HELLO and ARE YOU READY?!?!

Seriously, are you ready?  This week has so many things going on around town that I can’t help but throw everything I know about below and let you know where I would go if I could be everywhere all the time in a perfect world.  Here we go.

But before I dive into this week in a timely manner, you should know that Brooklyn is in the house.  Specifically, Brooklyn Brewery has taken its neighborhood on the road and has posted up in Nashville for the week.  Calling it The Brooklyn Brewery Mash, as a benefit for Slow Food USA, Brooklyn Brewery has stopped in Nashville while on a 11 city adventure while rolling out a series of parties, comedy, concerts, pop-up supper clubs and readings, all featuring humanity’s favorite beverage.  I’ll speak more about one in particular at the end of the week, but here is a snapshot of the week: (you can see more about everything here- http://brooklynbrewerymash.com/nashville#!/event-29)

4/10- Mash Education @ Fort Houston

4/10- Brooklyn Brewery Tap Attack @ Flying Saucer

4/10- Local 2 Ways @ Burger Up

4/11- Slow Supper with Holly Williams @ Peter Nappi Studio

4/11- NY Night Train Soul Clap & Dance-Off @ Stone Fox

4/12- You Can’t Drown The Loud Sound @ Mercy Lounge

4/13- Found Footage Festival @ High Watt

4/14- Togather Books & Beer @ imogene + willie

Now, back to the week at hand.  Monday, April 8th, at 5:30pm, at the Scarritt-Bennett Center (1008 19th Avenue South), you can be a part of “Creating Livable and Healthy Communities through Retrofitting Suburbia.” Ellen Dunham-Jones, professor of architecture at Georgia Tech, will speak at  in Laskey Hall at Scarritt-Bennett Center. The program will also include a performance by local composer and impresario Kyle Baker, in cooperation with the Metro Arts Commission. More info here: http://www.nashville.gov/Government/NashvilleNext/Speakers-Series.aspx.  Nashville Next is a community-driven process for creating a countywide plan which will guide Metro Nashville through 2040.

Fast forward to Wednesday evening and you can make it a point to make a quick trip over to Watkins College of Art, Design & Film in Room 804 (2298 Rosa L. Parks Blvd) at 9pm to join a discussion about everything art.  Tom Holert will be leading it, inspired from March 2013’s Artforum, and it will be called “Burden of Proof-Contemporary Art and Responsibility.”

Then, on Thursday, you should take time to dine out at Pied Piper Eatery (1601 Riverside Drive).  It is there where Pied Piper Eatery has agreed to host a benefit for Gilda’s Club!  50% of the entire DAY’S proceeds will be donated to Gilda’s Club.  You can find out more about Gilda’s Club Nashville on their website, http://www.gildasclubnashville.org, but I know from personal involvement with the marathon fundraising group called Gilda’s Gang that this is truly on of the most precious places in Music City.  It’s a non-profit that offers FREE cancer support to anyone dealing with cancer- those who live with it, who have survived it, who have loved ones with it, who have lost loved ones to it, who are caregivers of anyone with cancer … basically, everyone and YOU too!  You won’t regret the cause or the food.  Best money spent all year so far if you decide to spend it here.

Also on Thursday, at 8pm, and just outside of town at Austin Peay State (at the Morgan University Center Room, 303), you can hear a treat.  As part of their Visiting Writers Series, author Nicole Walker will be giving a reading from her new book, “Quench Your Thirst with Salt.”  She is winner of the Zone 3 Press Creative Nonfiction Book Award in case you didn’t know already.

Speaking of not knowing already, Saturday will be pretty epic.  First, you should know about the latest 40 AU exhibit called “The Weight of Air and Water: Atmospheric Investigations by the Artists of Gallery One.”  HAUS artists will be sponsoring two plain air sessions to learn basic techniques while exploring TN environments and our psychological responses to natural spaces.  Interested parties should bring their own materials (under the “Bring Yer Own” free ticket) or buy “a surface and supplies” ticket for $15 at https://www.wepay.com/events/haus-plein-air-session.  50% of the “Surface and Supplies” ticket will be donated to the TN Parks and Greenways Foundation.  Second, on Saturday, from 6-8:30pm on the East Side, you can visit Poetry in the Brew.  Going down at Portland Brew East (1921 Eastland Avenue), James C. Floyd will host and many local great poets will be featured to celebrate National Poetry Month like never before.  And writing about Second Saturdays on the East Side, you don’t need to go any further than the Second Saturday at 5 Points Art Crawl and parties on The Row.  Head to 1108 Woodland Street and open your eyes and mind to the fun to be had by all around you.  One thing I know I’ll be at is my bookstore and the unique pop-up opening/closing reception for Beyond Books from 6-9pm.  For one day only, and for the second time in this now quarterly art show, I will be removing all of the traditional books in the store and restocking them with some of the most amazing local book art and sketchbooks around.  Knowing that each book is a work of art and going the extra mile with the help of artist Jennifer Knowles-McQuistion and others, Beyond Books hopes to encourage more art inspired by book lovers and artists that want to make things more than words and more than what meets your eyes on the cover.  Like I said, Saturday is going to be pretty epic.

On Sunday, you can do a variety of things all day long.  You have tons of options.  A few are the following:

From noon-4pm, Friends of Shelby will be hosting youth from the Gordon Jewish Community Center and inviting everyone in the community to head to the Shelby Park Community Center (South 20th Street), to lend a helping hand at the Shelby Park Community Center to add a fresh coat of paint to a select few rooms there.  You wanna make a positive mark, here’s your chance.

Also, at On Sunday, April 14th, Nashville will be introduced to The Brooklyn Brewery Mash (as briefly mentioned above) with a benefit bang of unseen proportions.  Brooklyn Brewery, who has had a long, successful tradition of bringing together the best of Brooklyn’s art, music, food, and other dynamic cultural expressions in one place/event for the sake of giving back to the people and community at large, is featuring some of the best and brightest in their fields that are making a huge impact on the vibrant, modern-day renaissance of Nashville today.  There are plethora of events sponsored by The Brooklyn Brewery Mash around fun Nashville spots from April 11-14th, but the one going down at Imogene & Willie’s warehouse from 2-3pm will be the coolest … literally.  Brooklyn Brewery has invited Jeni Britton Bauer, the founder and brilliant ice cream idea artist behind Jeni’s Ice Cream, to be a featured guest.  As if that treat wasn’t enough, they have also invited Carrie Eddmenson of Imogene & Willie and Miranda Whitcomb of Burger Up (and the future Josephine restaurant) to round out the featured guests for a splendid conversation about their creative journeys and personal thoughts about their place in Nashville’s bright future.  With the conversation being moderated by mE, attendees will find out everything and more that they want to know about the best of local authors, fashion, food, and ICE CREAM!  Seriously, this event will be extraordinary and one for the ages.  You will be able to listen to and talk with 3 very successful and smart leading business women and a young man on the side who are all on the cutting edge and leading forward thinking and action within their respected fields of business and community action.  If you want to be one of the fortunate few to witness and be a part of this experience, get your tickets NOW and HERE- http://www.togather.com/event/356/jeni-in-nashville.html?rt=21658.

At 5pm and then 8pm, you can visit http://www.that-time-of-the-month.com and buy your tickets to the back to back shows of the hilarious That Time of the Month variety storytelling show.  It is the one year anniversary and founder Melanie Vare has put together the most hilarious and unforgettable featured guests and stories to make you laugh for days to come.  It’s $9 for one show and $14 to see both.  The first show is rated PG and the second is totally R.  You won’t regret either.  Visit the website above and get you ticket while you can!

I told you this week was going to be crazy.  And it doesn’t stop just there.  We’ll be having yet another tremendous East Side Storytellin’ event at Fat Bottom Brewing Co. next Tuesday, April 16th, at 7pm sharp if you are free that night to come because it is FREE to attend!  This particular show will be the New York Times Bestselling author of Robert Hicks and the music from Red Beet Records founder Eric Brace and the award-winning writer/musician Peter Cooper.  Yeah, you won’t want to miss this one.  You can see what you might have missed in the last one on April 2nd or the shows before here-

http://eastsidestorytn.com/in-our-own-words

I hope you have a great week and be nice to one another out there, ok?

much love,

chUck

http://www.eastsidestorytn.com

http://www.nashvillesheart.com

 

PS- Also on April 14th, DON’T forget about The Eastwood Ensemble performance on at Eastwood Christian Church at 3pm sharp. Nine Nashville Symphony musicians will be performing with Jonell Mosser to benefit RealFamiliesReal Moms of East Nashville. Love that her dog is harmonizing with her! Learn more here: www.eastwood-ensemble.org/Home_Page.html

Welcome to the Renaissance

In a town pre-labeled Music City, with its deep, rich history rooted in country music, it can often be difficult for outsiders to see the real city beyond the bright lights over Broadway or the country music flooding from the honky-tonk bars and/or Music Row.  From the inside out, it can also be just as easy for young artists to get pigeon-holed into corners and pre-labeled before reaching their true potential.  What many people who live away from here right now can’t fully understand or put a finger on the pulse is that Nashville is quickly becoming something much more than bedazzled jeans, cowboy hats, and line dances.  There are loads of painters, poets, writers, singer-songwriters not country-based, and everyone else creative all over the place planting their artistic roots here, from the West to the Historic East Nashville.  Lucky for us, one artist in particular that seems to encompass all of the above is leading by example and just so happens to be a home-grown local.

Sure, the critically acclaimed, published poet Matt Urmy may have originally been born in New York City before moving to Nashville shortly there after.  Sure, the praised singer-songwriter rising up the musical ranks Matt Urmy may have left Nashville for neighboring Knoxville after high school graduation in order to find his voice and a profound appreciation for the positive changes in his hometown before returning with a pen in one hand and a guitar in the other.  The point is that Matt Urmy is about as authentic of an Americana artist as you’ll ever come across and as shown by his latest recordings and public endeavors, he’s just getting started.

I met up with Urmy in the Café of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts recently; just down the hall from the Lobby where he’ll be performing this Friday, May 6th, from 6-8pm, and in the very room where he is scheduled to perform on Friday, May 20th, also from 6-8pm.  I’ll let Urmy mostly speak clearly for himself and his art as you can see for yourselves in the video attached to this story, but I must say that it really was quite an honor to sit with such a humble, multi-talented artist on the brink of widespread success taking time out of his busy life to promote two performances that were nearly a month away at the time of our meeting.

I quickly learned from reading about Urmy online and then listening when face to face that Urmy is different than a lot of people making music waves in Music City.  Urmy is not only his own promoter, the writer of all his music (and published poems for that matter), a one-man band and musical force winning the hearts of new fans by the minute and respect from stars he once grew up holding in the highest esteem (as I’ll get to soon enough), but he truthfully lives his art every day and night that he practices and preaches. 

Urmy’s latest two creations eloquently culminate everything he’s learned while on his personal journey up to this point and allow everyone else to discover themselves while jumping onboard his bandwagon.  Both projects have already captured the hearts and minds of a lot of locals since their recent conceptions.  The projects I’m speaking about are the Renaissance Rodeo Show and the album Sweet Lonesome.

Sweet Lonesome, the title of Urmy’s most recent CD, is a very special project indeed.  From the striking lyrics found in every single song that paint individual stories that both stand on their own and form a beautiful collection of sounds together, to guest appearances from personal heroes and legends Jonell Mosser, Mary Gauthier, and Ashley Cleveland, to its recording at the legendary Quonset Hut at Belmont University that was home to the recording of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” among other big recordings, Sweet Lonesome is a compilation of experiences and tales from a very special time period called now.

The second major project you should know about involving Matt Urmy is the Renaissance Rodeo Show that he conceptualized, organized, and co-hosted with another talented musician in Jonathan Sexton.  The first Renaissance Rodeo Show went down this past November with the help of such distinctive singer-songwriters and voices as the aforementioned Jonell Mosser, Scott Miller, and the legitimate legend Cowboy Jack Clement (who is also currently producing some of Urmy’s other recordings this year), and was an instant success.  It was a unique experience where homage was paid and honor was shared between some of the biggest stars around with the brightest young talent on the rise.  The concept of the show most likely was derived from one of Urmy’s most popular songs to date called “Renaissance Rodeo.”

Renaissance Rodeo was a song that Urmy recorded a few years ago and released on the internet by himself.  Originally driven to write the song because of an overwhelming feeling towards how our culture in this city and country was responding to a lot of big things going on around the world such as floods, economic turmoil and war, Urmy combined spoken word and song in a way that really touched a lot of people around the world.  Seriously, while creating Renaissance Rodeo from inspiration and cultural awareness into something very tangible for others to experience and to relate to, many people from all over wrote back to him letting him know it spoke to them and all of that really confirmed his initial beliefs that there is some sort of major cultural and world rebirth currently happening … the next big thing since the cultural revolutions of the late 50’s and early 60’s in fact.

Again, if you live close to Nashville and/or are in tune with the fact that something special is going on right now, right here with creative people moving here from all over, you can sometimes actually feel the dynamic energy about this place. 

Urmy stated, “Typically big questions are what drive major cultural events.  And more often than not, art provides the answers or at least gives inspiration to find the answers.  There’s a lot of affluence and money here [in Nashville] that gives people time to create.  There’s also a lot of poverty that gives attention to creativity.  The combination is something pretty amazing.”

There is a lot of attention to our city these days for a lot of good and potential reasons.  Matt Urmy is definitely one of those reasons and people that are helping others see this energy and how to make something real into something really special.  He combines music and art with his words to awaken your own feelings and beliefs from within during this time of major awakenings.

It’s only appropriate that I’m writing and you are reading this right now as Urmy is about to showcase his talents at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts this Friday and later on another Friday later this month.  If you would also like to get in touch with this dynamic energy that Nashville, the Frist Center, and Matt Urmy always exude, I suggest that you definitely take time to sit and listen … and bring a friend or two that you think would enjoy it or is possibly in need of a good old fashioned awakening as well.

Matt Urmy is not just a musician and poet, he is a Renaissance Man.  With more music around the bend and more shows (whether it be the next Renaissance Rodeo Show coming later this year or a house show to be announced soon enough near you) wherever the wind blows, these are very interesting times indeed. NOW sometimes feels like a different kind of awakening.  Many people are looking for answers to the big question like “What’s next?” I’m not too sure that I have a definitive answer for you at the moment, and I know that when/if I do figure it out that I’ll let you know for certain, but I have a feeling that Matt Urmy might just be one of the few people to help point us in the right direction.  The least I can do now is point you towards him.  Stop by the Frist Center this Friday and later this month and you can ask him whatever questions you’d like.

much love,

–Chuck Beard

www.youtube.com/nashvillesheart

www.nashvillesheart.com