AmericanaFest 2024 – Day 4
The fourth day of America’s best music festival ended up being a fun, grab-bag type of affair. When it’s Friday night, and you have a city full of our best songwriters, all a Lyft ride away, why limit yourself to a single venue?
Maggie Antone
EXIT/IN was the first stop of the evening, and the goal was the showcase for one of country music’s sharpest up-and-comers. Richmond, Virginia’s Maggie Antone released her debut album just last month, and it’s full of commentary on the type of creeper guys who always manage to find themselves where they’re not wanted, delivered with just the right amount of twang. But for every amount of brush-off – like the bro who wants to share more than his weed in “High Standards” – there’s deeper heartbreak buried in tunes like “Suburban Outlaw.” Antone left us on a sweeter note, with a gorgeous cover of Tyler Childers’ “Lady May.” She also didn’t leave the stage without thanking her sole accompanist – her mother, who was working Antone’s merch table. And that’s about as Americana as it gets.
Swamp Dogg…or not
The 82-year-old country/soul legend (aka Jerry Williams Jr.), fresh off this year’s excellent Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St, was a top target for this year’s Fest. However, upon arrival at Station Inn, we were informed – by a VERY stern doorman – that the venue was indisputably full. Apparently, other listeners had made this show a “must” as well. No worries, as AmericanaFest is all about flexibility. It was on to…
3rd and Lindsley
This friendly (and much larger) venue was a destination for a later show, but our dismissal from Station Inn allowed us the bonus of catching the second half of Sugaray Rayford’s set. Texas-bred bluesman Caron Nimoy Rayford has a number of career citations, including a Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy nomination, but awards don’t begin to explain the high-energy, sweaty, outright joyful set from this seven-piece outfit. Give their latest release, Human Decency, a listen, and catch them if they happen to barnstorm through your town.
The act that led us to the lucky break of catching Rayford was Wonder Women of Country. Melissa Carper, Brennen Leigh and Kelly Willis formed this downhome supergroup to show off their songwriting and musicianship, as well as reach back into their catalogs. Somehow managing to pack a dozen (all excellent) tunes into their 45-minute set, each musician had a chance to shine. Willis led a song she wrote with her now-ex, “Another Broken Heart,” Leigh brought out the highly enticing “Fly Ya to Hawaii,” and Melissa Carper closed the set with “Pray the Gay Away,” a sweetly barbed message to those stuck in Nashville’s past. The trio made their group debut at the Opry the next night, but I like to think the loose, relaxed setting we saw them in was just right for their sublime talent and easy charisma.
Aaron Lee Tasjan at The Purple Building
There’s a reason I’ve used the word “sweaty” several times in these recaps – Nashville was unseasonably damn hot! Roastiest of all were the folks packed into The Purple Building, a studio/performance venue/livestream space catch-all run by Todd Snider. On this evening, we showed up to watch singer/songwriter/guitar ace/all-around decent human being Aaron Lee Tasjan. As good as his songs are, the stories he shares on an evening like this are what set him apart from a typical showcase. Whether it’s a fateful night in a hot tub during a tour with Social Distortion (“The Drugs Did Me”), a loving dedication to the woman – Elizabeth Cook – whose picture watched over us (“Florida Man”), or a snarky tweet questioning Lee Greenwood’s patriotic bona fides (“I Love America Better Than You”), Tasjan is as unscriptedly funny as he is musically gifted. And, when he started bringing up his music friends (Lilly Haitt! Joy Clark!), this small, quaint, pillow-filled purple den provided just the right safe space amid the ever-rising East Nashville cacophony.
Check out AmericanaFest 2024 info here on their website: http://www.americanamusic.org
Enjoy our previous coverage of the event here: AmericanaFest 2024 Day 3
AmericanaFest 2024 – Day 4