Nashville Scene 7-10-25

HOW TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WILL IMPACT TENNESSEANS’ HEALTH >> PAGE 8 FOOD/TRAVEL: A NASHVILLIAN’S GUIDE TO ICELAND >> PAGE 26

SCOPES AT 100

WITNESS HISTORY

These baby blue boots, hand-painted and beaded by costume designer Bambi Breakstone, were worn by Dolly Parton at the 2002 photoshoot for her album Halos & Horns, shot by portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz.

From the exhibit Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker

artifact: Courtesy of Dolly Parton artifact photo: Bob Delevante

Civic Design Center Celebrates Milestones

During Boulevard Debate Redux

Current discussions around East Bank echo the conflict that sparked influential urban design forums 30 years ago BY

ELI MOTYCKA

Pith in the Wind

This week on the Scene’s news and politics blog

How the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Impact Tennesseans’ Health

The Trump-backed federal budget package will slash TennCare, SNAP funding BY HANNAH

HERNER

Mark Green Officially Resigns From Congress

Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District representative to start company ‘to help America compete against the Chinese Communist Party’ BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

COVER STORY

Scopes at 100

A century after the Scopes ‘Monkey Trial,’ America is still animated by the debates that roiled Dayton, Tenn. BY LEON ALLIGOOD, NASHVILLE BANNER

CRITICS’ PICKS

Yo La Tengo & Built to Spill, Mike Floss, Tristen & Cortney Tidwell, Chris Fleming and more

FOOD/TRAVEL

A Nashvillian’s Guide to Iceland

Friendly people, photogenic landscapes and famous hot dogs make direct flights to the Nordic island an excellent idea for Nashvillians BY ELLEN FORT

CULTURE

In the Club: Nashville Smut Lovers

This club wants to heat up your bookshelf, one page at a time BY TINA DOMINGUEZ

MUSIC

Be Your Own Boss

Talking to Hank Azaria, whose Bruce Springsteen tribute show is headed to Franklin BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

A Cinderella Story

Sesame Street’s Megan Piphus gives young girls a voice on her new LP Cinderella Sweep BY MARGARET LITTMAN

FILM

Free Rein

Argentine director Luis Ortega’s Kill the Jockey is a fascinating tale of queer redemption BY CRAIG D. LINDSEY

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD AND THIS MODERN WORLD

MARKETPLACE

ON THE COVER:

Clarence Darrow questions William Jennings Bryan during the Scopes “Monkey Trial” in Dayton, Tenn., July 1925. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

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Nashville Smut Lovers at Book Club Trivia Nashville • PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

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In memory of Jim Ridley, editor 2009-2016

This stunning exhibition features nearly 50 quilts and coverlets made over 300 years by a diverse range of artists—many historically underrecognized. With bold designs and intricate craftsmanship, they tell a rich array of stories woven through our shared and complicated history from the 18th century to 2021. Once seen purely as functional objects, quilts now speak to social change, cultural heritage, and artistic innovation—showcasing the medium as a timeless, evolving art form that continues to shape and reflect our shared experience.

The Sandra Schatten

Virginia Jacobs. Krabow Kabuki Waltz (detail), 1987. Cotton plain weave, pieced and quilted. Gift of the artist, Reproduced with permission.

of Fine Arts, Boston

The Frist Art Museum is

CIVIC DESIGN CENTER CELEBRATES MILESTONES DURING BOULEVARD DEBATE REDUX

Current discussions around East Bank echo the conflict that sparked influential urban design forums 30 years ago

BY ELI MOTYCKA

Thirty years ago, Scene writer Christine Kreyling trained her attention on one downtown boulevard that looked, to her, like a huge mistake. City planners had proposed a massive arterial road in part to service a new downtown arena. Kreyling, along with other urban-design-minded locals, saw the city’s precious urban core facing an existential moment.

“The reason for the Franklin corridor was essentially to speed traffic through downtown,” Kreyling, who now lives in California, tells the Scene. “Rather than leaving an urban world down there, they wanted to put an interstate through SoBro — suburban logic applied to an urban context. We used to laugh at the fact that the fastest way to get from East Nashville to Vanderbilt was to cut right through the center of downtown because there was less traffic than the interstates.”

Suburban logic had guided Nashville under Jeff Browning, then director of city planning, who Kreyling says “spent his time planning subdivisions” and barred his planners from attending the Urban Design Forums she and others convened to debate and discuss Nashville’s urban design. They promoted walkability and dense, thriving neighborhoods that resembled the city life many attendees had experienced in New England and Europe.

The conflicting visions mirrored a larger shift in American life playing out across the nation’s younger cities. Many had grown up in the automobile age and sprawled outward, divesting from inner cities in favor of suburban-seeking white flight. At the turn of the century, lower costs of living and the enduring vibrance of city life had started to generate interest in dense neighborhoods, again stretching social and economic fabric amid the urban reinvestment that played out in the 2000s and 2010s.

“We were advocating for a different logic,” Kreyling says. “Multimodal transportation, side-

walks, small-scale commercial businesses that you could walk to. That’s what we wanted to see more of, and that’s what we were debating.”

The year was 1995, but a major decision over Nashville’s East Bank has renewed a nearly identical debate in 2025. The same summer Kreyling returns to Nashville to commemorate 30 years since the tug-of-war over what is now Korean Veterans Boulevard — and 20 years since she laid out a new city design logic in 2005’s The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City — history is rhyming, pitting urban design principles against accommodating as many cars as possible. The anniversary highlights the essential need for rich public dialogue around residents’ shared vision for the city’s future.

Kreyling will commemorate the book’s 20th anniversary at a special Frist Art Museum panel on July 10, appearing alongside Metro planner Joni Williams, longtime Civic Design Center principle Seab Tuck, and current Civic Design Center executive director Gary Gaston. The panel coincides with the Frist’s special exhibit on The Plan of Nashville, which opened July 4 and runs to Dec. 14 in the Conte Community Arts Gallery.

The popular Urban Design Forums eventually became the Nashville Civic Design Center, which more recently became the Civic Design Center, a small but mighty nonprofit focused on building Nashville into a good city. The center has presided over the major political, demographic, economic and sociological shifts that have followed Nashville’s journey from an overlooked regional hub for business and education to a wealthy national hot spot driven by tourism and entertainment. Yet the fundamentals in Kreyling’s 2005 Plan still prove true and prescient. They present a mapped-and-planned vision for the modern qualities of life sought by much of Nashville’s booming population, slate of new businesses and flourishing civic

COURTESY OF CIVIC DESIGN CENTER

character.

Urban design has also become a fixation within progressive politics. Walking, biking and public transportation have more widely been understood in recent years in terms of economic equity. Housing affordability ranks as a top issue for voters, especially in urban areas, translating bureaucratic matters of zoning and housing density into hot-button political issues.

Thomas (Freddie) O’Connell is among the names listed in The Plan of Nashville’s inside cover; his commitment to so-called New Urbanism helped win over key constituencies in his 2023 mayoral campaign, just as a vision for a revitalized downtown helped Bill Purcell win the mayor’s office in 1999. Purcell, a longtime East Nashville fixture, penned the book’s introduction and was an early Urban Design Forum enthusiast.

Today, Mayor O’Connell’s Planning Department is crosswise with the city’s design community over its apparent preference for an East Bank Boulevard that includes an extra car lane rather than protected bike lanes.

“It’s kind of bizarre the parallels between KVB and the East Bank Boulevard,” says Eric Hoke, design director at the Civic Design Center. “We’re rooted in car culture, and it takes a long time for a paradigm shift, especially in the built environment. The Planning Department says this should be a very walkable, livable, pedestrian-forward, multimodal neighborhood, so it’s kind of funny that the very first big design decision they come out with is an auto-oriented plan. We’re emphasizing this topic pretty heavily, because we know it’s an important moment to influence design decisions that will pave the way for the future.” ▼

AVENUES TO A GREAT CITY THROUGH DEC. 14 AT THE FRIST ART MUSEUM’S CONTE COMMUNITY ARTS GALLERY

Despite being imperiled by the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts, the Southern Festival of Books will return this year. Humanities Tennessee announced Thursday that the SFOB will take place Oct. 18 and 19 in downtown Nashville, thanks in large part to an expanded partnership with Vanderbilt University. This year’s event — titled Vanderbilt University Presents: The Southern Festival of Books, a Program of Humanities Tennessee — carries on despite Humanities Tennessee losing its National Endowment for the Humanities grant, worth about $1.2 million annually.

Metro is rolling back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to comply with recently enacted state laws. Earlier this year, Tennessee lawmakers passed the Dismantling DEI Departments Act and the Dismantle DEI in Employment Act, legislation that went into effect in May and prohibits state and local governments and other state institutions from maintaining offices or departments that promote or require “discriminatory preferences in an effort to increase diversity, equity or inclusion.” Since the law’s passage, Metro has eliminated its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which was housed in the finance department. The staff has moved to the newly established Office of Impact, also located in the finance division.

President Donald Trump has announced three Tennesseans as nominees to serve on the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors, including local auto magnate and Republican donor Lee Beaman. Beaman — who sold his auto dealership empire in 2020 and is known for his Republican Party fundraising — was a vocal opponent of mass transit proposals by former Mayors Karl Dean and Megan Barry. In 2018, he stepped down from multiple board positions in the wake of a contentious, high-profile divorce.

LGBTQ health programs will be among the casualties of cuts at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Following June’s announcement that the medical center is laying off 650 employees, programming for LGBTQ health is all but wiped out. Several Metro councilmembers expressed “deep disappointment in the pattern of decisions” following the cuts.

VIEW OF THE EAST BANK ENVISIONED IN THE PLAN OF NASHVILLE

ILLUSTRATION BY KEN HENLEY, EARL SWENSSON ASSOCIATES. IMAGE

HOW THE ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WILL IMPACT

TENNESSEANS’ HEALTH

The Trump-backed federal budget package will slash TennCare, SNAP funding BY

HANNAH HERNER

JUST AHEAD OF the Fourth of July, the United States Congress passed a sweeping domestic policy bill.

Days prior, local health care advocacy organization Tennessee Justice Center held a briefing, updating participants on just how devastating the impact of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” would likely be. Officials with TJC said that, since December, they have been sounding the alarm over the federal appetite for cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and hoping to bring their concerns to local legislators’ attention.

The legislation, passed by the U.S. House and Senate just ahead of Trump’s July 4 deadline, cuts as much as $1 trillion from Medicaid funds, which will trickle down in impact to Tennessee’s offering, TennCare.

Here are five things to know about how the budget will affect Tennesseans’ health.

TennCare will still see cuts, even as a non-expansion state.

Tennessee is one of 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid, leaving childless adults in the coverage gap. Even so, TennCare covers children and families, behavioral health services for children, and families with higher income but a child with profound care needs. That amounts to between 1.4 and 1.5 million members in Tennessee — and half of Tennessee’s children, 60 percent of nursing home residents, 9 percent of veterans and 24 percent of small business owners.

In a previous draft of the legislation, rural hospitals stood to take a bigger hit, as they depend largely on Medicaid reimbursements, but Senate Republicans added in a $25 billion stabilization fund for rural hospitals over five years.

The states that have expanded will basically

MARK GREEN OFFICIALLY RESIGNS FROM

CONGRESS

Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District representative to start company ‘to help America compete against the Chinese Communist Party’

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

MARK GREEN OFFICIALLY resigned as Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District representative on July 4 — a date he says was not chosen by accident in a video farewell to his constituents posted on social media.

be forced to roll back their expansion. But that doesn’t leave Tennessee free and clear, according to Gordon Bonnyman, staff attorney and co-founder of TJC.

“Medicaid is a matching program,” said Bonnyman during last week’s press conference.

“So when you take the federal dollars out, you’re likely to lose the matching state dollars, which would be another $300 million. We’re looking at $1.3 trillion out of Medicaid, which is a number that’s difficult to even fathom.”

In addition, the bill will make it “if not impossible, extraordinarily difficult” for Tennessee to expand Medicaid in the future, Bonnyman pointed out.

Hospital organizations — including Ascension Saint Thomas locally — have condemned the bill.

People might not be able to turn to ACA coverage.

When as many as 500,000 Tennesseans lost TennCare coverage in 2023 following a pandemic freeze, many of them went to healthcare.gov to secure Affordable Care Act coverage. In the 202425 enrollment season, 642,867 enrolled, compared to 521,341 in the 2023-24 season, which also saw a spike due to outreach and lower prices.

Under the new federal budget, cuts will be made to that program too. Those include prohibiting access for people ineligible for Medicaid due to immigration status, the shortening of the open enrollment period and the narrowing of eligibility for enhanced tax credits, which made the coverage more affordable.

SNAP waivers will be cut, affecting free school lunches.

While a work requirement already exists for individuals on SNAP who don’t have children, families with children ages 14 to 18 will now

He says in the video that he is returning to the private sector to start his own company.

“While I can’t share the details here, I will be doing something specifically designed to help America compete against the [Chinese Communist Party], but this time in business,” Green says after touting his addition of amendments to national defense authorization acts including one “to curb the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party.”

In June, Green said he would resign once President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was passed, which Trump gave Congress a deadline of July 4 to complete. With Green’s resignation, Republicans’ majority shrinks to seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 2024, Green announced plans to retire but reversed course, ultimately defeating Democratic challenger and former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry by roughly 21 percentage points to retain his seat. Green has been met with scandal in the past year, including a

have a work requirement. The same is true for people up to age 65 (previously 54), single moms raising children, veterans, homeless individuals, people aging out of the foster care system, asylees, refugees, and victims of forced labor and sex trafficking — all of whom had waivers prior.

Sixty-six percent of households that participate in SNAP in Tennessee have children, and children who are enrolled in SNAP are directly certified to get free lunch at school.

“We know from experience in other states, it doesn’t get people to work,” Bonnyman said. “What it does do is it ensnares them in another level of paperwork where they can’t get their employers to submit the necessary documentation. They can’t document if they have fluctuating incomes, if they have more than one job, all of that. It’s hard to over-emphasize for those of us who deal with bureaucracy.”

In recent years, SNAP benefits were upped to $6 per person per day. States pay 50 percent of administrative fees for SNAP, but under the new

high-profile divorce and allegations of an extramarital affair. He said in June of this year that he stayed to help accomplish the president’s goals for border security and the reconciliation package.

Green, a U.S. Army veteran and West Point graduate, has represented Tennessee’s 7th — which was gerrymandered in 2022 to include parts of Nashville — since 2018. He has also served as the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

A special election will be held this year to determine who will fill the seat, and several potential candidates have already declared their interest.

On the Republican side, state Sen. Bill Powers, state Rep. Jody Barrett and former state Rep. Brandon Ogles — a cousin to sitting U.S. Rep Andy Ogles of Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District — have all been reported as potential candidates.

Matt Van Epps, a state commissioner and West Point graduate rumored to have been personally recruited

budget, states are required to pay for up to 75 percent of those costs starting in 2028.

The state is not off the hook.

In addition to the aforementioned matching funds in jeopardy, and setting new requirements for TennCare members, the state could be responsible for picking up the slack in the money lost from the federal level.

“If these costs shift to the state, these are hundreds and thousands of dollars that the state has to come up with, and so they’ll have to battle that out in our General Assembly to determine how we’re going to cover those costs,” said Signe Anderson, senior director of nutrition advocacy with the Tennessee Justice Center. Bonnyman added: “States, by constitutional requirements, cannot run deficits. They have to have balanced budgets, unlike the federal government. When the federal government offloads this, the financial repercussions of that for the states are potentially enormous.” ▼

by Green, announced his candidacy in June along with several others. Those include veteran and Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight as well as Jon Thorp, another veteran who is framing his run as that of a political outsider.

Nashville Rep. Bo Mitchell on Monday officially declared his intention to run for Green’s seat on the Democratic side of the ticket. Fellow Nashville Democratic Rep. Vincent Dixie has also expressed interest in running. This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post. ▼

MARK GREEN

Contact us today to find out why you’ll be proud to say “BUILT

Jazz Greats: Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection

July 12 - October 5

• An exhibition of 33 photographs from the 1920s to 1980s

• Images of the Golden Age of Jazz by celebrated photographers

• Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and more

• Reserve tickets at cheekwood.org

This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities ® program.

William Gottlieb (American, 1917–2006), Apollo, c.1950, Gelatin silver print. 15 1/8” x 15 1/2” (38.4 x 39.3 cm). Bank of America Collection.

William Gottlieb (American, 1917–2006), Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Milt (Milton) Jackson, and Timmie Rosenkrantz, Downbeat, New York, N.Y., 1947, Gelatin silver print. 18 3/4 x 15” (47.6 x 38.4 cm). Bank of America Collection.

Presented

by

FONDA

SCOPES AT 100

A century after the Scopes ‘Monkey Trial,’ America is still animated by the debates that roiled Dayton, Tenn. BY LEON ALLIGOOD, NASHVILLE BANNER

This story is a partnership between the Nashville Banner and the Nashville Scene. The Nashville Banner is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news. Visit nashvillebanner.com for more information, and to sign up for the Banner’s newsletter.

WHAT OCCURRED A century ago this month in the courtroom of the Rhea County Courthouse refuses to be forgotten. The utterance of a name — Scopes — is a reminder of those two torrid weeks in July 1925 when the world’s eyes were on Dayton, Tenn., a small town about 150 miles east of Nashville.

Through the decades, The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes assumed the mantle of “the most famous trial in America.” Academics explored the subject in thousands of theses and dissertations. Hundreds of nonfiction writers and documentarians plumbed trial transcripts and personal records of the trial’s major (and minor) participants to craft explanatory narratives. Broadway and Hollywood paid tribute with Inherit the Wind, which was based on the events of that July.

Why should 21st-century Americans pause to ponder a judicial proceeding where the principals have moldered in their graves since long before the end of the last millennium?

Consider these questions: What should chil-

dren be taught in school? Can science be trusted? Does government have the right to dictate cultural values? What does the Constitution mean by freedom of religion? By freedom of speech? Who defines the future in a democratic society?

If you think these are battle lines drawn by 2025 society, you would be correct, but the colliding fault lines that are fracturing today’s electorate were rumbling in 1925, and the shaking hasn’t abated.

A century ago, the country was still reeling from an influenza pandemic and World War I, even as the populace was becoming accustomed to the wonder and ubiquity of mass communication via radio. In the current age, the U.S. is fresh from two decades of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq and a novel coronavirus that killed hundreds of thousands. Meanwhile, Americans are bombarded moment to moment with algorithmically driven information (and misinformation) that feeds high levels of anxiety.

Both eras represent times of immense change.

Historian Brenda Wineapple, who wrote the 2024 book Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation, describes the frazzled ethos of 1925 America this way: “The old order was indeed changing, and to many Americans change was defined as capricious, unpredictable, and if not stopped, wholly sinister.” In the face of changes that futurists predict — with AI and its attendant disruption standing front and center

— it’s easy to apply that same line to 2025. What happened in Dayton so long ago wasn’t just “monkey business.” It could be interpreted as a premonition for this modern age. As William Faulkner wrote: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

OSTENSIBLY, THE TRIAL was convened to determine whether Scopes, a 24-year-old teacher at Dayton High School, taught evolution in defiance of the Butler Act, which was signed into state law earlier in the year. The case quickly evolved (no pun intended) into a media-fueled frenzy, featuring the first trial broadcast live on radio. The press corps swelled to more than 150 newspaper reporters and photographers. A simple question about one teacher’s actions turned into a battle royale, where figurative dividing lines were drawn in the mountain loam; where celebrity lawyers — Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan — pitted modernity against old-time religion.

And the attentive world was pointedly asked to choose a side — if they could.

Throw in a sideshow of street-corner preachers bellowing fire and brimstone, end-of-the-world prophets holding signs declaring impending doom, opportunistic vendors hawking lemonade, hot dogs, ice cream, anti-evolution books and trial souvenirs, thousands of curious

spectators milling about, and a suit-wearing chimpanzee named Jo Mendi strolling the treelined sidewalks and you have an overview of the Scopes trial of 1925.

But let’s not get ahead of the story.

A visit to ground zero of the 1925 anti-evolution bill requires a trip off the beaten path to Macon County. There, on a 75-acre farm 3 miles from the county seat of Lafayette, John Washington Butler lived in a white clapboard home his grandfather built in the late 1800s.

Butler, who was 49 in the summer of the Scopes trial, was a farmer and respected citizen. He and his wife Nola, short for Magnolia, raised two daughters and three sons. For several years in young adulthood, Butler served as a schoolteacher. In those days, classes were held for just three or four months during the winter so that crops could be tended. Although he left teaching, concern for youth — and their future — remained a driving force in Butler’s life.

In the summer of 1922, friends urged him to run for state representative, and Butler was elected that fall to represent his home county as well as Trousdale and Sumner counties. In 1927, he moved to the state Senate. Although he served for less than a decade, he made his mark on history.

Butler was a tall man, in the range of 6 feet, with broad shoulders, large hands and a firm jaw that always seemed to be locked in position. In

PHOTO: LEON

the many photographs taken of him in 1925, he never cracked a smile.

That’s not to say he wasn’t friendly. Several weeks before the court proceedings, a Nashville Banner reporter spent the day with Butler on his farm. “He is not the hard-faced, unrelenting zealot of popular conception,” the reporter observed in a thousand-word piece that took up most of an inside page. “To the contrary, he is a good-natured, companionable, jovial fellow.”

Regarding evolution, however, Butler found nothing to smile about. “I look upon that theory as infidelity and opposed to the Bible,” he explained to the reporter. Butler made clear he could not accept that “man is descended from the lower order of animals.”

The state representative’s journey of faith did not stray from the precepts he was taught as a child at nearby Testament Primitive Baptist Church. “I believe in the Bible just as it was printed and that it was written with the divine inspiration of God,” he told the reporter, adding that although he didn’t “claim to understand all of it,” Butler accepted the holy book as “true, every word of it.”

Including the timetable of creation in Genesis. Butler acknowledged to The New York Times in a 1925 interview that he “didn’t know anything about evolution” when he submitted his anti-evolution bill for consideration. The impetus for the legislation came from newspaper reports — Butler was an avid reader of newspapers — that told of students returning from college changed by their acquaintance with Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species

“Boys and girls were returning home from school and telling their mothers and fathers that the Bible was all nonsense,” he told the Times. “I didn’t think that was right.” Butler contemplated the matter for several months before deciding the state of Tennessee should intervene.

On a cold January day before the legislature convened for its 1925 session, Butler reached for a pencil and paper and settled into a chair in front of a blazing fire at his home. He was determined to write an anti-evolution bill that would prohibit the teaching of evolutionary thought in all public schools, including universities. Just as important to him was a second provision: to prohibit the teaching of any theory “that denies the story of the divine creation of man as taught in the Bible.”

“I wrote the bill myself, making six or seven trials at it before it suited me,” he told the Banner reporter. Butler said the bill’s language was of his own creation, with no outside help. “I have heard it said that somebody was ‘back of me’ in the introduction of the bill, but that is not correct.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 27, the Butler Act received overwhelming acceptance in the lower chamber of the General Assembly, less than a week after the measure was introduced.

The Senate, on the other hand, took its time. After being rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the bill appeared beyond resuscitation, but an external force, namely the charismatic evangelist Billy Sunday, revived it. In a series of revival meetings throughout February in Memphis, the fundamentalist attracted tens of thousands who were exhorted to resist the ways of the world

and to turn to God. On several occasions, Sunday fixed evolution in his sights, bellowing to the faithful that “education today is chained to the devil’s throne.” He praised the Tennessee House of Representatives for taking “action against that godforsaken gang of evolutionary cutthroats.”

The crowd roared with applause and shouts of “amen.”

The Tennessee Senate minded their cues received from Bluff City. The “evolution bill” was returned to committee, where it was promptly referred to the full body for a vote on March 13, a Friday. A chorus of hecklers, mostly Vanderbilt students, filled the galleries to shout their opposition, but the measure was handily approved.

Gov. Austin Peay signed the Butler Act without reservation. He expressed confidence that “the law will never be applied.” State Rep. Butler believed the same. He assumed “everybody would abide by it [and] we wouldn’t hear any more about evolution in Tennessee.”

John Thomas Scopes, the amiable science teacher and football coach at Dayton High, was charged with teaching evolution about six weeks later.

The game was on.

IT SHOULD BE stated that Scopes might have never mentioned “evolution” to Dayton High students, much less taught the controversial science behind the word. Yet as incongruent as it sounds, he agreed to say he did, was charged and, soon enough, his name and photo appeared in newspapers from Poughkeepsie to Sacramento.

That happened because of the confluence of specific actors and factors.

After the Butler Act was signed by Gov. Peay in March 1925, the fledgling American Civil Liberties Union decided to test the law’s constitutionality. The organization circulated an appeal in newspapers for a biology teacher who had taught evolution. On Monday, May 4, the Chattanooga Times published the ACLU’s notice. A representative of the New York-based organization stated that the “law strikes so serious a blow at scientific teaching that we cannot let the issue rest until it has been passed upon by the highest courts.”

It was the Chattanooga paper, which circulated in Dayton, that caught the attention of George Washington Rappleyea, a civil engineer with expertise in metallurgy. He had moved to Dayton, his wife’s hometown, to manage the faltering Cumberland Coal and Iron Co. At one time, the company had been the economic engine of the county, but by 1925, the enterprise was hampered by outdated equipment and reduced output from its mine. Effects of the company’s downturn rippled through the community.

Rappleyea (rhymes with “apple-yay”) was an improbable instigator of the Scopes affair. He was a transplanted New York City native. He didn’t sound like other Daytonians, nor did he look like them — short, swarthy, with a head of bushy dark hair. Despite these differences, the town accepted him. He was active in the Methodist church, a member of community clubs and friendly with the town’s movers and shakers.

On May 5 Rappleyea entered Robinson’s Drug

Store with the Chattanooga Times in hand. There, Frank Earl Robinson, owner of the store, and other members of the town’s Progressive Club frequently gathered to confab. Rappleyea broached his big idea of using a legal proceeding on evolution to draw thousands of visitors to Dayton. The attention, he predicted, might linger beyond the hoopla of the trial. Those present liked the sound of it.

For the role of the evolution-teaching instructor, Rappleyea suggested Scopes. According to one account, a high school student was at the store’s soda fountain, and Walter White, the school superintendent, sent the young man to fetch Scopes.

When Scopes answered his summons to the drug store, he faced a contingent of the town’s leading businessmen and his boss. The group was engrossed in a dispute about evolution. Rappleyea directed the attention to Scopes, asking if biology could be taught without mentioning evolution. No, the teacher answered.

To prove his point, he moved to a shelf where state-approved textbooks were displayed (students had to buy their own in 1925) and pulled a volume titled Civic Biology by George Hunter. He noted the book’s “Evolution” section.

That’s when Rappleyea sprang the trap. He explained the ACLU’s offer to fund a test case and asked Scopes if he would be the bait. The blueeyed young man, a year out of the University of Kentucky and in his first year of employment at Dayton High, was not eager to accept. Nor did he think his teaching experience was applicable. Scopes didn’t normally teach biology, but he had been called to substitute earlier in the semester when the regular teacher was absent due to illness.

And as stated earlier, Scopes wasn’t sure evolution came up in class.

No one present, save the teacher, saw that as a problem.

Everyone warmed to Rappelyea’s plan. Before the group dismissed, Scopes, who supported the

teaching of evolution, also agreed to participate. He would later regret being thrust into the spotlight, but on that spring day in 1925, everyone gathered around the cafe tables at the drugstore was of one accord: The evolution debate would be brought to Dayton.

As the trial date neared, Robinson hung a banner outside his drugstore. It read: “Where it all started.”

He couldn’t imagine that a century later his sign would still be remembered, if only as an epitaph for a season of strangeness.

MICHAEL LIENESCH, a retired UNC-Chapel Hill professor, is not surprised to find the issues that divide America in 2025 mirror concerns from the era of the Scopes trial.

“It’s not like a river or cycles, but for the last 100 years, the same questions keep being debated and discussed,” says Lienesch. “What does progress look like? What is modernity? We saw it then. We see it now.”

Further, these questions are often rooted in the most personal of contexts: belief in a supreme being, expression of faith and definition of a moral life. These queries also have led to disputes, where basic freedoms granted by the U.S. Constitution are forcibly reconciled to the credal thoughts of others.

In 2007, Lienesch examined the rise of American anti-evolutionism in a book, In the Beginning: Fundamentalism, the Scopes Trial, and the Making of the Antievolution Movement. With a focus on American political theory, Lienesch’s book explores how fundamentalism, of which biblical inerrancy is a key tenet, has grown systematically over the past century.

“It’s not something that was invented by Jerry Falwell,” he says. “Fundamentalism began at the end of WWI. Preachers created movements.”

Political activism centering on religious conservatism has been the result, particularly in the past 50 years.

ROBINSON’S DRUG STORE IN 1925

“Today, the role of political parties is so closely tied to religious conservative activists,” Lienesch says. “In the day of Scopes it was different.”

During the Scopes trial, “Society had their own version of culture wars.”

“In 1925, the secularization of society was much discussed,” he says. “Students were going off to college to learn new ideas, and people were drinking alcohol during Prohibition.” The divorce rate also began rising, and the attractions of life in America’s metropolises led many to seek careers off farms.

Education, particularly higher education, was also a much-discussed topic. “Academia was an issue. This was a strategy that was good politics for the conservatives in the fundamentalist movement. It all began with how to read the Bible and understand it, and that led to the question of whether the Bible was being taught in schools.”

William Jennings Bryan was an early critic of colleges and universities when it came to what was being taught. Lienesch says, “He was debating college presidents all over the country. Years before he was in Dayton, Tenn., he was traveling. I think Bryan lived a lot of his life on trains.” Bryan and others called for investigations of college curricula. He focused on evolution, especially human evolution, as a subject that could engage and enrage the masses, the retired professor noted.

Numerous college presidents buckled under pressure to make changes. A few professors lost their jobs.

Today evolution has been replaced by other topics that are worrisome to conservatives: gender studies; diversity, equity and inclusion programs; and how history is taught, among others.

“And we see some college presidents are

buckling today — think about Columbia [University], for example — while others are resisting,” Lienesch says.

In elementary and secondary education, modern reform extends to displaying the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Louisiana approved such a measure in 2024, and Texas did the same a few weeks ago. Legal challenges are already underway in both states.

“You know, the Scopes trial was seen as a great defeat for fundamentalists,” Lienesch says.

“When Darrow put Bryan on the stand, that was not just quite a show. It was also very revealing to a lot of people. It revealed inconsistencies, some of the limitations of fundamentalist thinking at that time.”

But they weren’t down for the count.

“The fundamentalist movement and the conservative Christian movement retreated a bit, and they began to build institutionally, and this is not surprising that they are very much with us.”

NEWS OF A TENNESSEE teacher being charged with teaching evolution flowed through the country with the rapidity of a wildfire blown by constant winds.

The story caused a stir in Memphis because the World’s Christian Fundamentals Association, an organization created in 1919 to defend traditional biblical values from the influence of modernism, was having its annual convention there. The group’s keynote speaker was William Jennings Bryan, three-time candidate for president, ardent fundamentalist and someone who had been denouncing evolution for years at outdoor Sunday school sessions he held in Florida, where he lived.

A day after Bryan’s appearance at the convention, the organization named him to “represent

fountains were installed. To house the phalanx of reporters who didn’t secure lodging at the hotel or in boarding rooms, cots were assembled in large upstairs storage rooms at two downtown businesses, Bailey’s Hardware and Morgan Furniture.

The tall windows inside the courtroom were cleaned of dust and grime. Technicians from WGN radio in Chicago unspooled hundreds of feet of cable to connect their mobile studio in the courtroom to the local telephone exchange and to install speakers on the courthouse lawn.

THE TRIAL BEGAN on July 10, a Friday, and ended on July 21, a Tuesday. Judge John T. Raulston, who was midway through his first term as judge in Tennessee’s sprawling 18th District, would preside. He was born in rural Marion County in 1868, just three years after the Confederacy surrendered at the Appomattox Court House. After college, he studied law under the tutelage of an attorney in Chattanooga and passed the bar exam in 1896 at age 28. He established a practice in Winchester, Tenn., the Franklin County seat, before being sworn in as judge in 1924.

their interests” at the Scopes trial, notwithstanding the fact that WCFA had no legal standing in the Rhea County matter. Having already moved on to his next speaking engagements in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Bryan took a day or so to consider the offer before replying with a telegram from Pittsburgh. “I will do it,” the Great Commoner told reporters. “We cannot afford to have a system of education that destroys the religious faith of 75 percent of our children.”

The matter of whether Bryan, who had not litigated a case in 30 years, could officially join the prosecutor’s team was resolved by an open-arms invitation on May 13 from Sue K. Hicks and Wallace C. Haggard, Dayton attorneys who were the lead prosecutors. Such was his popularity, Bryan’s entry into the fray brought exponential interest in the case nationwide.

Two days later came another shock: The defense announced that Chicago-based attorney Clarence Darrow had joined the fight. The inclusion of the sharp-tongued Darrow, who was considered by many to be the best defense lawyer in the nation, made clear the dividing line between the two camps.

Darrow offered an irreligious counterpoint to Bryan’s unabashed devotion to Christendom. Headlines pitting the two against one another, as if they were heavyweights vying for a championship, appeared with regularity in newspapers large and small.

“Civilization and not a school teacher are going on trial,” Darrow told the Associated Press.

Even before word arrived that Bryan and Darrow were coming to Dayton, townspeople began sprucing up. The interior of the courthouse received new coats of paint. Lights and benches were installed on the grassy area bordering the square. To quench the thirst of visitors, drinking

Raulston, 56, was excited the trial was coming into his jurisdiction. If he had doubts or concerns about the unusual case about to unfold in his courtroom, he kept them to himself.

Genesis describes the world being created in six days, with God resting on the seventh. The “Monkey Trial” of 1925 took eight days, with two weekends interrupting court, offering a respite from the legal jockeying and the oppressive temps and giving preachers two Sundays to focus their homilies on the evils of evolution. Outside, the thermometer hovered in the 90s. Inside the standing-room-only courtroom, the heat felt like 100 and above. Overheated spectators in the gallery fainted with regularity.

The eight days in court unfolded like most trials, in an undramatic fashion. The first day was spent selecting a jury — 12 men, mostly churchgoers and farmers. Days two and three mostly involved the nine lawyers jawing back and forth on legal issues: whether the defense leaked information to the press (they did not), whether to quash Scopes’ indictment (it was not), whether it was appropriate for prayer to open each day’s gathering (yes, said the judge).

It wasn’t until the fourth day — Wednesday, July 16 — that Scopes pleaded not guilty and the state presented its case. The first witnesses called were the school superintendent and two students who attended the biology class where evolution was allegedly taught.

On the fifth day, the prosecution entered a motion to exclude testimony from expert witnesses (geologists, biologists and chemists, among others) that the defense had arranged to be in Dayton for the trial. No decision was reached by the time of adjournment for the day.

On Friday, day six, Raulston ignited a firestorm as he ruled the scientists ineligible to testify. Convincing the judge to change his mind was a futile enterprise for Darrow and company, but they tried nevertheless. They sought to enter affidavits

CLARENCE DARROW (LEFT) AND WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN, JULY 1925

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of the scientists into the record, but the prosecution objected all along the way, and Judge Raulston mostly agreed with their objections, which peeved Darrow. He muttered a string of sarcastic rejoinders, interrupting the jurist several times. The defense attorney questioned why “anything that is perfectly competent on our part should be immediately overruled.”

“I hope you do not mean to reflect upon the court,” Raulston replied, his words no doubt freighted with rising anger.

“Well, your honor has the right to hope,” Darrow shot back.

First thing on Monday morning, day seven, the judge charged the Chicago lawyer with contempt of court and set a bond of $5,000. Darrow was unsure whether he could quickly secure funds, but a Chattanooga lawyer, Frank Spurlock, piped up that he would cover the bond. This revelation prompted chattering among the hundreds of spectators. Kelso Rice, a young Chattanooga police officer on loan to Dayton, bellowed a demand for quiet.

“This is not a circus,” he exclaimed. Maybe not a circus, but nothing resembling normal, either.

Following lunch, Darrow offered an apology that was accepted by Raulston. They solemnized the moment by halting court business long enough to be photographed shaking hands.

Afterward, the judge told the overflow crowd that the trial was moving to the courthouse lawn for the rest of the day.

“I am afraid of the building,” explained Raulston, who had been made aware that pieces of plaster were falling onto the floor beneath the courtroom. The cause seemed to be stress from the weight of hundreds of standing spectators who refused to leave.

Consequently, the most important lawyer-witness exchange in the Scopes trial came to be held in the midday light, beneath a blue summer sky.

The matchup was improbable: “The defense desires to call Mr. Bryan as a witness.”

All the headlines promoting a clash of titans were coming true.

WHY WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN agreed to testify isn’t clear. Perhaps he was overconfident, even cocky. Perhaps he felt a providential calling to set the infidel Darrow straight. Perhaps the opportunity for Bryan to call Darrow as a witness was the impetus.

Regardless, the afternoon came to grief for the Great Commoner in the temporary open-air courtroom. For more than two hours, Bryan, fanning himself with the pages of a King James Bible, was peppered with questions that tested his allegiance to biblical infallibility.

Was Jonah swallowed by a whale? Did Joshua make the sun stand still? How old is the earth?

When many people think of this scene, they recall a clip from Inherit the Wind, the stage play based on the Scopes trial that was made into a movie in 1960 starring Spencer Tracy and Fredric March as the characters patterned after Darrow and Bryan, respectively. The movie version is a clear takedown of Bryan, a man of conviction

who blinks first, a man for whom a seed of doubt was planted. The scene ends with close-ups: of Bryan struggling to find words to repair the damage; of Darrow, smug and quiet.

Many Daytonians do not like the movie, particularly the depiction of locals as slow-talking, ignorant and uncertain of the world beyond the mountains.

A close reading of the trial transcript reveals Bryan delivered many stinging rebukes of Darrow, but it was the answer to one question that turned the tide: Do you think the earth was made in six days?

“Not six days of 24 hours,” was Bryan’s reply.

For many in the press, these six words were interpreted as a seismic rendering. Bryan appeared to have disturbed a fault line, leading to a view that the world was much older than the faithful believed, older than Bryan had testified less than an hour earlier. Even though Bryan had expressed this distinction when he was on the speaking circuit, most of the secular press in attendance took no notice and judged Darrow the winner. Many of their readers did too.

The seventh day of the trial ended with the protagonists shouting at each other in tandem.

Bryan: “I want the world to know that this man, who does not believe in a God, is trying to use a court in Tennessee …”

Darrow: “I object to that …”

Bryan: “… to slur at it and … I am willing to take it.”

But Darrow was through with his witness.

“I am exempting you on your fool ideas that no intelligent Christian on earth believes,” he said, returning to his seat.

After which Judge Raulston adjourned court until the following morning.

On the last day of court, Tuesday, July 21, blessed rain fell from the skies and mist hid the verdant hills surrounding Dayton. The trial resumed in the courtroom, where welcomed

breezes streamed through the tall windows.

Bryan did not get to question Darrow or make a closing speech, which he had been preparing for days. The reason? The defense asked that their client, John T. Scopes, be found guilty so the matter could be appealed. Raulston accepted the request, charged the jury and sent them out to deliberate, which they did for a total of nine minutes, returning at 11:23 a.m.

Scopes was fined $100 by the judge, not the jury, and it was based on this technicality that the Supreme Court of Tennessee later overturned the fine even as it ruled the Butler Act was constitutional. Instead of remanding the case to Rhea County, the justices noted “that nothing is to be gained by prolonging the life of this case.” Instead, they urged the prosecutor to withdraw the matter from further prosecution — and that’s what happened.

The teacher and football coach never had to pay the fine. He left Dayton, went to college in Chicago and became a geologist for the gas and oil industry, living in South America for a time, before settling in Louisiana.

In April 1970, Scopes accepted an invitation to address students at Peabody College in Nashville. The occasion was the upcoming 45th anniversary of the trial. Three years after his autobiography had been published, Scopes was content to reminisce and offer commentary, especially to aspiring teachers.

On that spring day, he spoke his mind.

“The only place a teacher should ever be interfered with is when the child begins to think for himself,” he said. “Then that child should be consulted about his own education.”

Scopes advised the packed auditorium to hold strong against “outside pressure groups and government controls [that] have dictated to the schools to the point where they do not exercise the one thing man has above other animals — the right to think.” According to newspaper re-

ports, students rose to their feet and cheered, the ovation continuing for several minutes. A photo shows Scopes, leaning on a lectern, hand on his hip. No longer was he the wide-eyed Dayton High teacher, his head topped by a straw hat, his eyes framed by round spectacles, his face the image of youth. Here was a slightly stooped man of 69, assessing lessons he’s learned.

On the question of whether he taught evolution at Dayton High, Scopes told the audience he was at the mercy of a faulty mind — his.

“I substituted for 10 days for the biology teacher … and during that time, I didn’t want to start on any new chapter, so I just reviewed what the class had been over. It may have included evolution. I just don’t remember. But I don’t see how I could have reviewed for 10 days and not touched on evolution.”

That was likely his final word on the subject, because the Peabody College visit was his last public appearance. On July 1, Scopes was hospitalized for gallbladder surgery, but the diagnosis was soon changed to terminal cancer. He died Oct. 21, 1970.

The next day, his photo once again appeared in newspapers from coast to coast.

Leon Alligood is a retired MTSU journalism professor. For 30 years before joining academia, he was a reporter, most of that time at the Nashville Banner and The Tennessean. He is the co-author (with Kathy Bingham Turner) of Boss Brooks: A True Story of Fraud, Family, and Forgiveness From Tennessee to Texas, which will be published by the University of Tennessee Press in November.

This article first appeared on Nashville Banner and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

JOHN THOMAS SCOPES (SECOND FROM LEFT) IN THE RHEA COUNTY COURTHOUSE, JULY 1925

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7.3 Levi Hummon

7.4 Waymore’s OutlawsPost Firework Concert

7.5 Ricochet

7.6 Livin’ The Write Life w/ Sherry Austin, Gary Frost, Ellis Griffin, Jadynce Jean, Aaron Loy, Allison Nichols, Will Rambeaux, Jagger Whitaker

7.8 Salute the Songbird with Maggie Rose, Special Guest: Kaitlin Butts

7.9 Eric Paslay’s Song In A Hat w/ Tenille Townes, Adam Hambrick

7.10 Brassfield w/ Special Guests Rick Huckaby, Kayce

7.12 Gabe Dixon “Parts I’ve Played” Album Release Show

7.13 Pick Pick Pass w/ Kevin Mac, Keith Stegall, Michael White

7.15 Chief’s Outsiders Rounds w/ Skyelor Anderson & Ben Kadlecek w/ Guests Ivy Alex, Sheyna Gee, Emily McGuill, Rachel Schumacher

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7.18 An Evening with Joe Bob Briggs: How Redneck’s Saved Hollywood

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7.23 Uncle B’s Drunk With Power String Band Show Featuring Tyler Childers’ “Purgatory” with Leah Blevins, Alex Lambert, Nathan Belt, Aniston Pate, and Many More!

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7.26 Jeff Hyde & Ryan TyndellThe Songs of Eric Church

7.27 Music Row for Musicares w/ Jackson Dean, Driver Williams, Jason Nix, and More Special Guests!

7.28 Buddy’s Place w/ Dylan Gerard, Walker County, Paul Sike

7.29 Dan Harrison, Jeff Middleton, Mark Irwin, Mark Taylor

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MUSIC

[YOU WERE RIGHT WHEN YOU SAID SUMMER’S WHAT YOU MAKE IT] YO LA TENGO & BUILT TO SPILL

Though there are heaps of differences between Built to Spill and Yo La Tengo, they fit together so well; it’s amazing that the long-running and influential indie rockers haven’t done a doubleheader tour like this before. If I didn’t know that Gram Parsons called his forward-looking country-rock sound “cosmic American music,” the phrase would make convenient shorthand for the core style YLT cultivated with help from producer Roger Moutenot. The Nashville-frequenting group borrows from mainstream rock ’n’ roll, electronically enhanced krautrock and much more — notably on 2023’s This Stupid World, electronic dance production played a bigger role. While YLT settled into its long-running trio format in the early ’90s, Built to Spill morphed into a trio around its sole constant member, singer-guitarist Doug Martsch, circa 2015. While BTS’ once-characteristic guitar mini-symphonies went away by 2023’s When the Wind Forgets Your Name, the biting wit and sharp grooves haven’t. Both groups excel at making music that feels intimate, even at its most spacious or most raucous, and it’ll be a treat to experience that at the Mother Church with the biggest audience either group has performed for in town. The two bands are alternating their order each night of this brief tour, and Built to Spill plays first on Friday. STEPHEN TRAGESER

8 P.M. AT THE RYMAN

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[PLAY IT AS IT LATHES] WOODEN WISDOM W/SPARKLE CITY DISCO

Zach Cowie has the holiest vinyl collection I’ve ever seen. As a former record label employee (Drag City, Sub Pop) who’s currently working as an Emmy-nominated music supervisor, Cowie owns a collection that spans countless genres. But what makes him even more badass than his taste in deep tracks is the fact that he’s remained entirely off social media. That gives him a mystical quality, which led to us having an actual phone conversation to catch up over the past 20 years. We talked about everything from how the pandemic shaped his ear for music to leaving your mark in an AI-driven world and how he’s now combing through more records than ever in his search for hidden gems. On Thursday, he’ll be spinning alongside his longtime friend and fellow avid record collector, Elijah Wood — yes, the Elijah Wood — as Wooden Wisdom. They’ll have no set list, just a few bags of 45s that they’ll dig through as they

read the crowd. With a focus on international music, and as lifelong students of David Mancuso and Larry Levan, they’ll definitely have the whole room dancing. Hometown heroes Sparkle City Disco are opening, and costumes are encouraged. So don your fantasy-core and get on the floor. TOBY ROSE

9 P.M. AT CANNERY HALL

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ART [IN BETWEEN] STERLING ALLEN: TWEEN

Texas-based artist Sterling Allen uses found materials to create site-specific works at the intersection of sculpture and photography. Wood, paint and other natural and artificial elements are mixed in random combinations, imbuing the familiar with a sense of the unexpected. Allen’s promiscuous process finds the artist floating between drawing, creating collages, taking photos and building forms. He’s tirelessly curious, and his work is replete with a sense of play and the thrill of discovery. The title, TWEEN, speaks to the middle part of a quest, the bridges that connect origins and destinations.

The glue, the weld, the twine that hold a work of art, an idea or even a community together at the places that are neither here nor there. JOE NOLAN

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FRIDAY / 7.11

THEATER

[A COMEDY WITH BITE] ACTORS BRIDGE ENSEMBLE PRESENTS EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR

Actors Bridge Ensemble returns this weekend, kicking off its 30th anniversary season with the Nashville premiere of Exit, Pursued by a Bear Penned by the oh-so-prolific Lauren Gunderson, Bear offers a “dark yet hopeful revenge comedy.” The action centers on a young woman named Nan who has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson he won’t soon forget. With a little assist from her pal Simon and a stripper named Sweetheart, Nan duct-tapes Kyle to a chair, forcing him to watch as they reenact scenes from their troubled past. And just for a bit of added emphasis, they smear the room with honey — in hopes that Kyle will be mauled by a bear. The play is directed and designed by ABE’s resident scenic designer Paul Gatrell, and the cast includes Kyla Ledes, Luke Hatmaker, Claire Pals and Hayden Jones. It’s been two long years since ABE has been able to produce a regular main-stage season thanks to the ongoing funding struggles with the Metro Arts Commission. So it’s really exciting to see this tenacious crew back in action. Welcome back, Actors Bridge — you’ve been sorely missed.

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[HASTA LA VISTA, BABY] ACTION DISTRACTION: TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY

Prior to the release of another film featured in this week’s Critics’ Picks section — spoiler alert: it’s George Miller’s masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road — 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day reigned supreme as the most relentless blockbuster action movie. The inimitable James Cameron did what he’s best at: He scaled something up significantly without losing what makes it special. Big Jim followed the low-budget, tech-noir-horror of The Terminator with an action-packed set-piece machine, filled with showstopping feats of both practical and computer-generated special effects. But perhaps the smartest choice Cameron and company made was changing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic T-800 Terminator from an evil killing machine to the only thing stopping T2’s teenage John Connor (Edward Furlong) from being turned into dust by Robert Patrick’s liquidmetal T-1000. In honor of Linda Hamilton, we’re rocking the guns-out look at the Belcourt for the latest Action Distraction showcase. For showtimes, visit belcourt.org LOGAN BUTTS JULY 11 & 14 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.

THEATER

[A BUSHEL AND A PECK] FRANKLIN THEATRICAL FELLOWSHIP PRESENTS GUYS & DOLLS

Guys & Dolls has often been called the “perfect musical.” And why not? With its colorful characters and lush Frank Loesser score, this Broadway classic has been enchanting audiences since its premiere back in 1950. But beginning this weekend, you can experience this old favorite in a whole new way as Franklin Theatrical Fellowship presents Guys & Dolls: An Immersive Theatrical Experience. Transforming East Nashville’s intimate Studio 615 into the rollicking Biltmore Garage — where Nathan Detroit and his merry band of gamblers, grifters and dolls are hosting “the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York” — this ambitious production promises to put you right in the heart of the action. Be sure to arrive early for a fun casino-night vibe — complete with cocktails, snacks, casino games and a live jazz band — then settle in for the performance. Director Melanie Sutton has gathered a terrific cast, including Philip David Black, Rebekah Howell, Brian Charles Rooney, Austin Correll, Savannah Stein and more. And I’m eager to see what choreographer Allison Little and scenic designer Jim Manning have cooked up for this unique space. AMY STUMPFL

JULY 11-20 AT STUDIO 615

272 BROADMOOR DRIVE

SATURDAY

/ 7.12

MUSIC

[LET’S WORK TOGETHER] TRISTEN & CORTNEY TIDWELL

Roughly two decades ago in Nashville, a group of indie rockers began reshaping the city’s musical vocabulary. Among them were Cortney Tidwell and Tristen Gaspadarek, whose work anticipated the sounds of currently popular bands and solo performers like Wednesday, Waxahatchee and Big Thief. Tristen’s 2011 fulllength Charlatans at the Garden Gate was a form

of country-rock, while 2021’s Aquatic Flowers sounded like post-rock. Meanwhile, Tidwell’s 2007 Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up and 2009’s Boys folded and mutated her voice into infinity, as if Björk had moved to Nashville and was determined to make her peace with the lingering influence of country music itself. On Saturday at Soft Junk, Tristen and Tidwell get together as a duo called Phiz, which recorded a couple of minimalist tracks in 2014 that Nashville label YK Records released this year. “I Lost My Fkn Mind” and “If I Had Known” skew to the arty side of things, which is cool — the combined vocals of Tidwell and Tristen sound just great. At Tristen’s show in March at The Blue Room supporting her new EP Zenith, Tidwell made an appearance, singing a song they cowrote, “Lovin’ You.” Their collaborative energy proves art can be just as viable as commerce in Music City. EDD HURT

8 P.M. AT SOFT JUNK 919 GALLATIN AVE.

FILM [LOOKIN’ AT YOU SIDEWAYS] ACTION DISTRACTION: SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman, Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse came out in 2018 but holds up beautifully. The originality of its vision pops even more following several years’ worth of drab, CGI-laden superhero imagery. It’s remained a constant in my kids’ viewing rotation above all else. And while I usually dissociate or start doing errands on my phone during other Marvel viewings, I drop everything to watch this one all the way through. The writing is so, so sharp. A crowd-pleaser in the best way, it almost always makes me cry. The mise-en-scène is crazy good. I explained to my 11-year-old that means he could take a screenshot of any single frame and hang it on his wall as a poster. Sure, it could be considered too frenetic for some, but Into the Spider-Verse subverts the comic book tropes instead of piling them on, and the humor never

undercuts the pacing. Ultimately, it’s one of the best animated films of the past decade — if not the best superhero film of the decade — which makes it one of the best movies of the decade. Seeing it on the big screen is a gift tied in a webbed bow. Visit belcourt.org for showtimes.

TOBY ROSE

JULY 12 & 15 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.

MUSIC

[BLOOD IN, BLOOD OUT] BLOOD INCANTATION & PALLBEARER

As the apex predator of the Denver underground, Blood Incantation has grown into something much more expansive than their death metal roots. The Mile High Hessians came into their own in the same scene as notable heavy acts like Spectral Voice and Khemmis. But for their second album, 2019’s Hidden History of the Human Race, Blood Incantation began to dive deeper into psychedelic/progressiverock elements that might have ruined a lesser band. They departed from metal altogether for a divisive third LP of ambient music, and their recent fourth album Absolute Elsewhere takes listeners even deeper into their unique hybrid blend of proggy space rock and scorching death metal. The record, featuring the synthesizer work of current Tangerine Dream bandleader Thorsten Quaeschning, has caught the ears of critics for the imaginative and meditative take on extreme music. Boasting lyrics that would make H.P. Lovecraft proud, Blood Incantation’s work touches on subjects like stargates, ancient aliens and mystical mythology. The band has proven to be one of the most transcendental metal acts on any stage, but no fan should pass up the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a group like this at The Caverns. Taking the expression “caveman death metal” literally, Blood Incantation will bring their Absolute Elsetour to the subterranean venue. They are bringing along veteran Arkansas doom machine Pallbearer, whose mournful 2012 LP Sorrow and Extinction still ranks as one of my all-

NASHVILLE

EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR

time favorite albums in heavy music. This is an experience definitely worth the 90-mile haul to Grundy County. P.J. KINZER

8 P.M. AT THE CAVERNS

555 CHARLIE ROBERTS ROAD, PELHAM

FILM [WITNESS ME]

ACTION DISTRACTION: MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

Mad Max: Fury Road spent 30 years in development hell. In 1987, franchise mastermind George Miller got the idea for an installment that was “a continuous chase” — and then embarked on one himself to bring the movie to life, dogged by security concerns from the Iraq War, Mel Gibson’s various scandals, a freak rainy season in the Namibian desert and the production schedule of Happy Feet. But through it all, the Fury Road war rig emerged triumphantly in 2015, smashing through the genre barrier to win six Oscars and cement its place as one of the greatest action movies of all time. Now, 10 years later, the film’s cries of “We are not things” and “Our children will not be warlords” remain all too prescient. In its surreal, post-apocalyptic outback, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) and the recently backstoried Furiosa (Charlize Theron) liberate the five wives of warlord Immortan Joe (including Courtney Eaton, in her pre-Yellowjackets debut as Cheedo) and attempt to lead them to the dream of the Green Place. It’s a deeply human story about seeking community and identity in the face of desperation, and it also fucking rules. Witness it at the Belcourt as part of July’s Action Distraction series. Visit belcourt.org for showtimes.

ANNIE PARNELL

JULY 12 & 14 AT THE BELCOURT

2102 BELCOURT AVE.

[FLOW LIKE WINE]

MUSIC

GABE DIXON ALBUM RELEASE

— fan favorites.” DARYL SANDERS

One of Nashville’s leading piano rockers for more than a quarter-century, soulful singer-songwriter-keyboardist Gabe Dixon will celebrate the release of his fourth solo album — the superb Parts I’ve Played — with a show Saturday night in the Neon Temple theater at Chief’s on Broadway. Dixon, who is also a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, will be backed at the show by two of the musicians who accompanied him on the album — bassist Rich Brinsfield and drummer-percussionist Dustin Ransom. In addition to producing the record, Ransom played a variety of other instruments on it and co-wrote four of the 10 original songs. Parts I’ve Played primarily showcases Dixon’s gospel and R&B influences, especially funky New Orleans and Memphis R&B. Regarding his gospel influences, Dixon tells the Scene, “I connected big time with Ray Charles when I was in my early teens, and also Elton John — especially the gospel side of both of those guys. I grew up in church, so I had all those harmonies in my brain.” Saturday’s show, which may include a few guest musicians, will be divided into two sets. “The whole first set will be the album,” Dixon says. “The plan is to play it in sequence. The second set will just be older stuff

8 P.M. AT CHIEF’S ON BROADWAY 200 BROADWAY

[KEEPING COMEDY WEIRD]

COMEDY

CHRIS FLEMING

In a March episode of the podcast WTF, Marc Maron effusively praises comedian Chris Fleming: “He does stand-up in a way that is rare — just legit stream-of-consciousness.” Getting that kind of acceptance from such a comedy curmudgeon must have felt extremely validating for Fleming, who is a great example of what can happen when you commit to being true to your own hyper-specific weirdness — your audience starts to relate to you. Fleming is nothing like Jerry Seinfeld, but no comedian since Seinfeld has made more from their own banal observations than Fleming. Who else can riff on the snacks at Trader Joe’s that only women can see? Or the guy who smokes a cigar at high school graduation? The way a restaurant that’s owned by brothers has a very specific and unsettling vibe? The difference between how male and female doctors enter examination rooms? These are questions Fleming will possibly answer at Saturday’s performance at TPAC — hopefully while wearing a spangly

7:30 P.M.

TPAC’S POLK THEATER

505 DEADERICK ST.

MUSIC

[DOPE BOY DREAMING] MIKE FLOSS

We at the Scene have been following Mike Floss’ work since before that dude could buy a lotto ticket, back in the shutter-shades-andsnapback days, and when we say he is Nashville as Nashville gets, you better believe it. When he spit “the denim raw, the drinks cold” on his new single “Right Where I Belong,” he tapped into some deep-core Nashville shit. The video finds him looking fresh in a cowboy hat and Western shirt leaning over a barn door as the funky flute beat roils, casual and confident in his aesthetic curveball. Floss’ flow is as finetuned and musical as it gets, as free and loose as you’d expect from the son of a jazz player, and his commitment to constant creative renewal feels as homegrown as garden-fresh tomatoes. It’s a good look. Crystal Rose and DJ Truestarr join Floss for his “hip-hop Western experience.”

SEAN L. MALONEY

7 P.M. AT THE BLUE ROOM AT THIRD MAN RECORDS 623 SEVENTH AVE. S.

blouse. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

AT

MIKE FLOSS

PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

SUNDAY / 7.13

MUSIC [SOMETHING LIKE A PHENOMENON] SOMETHING LIKE A SONGWRITERS NIGHT FEAT. ELENA FRANKLIN, DILLON WATSON & MORE

Writers’ rounds are very common fare here in Music City — the capital of an industry founded on collabs, co-writes and covers. But a show coming up this weekend at East Nashville watering hole/record shop/venue Vinyl Tap opens the stage to a handful of local songwriters you’re not likely to see at one of, say, The Bluebird Cafe’s In the Round shows. Organized by Elena Franklin — frontwoman of longtime local grunge-pop outfit Reality Something, and more recently co-frontwoman of Understar — Something Like a Songwriters Night will feature Franklin and several fellow local rock ’n’ rollers offering acoustic versions of their songs. Also on the bill: psych-rocking guitar wiz Dillon Watson (who’s played with D. Watusi, U.S. Girls and many others, as well as under his own name); Reality Something guitarist and former Turbo Fruits sideman Kingsley Brock; Understar member and frontwoman of industrial-edged pop-rock project Heaven Honey, Jordan Victoria; and Nikki Barber of psych-blues outfit The Minks. Franklin tells the Scene she hopes to turn the show into a series, so come see what could be the inaugural installment. The show is free.

D. PATRICK RODGERS

7 P.M. AT VINYL TAP 2038 GREENWOOD AVE.

ART [THIS SUMMER I WENT SWIMMING] LET’S GO SWIMMING

I’ve been writing about art in Nashville and the South for almost 20 years, but I still love a summertime group art exhibition. During the season of travel and days on the water, baseball tournaments and backyard barbecues, it’s not easy to lure folks into an art gallery. A sprawling summer group show ensures plenty of varied works on the walls — something for everybody who might pop into an art venue before they hit that outdoor concert or food festival. Of course, many of these swelter-weather displays are catchall programming while galleries plan for the fabulous fall season and the holidays. Let’s Go Swimming at Tinney Contemporary could only be an art show between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but this exhibition, made up entirely of female artists, isn’t just a summer vacation fling. Sophia Belkin, Megan Greene, Esther Ruiz, Elise Thompson and Yanira Vissepó have created a multimedia archipelago of abstract landscapes that reflect the flora and funk of Southern summertime. It’s also a show that arrives right in step with the new formalist trends that are taking over contemporary art everywhere. Here’s to seeing more displays like this one in 2025. As the late, great Brian Wilson asked in his best song, “Wouldn’t it be nice?” JOE NOLAN

OPENING RECEPTION 10 A.M.; THROUGH AUG. 16

AT TINNEY CONTEMPORARY

237 REP. JOHN LEWIS WAY N.

TUESDAY / 7.15

FILM [YO HOMIE, THAT MY BRIEFCASE?]

ACTION DISTRACTION: COLLATERAL

No disrespect to Edge of Tomorrow, Tropic Thunder, War of the Worlds and all the iterations of Ethan Hunt, but the last truly great Tom Cruise performance came more than 20 years ago in Michael Mann’s neo-noir action thriller Collateral. There are many deep dives out there on what exactly caused Cruise to stop taking risky roles, but Collateral’s Vincent — a hit man dragging Jamie Foxx’s cab driver Max on a crazy night through Los Angeles — was a pretty damn enticing showcase for what could have been during these past two decades of Cruise on the big screen. I’m thankful he saved movie theaters and all that, but I’d rather see Cruise in (onscreen) psycho mode rather than the blandly heroic stuntman we’ve gotten over and over in the time since. Join your local urban coyote on a trip to the Belcourt for another stellar entry in the Action Distraction series. For showtimes, visit belcourt.org LOGAN BUTTS

JULY 15 & 20 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.

WEDNESDAY

/ 7.16

FILM

[NOT SO SERIOUS]

QUEER CLASSICS: THE PEOPLE’S JOKER

The fact that trans-coming-of-age superhero parody film The People’s Joker can be seen in a cinema feels like a miracle. After concerns from Warner Bros. about potential copyright issues with the film’s unabashed use of the company’s iconic Caped Crusader and the Clown Prince of Crime likenesses, director-writer-star Vera Drew faced significant hurdles to get it screened. Luckily for us, Drew persisted, and she and her film will be coming to the Belcourt on July 16 for a showing and a post-screening Q&A. The film follows heroine Joker the Harlequin and her gang of outsiders as they start an anticomedy club in a Gotham where comedy is illegal, eventually finding themselves at odds with a tyrannical Batman seeking to police the city’s expression. A tub of feminizing hormones, naked CGI Lorne Michaels and an appearance from Bob Odenkirk are among the film’s memorable features. Pop-culture references, colliding visual styles and all, this campy, scrappy piece of cinema is full of heart. At its semi-autobiographical core, it earnestly explores the complexity of trans identity. If you’ve ever complained about a lack of originality in cinema, this crowdfunded DIY trip might be your antidote. KATHLEEN HARRINGTON

8 P.M. AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.

A NASHVILLIAN’S GUIDE TO ICELAND

Friendly people, photogenic landscapes and famous hot dogs make direct flights to the Nordic island an excellent idea for Nashvillians

BY ELLEN FORT

LIKE THE CITY ITSELF, the Nashville airport is morphing into a heavily trafficked beast that’s drawing in world travelers. But it’s also giving Nashvillians more opportunities to become world travelers. Nashville’s direct flight to Reykjavik, Iceland, launched in April, opening a portal to another world.

The entire country is about the size of Kentucky, but with a much smaller population, estimated at around 400,000 people. It is also one of the youngest landmasses in the world, and continues to grow and shift due to its volcanic and geothermal activity. Volcanoes, geysers, lava fields and waterfalls are all part of what makes this remote island so magical. There are still glaciers to be seen there as well, though you may want to plan that part of your trip ahead of time if seeing a glacier is high on your bucket list. Northern lights can typically be seen from November through April.

Much like Nashville, storms can roll through at any moment. In Iceland’s case, that’s thanks to its oceanic island climate, as the island is surrounded by the frigid Atlantic (think “cold Hawaii”). As Icelanders will tell you, it’s not unusual to experience every weather condition possible in a single day, from warm sun to snow to gusting winds.

For folks looking to get away, it’s a super easy way to reach an amazing European spot known for its incredible nature, lively culture and growing food scene. And it’s not just Reykjavik; Iceland’s Keflavík International Airport is a fantastic hub, offering simple connections to tons of major European cities, with the option to turn a layover into a vacation. And it goes both ways. If we’re lucky, Nashville will welcome many curious Icelanders too. Depending on when you book your tickets, round-trip flights can be secured for, in some cases, as little as $400 before taxes and service fees.

Read on for some of the items Nashvillians should be putting on their Icelandic bucket lists.

EAT

HOT DOG! BÆJARINS BEZTU PYLSUR

Is Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur the Prince’s Hot Chicken of Reykjavik? Based on its popularity and growing fame, the comparison stands. Since 1937 this iconic downtown stand has been serving its signature hot dogs topped with crispy onions, raw onions, sweet brown mustard, ketchup and remoulade to Icelanders, who reportedly eat more hot dogs per capita than any other population — though it bears repeating that there really aren’t that many Icelanders. The dog itself is lamb-based with a snappy casing that’s a large part of why they’re so craveable. Grabbing one after a late night in Reykjavik is just as

important as that late-night dog from Daddy’s Dogs in Printers Alley, though they’re tasty at any time of the day.

TOMATO FEST: FRIÐHEIMAR TOMATO FARM

After touring the lunar landscape of Iceland with its frigid waterfalls, charred lava fields and craggy, moss-covered expanses, walking into the Friðheimar Tomato Farm is like stepping into another world. Even though there are only a couple of hours of daylight during certain months of the year in Iceland, the farm is brimming with tomatoes cultivated in giant greenhouses powered by clean and plentiful geothermal energy. Tour the greenhouses and stay for lunch: Bottomless bowls of tomato soup are served with fresh bread and as many tomato-flavored food items as you can think of, from tomato beer to sorbet.

WHAT’S THAT SMELL: HÁKARL

While it’s typically frowned upon for foreigners to hate on a country’s beloved delicacies, Iceland’s fermented shark is divisive even within its own population. Anthony Bourdain once called the famously disgusting dish “the single worst thing I’ve ever eaten,” and there are many, many people who agree with him. A tradition tracing back to the ancient Vikings who settled on Ice-

land’s shores in need of sustenance, hákarl is the meat of a Greenland shark that is buried and fermented for months, then dried. It tastes strongly of ammonia with a distinctly fishy flavor, and is typically consumed with a shot of Brennivín, an Icelandic aquavit that’s also fondly referred to as “black death.” Try it if you dare. (We dare you.)

STAY

REST UP: HOTEL RANGA

After a day of serious exploration, head to Hotel Ranga to soak in hot tubs by the river, and warm up with hot chocolate. The luxury hotel is an ideal home base for exploring the waterfalls and geysers of the Golden Circle — a popular route that begins and ends in Reykjavik — and is renowned for its Northern Lights viewing. It even has its own observatory and in-house astronomer; if the lights show up while guests are

sleeping, they can opt-in to receive a call from the front desk before donning parkas and heading outside. Think Smoky Mountain cabin, but with volcanoes instead of ridges.

DO

RIDE AN ICELANDIC HORSE: HORSEWORLD

Head into the countryside to catch a glimpse of Iceland’s prized horses. Descendents of Norse horses that made the trek across the North Sea in the ninth century, Icelandic horses are fiercely protected, and like the country’s people, exceptionally friendly and even-tempered. They’re also exceptionally strong for their petite size, which is also fiercely defended by Icelanders, who will be deeply offended if you refer to them as “ponies.” No other horses can be imported to the country, and horses who leave to show or breed can never return; as a result there are no

FRIÐHEIMAR TOMATO FARM

BÆJARINS BEZTU PYLSUR

spreadable equine diseases in the country. They are known for their smooth fifth gait, called the tölt, which is akin to that of Tennessee’s state horse, the Tennessee Walking Horse. Both breeds are excellent for comfortably traversing rocky landscapes or Tennessee farmland.

SOAK IN GEOTHERMAL POOLS: BLUE LAGOON

Iceland is known for its amazing use of the sustainable geothermal energy powering the country. That energy is also responsible for the milk-blue pools of silica-rich water that form the Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s most famous attractions. The water, heated by volcanic energy thousands of feet below the surface of the earth, is believed to have healing properties, and has spawned a spa, restaurants and two hotels. Slap on a mud mask and grab a drink from the swim-up bar, and you won’t miss Percy Priest’s Party Cove one bit.

YEE-HARPA! HARPA CONCERT HALL

The Grand Ole Opry of Iceland? Not exactly, but Harpa is the musical center of Reykjavik, hosting everything from the Reykjavik Jazz Festival to an upcoming Dolly Parton tribute in its gorgeous spaces. The stunning building is hard to miss, covered in gleaming glass on the edge of the water in the country’s capital.

GO CHASING WATERFALLS (AND GEYSERS AND BEACHES)

In Iceland, waterfalls are frigid and pure enough to drink. Tennessee has no shortage of

gorgeous waterfalls to explore, but Iceland’s glacial runoff makes for some of the best sightseeing. Travel the Golden Circle and along the way, you’ll see Skógafoss, one of Iceland’s biggest (200 feet) and most photogenic falls, where rainbows are constant in the spray below. Nearby is one of Iceland’s most famous waterfalls, Seljalandsfoss. Travel even further to encounter the goth version of 30A at Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach, where black volcanic sand and beautiful geometric basalt columns formed when ancient lava was cooled by seawater. Never turn your back on the ocean here, as deadly “sneaker waves” are common and very dangerous. Embrace your inner Tennessean and take an ATV tour of the beach and surrounding town of Vík.

VISIT A MONUMENT TO A FAMOUS NASHVILLIAN

You’ve heard of Joint Base Andrews (née Andrews Air Force Base), but did you know that it’s named after a native son? Major General Frank Maxwell Andrews, also known as one of the founders of the modern Air Force, was born and raised in Nashville. In 1943, Andrews was serving as the commander of Allied Forces in the European theater when he died in a plane crash in Iceland, while on an inspection tour. That plane was Hot Stuff, the first B-24 heavy bomber to complete 25 missions, on its way back to the States to boost morale and sell war bonds. Andrews and the crew of Hot Stuff are commemorated with a stately stone monument on the way from Keflavik airport to Reykjavik, making it an easy stop to remember one of Tennessee’s finest. ▼

HORSEWORLD

SATURDAY, AUGUST 2

The Factory at Franklin’s Liberty Hall

1 - 4pm

PARTICIPATING BOUTIQUES

ABLE / Any Old Iron / Banded / Brittany Fuson / CT Grace, a Boutique / e.Allen / Elle Gray / Exclusive Look Boutique, The / Fab’rik Franklin / Flash & Trash & a Little Bit of Sass / Franklin Road Apparel / The French Shoppe / Glamour Formals / Harper’s Den / Hollie Ray Boutique / Mountain High Outfitters / Nash Collection / Nine Thirteen / Palmer Kennedy / Pauli’s Place Boutique / Society Boutique / Style with a Twist / Vinnie Louise / Wilder / The Willing Crab

CULTURE: IN THE CLUB

NASHVILLE SMUT LOVERS

This club wants to heat up your bookshelf, one page at a time

BY TINA DOMINGUEZ

6-8 p.m. Sunday, July 20, at Cherries, 839 Dickerson Pike nashvillesmut.com

In the Club is a recurring series in which the Scene explores Nashville’s social club offerings.

ALEXA SIERRA, one of the co-founders of Nashville Smut Lovers, is wearing a shirt reading, “The only thing I like more than fucking is reading books.” She introduces her club to a crowd that’s assembled for trivia in conjunction with another bookish group, Book Club Trivia Nashville.

“We’re a local book club, and we don’t read

the same book,” Sierra begins. “We read all the smut and make friends. We’ll have a night market with masked men running around …”

An excited woo! from the crowd interrupts her.

“I should’ve led with that,” she says with a laugh. “That’s the seller.”

This is not your typical book club.

This particular event is a partnership with Book Club Trivia, and the group is covering Lights Out by Navessa Allen. The dark romance

mendations. Each month, Nashville Smut Lovers hosts a smaller meetup in a different coffee shop or bar. These meetups are very low-pressure, and the hosts help members overcome their “newcomer nerves.”

The club began with some of these smaller meetups, followed by a Halloween party and their first ticketed event — a 50 Shades of Greythemed masquerade party — in 2024. As the group grew, Tyler Billings and Lauren Chabira were added as creative partners and moderators, which helped the club host even larger events and manage its growing social media presence.

“After my first party, I [knew] these were my people,” says Billings. “The camaraderie in the group is incredible; nobody is a stranger. Even if it’s your first meetup, you’re going to leave with phone numbers and new friends.”

novel features a morally gray male love interest who has a penchant for wearing masks.

Nashville Smut Lovers began in September 2023 when Sierra and Maryssa Edwards — two friends in their mid-20s — started the group as a way to meet new people in Nashville. They launched with a closed Facebook group, and the group quickly grew to almost 200 members in its first week. Now they have more than 1,500 members, plus 3,000 followers on Instagram and 6,000 on TikTok.

The premise of the club is simple: It’s a safe space to discuss all things smut. While all romance subgenres and tropes are welcome, the group doesn’t shy away from more taboo subjects. Darker storylines? Biker boys? Enemies-to-lovers? Mafia romances? All of these are welcome and up for discussion.

“This is a safe place to be who we are,” Edwards tells the Scene. “I’ve always struggled with being introverted, and I know I’m not the only person who struggles with this. It’s important to me to foster an environment where everyone feels seen.”

The main motivation to start the club wasn’t just to have a place to discuss new favorite books, but also to allow women to express their own kinks and desires, and to truly be themselves.

For more introverted folks who might be less comfortable talking smut in public, the Facebook group is always active with new discussions, and the group’s Instagram account (@ nashvillesmut) features different book recom-

The Nashville bookish community has been steadily growing over the past few years, as seen with the opening of at least three local independent mobile bookstores dedicated to romance and smut — Sugar and Spice Book Co., Shadowed Pages Bookshop and Slow Burn Bookshop. Then there’s silent reading nights and literary events like those NSL have organized popping up around the city. The Smut Lovers have set out to make their club an inclusive space for romance readers within this growing community, and have also made it a point to showcase locals whenever possible. They’ve partnered with other book groups like Nash Gals Book Swap, and they feature local mobile romance bookstores like Sugar and Spice Co. at their events. Their logo, two peppers forming the shape of lips, was drawn by local artist Jeff Barnard at Golden Yeti Tattoo

Nashville Smut Lovers has also made events as accessible as possible, ensuring that authors, vendors and readers are able to connect. In May, the club hosted the inaugural Tempted by Fiction book festival at Fait la Force Brewing, which brought in more than 300 guests. The free event showcased indie authors — most of whom sold out of their books in the first hourand-a-half — plus a variety of other vendors selling book-themed merch.

The Tempted by Fiction festival will be returning in October, but this time as a night market. Indie authors and vendors will definitely come back, and will be joined by some masked men and other spooky treats. The group’s holiday party — A Circus of Temptation in December — will be an immersive circus experience, featuring live performances, a DJ set and curated cocktails.

Community events and festivals aside, at the heart of this club is a group of bookish ladies talking about their favorite thing: smut.

“It’s something I look forward to every month,” says Callie Gray, a member since 2024. “For me it’s a need. I love to have the girlies that I can talk to about things, no filter. It’s just a really loving community. … It’s wonderful.” ▼

Nashville Smut Lovers July Meetup

BE YOUR OWN BOSS

Talking to Hank Azaria, whose Bruce Springsteen tribute show is headed to Franklin

BY ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ

HANK AZARIA TRIES to impersonate everyone He’s shown off plenty of celebrity impressions during his tenure on The Simpsons: Chief Wiggum is based on Edward G. Robinson, Dr. Frink is a riff on Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor. Even characters like Comic Book Guy are inspired by people he grew up with or met in college.

But the Spamalot star’s most recent act is a bit more than mere mimicry. He’s out to channel one of the most beloved entertainers in the country, a saint of the East Coast working class: Bruce Springsteen.

“I grew up in New York, so everybody in the Tri-State Area, most of us loved Bruce,” Azaria tells the Scene. “You can’t avoid Bruce growing up in the era that I did, and it’s really very embedded.”

The Boss’ music “played a lot in the movie of my life,” says Azaria, pointing to Springsteen’s cinematic lyrics. “He’s also got that gift where he feels like he’s singing directly to you, about you — which, even a lot of great artists who I love don’t have that exactly. And so I think that’s why it feels so personal to me.”

It’s fitting that growing older — and intensify-

ing nostalgia — first inspired the performance.

“I was feeling kind of down about turning 60, which was unlike me,” the Brockmire star says.

The half-joking way he explains the dour mood is that when you turn 40, everyone says it’s the new 30. Then you turn 50, they say it’s the new 40.

“You turn 60,” he says, “nobody says anything.”

So he decided to throw a birthday party, and told guests a tribute band would be performing — but he didn’t tell them he’d be the lead singer. In other interviews, Azaria mentions passing on acting gigs to tour with the show, raising money for charity with each stop. (He tells the Scene that he just finished writing a one-man show, so fans can anticipate a return to theater.)

They’re still at it, one year later, and now Azaria and his EZ Street Band are stopping at the Franklin Theater on Thursday evening to perform 14 Springsteen classics.

“I’ve had to really raise my singing game in order to do this,” Azaria says. Mastering Springsteen’s signature rasp was also important — do it incorrectly, Azaria says, and you could “blow your voice out.” It might help that Springsteen’s regis-

ter is somewhere between a young Al Pacino and crusty Springfield bartender Moe Szyslak, as he playfully demonstrates on our phone call.

Performing the songs also gave Azaria a new appreciation for The Boss’ catalog.

“There’s something about singing those songs — and especially that kind of rock ’n’ roll Bruce growl that he lets loose sometimes, especially live — that I found so primal and such an expression of teenage anger and sadness,” he says. “It was almost like therapy.”

Azaria also copies Springsteen’s concert banter, talking to the crowd and telling stories between songs — all while channeling the singer. Azaria doesn’t drop the act even when he talks about meeting his wife before launching into “She’s the One,” or recounting the two times he actually met Bruce Springsteen.

“In a funny way, I find it easier talking about myself in-character than as myself,” says Azaria, noting that, as a veteran actor and comedian, “it’s kind of my gig.”

While the “Born in the U.S.A.” singer has never shied from politics, Azaria says he doesn’t

dive into current affairs during the show.

“I let my worship and endorsement of Bruce speak for itself,” he says, affecting the singer’s voice. Then, in his normal voice: “It’s much more of a personal homage, and I like to focus more on what connects all of us than what divides us.”

Funds for the show benefit Azaria and his wife’s Four Through Nine Foundation, a nonprofit that has donated to causes like addiction recovery, social justice and more. Azaria says it’s the most fun he’s had fundraising, and that he’s loved the challenge of the tribute performance.

“This is by far the hardest I’ve ever worked, and it’s a true joy, like it’s purely joy for me. Our goal is to be not just the best Springsteen tribute band, but the best tribute band out there.” ▼

Performing 7 p.m.

Thursday, July 10, at The Franklin Theatre

PHOTO: LEAH BOUCHIER-HAYES

A CINDERELLA STORY

Sesame Street’s Megan Piphus gives young girls a voice on her new LP Cinderella Sweep

BY MARGARET LITTMAN

MEGAN PIPHUS MAY NOT be a household name. But for households with a certain demographic, her voice and her alter ego are very familiar. Piphus has played the role of Gabrielle on Sesame Street since 2020, and she became the first full-time Black woman puppeteer on the storied children’s television program in 2021. This week, Piphus will release her second album of music for kids, with strong connections to hip-hop and R&B. And while Gabrielle is not involved, many of the lessons Piphus has learned and shared on the show are evident in the record’s ethos.

“My first album Spaceships & Dreams is a very imaginative album about dreaming big,” says Piphus, who has won four Emmys. “But this album is for young girls. There’s lots of music that young girls listen to from ages 7 to 13, but that music isn’t necessarily written with them in mind. So my goal with Cinderella Sweep was to write music that was specifically for the girls, and values that I would have needed at that age.”

Piphus, who lives in Nashville with her family and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Vanderbilt University, is joined on the album by 53 girls from the nonprofit Saving Our Daughters, including the Soul Children of Chicago youth choir. Saving Our Daughters is a nonprofit organization for which Piphus volunteers as a “celebrity godparent.” The idea behind Saving Our Daughters is to help girls from diverse backgrounds build self-esteem and confidence and to learn skills outside of those taught in schools. Saving Our Daughters works with different public, private and charter schools to implement their arts-based curriculum. There isn’t a school in Nashville working with Saving Our Daughters — yet. The more than 50,000 girls who have participated in Saving Our Daughters over the years are called “Cinderellas,” and that nickname inspired the album name.

The album also features a narrative of a game show, which is where the “sweep” portion comes into play. With Cinderella Sweep, Piphus says she has wowed her harshest critics: her sons, ages 6 and 4. “I finally wrote a couple of songs that they’re fans of and they genuinely love listening to, and they request in the car now,” she says with a laugh. “I feel really good about that.” One of her sons appears on the album, too.

The educational aspect of the album is crucial to Piphus, who continues to perform as Gabrielle as she works on other projects. That includes a children’s book called Talk to the Hand set for publication next year from Penguin Young Readers. The book tells the story of how Piphus found her voice through puppetry.

The daughter of a pastor, Piphus was introduced to puppetry at age 10, when members of her church went to a conference with a Christian puppetry and ventriloquism component. Returning home, she went to the library, where she checked out VHS tapes on how to do ventriloquism.

“I watched them forwards and backwards,” she recalls. “Within a couple of weeks, I was performing at school in front of my classmates and telling jokes. From there, I wrote scripts and performed in front of the school and other schools, my church, other churches — and never quit.”

Her first puppet was a replica of Edgar Bergen’s famous Charlie McCarthy, because it was easily available. “It was a funny juxtaposition for me, to be a little 10-year-old Black girl with a puppet that had a tuxedo and spectacle and a top hat,” Piphus recalls. It took her another year or more to find her first Black puppet, a girl with a mullet she named Darlene.

It’s hard for Piphus to narrow down her own favorites on the 15-track album.

“I love different songs for different reasons. The first one on the album is ‘Good Morning, Good Day.’ That’s my favorite song to listen to in the morning, but my favorite song to dance to is ‘A New Cinderella.’ There are some beautiful, reflective songs, like ‘Garden on My Head,’ that have lots of beautiful imagery and time for reflection. My favorite song to teach with is ‘ABCs of Me.’ I love being able to teach through the arts, so that’s my favorite teaching song.” ▼

ShopScene!the

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Leslie Jordan

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Local Kids Always Visit Free

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Cinderella Sweep out Friday, July 11, via Platoon

JULY 12 |

18

JULY 21 | HANNAH MONTANA:

FREE REIN

Argentine director Luis Ortega’s Kill the Jockey is a fascinating tale of queer redemption

BY CRAIG D. LINDSEY

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT you’d never see another stylishly surreal, Spanish-language quasi-musical about a character who escapes a life of violence and corruption during a gender transition, here comes Kill the Jockey — a new import that shows up just months after Emilia Pérez became an Oscar-winning cause célèbre

While watching this blatantly strange queer farce, it’s hard not to think of Jacques Audiard’s divisive Netflix original, which starred problematic trans actress Karla Sofia Gascón as a Mexican cartel leader who becomes a pillar of the community after transitioning. Jockey truly one-ups Pérez — that accidental campfest — in creating a trans odyssey that’s even more absurd and offbeat. It’s like the filmmakers knew Pérez was coming and went into hold-my-cerveza mode.

In the more-dangerous-than-you-mightthink world of Argentinean horse racing, legendary Buenos Aires jockey Remo Manfredini (the Buster Keaton-looking Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) has become a self-destructive mess. His excessive drinking and drug use make it difficult for him to even stay on a horse. While it’s obvious he’s tired of racing, he’s too much of an asset to Rubén Sirena (Daniel Giménez Cacho), a powerful mobster/mentor who’s always schlepping around a half-naked baby. Remo’s also stuck in a loveless relationship with his

pregnant girlfriend and chief rival Abril (Úrsula Corberó), who wants to be the most successful jockey in the family.

A tragic racetrack mishap lands Remo in the hospital and makes Sirena choose violence. Before Sirena can initiate his vengeance, dispatching his aging, tired henchman to retrieve Remo, a bandaged Remo comes out of his coma, grabs a mink coat and purse and splits. He goes on a mostly nocturnal journey getting to know Delores, his long-dormant feminine side, who has now come out to see what’s up.

Jockey is all about roaming free and living your best life. Here Argentine director/co-writer Luis Ortega (El Angel) has made a deadpan queer satire in which several characters grapple with identity and desire. And Remo isn’t the only one discovering himself. Once Remo is AWOL, Abril has a fling with Ana (the pompadoured Mariana di Girólamo), a fellow female jockey Abril enjoys dancing with in the girls’ locker room. Apparently, the chilly Abril prefers to communicate through dance; at one point, she has a spastic dance-off with Remo (who moves like Denis Lavant at the end of Beau Travail).

Jockey is an intriguing mix of Pedro Almodóvar-level queer-coded melodrama and Aki Kaurismäki-ish droll minimalism, with some oddball, Lynchian absurdity thrown in to keep

Kill the Jockey NR, 96 minutes Opening Friday, July 11, at the Belcourt

things engagingly weird. Although there are moments when things are weird for the sake of being weird (especially in the head-scratching finale), Ortega and co-writers Fabian Casas and Rodolfo Palacios sardonically craft an avant-garde sports dramedy with ennui-oozing characters who speak in bone-dry, monotonous tones, occasionally letting some pause-worthy dialogue slip out. But we also get some scrumptious, stunning camera work from cinematographer Timo Salminen, who often bounces from static to tracking shots to catch all the artfully framed absurdity. This is a movie where our hero/heroine literally walks on the ceiling when at their most feminine, but is later stuck in midair limbo when forced to put on jockey gear one last time.

But Jockey isn’t just a portrait of a man’s gender expression being stifled. Ortega also addresses how artists can feel trapped when they’re forced to stay in their place. ‘Why must you behave like an artist?” a character asks a petulant Remo in one scene. In this oppressive, patriarchal world, being creative and independent is just as deviant and immoral as being LGBTQ.

While it may not have the bloodshed or soon-to-be-ripped-off-by-drag-queens musical numbers of Pérez, Kill the Jockey is still one fascinatingly batshit tale of queer redemption. ▼

1 Toggle on a digital clock

5 Leader of brothers 10 Gillette razor

14 *Confirm to be true

15 Like 2027 and 2029, but not 2025

16 *Someone who knows how the sausage gets made?

17 Works traditionally performed with musical accompaniment in ancient Greece

18 Goliath

19 Coach’s charge

20 Rainwater clearer

22 Unwanted “ingredient” when assembling s’mores, say

23 ___ love

24 Mr. Spock, e.g.

26 Clamorous

28 Cunning sort

30 “Finally!”

33 Li’l belly

34 *Formal expressions of praise

38 Diminutive suffix in Spanish

39 Like some coffees and mob targets

41 Nickname for Louis Armstrong

42 Activist Brockovich

43 Neighbor of “#” on a telephone keypad

44 Supporting

45 Stir up

46 The Forbidden City’s Meridian ___

47 *One who’s conspicuously excellent

49 One standing near a pond, maybe

50 Animal symbol of innocence

52 Biblical beast

54 Stunning 17,000-yearold discovery in France’s Lascaux Cave

57 Companionship?

59 A club might be seen on one

60 General name on a Chinese menu

63 Emphatic instruction for entering the answers to this puzzle’s 10 starred clues?

67 Flat sign

68 Alley ___

69 Clichéd

70 Cluster in an archipelago

71 *Street urchins

72 Professional writer of a sort

Sunshine is ready to brighten someone’s world with her sweet spirit and warm heart! She’s potty trained, full of love, and on the lookout for that special someone to light

Sunshine prefers to be the one and only in your heart — and your home. She’s the kind of loyal companion who’s happiest soaking up attention and sharing her love one-on-one.

With her charming personality and radiant energy, Sunshine is sure to make every day a little brighter for the lucky person who brings her home.

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1 Proclaim

2 Lead-in to care

3 Necessity for a reservation, perhaps

4 Word that can redundantly follow “I”

5 Inclined

6 Actor Cox of “Succession”

7 *Armed thieves

8 Midwest city whose name consists of two interjections

9 This clue’s number + one

10 Not approximate, say

11 Setting for a Laura Ingalls Wilder book series

12 Garner

13 Huge fan club, so to speak

21 “Blame It on ___” (1984 rom-com)

23 Shoot into the pocket, in snooker

25 Telephone no. add-ons

27 Hasty

28 *Removing lumps from, in a way

29 Saint in the Caribbean

31 Barrier to entry

32 *Like dress shirts, typically

35 Emergency item on a ship

36 Hughes poem published during the Harlem Renaissance

37 Light shade

40 *Showed for the first time

42 *Buying a gallon of milk, picking up the laundry, etc.

47 Antidotes, perhaps

48 Food subject to internet debate over whether or not it’s a sandwich

51 Kilns for hops

53 Neighbors of Croats

54 Not supporting

55 Down Under bounders

56 Cultivate

58 Have down

59 What Indiana Jones famously isn’t fond of

60 Get ready to hit all the right notes?

61 1970s tennis champ Smith

62 Home of the historic Oscarshall Palace

64 Cost of doing business, maybe

65 Doomed from the getgo, for short

66 Cave dweller

THURSDAY, JULY 10 6:30PM MAGGIE RAPIER with HANNAH WHITTEN at PARNASSUS Soulgazer SATURDAY, JULY 12 10:30AM STORYTIME WITH YOUR STUFFED ANIMAL! at PARNASSUS

TUESDAY, JULY 15

PUZZLE BY TIMOTHY GAETZ

field, plus 3 months of working experience in Ministry or a related area, and adherence to Christian values and principles. Email resume to marilynn@zealchurch.tv.

Attn: Marilynn Marie Porritt.

Health Care Service Corporation seeks Application Development Advisor (Nashville, TN) to work w/ clients & IT mgmt to identify & implement app development solutions. Req: Bach + 3 yrs exp. Option for hybrid or fully remote work schedule. Pay: $98,862-$ 164,200/yr. Benefits: https://careers.hcsc.com/tota lrewards. Email resume to hrciapp@bcbsil.com ref R0042558.

UBS Financial Services INC has the following positions in Nashville, TN. Can work remotely. Associate Director, NLP Data Scientist to build advanced statistical models to generate meaningful and actionable insights, improve decision making, optimize the business process, and help address business problems. Requires M+3yrs. exp. (ref. code 000820). Qualified Applicants apply through SH ProfRecruitingcc@ubs.com. Please reference 000820. NO CALLS PLEASE. EOE/M/F/D/V. #LI-DNP.

Ministries Project Manager sought by Zeal Church in Nashville, TN to coordinate, strategize, implement and oversee systems and practices to promote and support the mission of Zeal Church. Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Ministry, Theology, Ministry Leadership, or a related field, plus 3 months of working experience in Ministry or a related area, and adherence to Christian values and principles. Email resume to marilynn@zealchurch.tv.

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REQS: Bach + 3 yrs exp.

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Benefits: https://careers.hcsc.com/tota lrewards. email resume to hrciapp@bcbsil.com, ref R0043703

Health Care Service Corporation seeks Systems Analysis Advisor (Nashville, TN) to review, design, test, &install apps & info sys specs to address biz needs. REQS: BS + 4 yrs exp or a MS + 2 yrs exp. Option to work remotely including 100% remote. Pay: $134,014-$149,300/yr.

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