first season earned her National Freshman of the Year and a spot on the 2025 All-SEC team. She’s been freed up even more this year with the addition of rookie point guard Aubrey Galvan. With the departures of Iyana Moore and Khamil Pierre to other top-ranked teams — Moore to Notre Dame, Pierre to N.C. State — production has spread across the team this year, helping elevate three-point shooter Justine Pissott and Sacha Washington, who has spent multiple seasons unable to play. On the men’s side, Brentwood native Tyler Tanner, a shorter guard, has also stepped up after a solid rookie season. After short midseason breaks, Vanderbilt women’s basketball next plays South Florida on Dec. 15. The men’s team faces Central Arkansas on Dec. 13 before a nationally televised showdown against Memphis on Dec. 17. ▼
JANUARY 28
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APRIL 8
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MAY 30
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DECEMBER 15 A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION CHRISTMAS
DECEMBER 21, 22 & 23 LADY A THIS WINTER’S NIGHT
DECEMBER 28 A DRAG QUEEN CHRISTMAS
DECEMBER 30 & 31
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW
Talking with rock star Hayley Williams, counting down our favorite local albums and more
out about causes that matter to her.
Williams has been building her catalog of solo material, starting with 2020’s Petals for Armor and its 2021 follow-up Flowers for Vases/ Descansos. This year, she released a suite of singles that were eventually collected as a 20-track album called Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
WHEN WAS THE Last time Nashville had a truly “slow” year in music? It feels a bit like 2025 said “hold my beer” on encountering the regular pace of activity hereabouts.
To help us get perspective on all that went down in the broad territory of Music City music this year, we talk with Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams, who came up with an unconventional rollout for her third solo LP and first for her own label, the Grammy-nominated Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party. We also check in with a selection of ace instrumentalists in our Side Player Side Bar Survey, and we run down Scene music scribes’ favorite releases of the year in our Top Local Albums Critics’ Poll.
Then we offer up a catalog of notable events across scenes. And we hand the mic over to folks representing many of those scenes in our annual survey — which, by the way, we renamed from “Rock ’n’ Roll Poll” to “The Scene on the Scene,” since it was never solely about rock anyway. Thanks for reading us all year. Cozy up by the fire and dive on in! —STEPHEN TRAGESER, MUSIC EDITOR
Talking with Hayley Williams about making her Grammynominated third solo LP Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
BY HANNAH CRON | PHOTOS BY ELISE JOSEPH JAMES
HAYLEY WILLIAMS WAS a rock star long before Nashville was known for party buses and celebrity honky-tonks. She’s become globally recognized as the frontwoman of Paramore, whose second album Riot! became an emo-poppunk smash hit in 2007, and who cranked up their danceable art-punk influences starting with 2017’s lauded After Laughter. Fans know her for her boldness, both as a versatile talent and as someone who isn’t afraid to speak up and speak
It’s a heartfelt look at the ebb and flow of relationships with romantic partners, with herself, and with the area she’s called home off and on since she moved to Franklin with her mom as a child in the early Aughts. Within the musical worldbuilding so intrinsically tied to Nashville, it’s easy to imagine yourself in Williams’ shoes, sitting in a tourist-trap Broadway bar, nursing a drink and lost in asking yourself: “How did we get here? How did I get here?”
Ego Death is Williams’ first release on her own label Post Atlantic. She shared the debut single “Mirtazapine” via public radio station WNXP and uploaded MP3s of the 17 tracks originally being considered for the album to her website. Once they hit traditional streaming platforms, she asked fans to share playlists to help her determine the running order for the official release. The record has three Grammy nominations, and Williams’ upcoming headline tour will stop for three nights at the Ryman — April 25, 27 and 28. The Scene caught up with her to talk about the record, her creative process and what it means to call Music City home today. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
COVID forced the rescheduling and eventual cancellation of tour dates around your first two solo albums. I’m sure promotion had to evolve as well. How did that experience shape the unconventional rollout for Ego Death? Even more than this album, [Petals was] the most unique experience I think I’ll ever have putting out music. And I felt so pregnant with it too — I needed to be releasing that off of me and out of me, and it’s like I couldn’t, because we never really got to complete the cycle by playing shows. And even the release plan changed a few different times. It was very bittersweet in a lot of ways, being forced to experience it more within myself than externally. … It’s the thing I wouldn’t have asked for, but it’s what I needed.
And it ended up being a good summer. I
would be home with a routine for the first time in my life. Sort of enjoying a soft life, learning how to just experience and feel things more slowly, and I’m still trying to get back to that in certain ways. And then obviously the bitter side of it was just that I really, really wanted to feel like these things I was singing about weren’t mine anymore, and I wanted to witness other people having their own experience of it. … [Ego Death completes] what now feels like a trilogy. I’m so ready to eventually get to the Petals for Armor songs.
“Ice in My OJ” begins the record with an interesting groove, and includes an interpolation of a song that predates Paramore. The night that we wrote that, my friends were staying with me, and one of them is Daniel [James], who I made the record with, and his wife Elise, who is one of my closest friends. They were here trying to figure out if they were going to move back to Nashville, because they’re from here as well. … We knew we were making music, we just didn’t know we were making an album. But something came up — I think maybe one of us saw a TikTok video or an Instagram story, something that had this song called “Jumping Inside” that I was the singer of when I was a kid.
And we were laughing so hard. I have smoked a lot of pot this year. I’ve just really let myself have whatever vice — other than coffee, I’m trying to cut that. But it’s been a hard year emotionally, and I’ve found myself just being like, “You know what? I need to let myself go a little bit because I’ve been so hard on myself, and touring was so rigorous the last few years.” So we were having a night where, like, I was ripped out of my mind and we were dying laughing at, honestly, the Christian music industry.
I almost got into [the CCM business]. Dan worked for a Christian music label when he was younger, so it led to, “Let’s put it in a song, let’s just use it.” But we did it at like 11 at night, and I wrote this synth horn part, and the song kept getting more aggressive. Dan added drums, and we just were truly having the time of our lives making shit that had no meaning. And then suddenly it did have a meaning when I started screaming, “I’m in a band.” And when I said the lyric about “a lot of dumb motherfuckers that I
made rich.” … I really love that song because it wasn’t supposed to be anything but “ice in my orange juice.” I use this logo of a rotted orange a lot, like for my Spotify page, or I had it on my Substack for a while. And I thought it was funny because — I don’t know, orange hair. [It was] just in my subconscious.
On repeated listens, one of the themes that comes up is how you have a kind of fractured relationship with your adopted hometown. Some of the songs on this LP are among the most Nashville-centric you have written. It’s a multipronged thing where I have my own experience of having grown up in a broken home, which is very common. And yet the fact that it is such a common experience is the very reason that I sort of overlooked it for so long. … For me, there’s so many hurdles to feeling safe and at-home, not only in a place, but with people. Home has been people, which leads to a lot of codependence and kind of means that your [definition of] north changes often throughout your life. That’s one struggle that I think I write from a lot.
And then there’s also just the literal leaving of homes since I was young, going on the road. Looking back, I always wanted to go. I was like: “Get me out of here. I want to leave and see the world, and I want to make my home on the road.” I think I was already kind of writing about that on [Paramore’s 2005 debut All We Know Is Falling] with the song “Franklin.” There was a lot of tension in that leaving, coming-and-going kind of repetition in my life. And when I moved to L.A. in my early 20s, I think I did get my first taste of what it felt like to be home with myself. And it was interesting because I was so far from my family, my city. And then that really confused me.
It took a long time to wind myself back down in Nashville, and I did that after my divorce. And I’m doing it again now, after trying to leave at the top of this year. When things go down in my life, or [when] it feels like I’m drowning and I need to get above water, I leave. It’s not a great trait about myself, but it makes it 10 times harder when other people have the exact same syndrome, and then I feel the effects of that on myself. It’s like, “Uh, oh fuck, OK, before I get any
older, I need to actually address this.” So writing about home from both of those perspectives that we just talked about was necessary to being able to let go and move back here.
It seems to me that these songs cover a span of time — a full cycle of emotions about all the different subjects you’re working through. Some eagle-eyed fans have pointed out they saw song titles in screenshots of your voice recordings years ago. Have some of the songs been sitting in the vault for a while? Parts of them, yeah. Which isn’t that new for me. I love looking back at photos, I love looking back at my Notes app and listening to my old voice memos. Hindsight really can change perception or perspective on things that you’ve written that might be more subconscious, you know? I’m always looking for how to connect dots through my life. … The chorus of “Love Me Different” was hanging around for years. I’m trying to think of any of the others off the top of my head. “Brotherly Hate.” I think I started that late 2023. “Glum,” I started when we got back from the final This Is Why Tour [dates].
And they were just pieces. [Then] Dan and I started to work together. I think he was in a creative low spot, and I kind of was in a confused spot. And we had a conversation one night about creative constipation, and how artists really need to — and writers in particular always need to — be letting things come out so that there’s even flow. And then it kind of became like, “OK, well, if there’s not something that’s just coming out, then let me go back and see if I have anything we can rummage through to bring to this. Maybe there’s a new perspective or new life to give it.”
The cool thing about Dan is he can hear a tiny part of something — oh, for instance, the piano of “Ego Death.” So the first day we went into a studio — I think it’s called Fatback in East Nashville. [Paramore bandmates] Taylor, Zac and I went to Fatback to start writing This Is Why. It would have been the same week that we wrote “Running Out of Time” and whatever else we started that album off with, “Thick Skull,” I think. They had this gorgeous grand piano, and it sounded like nothing I’d ever played in person before. And I started banging around on the
idea that I was trying to steer [the song] toward, like a Carole King-type vibe. [On] the original voice note, you can hear Zac come into the room and go, “That’s cool.” And I was like, “Thanks.” And I just kept it. And obviously, I knew it wasn’t for Paramore, so I never really brought it back up for This Is Why
I sent it to Dan once I had left L.A. after the fires. [The Jameses and others in my circle have a mutual friend who] moved away from Nashville and basically was bragging one night about how much better it was to live in California, and they were like: “Oh, I could never go back to Nashville. I can only go up from here.” It was so funny because even Dan and Elise say that they felt that way. I know I felt that way this last time — I was like, “Fuck it, I’m not living under fascism, I’m getting the hell out.” And then the humbling [feeling] of realizing that, actually, when shit hits the fan in your life and in the world, probably the right place to go is where you have family, your friends, and you know the backroads. I kind of just suddenly needed familiarity. Nashville, I do love and hate — but the same way that we can talk shit on our families, but nobody else better talk shit on our families. I’m so glad to have you back in Nashville. I feel like we can feel when you’re not here. Whoa, that really means a lot. I really feel when I’m not here. I just was in denial about it for a long time. This year’s been such a celebration of everything I love about it. I’ve also mourned a lot of things that are closing down. Like, Margot is closing and Fido’s announced that they’re closing. Fido made me my favorite cake — that they don’t make anymore — for the Ego Death release party. We sent y’all the photos for this piece, and that cake’s in there. Like, everything from those photos is made possible by being back here at home. I’m really thankful you guys are going to run those. Elise is such a great photographer, and [the photos] are just as close to home movies as we have. ▼
EGO DEATH AT A BACHELORETTE PARTY OUT NOW VIA POST ATLANTIC PLAYING THE RYMAN APRIL 25, 27 AND 28
BY STEPHEN TRAGESER
IT IS QUITE A feat to keep track of plot developments in the ongoing story of this ever-changing thing we call “Nashville music” each year. Like every year, I owe a major debt of gratitude to a small army of freelance contributors and staff colleagues for their work across a broad spectrum in 2025 — and to you for reading our work. With that in mind, here is a highlight reel of happenings.
Rock ’n’ roll and its cousins keep contributing threads to the national and global conversation around local music. They also nourish multiple scenes around town, and have yielded another outstanding slate of releases. That includes the forward-leaning indie rock of Paramore leader Hayley Williams’ Grammy-nominated solo LP Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party (read more in our interview) and the pop-punk ferocity of Winona Fighter’s My Apologies to the Chef. It includes the nuanced folk rock of Suede & ’Lene’s Hymns for Lost Things and the full-on punk fury of Wesley & The Boys’ Rock & Roll Ruined My Life, the pop-schooled snarl of Annie DiRusso’s Super Pedestrian and the 800 or so projects Charly Ortiz-Martínez is involved in (including My Wall and Maanta Raay). Rocking songsmith Tristen released Unpopular Music (her first new LP since 2021), Zdan dropped the hard-charging So What!, The Features’ frontman Matt Pelham gave us his ripping solo debut Matt and the Watt Gives, and the list goes on.
Hip-hop is one of the newest musical traditions raising Nashville’s profile. Among other projects, members of rap collective Six One Trïbe put on their second annual 615 Day festival, Gee Slab proved himself a phenomenal storyteller yet again on Roots in the Dirt and Blvck Wizzle gathered a massive all-ages crew for his “Cashville Be Ballin” music video. Starlito, an elder statesman in the scene with a catalog more than 20 years deep, dropped three new projects — live record Starlito w/Brassville, studio album Regretfully and the revival of his collab with Memphis’ Don Trip on Step Brothers 4 Life — that prove quality and quantity aren’t mutually exclusive.
Meanwhile, Jack Vinoy’s recurring songwriting event ca.mp3 kept making connections for rising songsmiths and producers, and Renais-
sance man Mike Floss carried on his work with advocacy group the Southern Movement Committee while germinating a new body of music built around honoring the legacy of Black music in Nashville. Daisha McBride had the EP of the season (perhaps the year) with So Much for Summer and its standout opener “Lunchroom,” as well as a track placed in a Downy Unstoppables commercial I have seen about 100 times on Hulu during Bob’s Burgers and Jeopardy! Country music has been Music City’s biggest cultural export for decades. The Grand Ole Opry, a complex institution that continues to play a big role, has been celebrating its 100th anniversary all year (including the centennial of the debut WSM Barn Dance broadcast on Nov. 28).
Our annual look at June’s CMA Fest, among the largest gatherings of country fans, noted the festival’s seeming aversion to controversy and anything that could be construed as related to “DEI” — in other words, representation of Black, brown and queer artists — in a sociopolitical climate influenced by the openly racist, sexist, transphobic and queerphobic rhetoric and policies of the second Trump administration.
Beyond usual country and country-adjacent suspects like Morgan Wallen and Kid Rock embarrassing themselves, we got a little taste of Skynet Country, too. Breaking Rust and Cain Walker, two AI “artists,” made headlines in November for taking top slots on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart. They’re not the first AI artists to chart. They’re not getting added to radio (yet), but their success even on this less-mainstream chart raises a whole lot of questions.
At the same time, actual human artists from Nashville made some damned fine country music. To name a few: The Kentucky Gentlemen released their stunning long-in-the-works debut LP Rhinestone Revolution, Joshua Hedley
delivered a Western-swing masterclass with All Hat, Kristina Murray dropped her heartfelt rocking LP Little Blue, and Margo Price dove headfirst back into outlaw country on Hard Headed Woman. Angie K had a strong run with her self-titled EP, and her fellow Country Latin Association co-founder Andrea Vasquez finished the year strong with her EP El Camino
Many others in our panoply of scenes saw notable movement too. In the blues world, ace band Piper & the Hard Times pushed through singer Al “Piper” Green’s cancer diagnosis to put out Good Company in August, their follow-up to last year’s lauded Revelation. Legendary soul singer Charles “Wigg” Walker, at age 84, released This Love Is Gonna Last, a powerful tribute to his late wife Marva. Nashville Jazz Workshop tapped musician, educator and label head Jeff Coffin to put on two days of almost-all-local jazz in October, under the banner of the first Nashville Jazz Festival in more than 50 years. At the Nashville Symphony, longtime music director Giancarlo Guerrero took his final bow in that role, and he made a guest appearance in November. Also, longtime president and CEO Alan Valentine announced his retirement at the end of the 2025-2026 season.
Thankfully, we have places like Brown’s Diner, much-loved and much-needed all-ages venue Drkmttr, Springwater, Betty’s, The 5 Spot, The Cobra and The East Room, where you can routinely see locals and touring acts whose only musical commonality might be that they want to do something creative that doesn’t sound like anyone else. That’s far from a complete list of venues. For example, improvisational music — some of which has close connections to jazz and some of which doesn’t — continues to brew in town with scenes building around spots like Urban Cowboy. Albums like William Tyler’s Time Indefinite (which took the No. 1 spot in our Top Local Albums Critics’ Poll) and the self-titled LPs from Shrunken Elvis and Echolalia didn’t come out of that particular scene, but would fit in.
A sad inevitability is that we’ll lose people who contributed a great deal to one or many scenes, whether they were widely known or not. Among the more famous locals who died
in 2025 are songwriting legend Mac Gayden, Booker T. & the M.G.’s guitarist and longtime Nashvillian Steve Cropper, and East Nashville folk champion Todd Snider. You might not know of The 5 Spot’s co-owner Travis Collinsworth, Vinyl Tap co-owner Riley Corcoran Hedrick or songwriter and Bobby’s Idle Hour fixture Ray Sisk, but you’ve almost surely felt their positive impact. We’ll have more on them and many others in our upcoming In Memoriam issue.
As in many years, some of the most impactful stories of 2025 come from the live-music and venue world, so let’s take a speed run through them. Nashville got two new venues this year: The Pinnacle, a 4,500-capacity space operated downtown by AEG (the distant-second main rival to ticketing and touring leviathan Live Nation), and Skinny Dennis, an East Nashville outpost of a successful New York honky-tonk. Opry Hospitality, while not a small firm by any stretch, won the Metro contract to operate Ascend Amphitheater for the next 10 years, beating a much larger competitor: the aforementioned Live Nation. One more Live Nation note: The firm announced plans to open its seeming competitor to The Pinnacle in fall 2026, in the shape of 4,400-cap room The Truth, located near LN’s local headquarters in Wedgewood-Houston. On the West Side, venue and arts space Random Sample moved into a bigger and better space near its original location; among happenings they’ve hosted so far was a residency for JayVe Montgomery’s rich historical project Lake Black Town
The Mouthhole, the genial and democratic house venue run by brothers Zac and Travis Caffrey and their pal Michael Sadler, closed for good after 12 years of shows. The Boro Bar and Grill, a venue near MTSU’s campus in Murfreesboro that hosted its share of current and future Nashville musicians over its 40-year run, also closed. A swath of buildings on Church Street that once housed a phalanx of LGBTQ clubs (including one that was home to Lucy’s Record Shop in the 1990s) was razed. For the second time in its 20-plus-year history, massive festival Bonnaroo was canceled because of weather.
However, movers and shakers on all levels persevere. Bonnaroo organizers tweaked the operation a bit and announced a return (with Skrillex, Kesha and many more) for June 11 through 14. Music Venue Alliance Nashville and Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp teamed up on a one-day festival called 615 Indie Live that brought more than 2,000 fans out to shows at more than a dozen venues, and it’s coming back Feb. 7. And after several years dormant, Ernest Tubb Record Shop reopened as a five-floor entertainment complex with special attention paid to the site’s history. ▼
“...true sonic beauty”
“The music they create draws little comparison…it’s wholly original”
WE’RE SETTLING INTO listicle season, stacking Best Of rankings atop one another like a janky gingerbread house that’s glued together with a frosting of wistful memories for The Year That Was. And that means it’s time to recognize our favorite group of underrecognized folks: the noble instrumentalists who make our favorite singers soar and make our favorite shows unforgettable. They make our records beautiful and our listening lives richer, fuller and more rewarding. They are like the cornbread dressing of musicians: absolutely essential and too often overlooked. So pass the gravy and get ready for your fourth annual serving of the Nashville Scene Sideplayer Sidebar Survey, where we ask a sampling of said players some silly questions and get silly answers!
WHO HAVE YOU PLAYED ALONGSIDE THIS YEAR?
Megan Jane, drums: Molly Tuttle, Brooke Eden, Angie K, Vinnie Paolizzi, Alex Hall, Brandy Clark, among others.
Sean Thompson, guitar: I’ve been out with Margo Price for a lot of the year, and [my trio] Shrunken Elvis got to do a few shows. Was lucky enough to do a good bit of instrumental Weird Ears Trio shows this year, but I’m always looking to do more. I also did a Weird Ears record release show at Blue Room. There may be others I’m missing, honestly.
Matt Glassmeyer, keys, reeds, more: Ziona Riley (fav writer), Garnett/Haas/Jodziewicz (fav pickers), Corin_horn (fav freak), Veinmelter (fav ambience), TN Rhythm Company (fav feel), Jack Silverman (fav Martian), Oliver Wood (fav mids),
Victor Krauss (fav lows), Dana Lyn (fav composer), Billy Martin (fav bamboo shit).
Linwood Regensburg, bass and guitar: Tristen, Chris Crofton, Abigail Dempsey, Townes and the Daring Double Drummers.
WHAT LOCAL RECORD HAS THE BEST SIDE 1, SONG 1?
MJ: Molly Tuttle, “Everything Burns” [on So Long Little Miss Sunshine], or Ruston Kelly, “Pale, Through the Window” [from Pale, Through the Window] or Vinnie Paolizzi, “Hummin’” [from Spaghetti Western, Vol. 1].
ST: “Country of Illusion” from William Tyler’s Impossible Truth.
MG: Gray Worry, Meditation on Peace (After M. Fuller)
LR: If you mean ever, then it’s gotta be “Hey Friend” by JEFF the Brotherhood from We Are the Champions. From this year? “Wilder Days” by Matt and the Watt Gives [from Matt and the Watt Gives].
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SIDE DISH IN NASHVILLE?
MJ: Any of the salsas from Cheap Charlie’s because I could drink them on their own.
ST: Banchan at Korea House.
MG: I like the Stuffed Spider at Enfield Pattern on Bandcamp Drive.
LR: I won’t waste everyone’s time with my age-old argument that a croissant is, in fact, a side dish. But I will tell you that you can get that very side dish (or many of them) at Village Bakery + Provisions and be very, very happy with that decision. I would also be lying if I didn’t mention the bean and corn salad at Calypso Cafe.
WHICH LOCAL SIDE PLAYER HAS HAD THE BEST YEAR?
MJ: Aslan Freeman (Lainey Wilson).
ST: Honestly, any musician that is out playing and making any semblance of a living and getting to create cool music is having the best year.
MG: Chameleon’s chameleon Mark Raudabaugh. From freaking out with Ryan Scott and me in the basement to the Willie/Dylan/Sierra Outlaw Tour.
LR: While not typically a side player per se, it’s pretty cool to see Gyasi slide into that role on guitar in Alice Cooper’s band. Also, shoutout to Henry Page for playing drums in every band at the YEAH! Rock Block fall concert.
WHICH LOCAL INSTRUMENTALIST HAS THE COOLEST SIDE HUSTLE?
MJ: Jason Eskridge: Music City Sandwich Co.
ST: Has to be Luke [Schneider] with Forestdale Incense, right? We should all be making enough money so we can play music all the time.
MG: David Williford: saving the world. Rhees Williams: popping and locking to save the world.
LR: Any and everybody out there fighting the good fight in music education. ▼
JAN. 12
Brittany Howard’s hardcore band Kumite debuts at nonprofit benefit
FEB. 1
Inaugural 615 Indie Live brings more than 2,000 fans to indie venues
FEB. 27
Kacey Musgraves plays opening show at The Pinnacle
MARCH 1
Skinny Dennis opens
MARCH 7
Jason Isbell releases Foxes in the Snow
APRIL 8
Ray Sisk dies
APRIL 16
Mac Gayden dies
APRIL 19
Duke’s celebrates 10th anniversary
APRIL 22
Travis Collinsworth dies
APRIL 25
William Tyler releases Time Indefinite
MAY 9
Kristina Murray releases Little Blue
MAY 9
Starlito and Don Trip release Step Brothers 4 Life
MAY 25
Giancarlo Guerrero’s final concert as music director of Nashville Symphony
JUNE 6
The Kentucky Gentlemen release Rhinestone Revolution
JUNE 13
Bonnaroo canceled because of weather
JUNE 15
Six One Trïbe’s second annual 615 Day
JULY 5
Final show at The Boro Bar and Grill
JULY 21
WXNA hosts a weeklong 60th birthday tribute to Jim Ridley
JULY 23
Hayley Williams surprise releases “Mirtazapine” on WNXP
AUG. 28
Hayley Williams releases Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
AUG. 29
Margo Price releases Hard Headed Woman
AUG. 30
Final show at The Mouthhole
SEPT. 19
Total Wife releases Come Back Down OCT. 3
Snooper releases Worldwide OCT. 11
Riley Corcoran Hedrick dies OCT. 17
Todd Snider releases High, Lonesome and Then Some OCT. 28
Live Nation announces The Truth venue, opening fall 2026 in Wedgewood-Houston
NOV. 13
Ernest Tubb Record Shop reopens NOV. 14
Todd Snider dies DEC. 3
Steve Cropper dies
From Hayley Williams and William Tyler to The Kentucky Gentlemen, Starlito and Don Trip and beyond, here are our favorite local LPs of the year
FOR THE 16TH year running, the Scene has counted up ballots from our wrecking crew of music writers to compile our picks for the 10 best local albums of the year. With yet another deluge of outstanding releases, many excellent albums landed just outside the Top 10, including those from Chris Crofton, Tristen, Annie DiRusso, Shrunken Elvis and Lilly Hiatt.
roots, and relates that not all is lost amid the heartbreak of his recent divorce, on his first solo album in nearly a decade. The acoustic LP Foxes in the Snow feels almost like the songsmith is taking a breather — traversing the breadth and depth of his emotions while also airing out his truths. Tales of new beginnings complement the stages of grief reflected in his lyrics. He grapples with love lost as well as vulnerability and resilience in the face of both public scrutiny and reflections from the voices inside.
BAILEY BRANTINGHAM
Country music holds tradition in such high regard that change gets scowled at or stifled in ways that throw pernicious bigotry into sharp relief. The debut LP from Versailles, Ky.-born twin brothers Brandon and Derek Campbell is a sterling example of how the genre can grow without letting go of the best things about its roots. It’s equal parts funny, raucous and heartfelt, it celebrates everyday life without glossing over the rough parts, and it’s catchy as hell. It’s got something for every contemporary country fan and a lot of classic country fans too, provided they’re willing to do what industry gatekeepers have not: embrace artists who are Black and queer and share the bounty they bring to the table. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Margo Price sets the table for her fifth album with its opening line, “I’m a hard headed woman and I don’t owe ya shit.” On Hard Headed Woman, a soft love song and a fired-up protest track feel equally radical as Price claws back the zeal for her own existence from the bastards and forces trying to flatten her — and all of us. Whether she’s using songwriting to reflect on the struggles of her early days in Nashville or to be painfully present in this current moment, she’s a live wire. Price makes a welcome return to classic country sounds, and a few covers on Side B pay tribute to her outlaw predecessors’ legacies. She also honors her friend Kris Kristofferson, sampling his voice on a song. How electrifying it is to witness Price as she writes a great legacy of her own.
JACQUELINE ZEISLOFT
7. TOTAL WIFE, COME BACK DOWN (JULIA’S WAR)
Little Blue, a tour de force of swampy Southern rock, twangy barroom ballads and devastating character studies. The swaggering “Watchin’ the World Pass Me By” is an anthem for Murray’s fellow dreamers scraping by without the benefit of “daddy’s bankroll.” “I get so tired of watchin’ ’em livin’ my dreams,” she sings. “I got to get to gettin’ while the gettin’s good.” Little Blue is a reminder that even if the deck is stacked against you, sometimes hard work and perseverance still win out in the end. BOBBIE JEAN SAWYER
5. SNOOPER, WORLDWIDE (THIRD MAN)
On what will be the final album released in his lifetime, Todd Snider captures the sound he’d been chasing since the release of First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder High, Lonesome and Then Some continues the spirit of exploration on that 2021 album and showcases Snider’s guitar work: He plays all the acoustic guitar and most of the electric lead. It’s Snider’s most Southern-sounding record — a groovy, funky mix of rock, country, Southern soul and dirt-road blues complete with female backing vocals. He opens and closes the album with a pair of existential songs, and in between addresses the loss and heartache he had suffered since the pandemic. That included not only estrangement from friends, family and lovers, but the passing of his most important songwriting mentors: Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine, Jimmy Buffett, Kris Kristofferson and Billy Joe Shaver.
DARYL SANDERS
Once again, Total Wife has made a great album. But in the purest way imaginable, Come Back Down is an example of necessity being the mother of invention. Composer-producer Luna Kupper sold off all her synthesizers to pay bills before making the record, resulting in sonic textures in some cases built from samples of the band’s previous work to create new music. Kupper’s stacking of unusual sounds is matched with the isolation you feel in the voice of singer and poet Ash Richter. The result is a surrealist pop album that feels like getting lost in a cyberpunk labyrinth. P.J. KINZER
6. KRISTINA MURRAY, LITTLE BLUE (NORMALTOWN)
The universe of Snooper is expanding. On Worldwide, the Nashville band careens toward electronica and electric drum horizons, while preserving the DIY wiles of their earlier productions. Frontwoman Blair Tramel and the rest of the five-piece collaborated with producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, The Killers) and other Los Angeles-based friends to create their second full-length and its accompanying music videos Across the LP’s 10 whirlwind tracks, guard dogs, salarymen and even the occasional hologram join the fray of Snooper’s signature nervy cacophony. KATHERINE OUNG
4. STARLITO AND DON TRIP, STEP BROTHERS 4 LIFE (MRVL/GRIND HARD)
Hayley Williams’ second solo LP and first on her own label had a decidedly nontraditional rollout. The Paramore lead and longtime Nashville resident first released “Mirtazapine” as a surprise standalone drop on WNXP, then made a suite of 17 singles available. Later, she confirmed that they composed an album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, with the addition of three more tracks. Ego Death isn’t quite the pop punk of Paramore’s RIOT! days, or the bubblegum of their “Ain’t It Fun” era. It alludes to both, but Williams pulls from an expansive palette: There’s a funky, bass-heavy feel on “Ice in My OJ” and “Brotherly Hate,” while “Discovery Channel” has a downtempo indie-rock sound that echoes her fellow Nashvillian Sophie Allison, aka Soccer Mommy. The title track, with its music video featuring state Rep. Justin Jones as co-star, finds Williams reckoning with her self-image. The song’s rallying cry, “Can only go up from here,” is a self-soothing mantra — and perhaps a call for a new New Nashville. ANNIE PARNELL
It’s a cliché at this point, but the old adage that Nashville is a “10-year town” still rings true. So it’s fitting that Kristina Murray’s stellar third LP Little Blue arrives just a tad more than 10 years after she moved to Nashville. Her story is the kind that locals root for: a hometown hero and undeniable talent who’s paid her dues 10 times over. But the highs and lows of Murray’s Music City journey informed
Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out wasn’t the only long-awaited hip-hop duo reunion of 2025. Fourteen years and four projects into their partnership, Starlito and Don Trip sound as good as they’ve ever been on Step Brothers 4 Life. The latest in the Nashville-Memphis collaboration series — arriving eight long years after the previous entry — might be the duo’s best, most mature work yet. ’Lito and Trip mix introspective storytelling with the humorous wordplay (and myriad sports references) you’ve come to expect. Long live Tennessee’s favorite Step Brothers. LOGAN BUTTS
3. JASON ISBELL, FOXES IN THE SNOW (SOUTHEASTERN/THIRTY TIGERS)
Isbell reflects on his innate enchantment with his Tennessee home and Alabama
On his seventh solo album, local fingerpicking champ William Tyler delivers his most challenging and satisfying work to date. Intensely avantgarde at some points and luxuriously languid at others, Time Indefinite is the culmination of a career rooted in constant search and constant wonder. He has taken traditional performance techniques and pushed them beyond the horizon of what we expect six strings and a couple of hands can do — in part by expanding into loop-based production (on tape, no less!) and incorporating even more additional instruments. Ripe with emotion and restless with ideas, Time Indefinite reveals new layers on every listen, making it one of the most essential Music City releases of 2025. SEAN L. MALONEY ▼
Musicians, bookers, producers and more respond to our annual survey about music in Nashville
COMPILED BY STEPHEN TRAGESER
EACH YEAR, we hand off the mic to an array of folks across Nashville’s music scenes in our annual poll.
It’s never been just about rock ’n’ roll, but this year we changed the name from “Rock ’n’ Roll Poll” to reflect that. Here’s what musicians, bookers, producers and more had to say about Nashville Music in 2025.
WHAT LOCAL ARTIST OR BAND RULED NASHVILLE IN 2025?
Hayley Williams. —CELIA GREGORY, CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER, EMILY YOUNG
Blvck Wizzle. —AYYWILLÉ, CORDUROY CLEMENS, RASHAD THA POET
Snooper. —LUKE SCHNEIDER, CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER
2’Live Bre. —AYYWILLÉ, CORDUROY CLEMENS
Molly Tuttle. —EVAN P. DONOHUE, JERRY PENTECOST
Margo Price. —JERRY PENTECOST, EVAN P. DONOHUE N. Justice. —NATHAN CONRAD
Kyleigh, Tim Gent, Milly Manny, Daisha McBride. —AYYWILLÉ
Joelton Mayfield. —COLEY HINSON
Alanna Royale. —DJ AFROSHEEN
Very proud of all of the YK releases this year. See also: Jo Schornikow, Make Yourself at Home, Ben Garnett, Wilby, Quit Music, book NOT brooke + Zina, and Total Wife. —MICHAEL EADES
Total Wife — they are in their own lane! —VIVIENNE BLUE
Massie99. —JARED CORDER
Every band that played Mouthhole’s farewell Fester!
—ROSS COLLIER
Flummox. —MARIELA MOSCOSO AND BUNNY NUNN
Grace Bowers. —SOFIA GOODMAN
Good FM. —NORDISTA FREEZE
William Tyler. —TYLER GLASER
The Sleeveens. —CHET WEISE
Winona Fighter. —ANGELA LESE
Lethal Method, Soot. —GRACE HALL
Zook, Chris Crofton, Jessica Breanne. —KYLE HAMLETT
The Pink Spiders rocked, rolled and REMEMBERED TO TIP THE SOUND PERSON! —COL. JAZZOLA WHAT LOCAL ARTIST OR BAND WILL RULE NASHVILLE IN 2026?
Brennan Wedl. —COLEY HINSON, VIVIENNE BLUE
Joelton Mayfield. —CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER, LUKE SCHNEIDER
Courtney Marie Andrews. —CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER Shelldhn. —DJ AFROSHEEN
Six One Trïbe. —CORDUROY CLEMENS
The Sewing Club. —GRACE HALL
Violet Moons. —JARED CORDER
Cumshot Wound. —JAYVE MONTGOMERY Lombardy. —ANGELA LESE
I’m hoping for new music from HR Lexy, Malcolm Moutenot, The Protomen, Zook, Beth Cameron and Glossary to name just a few. —MICHAEL EADES
The ones that perform outside of Nashville. Expand! —AYYWILLÉ
E.T. continues to be a community-driven rapper. He cohosts The Fringe Radio Show on Radio Free Nashville with AL-D and co-organizes a new monthly hip-hop event called Barz in the Boro. —NATHAN CONRAD
Hopefully someone super flamboyant. We really need it here. —SOFIA GOODMAN
Shrunken Elvis. —TYLER GLASER
Waxed. —CHET WEISE
Sarah Jarosz. —JERRY PENTECOST
Sunshine Scott. —NORDISTA FREEZE
Heavy Cream, Emmylou Harris and Spyboy, Drip Castles. —EVAN P. DONOHUE
Blood Root. —MARIELA MOSCOSO AND BUNNY NUNN
Circle in the Fire. —KYLE HAMLETT
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DISCOVERY THIS YEAR, MUSICAL OR NOT?
I was surprised and delighted by releases from candynavia, Shrunken Elvis, Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Ben Garnett, madebit and Nativity Dog. Familiar names Joey Kneiser and Luke Schneider delivered too. —MICHAEL EADES
A deeper disco house scene in Nashville thanks to DJ Manager Mike. I’ve met Virginia Vision and Soul Six Nine because of his party series at Night We Met! Incredible ladies keeping the groove alive.
—DJ AFROSHEEN
Nashville Public Library’s Library of Things. You can borrow musical instruments, tools, electronics and more! —MARIELA MOSCOSO AND BUNNY NUNN
An Ambient Evening, Wednesdays at Honeytree Meadery hosted by Daniel Wainwright, plus the ongoing Ambient Sundays hosted by Kyle Numann.
—KYLE HAMLETT
Teaming up with Blaire Beamer to create visual worlds for my songs. Their vision is unmatched.
—VIVIENNE BLUE
Vivienne Blue, Swimming Sisters, Wonderful Aspiration of the Source, vegan ceviche at Limo.
—CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER
Massie99. —EMILY YOUNG
The monthly milkshake release at BE-Hive. —JARED CORDER
DJs Dom J and Solo. —AYYWILLÉ
Karaoke at Low Bar. —JERRY PENTECOST
Rocknite at Skinny Dennis. —NORDISTA FREEZE
I experienced my first rave at Possumstock this year. I get it now, lol.
—CORDUROY CLEMENS
Hundreds of face-value Paul McCartney tickets available week-of at The Pinnacle Box office. —TYLER GLASER
To the Moon and Back, debut novel by Nashville native Eliana Ramage. —ZIONA RILEY
Middle Tennessee Soccer Association! —CHET WEISE
Abide by the Vibe Publishing, Hartland Studios, Pleasantville Recording. —EVAN P. DONOHUE
Angela Autumn, “Electric Lizard.” —ERIN RAE
Marc Payne; the poetry of James Croal Jackson.
—SOFIA GOODMAN
Weapons — where did that come from? One Battle After Another — Leo smoking pot to Steely Dan, can I have some more of that? —COLEY HINSON
That the sun’s light and heat are the result of 20,000 years of internal audio feedback. —JAYVE MONTGOMERY
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE STORY IN MUSIC — LOCAL OR NOT — IN 2025?
The People’s Pride, made by and for the queer community, was a huge success. Drkmttr hosted, and the community had a safe, fun and meaningful weekend full of connection, playtime and healing. —DJ AFROSHEEN
Random Sample having more resources to support local arts than the federal government. —JAYVE MONTGOMERY
Continuing to see Jelly Roll be embraced on a major level. —CORDUROY CLEMENS
Blvck Wizzle bringing the city together with “Cashville Be Ballin.” —AYYWILLÉ
Nashville Famous Seth Pomeroy’s Chris Crofton documentary. —ERIN RAE
Crumbsnatchers played Bonnaroo twice. —NORDISTA FREEZE, JARED CORDER
Concurrence finally starting to get all the love they deserve. —RASHAD THA POET
We played a couple wrestling matches. Blood, bras thrown on stage, clowns, you name it. —GRACE HALL
In mid-July, Chib Bensen, guitarist for local band Butt However, tripped on a loose tile and crashed through one of the Windows on the Cumberland, plummeting 80 feet into the murky water. Incredibly, he swam to shore, toweled off and finished the set. —COL. JAZZOLA
Caroline Bowman and Michael Eades teaming up to create Good Signal. —ZIONA RILEY, VIVIENNE BLUE
The rediscovery of Alex Caress; the Blank Range revival.
—CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER
Jo Schornikow’s record release; @4madisonweekly newsletter; alternative distribution platforms for music outside of streaming in abundance. —MICHAEL EADES
Ellen Angelico’s Girl in a Hurry: The Shelly Bush Story podcast. —EVAN P. DONOHUE, MICHAEL EADES
Zoë Dominguez releasing Out the House We know how to grow ’em here, folks. —ELLEN ANGELICO
Robyn Hitchcock’s Globe of Frogs, remixed and remastered. —KYLE HAMLETT
Anika Nilles getting the call to play with Rush. —ANGELA LESE
Lily Allen’s West End Girl smackdown slash catharsis.
—CELIA GREGORY
DJ Afrosheen: DJ; model; local queer icon
Ellen Angelico: musician
AyyWillé: saxophonist; recording artist
Vivienne Blue: musician
Caroline Bowman-Schneider: Vinyl Tap; Thirty Tigers; Good Signal; Devalued; RCDP; DJ Shug; your biggest fan
Corduroy Clemens: rapper
Ross Collier: Omnichord man of years yonder gone; other musical duties
Nathan Conrad: rapper, Spoken Nerd
Jared Corder: owner and producer, Polychrome Ranch; musician, *repeat repeat
Evan P. Donohue: artist; owner, A Means of Productions LLC
Michael Eades: owner, YK Records
Nordista Freeze: musician
Tyler Glaser: staffer, Grimey’s Sofia Goodman: drummer; composer
Celia Gregory: morning host, WNXP
Grace Hall: singer, Pressure Heaven
Kyle Hamlett: songwriter; musician
Coley Hinson: producer; sideman
Col. Jazzola: provocateur; unpaid intern
Angela Lese: drummer, Lips Speak Louder and Fingernails Are Pretty; freelance drummer; artist manager
JayVe Montgomery: improvising sound artist
Mariela Moscoso and Bunny Nunn: executive director, YEAH!; program director, YEAH!
Jerry Pentecost: drummer; DJ Jerry; freelance badass
Erin Rae: musician
Rashad tha Poet: poet; MC; corporate speaker
Ziona Riley: singer-songwriter
Chet Weise: editor-in-chief, Third Man Books; lead guitar, Maanta Raay
Emily Young: events director, WNXP; woman about town
The growing discontent with Spotify and the burgeoning migration of listeners to other platforms.
—LUKE SCHNEIDER
The White Stripes’ induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. —EMILY YOUNG, COLEY HINSON
“Soccer Mommy, The Mall and More Thrill at Drkmttr Fest II.” —NATHAN CONRAD
“Best Indie Hustle: Charly Ortiz-Martínez.” —CHET WEISE
The first Nashville Jazz Festival in decades presented by the Nashville Jazz Workshop and Jeff Coffin!
—SOFIA GOODMAN
Emmylou Harris getting inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. —JERRY PENTECOST
Jason Isbell inviting youth bands to open for his residency at the Ryman. —MARIELA MOSCOSO AND BUNNY NUNN
Ringo Starr going to Grimey’s to shop unannounced.
—TYLER GLASER
WHAT’S ONE THING YOU HOPE TO SEE MORE OF IN LOCAL MUSIC IN 2026?
Backbones. There are a lot of people cultivating safe and inclusive spaces within the industry in our city. I want more people to be the change they want to see. —DJ AFROSHEEN
Solidarity with UMAW — United Musicians and Allied Workers! Also would love to see adoption of Subvert, an artist-owned alternative to Bandcamp.
—LUKE SCHNEIDER
Mixed-use venues and shows combining music with other performance arts. We have a bit already: events by The Porch, The Psycho’s Quiz Show and Cortney Warner’s Blue Room comedy nights, plus house shows curated by dancer-musician Sari Hoke.
—ZIONA RILEY
I’d like to see more variety of local artists supported, instead of holding space for the exact same artists over and over. —ANGELA LESE
More cross-genre collaborations. —JERRY PENTECOST, CORDUROY CLEMENS, MICHAEL EADES, RASHAD THA POET
Having fun and taking more creative chances. I want to see more visually pleasing optics and aesthetics that make sense to the band, as well as unconventional show settings. —GRACE HALL, AYYWILLÉ, MICHAEL EADES
Women; paying musicians well; warm-vibe jam sessions with great players. —SOFIA GOODMAN
Where is the Nashville hip-hop newsletter — what is happening and how do I find out? Also, more backlash to streaming. I understand the convenience but the big players have no interest in artist fairness.
—MICHAEL EADES
More opportunities for youth bands to perform in Nashville! More funding from the city for youth to get access to music education.
—MARIELA MOSCOSO AND BUNNY NUNN
All ages shows!!! —EMILY YOUNG
In a time where so many people are struggling financially, I would like to see more free DIY shows in spaces where parking is free. —NATHAN CONRAD
More pop divas! ;) —VIVIENNE BLUE
Nonalcoholic brews. —JAYVE MONTGOMERY
More than ever, I need the headliner to go on before 10 p.m. on weeknights, pretty please. Help me help you.
<3 —CELIA GREGORY
Community care. Look out for your people! —ROSS COLLIER WHAT’S ONE THING YOU HOPE WE LEAVE BEHIND NEXT YEAR?
Corporate-washing! We need equity and accessibility in the music industry. —MARIELA MOSCOSO AND BUNNY NUNN Judgment. We’re all gonna die so why do we care so much what others think of us? Most of the time it’s a
NASHVILLE
projection anyway. —GRACE HALL
People sending me Spotify links to check out songs or albums. Please use literally any other platform.
—LUKE SCHNEIDER
I’d like to see more artists break out of the bondage of outdated pay-for-play tech scams from streaming services. —NATHAN CONRAD
Phones at shows. —JERRY PENTECOST
Embrace the 6 p.m. show. —MICHAEL EADES
AI. —AYYWILLÉ, EVAN P. DONOHUE
AI country music. Anyone involved in that should be embarrassed! —COLEY HINSON
Chompers. —EVAN P. DONOHUE
Prioritizing playlisting over building real community.
—CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER
Division and pandering to country music.
—CORDUROY CLEMENS
Overthinking your release strategy. —JARED CORDER
Misogyny, but I’d like to see that less everywhere.
—ANGELA LESE
The status quo. Just because our nationwide politics are regressing does not mean our creative scenes have to. —DJ AFROSHEEN
WHO IN NASHVILLE MUSIC DESERVES MORE ATTENTION THAN THEY GOT IN 2025?
Tim Gent. “MLB” should’ve been on every baseball advertisement in the world this year. —AYYWILLÉ
The hip-hop scene as a whole definitely needs more attention. Shoutout to every platform and person that has shed light. —CORDUROY CLEMENS
I wish the local community cared more about the strides Winona Fighter has made. —ANGELA LESE
DJs Dame Luz and Dumb Groove consistently show up and show out for our Latiné + diasporic communities. Their party series It’s Giving Global is the BEST series in the city. They bring international artists and global icons to town, while uplifting and amplifying Black and brown culture. —DJ AFROSHEEN
Soft Junk, a wonderfully professional venue with a DIY heart. Everything from punk to metal and singer-songwriters to poetry readings. This kind of place is what keeps Nashville real. —CHET WEISE
E.J. Ford’s work in music is in so many different areas, from being a school music teacher to playing downtown to mentoring youth in music at YEAH! and performing at his church.
—MARIELA MOSCOSO AND BUNNY NUNN
More people need to experience Dale J. Gordon’s albums and films. —NATHAN CONRAD
Lovely releases from Purser, DoomFolk StarterKit and label Dead Currencies. Everyone deserves attention! More reviews! More roundups! Where are the music
blogs?
—MICHAEL EADES
Ziona Riley, Kyle Hamlett, Slow Shiv, Old Crow Medicine Show’s OCMS XMAS album. —EVAN P. DONOHUE
Blood Root. —GRACE HALL, CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER
Jessie Gray. —ROSS COLLIER, KYLE HAMLETT, ZIONA RILEY
Noelle Goodin. —KYLE HAMLETT
Tom Barrett, Jung Min Noh, Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. —ZIONA RILEY
Kelsey Waldon, Caroline Spence, Kashena Sampson.
—ERIN RAE
Fealty, Dream Wave, Blemish. —GRACE HALL
Belly Full of Stars, Mt. Worcester. —LUKE SCHNEIDER
Langhorne Slim, Henri Herbert, Amanda Broadway.
—JERRY PENTECOST
Cody Parson, artist and creator of Possumstock.
—NORDISTA FREEZE
Matt TV. —COLEY HINSON
Claire Maisto. —VIVIENNE BLUE
Shanny & The East Men. —JARED CORDER
Lizzie No. —JAYVE MONTGOMERY
Jarren Blair. —CELIA GREGORY
Hannah Delynn. —CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER
Emmanuel Echem. —SOFIA GOODMAN
Emily Hines. —EMILY YOUNG
Tristen. —TYLER GLASER
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE RELEASE — SINGLE, EP, MIXTAPE, ALBUM — BY A NASHVILLE ARTIST IN 2025?
Tim Gent, “MLB”; Kyleigh, “Bad Tattoo”; Blvck Wizzle, “Cashville Be Ballin”; Starlito, Regretfully —AYYWILLÉ
Biased, but: Lilly Hiatt, Forever —COLEY HINSON
Jim Hoke, “Flying Hippopotamus”; Tristen, “Rose and Thorn”; Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, “Sacrament”; musician/poet Lou Turner’s book Twin Lead
Lines —ZIONA RILEY
Shelldhn, “That’s Hot.” —DJ AFROSHEEN
Blood Root, “I’d Rather Be Swimming.” —VIVIENNE BLUE
Liz Cooper, “New Day”; Chris Crofton, “I’m Your Man.”
—ERIN RAE
Twen, “Tumbleweed”; Really Regular, “Where Have You Been.” —JARED CORDER
R.A.P. Ferreira’s releases. —JAYVE MONTGOMERY
Winona Fighter’s My Apologies to the Chef is a BANGER, but selfishly, my favorite release is Lips Speak Louder’s Consolation Prize. —ANGELA LESE
Gee Slab, Roots in the Dirt; $hrames, Billionaire Boy —CORDUROY CLEMENS
New releases from Fealty, Blood Root and book NOT brooke. —GRACE HALL
William Tyler and Kieran Hebden, 41 Longfield Street, Late ’80s —LUKE SCHNEIDER
Kyle Hamlett Uno, The Way Out Inn
—ROSS COLLIER, MICHAEL EADES
Annie DiRusso, Superpedestrian —CELIA GREGORY
Jo Schornikow, Quiet Excerpts. —ELLEN ANGELICO, MICHAEL EADES
Hölljes, Exactly What I Asked For; Caitlin Cannon, Love Addict. —ELLEN ANGELICO
Jamie Lidell and Luke Schneider, A Companion for the Spaces Between Dreams —KYLE HAMLETT, CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER, MICHAEL EADES
Marissa Nadler, New Radiations; Michael Hix’s Wonderful Aspiration of the Source —KYLE HAMLETT
Twen, Fate Euphoric; Zac Farro “1,” Lilly Hiatt, “Evelyn’s House.” —CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER
N. Justice, NJAM: Negro Justice Appreciation Month —NATHAN CONRAD, MICHAEL EADES
I can’t pick one! You can’t make me! All of the YK releases were in my heavy rotation, including Chris Crofton and PHIZ. Also: Malcolm Moutenot, “I Like These Things”; Quit Music, Vol. 1; William Tyler, Time Indefinite; Wilby, Center of Affection — MICHAEL EADES
Cynthea Kelley, “Restless.” —SOFIA GOODMAN
Madi Diaz, Fatal Optimist —EMILY YOUNG
Caroline Spence, Heart Go Wild —TYLER GLASER
Daisha McBride, “Can’t Stop This.” —JERRY PENTECOST
Releases involving Polychrome Ranch. —NORDISTA FREEZE
Tristen, Unpopular Music —EVAN P. DONOHUE
JayVe Montgomery, Lake Black Town.
—MARIELA MOSCOSO AND BUNNY NUNN
WHAT WAS THE BEST MUSICAL PERFORMANCE YOU SAW IN 2025?
Kyleigh at City Winery; Starlito w/Brassville at The Blue Room. —AYYWILLÉ
Oasis at the Rose Bowl; Brian Jonestown Massacre at the Palace in Louisville. —COLEY HINSON
The Chewers at the final Mouthhole Fest(er). —ZIONA RILEY YEAH!’s ForgetMeNots playing a sold-out show opening for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at Ryman Auditorium!!! —MARIELA MOSCOSO AND BUNNY NUNN
Justice at State Farm Arena. —DJ AFROSHEEN
Amyl and the Sniffers! Amy Taylor is an icon.
—VIVIENNE BLUE
Cortney Tidwell and Tristen (aka PHIZ) at Soft Junk.
—ERIN RAE
Boy Orbison at 3rd and Lindsley. —JARED CORDER
You & I at Springwater. —JAYVE MONTGOMERY
Narrowing it down to local bands only, I’d say Girl Tones at Brooklyn Bowl. I would also say Bully at The Blue Room, but I don’t really consider her on a local level. ANGELA LESE
Cam Gallagher & The Tasty Soul and BEAN. at 615 Day at The Basement East. —CORDUROY CLEMENS
Dream Wave and Lockstep. —GRACE HALL
Sharp Pins at The Blue Room. —LUKE SCHNEIDER
Brìghde Chaimbeul at Random Sample in the early spring. Small pipe drones, preceded by a deftly handed quartet of some of Nashville’s best improvisers (JW Bird’s Celestial Dream Vortex). Made me weep! —ROSS COLLIER
Oasis in Edinburgh. —CELIA GREGORY
Juanaroo at The Blue Room, Jan. 4. Close second: Cam at the Ryman, Oct. 26. —ELLEN ANGELICO
Lou Turner’s book release at Soft Junk. —KYLE HAMLETT
Paul McCartney at The Pinnacle; Jo Schornikow’s release show. —CAROLINE BOWMAN-SCHNEIDER
Jo Schornikow’s album release; Jessica Breanne at The Basement; Tower Defense with The Robe at The Basement; Serotonin at The Cobra was a breath of fresh, brutal air. Gray Worry and Stuffed Spider at Spooky Ghoul Fest were top-tier unforgettable. —MICHAEL EADES
Stereolab at Brooklyn Bowl. —NATHAN CONRAD
Brian Blade at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. —SOFIA GOODMAN
Viagra Boys at Marathon Music Works. —EMILY YOUNG
Paul McCartney at The Pinnacle. —TYLER GLASER
AC/DC. My first time. Something is wrong with my priorities? —CHET WEISE
Jon Baptiste at the Opry House. —JERRY PENTECOST
Jarren Blair at The Inglewood Jam. —NORDISTA FREEZE
Heavy Cream at Duke’s 10th Anniversary.
—EVAN P. DONOHUE ▼
Main Street transforms into a block of holiday magic, filled with costumed characters, holiday dancers, and strolling entertainers. Step back in time to an authentic Victorian Christmas, complete with continuous performances by The Yuletide Carolers.
Join us as we wrap up the 40th Annual Dickens of a Christmas with a joyous Town Sing! Saturday's Sing begins at 5:30 PM on the Square's Main Stage, and Sunday's Sing starts at 4:15 PM at Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church.
PHOTO OP WITH SANTA
Don't miss the chance for a Photo Op with Santa at the Wilson Bank & Trust booth, located right on the Square! St. Nick is expected to greet guests from 11 AM – 5 PM Saturday and 12 PM – 4 PM Sunday.
STORYTIME Presented by ATMOS ENERGY & H.G. HILL REALTY
Enjoy timeless holiday stories told throughout the festival. Find the Storytime corner located within the enchanting Victorian Village.
ACOUSTIC STAGE Presented by HILLER
There’s plenty of great music awaiting you at Dickens of a Christmas’ Acoustic Stage! You’re not going to want to miss out on this year’s incredibly talented lineup of performers on the corner of 2nd and Main!
MAIN STAGE Presented by NISSAN USA
You can’t have Dickens without MAIN STAGE! Rock on over to the Square to see a variety of bands, acts, and performances take center stage.
Enjoy Discounts & Win a Movie Ticket to The Franklin Theatre! Grab a passport and follow the Nutcracker Crawl to find the unique Nutcracker at each destination and write its code on your passport to claim your prize!
• Awaken Apothecary Franklin Vision Care
• Kilwins Franklin
• McGavock's Coffee & Provisions
• ONYX + ALABASTER (closed Sunday)
• Pucketts Restaurant
CRAWL
• Saint Goose Wine + Spirits
• sanctuaire
• Shuffs's Music (closed Sunday)
• Sweethaven
• The Heirloom Shop
• Tom Beckbe
• The Registry (closed Sunday)
• TWEEDS Custom Suits
• Twine Graphics
• Visit Franklin
• Walton’s Jewelry
Passports available at the DFA tent on the square or at each shuttle stop entrance.
• Aces Kettle Corn
• Bake n' Soda
• Belt Bustin' BBQ
• Buffalo Texas Sausage
• Califarmia
• Cheesecake Society
• Cousins Maine Lobster
• Ellies Doughnuts
• Faith's Old Fashioned Ice Cream
• Five Dog Pizza
• Flour and Forge
• Gray's on Main
• Ground Restaurant
• Heritage Meat Pies
• Lightbox Ice Cream
• Pink Cloud Coffee
• Rice Rice Baby
• Smokey Dawggs Gourmet Hot Dog Co
• The Sambwich Co.
• The Street Food Connection
• This Turkey Here
• TriStar Tap Truck
• Waffle Wheels
• Whitney's Cookies
• Wild Bill's Olde Fashioned Soda
• Woolson Concessions
SING! PUBLIC WIFI ACCESS Scan the QR code above for free public wifi access while at our festival! Public Wifi is provided by our Connectivity Partner, United Communications. 5TH
THEATER
[BUG-STREET’S BACK, ALRIGHT!] THE THEATER BUG: MERRY MILLENNIUM
’Tis the season for crazy schedules and tons of stress, but nothing warms my Grinchy old heart quite like The Theater Bug’s annual Winter Concert. This year’s edition — Merry Millennium — promises to deliver plenty of “boy bands, butterfly clips, and of course a few holiday favorites to ring in the New Year.” Britney or Christina? Brandy or Monica? Backstreet or NSYNC? Dawson or Pacey? If these are the types of questions that keep you up at night, this is the show for you. Directed by the Bug’s beloved artistic director Cori Anne Laemmel (with musical direction by Laura Matula), Merry Millennium features more than 50 talented young performers, all backed by top-notch musicians like Sandy Tipping, Nicole
Yraguen, Makai Keur, Stephen Mason and Brad Williamson. Plus, audiences can look forward to checking out choreography from Bakari King, sets by Diana DeGarmo and costumes by Melodie Madden Adams. Looking for a holiday treat that is unapologetically extra? Hit me, baby, one more time. AMY STUMPFL DEC. 11-14 AT OZ ARTS NASHVILLE 6172 COCKRILL BEND CIRCLE
FILM [DOWN TO THE RIVER] THE RIVER: A SONGWRITER’S STORIES
Each month, the Jefferson Street Sound Museum offers Nashville music fans many programs. Among this month’s special features is a screening of the wonderful film The River: A Songwriter’s Stories of the South. This features the band Coyote Motel, but it isn’t your standard production, or simply an expanded music video. Instead, it’s a combination history, memoir and cosmic/psychedelic experience with 10 spotlight
If I had to guess, I’d say beloved Nashville comic Nate Bargatze is probably on cloud nine at the moment. His beloved Vanderbilt University football program is having a historically good season (“Vanderbilt is the future,” as he recently told ESPN from enemy territory, Knoxville), and his namesake Nashville theme park Nateland (yes, really) is looking more and more like a serious possibility. There couldn’t be a better time to catch the unlikely superstar than at one of three hometown appearances on his current Big Dumb Eyes World Tour. This weekend, the Old Hickory native (and former Mt. Juliet water-meter reader) will headline three shows at our friendly neighborhood enormo-dome, Bridgestone Arena — where Bargatze set an attendance record back in 2023. There’s just something special about Bargatze’s knack for relatable material and deadpan delivery, and it’s been a delight to watch him ascend from small Nashville clubs to awards-ceremony-hosting, SNLdominating, arena-comic status. Catch him at 7 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday or 7 p.m. Saturday. D. PATRICK RODGERS
DEC. 12-13 AT BRIDGESTONE ARENA
501 BROADWAY
songs and stories that examine some of the great tales and things to see along the American South’s three great rivers: the Mississippi, the Cumberland and the Tallahatchie. For those unfamiliar with the Coyote Motel musical presentation, it’s quite unique. The group features Ted Drozdowski on vocals and guitars; Sean Zywick on bass; Kyra Lachelle Curenton on drums and backing vocals; Luella on vocals, guitar and percussion; and Laurie Hoffman on theremin and glockenspiel. While their foundational sound is blues, they definitely delve into many other styles in an edgy, unpredictable and engaging manner. The film pivots off that stylistic expansion, and its combination of elements reflects the group’s broad performance scope, something especially illuminated through the cinematic context.
RON WYNN
7 P.M. AT THE JEFFERSON STREET SOUND MUSEUM
2004 JEFFERSON ST.
FRIDAY
FILM [DIVINE INTERVENTION] HOLIDAY CLASSICS: FEMALE TROUBLE
Of all of John Waters’ anarchic and delightfully filthy films, he considered Female Trouble his magnum opus and says it was his favorite film to make with drag superstar and ultimate muse Divine. Female Trouble was Waters’ follow-up to his outrageous midnight movie Pink Flamingos, and follows Divine’s most audacious character, Dawn Davenport, a bratty teenage delinquent who goes on a rampage of crime, depravity and twisted glamour after her parents refuse to get her a pair of cha-cha heels for Christmas. Davenport eventually — spoiler alert — winds up in the electric chair as a convicted murderess. “Crime is beauty,” as the film’s mantra goes, and Waters’ kitschy, tinsel-toned, grotesque descent into mania challenges boundaries between good and bad taste, beauty and filth, crime and innocence, all with a wink and a snarl from Divine. The film will be screened as part of the Belcourt’s Holiday Classics series, an irreverent but nonetheless festive entry to the holiday film canon.
LILLY LUSE
9:15 P.M. DEC. 12 & 16 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.
[GIMME SOME TRUTH]
FILM
HOLIDAY CLASSICS: DESK SET
One thing I hate about time is that with each passing year, Desk Set grows more and more prescient. Released in 1957 — during a recession — the film foreshadows: job displacement fears, human vs. machine efficiency, digitization of information, and corporate capitalistic motivation. The only thing, actually, saving this rom-com from being utterly gut-wrenching is … Christmas. Adapted for the screen by Nora Ephron’s parents, Desk Set features Spencer Tracy as an engineer who tries to prove his mega computer can replace a television network’s research staff, led by know-it-all Katharine Hepburn. At a drunken office Christmas party that would make Don Draper blush, it is pure joy to watch Hepburn lose her balance, swishing around in a long silver dress, her perfect diction drowning in Champagne and a sheer bounty of lamé. But as always, she remains quick on her feet, her wit intact. We should have listened to her and quit with technology then. Alexa, play “All I Want for Christmas.” See belcourt.org for showtimes. TOBY ROSE
DEC. 12 & 14 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.
[LIKE, BAH HUMBUG!]
STREET THEATRE COMPANY: A VHS CHRISTMAS CAROL
You can always count on Street Theatre to go beyond the standard theatrical fare. That’s certainly the case with this weekend’s much-anticipated return of A VHS Christmas Carol. Created by Clark Baxtresser (of StarKid Productions fame), this kitschy show reimagines Charles Dickens’ holiday classic in the style of an MTV music video — complete with plenty of ’80s references, totally rad fashions and catchy synth-pop tunes. (“I’m the Ghost” and “Christmas Electricity” are particularly choice.)
songwriter breathes life into moments that feel vulnerable, honest and all too relatable for anyone who’s ever felt overwhelming societal pressure — especially women. Mae enchants with her words, painting pictures of Diet Cokes in outside fridges and the unattractive nature of American porn. Both Mae and Kelly bring a sincere intensity to their live performances. Local outfit Budge opens. GRACE BRASWELL
8 P.M. AT CANNERY HALL
1 CANNERY ROW
the mind of the same man aside, it’s hard to argue with that CV. The Belcourt is showing the uber-influential Black Christmas — released a full four years before the other holiday-based slasher classic Halloween — as part of its Holiday Classics series. There’s nothing quite like a fresh splatter of syrupy fake blood across lily-white snow in the glow of vintage Christmas bulbs. LOGAN BUTTS
9:15 P.M. DEC. 13 & 17 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.
FILM [MERRY AND FRIGHT] HOLIDAY CLASSICS: BLACK
Directed by Sawyer Wallace and music directed (and narrated!) by Street Theatre’s own Randy Craft, A VHS Christmas Carol offers a cool blend of live and filmed performances. The original cast from last season’s production is back to deliver all the bitchin’ vibes, including Kristen Fields, Harrison Hall, Victoria Lourdes, Taryn Pray, Tristan Valdez and Elijah Wallace. And keep an eye out for all the fun design elements — from neon lights and spandex to retro toys. It’s great to see Street Theatre bringing this one back, but tickets are sure to go fast. But like, don’t have a cow. Just make a plan to get to The Barbershop Theater before it’s gone. AMY STUMPFL DEC. 12-20 AT THE BARBERSHOP THEATER
4003 INDIANA AVE.
MUSIC [FLIRT WITH THE IDEA] CONNOR KELLY & THE TIME WARP W/ WILLA MAE
Who is the greatest Christmas filmmaker of all time? There are strong arguments to be made for both Chris Columbus — the absolute king of conjuring that Yuletide atmosphere — and Shane Black, who, no matter the violent and vile content in his screenplays, will always set the film at Christmastime. But biased as I may be (as someone who loves horror and the holidays equally), the answer has to be Bob Clark, the semi-forgotten director who somehow cranked out both proto-slasher Black Christmas and revered TNT classic A Christmas Story. Questions about how those two films can come from
The Contributor is a nonprofit organization that offers help with housing and other survival resources for people experiencing homelessness. However, as someone who previously worked there, I observed that the magic of the organization really lies in giving people an opportunity to express themselves. The twice-weekly paper has always included vendor submissions of drawings, poems, songs and true stories, and this year The Contributor took that a step further with UnZine. In addition to the newspaper, vendors can now also sell these zines, DIY publications focused on art and stories from Contributor vendors in partnership with local artists, including Paul Collins with Stagger Press. My fellow Hannah, Hannah Cron, even gave this program a Best of Nashville award for Best Nonprofit Arts Project this year. Pieces compiled from this year’s publications are set to be displayed in a public reception as part of the Second Saturday Downtown Art Crawl. It’s a chance to see art for free, support the local arts scene and help people feel seen. (It’s also free.)
HANNAH HERNER
6 P.M. AT GALLERY 56 IN THE ARCADE
223 FOURTH AVE. N
Nashville’s multifaceted music worlds come together for one night when the Nashville Symphony honors T Bone Burnett and the Grand Ole Opry at the Symphony Ball 2025. Since 1986, the symphony has awarded the Harmony Award to individuals who “exemplify the harmonious
If you know anything about the Nashville alternative rock scene, chances are you’ve heard the names Connor Kelly and Willa Mae floating around — and for good reason. The Knoxville-to Nashville pipeline has brought over a slew of incredible rock-leaning musicians and artists, with Connor Kelly & The Time Warp being one of the projects to make the trek. Their most recent release, This Egg, is cloaked in an intricate, psychedelic texture, and features frontman Kelly’s evocative, visceral lyricism. Kelly’s words cut deep, with personal anecdotes disguised as metaphorical revelations. Mae is an experimentalist, with a discography soaked in her authentic recounting of gothic Southern girlhood. A captivating storyteller with an Appalachian upbringing, the eccentric
From platinum-selling chart-toppers to underground , household names to undiscovered gems, Chief’s Neon Steeple is c bringing the very best national and regional talent back to Broadway. om pla hi f’ N h t ons, t a s, eeple committed to mmi
12.1 Mo Pitney, Wyatt McCubbin, Drake White: A Benefit For Rahab House
12.5 Pickin’ Party w/ Dan Tyminski, Phillip Lammonds, Kevin Mac
12.6 The 12th Annual Christmas at Buddy’s Place w/ JP Burr, Walker County, Adam Hambrick, and Tana Matz
12.10 Andy Griggs
12.11 Ashley McBryde: The Redemption Residency **SOLD OUT**
12.12 Ashley McBryde: The Redemption Residency **SOLD OUT**
12.13 Christmas with Julie Roberts
12.14 A Hannah Dasher Christmas
12.16 Chief’s Outsiders Round w/ Skyelor Anderson & Ben Kadlecek and Guests Cay Aliese, Julie Eddy, Kinsley, Chloe Lawson
12.17 Uncle B’s Damned Ole Opry Xmas! w/ The Band Loula, Belles, WHYNOT
12.18 A Very Merry Brassfield Christmas
12.20 Not Quite Brothers
12.21 Christmas with Emily West
12.30 Buddy’s Place Writer’s Round (and Buddy’s Birthday!) w/ Alyssa Bonagura, Karli & James, Dan Smalley
FIND REDEMPTION ON THE 5TH FLOOR OF CHIEF’S BROADWAY’S FIRST NA-FORWARD BAR
Name: GRACIE
Age: 10 mo.
Weight: 33 lbs.
GRACIE came to Nashville Humane after her owner entered a nursing home, leaving her suddenly without the only home she’s ever known. The shelter has been a big adjustment for this gentle girl, and she’s hoping for a calm, loving family who can offer her the comfort and stability she’s missing. If you’ve been thinking about adopting, come meet sweet Gracie this week—you could be just what she’s waiting for.
Call 615.352.1010 or visit nashvillehumane.org Located at 213 Oceola Ave., Nashville, TN 37209
Adopt. Bark. Meow. Microchip. Neuter. Spay.
spirit of Nashville’s music community.” This year, the award goes to Burnett and the Grand Ole Opry, timed with the 100th anniversary of the radio show. Special surprise Opry guests will be in attendance along with Burnett, known for his five-decade musical career. “Being recognized by the Nashville Symphony and sharing this honor with T Bone Burnett is a real highlight in this milestone year,” says Dan Rogers, senior vice president and executive producer of the Grand Ole Opry, in a statement. “It’s a nod to every performer, musician and fan who’s been part of the Opry family.” Tickets for the white-tie gala benefit the work of the orchestra to offer free performances and education initiatives to students across the city. MARGARET LITTMAN
6 P.M. AT THE SCHERMERHORN
1 SYMPHONY PLACE
Saturday evening, 3rd and Lindsley will host the 13th annual edition of Mike Farris’ The Soul of Christmas show. The Nashville soul man and his hot 12-person backing band take traditional Christmas songs — such as “Silent Night,” “Merry Christmas Baby” and fan favorite “Winter Wonderland” — and give them Memphis soul and funk arrangements. At Saturday’s show, Farris will be accompanied by guitarist-vocalist Kevin Clayborn, bassist Jonathan Nixon, keyboardist Jeremy Nixon, drummer Jordan Hymon, percussionist Giovanni Rodriguez, tenor saxophonist Chris West, trombonist Varney Green, trumpeter Crystal Howard, baritone saxophonist Adrian Barnett and vocalists Sonya Clayborn, Samson White and Kimmi Mont. “It’s hard to describe the show properly, because nobody’s ever done a Christmas show like this,” Farris tells the Scene. “I’ve never heard of a show where somebody’s taken all the Christmas standards and turned them into Memphis soul music. All it takes is for people to come see the show one time, and it’s over.” While The Soul of Christmas shows have become an annual tradition for many fans, Farris doesn’t perform the same set each year. “I look at a whole list of songs every year.”
DARYL SANDERS
8 P.M. AT 3RD AND LINDSLEY 818 THIRD AVE. S.
[SANTA CLAWS]
HOLIDAY
EAST NASHVILLE KRAMPUSLAUF & HOLLY JOLLY KRAMPUS PEEPSHOW
It’s time for a cameo from everyone’s favorite bearded, bell-adorned, folklore-inspired winter icon! No, not Santa Claus. And OK, fine. Krampus — the mythical wintertime creature of Austrian lore — isn’t quite as popular as his companion St. Nick. But the demonic Alpine beast known for punishing ill-behaved children has had a cultural resurgence over the past decade or two, inspiring cosplayers, goth types and other darkness-embracers to celebrate the creepier side of Christmas tradition. We Music City dwellers even have our very own Nashville Krampus, who’ll be joining his pal,
local burlesque luminary Lux-O-Matic, for a day of ribaldry and excess this weekend in East Nashville. From noon until 5 p.m., Krampus will be available for photos ($20 a pop) at Honeytree Meadery, where attendees can also expect drink specials and a vendor market. Around 6, it’s time for the Krampuslauf Bar Crawl, and after that, it’s back to Honeytree at 9 for the third annual Holly Jolly Krampus Peepshow, featuring burlesque performers Lux-O-Matic, Pyroglyphics, Bonnie Valentine and Caroline Zander. While the late-night revelry is free, tips are welcome and encouraged, and there will be a donation-based raffle with all proceeds benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank. Costumes are encouraged, naturally. D. PATRICK RODGERS
NOON UNTIL LATE AT HONEYTREE MEADERY AND IN FIVE POINTS
918 WOODLAND ST.
[GIMME A TICKET]
MUSIC
Like many arts institutions in the era of Trump, Murfreesboro roots music radio station WMOT has suffered from budget cuts. Sunday at The Basement East, a group of great Nashville musicians will gather to help raise funds for WMOT. Hosted by roots rocker King Corduroy, the event will feature Music City luminaries like Elizabeth Cook, Maggie Rose, Guthrie Trapp and Webb Wilder. They’ll be performing Joe Cocker’s 1970 live album Mad Dogs & Englishmen in its entirety, and it promises to be a lively look at what you might call a classic of Classic Rock. By 1970, rock ’n’ roll had shifted into a postBeatles, post-soul era that combined blues and R&B with the emergent sounds of heavy rock. Cocker’s recasting of Wayne Carson’s song “The Letter” — first cut by the Box Tops in 1967 — was recorded for Mad Dogs during rehearsals for the live shows. The album also features Cocker and a band that included Leon Russell, guitarist Don Preston, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. It’s a guided tour of rock in 1970 that includes the band’s takes on The Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women” and Russell’s “Delta Lady.” Also on hand will be Aaron Lee Tasjan, Tim Easton and Shannon McNally, among a slew of other Music City notables. EDD HURT
8 P.M. AT THE BASEMENT EAST
917 WOODLAND ST.
If your holiday spirit is less sugarplum fairy and more gothic winter vibes, grab your finest masquerade mask and head to Night Mass, an Eyes Wide Shut-inspired party at Rosemary & Beauty Queen. While most parties this season are asking you to don your cheery holiday best, the dress code for this event is dark formalwear — think an outfit you’d wear to a secret society meeting, or an occult aesthetic. Setting the vibes for the evening are DJs NazzD666 and Dame
who will be playing a mix of genres including
CIMORELLI
darkwave, goth rock, post-punk and horrorcore. Shadowed Pages Mobile Bookshop will be set up with a hand-picked selection of books for the evening. Adding another element of mystery to the evening: live tarot readings and a tattoo pop-up, plus other local vendors. Tickets, masks and a password are all required. Full details can be found @NightMass615 on Instagram.
TINA DOMINGUEZ
6 P.M. AT ROSEMARY & BEAUTY QUEEN 1102 FOREST AVE.
THURS DEC 11
CONNOR KELLY & THE TIME WARP
FRI DEC 12
GOTTMIK + VIOLET CHACKI
FRI DEC 12
EMO NIGHT BROOKLYN
SAT DEC 13 GLYDERS
SUN DEC 14
STARLITO’S BIRTHDAY BASH
MON DEC 15
THE LATE LATE SHOW W/ CARLY BANNISTER
THU DEC 18
BEAR GRILLZ
FRI DEC 19
A FOREIGNER’S JOURNEY TO BOSTON
FRI DEC 19
SOUTHERN ACCENTS: TRIBUTE TO TOM PETTY
SAT DEC 20
ALL YOUR FRIENDS - INDIE DANCE PARTY
FRI JAN 10
CASEY DONAHEW
LAUNDRY DAY
PETE YORN
THE EARLY NOVEMBER AND HELLOGOODBYE
FRI JAN 13
MON FEB 17
THU MAR 7
MONDAY / 12.15
BINGO [SINGO] VINYL BINGO
Times are tough, and Vinyl Tap, Nashville’s beloved combination bar and record store, is hosting its third annual holiday-themed Vinyl Bingo to raise funds for Second Harvest Food Bank to help get food on the tables of local Nashville folks in need. The night offers the chance for players to win bingo prizes from local retailers, record stores and labels, restaurants, bands and more. Bingo cards are only $5 each, and $20 for 5 cards. Last year, the event raised $4,000 for the food bank. With special guest DJs spinning holiday hits and burgers from Dreamburger food truck outside, what better way to spend a cold December evening? LILLY LUSE
6 P.M. AT VINYL TAP 2038 GREENWOOD AVE.
TUESDAY
MUSIC
[HARD TIMES] GREG FREEMAN
Singer and songwriter Greg Freeman’s
2022 debut album I Looked Out struck me as an attempt to update the sound of Pavement in the era of MJ Lenderman and Wednesday. Freeman was raised in Bethesda, Md., and moved to Burlington, Vt., to attend the University of Vermont, where he studied anthropology and religion. I Looked Out garnered good reviews, and his 2025 release Burnover marks the rise of an Americana-meets-indie-rock musician whose work has affinities with Lenderman’s. Critics have compared Freeman to everyone from Warren Zevon to Jason Molina and Stephen Malkmus, and Freeman’s emotional — and tightly controlled — vocals definitely remind me of Molina’s. The songs on Burnover work off the timeless chord progressions and tense arrangements you hear on Crack the Sky’s 1976 Animal Notes or Big Star’s 1974 Radio City Still, this is now, and Freeman’s ear for catchy music and eye for detail make Burnover a fascinating look at hard times in America during the destructive actions of the second Trump administration. My favorite track is “Gallic Shrug,” which is a song title that’s been waiting in the ether for a long time. Power-pop band Jawdropped opens. EDD HURT
8 P.M. AT THE BLUE ROOM AT THIRD MAN RECORDS 623 SEVENTH AVE. S.
FRI MAR 20
w/ phin (7PM) the prescriptions, sam hoffman, & miller tracy (9PM)
Griffin Winton w/ Upset Boy & The Queens and Suzie Chism (6PM) nashville sa center benefit show (9PM) Beau burnette
A
BY ELI MOTYCKA
DELI EXPANSIONS AND newly opened fine sandwich purveyors have finally brought Nashville into its bread, meat and cheese moment. Lunch rushes and expansions indicate booming business for anyone slinging fast, tasty, handheld lunch, particularly for the Italian-inclined palate. The sandwich wave — if it endures — also signals a taste shift for a city that has historically pledged its lunch hour to meat-and-threes, many of which have fought closure or morphed into novelty meals, rather than regular stops, in today’s Nashville.
Both Little Hats Italian Market and 51st Deli have aggressively branched out from original spots in Germantown and The Nations, respectively, hoping to leverage neighborhood brands into city favorites. New entries All’Antico Vinaio (a small chain with locations on the East and West coasts, now expanded to Nashville) and Ingrassia & Sons put the heat lamp on Italy with menus full of chewy-crunchy focaccia and cured meats. Established counters like Bill’s Sandwich Palace and Mitchell Delicatessen have clearly won over dedicated crowds, frequently commanding lunch queues serviced by assembly-line service behind the counter.
A charcuterie craze in the early 2020s helped secure the place of specialty meats like salami,
prosciutto, bresaola and mortadella in the American mainstream. Internationally beloved cheeses like Gouda and stracciatella expanded the dairy frontier for a country raised on cheddar and mozzarella. Spreads came too, adding pestos and aiolis to ketchups, mayos and mustards. It’s not hard to get hooked on salt and fats.
Viewers have bonded with moody chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, played by Jeremy Allen White, as he made warm sandwiches hot at a fictional Chicago Italian beef shop on Hulu’s The Bear Sandwiches carry global appeal for their calorie-dense flexibility, customizability, portability and deliciousness. At a categorical level, they tuck food between bread, usually meat and cheese and often harmonized by a condiment or piqued with strategic vegetables. The city has several excellent vegetarian variations too, including an entirely vegan shop in the BE Hive Deli & Market on Gallatin Avenue in East Nashville. Combining classics with frequent specials and customization ensures variety, a surefire way for delis to build regular customer bases. From wide beverage arrays and fresh side items like salads or desserts, meals emerge. Customers do not all sit like at a cafe — though they can — and typically receive food that’s wrapped and packed, a practice convenient for lunch and foot
traffic. Usually folded wax paper, or tinfoil for hot sandwiches, gets involved.
Nashville delis build brands around the sandwich but reach across cuisines in service of the genre’s essential value proposition: options.
Beloved 51st Deli has a full Latin American menu and popular breakfast burrito. The busy all-day deli has been a community anchor at the corner of 51st Avenue and Centennial Boulevard and recently expanded to Brentwood, added a second West Nashville location down Charlotte Pike and nabbed a central West End location previously home to Hugh Baby’s and Which Wich. Spread Market & Larder in Germantown makes deli fare equally French and Southern, often selling out its limited sandwich inventory by the early afternoon.
Sandwich counter All’Antico Vinaio simultaneously plopped two Nashville shops this year in The Gulch and Midtown. It has veritable Florentine roots and a menu steeped in Italian sandwiches but offers little else — including no sides — testing the roundedness demanded by most “deli” definitions.
Italian delis like Little Hats and Ingrassia & Sons carry their own culinary cachet and expectations.
“There are three or four staples we had to
have: chicken Parm, eggplant Parm, meatball hero sub, for example,” says John Ingrassia, a music industry veteran who opened Ingrassia & Sons in Wedgewood-Houston four months ago. “We want people to come in and be reminded of an Italian American deli they might have had in their life, plus a few unique things, done as good as it can be. It’s a deli, but conceptually, it’s fine dining.”
Ingrassia recruited his godson Jack Trooper back from Manhattan, where Trooper had worked with molecular chef Wylie Dufresne and in top-tier kitchens like Eleven Madison Park. Trooper applies the same attention to detail to sandwiches.
“Most sandwich shops don’t bake their own bread, and we decided we were going to do that,” Trooper tells the Scene in the deli’s seating area. “We spend three days making the porchetta, which we chop more like barbecue rather than slice. We add stracciatella, pesto we make in-house and sundried tomatoes, because we didn’t want another boring turkey sandwich. All that back-end stuff to make it feel really special. We’ll slice our meats and cheese for you, plus the small Italian market, pastas, sauces — we’re aiming to feel a little more like a part of the neighborhood.” ▼
Berry Hill’s Miniature Cottage nears 50 years of collectible minutiae
BY HANNAH HERNER
AT MINIATURE COTTAGE, one of the country’s few shops dedicated solely to miniature things, a customer has a warning for the visiting Scene staff: “It’s a disease.”
Miniature connoisseurs describe the hobby this way: It’s something you get hooked on — an obsession. Once you become interested in miniatures, it never leaves you. And despite their size, they’ll take over your home and your bank account. “It’s the third-most collectible thing after stamps and coins,” owner Reneé Marlowe cautions the Scene at the Berry Hill storefront.
Miniature Cottage has been open since 1977, and Marlowe took over in 2004. The inventory is based on a 1-to-12 scale, meaning one inch represents one foot. Then there’s “half scale” at 1-to-24 and “quarter scale” at 1-to-48. In the store, customers can find furniture, food, books, art, beauty products, toys and light fixtures from all eras, as well as handmade doll kits created by Marlowe. You can get an old dollhouse refurbished, build a custom home with the shop’s miniature builders, or just secure something for a trinket shelf.
Marlowe comes to the business with an artist’s lens.
“It’s just a wonderful hobby,” she says. “It incorporates all of your skills. If you sew, if you do macramé, if you paint — you can do it all in miniature.”
She points out a porcelain doll playing a violin on display in her office.
“My mother made him before she passed away, and she was the root of all evil,” she jokes. “She got me started loving the miniatures.”
If a love of tiny things is hereditary — and she suspects it is — then for Marlowe, the gene comes from both sides. She didn’t know her father as a child, but when she met him as an adult, she was thrilled to find tiny wooden boats, trains and a working miniature Ferris wheel in his home.
Marlowe took over from previous owner Jean Flippen, who originally bought the store in 1980. The pair still works hand in hand — Flippen has taught Marlowe the business and inventory side of things, while Marlowe has expanded the store’s artistic offerings.
“She’s the only person I’ve ever known that could pour a doll mold in porcelain, fire it, clean it, wig it, paint it, dress it,” Flippen says of Harlowe. “She has the most incredible eyes. Her eyes are the best I’ve seen.”
Flippen was never interested in dolls or dollhouses as a child — a fact that she credits to a household of two brothers and sports-reporter father. Still, she’d go into the woods behind her childhood home and make fairy houses. Her most prized recent piece is a tiny toy candy train with peppermints for wheels. Even at 85, Flippen rarely uses a magnifying glass. Her close vision has always been good, and an eye surgery
made it even sharper.
“A person that always loves tiny things is hooked,” Flippen says. “I always loved tiny things, even as a child.”
The patrons of the store are mainly adult collectors, often re-creating the homes they grew up in or their grandparents’ homes. For Harlowe’s family, the miniature gene skipped a generation. Her grandchildren create miniature scenes to post online.
“This generation is more minimalist,” Harlowe says of Gen X. “My mother’s generation collected china, and they collected silver and they collected things. I wasn’t as big of a collector till I found miniatures as I am now. My children like wide-open spaces and not too much stuff out.”
In the past it was “Victorian, Victorian, Victorian,” she says. These days, the most popular design style is midcentury modern. Traditional Southern homes like those of the Gone With the
Wind era also often include less-than-modern servant dolls.
Harlowe is happy to see the art form evolve — including collaboration with miniature artists who use 3D printing.
“The good thing about miniatures is it’s timeless,” Harlowe says. “It can change, but still be relevant.”
While the Miniature Cottage offers any materials necessary to create a home or one-room box, Harlowe insists that professional materials aren’t required.
“The beauty of the miniature world is that you don’t have to have a lot of money to make miniatures,” she says. “You just have to have an imagination — that’s all.”
Property taxes keep going up at the sought-after Berry Hill real estate, and tariffs put a damper on the Asian imports stocking the store, but Miniature Cottage continues on. The shop will begin hosting a club for Nashville-area miniature enthusiasts to learn the craft in January.
“Fortunately, God has blessed me, and so I get to do what I want to do, and I want to stay here,” Harlowe says. “I don’t have to sell it. It’s not logical to stay here, but logic never was a driving force in me anyway.” ▼
MINIATURE COTTAGE, 410 E. IRIS DRIVE
MINIATURECOTTAGE.COM
BY TINA CALDWELL
Vodka Yonic features a rotating cast of women, nonbinary and gender-diverse 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.
I look over at the cemetery — a deer reclines upon the steep, grassy bank.
“Want me to see if she’s dead?” the man asks. I nod my head and tell my husband I’ll take pictures of the car to send to him. My fingers slide over my phone screen while I continue talking to my husband, watching my new friend lift the deer’s head, hold it for a bit, then release. It thumps to the ground. He does this twice more — lift, hold, thump. Lift, hold, thump.
I DRIVE MY husband’s Subaru home to West Virginia because my Honda Pilot is 22 years old and tired. The car clings to the curves of I-64 while the podcast Old Gods of Appalachia plays. Its mixture of real danger and imagined monsters feels just right, especially as I’m driving in the same mountains where fuel tankers and coal trucks cross lines, but I’m expected to stay in my lane.
I’m traveling to be with my mother and sister one year after the death of my father. I miss him. It seems as if the three months he suffered — in and out of hospitals, rehab centers and his own home — lasted much longer than the 12 months he’s been gone. My mother is stooped with grief. Her due north has disappeared, and she is without direction.
I miss my dad’s stories.
He had several, and he told them on repeat. There were Walmart stories, steel mill (known around Huntington as the nickel plant) stories, small-town West Virginia stories, Army stories. It didn’t matter how many times you’d heard them — and it certainly didn’t matter if you were working on a deadline, as I often was. He was going to tell his stories to completion. You might as well get comfortable.
I’m 15 miles into West Virginia and frustrated by endless construction. I slip off the interstate and onto Route 60. Still in an interstate daze, I pass a Subaru dealership and idly wonder about replacing the 22-year-old Honda Pilot. In front of the cemetery where my best friend is buried, a caramel-colored flash and explosive thump jolt me. I careen onto the shoulder amid dips and thuds.
I call my husband, whimpering that I’ve hit a deer and I think it’s underneath me. He asks if the road is safe enough for me to get out to check on the damage. Traffic buzzes scant inches away. I should make my way to the mental health facility’s parking lot just ahead, but I don’t want to run over the deer again. My husband insists.
Fine. I inch the car forward, and it’s bumpy. I gag. I whimper. I bravely look in the rearview mirror, but see only cavernous potholes.
I step outside, shaking, taking my husband with me on speaker, describing the damage. It’s not bad, but there’s a lot of hair. A bedraggled fellow shuffles crookedly toward me from the direction of the facility and asks if I’m OK. I tell him I am.
He proclaims, “She is deceased.” There is a break between each syllable, so it sounds like he says “diseased.”
He limps back, continuing to call out, “She is deceased,” and I cry to my phone, “She’s dead!”
“Huh?” says a voice, so I repeat. “She’s dead! She’s dead!”
There is silence on the other end. “This is the veterinarian? And I was calling about Thor?”
Apparently, while I have been taking photographs, I’ve also answered an incoming call.
“Oh! Thor’s not dead, thanks to y’all. I just hit a deer and she’s dead. She’s dead!”
Silence. Then: “I think I’ve called at a bad time.”
My new friend stands by my side. I don’t have the good sense to worry about the possibility that he’s dangerous, so we talk. He wonders aloud about a pile of fur and innards in the middle of Route 60, says it’s been there for a couple of weeks. A different creature meeting the same fate as the deer in the cemetery. I wonder aloud if I should call the non-emergency number for the police. We stand in silent camaraderie. I must make him brave, because he decides to check out the pile of fur and innards in the middle of Route 60. He walks his crooked walk into the highway. I call the non-emergency number.
He stands in the middle of the road, cars whizzing dangerously close to him. With the same assurance he proclaimed the deer deceased, he hollers: “It’s a raccoon!” I hope the man doesn’t suffer the same fate as these animals.
We go our separate ways, but now I have a story. When I tell it to my mother, brightness briefly returns to her sky-blue eyes as she laughs and laughs. She repeats She is disseased! to me throughout my visit. I tell my sister. I tell my niece. I tell the clerk in a Huntington novelty shop, continuing to tell him even as he looks down, around, anywhere but at me. I can’t stop until the story is finished. I tell family, neighbors, friends and strangers. My audience is trapped. I cannot stop telling the deer story. And like my dad, I will tell it to its completion.
I still miss my dad. But I can miss him a little less knowing his storytelling lives on in me.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12
www.belcourt.org for all films and showtimes. 2102 Belcourt Avenue Nashville, TN 37212
The Secret Agent shows just how strong the jaws of authoritarianism are BY
KEN ARNOLD
DESPITE SOCIETY’S HISTORICAL amnesia, our history informs our current reality. Brazil is a nation still impacted by the trauma of a military dictatorship that reigned from 1964 until 1985 following a CIA-backed coup d’etat.
Saturday, December 13
RETAIL POP-UP
Loveless Cafe
Jam and Apple Butter Tasting
11:00 am · THE MUSEUM STORE
Saturday, December 13
SONGWRITER SESSION Ryan Hurd
NOON · FORD THEATER
Sunday, December 14
HOLIDAY POP-UP Ornaments at Hatch Show Print
10:00 am · HATCH SHOW PRINT SHOP
Sunday, December 14
MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT
The McCrary Sisters
1:00 pm · FORD THEATER
Saturday, December 20
HOLIDAY POP-UP
Free Photos with Santa 10:00 am · THE MUSEUM STORE
Saturday, December 20
HOLIDAY POP-UP
Sugar Cookie Decorating
11:00 am · RED ONION
Saturday, December 20
SONGWRITER SESSION Bobby Tomberlin NOON · FORD THEATER
Saturday, December 20
POETS AND PROPHETS Steve Earle
2:30 pm · FORD THEATER
WITNESS HISTORY
Local Kids Always Visit Free Plan a trip to the Museum! Local youth 18 and under who are residents of Nashville-Davidson and bordering counties always visit free, plus 25% off admission for up to two accompanying adults.
In recent years, Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil’s president from 2019 until 2023) has offered a rose-tinted revisionist history of the military occupation, depicting it as a golden age of Brazil.
Wagner Moura knows firsthand what that means: His directorial debut, 2019’s Marighella, faced government censorship. After Bolsonaro was voted out of office, the former president was arrested for his involvement in an attempt to overturn the election results. In response to the end of Bolsonaro’s reign, we are now seeing an influx of media depicting the bleak reality of the era so beloved by Bolsonaro. First came Walter Salles’ Oscar-winning I’m Still Here, which was a 2024 box office smash in Brazil.
Now Moura stars in acclaimed director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, another story of the military-occupation era that is also currently winning at the Brazilian box office.
In 1977, former professor Armando (Moura) arrives in the Brazilian city of Recife — still ruled by the authoritarian military government. With a new identity and hoping to escape persecution from the government, he attempts to work and be with his family, navigating threats from hitmen and corrupt police. Told partially from his perspective and partially from that of modern-day history student Flavia (Laura Lufési), Armando’s past, present and future slowly unravel, and the truths of this man and this era are revealed.
Recife is the heart of this film. It is director KMF’s hometown, and is also among the most deadly fatal-shark-attack locations in the world.
(The authoritarian government’s construction of the Port of Suape in the 1970s was a key factor in sharks migrating to the area.) The shark is the perfect metaphor for the lurking
dangers Armando faces in Recife. KMF returns frequently to shark imagery in reinforcing Armando’s crushing paranoia — from moments as overt as the opening weekend of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws to something as subtle as a shark-tooth necklace worn by a hitman. Even a reference to a mythical creature of local legend, Perna Cabeluda, makes an appearance via a shark.
While the story of Armando is fictional, it does resemble many stories of those impacted by the regime. Our modern-day perspective, shown from the historical researcher’s vantage, takes the scope of a grand mystery story and shrinks it down — this tale is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to this brutal and violent government’s history.
Due to a 1979 amnesty law that protected Brazil’s authoritarian leaders from prosecution, the nation never got to experience a sense of closure — the people in charge were able to walk away. As a nation with open wounds struggles with the ongoing consequences of its history, KMF and Moura show us the dangers of Bolsonaro’s nostalgia and the plague of historical amnesia. ▼
The Secret Agent NR, 158 minutes; in Portuguese with English subtitles Opening Friday, Dec. 12, at the Belcourt
49 See 47-Across
1 The 1987 film “Spaceballs,” e.g.
6 Things often included with a free subscription
9 Brazen
14 Wake-up call
15 Microscopic
16 Photo option
17 Prancing horse and golden bull, in the auto industry
18 Super Bowl LVI winner
19 More likely to make the correct choice
20 Kind of butter in beauty products
21 Skeptical sort
23 Critical item
24 SoCal area with the Latino Walk of Fame
26 Annual February/March event, with “the”
28 Pot papers
30 Daredevil’s mantra, in brief
31 Dressing choice
32 Vegetables in Cajun cuisine
34 Certain stumbling block ... or a hint to three pairs of symmetrically positioned answers in this puzzle
37 Nab
38 Nab
39 One in a gym set
41 Bungles
44 Hydrotherapy center
45 Finagled a discount, say
47 Language in which “zichzelf” is 49-Across
51 Non-Rx
52 Big shot
53 Language in which “drosmigs” is 57-Across
57 See 53-Across
61 Designates, in a way
62 Resistance to change?
63 Woman’s name invented by Jonathan Swift
64 One accepted into the family?
DOWN
1 Like many mustaches in film
2 Greeting found scrambled in part of “mahalo,” appropriately
3 Shows little sign of slowing down
4 Language in which “kabanica” is 10-Down
5 Museum’s entrance and exit?
6 Bad way to go
7 College official
8 Trailer opening?
9 Maker of the i4
10 See 4-Down
11 Lost
12 Animal in many a roundup
13 Groups in roundups
21 Get together for a party
22 Smart ___
25 Yearn
27 Canon collection, in brief
29 “Jeez Louise!”
30 “Jeez Louise!”
31 “A braggart, a ___, a villain ...”: “Romeo and Juliet”
33 Be in the military
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE D
34 Like some orders and tales
35 20%, perhaps
36 Spin
37 Closest pal, in brief
40 Source of a printout, often
42 Many a cult classic
43 Protests that aren’t going anywhere?
BY SAM BRODY
45 Beamed
46 Have high hopes
48 Skedaddles
50 Ask ___, socialite’s longtime tabloid advice column
53 John
54 Actress de Armas
55 Great deal
Secured Party im-proved by providing various ser-vice, labor, and parts.
Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-14104, notice is hereby given that Secured Party, pursuant to applica-ble law, will sell the Vehicle de-scribed above by Public Sale to be conducted as follows:
Date of Sale: December 22, 2025
Time of Sale: 12:00 p.m. CST
Place of Sale: Exo Legal PLLC 901 Woodland Street Nashville, Tennessee 37206
Agent for Creditor: Exo Legal PLLC
The Public Sale will be conducted by Exo Legal PLLC. For infor-mation, 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 post-pone the sale of any part of the Ve-hicle; 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, grant, convey, transfer, and deliver unto any 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 Vehi-cle will be
COURT FOR DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE FOUR SEASONS HOME-OWNERS ASSOCIATION,
Plaintiff,
v.
Docket No. 25-1215-IV HERMAN H. HIGA
Defendant.
56 Cryptology grp.
57 Zip
58 Put a PIN in it!
59 Actress Long of “Love Jones”
60 Color on the beach
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. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/ studentcrosswords.
ORDER OF PUBLICATION AND PUBLICATION NO-TICE
Pursuant to Tenn. Code. Ann. §§ 21-1204 and 205, appearing from allegations of the Complaint for Mone-tary Damages and Judicial Foreclosure filed on August 28, 2025, by the Plaintiff Four Seasons Homeowners Association, whose attorney is David M. Anthony, Exo Legal PLLC, 901 Woodland Street, Nashville, TN 37206, and the Motion for Service by Publication filed in this cause, being duly sworn to or from affidavit, that Her-man H. Higa, the Defendant, cannot be served with the ordinary process of law for the following reason: X non-resident of Tennessee X after diligent inquiry the whereabouts of the defend-ant cannot be ascertained X judicial and other attach-ments will lie against the property of the Defendant in the State of Tennessee
It is therefore ordered, that said Defendant enter an ap-pearance 30 days after the last publication and file an answer to the complaint, or judgment by default may be taken against Defendant for the relief demanded in the complaint. A copy of this or-der is to be published for four consecutive weeks in the Nashville Scene. The last known addresses for this defendant are: 327 Summit Ridge Circle, Nash-ville, TN 37215; and 8524 Via Mallorca, Unit G, La Jolla, California 92037. Date: November 26, 2025
By: Maria M. Salas, Clerk and Master
David M. Anthony (BPR # 19951) Exo Legal PLLC P.O. Box 121616 Nashville, TN 37212 (615) 869-0634 Attorneys for Plaintiff
NSC: 12/4, 12/11, 12/18, 12/25/25
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 No-tice of Claim of Mechanic’s/Arti-san’s Lien dated October 3, 2025, as amended hereby, holds a lien for repairs against a certain 2014 International 4000 VIN: 1HTMMAAL3EH766692 owned by Jones Trucking and Dispatching LLC, which
“as is”, “where is”, and “with all faults”, without any representations or warranties, ex-pressed or implied and subject to any prior liens or encumbrances, if any. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Secured Party has not made and will not make any representations or warranties regarding the Vehicle, the condition of the Vehicle, warranty of title or marketability of title and the con-veyance shall be with all defects and without any warranties, ex-pressed or implied, including war-ranties of merchantability, condi-tion, or of fitness for a general or particular purpose.
David M. Anthony, Exo Legal PLLC 901 Woodland Street; Nashville, Tennessee 37206
Telephone: (615) 869-0634 NSC 12/4, 12/11/25
FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE
WHEREAS, Timothy Brian Malone executed a Tennessee Deed of Trust, Security Agreement and Assignment of Rents and Leases dated February 26, 2025, of record at Instrument No. 20250325-0022338, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee, (the “Deed of Trust”) and conveyed to Michael Anthony Shaw, as Trustee, the herein-after described real property to secure the payment of certain indebtedness (“Indebted-ness”) owed to Edgefield Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ( “Lender”); and WHEREAS, default in payment of the Indebtedness secured by the Deed of Trust has occurred; and WHEREAS, David M. Anthony (“Trustee”) has been appointed Substitute Trustee by Lender by that Appointment of Substitute Trustee of record at Instrument 20251020-0083417, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee, with authority to act alone or by a designated agent with the powers given the Trustee in the Deed of Trust and by applicable law; and WHEREAS, Lender, the owner and holder of said Indebtedness, has demanded that the real property be advertised and sold in satisfaction of said Indebtedness and the costs of the foreclosure, in accordance with the terms and provisions of the loan documents and Deed of Trust. NOW, THEREFORE, notice is hereby given that the Trustee, pursuant to the power, duty and authority vested in and imposed upon the Trustee under the Deed of Trust and applicable law, will on Friday, December 19, 2025, at 1:15 o’clock p.m., prevailing Nashville time, on the steps of the historic Davidson County Courthouse, 1 Public Square, Nashville, Tennessee 37201, offer for sale to the highest and best bidder for cash and free from all rights and equity of redemption, statutory right of redemption or otherwise, homestead, dower, elective share and all
The Land referred to herein below is situated in the County of Davidson, State of Tennessee, and is described as follows:
Being in the 13th formerly the 23rd, Civil District of said County and State, being part of Lot No. 11 on the plan of the partition of the Elias Simpkins Estate, as of record in plan book 2, page 65, Chancery Court at Nashville for said County and a 2.53 acre tract of land lying east of and adjacent to said Lot No. 11 described together as follows:
Beginning at a point on the easterly margin of the Hydes Ferry Pike or State Highway No. 12, 5.8 feet northerly from the southwest corner of a part of Lot No. 11 conveyed to Estelle E. Bess by Henry Jones and wife, by deed of record in Book 1295, page 294, Register’s Office for said County; thence north 42 deg. 45’ east 143.4 feet to an iron pin; thence north 38 deg. 45’ west 151.6 feet to an iron pin; thence south 42 deg. 45’ west 19.5 feet to an iron pin, the southeast corner of a part of Lot No. 11 conveyed to Lewis J. Daniels and wife, by John G. Glaus and wife, by deed of record in Book __, Page __, said Register’s Office; thence with the eastern boundary line of said Daniels’ property, north 39 deg. 45’ west 103 feet to an iron pin, the southeast corner of the property conveyed to C.D. Taylor and wife, by Andy J. Glaus and wife, by deed of record in Book 2045, Page 523, said Register’s Office; thence with the eastern boundary line of said Taylor property north 36 deg. 30’ west 138 feet to an old iron pin, the southeast corner of the property conveyed to Oliver W. Davenport and wife, by Gilbert E. Martin and wife, by deed of record in Book 2019, Page 25, said Register’s Office; north 41 deg. West 206 feet to an old iron pin, Davenport’s northeast corner; thence north 36 deg. 30’ west 350 feet, more or less, to the center of White’s Creek; thence with the center of said Creek north 39 deg. East 90 feet; thence south 39 deg. 45’ east 990 feet,
more or less, to the northerly margin of a 50 foot unnamed roadway; thence with said margin south 41 deg. 15’ west 227.8 feet to an iron pin on the easterly margin of said Hydes Ferry Pike; thence with said margin north 47 deg. 30’ west 55.8 feet to the beginning.
Being the same property conveyed to Timothy Brian Malone by Quitclaim Deed of record at Instrument No. 20221018-0113497, Davidson County Register of Deeds Office.
Map/Parcel No: 069-07-0-017.00
Street Address: The street address of the property is believed to be 4208 Ashland City Highway, Nashville, Tennessee 37218, but such address is not part of the legal description of the property. In the event of any discrepancy, the legal description herein shall control. Other interested parties: Dooley Bradley; Regions Bank. THIS PROPERTY IS SOLD AS IS, WHERE IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AND SUBJECT TO ANY PRIOR LIENS OR ENCUMBRANCES, IF ANY. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, THE PROPERTY IS SOLD WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO TITLE, MARKETABILITY OF TITLE, POSSESSION, QUIET ENJOINMENT OR THE LIKE AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, CONDITION, QUALITY OR FITNESS FOR A GENERAL OR PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE. As to all or any part of the Property, the right is reserved to (i) delay, continue or adjourn the sale to another time certain or to another day and time certain, without further publication and in accordance with law, upon announcement of said delay, continuance or adjournment on the day and time and place of sale set forth above or any subsequent delayed, continued or adjourned day and time and place of sale; (ii) sell at the time fixed by this Notice or the date and time of the last delay, continuance or adjournment or to give new notice of sale; (iii) sell in such lots, parcels, segments, or separate estates as Trustee may choose; (iv) sell any part and delay, continue, adjourn, cancel, or postpone the sale of any part of the Property; (v) sell in whole and then sell in parts and consummate the sale in which-
ever manner produces the highest sale price; (vi) and/or to sell to the next highest bidder in the event any high bidder does not comply with the terms of the sale. Substitute Trustee will make no covenant of seisin, marketability of title or warranty of title, express or implied, and will sell and convey the subject real property by Trustee’s Quitclaim Deed as Substitute Trustee only. This sale is subject to all matters shown on any applicable recorded Plat or Plan; any unpaid taxes and assessments (plus penalties, interest, and costs) which exist as a lien against said property; any restrictive covenants, easements or setback lines that may be applicable; any rights of redemption, equity, statutory or otherwise, not otherwise waived in the Deed of Trust, including rights of redemption of any governmental agency, state or federal; and any and all prior deeds of trust, liens, dues, assessments, encumbrances, defects, adverse claims and other matters that may take priority over the Deed of Trust upon which this foreclosure sale is conducted or are not extinguished by this Foreclosure Sale. This sale is also subject to any matter that an inspection and accurate survey of the property might disclose.
As of July 1, 2025, notices pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 35-5-101 et seq. are posted online at https://foreclosuretennessee.com by a third-party internet posting company.
THIS 26th day of November 2025.
David M. Anthony, Substitute Trustee
EXO LEGAL PLLC P.O. Box 121616 Nashville, TN 37212
david@exole-gal.com - 615-869-0634
NSC 11/27, 12/4, 12/11/25
FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE
WHEREAS, Timothy Brian Malone and Lakesha Baldwin Malone, executed a Tennessee Deed of Trust, Security Agreement and Assignment of Rents and Leases dated February 26, 2025, of record at Instrument No. 20250325-0022243, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee, (the “Deed of Trust”) and conveyed to Michael Anthony Shaw, as Trustee, the hereinafter described real property to secure the payment of certain
indebtedness (“Indebtedness”) owed to Edgefield Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ( “Lender”); and WHEREAS, default in payment of the Indebtedness secured by the Deed of Trust has occurred; and WHEREAS, David M. Anthony (“Trustee”) has been appointed Substitute Trustee by Lender by that Appointment of Substitute Trustee of record at Instrument 20251020-0083416, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee, with authority to act alone or by a designated agent with the powers given the Trustee in the Deed of Trust and by applicable law; and WHEREAS, Lender, the owner and holder of said Indebtedness, has demanded that the real property be advertised and sold in satisfaction of said Indebtedness and the costs of the foreclosure, in accordance with the terms and provisions of the loan documents and Deed of Trust.
NOW, THEREFORE, notice is hereby given that the Trustee, pursuant to the power, duty and authority vested in and imposed upon the Trustee under the Deed of Trust and applicable law, will on Friday, December 19, 2025, at 1:00 o’clock p.m., prevailing Nashville time, on the steps of the historic Davidson County Courthouse, 1 Public Square, Nashville, Tennessee 37201, offer for sale to the highest and best bidder for cash and free from all rights and equity of redemption, statutory right of redemption or otherwise, homestead, dower, elective share and all other rights and exemptions of every kind as waived in said Deed of Trust, certain real property situated in Davidson County, Tennessee, described as follows: Legal Description: The real property is described in the Deed of Trust at Instrument 20250325-0022243, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee.
The Land referred to herein below is situated in the County of Davidson, State of Tennessee, and is described as follows: Land in Davidson County, Tennessee, being Lot No. 22 on the plan of WEAKLEY AND DODD’S SUBDIVISION OF LOT NO. 17 IN BROOKLYN, as shown by plat of record in Plat Book 57, page 126, in the Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more complete description. Said Lot No. 22 fronts 50 feet on the
southerly side of Highview Avenue and runs back 1481/3 feet on the easterly line and 150 feet on the westerly line with the easterly margin of Weakley Avenue to an alley, measuring 50 feet, more or less, thereon.
This being the same property conveyed from a parcel of land conveyed to TLM HOLDING LLC by Quitclaim Deed from LAKESHA BALDWIN MALONE and TIMOTHY BRIAN MALONE. The said Quitclaim Deed is of record as Instrument No. 202201250009091 in the Register’s Office of Davidson County, Tennessee, to which a reference is here had.
Being the same property conveyed to Lakesha Baldwin Malone and Timothy Baldwin Malone by Quitclaim Deed of record at Instrument No. 202210180113498, Davidson County Register of Deeds Office.
Map/Parcel No: 071-14-0-090.00
Street Address: The street address of the property is believed to be 132 Fern Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37207, but such address is not part of the legal description of the property. In the event of any discrepancy, the legal description herein shall control.
Other interested parties: Rocket Mortgage, LLC dba Quicken Loans Inc.; Freedom Mortgage Corporation; Pinnacle Bank; Dooley Bradley; Regions Bank. THIS PROPERTY IS SOLD AS IS, WHERE IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AND SUBJECT TO ANY PRIOR LIENS OR ENCUMBRANCES, IF ANY. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, THE PROPERTY IS SOLD WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO TITLE, MARKETABILITY OF TITLE, POSSESSION, QUIET ENJOINMENT OR THE LIKE AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, CONDITION, QUALITY OR FITNESS FOR A GENERAL OR PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE.
As to all or any part of the Property, the right is reserved to (i) delay, continue or adjourn the sale to another time certain or to another day and time certain, without further publication and in accordance with law, upon announcement of said delay,
continuance or adjournment on the day and time and place of sale set forth above or any subsequent delayed, continued or adjourned day and time and place of sale; (ii) sell at the time fixed by this Notice or the date and time of the last delay, continuance or adjournment or to give new notice of sale; (iii) sell in such lots, parcels, segments, or separate estates as Trustee may choose; (iv) sell any part and delay, continue, adjourn, cancel, or postpone the sale of any part of the Property; (v) sell in whole and then sell in parts and consummate the sale in whichever manner produces the highest sale price; (vi) and/or to sell to the next highest bidder in the event any high bidder does not comply with the terms of the sale.
Substitute Trustee will make no covenant of seisin, marketability of title or warranty of title, express or implied, and will sell and convey the subject real property by Trustee’s Quitclaim Deed as Substitute Trustee only.
This sale is subject to all matters shown on any applicable recorded Plat or Plan; any unpaid taxes and assessments (plus penalties, interest, and costs) which exist as a lien against said property; any restrictive covenants, easements or setback lines that may be applicable; any rights of redemption, equity, statutory or otherwise, not otherwise waived in the Deed of Trust, including rights of redemption of any governmental agency, state or federal; and any and all prior deeds of trust, liens, dues, assessments, encumbrances, defects, adverse claims and other matters that may take priority over the Deed of Trust upon which this foreclosure sale is conducted or are not extinguished by this Foreclosure Sale. This sale is also subject to any matter that an inspection and accurate survey of the property might disclose.
As of July 1, 2025, notices pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 355101 et seq. are posted online at https://foreclosuretennessee.com by a thirdparty internet posting company.
THIS 26th day of November, 2025.
David M. Anthony, Substitute Trustee EXO LEGAL PLLC P.O. Box 121616 Nashville, TN 37212
LOCAL ATTRACTIONS
Broadway
The Nashville Zoo
NEIGHBORHOOD DINING & DRINKS
Big Machine Distillery
12-South Tap Room
Tin Roof
ENJOY THE OUTDOORS
Moss-Wright Park
Centennial Park
Fair Park Dog Park
Southside Kitchen and Pub
The Nashville Zoo
david@exolegal.com
LEGAL NOTICE
Howard C. Gentry, Jr., Criminal Court Clerk
It is my privilege as your elected Criminal Court Clerk to notify all citizens of Davidson County, that relative to grand jury proceedings, it is the duty of your grand jurors to investigate any public offense which they know or have reason to believe has been committed and which is triable or indictable in Davidson County. In addition to cases presented to the grand jury by your District Attorney, any citizen may peti- tion the foreperson (foreman) of the grand jury for permission to testify concerning any offense in Davidson County. This is subject to provisions set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated 40-12-105. Pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated 40-12-104 and 40-12-105, the application to testify by any citizen must be accompanied by a sworn affidavit stating the facts or summarizing the proof which forms the basis of allegations contained in that application. Your grand jury foreperson is Brooke Farzad. Their address is 222 Second Avenue North, Washington Square Building, Suite 510, Nashville, Tennes-see 37201. The grand jury will meet at 8:15A.M. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 9:00A.M. on Wednesdays starting Jan. 6th 2026 for three (3) months, ending March 19th 2026. Submission of an affi-davit which the applicant knows to be false in material regard shall be punishable as perjury. Any citizen testifying before the grand jury as to any material fact known to that citizen to be false shall be punisha-ble as perjury. For a request for ac-commodation, please contact 862-4260. NSC 12/11/25
Provide
and
James the Less Episcopal Church. Location: Madison, TN. May telecommute periodically from a location within normal commuting distance of Madison, TN. Incidental domestic travel required. Housing allowance provided. To apply, please mail a resume to J. Howard at 3700 Woodmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37215.
The Escape Game
Brother’s Burgers
Southside Kitchen & Pub
Eastern Peak
Radnor Lake State Park
Rockland Recreation Center
