Coming o of a wretched season, the Titans are rebuilding — again. Here are our best answers to 20 questions about the upcoming season.
BY JOHN GLENNON
NATIONAL GUARD’S PLAN TO ASSIST ICE IN NASHVILLE >> PAGE 8 FOOD & DRINK: FRANKIE J’S OFFERS A PLACE FOR QUEER COMMUNITY IN GERMANTOWN >> PAGE 25
This reel-to-reel tape was recorded by Johnny Bragg, founder and tenor of the Prisonaires, a vocal group formed at Nashville’s Tennessee State Penitentiary. The Prisonaires were frequent performers at the governor’s mansion and recorded for Sun Records in 1953.
From the exhibit Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues Revisited artifact: Courtesy of Misti Bragg artifact photo: Bob Delevante
RESERVE TODAY
Charlane Oliver Describes New Priorities as Child Care Woes Continue Centers struggle with regulation costs, and a report calls for sustained funding BY
HANNAH HERNER
Document Details National Guard’s Plan to Assist ICE in Nashville ICE mum on details about its ‘expanding mission’ through end of 2025 BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Pith in the Wind
This week on the Scene’s news and politics blog
COVER STORY
20 Questions
Coming off of a wretched season, the Titans are rebuilding — again. Here are our best answers to 20 questions about the upcoming season. BY
JOHN GLENNON
Musicians Corner: Free Fest, Music City Grand Prix, R.F. Kuang, The 30+ Party and more
J Walking
Frankie J’s offers queer community building — and solid bar food — in Germantown BY
HANNAH HERNER
Poems for the Timesick
In All These Ghosts, former Kentucky poet laureate Silas House reckons with his home state’s past and present BY EMILY CHOATE; CHAPTER16.ORG
Treading Lightly
Mon Rovîa’s Afro Appalachian folk music encourages hope BY BRITTNEY M c KENNA
Hayley’s Version
Taking a closer look at Nashville rockstar and Paramore vocalist Hayley Williams’ 17 new singles BY HANNAH CRON
The Spin
The Scene’s live-review column checks out Bully at The Blue Room BY BAILEY BRANTINGHAM
All Sales Are Final
Talking with legendary Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa about his new film Cloud BY KEN ARNOLD; TRANSLATION BY AKI TAKABATAKE
The Butler Did It
Austin Butler leads a stellar cast in Darren Aronofsky’s sleek, bleak Caught Stealing BY LOGAN BUTTS
NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD AND THIS MODERN WORLD MARKETPLACE
ON THE COVER:
Cam Ward; photo by Robby Klein/Tennessee Titans
SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER: nashvillescene.com/site/forms/subscription_services
PRINT: nashvillesceneshop.com CONTACT TO ADVERTISE: msmith@nashvillescene.com EDITOR: prodgers@nashvillescene.com
In my 35+ years living and working in Nashville, I’ve navigated the twists, turns and now expansive growth of this wonderful place. Let me help you make the best choices in your biggest investment — real estate. I’m so grateful for my clients’ great reviews, repeat business and continued referrals. I’d love the opportunity to help make your Real Estate Goals a reality! Buy
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF D. Patrick Rodgers
MANAGING EDITOR Alejandro Ramirez
SENIOR EDITOR Dana Kopp Franklin
ARTS EDITOR Laura Hutson Hunter
MUSIC AND LISTINGS EDITOR Stephen Trageser
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Logan Butts
AUDIENCE EDITOR Annie Parnell
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jack Silverman
STAFF WRITERS Julianne Akers, John Glennon, Hannah Herner, Hamilton Matthew Masters, Eli Motycka, Nicolle Praino, William Williams
SENIOR FILM CRITIC Jason Shawhan
EDITORIAL INTERN Kathleen Harrington
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Cat Acree, Sadaf Ahsan, Ken Arnold, Ben Arthur, Radley Balko, Bailey Brantingham, Ashley Brantley, Maria Browning, Steve Cavendish, Chris Chamberlain, Rachel Cholst, Lance Conzett, Hannah Cron, Connor Daryani, Tina Dominguez, Stephen Elliott, Steve Erickson, Jayme Foltz, Adam Gold, Kashif Andrew Graham, Seth Graves, Kim Green, Amanda Haggard, Steven Hale, Edd Hurt, Jennifer Justus, P.J. Kinzer, Janet Kurtz, J.R. Lind, Craig D. Lindsey, Margaret Littman, Sean L. Maloney, Brittney McKenna, Addie Moore, Marissa R. Moss, Noel Murray, Joe Nolan, Katherine Oung, Betsy Phillips, John Pitcher, Margaret Renkl, Daryl Sanders, Nadine Smith, Ashley Spurgeon Shamban, Amy Stumpfl, Cole Villena, Kay West, Nicole Williams, Ron Wynn, Kelsey Young, Charlie Zaillian
ART DIRECTOR Elizabeth Jones
PHOTOGRAPHERS Angelina Castillo, Eric England, Matt Masters
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Sandi Harrison, Tracey Starck, Mary Louise Meadors
GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERN Anna Creviston
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Christie Passarello
MARKETING AND EVENTS DIRECTOR Robin Fomusa
BRAND PARTNERSHIPS AND EVENTS MANAGER Alissa Wetzel
PUBLISHER Mike Smith
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Michael Jezewski
SENIOR ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS CONSULTANTS
Teresa Birdsong, Olivia Britton, Carla Mathis, Heather Cantrell Mullins, Niki Tyree
ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS CONSULTANTS
Kailey Idziak, Rena Ivanov, Allie Muirhead, Andrea Vasquez
SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER Chelon Hill Hasty
ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS ASSOCIATES Audry Houle, Jack Stejskal
SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR Susan Torregrossa
PRESIDENT Mike Smith
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Todd Patton
CORPORATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Elizabeth Jones
IT DIRECTOR John Schaeffer
DIGITAL DIRECTOR Caroline Prater
CIRCULATION AND DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR Gary Minnis
FW PUBLISHING LLC
is published weekly by FW Publishing LLC. The publication is free, one per reader. Removal of more than one paper from any distribution point constitutes theft, and violators are subject to prosecution. Back issues are available at our office. Email: All email addresses consist of the employee’s first initial and last name (no space between) followed by @nashvillescene.com; to reach contributing writers, email editor@nashvillescene.com. Editorial Policy: The Nashville Scene covers news, art and entertainment. In our pages appear divergent views from across the community. Those views do not necessarily represent those of the publishers. Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available at $150 per year for 52 issues. Subscriptions will be posted every Thursday and delivered by third-class mail in usually five to seven days. Please note: Due to the nature of third-class mail and postal regulations, any issue(s) could be delayed by as much as two or three weeks. There will be no refunds issued. Please allow four to six weeks for processing new subscriptions and address changes. Send your check or Visa/MC/AmEx number with expiration date to the above address.
In memory of Jim Ridley, editor 2009-2016
Centers struggle with regulation costs, and a report calls for sustained funding
BY HANNAH HERNER
STATE SEN. CHARLANE OLIVER (D-Nashville) is not giving up when it comes to child care aid. When she brought legislation to address child care access struggles in the state in 2024, all three bills were voted down in the Tennessee General Assembly.
But during the following legislative session, Gov. Lee added $6 million in recurring funds to the state’s budget to better fund the Department of Human Services’ Smart Steps child care voucher program, which subsidizes the cost of care for low-income families. He also raised the income threshold for qualifying families to 100 percent of the state median income, up from 85 percent.
“The point of doing these bills is so I can elevate the conversation,” Oliver tells the Scene “Gov. Lee ended up funding that legislation — not telling me, of course — but I take credit for it.”
Nationally, many child care centers were able to stay afloat through the height of the pandemic because of American Rescue Plan funding. From 2022 to 2024, Metro Nashville approved more than $5 million in additional funding to stabilize 12 centers serving low-income families in the city. The Nashville Early Education Coalition launched in 2024 to continue that work.
Early childhood education for low-income families is sustainable only with ongoing public investment, according to a July white paper from United Way of Greater Nashville in conjunction with the Nashville Early Education Coalition. The report also found that most child care providers are not paid a living wage.
When preparing to open the Royal Table Learning Academy in North Nashville earlier this year, Flarrie and Amir Mahamed spent more than $20,000 for a pair of fire-rated doors to meet licensure requirements. The state’s child care enhancement grants start at $4,000. In addition, Royal Table couldn’t get such a grant because they were not yet licensed, Flarrie tells the Scene
The mother-son duo started Royal Table as a nonprofit five years ago — the LLC was a gift to Amir for his 18th birthday — but the pair had served the community for years prior. Flarrie taught disaster preparedness classes following Nashville’s historic 2010 flood. The two have teamed up on summer camps and after-school programs, in addition to teaching entrepreneurship and STEM classes at area high schools and the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center.
Flarrie was surprised that young mothers were dealing with the same issue she faced when Amir was young — a lack of access to reliable child care. An Alabama native, she didn’t
have family nearby, and at one point she told her boss she would have to quit if Amir could not stay at the office with her after school. She did not qualify for child care vouchers at the time.
In their previous work in community service, Flarrie and Amir were affected by children who were from North Nashville — the same neighborhood Amir grew up in — but struggled with reading, or even landed in juvenile detention. Some studies show that children who participate in preschool are less likely to be involved in crime as an adult, they learned, so child care seemed like the next logical step.
“I don’t believe in childhood behavior issues,” Flarrie says. “There’s something they’re not getting.”
Royal Table accepts vouchers, operates on a sliding scale and is working toward a certification from Early Head Start — a federally funded program that serves children from birth to age 3. They hope to partner with companies to provide child care to their employees, and eventually
offer classes for parents.
“I think that the majority of the community, if they had better resources for jobs and how to apply and how to interview — that’s life-changing,” Flarrie says. “You can come here, get that type of thing, and your child’s going to the child care center — two in one.”
Amir made the move back home from Chattanooga in 2021. He and his mother work 12 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., but he says he can’t imagine doing anything else.
“My goal was always to help people the best that I could, whether it be in child care [or something else],” says Amir. “‘Do you need school supplies? What do you need? How can I be a resource?’ One day you just lock in and get serious. I just want to be someone who is remembered as a resource, not someone who used people to get where I wanted to go.”
Oliver says her goal for next year’s legislative session is addressing regulatory barriers for child care centers. She’d like to see the state offer a recurring fund for any child care center to stay open, pay a livable wage and lower the cost of tuition to families.
A report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations in response to Oliver’s 2024 legislation recommended that the Department of Human Services reestablish meetings between child care providers and the state Fire Marshal’s Office to discuss licensing requirements. The report also notes that state and local fire officials should also coordinate inspections of child care facilities, and that the General Assembly should eliminate state and local business taxes for child care businesses.
These findings, along with stories from providers and parents, will inform Oliver’s legislation. In Tennessee, she says, there are added stakes: With the state’s abortion ban in place, more children will be born.
“It gets expensive, and child care businesses don’t bring in enough revenue to cover that,” Oliver says. “The state needs to step in, because I believe just like infrastructure is our roads, child care is infrastructure — it should be treated as a public good that the state invests in so that everyone benefits.” ▼
ICE mum on details about its ‘expanding mission’ through end of 2025
BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Nashville is expected to see an uptick in ICE activity starting in September, with assistance from National Guard troops who will be deployed in administrative “support roles.”
The Tennessee Lookout first reported on the mobilization of the National Guard. The Scene recently obtained what appears to be one page taken from an internal Tennessee National Guard document that details the orders.
The document is dated July 30, 2025, and marked “CUI,” or “controlled unclassified information.” It states that the 1-181st Field Artillery Regiment (FAR), based out of Chattanooga, will deploy to Nashville’s Department of Homeland Security facility on Brick Church Park Drive beginning in September. FAR is set to assist with “case management, logistical support, and clerical support of the in-processing and out-processing of illegal
aliens in Nashville, TN to allow ICE to dedicate trained agents to core law enforcement activities, enhancing overall effectiveness.” (Visit nashvillescene.com to read the document in full.)
The “projected tour of duty” is Sept. 1 to Dec. 15, “with a possible extension” through the end of the year. Soldiers will be activated under “Title 32 active duty status (Mobilization Authority TBD) and will NOT be in State Active Duty.”
Soldiers who live within 50 miles of the DHS facility will be prioritized for the mission, which according to the document will “perform strictly non-law enforcement duties within ICE facilities.” They will be “specifically prohibited from direct contact with individuals in ICE custody or involvement in any aspect of the custody chain.”
When contacted for comment by email, the Tennessee Military Department’s joint public affairs director Capt. Kealy Moriarty would not specifically verify the authenticity of the document, but did not dispute its details. Moriarty noted that soldiers’ work in assisting ICE at “processing facilities within the state” will consist of “data entry, case management, and logistical support.”
“The Tennessee National Guard regularly works alongside local, state, and federal agencies in support roles throughout the year, and this assistance reflects our commitment to interagency partnerships,” Moriarty told the Scene on Aug 12.
Moriarty also declined to say how many
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the man wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March by the Trump administration, was released from Putnam County Jail on Friday. Under a court order in June, the federal government secured Abrego’s return to Nashville, where he faced additional charges related to a 2022 traffic stop in Putnam County. Abrego garnered national media attention for the mistaken deportation and has since been regarded as a political prisoner. After being released and returning to his home state of Maryland late last week, ICE agents again took Abrego into custody at an immigration appointment in Baltimore Abrego has certain immigration protections that prevent his deportation to El Salvador, and as of this writing, the Trump administration has signaled its intent to instead send him to Uganda in the coming days.
Tennessee’s senior U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent tens of thousands of dollars to Republican organizations, state senators and state representatives in the days before announcing her campaign for governor. Recently filed reports show Blackburn spent down two political action committees — the Tennessee Victory Fund and the Making A Responsible Stand for Households in America (MARSHA) PAC — as well as her Senate campaign account throughout the first half of 2025. At the beginning of July, Blackburn reported almost $5 million in the bank, though varying campaign finance laws govern how she can move money between the federal and state levels. The second-term senator has a high profile in Tennessee, aided by frequent Fox News appearances, and immediately became the front-runner to succeed fellow Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who is term-limited.
troops will take part in the mission or if — regardless of their administrative duties — they will be armed. “Planning is currently underway, and we will continue to coordinate with our state and federal agencies to determine how best we can support this request,” she said.
At an Aug. 13 press conference, the Scene asked Gov. Bill Lee what Tennesseans should expect to see with immigration enforcement in the streets of Nashville and other cities. He provided little insight.
“Obviously, the operations of ICE are federal operations so we don’t plan those, so I can’t speak to what will happen over the next year as it relates to those operations from ICE, other than the fact that we will be a willing partner,” Lee said. “We want to work with them to make sure that we remove criminals from our streets.”
ICE declined to provide any details on what its operations in Nashville will look like throughout the remainder of 2025, including how many agents will take part in the operation.
“As ICE rapidly grows, we’re coordinating with DHS and our federal partners including DOD and the Tennessee National Guard to support transportation and logistics at our facilities across Tennessee,” an ICE spokesperson said. “This unified approach ensures we’re fully equipped to carry out our expanding mission.”
ICE is set to see unprecedented growth following the increase of its annual budget from $8.7 billion to $27.7 billion with the passage of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
“What the people in Nashville will see is obviously more individuals and more agents, but they’ll also see more training and equipment,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a July press conference in Nashville. “We’ll see more investigative tools that will be able to be utilized. My hope is that we also get the chance to work with the Department of Justice to get more immigration judges.”
While specific enforcement details are unclear, the National Guard document highlights ongoing public outcry over immigration enforcement actions throughout the state.
“This mission is closely monitored by media and actors determined to cast our forces in a bad light,” the document reads. “We will ALWAYS maintain understanding of what optics our actions present and will always maintain military bearing.”
This mobilization comes as Lee is deploying more than 160 soldiers to Washington, D.C., a move made by several Republican governors in support of Trump’s federal takeover of D.C. and the city’s alleged “crime emergency.”
Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office did not return a request for comment when asked if the city has been in communication with state or federal agencies regarding new immigration operations. The mayor and his office have been a political target of state and federal Republicans since ICE’s Nashville immigration sweeps in May. ▼
19. Councilmember Rollin Horton, whose district includes The Nations, successfully won approval for the proposal, which allows for more density and changes certain building requirements via an Urban Design Overlay (UDO) Critics say the plan is a handout to developers and will threaten the single-family character of many Nashville neighborhoods; Horton, who spent more than two years developing the UDO, says it will help plan for growth, expand affordable housing, replenish the tree canopy and increase walkability.
Nashville’s Metro Council voted to approve a new plan to rezone a large swath of The Nations neighborhood at a heated meeting on Aug.
Popular benches on the north side of Korean Veterans Boulevard were replaced by concrete spheres in August as part of ongoing “beautification efforts” by the Nashville Department of Transportation Councilmember Jacob Kupin, who represents downtown Nashville, says he worked with the city and the Nashville Downtown Partnership to remove the benches. The location was often occupied throughout the day by people resting, sitting and sleeping, often toting belongings like sleeping bags and blankets. The sudden removal sparked backlash among the city’s homelessness community, which interpreted the decision as the latest city effort to discourage visible homelessness in Nashville.
DECEMBER
Coming off of a wretched season, the Titans are rebuilding — again. Here are our best answers to 20 questions about the upcoming season.
BY JOHN GLENNON
ONE YEAR AFTER starting over, the Tennessee Titans head into the 2025 season looking to … well, start over once again.
Head coach Brian Callahan returns for a second year, spared the hungry ax of Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk despite winning just three of 17 games in his first season. Some of the Titans’ top talents are back as well, players like receiver Calvin Ridley, running back Tony Pollard and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.
But there has been plenty of organizational overhaul after last year’s dreadful campaign, starting near the top, where Mike Borgonzi took over as general manager following the firing of Ran Carthon.
As of late August, when the Titans were winding down training camp, the team’s 90-player roster featured 52 players who weren’t with Tennessee last year — 40 signed free agents, nine drafted prospects and three players acquired off the NFL’s waiver wire.
The highest-profile of those new players is Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and the Titans’ starting quarterback. He provides hope, but there are still many unproven players and unanswered
questions overall for the Titans, as the team seeks to find its way back to respectability after posting a combined record of 16-35 over the past three years.
In other words, don’t expect miracles right away.
“Nobody wants to hear that word, ‘patience,’” Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker told reporters in July. “I get that. But the reality is we understand where we are as a roster. We got a lot of work to do. And we’re going to be relying on a lot of young players this season to carry this football team.”
How then will success be defined in 2025?
“It’s hard to really define, you know, if you’re asking me what success looks like in 2025,” Brinker said. “I think that’s for [reporters] to write about. I do want to see our football team improve, from day to day to week to week. … I just want to see this team get better.”
Here are 20 Titans questions as the team readies for its season opener Sept. 7 in Denver.
1. What’s the biggest reason for titans excitement after a 3-14 season?
There wasn’t much about 2024 to look back upon fondly for Titans fans, as the team lost its last six games and finished with the worst record in the league.
The good news is that the NFL — along with all other major pro sports leagues — gives bad teams a break via the league’s draft. So the Titans’ wretchedness was rewarded with the opportunity to make the No. 1 overall pick — something the team had done only twice before, in 1973 and 1978, when the franchise was located in Houston. By selecting Ward out of the University of Miami, the Titans made it clear they are expecting him to become the face of the franchise for years to come. If that comes to pass, the Titans will have never been happier about recording an awful season.
2. What should We knoW about cam Ward?
Ward is a chip-on-the-shoulder winner, an unheralded high school player who received just one Division I college scholarship offer — from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.
He played there for two seasons, transferred to Washington State for two seasons and ended his college career as a star at Miami in 2024. There, Ward led the nation with 39 touchdown passes, set the school’s single-season record with 4,313 passing yards and was named a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Ward has a strong, accurate arm, and he does not lack confidence. In the midst of a pre-draft workout for the Titans, Ward surprised team executives on hand by telling them he was simply solidifying himself as their No. 1 pick.
3. What are national analysts saying about cam Ward?
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler called Ward “a loose, instinctive passer who can rip accurate strikes with a natural rhythm to his play. With his talent and intangibles, he projects as an NFL starter in the mold of a taller, slower version of [the Arizona Cardinals’] Kyler Murray.” NBC Sports’ Chris Simms said he saw Ward make “a lot of high-level, ‘wow’ throws [in college]. His ability to throw on the run is elite. He’s always calm and cool. When he wants to throw a rocket, he can find another gear in his arm.”
The NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks praised Ward’s talent and his toughness, calling him “a big-time player. He’s been a baller at every level. … He has a track record of success, which makes you feel like he’s going to continue when he has a chance in the league.”
4. Who’s neW in the titans’ front office this year?
There’s a new man in the general manager’s
role, as Borgonzi replaced Carthon, who was fired after just two years. Borgonzi will serve as the organization’s primary point man on all personnel decisions, guiding the team in the NFL Draft and in free agency. He comes from Kansas City, where the Chiefs won three Super Bowls during his tenure.
Borgonzi ultimately made the decision to draft Ward, opting against trading out of the No. 1 spot. One of his predecessors, Jon Robinson, had chosen the latter route in 2016.
5. Who’s neW on the coaching staff this year?
The biggest change came at special teams coordinator, where the beleaguered Colt Anderson was replaced by longtime NFL veteran John “Bones” Fassel, the son of former New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel.
It takes just one look at the high-energy, lowbody-fat Fassel for one to understand his nickname. He’ll be tasked with overhauling a Titans special teams squad that — with the exception of departed kicker Nick Folk — was wretched last season.
Other new coaches include: defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Tony Oden; defensive run game coordinator Travis Smith; and tight ends coach Luke Stocker, who was promoted from assistant tight ends coach.
6. Who Were the titans’ biggest offensive free agents added during the offseason?
The team’s most significant additions weren’t necessarily of the sexy, attention-grabbing variety. Instead, the Titans chose to bolster an offensive line that leaked badly last season, making life hazardous for the team’s quarterbacks.
Tennessee signed left tackle Dan Moore to a four-year, $82 million contract and right guard Kevin Zeitler to a one-year, $9 million deal. The Titans gave Ward a veteran receiver by signing Tyler Lockett to a one-year, $4 million contract, and added a veteran backup quarterback by signing Brandon Allen to a one-year, $1.4 million deal.
7. Who Were the titans’ biggest defensive free agents added during the offseason?
Similar to the team’s strategy on offense, the Titans didn’t land headline names for the defense, choosing instead to add a handful of smart, durable veterans.
Inside linebacker Cody Barton (three-year, $21 million deal) is a tackling machine who’s also shown a knack for the occasional interception. Edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones (one-year, $8.5 million) recorded 45 quarterback pressures last season. Safety Xavier Woods (two years, $10 million) brings plenty of experience to complement returning starter Amani Hooker.
When a team wins just three of 17 games, the argument can be made that very few personnel departures would count as significant. The exception here is likely edge rusher Harold Landry, who was a huge part of the defense for six years, averaging 10.5 sacks during the past three seasons.
Landry left during free agency, choosing to reunite with former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who’s now guiding the New England Patriots.
9. Which draft picks (besides Ward) are the most exciting this season?
Tight end Gunnar Helm looks like a leading candidate for that role. A late bloomer at the University of Texas, the 6-foot-5, 241-pound Helm made huge strides during his 2024 senior season, when he caught 60 passes and scored seven touchdowns. He impressed during the Titans’ preseason, making a highlight touchdown catch against Atlanta. Helm has shown soft pass-catching hands and an ability to make receptions through contact.
Don’t sleep on Elic Ayomanor either, as the 6-foot-2, 206-pound wide receiver from Stanford combines good size with an ability to get open. Wide receiver Chimere Dike offers serious speed, as the former Florida standout ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine in March.
It was just a year ago that Will Levis was heading into the 2024 season as the Titans’ unquestioned starting quarterback. He’d earned the spot with a solid rookie showing in 2023, when he replaced former starter Ryan Tannehill.
But Levis ran into difficulties early in the 2024 season. He suffered a shoulder injury that never completely healed, surrendered far too many turnovers and was eventually replaced by Mason Rudolph.
Things got even stranger during the past offseason. Levis participated in all of the team’s offseason practices and minicamp before deciding — just before the start of training camp — that he would undergo shoulder surgery. He’ll miss the entire 2025 season, which will leave Levis under contract for one more year when he returns in 2026.
There are plenty of options from which to choose, as the 2024 Titans struggled to defend opponents’ running games, took the second-most penalties in the NFL and turned the ball over at a higher rate than any other team.
But the single biggest priority for the Titans, in large part because the team has such high hopes for Ward, is doing a better job protecting the passer. Tennessee surrendered 52 sacks last season — a tie for fifth-most in the NFL. That was actually an upgrade from 2023, when the Titans saw their quarterback taken down 65 times. Still, if the Titans want to watch Ward work
if the t itans W ant to W atch Ward W ork his magic on s undays this season, they’d better find a W ay to make sure he’s not running for his life on a regular basis.
his magic on Sundays this season, they’d better find a way to make sure he’s not running for his life on a regular basis.
12. What is the titans’ greatest strength?
The most likely choice to answer this one is the Titans’ interior defensive line, which features the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Simmons (who’s earned Pro Bowl honors in three of the past four years) lined up next to 6-foot-4, 366-pound T’Vondre Sweat, who wreaked havoc on offensive lines as a rookie last season.
Simmons recorded a career-high 76 tackles last season, while Sweat was rated one of the NFL’s best rookies at his position.
Additionally, veterans like Sebastian Joseph-Day and Carlos Watkins bring experienced muscle at this position.
13. What is the titans’ greatest Weakness?
The Titans are not especially deep, nor es-
or less wins than that figure. A couple of other gambling outlets — BetMGM and Caesars — are less enthusiastic, setting the over/under line for Titans’ victories this season at just 5.5.
ESPN’s Mike Clay predicted the Titans to win at least six games this season.
15. Do the titans have a prayer of making the playoffs?
Only four NFL teams — the New York Giants, the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns and the New Orleans Saints — have worse betting odds of qualifying for the playoffs in 2025 than the Titans, per ESPN.
But there’s always hope in the NFL. In each of the past 35 seasons, at least four teams have reached the postseason after missing out the previous year. Seven teams accomplished that feat in 2020 and 2021, six in 2022 and 2023, and four last season — Minnesota, Washington, Denver and the Los Angeles Chargers.
In addition, at least one NFL team — in all but three years since 2002 — has gone from worst in its division one season to first the next season.
So there’s a chance — just not a very realistic one.
16. Which titans game(s) shoulD We be circling on the calenDar?
It’s hard to imagine a more intriguing game than Oct. 19, when the Titans play host to New England in Week 7. The Patriots in January hired Vrabel as the team’s head coach — about a year after the Titans fired him. Vrabel had spent six years coaching Tennessee, leading the Titans to a 54-45 record and three playoff berths.
The easy answer is probably Kansas City in Week 16, as the Chiefs have won three of the past six Super Bowls and are led by Mahomes, who almost always finds a way to emerge victorious.
But the Titans will at least have home field advantage in that Dec. 21 contest, which should prove a boost — unless Tennessee fans choose to side with Taylor Swift, who might be at the stadium to support her boyfriend, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.
What may prove an even bigger challenge is Week 1 at Denver, where the Titans will play in a traditionally raucous environment that should be emotionally charged for a season opener. The Broncos were one of the NFL’s big surprises last year, reaching the playoffs behind rookie quarterback Bo Nix, and the team has a vicious pass rush to boot.
19. What titans roaD game shoulD i attenD?
It’s tempting to go with that Titans’ opener in Denver, when Ward will presumably be making his NFL regular season debut in the Mile High City.
pecially talented, at the edge rusher position, which is counted on to pressure and sack opposing quarterbacks.
Tennessee recorded just 32 sacks last season, tied for the third-fewest in the league. Combine that with the fact that Landry, who led the Titans with nine sacks in 2024, is now in New England. Simply doing the math, Tennessee looks like a team that will struggle to make life difficult for enemy quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Matt Stafford, Kyler Murray, C.J. Stroud and Justin Herbert this year.
14. hoW many games are the titans forecast to Win in 2025?
An optimist would say oddsmakers believe the Titans will win more games this year than last. A pessimist would say that’s a low bar.
Fox Sports, FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook have all set the over/under line for Titans’ victories in 2025 at 6.5, allowing bettors to wager on the team finishing with more
Don’t you just know that Vrabel, who has numerous former Titans coaches and players with him in New England, would like nothing better than to whip his former team on its home turf — in front of the owner who fired him?
17. Which game this season are the t itans most likely to W in?
In past years, it was always easy to say Jacksonville or Houston, as the Titans regularly beat up those two AFC South opponents for long stretches. But times have changed in the division, where the Titans finished in last place in 2024.
A better guess might be the Titans’ Week 17 opponent, the New Orleans Saints, who come to Nashville on Dec. 28. The Saints were bad last year (5-12) and may be worse in 2025, as the team’s quarterback is likely to be either Spencer Rattler (0-6 record as a starter) or rookie Tyler Shough.
But there are simply too many reasons to prefer Week 6, when the Titans head west to face the Las Vegas Raiders. First, it’s Las Vegas, so you’re pretty much guaranteed to have fun even if the Titans lose. Second, it’s an opportunity to root against Tom Brady, Mr. Perfect, who owns a 5 percent share (10 percent if his business partner is included) of the Raiders. Third, the contest represents a chance to check out Allegiant Stadium, which is one of the sites the Titans paid close attention to when planning the new Nissan Stadium.
20. hoW many times Will We see the titans appear in prime time this year?
As of this moment, the answer is zero — for the first time since 2011.
The networks chose not to give the No. 1 overall draft pick a single appearance, apparently deciding the team’s small fan base and its bad record last year were simply too unappealing for the national palate.
The Titans, Browns and Saints are the only three teams who weren’t given a prime-time contest this year.
But if the Titans play well, they might still push themselves into the spotlight. The NFL can alter game times starting in Week 5, giving promising teams a chance to win their way into prime time. As one NFL executive said in May, the Titans have “the same opportunity every other team has to play their way into a national window.”
AUGUST 29-31
MUSIC [DOWN ON THE CORNER]
MUSICIANS CORNER:
As summer winds down, Musicians Corner is planning its annual fall concert series in Centennial Park, bringing a stellar lineup of artists to help chase away the end-of-summer blues at no cost. The upcoming season will begin with Free Fest, a three-day Labor Day weekend celebration presented in partnership with Lightning 100. Highlights of the long weekend will include Grammy-nominated blues-rock trio The Record Company, who will open the festival on Friday, with Judy Blank, Benny G and Jacob Perleoni also on the lineup. On Saturday, British-born former Nashvillian, ever-soulful R&B/country/dance artist and Broadway star Yola will bring attendees a taste of her latest EP My Way. Other Saturday acts include Bre Kennedy, Billy Allen and the Pollies, Lilly Winwood and Kara Frazier. Sunday’s festivities will feature Jade Bird, The Brummies, Jonathan Plevyak, Kashena Sampson and The Magi. Visit musicianscorner.com for more details. KATHLEEN HARRINGTON
AUG. 29-31 AT CENTENNIAL PARK
2500 WEST END AVE.
Visit calendar.nashvillescene.com for more event listings
Filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell, Pavements) gives you practically every filmed moment that ever took place at a video store in Videoheaven, his nearly three-hour dissertation on the rise and fall of the business. Movies, sitcoms, teen dramas, news reports, employeetraining videos — Perry assembles a deep pool of footage to chronicle the evolution of these VHS providers, from cluttered mom-and-pop shops to family-friendly corporate chains, before video on demand and streamers rendered them obsolete. The stores usually offered new releases, social interaction, cinephile clerks, a backroom for adult stuff and so on. Using Daniel Herbert’s 2014 book Videoland: Movie Culture at the American Video Store as source material — and having Stranger Things video clerk Maya Hawke serve as an off-camera narrator — Perry documents how home video changed the way people see movies and how the video store was portrayed in popular culture. (You may be surprised by how many times David Spade has played a video-store employee on screen.) From independently owned spots to freakin’ Blockbuster, Videoheaven salutes the virtually extinct video store, a welcoming space where all people — and all movies — were equal. A VHS swap meet featuring local vendors will take place in the Belcourt parking lot at 6 p.m. before the screening. Reach out to Belcourt programmer Zack Hall (zack@belcourt.org) to reserve a table. CRAIG D. LINDSEY 2:15 AND 7:30 P.M. AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.
I’ve been a fan of Weezer since my high school crush convinced me to download “Undone — The Sweater Song” and “Buddy Holly” on Kazaa. (My apologies to Rivers Cuomo; hopefully the statute of limitations on peer-topeer file sharing is up on those.) But I’ve never had the opportunity to see the pop-punk heroes live. Thankfully, I’ll finally get the chance to scream-sing “Say It Ain’t So” and “In the Garage” with all the other Buddy Hollys and Mary Tyler Moores when The Basement East hosts Undone, but Not Broken, a tribute to Weezer’s self-titled debut record, commonly known as The Blue Album, and classic sophomore release Pinkerton The show, which will feature some of Nashville’s best musicians reimagining some of Weezer’s most iconic songs, is also for a great cause. Presented by Recovery Unplugged, an addiction
and mental health treatment center, the concert will raise necessary funds for mental health treatment.
BOBBIE JEAN SAWYER
8 P.M. AT THE BASEMENT EAST 917 WOODLAND ST.
Nashville style savant Libby Callaway is back at the Frist Art Museum for the second installment in her fashion talk series, Callaway Conversations at the Frist. On Thursday, Callaway will lead designer Natalie Chanin in a discussion titled One Garment at a Time: How Alabama Chanin Is Preserving the Fading Tradition of Quilting in the South. The talk will be held in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibition, Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Chanin is the brains and talent behind Alabama Chanin, her 25-year-old slow-fashion company based in Florence, Ala. Chanin made headlines when she moved back to her hometown of Florence and designed garments, such as hand-sewn T-shirts, using traditional Depression-era quilting stitches. Callaway and Chanin are friends — they met at a fashion show in New York in 2003 — and it’s easy to see why, given they both have unique voices and vision and aren’t afraid to use them. The talk is free with museum admission; the stories we hear are likely to be priceless. MARGARET LITTMAN
6:30 P.M. AT THE FRIST
919 BROADWAY
[THAT’S HELLA TIGHT]
When The New York Times debuted its “100 Best Movies of the 21st Century,” I (along with every other film geek in the world) scrambled to make my own top-10 ballot. One of the nonnegotiable entries on my hypothetical ballot for the Paper of Record was Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig’s instant-classic 2017 coming-of-age dramedy. Screening as part of the Belcourt’s high-school-movie-centric Teenage Wasteland series, Lady Bird manages to be laugh-outloud funny and achingly sincere, often at the same time. With all due respect to a pair of legends — Frances McDormand and Allison Janney — Saoirse Ronan’s turn as the titular Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson and Laurie Metcalf’s understated performance as Lady Bird’s mom Marion should have taken the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories at the 90th Oscars. The whole cast is aces, with specifically memorable supporting turns from Lucas Hedges and Timothée Chalamet (it was a breakout year for both of them) as a pair of Lady Bird’s love interests. For showtimes, visit belcourt.org. LOGAN BUTTS
AUG. 29 & SEPT. 1-2 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.
One of the finest lines in Johnny Cash’s “Boy Named Sue” is when the protagonist meets his father, attacking the man in a beautiful scene of the two “kicking and a-gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.” At the end of each summer, some of the filthiest human beings you could ever imagine converge on a piece of land outside of Cookeville for a similar sight. Muddy Roots is a music festival that embraces the worlds of country, punk and metal, bringing some of the biggest hitters in underground to hordes of unbathed maniacs in battle vests and cowboy boots. The outdoor weekender is always known for bringing through older acts that typically skip Tennessee on tour. Some of the highlights for 2025 include Eagles of Death Metal, Seattle punk royalty The Spits, hillbilly songwriter Pokey LaFarge, early L.A. hardcore unit T.S.O.L. and classic Swedish stoner rockers Truckfighters. Spread across three days, with a pre-party on Thursday night, the event has a full slate of live music and DIY vendors. MR25 looks like another incredible lineup for the longrunning fest, but maybe also consider packing deodorant this year. P.J. KINZER
AUG. 28-31 AT JUNEBUG BOOGIE RANCH
115 WATERLOO ROAD, COOKEVILLE
DANCE [ONE MORE TIME} THE 30+ PARTY
I love going out dancing so much that I don’t even mind being the oldest one on the dance floor. My routine is simple: I take a disco nap after work, then drink one Diet Coke per hour throughout the night. This usually keeps me going until at least midnight, when I fold. The one thing I do mind is that I’m usually heading home right when the DJ is ramping up. Fortunately, there’s a growing movement of earlier dance parties catering to those of us who have stuff to do in the morning. The 30+ Party starts at 6 p.m. and guarantees you’ll be home by 10 p.m. Millennials are welcome to dance through their favorite hits from the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s — because we simply cannot wait around for the DJ to sample “Since U Been Gone” at 2 a.m. As Mark Twain supposedly said, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” And you just know he was hitting the clubs. TOBY ROSE
6 P.M. AT THE BASEMENT EAST 917 WOODLAND ST.
[THE IDLE
MUSIC
On Labor Day weekend 1990, indie rockers The Floating Men played their very first gig. To celebrate their three-and-a-half decades of making music, the band will do a trio of 35th anniversary shows Friday through Sunday at 3rd and Lindsley. Voted Best Rock Band in the Scene’s 1995 Best of Nashville readers’ poll, the group has grown over the decades from a trio to its current seven-person lineup that includes two of the three original members — lead singer, acoustic guitarist and principal songwriter Jeff Holmes and harmony singer and bassist Scot
Evans. “It’s gonna be three completely different shows every night,” Holmes tells the Scene. “The first night Fats Kaplin is gonna come up and join us, and we’re gonna sit around some coffee tables and do an unplugged show. Saturday night, we’re gonna plug everything in and do some of the big, loud anthemic stuff with lots of jams. Then on Sunday night, we’re gonna do one hour for Radio Lightning, and then we’re gonna come back for the final set of the weekend.” In addition to Holmes and Evans, the band’s current lineup includes guitarists David Steele and Chris Cottros, keyboardist Jody Nardone, drummer Steve Ebe and backing vocalist Andra Moran. DARYL SANDERS
AUG. 29-31 AT 3RD AND LINDSLEY
818 THIRD AVE. S
SPORTS
[START YOUR ENGINES] MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX
Following an exciting three-year run as a street-circuit race in downtown Nashville, the Music City Grand Prix made the move out to the suburbs in 2024, holding last year’s iteration at the Nashville Superspeedway in, erm, Lebanon. The move was made due to the construction going on around Nissan Stadium and the East Bank, but officials decided to make the Superspeedway the race’s permanent home. Last year’s race also marked Music City Grand Prix’s designation as IndyCar’s season finale, something that will carry over to the 2025 edition — meaning stakes will be high out on the oval this weekend. You can catch practice and qualifying laps on Saturday, with the Grand Prix itself scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. Nashville resident and Hendersonville native Josef Newgarden will also host the inaugural Karting for a Cause at K1 Speed on Friday, giving fans the chance to race against Newgarden and other IndyCar drivers. LOGAN BUTTS
AUG. 30-31 AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
4847 MCCRARY ROAD, LEBANON
Montrealer trio Men I Trust has had a busy year, releasing two studio albums with equine titles: Equus Asinus (the donkey) and Equus Caballus (the horse). Asinus is slower and more contemplative, an acoustic-forward record featuring poetic lyrics delivered in a hushed voice by lead singer Emma Proulx. Caballus, on the other hand, gallops through the nostalgic synths and deep bass lines the band is known for, creating a dreamy but kinetic landscape you can immerse yourself in. Onstage at The Pinnacle, expect the band to trot through the fast(er) tracks, including the standout, grooving “Billie Toppy” and escapist tune “Carried Away.” Familiar favorites such as the hazy hit “Show Me How,” as well as the brief jam “Oncle Jazz” — from the album of the same name — will surely top the set list. Part of the allure of seeing Men I Trust live is how the group manages to be both understated and enchanting, whether you decide to dance, sing or stand still.
KATHLEEN HARRINGTON
8 P.M. AT THE PINNACLE 910 EXCHANGE LANE
INTERVENTIONS is Cheekwood’s exhibition series that connects contemporary artists with its collection of decorative and historical artworks. The latest artist invited to exhibit in the tony Belle Meade estate is New Hampshirebased painter Shawn Huckins, and the seven paintings Huckins has created for the show will be installed throughout the mansion’s period rooms. Huckins is a skilled realistic painter, and his specialty — re-creations of classical landscape paintings with a contemporary bent — makes him an ideal candidate for INTERVENTIONS. For example, a painting from 2023 is based on the 18th-century Drouais painting “Young Girl Holding a Basket of Fruit,” but Huckins has depicted the bare-chested, fresh-faced woman from the painting’s original version with an assortment of fabrics wrapped around her upper body, kind of like Christo
THU, 8/28
SABRINA
DANCE PARTY SAT, 8/30
RIOT SAT, 8/30
JAMES THU, 9/4
HOUSE
NICKNAME
BEY THU, 9/4
BUZZCOCKS TUE, 9/16
BLUPHORIA
WED, 9/17
WED, 9/17
and Jeanne-Claude but also kind of like a comic strip about the perils of quilting. From his artist’s statement: “Guests can expect a unique fusion of modern creativity and timeless elegance, where each piece invites reflection and dialogue, bridging past and present in an immersive, thought-provoking experience.”
LAURA HUTSON HUNTER
AUG. 30-OCT. 26 AT CHEEKWOOD 1200 FORREST PARK DRIVE
FESTIVAL [KAKRAKARA]
AFROKOKOROOT WORLD PEACE
MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL
Afrokokoroot is a BIG band. You can’t make minimalist Afrobeat music — it just doesn’t work. (You can make minimalist Afrobeats, but that’s another blurb entirely.) And because they are such a sizable outfit, we expect big things from them. They always deliver. This winter they dropped World Peace, a deep, funky debut that brought the goods. On Saturday, Afrokokoroot has invited a bunch of friends to perform at Afrokokoroot Haven for their first World Peace Festival. Joined by WXNA’s DJ Mello-D, poet Jazzy the Uncontrolled Goddess and dancerchoreographer Michael Moloi, the Afrokokoroot crew will bring big vibes and blurry genre boundaries to North Nashville for this ambitious afternoon of international jams and cross-
Tennessee at 2 p.m., and Illinois and Vanderbilt will close out a weekend of Music City volleyball at 5 p.m. Bring your own knee pads and sweat bands. LOGAN BUTTS
11 A.M. AT BRIDGESTONE ARENA
501 BROADWAY
BACK]
Confession time, reader: I love doorstopper fantasy novels. I’ve spent countless hours inside the worlds built by Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Sarah J. Maas, Patrick Rothfuss and, of course, George R.R. Martin (damn you, The Winds of Winter). Out of the ceiling-high stack of books I’ve read since catching the fantasy bug, none is quite as memorable as R.F. Kuang’s Babel, a rollercoaster tale of privilege, knowledge and magic in 19th-century England. This month, Kuang returns with Katabasis, a tale “in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul — perhaps at the cost of their own,” per the Parnassus Books website. The Hugo Awardwinning author stops in Nashville on Sunday to discuss her new novel at a Parnassus event hosted on Vanderbilt University’s campus.
MATTHEW LEIMKUEHLER
cultural pollination. SEAN L. MALONEY NOON AT AFROKOKOROOT HAVEN 8369 CUB CREEK ROAD
MUSIC [DIG THIS]
Women’s college volleyball has seen an explosion in popularity over the past few years, with marquee matchups garnering millions of viewers. Local sports fans can catch a buffet of top-level volleyball action this weekend as some of the nation’s best teams trek to Nashville for three days of spikes, blocks and digs. Beginning on Friday, you can catch the first home match for Vanderbilt’s brand-new volleyball program as the ’Dores take on crosstown opponent Belmont at Wyatt Hall. Friday also marks the beginning of Lipscomb’s annual LUV Invitational, which will see the Bisons battle topranked Nebraska. They’ll face No. 7 Kentucky on Saturday and Seton Hall on Sunday, all at Allen Arena. Finally, the main event takes place on Sunday with the debut of the (now hopefully yearly) Broadway Block Party, a six-team tournament taking place at Bridgestone Arena. The aforementioned Huskers and Wildcats will face off at 11 a.m., No. 15 Purdue will battle
5 P.M. AT VANDERBILT’S LANGFORD AUDITORIUM 2209 GARLAND AVE.
FILM
[HONESTY DOESN’T PAY, SUCKER] TEENAGE WASTELAND & MUSIC CITY MONDAYS: CITY OF GOD
I forgot that the 2002 coming-of-age crime story City of God was released domestically by Miramax. In the early Aughts, the House That Harvey Built was so deep in its Oscarbait bag that it seemed like their days of snapping up edgy, energetic imports were over. Someone must’ve convinced that future convicted sex offender that he’d be crazy to pass up bringing this to U.S. theaters. Directors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund brought a grungy, kinetic style of filmmaking (Tony Scott practically spent his final years directing movies this way) to this adaptation of Paulo Lins’ 1997 novel. They assembled amateur Brazilian kids — including a young Alice Braga — to play children and teenagers growing up in the titular Rio de Janeiro favela, a hardcore slum where drug dealers lead armies full of underage soldiers. It worked out in the end; the film became a critical and commercial smash and landed four Oscar nominations. Benjamin Legg, principal senior lecturer of Portuguese at Vanderbilt University, will introduce the Music City Mondays screening on Sept. 1. Visit belcourt.org for showtimes. CRAIG D. LINDSEY SEPT. 1 & 7 AT THE BELCOURT 2102 BELCOURT AVE.
8.1
From platinum-selling chart-toppers to underground icons, household names to undiscovered gems, Chief’s Neon Steeple is committed to bringing the very best national and regional talent back to Broadway. From pla hif’N h t
Alex Williams Album Release Show
8.2 Josh Ward
8.5 Salute The Songbird With Maggie Rose, Special Guest: S.G. Goodman
8.6 Hell’s Belles - The World Famous All-Female AC/DC Tribute
8.9 Keith Anderson - The Pickin Wildflowers 20th Anniversary Tour
8.13 Aaron Raitiere
8.14 Stellar Unplugged w/ Adam Blackstone, Dana Soréy, Miles Minnick
8.15 Aaron Nichols & The Travellers - Chris Stapleton Tribute
8.16 William Michael Morgan
8.17 Pick Pick Pass w/ Kevin Mac, Marla Cannon-Goodman, Faith Schueler
8.19
Chief’s Outsiders Round Presents Country In Color: Skyelor Anderson & Ben Kadlecek w/ Guests Brei Carter, Daya Dorado, Travis McCready, Trae Taylor
8.20 Ashes & Arrows
8.21 Danny Burns - Southern Sky Album Release
8.23 Sammy Sadler & Dave Gibson - The Hits & History Tour
8.25 Buddy’s Place w/ Garrett Jacobs, Ryan Larkins, Lauren Mascitti
8.27 Thom Shepherd Presents The Songwriters w/ Special Guests Shawn Camp, Phil O’Donnell
8.28 The Warren Brothers
8.29 Uncle B’s Drunk with Power String Band feat. Bryan Simpson, Vince Herman, Wyatt Ellis, John Mailander, and Thad Cockrell
8.30 Love and Theft
WEDNESDAY / 9.3
On Sept. 2 at Vinyl Tap, fans of Jim Hoke will finally get to hear the in-demand multiinstrumentalist perform music from his most recent release Tune Up the Bongos, a delightful 10-song collection released via Bandcamp on May 8 that ranges from jazzy, whimsical pop to dreamy psychedelia. Hoke, who has worked with an array of recording stars including Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, Dolly Parton, The Beach Boys and Burt Bacharach, had planned a release show earlier in the summer, but it was canceled due to a scheduling snafu at another venue. Hoke will be joined at Vinyl Tap by most of the people who contributed to the album, including Kristin Weber (violin), Kirby Shelstad (percussion) and three members of his family — wife Lisa Haddad (vocals), son Austin Hoke (cello, guitar) and daughter Sari Hoke (vocals).
“It’s a smaller stage,” Hoke says of Vinyl Tap, “and we’re doing a more scaled-down, acoustic presentation.” In addition to material from Tune Up the Bongos, Hoke says they will perform a “nice smattering” of music from his earlier records. Alt-country singer Kristi Rose will also appear as a special guest vocalist on “a very rare and beautiful British electric folk song.”
DARYL SANDERS
7 P.M. AT VINYL TAP
2038 GREENWOOD AVE.
As you might expect from a singer and songwriter who cites The Doors and Leonard Cohen as prime influences, the music on Ryder the Eagle’s new album Smile, Hearse Driver! tends toward the programmatic. The French native has been living in Mexico City for the past few years, and Ryder the Eagle’s sonic palette includes synthesized drum sounds and sweetand-sour keyboards. What’s striking about Ryder the Eagle’s music is how completely innocent he sounds — his voice doesn’t carry the angst of Jim Morrison’s philosophizing or, for that matter, Scott Walker’s explorations of the limits of doomed love. The music on his 2024 release Autotango marks the border area between North American rock ’n’ roll and a sensibility you could call post-cabaret, with “There’s Always Another Me” standing as a great example of Ryder the Eagle’s style. Despite the nods to Cohen, Bryan Ferry and Nick Cave, Ryder the Eagle comes across as an ordinary guy who’s in search of eternal love and happens to write songs with titles like “True Romance Is Out on a Cruise Wearing Impeccable Deck Shoes.” That song features one of Ryder the Eagle’s best couplets: “It’s getting harder to cry / Unless I’m attending a bullfight.” Rina Ford opens. EDD HURT 7:30 P.M. AT SOFT JUNK
919 GALLATIN AVE.
Frankie J’s offers queer community building — and solid bar food — in Germantown
BY HANNAH HERNER
JAY KILL WANTED a retirement project.
Now, as the owner and founder of Frankie J’s in Germantown, he stays plenty busy. A few years back, Kill came across a house at 1314 Sixth Ave. N. Built in 1910, the home — which had been sitting vacant for several years — was willed to its owner by her gay uncle, who loved to entertain people. As it turns out, the owner thought leasing the space to LGBTQ bar Frankie J’s would be a good way to honor her uncle’s legacy.
Opening Frankie J’s in early 2023, Kill wanted to create a laid-back environment in a queerfriendly space serving the 40-plus market.
“There was no place for the older folks to go out without being bombarded by bachelorettes and loud music,” Kill tells the Scene. “I felt like I needed to create a community neighborhood bar.”
Kill and chef Jonathan Robinson spent the most time on the bar’s menu as Frankie J’s was coming to fruition. Kill had a culinary background, having helped open many restaurants at Opry Mills, and Robinson spent much of his career working on college campuses and in assisted living dining. The pair met while working at Cumberland University before the pandemic.
The outcome is standout Mexican bar food, created with consultation from Kill’s husband, who is from Mexico. There are quesadillas, empanadas and tacos, as well as bar staples like burgers, fries and hot dogs. Breakfast is served all day, and Frankie J’s recently added Frothy Monkey coffee.
Closed only on Mondays, Frankie J’s boasts a packed calendar, with an event nearly every night of the month. They offer trivia, show tune sing-alongs, tarot card readings, drag king bingo, karaoke and RuPaul’s Drag Race watch parties. They have board games on site and space to dance under a backyard disco ball, and even began hosting a songwriter’s night for gay
artists who weren’t getting a warm reception elsewhere in town. The backyard also hosts custom leather and apparel shop Stond Nation.
“The only way to get people out anymore in bars is doing events, because COVID taught them to eat at home and drink at home,” Kill says. “To get them off the couch, to get them back out, you got to entertain. We really knew that coming into this project. That’s why I fell in love with this property. Because we have so many different spaces, we can do multiple things. I mean, we’ve had events here where five different things were going on in five different rooms. That just makes my heart very proud and happy.”
In addition to more traditional bar events, Frankie J’s offers monthly events for subculture groups like the furry and “pup-play” communities.
“You can’t just pick and choose,” Kill says. “We kind of went after the parts of the community that weren’t represented very well or shunned or looked down upon … and took them in and gave them the freedom to be who they are.”
Kill is all about helping others feel more comfortable to socialize in person — especially those who come for subculture nights. When hiring, his key interview question emphasizes hospitality: “Everybody serves a Jack and Coke — what are you going to do to make that different?” he asks.
“We’ve sat and talked to some that are sitting in the corner, and we’ll go over and say hi and start talking to them, and introduce them to a couple other people, and then the next time, they’re the social butterfly of the event,” Kill says. “It’s all about overpowering the negative media and perception of us and showing everybody we are normal, we are human. We do know how to love and care, and I think that’s a very important part of who I am.”
Kill says that while they can’t enjoy the bar’s alcoholic offerings, teens who are a part of Nashville Launch Pad — a nonprofit providing housing and resources for LGBTQ youth — love the food at Frankie J’s. Kill and Robinson have promised the organization that they’ll cater any night Launch Pad doesn’t have a meal volunteer lined up. Last season (the nonprofit houses teens from Nov. 1 to April 1) Frankie J’s served 800 individual meals.
“If I’m ever tired, and I’m tired of the same food, it just clicks in my head that we’re doing this for the community, and I keep moving,” Robinson says.
Kill tells the Scene he was initially nervous to be such a public face in the gay community — especially in Tennessee, where members of the LGBTQ community are frequent political targets.
But Frankie J’s offers a place of refuge and community amid the turmoil.
“That’s what so many people’s first comments out of their mouths is,” he says. “‘Wow, I feel safe in here.’ This is our house. This is our house of Frankie J’s. You’re welcome here.”
“It’s our house parties,” says Kill. “It’s, you know, bring a cheese plate.” ▼
Frankie J’s 1314 Sixth Ave. N. frankiejsnashville.com
Name: MAGICAL
Age: 5 mo.
Weight: 16 lbs
MEET MAGICAL!
True to her name, Magical is a special girl with the best ears you’ve ever seen and a heart full of hope. She came to us from a cruelty case, but despite her rough past, she’s shown nothing but resilience, sweetness, and a desire for love. Magical is ready to leave her old life behind and start fresh with a family who will cherish her the way she deserves. With her one-of-a-kind ears and gentle spirit, she’s sure to win you over in an instant. Come meet Magical and see how she’ll bring a little sparkle into your life!
Call 615.352.1010 or visit nashvillehumane.org
Located at 213 Oceola Ave., Nashville, TN 37209
Adopt. Bark. Meow. Microchip. Neuter. Spay.
In All These Ghosts, former Kentucky poet laureate Silas House reckons with his home state’s past and present BY EMILY CHOATE
A BRIEF POEM called “Lost Place” appears as the prologue to All These Ghosts, the first fulllength poetry collection from former Kentucky poet laureate Silas House. This poem’s speaker approaches the past with a sense of mystery but also insists that this present moment be understood.
“I recall the wild places, fecund, rich. / I wade into the creek, diaphanous / myself, am I haint or witch?” the speaker wonders. But then he focuses our attention toward what’s at stake: “Now, this is the land of the beguiled, / I see it before me so plain, / the little paths I trod as a child / and will never mark again.”
an independent bookstore for independent people
UPCOMING EVENTS
PARNASSUSBOOKS.NET/EVENTS FOR TICKETS & UPDATES
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28
6:30PM LOGAN KARLIE with HANNAH WHITTEN at PARNASSUS Dream by the Shadows
6:30PM SHANNON HALE at PARNASSUS Dream On
10:30AM
5:00PM
By turns plaintive and exhilarating, All These Ghosts conjures an attentive, nuanced reckoning with what it means to call a place our home ground. In House’s case, that home is Kentucky, but these poems offer deep insight into both personal memories and larger-scale communal dangers and hopes, resonating far beyond House’s specific origins and settings.
All These Ghosts includes works House composed as poet laureate, marking crucial moments in recent Kentucky history. “Those Who Carry Us” was written for the second inauguration of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. This hopeful poem highlights those who serve the common good, especially during darker times, and the interdependence all citizens must embrace to take care of one another.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
SATURDAY, AUGUST 30
HORA DE CUENTOS EN ESPAÑOL SPANISH STORYTIME at PARNASSUS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31
R.F. KUANG with DANA CHAMBLEE CARPENTER at VANDERBILT Katabasis
6:30PM
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
ELIZABETH BASS PARMAN with JENNIFER MOORMAN at PARNASSUS Bees in June
6:30PM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
STACY WILLINGHAM with J.T. ELLISON at PARNASSUS Forget Me Not
3900 Hillsboro Pike Suite 14 | Nashville, TN 37215 (615) 953-2243 Shop online at parnassusbooks.net
@parnassusbooks @parnassusbooks1 @parnassusbooks @parnassusbooksnashville
A chilling long poem, “Behold This Dreamer,” explores a nearly fatal attack on a gay Kentucky man in 2011 that led to the first hate-crime prosecution in the nation. “Rivers” addresses the unjust killing of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police and attempts to grapple with contradictory aspects of the speaker’s ties to home: “O Kentucky: you hurt me and you heal me. / You cut me and you stitch me.”
In poems like these, House expands his vision, providing a lens through which to explore memory and grief as aspects of communal life, not just personal experience. Yet House always retains sensitivity and attention to closely observed detail. No matter its subject, All These Ghosts exudes intimacy and embodied experience.
“North Fork,” for example, draws inspiration from the real-life story of Mae Amburgey, a 97-year-old woman who swam to safety from her flooded Kentucky house in 2022. The speaker of House’s poem follows an elderly woman through the catastrophic destruction of not only her house but her entire sense of home. As floodwaters surround her, drowning the community she had always known, she becomes “unmoored” from the present: “Because this place is no / more, her home is the past.”
The “ghosts” from the woman’s past guide her out of the wreckage of her house and into rushing water, where rescuers are calling out to her, working to save her from the current. But within this collision of past and present, a space of strange calm opens up inside her, and memories of a “peaceful river” offer solace.
In numerous poems, House illuminates moments of what he calls “timesickness,” a state of powerful dislocation from the present during which the past floods in, haunting the speaker in complex ways. These experiences may contain grief, but they are neither wholly painful nor simplistic expressions of treacly nostalgia.
In the poem called “Timesickness,” the speaker reflects on quiet childhood moments spent with his mother and aunt. Fishing on the banks of a manmade lake that submerged a whole community, these women “sometimes cried / without explaining why.” House notes, “The past was always shimmering / in their hard and soft faces.”
But more is happening within this scene. Among this intimate “trinity” of family members, the speaker senses: “ghostly / circle of light, the ones who hovered / so near. Those who had passed / long before, but always anchored to us, / kept bright by the stories.”
All These Ghosts brilliantly navigates the tensions that exist within potent experiences in our lives. As current events continue to turn darker, finding ways to voice the complexity of the choices we face becomes even more crucial.
Alongside poems that foreground the intense heartache of grief, House includes poems that celebrate the daily sustenance of love, friendship and the wonders available in nature.
“Northern Lights,” which is dedicated to House’s husband, describes the shock of viewing the Northern Lights from a back porch in Kentucky. The extraordinary colors make “an undulating mystery / as abstract as the enigma that brings / two people into the same orbit.”
“Here we are, watching them, together,” the speaker says, “and we always will be, even when / we are nothing more than sky.” Such moments, House conveys, transcend our narrow sense of what now seems possible for our lives. While expressing deep concern for the future, these poems also insist on the necessity — and the sacredness — of our joy.
To read an uncut version of this review — and more local book coverage — please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee. ▼
All These Ghosts By Silas House Blair, 128 pages $22.95
House will discuss All These Ghosts at the Southern Festival of Books, Oct. 18-19
Become a member of Get cool stuff
RAY CHARLES Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music featuring performances by WENDY MOTEN, KYLA JADE, THE MCCRARY SISTERS, LINDA
with APRIL KRY CHRISTIAN FRENCH with EMYRSON FLORA + ADAM
Cleaf, Kacy Hill, Joelton Mayfield, Will Hoge Bonny light horseman w/ angela autumn & sarah klang
team nonexistent w/ Shuteye, boof & concrete paradise cole ritter & the night owls w/ madison olivia (7pm) midtones w/ DelGrosso & Adam Schleicher (9pm)
LB Beistad w/ Mikki Brayboy (7pm)
Gus Baldwin & The Sketch w/ Massie 99 & Screen Star (9pm) rock, Paper, Scissors Tour feat. Caroline Bowling, sav. & Raven Hinchey (7pm) kikko mai & peyton marie w/ lex carney (9pm)
boy w/ texino (7pm) catholics w/ tang + together breakfast (9pm) maya manuela w/ Eliza Harrison Smith josie edwards w/ walker burroughs (7pm)
ry jennings w/ allison young (9pm) blake ruby w/ croozer (7pm) belles (9pm)
americanafest: feat. abbie callahan (6pm)
Mon Rovîa’s Afro Appalachian folk music encourages hope BY
BRITTNEY M c KENNA
MON ROVÎA’S RECENT song “Heavy Foot” asks a simple question: What if we cut the bullshit and chose to love one another?
Sparsely arranged and performed with hardearned clarity, “Heavy Foot” listens like an instant folk classic, grappling plainly with a litany of current social ills, including gun violence, homelessness, the prison industrial complex and genocide. Then the piece urges listeners to hold onto love and hope in the face of despair.
The Chattanooga-based singer-songwriter performed “Heavy Foot” as part of his Grand Ole Opry debut in late July. That appearance is the latest milestone for the quickly rising artist, whose backstory is as compelling as his songwriting. Born in Liberia during the country’s first civil war, Mon Rovîa — whose birth name is Janjay Lowe — was adopted by Christian missionaries after losing his parents to the conflict. Raised in Florida, Mon Rovîa later landed in Chattanooga to attend Covenant College on Lookout Mountain. It was a disorienting experience that spurred an identity crisis and, after he dropped out, eventually led him to songwriting.
Sonically, Mon Rovîa blends traditional, plainspoken folk music with contemporary indie influences, citing artists like Bon Iver and Adrienne Lenker as early influences. Thematically, his music brims with compassion and hard-earned wisdom, as on fan favorite “Crooked the Road.,” which he performed as part of his Opry set.
Mon Rovîa tells the Scene that the gravity of the Opry moment wasn’t immediately apparent to him. He didn’t spend his formative years in America and didn’t grow up with country music. After some of his bandmates expressed the significance of being invited to perform on the historic stage, he read up on the program.
“I wasn’t really nervous until probably two minutes before, and then we got onstage,” Mon Rovîa explains. “I didn’t know the process, but because it’s live, you stand up there in the circle and you wait for a bit. And that’s when I think it hit me, the importance of the moment and the people who have been onstage. And as an African as well, the importance of my time up there — and what it means, hopefully, for future musicians that get the opportunity.”
Mon Rovîa made the most of his time in the circle. He introduced a crowd largely made up of tourists and die-hard fans of radio country to his globally informed take on American roots music, as well as to his compassionate worldview. His performance of “Heavy Foot” was especially potent, with the often-rowdy room growing quieter with each verse.
“There’s a lot going on in these times, and I think there’s a lot of controversy out there,” he says. “I didn’t want to shy away from it just be-
cause it’s a special occasion. … There are people who have different opinions and different ways of thinking about people and life. But the beauty of the truth is that sometimes it has to hit you where you are first. I think it was a really powerful moment for people in there to hear it.”
Creating those kinds of moments is inherent to Mon Rovîa’s artistic MO, and is at the heart of the upcoming trek that will take him across the country this fall. Called A Place to Gather, the tour
is an intentional act of community-building, one he hopes will be a galvanizing force for people feeling despair at the current state of the world. On Sept. 4, he’ll bring a taste of what fans can catch on that road to the Bobby Hotel, where he’ll perform a free show — RSVPs are at capacity as of this writing — as part of the Bobby’s WNXP-curated Backyard Sessions. After the first few days on the road, he’ll be back in Nashville briefly during AmericanaFest for a performance Sept. 13
at The Blue Room at Third Man Records.
“Resisting together and not doing things alone is important. And it’s super important for people to know they can make an impact in these times, and to be encouraged to continue in the process. … I think you can be sunken a lot and still try to resist, but there’s a beauty when you can capture happiness and joy in standing in something that is completely difficult. That’s what we’re trying to capture at these shows.”
Taking a closer look at Nashville rockstar and Paramore vocalist Hayley Williams’ 17 new singles
BY HANNAH CRON
AFTER A SURPRISE drop of mp3s on a secret website in July, Nashville rockstar and Paramore vocalist Hayley Williams released not one, not two, but 17 singles on Aug. 1 to the surprise and delight of fans in the Music City and beyond. Depending on the order in which you listen, the tracks seem to weave a tale of a relationship from beginning to end, with songs about self-doubt and darkness, family and Southern culture woven in. Fan speculation went into overdrive following the drop; Williams and Paramore bandmate Taylor York confirmed a long-rumored relationship in an interview with The Guardian in 2022, but neither party has commented since. Williams asked fans to make their own playlists using the 17 tracks as they would arrange them on an album to help her determine the official running order for a physical release. That list was unfortunately leaked, and Williams’ private Instagram account @edaabp confirmed that the information was correct on Aug. 21. The post also revealed the existence
of an 18th track titled “Parachute” and teased many other surprises that remain unspoiled as of this writing. Though no official word has come, a formal release announcement seems imminent.
Tentatively titled Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party (a name it shares with one of the songs), Hayley’s Version™ of the record kicks off with “Ice in My OJ,” a mash-up of majestic choral interludes, nearly feral screams of “I’m in a band!” and a hilarious interpolation of “Jumping Inside.” That’s a song by an early-Aughts tween praise band called Mammoth City Messengers, which Williams was a member of. It’s a perfectly chaotic introduction to a not-album that is actually an album.
Next up is “Glum,” which got a music video treatment by AJ Gibboney and Paramore’s Zac Farro. In it, Williams dons the world’s coziest sweater and earnestly asks: “Do you ever feel so alone / Like you could implode and no one would know?” Williams’ list follows this up with “Kill Me,” 2025’s exhausted answer to Kelly Clarkson’s infectious “(Stronger) What Doesn’t Kill You.”
Track 4, “Whim,” is more of a wish than a love song, while “Mirtazapine” is a love song — just one dedicated to antidepressants. Shortly after word came that government funding cuts were going to impact Nashville Public Radio along with thousands of other arts organizations, Williams gave “Mirtazipine” to WNXP
to debut — further evidence of her dedication to Nashville independent music. The song is a touching callback to “26” from Paramore’s 2017 LP After Laughter, in which Williams sings: “They say that dreaming is free / Well I wouldn’t care what it cost me.” Eight years later on this almost-shoegazey new solo song, she sings: “Mirtazapine / You make me eat / You make me sleep … You let me dream.” Life really can get better, but sometimes it just takes a little extra help.
Then comes a duo of probable breakup songs — but if you are looking for a “You Oughta Know,” you’ll be out of luck. First is “Disappearing Man,” which laments a relationship lost to a partner’s inner darkness — as Williams herself sings it, “My final act of love was surrender.”
That’s followed by “Love Me Different,” an anthem of parting ways amicably that champions the determination to love yourself first. Track 8 is “Brotherly Hate,” a reflection on the complexity of familial relationships, and track 9 is the self-explanatory “Negative Self Talk.”
“Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party” comes in at No. 10. There’s a music video for this one too, featuring state Rep. Justin Jones, as well as Ms. Williams dancing along Lower Broadway, home to many of the “racist country singers’ bars” she mentions in the lyrics. She also does karaoke in legendary local dive Santa’s Pub. The production is an eyeroll emoji personified, but it’s not without a tenderness for the Nashville that was — and still is if you know where to look. Near the
end of the video, Williams scrawls “I still believe in Nashville” on what looks like a bathroom wall in permanent ink.
It’s back to interpersonal struggle on track 11 with “Hard,” where Williams laments losing her softness to a troubled relationship and her desire to find a way to feel more openly again. Up next is “Discovery Channel,” which flips a boorish Bloodhound Gang lyric on its head. “True Believer” may be the most viral of the 17 tracks depending on which corner of the internet you dwell in. It’s a condemnation of the toxicity that so often pervades Southern culture, from blatant racism to the hypocrisy of the inescapable megachurch industry. There are no metaphors or allegories — only Williams spilling out the biting truth.
Next, “Zissou” references Wes Anderson’s infamous oceanographer to wax poetic about struggling to get to the depths of another person. The film connections continue with the next song: “Dream Girl in Shibuya” explores the shadows of a relationship in which the newness has worn off. If it gets a music video that doesn’t reference Lost in Translation, a great opportunity will have been lost!
The not-record ends on a note of commitment. The final two songs “Blood Bros” and “I Won’t Quit on You” make it clear that though the nature of a given relationship may change, some connections are too strong to be broken. ▼
BY BAILEY BRANTINGHAM
THOUGH BULLY APPEARED as Suki Waterhouse’s Ryman opener in December, it’s been almost two years since the most recent time the project graced a Nashville stage in its natural state. That is, with singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer-engineer Alicia Bognanno and her backing band as a headline act — the way they’re meant to be experienced.
Rock stars don’t get much cooler than Bognanno. It’s hard to imagine many bands but The Breeders (for whom Bognanno opened a few shows in 2023) following the seasoned Music City rocker onstage. Her voice scratches an itch deep in your brain with tremendous satisfaction, and the searing, raspy howls she lets out are something you can’t replicate no matter how many times you try. She also happens to shred on guitar. And bass. And piano. Saturday, Bognanno oozed her effortless ultimate-cool-girl energy at the second of two sold-out nights at The Blue Room at Third Man Records
Just after 8 p.m., Los Angeles-based opener Jawdropped showcased a taste of the gritty West Coast DIY scene, kicking off with “Skully,” which introduces their latest EP Just Fantasy. At times the performance felt like watching a game of tennis. Heads swiveled back and forth throughout the audience as singer-guitarist Roman Zangari and vocalist Kyra Morling chanted into mics from opposite sides of the stage. You’ve got another shot to catch them in this very same space: They’ll be back at The Blue Room Dec. 16 to open the final night of alt-country songsmith Greg Freeman’s tour.
After Jawdropped departed, Bognanno appeared nonchalantly to tune her guitar and check her keyboard while sipping a Red Bull. Bully is known to put on an ear-damage-worthy live performance — you feel like you’re missing out if you keep the earplugs in — and Bognanno makes that known from the get-go. When she returned minutes later, she kicked off the show with a bang, whipping out the fast-paced “All I Do” from her all-around spectacular 2023 album Lucky for You. The electric-guitar-based tune repurposes the strums of a post-punk era gone by, while Bognanno’s voice packs the powerful punch of a mid-’90s riot grrrl, making the song hit as hard as possible in all the perfect places.
As the fuzz of guitar faded into a steady hum, the opening riff of “Where to Start” began before silence had a chance to settle. The Sugaregg song puts Bognanno’s vocal versatility on display, careening from silky and delicate lilts to nearly out-of-breath yelps. About 17 minutes in, Bognanno finally allowed a little stillness to envelop the stage as she tuned her guitar. She took a moment to remark on the coziness of the room before cracking a quick joke.
“Thanks for coming, we’ve got two songs left,” Bognanno deadpanned.
After a few scattered “boos” and “awws,” she reassured the crowd that she was only kidding.
THE SHADES OF BLUE THAT REMIND ME OF YOU: BULLY
Bognanno carried on rocking, even as her claw-clip ponytail blew apart midsong and hair plastered itself to her face while she attacked her guitar. She wove her way through Bully’s discography, even spotlighting some of the earliest entries in her catalog like “Milkman” and “Sharktooth.”
“Trash” and “Six” are set-list staples from her debut full-length Feels Like, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, and they followed a little later. Then the band departed as Bognanno trudged across the stage to the keyboard. “I’m walking so slowly because I’m bound to eat shit,” Bognanno said, carefully sitting down. Before she could psych herself out, she began a solo performance of the gut-wrenching ballad “Atom Bomb,” followed by an unreleased song she said she’d only played once before.
“If everybody could just close their eyes, that would be really great,” Bognanno said. “This is, like, a bedroom practice right now. But it’s Nashville, so I feel like I can do that. It will be our little secret.”
After the quiet moment, the band returned. Bognanno found her way back to center stage and hoisted her guitar around her shoulders as the bass-and-drums opening crescendo of “Running” began. An extended outro bled into the beginning of “Lose You” (no guest appearance from Soccer Mommy this time, though) as Bognanno harnessed her addictive croon to belt out the insightfully bleak opening lyrics: “Time’s just a useless measurement of pain.” The pop-punkish beat of “Days Move Slow” rounded out the final three songs, after which the band departed the stage without a word.
Bully is not the type of band to let a night just fizzle out, and the trio returned for a single-song encore with the upbeat, headbang-encouraging energy of “I Remember.” When Bully left the stage for real, Bognanno kept making the hard stuff look effortless — even when she had to scurry back and turn off a piece of gear that was left on by accident. ▼
Saturday, August 23
HATCH SHOW PRINT Block Party
9:30 am, NOON, and 2:30 pm HATCH SHOW PRINT SHOP
Saturday, August 23
INTERVIEW Chris Hillman and Dwight Yoakam
3:30 pm · FORD THEATER SOLD OUT
Sunday, August 24
MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT Chris Leuzinger 1:00 pm · FORD THEATER
Saturday, August 30
SONGWRITER SESSION Terri Jo Box NOON · FORD THEATER
Sunday, August 31
MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT Brassfield 1:00 pm · FORD THEATER
Saturday, September 6
SONGWRITER SESSION Preston Cooper and the Warren Brothers NOON · FORD THEATER
Saturday, September 6 PANEL DISCUSSION Bell Bottom Country
Creating the Lainey Wilson Look 2:30 pm · CMA THEATER
Saturday, September 6 BOOK TALK Paul Burch
Meridian Rising: A Novel 3:30 pm · FORD THEATER
WITNESS HISTORY
Local Kids Always Visit Free Plan a trip to the Museum! Local youth 18 and under who are residents of Nashville-Davidson and bordering counties always visit free, plus 25% off admission for up to two accompanying adults.
Talking with legendary Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa about his new film Cloud
BY KEN ARNOLD; TRANSLATION BY AKI TAKABATAKE
NO ONE MAKES movies quite like Kiyoshi Kurosawa does. His style uses space, time and movement to provide not only genre chills but also to serve as a vessel for his deeper commentary on Japanese society. Shortly after the North American premiere of his film Cloud at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the legendary director (no relation to the other legendary Japanese filmmaker named Kurosawa) gave us a glimpse into his creative process — how he conducts movement and what his role as director means to him.
“When I decide the position of actors and the camera, everyone has the same script working with the same story, but they are acting completely different each time,” Kurosawa says through a translator. “The camera can be close or far away, it can be shot from the back or the left or right. The cameraman will say, ‘Let’s focus closer or further away.’ There are so many different situations and variations, these can start to change the story. I think that’s my role as a director — to make a story from these conditions.”
Cloud follows online reseller Ryosuke Yoshii (Masaki Suda), who we can tell immediately is the type of internet salesperson we all know: He scalps limited-supply items, driving up their price. His aggressive buy-low, sell-high style earns him many enemies — he lowballs sellers and price-gouges buyers with cheap items. Kurosawa explains that his inspiration for the character comes from a personal connection —
Austin Butler leads a stellar cast in Darren Aronofsky’s sleek, bleak crime thriller
BY LOGAN BUTTS
WATCHING THE TRAILER for Caught Stealing you might’ve found yourself surprised to see Darren Aronofsky’s name pop up. The director is best known for bleakas-hell, often revolting psychological dramas, but his latest — according to the trailer, anyhow — looks like a sleek popcorn crime thriller. And it mostly is. If “Directed by Steven Soderbergh” had shown up in the end credits, it would have made perfect sense.
But a few key elements are pure Aronofsky, particularly some viscerally brutal moments — a blown-out knee, a super-glued surgery scar, a shard of wood used as a makeshift shiv — and his signature bleakness, which peeks out through the good vibes.
Caught Stealing stars Austin Butler as Henry “Hank” Thompson, a bartender in late-’90s New York City — a setting Aronofsky employs superbly, with the story jumping between boroughs without feeling hacky. Thompson was a star baseball prospect in high school, but a drunk-driving accident ended his career. Now he’s
one he was able to translate into a story about how life works in a capitalist society and how the game is rigged in corporations’ favor.
“I have a friend who is a reseller, and he is a very serious person, but he cannot really work in society,” says Kurosawa. “He may not have much talent or money. For those kinds of people, being a reseller could be a good choice to live in the current society in Japan. I asked about his stories and watched him with much curiosity, because he is the kind of person I made to represent Japan. My friend is, of course, not a criminal. However, when I was hearing his stories, I understood that it could go into a dangerous situation. He never had that kind of experience, but it could turn into crime — it could turn into a dangerous situation. He is doing it as an individual person, but from my perspective, the big corporations are doing basically the same thing in reselling stuff to make money, and it could journey into crime. It’s the base of capitalism.”
Kurosawa says his biggest cinematic inspiration for Cloud was Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 film Straw Dogs. That might seem surprising at first due to the thematic differences between the two movies — not to mention Cloud doesn’t feature anything like that famous Straw Dogs scene. But they both feature a slow-burn structure with progressively escalating tension and everyday people turning violent. Kurosawa uses this foundation to subvert the standards of Japanese action.
“I have always really loved American action films since I was young, so I always wanted to make an action film in Japan,” he says. “However, when I was writing the script, I looked around at Japanese action films, and often the main characters are yakuza, policemen or the National Defense Force. Those people are directly related to violence, but I wanted to make a film with people who have nothing to do with violence that turns into a violent story. That’s the kind of action film I wanted to make in Japan, because in my film, normal people end up doing action, so it’s actually not that cool. They aren’t very quick, and sometimes it may look slow or even comedic. That’s the type of action I wanted to make.”
In his years as a director, Kurosawa has been able to reach a global audience with films like 1997’s psychological horror film Cure. He mentions meeting fans from locations as far off as Peru, despite their difficulty in accessing his titles. He reflects on how much his international
a bitter but genial has-been.
Once again, Butler proves he has the leading-man sauce. A role like this can easily devolve into sadsackdom, but Butler’s megawatt charm elevates him out of the grime, especially when he’s paired with sort-of girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). Kravitz and Butler, two of our coolest movie stars, have a palpable chemistry. It’s plain to see why the dating rumors are flying.
The duo is part of a tapestry of colorful characters and performances, as is often the case with a down-and-dirty crime picture. Regina King — in her highest-profile role since the one-two punch of her Oscar-winning performance in 2018’s If Beale Street Could Talk and her Emmy-winning performance in 2019’s Watchmen — brings gravitas as hard-bitten police detective Roman. Matt Smith steals scenes as Thomp-
fans mean to him and the legacy he will leave behind in the world of film.
“I am very happy that people come to see my film, because in Japan, how much money it made is the main topic of the value of the film,” he says. “Maybe my films haven’t made too much profit so far. However, when I look at the world audience, probably tens of thousands more people are watching my film. If I imagine this, it makes me happier than having a hit only in Japan. Also, in the future, people from different countries can come and see it 10 years from now. Maybe even after I die, people will still be watching my film. That’s amazing and is a much better thing than having a hit in Japan.” ▼
son’s mohawk-sporting next-door neighbor Russ. Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio are terrifying as a pair of Hasidic hit men. Russian thespian Nikita Kukushkin plays a human battering ram named Pavel, and Griffin Dunne is nearly unrecognizable as the eccentric owner of the bar where Thompson works. Even Bad Bunny and Action Bronson hold their own among the heavyweights. Most importantly, Thompson has an adorable (and integral) cat sidekick named Bud.
The story, adapted by author Charlie Huston from their own novel, melds a classic Hitchcockian wrongman plot with the type of low-level, high-stakes crime you’ll find in an Elmore Leonard paperback. Clues are set up cleverly, twists come bursting through the door, and characters are disposable. Money is all that matters.
“Breezy” isn’t the sort of descriptor that tends to be associated with Aronofsky’s work, but Caught Stealing is just that — a fast-paced, slick and deceptively brutal crime film. It’s also another feather in Butler’s cap as one of Hollywood’s few bankable leading men. It’s perfect for a late-summer trip to the movies. ▼
CAUGHT STEALING
R, 107 MINUTES
OPENING THURSDAY, AUG. 28, AT REGAL AND AMC THEATERS Cloud NR, 123 minutes; in Japanese with English subtitles Playing Aug. 29-Sept. 4 at the Belcourt
1 Beat at chess
6 Speech therapists’ targets
11 Adds to the chain, in a way
14 † symbols, on manuscripts
15 Square
16 It may be brown or blonde
17 “Nice of you to show up”
19 Something to play by
20 Marching syllable
21 Utter nonsense
22 Vocal flourish used by Lady Gaga in “Shallow” and “Bad Romance”
24 Tries, tries again
27 Univision article
28 “Hey, England, happy Fourth of July!”
33 Cow or cobra, in yoga
36 Do it!
37 Suffix with Sudan or Bhutan
38 With 41-Across, a hint to this puzzle’s theme
39 Stereotypical attire for tech bros
41 See 38-Across
42 Head into?
43 Speak hoarsely
44 ___ blanc (type of white grape)
45 “Say ‘goodnight’ Alexa.” “Goodnight Alexa”
49 Trash
50 Relative of a votive candle
54 Attire for an acrobat
58 Era in which daylight saving was introduced as a way to conserve energy, in brief
59 Lion in ancient Rome
60 “omg, u r too much”
61 “Bottom-of-the-barrel barrel prices! Buy today!”
64 Love, at Wimbledon
65 Softened
66 “___: The Origins of Our Discontents,” Isabel Wilkerson best seller
67 Like one who might prefer platonic relationships, informally
68 Fathers’ last words?
69 “Challenge accepted!”
DOWN
1 Japanese rice cake
2 Approximately
3 Home for the Sun Devils
4 ___ City (nickname for New Haven, Conn.)
5 Many a Joseph Cornell artwork
6 Shine
7 Tavern
8 A matchbook, for a wobbly table, say
9 “___ down!” (“Shut up!”)
10 Explore a cave
11 Like the Roman Empire around 48 B.C.
12 One might be cooked “casino”-style
13 Will be, in Spanish
18 Musical building block
23 Company name ender
25 South African currency
26 Doesn’t get hit, say
29 Hard animal to herd
30 Bad ending?
31 Site of a Nobel Prize award ceremony every December 10
32 Lasting lash effect
33 “East of Eden” girl
34 Setting for “The King and I”
35 Mammal that can roll up into a ball
39 One might help you move
40 Medium capacity?
41 ___ Field (M.L.B. venue since 2009)
43 Skin condition that causes facial flushing
44 Major that might require International Relations and U.S. Government classes, informally
46 Pimple
47 Ties another knot, so to speak
48 Comical growl
51 Word with cut or shot
52 Observe closely, as orders
53 Symbol
54 Forearm bone
55 Genre for “Double Indemnity”
56 Last word in the first line of “Home on the Range”
57 One tablespoon, maybe
62 Write
63 Porkpie, e.g.
2025, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department will offer to sale to the highest bidder, for cash, the interest of Charles J. Fenton, in the following real property located at 2647 Delk Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37208, Map/Parcel 081 - 100-048.00 (the “Property”) and described as follows:
Legal Description: The Property is described in the Quitclaim Deed dated April 28, 2021, of record at Instrument No. 202106080076678, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee. Street Address: The street address of the Property is believed to be 2647 Delk Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37208, but such address is not part of the legal description of the property. In the event of any discrepancy, the legal description herein sha ll control.
Land in Davidson County, Tennessee, being Lot No. 44 on the revised plan of Normal Heights –Section 2, as of record in Book 2330, page 54, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee, to which plan reference is hereby made for a more complete and a ccurate legal description.
Being the same property conveyed to Charles J. Felton by the Quitclaim Deed dated April 28, 2021, of record at Instrument No. 20210608-0076678, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee.
August 21, 2025, on the steps of the historic Davidson County Courthouse, 1 Public Square, Nashville, Tennessee 37201, the Sheriff will sell the above property for payment toward said judgment together with all expenses a nd legal costs accruing.
TERMS OF SALE: Cash, Certified Check, Receipt on Judgment from Plaintiff, or credit of not less than 6 months. Pursuant to Sale Order: bidding will start at $116,650.00, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 265-115; high bidder will be required to execute a written sale agreement at conclusion of bidding; Plaintiff is allowed to credit bid; redemption rights and equity of redemption are waived, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-8-101(2); the sale shall be approved and confirmed by the Davidson County General Sessions Court, the Court which issued the process directing this Sale; and the Sheriff shall provide the deed described at Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-8-111 after entry of the order of confirmation of the sale and after confirmation of payment to Plaintiff.
3HSDZTZR2KN374377 owned by AWL Transport LLC, which Secured Party improved by providing various service, labor, and parts. Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-14-104, notice is hereby given that Secured Party, pursuant to applicable law, will sell the Vehicle described above by Public Sale to be conducted as follows:
Date of Sale: September 12, 2025
Time of Sale: 1:00 p.m. CST
Place of Sale: Exo Legal PLLC 901 Woodland St. Nashville, TN 37206
Agent for Creditor: Exo Legal PLLC
The Public Sale will be conducted by Exo Legal PLLC. For information, contact David Anthony, Exo Legal PLLC, at (615) 8690634.
Technical Sales Representative. Provide technical sales activities for road construction and aggregate processing equipment. Up to 70% travel required to potential clients located in TX, OK, NM and CO. May reside anywhere in the U.S. Employer: Wirtgen America, Inc. Job location: Antioch, TN. Mail resume to: Allen Parton, Dir. of HR, Wirtgen America, Inc., 6030 Dana Way, Antioch, TN 37013
NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALE OF REAL PROPERTY
By virtue of an execution and Levy issued by the General Sessions Court of Davidson County, Tennessee, in 611 Live Life Lane, LLC, Plaintiff, vs. Charles J. Fenton, Defendant, Davidson County General Sessions Court Docket No. 24GT8149, as well as that Order
Directing the Davidson County Sheriff to Conduct Judicial Sale of Real Property entered on April 25, 2025, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department will offer to sale to the highest bidder, for cash, the interest of Charles J. Fenton, in the following real property located at 2647 Delk Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37208, Map/Parcel 081 - 100-048.00 (the “Property”) and described as follows:
Legal Description: The Property is described in the Quitclaim Deed dated April 28, 2021, of record at Instrument No. 202106080076678, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee. Street Address: The street address of the Property is believed to be 2647 Delk Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37208, but such address is not part of the legal description of the property. In the event of any discrepancy, the legal description herein sha ll control. Land in Davidson County, Tennessee, being Lot No. 44 on the revised plan of Normal Heights –Section 2, as of record in Book 2330, page 54, Register’s Office for Davidson County, Tennessee, to which plan reference is hereby made for a more complete and a ccurate legal description.
Being the same property conveyed to Charles J. Felton by the Quitclaim Deed dated April 28, 2021, of record at Instrument No.
This sale is made pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 69.07(4) and Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-5-101, et. seq. and is in satisfaction (whole or in part depending on amount of sale) of the judgment in favor of 611 Live Life Lane, LLC by that Judgment dated September 3 0, 2024, in the original base amount of $23,526.11, plus all post - judgment interest since the entry of the Judgment, sale expenses and costs, and court costs.
All property is sold “as is.” No warranties or guarantees are made, expressed or implied.
Other interested parties receiving notice: Metropolitan Development Housing Agency; Samaroo Development Group; Robert Reed f/u/b State Farm; American Heritage, Inc.
At 9:00 o’clock A.M., on Thursday, August 21, 2025, on the steps of the historic Davidson County Courthouse, 1 Public Square, Nashville, Tennessee 37201, the Sheriff will sell the above property for payment toward said judgment together with all expenses a nd legal costs accruing.
TERMS OF SALE: Cash, Certified Check, Receipt on Judgment from Plaintiff, or credit of not less than 6 months. Pursuant to Sale Order: bidding will start at $116,650.00, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 265-115; high bidder will be required to execute a written sale agreement at conclusion of bidding; Plaintiff is allowed to credit bid; redemption rights and equity of redemption are waived, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-8-101(2); the sale shall be approved and confirmed by the Davidson County General Sessions Court, the Court which issued the process directing this Sale; and the Sheriff shall provide the deed described at Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-8-111 after entry of the order of confirmation of the sale and after confirmation of payment to Plaintiff.
As of July 1, 2025, notices pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 35-5- 101 et seq. are posted online at www. https://foreclosuretennessee.com by a third-party internet posting company. Questions related to the sale or the underlying debt can be addressed to: David Anthony, attorney for judgment creditor, at: Exo Legal PLLC; P.O. Box 121616, Nashville, Tennessee 37212; 615 -869-0634; david@exolegal.com. THIS 17th day of July, 2025.
As to all or any part of the Vehicle, the right is reserved to: (i) sell part or all of the Vehicle and/or delay, continue, adjourn, cancel or postpone the sale of any part of the Vehicle; and/or (ii) to sell to the next highest bidder in the event any high bidder does not comply with the terms of the sale.
NOTICE OF SALE UNDER MECHANIC’S AND ARTISAN’S LIEN Cumberland International Trucks, Inc. (“Secured Party”), pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 66-14-103, 66-19-101, and pursuant to a Notice of Claim of Mechanic’s/Artisan’s Lien dated July 2, 2025, as amended hereby, holds a lien for repairs against a certain 2019 International LT625 6x4 VIN: 3HSDZTZR2KN374377 owned by AWL Transport LLC, which Secured Party improved by providing various service, labor, and parts. Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-14-104, notice is hereby given that Secured Party, pursuant to applicable law, will sell the Vehicle described above by Public Sale to be conducted as follows:
Date of Sale: September 12, 2025
Time of Sale: 1:00 p.m. CST Place of Sale: Exo Legal PLLC 901 Woodland St. Nashville, TN 37206
Agent for Creditor: Exo Legal PLLC
The Public Sale will be conducted by Exo Legal PLLC. For information, contact David Anthony, Exo Legal PLLC, at (615) 8690634.
Secured Party shall sell, grant, convey, transfer, and deliver unto any successful purchaser all of the right, title, and interest in and to the Vehicle which Secured Party has a right to sell as a Secured Party and no further or otherwise. The Vehicle will be sold “as is”, “where is”, and “with all faults”, without any representations or warranties, expressed or implied and subject to any prior liens or encumbrances, if any. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Secured Party has not made an d will not make any representations or warranties regarding the Vehicle, the condition of the Vehicle, warranty of title or marketability of title and the conveyance shall be with all defects and without any warranties, expressed or implied, including warr anties of merchantability, condition, or of fitness for a general or particular purpose.
David M. Anthony, Exo Legal PLLC 901 Woodland Street; Nashville, Tennessee 37206
Telephone: (615) 869 -0634
Publication Dates: August 28, 2025; September 4, 2025
As of July 1, 2025, notices pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 35-5- 101 et seq. are posted online at www. https://foreclosuretennessee.com by a third-party internet posting company. Questions related to the sale or the underlying debt can be addressed to: David Anthony, attorney for judgment creditor, at: Exo Legal PLLC; P.O. Box 121616, Nashville, Tennessee 37212; 615 -869-0634; david@exolegal.com. THIS 17th day of July, 2025.
As to all or any part of the Vehicle, the right is reserved to: (i) sell part or all of the Vehicle and/or delay, continue, adjourn, cancel or postpone the sale of any part of the Vehicle; and/or (ii) to sell to the next highest bidder in the event any high bidder does not comply with the terms of the sale.
Lead Analysts, IT HR Systems. Analyze and define HR systems (payroll, ADP Enterprise), processes, and user needs for a major retailer. Employer: Tractor Supply Company. Location: HQ in Brentwood, TN. May telecommute from any location in the U.S. Multiple openings. To apply, mail resume to J. Yokley, 5401 Virginia Way, Brentwood, TN 37027. Ref. job code 250137.
Deacon Health, Inc. seeks Sr Business Intelligence Developer in Nashville, TN. Req: Bach (US/frgn eqv) in Info Sys, Comp Sci, Health Informatics, or rel.; 4 yrs exp in dev; exp in ETL dev; strong SQL skills & familiar w/ analytic languages (DAX); exp w/ columnar & tabular data models & dimensional data warehouse design concepts; expert in data warehousing & modeling principles & sys; exp w/ Common Data Model a plus; exp w/Azure framework. May work remotely but must live within normal commuting distance of Nashville, TN office. Send resume to sgrummon@deaconhealth.c om.
RevSpring, Inc. (Nashville, TN) is hiring for 2 positions: (1) Data Integrity Quality Analyst (Multi) reqs Bach (US/frgn eqv) in Comp Sci, Info Sci, or rel; 4 yrs exp in QA or testing role within app dev team; exp w/ SQL, SQLServer database, & ETL tools & techniques; understanding of QA defect mgmt processes; able to investigate issues on Microsoft & Linux platforms; hands- on exp writing & executing test cases in integration envrnmnt; handson software troubleshooting exp; & exp documenting change process; (2) Sr Software Engineer (Multi) reqs Bach (US/frgn eqv) in Comp Sci, Comp Info Sys, or rel; 5 yrs exp in design & dev of APIs using REST standards; 5 yrs exp developing apps using Java; strong understanding of OOAD concepts; & exp w/ build tools, incl Maven or Jenkins. For both positions, may work remotely 100% frm home anywhere in US & travel to corp office in Nashville, TN not reqd.
Sr. Analysts, IT Financial Systems. Responsible for analyzing, defining, configuring, and maintaining SAP financial systems functions, business processes and user needs for a major retailer. Employer: Tractor Supply Company. Location: Headquarters in Brentwood, TN. May telecommute from any location in the U.S. Multiple openings. To apply, mail resume to J. Yokley, 5401 Virginia Way, Brentwood, TN 37027. Ref. job code 24-0286.
Secured Party shall sell, grant, convey, transfer, and deliver unto any successful purchaser all of the right, title, and interest in and to the Vehicle which Secured Party has a right to sell as a Secured Party and no further or otherwise. The Vehicle will be sold “as is”, “where is”, and “with all faults”, without any representations or warranties, expressed or implied and subject to any prior liens or encumbrances, if any. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Secured Party has not made an d will not make any representations or warranties regarding the Vehicle, the condition of the Vehicle, warranty of title or marketability of title and the conveyance shall be with all defects and without any warranties, expressed or implied, including warr anties of merchantability, condition, or of fitness for a general or particular purpose.
David M. Anthony, Exo Legal PLLC 901 Woodland Street; Nashville, Tennessee 37206
Telephone: (615) 869 -0634
Publication Dates: August 28, 2025; September 4, 2025
