For the folks who will be in and around Nashville this weekend, here’s just a small sample of the staggering number of really cool events happening in and around our backyard over the next few days. We at Wannado have decided to highlight these for your enjoyment because they just have that “Nashville feel,” are being organized by local people and organizations, and/or are just that ridiculously awesome. Click the event titles for more information about them.
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- This is mighty fine by me.
Joshua Radin and A Fine Frenzy
8pm at Marathon Music Works (doors at 7pm), Tickets $23-$27
Joshua Radin‘s debut album, We Were Here (Columbia), drew critical acclaim and a four star review from Rolling Stone. 2008’s follow up, Simple Times, which hit number one on the overall iTunes chart upon release, went top 10 in ten different countries including the UK where lead single “I’d Rather Be With You” went all the way to number two at radio. He has appeared on Ellen, the Today Show, Conan O’Brian and many others. He has begun co-producing his fourth album with producer Kevin Augunas (Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Cold War Kids). Joshua co-produced his latest LP underwater, which came out in July 2012.
A Fine Frenzy is the enchanting musical world of Alison Sudol. And her sprawlingly ambitious new album PINES reaches for the stars. It is nothing less than the story of our age: an elegy for a planet on the brink of catastrophe. Our planet. A magic-realist allegory about the enduring beauty and awesome power of nature, PINES is a wildly diverse musical adventure — and a cautionary tale for the 21st century. In time, it grew into the story of nature’s fight for survival against the destructive encroachment of mankind. But because Sudol is an artist filled with optimism and compassion, it’s filled not with gloom and doom, but with hope for a better future.
SATURDAY (11/10/12)
- For the folks who suffer from cold palms.
Learn to Knit a Pair of Fingerless Mittens
3pm at 1200 Villa Place, Suite 300; $25 reservation
‘Tis the season for knitting! Come learn how to knit these adorable fingerless mittens with May from the Tricycle Sweets Co.! It is the best way to start the knitting season off right! A simple fingerless gloves pattern will be taught in which students will learn how to cast-on, ribbing stitch, form basic cables and cast-off. Students will leave with a pair of handmade fingerless gloves that will keep you warm this winter! All levels of experience are welcome. Materials will be provided. Come join us!
- For those about to rock, we salute you.
Belmont Rock Showcase 2012
7pm at Belmont University, FREE to rock
Belmont University’s Rock Showcase is one of a series of annual genre-specific showcases that are completely student-produced and feature students as performers.On Saturday, November 10, four Belmont rock artists will compete to perform in the Best of the Best Showcase at the end of the year alongside the winners from the Christian, Urban/Pop, and Country Showcases. This year’s performers are Telegraph, Coin, Rudy, and Kim Logan.
Wannado is one of the sponsors for this event, so be sure to swing on by, pick up some free swag, and get the red-carpet rock-star treatment.
- The tiger knows what’s best.
Nashville Cares presents Under the Big Top: Avant-Garde Redux
7pm at Marathon Music Works; Tickets for this fundraiser start at $100
We want to know, are you ready for the GREATEST SHOW IN NASHVILLE? Join Nashville CARES as they turn Marathon Music Works into a late 1800’s circus with sideshow acts (fire breathers, acrobats, stilt walkers, strong men, etc.), lots of fun, high-energy performances, modern circus animal interpretations, imagination, and a special guest ringmaster!
If you’re looking to support a good cause and have the spare cash, this seems like it’ll be one amazing night.
- All of the words, stated.
State of the Word 2012
7pm at Vanderbilt University’s Sarratt Cinema, $5 tickets
Co-hosted by Southern Word and Vandy Spoken Word, “State of the Word” is the region’s leading youth poetry event, which brings together college poets with their high school counterparts in a poetry reunion. They then conduct workshops, rehearsals, and activities all day leading up to the main event. MTSU’s WordUp, Belmont’s B the Word, and Fisk’s Go! Inc. are also event partners. While the event is not a competition, performers strive to showcase their best skills as the group celebrates its progress and invigorates the Nashville community. Southern Word has nurtured the development of young writers who have been featured in The Tennessean, Nashville Scene, Nashville Arts Magazine, WPLN, Chapter 16, and TEDxNashville. These poets deliver their finest performances at “State of the Word” as other students holler in support and dance in their seats. The event is transformational for performers and audience members alike.
- He’s a little bit special.
An Evening with Stephen Lynch
8pm at TPAC, $32.75 tickets
Whether he’s singing an ode to “queer tattoos,” telling his potential paramour all the things he won’t be doing for her (he ain’t fightin’ no Lion), or lamenting his new vegan lifestyle (“Tofurkey? Tof**k yourself – I want some meat”), Stephen Lynch will always consider himself “a musician trapped in the body of a comedian.” His unique blend of musical based comedy has earned him fiercely loyal fans around the world who live to experience his sold-out live shows, four best-selling CDs, his RIAA-certified Gold DVD and his top rated Comedy Central Specials. Stephen’s albums “A Little Bit Special,” “Superhero,” “The Craig Machine,” and “3 Balloons” have sold hundreds of thousands of copies around the world. His first DVD, “Live at the El Rey,” was certified Gold by RIAA. Stephen has toured with some of the biggest names in comedy, including Lewis Black and the late Mitch Hedberg. He’s also headlined his own sold out shows throughout the United States, Australia, and Europe, where its been said he’s “the Beyonce of Scandinavia.”
SUNDAY (11/11/12)
- They’ll make a statue of her one day.
Regina Spektor with Only Son
7:30pm at the Ryman Auditorium, $24.50-$37.50 tickets
Regina Spektor, originally from Moscow, is a singer-songwriter and pianist with a unique musical style that blends techniques and styles from all genres. Spektor grew up around music, with her father being an amateur violinist and her mother a music professor, she studied classical piano under Sonia Vargas, a professor at the Manhattan School of Music in her late teenage years, and completed a four-year studio program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College in only three years. Spektor’s songs are usually based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination, combining multiple musical techniques including verses composed entirely of buzzing noises and beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads. Specktor usually sings in English, although sometimes she writes words and verses in Latin, Russian or French. She was featured in 2006 on VH1’s “You Oughta Know: Artists on the Rise,” and performed for President Obama and his wife in 2010 to a standing ovation led by the First Lady.
