JULY | AUGUST VOL.VIII ISSUE 6
Community Karma
&
Five years in, Aaron Lee Tasjan still finds his heart’s desire in his own backyard
STEVE MILLER BAND WITH PETER FRAMPTON
ALINA BARAZ
July 23 • Opry House opry.com
September 29 • Cannery Ballroom mercylounge.com
NAHKO & MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE with Raye Zaragoza
CAAMP
August 4 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
FRANZ FERDINAND August 14 • Cannery Ballroom mercylounge.com
JEREMIH with Teyana Taylor and DaniLeigh August 21 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
HOUNDMOUTH with Family of the Year October 10 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
THE WOMBATS October 15 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
ALKALINE TRIO with together PANGEA
BEN RECTOR with The Band Camino
August 24 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
October 20 & 21 • Ryman Auditorium ryman.com
BEN HARPER AND CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE
EDEN with Sasha Sloan
September 8 • Ryman Auditorium ryman.com
RISE AGAINST with AFI and Anti Flag
October 24 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
PETIT BISCUIT with Manila Killa and Hazey Eyes
September 9 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
October 29 • Cannery Ballroom mercylounge.com
JOHNNY MARR
YOUNG THE GIANT with Lights
September 15 • Cannery Ballroom mercylounge.com
NECK DEEP with Trophy Eyes, Stand Atlantic and WSTR September 15 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
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October 5 • Mercy Lounge mercylounge.com
October 30 • Ryman Auditorium ryman.com
KAMASI WASHINGTON November 16 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
k.d. lang
CHERUB
September 16 • Ryman Auditorium ryman.com
December 14 • Marathon Music Works marathonmusicworks.com
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Your NASHVILLE SYMPHONY
100+ CONCERTS ON SALE JULY 20
CHOOSE ANY 3+ CONCERTS NOW
Get Big Savings · Best Seats · Amazing Benefits
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TICKETS: 615.687.6400 | NashvilleSymphony.org theeastnashvillian.com July|August 2018
Chaos and Awe presents paintings that relate to a contemporary version of the sublime, capturing sensations of disturbance, curiosity, and wonder at the ineffable forces that shape and disrupt society. The exhibition features approximately sixty paintings by an international array of established and emerging artists.
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 16 PRO G RAM H I G H L I GH T
FRIST FRIDAY:
AN EVENING OF CHAOS AND AWE Join us for the first event in our revamped live performance series featuring singer-songwriter Adia Victoria, poet Ciona Rouse, composer Darius Jamal VanSluytman, and artist-led programs with Afruz Amighi and James Perrin. Enjoy food trucks and tastings by Chef Maneet Chauhan.
Friday, July 27, 6:00–9:00 p.m.
FREE for members, 18 and under, and college students with ID. General adult admission: $12
919 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203 FristArtMuseum.org #FristChaosAwe
Chaos and Awe was organized by Mark Scala, chief curator, Frist Art Museum. Platinum Sponsor
Hospitality Sponsor
Supported by a grant from
Additional support provided by
Ali Banisadr. Contact, 2013. Oil on linen; support: 82 x 120 in. Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of Mrs. Georgia M. G. Forman, by exchange, Bequest of Arthur B. Michael, by exchange, Elisabeth H. Gates Fund, by exchange, Charles W. Goodyear and Mrs. Georgia M. G. Forman Funds, by exchange, Philip J. Wickser Fund, by exchange, Gift of Mrs. Seymour H. Knox, Sr., by exchange, Gift of Miss Amelia E. White, by exchange, 2014, 2014:8. Š Ali Banisadr.2018 Photo: Tomtheeastnashvillian.com Loonan July|August
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EAST NASHVILLE
TOMATO5K Presented by:
Saturday, August 11 EAST PARK The YMCA Race Series benefits the YMCA of Middle Tennessee. By participating in the race, you're making a lasting impact in your community by giving everyone, regardless of age, income or background, the opportunities they need to learn, grow and thrive.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS Lockeland Table • NLC Loans • Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt • Wilson Art Bootstrap Architecture + Construction Escape Day Spa & Salon • Delta Airlines Exit Realty • JRH Attorney • Water Stone Mortgage • Cartridge World • Midtown Title East Nashville Agent • MW Real Estate Co. Smokey Mountain Tops • Noble's Kitchen and BeerHall • Ugly Mugs • Hunt Brothers Pizza • Sunbelt Rentals
For more information and to register visit YMCAMIDTN.ORG/RACE-SERIES Our Mission: A worldwide charitable fellowship united by a common loyalty to Jesus Christ for the purpose of helping people grow in spirit, mind and body. 10
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15TH ANNUAL TOMATO ART FEST
65 Introduction Fifteen years
By Chuck Allen
COVER STORY
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Map 66 Official Calendar 67 Events Stages 77 Music 79 Contest & Food Stages
COMMUNITY & KARMA
Five years in, Aaron Lee Tasjan still finds his heart’s desire in his own backyard By Randy Fox
FEATURES
80 THE LOVE GOATS
Getting to know the goat yoga craze and the pair that kicked it off in East Nashville By Jon Gugala
COVER SHOT ALT Preparing for Tomato Art Fest By Stacie Huckeba
86 FROM DISCARDED TO ART
Turnip Green Creative Reuse helps Nashville artists turn trash into treasure, while shining a citywide spotlight on recycling By Brittney McKenna
92 LOVE THY GOOD NEIGHBOR
With events and celebrations all across town, Jack Davis and Good Neighbor Festivals aim to bring Nashville together By Michael DeVault
Visit
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM for updates, news, events, and more! CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
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COMMENTARY
EAST SIDE BUZZ
19 Matters of Development
16 Editor’s Letter
28 Envision Cayce Project Moves Forward
36 Astute Observations
a Local Focus on Suicide 33 Putting Prevention
48 Tales from the Gluten Highway
By Chuck Allen
By Nicole Keiper
By James “Hags” Haggerty
By Theresa Laurence
By Chark Kinsolving
By Tommy Womack
120 East of Normal By Tommy Womack
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IN THE KNOW
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Know Your Neighbor: Dana Delworth
PARTING SHOT “NOW THAT’S A BLOODY MARY!”
By Randy Fox
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by Stacie Huckeba
Artist in Profile: Katie Shaw By Laura Hutson Hunter
99 Bookish By Joelle Herr
103 East Side Calendar By Emma Alford
Visit
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM for updates, news, events, and more!
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FOUNDER & PUBLISHER Lisa McCauley EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Chuck Allen MANAGING EDITOR Nicole Keiper PROOFING EDITOR Randy Fox ONLINE EDITOR Nicole Keiper CALENDAR EDITOR Emma Alford CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Michael DeVault, Randy Fox, Jon Gugala, James Haggerty, Joelle Herr, Laura Hutson Hunter, Chark Kinsolving, Theresa Laurence, Brittney McKenna, Tommy Womack CREATIVE DIRECTOR Chuck Allen DESIGN DIRECTOR Benjamin Rumble PHOTO EDITOR Travis Commeau ILLUSTRATIONS Benjamin Rumble, Dean Tomasek CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Travis Commeau, Stacie Huckeba STYLING/MAKEUP Kim Murray Kitchen
Table Media Company Est.2010
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ADVERTISING SALES Lisa McCauley lisa@theeastnashvillian.com 615.582.4187 ADVERTISING DESIGN Benjamin Rumble
©2018 Kitchen Table Media P.O. Box 60157 Nashville, TN 37206 The East Nashvillian is a bimonthly magazine published by Kitchen Table Media. This publication is offered freely, limited to one per reader. The removal of more than one copy by an individual from any of our distribution points constitutes theft and will be subject to prosecution. All editorial and photographic materials contained herein are “works for hire” and are the exclusive property of Kitchen Table Media, LLC unless otherwise noted. Reprints or any other usage without the express written permission of the publisher is a violation of copyright.
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EDITOR’S LETTER Would you care for a nice glass of iced tea?
A
h, summer in the South. As a Southerner, I can attest to the fact that the heat of summer is reflected in Southern culture. Life moves a little bit slower because, well, it’s too damn hot to get in a hurry. The Southern drawl is an evolutionary developement designed to conserve energy while having a conversation in the heat. Sitting on the porch (in the shade) with a nice glass of iced tea is a longstanding tradition harkening back to the days before that wonder of modern living, the air conditioner, was invented. Back then, one could at least enjoy the rare breeze, but this required being outdoors. Southerners tend to be friendly, too, waving at passersby and greeting strangers with a smile. It’s easy to spot the transplants by the look of skepticism they offer in return for a well-met greeting from a local. To ease your fears, let me say that, no, we don’t want anything from you other than for you to be nice. And if you can’t be nice, then don’t expect us to offer you a nice glass of iced tea. Speaking of iced tea, our new columnist Chark Kinsolving swears by semi-sweet iced tea. I hope our readers will find his anecdotes and wisdom helpful as they navigate the innumerable choices of fast-food fare along the “Gluten Highway.” Some of you might even “rip this page out and stick it in your glove box” — as Chark suggests — in order to have a handy reference when time is of the essence. Although I doubt there’ll ever be anything in the way of farm-to-table foodstuffs represented in “Gluten Highway,” I’m encouraged by the trend of locally sourced food being available at area eateries. After all, gardening and farming are staples of Southern life. Those fresh fruit and vegetable stands you see on the side of the road this time of year are nothing new.
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Which brings me to the point: tomatoes. Summer in the South wouldn’t be the same without them. Fresh, homegrown tomato slices on white bread with mayo were the foundation of my youth. It should be mentioned that tomatoes are also the closest Chark gets to eating anything resembling a plant. I once mentioned putting mustard on a hotdog and our friendship almost ended then and there. Ketchup is acceptable. Mustard? Unforgivable! If you were to pick an edible plant that most represents our collective Southern conscience, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better example than the tomato. Is it a fruit? A vegetable? Both? Maybe it’s a plant with an identity crisis — a fruit that acts like a vegetable, or vice versa? I’ll let you be the judge. Whatever the case, there’s a lot of cognitive dissonance baked into the Southern mental casserole. It’s a shame, too. Of course, shame — along with guilt and better-than and less-than and fear and whatever — are ingredients in the aforementioned casserole. All mixed together with our best personal qualities. And hold the mustard. Which is why I’m always on about community. Community keeps our less civilized tendencies in check through accountability. Community brings out the most noble of our traits by providing opportunities to be of service to others. If we must give in to our innate tribal instincts, better to do so within a diverse community than a narrowly focused online echo chamber. This is why a happening like the Tomato Art Fest is important. One doesn’t need some altruistic agenda to participate. All one needs to do is simply show up and be a part of it ... and have fun. I’ll be there. You’ll probably find me kicked back in the shade on a neighbor’s porch enjoying a nice glass of iced tea.
BIG STUDIO SOUND INDIE RATEs
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EAST SIDE B U Z Z FOR UP-TO -DATE INFORMATION ON EVENTS, AS WELL AS LINKS, PLEASE VISIT US AT: THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
Matters of Development We’ve had a few months with far more openings than closings on the East Nashville business front — fun to see, and a nice complement to our Tomato Art Fest season of celebrating the independent spirit in East Nashville. NEW AND NOTEWORTHY The longtime home of Holland House is humming once again: In June, Lyra — a “modern Middle Eastern” concept from longtime Nashville hospitality vets Hrant Arakelian and Elizabeth Endicott — opened its doors at 935 W. Eastland Ave. It was a long road to Lyra’s debut — we first started hearing rumblings about Lyra plans late last year, a few months after Holland House’s surprise shuttering. Walking
inside, it’s clear the months of work paid off: The space has been completely overhauled with a more open, bright, and airy approach. The huge, central bar that occupied the previous space was removed so diners now have a straight view into the kitchen and its cozy wood-burning oven. The new kitchen has started things off by delivering fresh twists on classic Middle Eastern favorites, including fresh-baked pita with hummus, bright carrot kibbeh wraps with sweet dates, baba ganoush served in full eggplant skins, and more. This marks something of a homecoming for Arakelian, who led the Holland House kitchen around 2014, and whose resume also boasts stints at celeb chef Jonathan Waxman’s Adele’s and at longstanding East Nashville wine spot Rumours East. Speaking of Rumours East. … This is
not a drill: East Nashville finally has Indian food. But it’s with a bit of a twist. The Rumours East space at 1112 Woodland St. passed to new owners in May, and by June, new East Nashville eatery eDESIa — an Italian/Indian fusion concept — had already soft-opened its doors. It’s an unusual blend, and one that GM Sathyan Gopalan was excited to introduce to East Nashville. “Things like spinach gnocchi can come out with a spinach sauce that’s Indian, and give a nice texture,” Gopalan told us. The initial eDESIa menu bears that out, with dishes like spaghetti in a house-made masala sauce, pasta with a curry ragout, and polpettine meatballs garnished with mint. Gopalan, the former GM at high-end Italian spot Tartufo, is joined in the kitchen by chef Carl Schramm, who’s worked at celeb
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EAST SIDE BUZZEAST SIDE BUZZ chef Maneet Chauhan’s Tànsuǒ and Mockingbird, along with Capitol Grille and other Nashville restaurants. The eDESIa crew also includes a cast of staffers carrying over from Rumours, including wedding coordinator Tammera McClendon and cocktails-wrangler Jacob McFeely (the latter told us that he’s working approachable punches and “a lot of florals and herbs” into the bar program, which, at press time, was awaiting a TABC license to officially launch). Learn more at edesianashville.com. Another East Nashville combination we haven’t seen before: In May, we welcomed a gym/plant shop/art gallery called GrowHouse Method at 1105 Woodland St. Co-owners Molly Caroline and Shaun Guttridge created their space to inspire wellness, whether that means immersive strength training (including private sessions and group classes) or bringing a little more life into your life, with leafy new friends you can purchase and take home. The workout space is filled with available houseplants, chosen by Caroline, who has a background in floral design and a degree in horticulture. She told us she sees this as a lot more than a way to pretty up the gym and add a side hustle. “Plants feel so good to be around, but it does go a little deeper,” Caroline said. “This is a symbiotic relationship we are playing with. Plants give off oxygen, we need oxygen; humans give off carbon dioxide, plants need carbon dioxide. It’s an experiment we are excited to see play out. I feel that it will be just as beneficial for the plants as it will be for all of us working out in the space.” GrowHouse Method hours are 6 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday. To learn more about personal training/classes and plant shopping, visit growhousemethod.com. A more traditionally focused gym, Training Camp, also opened recently, with a 10,000-square-foot “multi-functional fitness facility” at 400 Davidson St. Lightweight MMA title-holder Michael Chandler leads the Camp, and he and his team of “elite personal trainers” promise “first-class” equipment and tutelage, including mixed martial arts and amateur wrestling training. Personal training sessions start at $45, in addition to a host of other training options the gym offers. For more info or to sign up visit trainingcampnashville.com. More on the health and wellness front: Prenatal/postnatal yoga and barre studio Blooma Nashville partnered with East Nash-
ville’s Well Body Pilates for Blooma East, which opened at 1000 Fatherland Ave., Ste. 201, in mid-June. The team-up grew out of neighborliness: Well Body, parked there on Fatherland since spring of 2016, recently added another location at 4304 Charlotte Ave., right near Blooma West at 4107 Charlotte. Blooma Nashville director Jennifer Derryberry Mann and Well Body owner Elizabeth Wilkinson got to know each other, and an idea sparked. “We’ve been thinking about a second location — well our mommas have been thinking about a second location — pretty much since the day we opened,” Derryberry Mann said in an announcement. “When the invitation came along (to team up with Well Body) … we were so excited and the only answer was ‘Yes.’” Yoga classes for pregnancy, postpartum, babies, and kids are already under way at Blooma East. More: bloomanashville.com. East Nashville Dental Co. also opened its doors this spring, at 815 Gallatin Ave., offering general, restorative and cosmetic dentistry (anything from checkups to whitening, crowns, and implants).
The main doc at the new place: Dr. Lalita Nekkanti, who came East Nashville’s way via New Orleans, and who expressed a lot of excitement about her new work environs: “It’s such a fun and eclectic part of town,” Nekkanti told us. “… I love that East Nashville is made up of people from all over, each bringing their own unique flair to the neighborhood.” East Nashville Dental Co. kicked off with limited hours — Tuesday and Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. — but the aim is to expand that reach soon. More information can be found at eastnashvilledentalco.com. New non-profit “music incubator and coworking community” Helping Our Music Evolve, or H.O.M.E., recently launched nearby in East Nashville too, with an HQ located inside Center 615 at 615 Main St. They’re set up with space, tools and extras for folks working (or aspiring to work) in the music industry in Nashville — rooms for writing, rehearsing, recording, and performing, a production facility suited for video streaming and lots of programming, from workshops to mentoring sessions. “I have been working on this concept since January ’16, and envisioning exactly what the space would look like and how
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EAST SIDE BUZZ it would function,” H.O.M.E. founder and musician Logan Crowell said in a release. “But I honestly could not have imagined such a perfect location for the very first H.O.M.E. for music creators.” Memberships start at a thoroughly affordable $5 per month, and lower-level memberships don’t shut you out of the useful stuff — depending on your membership level, you’ll just have access to space and events at different rates. Looking for a place to create and collaborate? Learn more at helpingmusic.org. Fun changes over at East Nashville Vietnamese restaurant Far East Nashville: They’ve been in the process of expanding, taking over the adjacent former Bakery by frothy monkey space. (Those folks moved out in April.) The work will mean expanded dining room space and a full bar, and once things are complete, new late-night hours too. They were hard at work at press time, and expecting to wrap in July, so these improvements may already be available to you at 1008 Fatherland St. To keep up with the latest Far East news, follow them on Instagram: @ fareastnashville. New beauty biz in Inglewood: Makeup artist Brandi Roe — who specializes in makeup for film/TV and events — launched Révéler Beauty at 935 East Trinity Lane #2 (at coworking/business hub Sparkworks Union). She’s offering in-studio or on-location makeup application, along with classes, lessons, personal shopping, and more, and she’s worked for the likes of Brenda Lee, Jeannie Seely, and Tanya Tucker. To check out Révéler services/book Roe, stop by revelerbeauty. com. If things come together as planned, by the time these pages are in your hands, Dickerson-area East Nashvillians may already be frequenting a new coffee spot. At press time, Retrograde Coffee was working toward a July 16 opening at 1305 Dickerson Pike, just off Douglas Ave. The new biz comes to us from a crew of longtime East Nashvillians: Brothers Steve and Davey Mabee, and partner Nathan Weinberg, all of whom have roots in the local real-estate world, with development companies North by NorthEast Development and Greenline Partners and local firm MW Real Estate Co. The three aren’t hospitality newbies — Weinberg did a decade working with high-end hotels, and Davey Mabee brings a long run of barista years to Retrograde. Weinberg told us that “very high-quality” coffee was set for the Retrograde menu, alongside “creative specialty coffee drinks” and tea
options from East Nashville’s High Garden. The vibe throughout, Weinberg said: comfortable, not imposing, with an emphasis on thoughtful, seasonal offerings, and an invitation to come and sit a spell. “Retrograde speaks to our intent to slow down a bit, even move backwards,” Weinberg said. “We want coffee to be savored, enjoyed one cup at a time and be evocative of other things.” Hours are set for 7 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. weekends. Find out more at retrogradecoffee.com. Retrograde has some new/old neighbors too: Good Wood Nashville — who’ve been outfitting Middle Tennessee with reclaimed wood for feature walls/floors/etc. and cool, hand-crafted furniture for years now — are picking up from Inglewood to move into 1307 Dickerson Pike. Owner Dave Puncochar told us that the new location came out of a desire to make their showroom easier to find (their longtime home sat tucked way back on West Kirkland), to make more room for their mix of dusty lumber and slick custom furniture, and to encourage new growth for the business. “We now offer modern lumber [and]
modern design, as opposed to just rustic barnwood,” Puncochar said. “We believe that this move will pivot us for the future, as it gives us a modern look and allows us to mature as a business.” The new place gives Good Wood about 10 times the showroom square footage, and the team will be making good use of the extra elbow room, hosting woodworking classes and planning local pop-up events. As we were closing this issue, the new Good Wood showroom was just about complete and opening “soon.” Check in for the latest at goodwoodnashville.com. More coffee we expect to see East Nashvillians enjoying this summer: East Park Donuts & Coffee was eyeing a mid-July opening at 700 Main St., in the former Bagel Face Bakery space. As the name implies, donuts and coffee will be on the menu — media and marketing coordinator Kaleb Jones told us they’re working with specialty coffee and espresso beverages, a mix of donut options (brioche, old fashioned, gluten-free, and vegan plus a “rotating cast of specialty flavors”), and English muffin breakfast sandwiches for folks who prefer savory breakfast over sweet.
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EAST SIDE BUZZ This new business comes from established Nashville entrepreneurs: Carma and Ken Woodard, who also helm Berry Hill’s muchlauded Sam & Zoe’s. Their team is totally overhauling that once-stark space, adding a custom bakery kitchen and espresso bar, custom counters, and lots of new decor. Keep up with the latest goings on by following East Park on Instagram: @eastparkdonutsandcoffee. Another opening we were expecting by the time this issue hits the streets: The new Riverside Village Clinic, aiming for a July 14 debut at 1406B McGavock Pike, right next door to Riverside Village Pharmacy. The Pharmacy folk are managing the new “local health hub,” with care offered by provider Jennifer Campbell PA-C, whose specialty is in functional medicine (nutrition, emotional well-being, hormone health, and more). They’re set to offer all kinds of general care needs, from physicals and vaccinations to women’s health care. More: riversidevillageclinic.com. Relik Vintage hosted its grand opening at 943B Woodland St. in June, after taking over their space from Woodland Thrift, which wrapped its East Nashville run shortly before. Relik was already a bit of a fixture in the space, with owner Matt Blinco doing consignment sales inside Woodland. But these days, the space is almost all Relik, stocked with ’70s-through-’90s clothes and records Blinco finds “nostalgic, fashionable, fun.” He has longtime East Side ties, too, as a co-owner of local apparel company Project 615. “I just wanted to try a different kind of retail, and vintage clothing has been a passion of mine,” Blinco said. Shop hours are noon to 6 p.m., Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more: Visit relikvintage.com, and follow @relikvtg on Instagram. The reason 943B Woodland is “almost” all Relik: Blinco’s also teamed up with multi-talented East Nashvillian Scot Sax to provide a new home for listening room The Kitchen. Previously housed inside Atomic Nashville, The Kitchen moved into the Relik space in June, again offering unplugged performances from lots of talented locals, meant to be intimate, engaging, and early. Being a music-loving dad to two young girls largely inspired the Kitchen concept, Sax told us. “[My wife Suzie Brown and I] felt bad
that the girls never got to see any of the artists play around here, because all the shows are between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m.,” he said. “And we were frustrated too because we are absolutely wiped by 10 anyway. So when the opportunity arose to have a listening room I instantly thought: ‘Wait, this is how we can raise our girls on world-class live music that’s
not too loud or too late.’” At press time, The Kitchen had Saturday shows scheduled through August, including visits from Korby Lenker, Amelia White, Molly Martin, and many others, with things kicking off at 6 p.m. sharp. To keep up with the latest, like The Kitchen on Facebook at facebook.com/943Woodland.
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EAST SIDE BUZZ Another new business-inside-a-business: Wakeup Comics, which offers alternative, small-press, and indie comics, recently set up inside the Groove at 1103 Calvin Ave. If you’re into rising artists and upstart studios, they might have something that’ll intrigue you. Get a more specific sense of what they’re stocking by following them on Instagram: @wakeupcomics. Groove hours are Monday to Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m. Up the road in Inglewood, another East Nashville vintage name joins the proceedings: Anaconda Vintage — the work of “a local community of curators” — hosted its grand opening in June at 1062 East Trinity Lane. Anaconda stocks clothes, accessories and home goods, and they source their finds with help from some of Nashville’s more stylish residents, East Side singer-songwriters Emma Swift and Tristen included. Hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday. More: anacondavintage.com. CLOSINGS AND MOVES Local jewelry name Doxahlogy opted to go digital in late May, shuttering their shop at 700 Porter Road. “Our focus for the season ahead will be to travel, expand into new markets and make progress on some of our larger dreams,” a social media announcement said. They’d been sharing handmade men’s and women’s jewelry in that space since spring of 2016, and they’ll continue to share those creations at doxahlogy.com and on the Doxahlogy Instagram feed, @doxahlogy.
the two businesses. Beyond, there’ll be “the same attempt to present a unique experience and zest for quality,” he said. The rooms are set to be high-design spaces, set “inline or below market rates,” Martin said, but the bar and courtyard won’t just be for guests in those rooms. Martin and partners are hoping to create a hang that’s open and appealing to locals, too. “We felt it essential to appeal to the senses and vibe with East Nashville,” Martin said, “with a focus on cocktails and beer with a limited but elevated bar food menu.” Latest update: Late summer opening for the rooms, with the bar coming either at the same time, or shortly thereafter. Another big source of recent excitement for food-obsessed East Nashvillians: The folks behind East Nashville bar Duke’s are working on launching a new Korean restaurant at 1601 Riverside Drive, in the former Pied Piper Eatery space. Dukers Joey Plunket and Sara Nelson are teaming up with friends Tim and Danny Song, who lead Atlanta Korean restaurant Gaja, to make the new concept happen, and Nelson told us that the new place will indeed be all new.
“This will be very much a third business — not a ‘second location’ of either of our other businesses,” she said. We’re still waiting on a name, but hopes are for a late-summer opening there. The space had been empty since February, when the Eatery ended its nearly 10-year run. Even more food fun: Tacos Aurora, a busy local food truck, is aiming to open its first brick-and-mortar space at the Hunters Station compound on Main Street at North 10th Street. The Hunters project is styled as a food hall, with lots of concepts working in their own kitchens and sharing inside and outside seating. Coming from the Aurora kitchen: California-style tacos and related street food, from carne asada on fresh corn tortillas to elote (roasted corn). Something else transplanted West Coasters will likely wecome: fast-casual California-style burritos, and a cache of vegan offerings. Owner Arthur Orr is a native Californian who grew up in the restaurant business, and he told us he saw East Nashville as a perfect fit for his kind of food. “I just feel like there’s a lot of our culture
COMING SOON Among the higher-profile new additions to the neighborhood, right in 5 Points: Vandyke Bed & Beverage, a combination boutique hotel and bar/restaurant, in the works at 105 S. 11th St. That prime piece of East Nashville real estate was once home to the homey Edgefield Restaurant, and the brand-new three-story building there will include eight rooms on upper floors, and space to eat and drink on the ground level, plus an open-air courtyard. This project comes in part via longtime local Doug R. Martin, who’s also behind highly praised Germantown restaurant Geist. He told us we can expect some similarities — the popular Geist burger will likely show up on the Vandyke menu, and some staff members will cross over between Hatch_RET_EastNashvillian_PrintAd_07_JUL-AUG_18.indd 1
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EAST SIDE BUZZ there,” he said, “a lot of West Coast transplants, and just a cultured area.” Orr is hoping for a fall opening, and in the meantime, the Tacos Aurora truck is rolling around town. Keep up with where they’re at/restaurant news at tacosaurora.com. Noticing the hubbub over at the East Nashville Kroger at 711 Gallatin Ave.? Some insight into what’s in the works:
Kroger corporate affairs told us that once their in-progress $9 million renovation/ expansion is complete, that store will be about 20,000 square feet larger, with new flooring, new checkout lanes, improvements to the storefront, landscaping, and decor, and expansion of the deli/bakery, natural foods section, meat/seafood department, and “adult beverage” area.
One of the biggest changes: They’re aiming to add an in-store Starbucks, too. It’s set to feel like “really just a whole new shopping environment,” Kroger corporate affairs manager Melissa Eads told us. But be patient: Expected completion isn’t until summer of 2019. If a Kroger overhaul isn’t enough excitement for you: The Nashville Business Journal reported in June that the East Bank might be getting an indoor skydiving place. Those folks found that iFLY, an Austin-based indoor skydiving company with locations all across the country, is eyeing a local spot near Topgolf ’s Cowan Street home. iFLY locations offer “the simulation of true freefall conditions in a vertical wind tunnel,” open to thrill-seekers from pre-K age to way past-K age. According to the Business Journal, we might get our chance to fly as soon as next year. —Nicole Keiper
Get deeper info
on these happenings and more on our blog at
theeastnashvillian.com.
Have East Side economic development news to share? Reach out to
nicole@theeastnashvillian.com.
Envision Cayce Project Moves Forward It’s been a busy spring and early summer at Cayce Place, Nashville’s oldest and largest public housing development, as construction on the massive $600 million Envision Cayce project moves forward, slowly transforming the 63-acre East Nashville site. The redevelopment project is designed to break up the concentrated poverty of Cayce, reconnecting that section of the neighborhood to the boomtown side of East Nashville. Cayce’s bunker-like brick structures will eventually be erased from the landscape, replaced by modern townhomes and apartments, where former Cayce residents can live alongside professionals from the community in a mixed-income, mixed-use, planned community, replete with acres of green space and amenities such as a new health center, grocery, school, and library. It’s a grand plan, and one that is still far from reality, as many of Cayce’s 1,800 residents continue to grapple with what all 28
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EAST SIDE BUZZ this change means, and many East Nashville residents still hear about that part of the neighborhood primarily from crime reports. But city officials remain committed to Envision Cayce and optimistic that this plan has the potential to drastically alter the way Nashville imagines public housing. In May, Mayor David Briley joined Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency members, along with state and federal representatives, at a groundbreaking ceremony for Envision Cayce’s third residential construction and second mixed-income development. Phase three, known as Boscobel I, will include 96 apartments; 50 will be subsidized, and the remaining 46 will be a mix of workforce and market-rate units. All of the subsidized units will house current Cayce Place residents, many of whom have been involved in the Envision Cayce planning process for years. Expectations are for Boscobel I to be completed by the end of 2019. “It’s so important that we create mixed-income communities in Nashville by building affordable housing in the urban core, and this new Envision Cayce residential project will do just that,” Mayor Briley said at the groundbreaking. “I appreciate MDHA’s hard work to get this development started, and I look forward to seeing the final product.” The Envision Cayce Master Plan calls for a total of 2,390 units and ensures a one-forone replacement of all public housing units, while adding new, affordable workforce and market-rate housing. The plan also calls for the eventual demolition of the property’s aging structures built between 1941 and 1954, which have not been significantly updated since that time. Phase three of the project is located along South Sixth Street in East Nashville, less than a mile from downtown. Also under way is phase two of Envision Cayce, further up Shelby Avenue, near Kirkpatrick Park. MDHA broke ground for this portion of the project in November 2017. It will feature 94 townhome apartments and will be the first mixed-income phase of the master plan to be completed, by the spring of 2019. Groundbreaking for the fourth residential construction project at Cayce — 102 mixed-income units, to be built along Lenore Street — is expected this summer. Last June, officials cut the ribbon at Barrett Manor, phase one of Envision Cayce, and the first new addition of public hous-
ing stock in Davidson County in 18 years. Elderly and low-income residents began moving into 70 new one-bedroom apartments in Barrett Manor — named after the late Nashville attorney and prominent civil rights advocate George Barrett — last August. In addition to the housing construction
projects under way on the edges of Cayce Place, a major school construction project is also about to start. Explore Community School is expected to begin construction on their new school facility this fall. Explore, a charter school sponsored by the Martha O’Bryan Center, an anti-poverty non-profit organization located at Cayce,
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EAST SIDE BUZZ opened at a nearby temporary site in 2015. It is expected to move into its new school building adjacent to the Martha O’Bryan Center for the start of the 2019-2020 school year. With a new school building that includes 36 classrooms, Explore will ultimately have the capacity to serve up to 900 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. At press time, the MDHA was gearing up for a public Envision Cayce town hall meeting; visit nashville-mdha.org/?p=1616 for town hall updates, and more about the project and its next steps. —Theresa Laurence
Putting a Local Focus on Suicide Prevention The recent losses of fashion designer Kate Spade and chef/TV personality Anthony Bourdain have thrust suicide back into the national consciousness and dredged up wounds left by Robin Williams and other people who took themselves out of the game when they seemed to have it all. Each year, nearly 50,000 Americans die by suicide, the 10th leading cause of death
in the United States. It affects teens, adults, veterans, even children, and — as we have seen — people who, by all appearances, have the world by the tail. It’s a reality East Nashville’s Kat Cloud, the Tennessee-area director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (afsp.org), works every day to raise awareness about, through the AFSP’s four main areas of focus. “We focus on education and programming, everything from training community members, to training all 848 highway patrol officers in the state of Tennessee in a threehour suicide prevention training program,” Cloud says. “Tennessee was the first state to do that. We also offer survivor support and have an annual walk every year that brings survivors and others together. We also focus on advocacy, so making sure [our legislators are] making smart mental health laws, and [the AFSP is] also the largest private funder of suicide-prevention research.” AFSP is not a grief or crisis service, Cloud says, but giving more Tennesseans tools to help people who may be in crisis is part of the aim.
Cloud says, “If you do believe that someone might be in crisis, ask the person directly, ‘Are you having thoughts of suicide? Do not be afraid to use the word ‘suicide.’ Sometimes people are afraid that if you ask that question directly that they might get upset with you, or if they’re not that it might give them the idea, which is not the case. In fact, if you ask directly, they’ll know that you’re a person who’s not afraid to have that conversation, and that you’re there to help.” AFSP Tennessee and other chapters across the country accomplish their goals through financing from grants and fundraisers, including the Out of the Darkness Community Walks, held in hundreds of cities nationwide. Nashville’s next walk is set for October 13, 2018, at Two Rivers Park. (For more information on that event and many other ways you can help out, go to afsp.donordrive.com.) —Tommy Womack If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800273-8255 or text “HOME” to 741741.
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Astute OBSERVATIONS by
�ᚒᚔᚒ�
Taking the edge off with a bit of natural medicine
reetings! How’s summer treating you thus far? It seems we have skipped spring and jumped straight into the frying pan of mosquitos and humidity this year. I’ve been travelling quite a bit for the past six months or so in my other job, my trusty four-string taking me to some beautiful and interesting places, both at home and abroad. Wow, writing about the weather? Really? Is that interesting? No it’s not, not at all. Not unless it’s a setup. You see, I’ve just returned from the West Coast. Along with the weather, beautiful warm days, and breezy cool nights, there was something else that enlivened my senses and put a snap in my step. What’s that, you ask? Please allow me to answer and observe astutely on the matter. Legal, recreational marijuana, dear reader, it spun my head around. Recreational ‌ How civilized. Sweet Haile Selassie! Will wonders never cease? Jazz cigarettes available over the counter? Brilliant! Yes, friends, just like the lovely red tomato that we celebrate in East Nashville each August, one need only drop a seed upon the land and up it springs, Mother Nature’s bounty. Hallelujah! Oh California, you always set the pace. I’m a pretty open-minded guy. Throw “live and let liveâ€? and the Golden Rule in a blender with a New York Catholic school education, a dash of cynicism, pour it in a vintage frosted Schlitz goblet, and you’ve got me in a nutshell. You know what I’m saying? Perhaps not. Was that a mixed metaphor? Forgive me. Without making a boring argument, my view is if Jeff Sessions is against it, I’m all for it, all across the board. What I’m saying is, if all of the goody-two-shoes, scared-oflife’s-pleasures people looking down their upturned noses at us hedonists had their way ‌ well, I imagine all of life might feel like attempting to get it on while a Pat Boone record plays on repeat, in the background, through crappy-sounding speakers, forever. Not exactly an exotic thrill ride, is it? One shudders to contemplate. But on this most recent trip out west, I experienced
Have a hankering for more Hags? We suggest visiting theeastnashvillian.com for all of his previous observations.
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something completely different. The Pat Boone soundtrack of that nightmarish vision was replaced with Shuggie and Brian, Sly and Boz. Smiles were everywhere. Life was groovy and smooth, free and easy. The produce was fresh and tasty and going to the weed store was like entering a W Hotel lobby. Sleek, modern glass and chrome with nary a lava lamp or bleary-eyed black light poster in sight. Hospitality professionals, like sommeliers, took old folks and squares through the various choices and experiences to choose from to soothe the pain of arthritis or sleepless nights. I don’t believe there is a martini on Earth that can do that. Gateway drug? Gateway to what? Better music? “She Loves You� to “Sgt. Pepper’s�? Lead me to the well, let me through that gate, my good man. Yeah, yeah, yeah! In my mind’s eye, I foresee a day when the cheap beer and booze backstage at every rock show will be replaced, or at least augmented, by the sweet leaf that leaves no hangover. Harmony and trust abounding, mystic crystal revelation, peace will guide the planets, every day a second line parade! Who’s with me? The ubiquitous cold cuts and fruit trays in every dressing room across the world will no longer go to waste! Forgive my exuberance. Like I said, I just returned from the land of eternal sunshine and good vibes. I must tell you that the music got groovier and deeper in the Golden State. The audiences laughed and danced and sang along and it was 60 degrees at night. I slept like a baby and woke each morning without a headache. It was lovely. I called my good friend, former East Nashvillian and now Southern Californian Paul Griffith, for a first-hand, man-inthe-street account. He tells me it’s a paradise. “Kayaking, hiking, plenty of gigs, scenic beauty, and marijuana on demand. They have apps. You place your order and the delivery guy shows up in 30 minutes or less.� Fear not. I have no plans to leave my beloved East Nashville. I do look forward to a day when I can take the edge off of pedal-tavern bachelorettes, cranes, and bulldozers with a bit of natural medicine. Can I get an “Amen,� brothers and sisters!
�
Hags is a part-time bon vivant, man-about-town, and resolute goodwill ambassador for The East Nashvillian. He earns his keep as a full-time bassist extraordinaire.
�
illustration :
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J ames “Hags� Haggerty
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KNOW your NEIGHBOR
“T
PH O TO G R APH BY STACI E HU C KE BA
he best part of the first Tomato Art Fest was throwing rotten tomatoes at the torn down market at Fatherland and 11th. Throwing the tomatoes wasn’t mean-spirited. We were just a group of people from the neighborhood celebrating the end of a well-known drug deal location, but it really put a pin in that moment when everyone from the neighborhood came together and got to know each other.” — Dana Delworth
Dana DELWORTH
The path to Delworth’s involvement with the Tomato Art Festival began in by Randy Fox 2000 when Meg and Bret MacFadyen opened Art & Invention Gallery on Woodland Street. “There wasn’t much going on, so when a new business opened it was a big deal,” Delworth says. “We got to know Meg and she’s got those little sparkly eyes that make you want to do anything for her. “We still lived in Lockeland Springs when Tomato Art Fest started. One day Meg said, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if everyone Dana Delworth is recalling painted my favorite thing to eat, past Tomato Art Fests while tomatoes? It’s a uniter not a divider.’ It all grew from there.” sitting in the living room of In 2004, Delworth remembers, her Inglewood home. Dubbed the first fest consisted of Art & “Squalor Holler,” the house is a Invention’s tomato art show and vibrant reflection of the Delworth four or five other activities. A local family’s personalities, filled with bar put a Bloody Mary on special, Pee-wee’s Playhouse-type objects and the Top O’ Woodland (now d’art, kitschy Nashville relics, and Urban Cowboy) bed and breaka healthy serving of tomato art fast served tomato pie. from past festivals. “Tommy Womack played on Delworth, along with her husband John and their daughters the back of a flatbed truck with Kate and Jane, have been a ubiqjust an amp,” she says, “and it uitous presence at the Tomato Art was all over by 5 o’clock in the Festival since its inception. Over afternoon. It was just a sweet the past 14 years, Dana has run little blip that Meg thought into existence.” the music stage multiple times, Even though the first Tomato hosted the Faux Paw Fashion Fest was small in size, Delworth Show contest, judged the haiku notes the event was a turning contest, participated in the fashion show with her daughters, and point for a period that began six even portrayed Tomato Festival co-founder Meg MacFadyen in the years earlier, when the skies darkened over East Nashville and an 2013 docu-comedy-psych-out-musical East Nashville Tonight. F3 tornado came roaring down Woodland Street. “I’m really lucky that Meg thought I could do anything “The first Tomato Fest was the fulfillment of the post-tornado she asked me to do, even impersonate a woman who is half my period,” Delworth says. “The tornado gave us emotional ownership height,” Delworth says. “And god knows she’s asked me to do some of our neighborhood. After the tornado, when you saw everything crazy things.” could bloom like that, you wanted more and you thought the sky Delworth’s love for the Tomato Art Fest and East Nashville was the limit. If we hadn’t had the tornado, we wouldn’t have come runs much deeper than fun memories of good times. Her love and out of our front doors and engaged with each other. And Meg and boosterism for music, art, community, and the unusual makes her Bret wouldn’t have said, ‘Let’s have a festival.’” the quintessential East Side gal. A native Nashvillian, Delworth Tomato Art Fest provided a template for the “new” East grew up in the Donelson-Hermitage area and graduated from Nashville, Delworth says: a place people could not only reinvent McGavock High School. themselves and renovate houses but work together to transform a neighborhood. “My first real job in high school was at Opryland, standing next “East Nashville practically invites you to throw your own to the Tennessee River Boys in a cheerleading uniform, holding 45s in one hand and LPs in the other during their whole show,” hoopla,” Delworth says. “Meg is the original ‘let’s put on a show’ person over here. If this sweet little fairy of a woman Delworth says. “I went to UT Knoxville, got married, and lived in can pull a festival devoted to worshiping a piece of food out of Green Hills. That was not a good fit. After my divorce, I met John her tuches, anything can happen. Tomato Fest made everyone and we moved to East Nashville in 1996, specifically because we around her aware that you could make your own happening planned to have kids. We wanted them to grow up in this neighborhood, which was the exact opposite of what everyone else was out of thin air, with nothing but your enthusiasm and a few funny friends.” doing at the time.”
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Artist in Profile
KATIE SHAW Following her (Red) Arrow By Laura Hutson Hunter
K
atie Shaw didn’t know what to think when artist Duncan McDaniel brought her a pair of sculptures he’d made from Solo cups on the day they were installing his exhibition at Red Arrow Gallery. Shaw has owned the gallery for more than a decade — first in Joshua Tree, California, and then, since 2014, in East Nashville. Still, she’s reluctant to call herself an expert on art, and while the stacks of multicolored, disposable cups intrigued her — she calls them tentacles or hydras — she wasn’t sure how to talk about them, let alone put on price tags. “I was glad once we installed them,” Shaw says over juice at Urban Juicer, just down the street from her Gallatin Avenue space, “but it’s a funny thing, pricing Solo cups on metal rods with white podiums.” Shaw had faith in her artist’s vision, and didn’t hesitate to get the work on 1st Dibs, an online market for art and antiques. It paid off: McDaniel’s Spectrum Tower 2 sold to a collector in Canada less than a month later, for just under $2,000. By the time the exhibit ended, Shaw had sold four more of McDaniel’s works. That’s one of the strengths of Red Arrow Gallery, and, by extension, Shaw herself: She’s a born salesperson with killer instincts. Still, that’s often not enough to succeed in the cutthroat world of contemporary art sales. What sets Shaw apart is that she’s strengthened her innate talents by surrounding herself with people she trusts, and artists who push her to think expansively. “I’m refreshed by her,” says local artist Jodi Hays, who has been represented by Red Arrow since 2016. “She thinks about a lot of things that I don’t. →
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Katie Shaw
Red Arrow Gallery photographs by
Travis Commeau
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Artist in Profile
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Artist in Profile And that’s really the best hope for a gallery — to have someone who understands the work, but who also works hard on things so that I can spend more time in the studio.” In person, Shaw is warm, and disarmingly self-deprecating. She’s also ambitious, and focused. “I would love to be able to pay someone a salary [through Red Arrow],” she says, with a determination that might seem naive on someone without her decade-plus of experience. “And I’d love for all the artists I work with to not have to have another job.” She’s come a long way since the gallery opened — literally. The original Red Arrow got started in 2006 in a building marked by a historic, 24-foot arrow that was protected with landmark status. “It came with the building we were renting.” says Shaw. “It was an easy name — everyone would have said, ‘Go to the gallery with the red arrow’ anyway. “We had three different locations while we were in Joshua Tree, but it wasn’t what I’m doing now at all. Back then, I didn’t have a roster, I was just sending cards out and making posters. I had a MySpace page instead of a website! [The gallery] had nothing to do with advancing careers or asking for CVs — it was artists that I liked that I was friends with and wanted to show their work. We were open one day a week, we had one opening a month, and I didn’t invest any money in it.” When she followed her then-partner, musician Tim Easton, to Nashville, she decided that Red Arrow was coming along for the ride. Finding a location for her space was a mixture of luck and savvy. “I started going to galleries and seeing what else was available,” she says. “I live in East Nashville, and saw that there weren’t any [white-box] galleries operating out here. I’m good friends with Jem [Cohen], who owns Fond Object, and when they opened up there, a space became available next door. I thought, ‘I’m innately a business owner. Let’s just do this.’ It’s part of what runs me — having something to be passionate about and to share.” The gallery opened in Inglewood’s Riverside Village in 2014, the same week David Lusk Gallery opened in Wedgewood-Houston and OZ Arts took flight in West Nashville. It was a good week for Nashville’s art scene. “I say that I’m strategically in East Nashville,” Shaw says, “and I want to be here. We have people who are buying houses here and developing here, but the old money still doesn’t see us.” Shaw has, at times, wrestled with potential art collectors who don’t know what to make of Red Arrow. It’s something she speaks of
bluntly, as if she’s a musician struggling to break from country to pop. “That original space was so small, and collectors would stop in and immediately it was so evident that they were judging the work based on the space. But when we moved into the new space in 2016 it changed.” That new space — a high-ceilinged home
on 919 Gallatin Ave., in what could best be described as a creative compound that also includes Nashville fashion designer Amanda Valentine’s studio and textile company Electra Eggleston’s place — is an ideal setting for the kind of work Shaw gravitates toward. Red Arrow represents a diverse roster of artists that includes collage artist Lester →
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ARTbash Happy Hour
6-9 p.m. Friday, October 19
Artclectic & POPclectic 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, October 20
Free on-site parking
artclectic.org Facebook.com/Artclectic
Twitter: @artclectic Instagram: @artclecticnashville photo by Peyton Hoge
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Gallery Sponsors
Artist in Profile Merriweather, gritty, street-art-inspired abstract painter Daniel Holland, and elegant artists who experiment with color, like Hays, Amelia Briggs, and Vicki Sher. A garage door opens up the gallery space, which lends the otherwise boxy room a breadth of open air and natural light. Shaw knows how to market her work, and her experience doesn’t only include Red Arrow. “I’ve had the same job for 18 years — selling computer software for mainframes,” she says. She’s quick to explain what a mainframe is, likely used to meeting blank stares from attendants making small talk at one of her openings. “They’re the big computers,” she says, “that run companies or grocery stores or schools. I fell into that job while I was managing a restaurant in Ohio when I was in my early 20s.” That might seem like an unusual background for a gallerist, but to Shaw, it’s given her the skill set to meet her artists at a level they might not have access to otherwise. “I know about selling software, and I can talk to you all day about it, but I don’t know simple things, I don’t know how to code. So I love selling art — it’s stuff that I can see. I’ve always gone with art I respond to. I don’t have a formal arts background. I love abstract work for that reason — it’s subjective, and you can think what you want to think about it. But now, I don’t just sign an artist if I like them, I’m thinking about how we can work together to have a long-term career. Those are the artists I tend to work with the most — the ones that I can connect with on an emotional level, have a passionate response to their work, and that we’ve had successful sales.” But why art? Why focus on something as emotionally and sometimes financially taxing as selling contemporary art? Shaw says that’s something that’s only clarified recently. “My mom was an artist,” she explains. “And I finally realized when I was looking through her portfolio recently that that’s why I feel so lucky to be able to do this.” Her mother died when Shaw was still a teenager, and her likeness is tattooed on Shaw’s arm in the Art Nouveau style of Alphonse Mucha. “I believe that she’s been watching after me and being a guiding force. Making that connection was really special. It’s crazy, but I swear it hit me out of the blue. I was thinking of what I would think of her work, if my mom would submit to my gallery, I wondered, ‘What would I think of it?’ The charisma and magnetism of artists, that’s why I’m attracted to it. That’s why I do this.” And she’s not stopping any time soon. In many ways, Red Arrow is only getting started.
“I’ve finally gotten the nerve to curate. I mean, the word ‘curator’ is so silly and overused, and I feel weird calling myself that. But I’m getting better at creating something out of what they bring me. “I’m really collaborative. And I want more of it. There’s got to be enough to go around.”
Visit the Red Arrow Gallery at 919 Gallatin Ave., Suite #4. Current/upcoming exhibitions include: Bethany J. Carlson (Aug. 11 through Sept. 2), Casey Pierce (Sept. 8 through Oct. 7), and others. Find more about the gallery, artists and the exhibition schedule online at theredarrowgallery.com.
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TALES FROM THE
Gluten Highway “... and hold the mustard, if you please!” A stretch of blacktop known as Gallatin Road or Pike, sometimes Highway 31E, runs north by northeast through and out of Nashville for approximately 30 miles. TDOT says on a normal day this four-lane monument of misery sees up to 30,000 vehicles carrying people through East Nashville, Inglewood, Madison, Hendersonville, and finally the city that gave it its name, Gallatin. Along the way: pawn shops, title loans, independent businesses, the occasional porn store, and every single fast-food chain in existence. If it’s fine dining you’re looking for, you have chosen poorly, for Gallatin is a drive-thru highway at its core. There are exceptions, of course, with a handful of independently owned, fine-dining establishments scattered here and there. But this column is meant to focus on the “I need it now!” kinda spots. My name is Chark, and I am no friend of fine cuisine. A good 90 percent of my meals have been served to me through a window, by a stranger who may or may not have wished me a nice day. I’m fine with that. I am a man of simple dietary needs, who views food as a basic source of fuel to get through the day, nothing more. I need it fast, and I need it now, and if it’s under $5 then more dough for the fast-approaching bar tab. This basic view of culinary consumption has enabled me to survive countless miles across this country on various tours, having only gas stations as a primary food source. I’m the guy you call for advice on how to select the perfect roller dog (always from the middle) or whether you should eat a pre-wrapped microwavable cheeseburger (you should not). These are things that the average person with a normal craving for “something good to eat” just won’t understand. So, with that unpacked, let me take you on a guided tour of my world — a world of high-calorie/low-flavor offerings from the best-worst places to eat on what I refer to as the “Gluten Highway.” 48
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No time for a meal? How ’bout a steak, egg, and cheese biscuit? BY CHARK KINSOLVING
I
t’s been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I am in full agreement. Given the time, I’d eat at the premier spot in town, which is any and every Waffle House ever. As time is not often on my side, it’s down to any number of drive-thrus on the six-mile stretch from the East Nashville Burger King to the Madison Burger King. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Gee, I wonder what the best fast-food breakfast in town is?” but have never had the desire to chow through every option: Rip this page out and stick it in your glove box, because I am the Rand McNally of drive-thru breakfast. Let’s start at the top with Bojangles. At their recently opened Madison location, biscuits are hand-made behind a giant window on the other side of the register, so you know they’re not coming out of a box. They have the standard selection of, “What can I put on a biscuit?” They also have what almost no other place has: steak, egg, and cheese on a big-ass biscuit. This is the biscuit that the guy on the Brawny paper towel package eats for breakfast, and there’s a legend in Minnesota that Paul Bunyan actually fought the Brawny guy over the very same biscuit (of course local favorite Paul Bunyan won). Size-wise, this is no run-of-the-mill, drive-thru fare. This thing is the size of a fist, full of butter-soaked goodness and chock full of every protein you could need to get through the day. It will hit you like a hammer of tasty goodness. I ate two of these once and actually felt my heart stop. Pair it with an order of Bo-Rounds (“potatoes, fried to a golden brown with just the tiniest hint of onion”) and a giant sweet tea, and you can ride out most of the day, as long as part of that day is lying on the couch stuck in a YouTube wormhole of your choosing. If you’ve been out drinking until 3 a.m. and find yourself too drunk or broke to deal with the immediate urge to soak it all up, this is the best decision you will make all day. Ask yourself: If you had to have your breakfast served through a drive-thru by a King, a Clown, or a Lumberjack, which would you choose? Godspeed and Prilosec, Chark
JOHN PRINE AND FRIENDS • NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND • LEE ANN WOMACK & FRIENDS • THE MILK CARTON KIDS
TOMMY EMMANUEL • JOHN HIATT • CANDI STATON • JERRY DOUGLAS • RON POPE • HAYES CARLL• ASHLEY MONROE I'M WITH HER • JASON BOLAND & THE STRAGGLERS • JOHN OATES AND THE GOOD ROAD BAND • ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO • MARY GAUTHIER • AMERICAN FOLK WITH JOE PURDY AND AMBER RUBARTH • THE BAND OF HEATHENS
LERA LYNN • BRANDY CLARK • WILL HOGE • MIPSO • JOE PURDY • ANDREW COMBS • COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS • MINDY SMITH ROBBY HECHT & CAROLINE SPENCE • DRIVIN N CRYIN • JACKIE GREENE • MOLLY TUTTLE • THE SUFFERS • WHITEHORSE • DOUG SEEGERS JOHN CARTER CASH • RIVER WHYLESS • THE EARLS OF LEICESTER • AMERICAN AQUARIUM • NICKI BLUHM • AARON LEE TASJAN SOUTHERN AVENUE • BOTTLE ROCKETS • MADISEN WARD AND THE MAMA BEAR • LUKE WINSLOW-KING • ISRAEL NASH • SHOOK TWINS LUCIE SILVAS • DAWN LANDES • JEFFREY FOUCAULT • LINDSAY LOU • THE BLACK LILLIES • THE LAST REVEL • THE WAR AND TREATY ROBBIE FULKS WITH LINDA GAIL LEWIS • JOHN SMITH • KIM RICHEY• COURTNEY HARTMAN • CORDOVAS • PHIL COOK • GUY DAVIS THE WANDERING HEARTS • DOM FLEMONS • CAITLIN CANTY • THE MCCRARY SISTERS • AHI • SHEMEKIA COPELAND • DARLING WEST GREYHOUNDS • JOHN CRAIGIE • JIM WHITE • GHOST OF PAUL REVERE • RUEN BROTHERS • VAN WILLIAM • AMY HELM • THE WATSON TWINS THE WAY DOWN WANDERERS • MANDY BARNETT • KAIA KATER • DANIEL DONATO • JIM LAUDERDALE • H.C. MCENTIRE • RUSTON KELLY KELSEY WALDON • ERIN RAE • MOUNTAIN HEART • CATHERINE BRITT • MIKE FARRIS • NICHOLAS JAMERSON • WILLIAM CRIGHTON • JADE JACKSON • DEAD HORSES • SAM LEWIS • THE NUDE PARTY • GREAT PEACOCK • CHANCE MCCOY • GUTHRIE TRAPP • BLACKFOOT GYPSIES • AUSTIN LUCAS • BOBBY LONG SONS OF BILL • CEDRIC BURNSIDE • ANIMAL YEARS • LEAH BLEVINS • ROMANTICA • HOLLY MACVE • KRISTIN ANDREASSEN • RUBY BOOTS TREETOP FLYERS • FRANK SOLIVAN & DIRTY KITCHEN • CALEB CAUDLE • LIZ BRASHER • DEVON GILFILLIAN • FANNY LUMSDEN • TOMMY ASH • VANDOLIERS PHIL MADEIRA • SAM MORROW • JOHNNY IRION • TYLER RAMSEY • ORDINARY ELEPHANT • THE AMERICANS • PETER CASE • TIM BLUHM • ROSS COOPER JAIME WYATT • HOLLY GOLIGHTLY & THE BROKEOFFS • CARSON MCHONE • SUGARAY RAYFORD BAND • SCOTT MULVAHILL • LUCKY LIPS • THE COMMONHEART
WHISKEY WOLVES OF THE WEST • JAMIE MCLEAN BAND • CAROLINA STORY • KATIE PRUITT • WILLIAM PRINCE • SUNNY WAR • J2B2 (JOHN JORGENSON BLUEGRASS BAND) • JOHN PAUL KEITH • THE RECKLESS ELECTRIC • IAN NOE • THEM COULEE BOYS • EMILY SCOTT ROBINSON • AMYTHYST KIAH • IDA MAE • BUFFALO GOSPEL SZLACHETKA • KYLE DANIEL • LULA WILES • WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR • SARAH BORGES • MCKENZIE LOCKHART • WORRY DOLLS • MANDO SAENZ
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& ‘Karma’ Five years in, Aaron Lee Tasjan still finds his heart’s desire in his own backyard by Randy Fox photography by Stacie Huckeba
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n a warm May evening, Aaron Lee Tasjan was hanging out at producer Joe Costa’s studio when they heard what sounded like fireworks. Minutes later, Costa’s phone lit up with a text: Was he safe? There was a shooting a little over a block away, at Straightway and 16th Street in East Nashville. Tasjan knew that block, too. It’s where photographer, writer, public speaker, and friend to all manner of East Side musicians Stacie Huckeba lives. “I’ve been over to Stacie’s house a million times,” Tasjan says about a month later, that night still vivid in his memory. “I’ve dog sat for her when she’s out of town on photo shoots. My first thought was to call her and see if she was all right.” Huckeba was safe but shaken. She’d witnessed a man with an AR-15 firing dozens of rounds down the street. Two neighbors had non-critical injuries, and police officers were on the scene. Tasjan jumped in his van and tried to drive down Straightway to check on his friend, but police had the street taped off at the railroad tracks. “I couldn’t go down the street,” he says. “When I tried to turn around it was really dark, and I accidentally put the back tire of my van over the train tracks and got stuck. These dudes came out of the house by the tracks with a chain and pulled me off the tracks. I finally remembered the alley behind Stacie’s house, so I made it there and we sat on the porch and talked about how fucked up what happened was. “When something like that happens it’s just good to be able to talk about it. We all have each other’s back in East Nashville. I’ve lived in Ohio, California, New York, Boston, and Nashville. This is the only place I’ve lived that I’ve had a real sense my friends would help me out if it really came down to it.”
EAST NASHVILLE’S MUSICAL FOUNDATION
Devotion to community and seriousness of purpose, combined with an eye for the absurd, run deep in Tasjan. Since moving to the Music City five years ago, and specifically East Nashville, Tasjan’s heart, talent, and humor have become deeply driven into the East Side’s musical foundation. His first album, In the Blazes (2015), fit neatly into Nashville’s roots-music mash-up corral, while also sparking with lyrical sharpness and a sardonic sense of self-awareness that pushed it to the head of the Americana herd. His second long player, Silver Tears (2016), followed the same mulligan stew recipe — roots music vegetables and spiced lyrical meat — while expanding his sonic palate to new horizons. Tasjan’s new album, Karma for Cheap (out August 31), continues down the same path, featuring a blend of styles and influences that have brought comparisons to other unclassifiable singer-songwriters, including Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson. Tasjan views those associations with a slightly embarrassed chuckle. “It’s a nice comparison,” Tasjan says. “But to be honest, I certainly don’t feel like I’m on the same level with them in terms of anything I’ve made yet. I would like to be. I would love to write an album as good as Newman’s Good Old Boys or make a record as great as Nilsson Schmilsson, or any number of things they’ve done. But I’m still trying to find my own way. If I had to guess why people say that, it’s something on a surface level — like a lot of my songs are funny.” Silver Tears songs like “Hard Life” and “12 Bar Blues” offer echoes of Nilsson’s and Newman’s subversion of classical pop instrumentation and subject matter, combined with satirical character studies. But Tasjan’s music has never presented itself as imitative or derivative, even as he wears his influences on his sleeve. The comparisons may simply arise from critics asking, “What is this guy?” As with Newman and Nilsson, Tasjan’s music is a uniquely shaped peg that doesn’t fit a round hole, or a square one, or any of the genre cavities augered into the landscape of popular music over the last 100 years. ☛ 52
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The scene here doesn’t need another person doing songs like whoever. The East Nashville community has influenced me to not be defined by any singular sound that I find interesting in the moment. I always want to try and scare myself a little. Not be ashamed of anything, but maybe slightly embarrassed by a few things. — Aaron Lee Tasjan July|August 2018 theeastnashvillian.com
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‘A PLACE WHERE I COULD BE AN ORIGINAL’
Tasjan’s rollercoaster musical career prepared him well for defying easy categorization. Born in New Albany, Ohio, Tasjan began playing guitar at age 11. At 16, he won the Outstanding Guitarist Award in the Essentially Ellington Competition, sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Moving to Brooklyn at 20, Tasjan co-founded the glam-garage rock band Semi Precious Weapons. After two years of glam, glitter, and rock with SPW, Tasjan scored touring stints with Drivin’ N Cryin’s Kevn Kinney and original glam-punk godfathers the New York Dolls. Three years, three EPs, and one album with the Brooklyn-based Americana indie rockers the Madison Square Gardeners followed. In 2013, at the age of 27, Tasjan embarked on a full-fledged solo career. Packing his guitar case, he headed south to the new Americana music mecca, East Nashville. “What I knew about East Nashville was that people like Todd Snider, Chuck Mead, Elizabeth Cook, and Dan Baird lived here,” Tasjan says. “I really didn’t have any concept of the ‘old’ or ‘new’ Nashville. I came here thinking those guys seem cool because they’re making music that breaks the conventional rules, and I was looking for a place where I could be an original. “I had gotten to New York when many said the rock scene was over. Some people would say it was long over, but there was still something that was kind of bubbling underneath that was a little dangerous and off the mark in a good way. When I got here, I thought East Nashville had that, too. I liked the chances that people here were taking with their music.” Befriending East Nashville music scene icon Todd Snider and many of the artists that drew him here, Tasjan not only found his place in the current East Nashville scene, but began to learn about the legacy and inimitability of the Nashville experience for a young musician. “One day I woke up and had an email from Todd Snider,” Tasjan says. “It said, ‘Whatever you’re doing today, cancel it and come over to Blackbird Studios.’ [Snider’s band] the Hard Working Americans were recording a Guy Clark song, and Guy was there to play and sing on the song. Todd hadn’t told me. I walked in and heard Guy Clark finishing up a story. I sat there the whole afternoon, listening to him do takes of the song with Todd, who was wearing one of my concert T-shirts. For a dude like me that was just starting out and trying to do anything like what those guys have done, where else was that going to happen?”
‘THE WORK WILL NEVER FAIL YOU’
Although meeting current and legendary musical heroes is a thrill for any young artist, Tasjan views his Nashville experience as something far bigger than marking the spaces of his personal musical-icon bingo card. “Meeting people like Guy Clark and others made me think about the craft of songwriting more,” Tasjan says. “I think there’s a great reverence for people like Guy Clark and John Prine who write the kind of songs where you say, ‘There’s no holes in that. That does everything it’s supposed to do and then some.’ There’s always a level of aspiration to try and write like this particular artist or that particular artist, but, how can you? “That’s the thing that’s funny about my generation: A lot of singers seem to court comparisons to legacy artists. It’s like they want to be a legacy artist even though they’ve only made an album or two. You can’t just set a goal of creating a legacy. You have to concentrate on the work. The work will never fail you. If you do the work, you’ll be able to continue to do it. That’s what all of those guys did. John Prine never said, ‘I wrote this album Common Sense, and it’s amazing.’ And then felt like he had achieved something great that would be his legacy. Finishing that album just meant it was time to make another one.” Absorbing influences, finding a personal voice, and working to create something original has always been challenging for most artists. But for millennials like Tasjan, the ability to transcend influences presents a greater challenge. John Prine recorded his first album in 1971 with roughly 50 years of recorded popular music dragging behind him, and many of those recordings were inaccessible to the average consumer. For artists like Tasjan, the history of recorded music now includes roughly 100 years and the information revolution provides a huge percentage of it to anyone with a wifi connection. Overcoming the 800-pound gorilla of imitation is daunting, but according to Tasjan, the Nashville music scene is uniquely suited to address it. ☛
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“In New York there’s not a lot of reverence for people like John Prine or Tom Petty, certainly not in the Brooklyn scene. The bands that were really popular when I lived there were hipster, synth-rock type stuff. Just being a guy that liked Tom Petty was enough to make you stand out there. You didn’t really have to do anything other than that. In Nashville, the question is, ‘What are you going to do with that?’ The scene here doesn’t need another person doing songs like whoever. The East Nashville community has influenced me to not be defined by any singular sound that I find interesting in the moment. I always want to try and scare myself a little. Not be ashamed of anything, but maybe slightly embarrassed by a few things.
GOING FURTHER DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Tasjan’s desire to continuously push his own musical boundaries, his matter-of-fact commitment to “doing the work,” and his sardonic wit are evident across the Karma for Cheap canvas. Throughout its 10 tracks, Tasjan explores varied and individualistic lyrical avenues while maintaining the coherency of his musical neighborhood. A fan of the Traveling Wilburys — the 1980s supergroup featuring Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty — Tasjan picks up on a similar mix of pop, folk, rock, glamour, and grit while spicing it with self-aware absurdist humor and irresistible pop hooks. “I’ve always enjoyed those albums where every song is different but it all fits together somehow,” Tasjan says. “To me that’s an interesting record. I was excited about some of the places I was getting to on Silver Tears. I wanted to see if it was possible to take that and go further down the rabbit hole with them and get to that place where you’re in the water but not quite touching the bottom anymore.” After initial sessions at Nashville’s historic Sound Emporium studio and Sheryl Crow’s Brentwood studio proved unsatisfactory, Tasjan brought Karma for Cheap back to the East Side. “We had to come back to East Nashville to ground it and ended up recording the album in [local producer and songwriter] Greg Lattimer’s garage,” Tasjan says. “[The other studios] were nice, big, and fancy but it didn’t feel like our record until we were all crammed together in a small room together looking at each other and playing the takes that way. All of a sudden it felt like we were doing it live. That was the goal, and I think we did it in a fun way that was also surprising to me. I kept saying along the way, that was kind of like Nilsson meets Nuggets — slightly ornate pop songs but done in a trashy-garagey sort of way. It worked out like sound captured as a Polaroid picture. The details are there, but it’s all a little bit fuzzy.”
The mix of observational wit and attitude-laden fuzz is evident in the album’s opening song, “If Not Now When,” which begins with a soaring and glistening fuzzy guitar-hook, and Tasjan delivering his whimsical take on the crazy but intoxicating hamster wheel of chasing stardom. You sound like a radio station. You’re looking for a standing ovation. You look like you could use a vacation. “Being a musician is like trying to find your way to a treasure without a treasure map,” Tasjan says. “I get to do a lot of the things that famous people get to do, but I’m not famous at all and I’m certainly not rich.” That song is one of several co-writes on Karma for Cheap — a change from the solitary writing on Tasjan’s first two albums. He collaborated with musician and producer Dexter Green on “If Not Now When,” and East Side guitar god Audley Freed lent a hand on the rocker “Crawling at Your Feet.” For the pop-rock stomper “Set You Free,” Americana duo the Mastersons (Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore) and British singer/ songwriter Yola Carter provided authorial assistance. All three songs were impromptu collaborations, a product of just being in the neighborhood. “We didn’t get together to write songs,” Tasjan says. “We didn’t do it properly, at 11
a.m. in the writer’s room like you’re supposed to in Nashville. People just stopped by while I was on the porch having a beer and trying to get an album together.” A loose sense of flowing creativity also infuses Karma’s other songs: the Tom Petty-ish rocker “Heart Slows Down”; the ethereal and Orbison-ish “Strange Shadows”; the delicate and sweet “Dream Dreamer.” “‘Dream Dreamer’ came to me after I heard [fellow East Sider/country voice] Josh Hedley singing ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ one night,” Tasjan says. “I thought, ‘I wonder if it’s possible to write a song like that now?’ And I found out that it’s really hard, but I’m happy with what I came up with.” The many stylistic twists and turns of Karma for Cheap are summed up by the final number, “Song Bird,” closing the thematic loop of the album with another look at the absurdist situation surrounding a life devoted to making music. “‘Song Bird’ is a little bit of a warning and a little bit of a reckoning with some of the emotional pitfalls of being on tour,” Tasjan says. “Even though you’re around all these people all the time, it’s a really solitary existence. All the lines like, ‘One more guy will say something strange,’ are about how people will think they’re complimenting you, but if you think about it too long you can really ☛
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obsess over what other people say and twist it into something crazy. In that song I’m trying to remind myself not to focus on those petty things, but rather to be present in the moment and enjoy the very luxurious situation of being able to make music at all.”
A WHEEL THAT KEEPS ON TURNING
Along with the appreciation for a musical career, Tasjan feels a personal obligation to strive for the new and different. Creating music isn’t a matter of where you’ve been and what you’ve done, it’s always a matter of where you’re headed next. “It’s a daunting task to be original, but that’s my goal,” Tasjan says. “I love the new record we made, but I think this is the last album I’m going to do of retro-influenced music. You have to learn the rules in order to be able to break them, and I felt like I needed to make some albums where I could learn the essence and qualities of what it’s like to write songs and see them through to their most realized place. I had to do that, and feel that, and know what that’s like, so I could then go back in and try to innovate in whatever way is possible. “The most important part of art is finishing — finishing so you can move on to something else. I was reading an old interview with Neil Young, and he was talking about On the Beach. They asked him if he viewed the album as a failure because it wasn’t selling as well as Harvest. He said, ‘No, I feel that it’s a success because it’s not my last record.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, man, there it is.’” Five years into his East Nashville quest for originality, Tasjan is experiencing the odd realization that new arrivals look to him in the same manner that he once looked at Todd Snider and others. Tasjan quickly explains he hasn’t soared to an exalted position but rather it’s the inevitable result of a wheel that keeps on turning. “I’ve just gotten to touch a little piece of what’s special about this town, and now I’m passing it on to others,” Tasjan says. “I still spend a lot of time at the Basement, the Five Spot, the Cobra, seeing new bands, and there’s always something else that’s coming along. It feels really good and cool because I am such a fan and a cheerleader for the people in this town.” It’s that East Nashville devotion to community and friends, along with an eagerness to share with others, that Tasjan discovered and fully embraced when he moved to the Music City. The East Side spirit isn’t rooted in particular buildings, or nightclubs, or institutions, but in the people. People create a place where originality is encouraged and accepted, a place where a stranger will pull some goofy musician’s van off the train tracks in the dark, a place where friends drop by on a summer night to drink a few beers and help finish a song, a place where friends have your back when the horror and tragedy of the modern world intrudes, and a place to be grounded physically, even as your muse leads
you to new artistic and musical horizons. “I don’t know where else I would go at this point,” Tasjan says. “Once you’ve found your footing in a place where you’re allowed to do whatever you want, it becomes hard to defy gravity. East Nashville still feels like a place where you can make your own little world, but you’re not cutting yourself off from the rest of the world either. It’s a place where you can live inside your head and among the friends you love.”
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ART
FEST 2018
Fifteen years. The blink of an eye ... or it can seem like forever. The time from birth to middle school in the temporal realm. In the land of ones and zeros, it marks the rise of the iPhone and social media. The East Side’s beloved Tomato Art Fest celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, for those who wish to mark the passage of time with the Wolf Peach. It really does seem like yesterday when the whole, crazy idea became a reality. From its humble beginnings, this celebration of community and togetherness remains committed to honoring its original credo: “A uniter, not a divider, bringing together fruits and vegetables.” Words to live by. And thank God for that. Peace, love, and tomatoes.
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EARLY FESTIVITIES TURNIPS AND TOMATOES HOME DECORATING CONTEST Making East Nashville more colorful.
WHERE: All over East Nashville WHEN: Aug. 6 - 11 COST: Free CONTACT: hello@goodneigborfestivals.com We’ve seen you decorating houses, condos and apartments for years. So, this year let’s amp up the game and have a little competition. Sign up at tomatoartfest.com/homedecorating and make sure to have your house, condo, apartment, van, trailer, tiny house all spruced up by Monday, Aug. 6. Of course, there’ll be some great prizes, including access to the Tomato Art Fest Preview Party, Bloody Mary Garden, and up to $400 in cash.
A sustainable celebration of all things tomato!
WHERE: Turnip Green Creative Reuse 945 Woodland St. WHEN: 2-6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, Aug. 7 — 10; 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 11 COST: Suggested donation CONTACT: leah@turnipgreencreativereuse.org 615.720.7480
Want to dress up your four-legged friend and your bike? We have a room full of fabric, sewing machines, and an abundance of additional art supplies that have been saved from landfills to be reused creatively, and we want to share them with you for this very special week of Turnips and Tomatoes! Visit our open studio to create a different tomato craft with us all week long, including reuse tomato stamps, jewelry, costumes, and more. All ages and pets are welcome.
TOMATO STORY TIME AT THE INGLEWOOD LIBRARY WHERE: Inglewood Library | 4312 Gallatin Pike WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 8 TIME: 10:30 a.m. COST: Free CONTACT: Mr. Andrew at 615.862.5866
It’s tomato time in Inglewood! Come out to the Inglewood Branch Library for an entertaining story time that celebrates the great uniter, the tomato! We’ll have stories, songs, and a craft for children ages 2-5, all featuring our juicy garden friend! Don’t miss this fruit and vegebration!
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Is Your House Being a
BIG JERK
One room is hot. One room is cold. Your crawlspace smells like yard sale books, and the electric bill is quickly using up your vacation fund. That’s not very nice. Have an E3 INNOVATE Home Expert get your house in shape. Visit us online or give us a call. Located in East Nashville
E3innovate.com
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SPRAY FOAMFOR INSULATION HOMETOPERFORMANCE SEALED CRAWLSPACE ENERGY AUDITS PESTNASHVILLE. PREVENTION THANK YOU ALLOWING E3 INSPECT AND IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF OVER HOME A 100CERTIFICATION HOMES IN EAST 68
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AUGUST 10
FRIDAY TOMATO ART PREVIEW PARTY WHERE: Art & Invention Gallery 1106 Woodland St. COST: $25 (tickets at tomatoartfest.com) TIME: 6-9 p.m. CONTACT: 615.226.2070 meg@artandinvention.com Always a popular event, the Tomato Art Preview Party offers the art lover a wonderful night of sights, sounds and flavors! Party-goers get to be the first to view this year’s tomato art while enjoying tasty tomato treats. Special thanks to the following sponsors: Citizens Kitchen, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Walker Feed Co, Jeni’s Ice Cream, and Pickers Vodka.
TOMATO ART FEST CHILDREN’S ART CONTEST WHERE: By the info booth at South 11th and Woodland Street COST: Free TIME: 6-10 p.m.
Attendees will enjoy the first look at the artistic talent of the tiny-tomatoes in our community. Age Categories: 3 and under, 4-6 years, 7-9 years, 10-11years, 12-13 years.
More information and a sign-up sheet can be found at tomatoartfest.com.
TOMATO ART FEST KICK-OFF CONCERT WHERE: Beyond the Edge parking lot 112 S. 11th St. COST: Free TIME: 6-11 p.m.
Sit down and enjoy a delicious meal from our food vendors and cross the street for exciting performances from these talented local acts.
7 p.m. Buxton
8:15 p.m. T. Hardy Morris & the Hard Knocks 9:30 p.m. The Whigs
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y a K h Po It’s
Y’all!
FRESH POKÉ BOWLS • SMOOTHIES • BREAKFAST BOWLS VEGAN & VEGETARIAN • BAKERY • HAWAIIAN SHAVED ICE
LEARN MORE www.KAWAIPOKE.com 901 WOODLAND STREET STE. 105 • NASHVILLE, TN 37206 70
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AUGUST 11
SATURDAY
EAST NASHVILLE TOMATO 5K
Hosted by: Margaret Maddox Family YMCA
WHERE: Start/finish area at Woodland and South 7th Street (East Park) WHAT: Fundraising event for the Margaret Maddox Family YMCA in East Nashville REGISTRATION: ymcamidtn.org/events/ east-nashville-tomato-5k-2018 CONTACT: Ronald Gooch: 615.228.5225
Jog, walk, or run, this exciting race takes runners through the heart of Historic East Nashville’s neighborhoods. Run the race, then stay for the Tomato Art Fest and make a day of it. Start Times Children’s Fun Run: 7 a.m. Tomato 5K: 7:30 a.m.
DECORATE YOUR BIKE FOR THE PARADE! Hosted By: Eastside Cycles
WHERE: Eastside Cycles | 103 S. 11th St. TIME: 8 a.m. CONTACT: 615.469.1079 bikeseastside@gmail.com Stop by Eastside Cycles and decorate your bike to ride in the Tomato Art Fest Parade. Just bring your favorite decorations, and we’ll supply the shiny, tomatoey things.
TOMATO ART FEST PUSH, PULL & WEAR PARADE WHERE: Starts at the corner of South 12th and Russell Streets; ends in the center of 5 Points. WHEN: Line-up starts at 8:30 a.m., the parade kicks off at 9 a.m. sharp. Team Tomato wants you to participate by building a float that can be pushed, pulled, carried or worn on your body. Entries for the parade are limited so sign up early. It is free to participate.
TOMATO ART FEST ART SHOW WHERE: Art & Invention Gallery 1106 Woodland St. WHEN: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. COST: Free
We think there is no finer collection of tomato art to be found east of the Mississippi, and maybe even in the entire tomato-eating world. (We would say UNIVERSE, but that would just be bragging.) Now, we realize this is a bold statement, so you will just have to come out and see for yourself.
TOMATO ART FEST VENDOR MARKETPLACE WHERE: 5 Points WHEN: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
EEUMC’S TOMATO ART KIDFEST 2018
Hosted by: East End United Methodist Church
WHERE: Corner of South 12th and Holly Streets WHEN: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. CONTACT: Kim Kennedy: 615.715.4164 kjkennedy23@yahoo.com Again this year, children of all ages are invited to the Tomato Art KIDFEST, a celebration of community fun just for kids (and their families) during the 15th Annual Tomato Art Fest. Free activities will include inflatable fun with a water slide and bounce houses, popsicles, “tomato head” hair painting, and a kid’s craft.
BOBBING FOR TOMATOES/ TOMATO TOSS: Hosted by: Wags & Whiskers
WHERE: Wags & Whiskers 1008 Forrest Ave. (Alley entrance behind Red Door Saloon) TIME: 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. CONTACT: 615.228.9249
Bobbing for (real) tomatoes, tossing (faux) tomatoes at a target, prizes, treats for the pooches, wading pools to cool hot paws … fun for pets and those who love them.
Over 200 vendors will arrive early to tempt and delight you with their wares. Come experience this wonderful collection of artists, small businesses, and fabulous food.
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FLOAT THERAP Y SALT THERAP Y YOGA THERAP Y HARMONIC THERAP Y Five P oints . East Nashville 1012 Russell Street . STE 204 615-490-8656 floathorizen.com
FIRST TIME FLOAT ONLY $59 W HY FLOAT?
Relax Relieve stress: lower cortisol levels & blood pressure.
Recharge Reach Theta State: a state of healing, rest, & rejuvenation.
Recalibrate Recover from exercise & injuries quickly: reduce inflammation in muscles & joints.
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SATURDAY CONT. BIKE VALET Hosted by: Tomato Art Fest
WHERE: South 10th and Russell Street TIME: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Why drive not struggle with parking, when you can bike to the event? Members of Walk/Bike Nashville will park your bike while you enjoy the festival.
FAUX PAW FASHION SHOW WHERE: The Contest Stage TIME: 10:30-11:30 a.m. COST: $10 entry fee (proceeds go to support East C.A.N.) If you like dressing up your pet to parade around town, then this event is for you. The Faux Paw Fashion Show is a costume contest to see who can dress their dog, cat, bird, monkey, lizard, ferret, reptile, marsupial, insect, etc., in the best-looking tomatoinspired outfit that can be dreamed into existence.
BLOODY MARY GARDEN PARTY WHERE: Parking Lot next to Treehouse (Clearview Avenue and Woodland Street) TIME: 11a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Bloody Mary fans should make plans to join us in the Tomato Art Fest Bloody Mary Garden to sample upwards of 20 different types of Bloody Mary mixes with Pickers Vodka. Tickets will be available at tomatoartfest.com.
TOMATO ART FEST CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT WHERE: Eastside Cycles parking lot (South 11th and Woodland Street) TIME: 11 a.m. until a champion is crowned
The Tomato, the uniter of all fruits and vegetables, loves to celebrate even the simple grains. With that said, one dare not miss the ever-popular Tomato Art Fest Cornhole Tournament. This fun event involves two players tossing bags of corn at a 6-inch hole 10 yards away. Sound easy? Don’t be fooled! Come show off your skills and walk away king or queen of the Cornhole toss.
TOMATO ART FEST HAIKU CONTEST WHERE: The Contest Stage TIME: 11:30 a.m. (deadline to submit entries is 6 p.m. CDT, Sunday, Aug. 5) CONTACT: tomatohaikucontest@gmail.com Winners will share their poetic brilliance onstage at the Tomato Art Fest, and snag some pretty sweet prizes. The annual Tomato Haiku Contest is back. Submit tomatorelated haiku in classic 5-7-5 style in these three categories: Adults, Kids (16 & Under), Humor Or ...
TOMATO FAIRY | ELF CONTEST
Try the new fruits and veggies freeform category — limerick, sonnet, prose ... anything goes! It’s free to enter the contest, and each person can submit up to five entries. Winners will be announced — and prizes awarded — during the festival.
WHERE: Fairy Tales Bookstore | 114 S. 11th St. TIME: 11 a.m. CONTACT: 615.915.1960
GIANT ICE CREAM SUNDAE EXTRAVAGANZA!
Register (required) at tomatoartfest.com.
Hosted by: Fairy Tales Bookstore
Get out the glitter, gather your wings, hats, twinkle-toed shoes, and put on your elf ears! Fairy Tales Bookstore is having a Tomato Fairy & Elf costume contest. It’s open to all ages and genders, with prizes for all contestants. Judges will award grand prizes in three categories: Most Creative Best Costume (under 13 years old) Best Costume (13 years and up)
Grand Prize is a $30 gift card to Fairy Tales. Plan to join us for the parade starting at 9 a.m.
Sponsored by: Pied Piper Creamery
WHERE: Pied Piper Creamery | 114 S. 11th St. TIME: Noon CONTACT: 615.227.4114
Calling all kids ages 2-10 to help build the largest ice cream sundae in East Nashville. How do you get to be part of this fun event? Just show up! And what is the reward for all this “hard” work? You get to eat the ice cream! Really, how does it get any better than that?
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Love East Nashville from my eyes to-ma-toes
LOCAL EYECARE. INDEPENDENT EYEWEAR. 74
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SATURDAY CONT.
RECIPE CONTEST WHERE: Margot Café | 1017 Woodland St. TIME: Drop off entries between 1:15-1:45 p.m.; judging starts promptly at 2 p.m. CONTACT: Mike Smith: mike@letsconjure.com Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make the most delicious Gazpacho or Savory Tomato Pastry that ever graced a summer table. Put a fresh spin on a classic or create an entirely new recipe that will make our judges beg for more, and then enter that dish in the 2018 Tomato Art Fest Recipe Contest! We can’t wait to taste the magic you create, and you can’t wait to win all our fabulous prizes.
BEAUTIFUL TOMATO CONTEST Hosted by: Alegria
WHERE: Alegria in The Idea Hatchery 1108 Woodland St. TIME: 1-2 p.m. (entries must be at Alegria by 1 p.m. to be eligible) CONTACT: 615.227.8566 alegriagifts@yahoo.com Here is how it works: Take an ordinary tomato, and dress, adorn and decorate it as if it were an entrant in a beauty contest, or headed to a costume party. (It helps to think of your tomato as a small, round person who is just ripe enough to get dressed up and go out on the town.) Winners receive praise and a bunch of swell prizes.
BIGGEST/ LITTLEST/ UGLIEST TOMATO CONTEST WHERE: Info Booth at Woodland and South 11th Street TIME: Drop off entries from 9 a.m. to noon. Winners announced between 1-1:30 p.m. CONTACT: meg@artandinvention.com We love UGLY tomatoes. That’s right, the uglier the better. We also love those big tomatoes and the teeny weenie ones, too! Enter your Ugliest Tomato, Biggest Tomato, and Littlest Tomato for a chance to win out-of-thisworld prizes!
TOMATO ART FEST BLOODY MARY COMPETITION
Sponsored by: 3 Crow Bar
WHERE: The Contest Stage TIME: 3 p.m. CONTACT: 615.262.3345 Who has the best Bloody Mary recipe in all the land? Come witness this bloodthirsty competition and find out as 10 finalists vie for the title of BEST Bloody Mary of 2018. Who knows, if you get lucky, you might just get to taste the winning entry. Emceed and judged by a panel of experts.
TOMATO ART FEST RED HEAD COMPETITION
Registration is required. To sign up, please visit: tomatoartfest.com/bloodymary
Sponsored by: Tomato Art Fest
WHERE: The Contest Stage TIME: 2-3 p.m. No registration needed, just show up with your tomato-red locks. This contest is open to all redheads: men, women, boys, girls, and those whose red hair is just unreal!
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MUSIC
STAGES 37206 STAGE
PRESENTED BY PICKERS VODKA Hosted by Tomato Art Fest
Beyond the Edge parking lot 10 a.m.-10 p.m
10 a.m. 11 a.m. Noon 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 p.m. 5 p.m. 6 p.m. 7 p.m. 8:30 p.m.
Halfbrass Girls Write Nashville Fanny’s House of Music Bea Troxel Doran Danoff The Medium Teddy & the Rough Riders Marquee Mayfield Stoop Kids TBA TBA
MUDDY ROOTS STAGE
COLD LUNCH RECORDS STAGE Woodland and North 12th Street 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
10 a.m. 11 a.m. Noon 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 p.m. 5 p.m.
Blond Bones Bleary Peachy Soft Bodies Only Hari the Band The Minks Black Moon Mother
WOODLAND STAGE
PRESENTED BY THE BASEMENT EAST Woodland and South 10th Street 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Russell and South 11th Street 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
10 a.m. 11 a.m. Noon 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 p.m. 5 p.m.
Nancarrow TBA Pat Reedy & the Longtime Goners TBA Jessica Stiles & the Nite Owls TBA TBA TBA
10 a.m. 10:45 a.m. Noon 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 p.m. 5 p.m.
Children’s music performer School Of Rock Queens Of Noise Paul Burch Tigerbeats Sadler Vaden Volk Gyasi
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a nook for people who love beautiful books East Nashville 1043 West Eastland Ave. herbookshop.com 78
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CONTEST & FOOD
STAGES
TOMATO ART FEST CONTEST STAGE Hosted by Tomato Art Fest
Parking lot behind 3 Crow Bar 10 a.m-6 p.m.
9:45 a.m. Red House Imaginarium 10:30 a.m. Faux Paw Fashion Show 11 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 - 6p.m.
Hosted by East C.A.N.
Tomato Haiku Contest Theater Bug Performance Red Head Competition Bloody Mary Contest WXNA
TOMATO ART FEST COOKING STAGE Hosted by Tomato Art Fest Enjoy cooking demonstrations by chefs from your favorite East Nashville restaurants.
Woodland and South 11th Street 10 a.m.-4 p.m
10:45 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 12:15 p.m. 1 p.m. 1:45 p.m. 2:30 p.m. 3:15 p.m. 4 p.m.
Butcher & Bee Cooking Up Walden Margot Café & Bar Lockeland Table Calypso Cafe East Noble’s Kitchen & Beer Hall Greko Greek Street Food
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TheLove
Goats Getting to know the goat yoga craze and the pair that kicked it off in East Nashville By Jon Gugala
Photography by Travis Commeau
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t’s an idyllic, green summer in Maine when Max Knudsen and Jamie Codispoti meet. They are both in their 20s. “The first moment, I was like, bam,” Knudsen, now 47, says. “Summer lovin’, and that’s where we thought it would end.” The goat count is zero. Fast forward to present day, and Knudsen and Codispoti, partners, sit on the floor of the Shenanigoats studio in Madison where, three days a week, they run sold-out goat yoga classes that both bachelorette parties and country star Maren Morris frequent. Off days, they ferry a group of hard-eating goats around the greater Nashville area to clear overgrown lots to the open-mouthed delight of owners. “People go outside and watch them the whole time they’re there,” Knudsen says. “People can’t tear their eyes away from it, the goats just chewing.” “We were just on a job the other day and the family kept calling: ‘We want to keep them one more night, we want to keep them one more night,’” Codispoti says. “They love them.” Despite their seeming fluency in cloven-hoofed mammals, the pair is as city as they come. Knudsen, a self-described SLC punk from Utah, and Codispoti, from South Florida, have scant ties to the ag life, both being several generations removed from the farm. Social workers by education, Codispoti moved to Nashville because of a job and Knudsen, for Codispoti. It wasn’t until two years ago, during what Knudsen describes as a mid-life crisis, that they rented their house in Inglewood and bought a farm near Smithville. It was a steep learning curve. “I think everybody romanticizes it,” Knudsen says. “It’s hard work, and you have to work with the weather and with the animals. Sometimes they aren’t agreeable.” It’s also hard to make a buck. Gone are the days when a small farmer could be a generalist, growing a few crops and raising a few animals. “The small farmer has to find a niche. That’s the first thing we found,” Knudsen says. “A year in, I was like, ‘Oh, fuck, how am I going to pay this mortgage?’” Which brings us to the goats. A few months into farm ownership, they got the first two: a 4-month-old pair named Nettie and Amos. They were a means of keeping an errant farm dog from wandering off. “I’d get phone calls: ‘Your dog’s in Smithville, your dog’s two counties away,’” Knudsen says. “Every time I went to get her, they were like, ‘You need to get her some animals so she can tend them.’” The goats also had a secondary benefit: a practical, organic solution for keeping the weeds in check. In April 2016, the goat count is two. But two goats are hardly enough to keep 47 acres from overgrowth. On New Year’s Day 2017, their pair had its first offspring, and a few weeks later, Knudsen was driving to East Tennessee
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All in the Family Jamie (left) and Max never looked back after purchasing their 47-acre “Towanda Farms,� which is now home to their flock of rare Jacob sheep.
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where a preschool with a herd of its own was liquidating stock. Five more goats. A few weeks after, the same school called back and offered a “killer deal,” they say, on the rest of the animals. Goats beget more goats. Goat count: 17. As Codispoti puts it, “It’s always time to get more.” As the herd grew, so did the bills, as Knudsen continued to search for the farm’s niche. Their eyes fell on the goats. “Those wheels had already been turning for me, but Jamie thought it was nuts,” Knudsen says. “She thought, ‘No way is anybody going to pay to have goats come chew up their backyard.’” The solution presented itself right in East Nashville. Responding to a message board request for landscaping goats, the two loaded the animals into a Craigslist-bought trailer and hauled them from farm to neighborhood, where they happily grazed for the next three days. They made $300. “We thought, ‘Oh, this is it. We found our ticket to get at least our mortgage paid,’” Knudsen says. The couple began to work in tandem, with Codispoti booking out and Knudsen delivering. It was a kind of grayly defined, honor-system pay scale — pay what you can. But a post on the East Nashville Facebook group was a boon, going viral and landing a dozen more jobs.
can improve your mood, and just generally make you feel like things are going OK,” Van Every says. While we can surmise some of the reasons for these effects — how we value animals as a society and a possible primitive connection to animal husbandry — much of the research as to the specific pathways between application and effect is unknown. We can simply see their myriad effects and utilize them accordingly. Codispoti and Knudsen’s first goat yoga class was held on June 10, 2017, in the backyard of a private residence in East Nashville. It sold out in three hours, and the interest has steamrolled ever since. Two months later, the newly minted Shenanigoats opened its studio in Madison. At the time of this writing, the current goat count is somewhere around a hundred. Codispoti and Knudsen have sold some, and others have passed away. But that’s not to imply that the goats are nameless. The loss of any goat is difficult. “It’s the hardest part. I’ve cried a lot,” Knudsen says. “They’re our pets. They all have names. We can tell you the story of where each of them came from and what their personalities are,” Codispoti adds. “It’s like losing a dog or a cat.” Regarding the phenomenon that is goat yoga, the two are still somewhat flabbergasted by its popularity. But they’re happy to speculate.
“I think it helps people not take themselves so seriously,” Codispoti says. “People need something to laugh at,” Knudsen offers. “People are looking to find pure joy and laughter, and the goats are so innocent. They don’t want anything from you.” There was a time recently when a veteran English rock star’s rep called regarding renting out a session for him and his crew. Codispoti and Knudsen didn’t bat an eye. What time would he like? It’s symbolic of where Shenanigoats is at right now, rapidly growing but always looking for the next opportunity, be it more goat yoga classes, other non-goat yoga practices, events, and even therapy. “We’re open. We’re saying yes a lot,” Knudsen says. “I think we’ll just run the goats as long as the goats will go.”
Shenanigoats goat yoga classes run weekly, both at the Shenanigoats Madison studio and at other locations around town. Most classes run $25 to $30, and the schedule, tickets, and more info can be found at shenanigoats.com. (Interested local home and business owners can also learn more/inquire about Shenanigoats goatscaping services by visiting the website.)
Demand grows. Herd grows. Count is at 117. Goat yoga, while new to Nashville, isn’t to the U.S. Images of goats holding graceful positions may come to mind, but it’s simply yoga classes with friendly and curious goats present and interacting with participants. Goat yoga has taken the country by storm in recent years, and Knudsen was already calculating it as their next move. “It made sense, but I was like, ‘Really?’” Codispoti says. “There are a number of benefits to human health from connections with animals, whether that’s a companion animal or a therapy or even something like goat yoga,” says Elisabeth Van Every, the marketing & strategic partnerships coordinator at Pet Partners. Van Every’s organization, the largest therapy animal registration organization in the U.S., has seen a host of benefits from animal visits in locations as disparate as hospital rooms, college quads, and corporate campuses. In therapeutic interactions, patients experience reduced blood pressure, decreased perception of pain and discomfort, and an improved outlook on treatment outcomes. Because of this, animals are regularly utilized as part of holistic treatment plans for heart disease, cancer, and other critical illnesses. But animal therapy is not just for people with life-threatening diseases. “Being with an animal can make your day feel brighter, it July|August 2018 theeastnashvillian.com
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From
discarded Turnip Green Creative Reuse helps Nashville artists turn trash into treasure, while shining a citywide spotlight on recycling By Brittney McKenna
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ART
to
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ook around your house. Have some halfbaked projects that never panned out collecting dust in your basement? Maybe you’re worried about the volume of trash you put out each week but aren’t sure how cut back. Need help? Look no further than Turnip Green Creative Reuse. “We essentially are attempting to divert as many materials from the landfill as possible and redistribute them back to creative people who need them,” says Turnip Green executive director Leah Sherry. “That includes kids and under-funded schools, teachers, artists — anybody who can benefit.” A small group of eco-minded founders launched Turnip Green in 2010, and eight years later — with a full-time staff of three and a cadre of volunteers and teachers — the growing organization has a home base on Woodland Street and a presence that extends throughout the city. At home, there’s a “donate what you wish” retail store, a “Green Gallery” with monthly exhibitions, an artist marketplace, and classes led by local artists and experts. At schools, businesses, churches, and other organizations across Nashville, you’ll find the Turnip Green team regularly bringing free programming and leading field trips, all focused on why and how to embrace recycling. Sherry, who has a background in arts education, came to Nashville from Arkansas, where she grew up on “kind of a hippie compound” that spurred “this love of being outside and the environment and also being really creative at the same time.” A chance encounter at a previous job — cashier at Trader Joe’s — led her to Turnip Green in 2015. “The founder of Turnip Green, Kelly [Tipler], came through my line and we just had a great conversation as I was ringing up her groceries,” Sherry says. “She did some online stalking and found me and plugged me into Turnip Green and I started immediately.” Sherry began as the education coordinator and was promoted to executive director. Over her tenure, the organization has seen immense growth. “I really thought it would be slowing by now, but it just keeps growing exponentially, which is wonderful,” Sherry says. “When I first started, it was me and one other part-time staff member, working in the shop and doing some of the workshops. “With my background and experience with teaching and writing
Left: Small sampling of the vast selection of elements available to visual artists. Right: Bookshelf in the “Green Gallery”displays artwork created from reused items. Opposite and below: Reuse artwork. Turnip Green Creative Reuse 945 Woodland St. turnipgreencreativereuse.org
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curriculum and writing grants, I was able to focus more of my time on developing our education area of service, and the community truly responded to that. Schools started wanting us to come do our environmental- and arts-education programs. We weren’t really even advertising, but people started reaching out and booking our programs. We started working with the libraries and a bunch of different [Metro Nashville] ‘Community Achieves’ schools. We started doing birthday parties. Now we have huge contracts with the school district and with Metro Nashville Public Works.” With Public Works, Turnip Green heads up “all of the recycling, composting, litter, and waste reduction education for the city.” It’s a five-year contract, and one Sherry hopes endures and expands as the city itself continues to grow. For Metro Schools, Turnip Green partners with individual schools — right now, they have contracts with Inglewood Elementary here in East Nashville and Whitsitt Elementary in Woodbine — to provide after-school programs for students. “Those two schools are so amazing,” Sherry says. “We actually are able to pay our teaching artists. They’re with them every day from 3 to 6, Monday through Friday. The kids go straight from school to the cafeteria and our teachers help feed them dinner. Then every day there are different art lessons using our supplies that we rescued from the landfills. So, the kids get to learn a lot about how to be better stewards of the Earth.” Not surprisingly, Nashville’s recent growth has also been a boon for Turnip Green and its reach. “Right now, I’m looking at the calendar and we have about 50 programs just this week,” Sherry says. “That’s pretty on par, if not slow. I’m such a data nerd and I love spreadsheets, and we have continually increased our number of programs and the number of people we’ve reached. “Last year we taught about 20,000 people just through the education area of service. So, there’s been growth in every area — the galleries, the education we’ve done, we’ve had increased traffic and sales in our shop. We get about a hundred pounds of materials donated every hour that we’re open right now. … When I first started there would be days we’d celebrate if we had one person come in the store and donate $5. Now we have seven people who work in the shop.” That 100-pounds-per-hour figure is staggering, even considering the shop’s limited hours (2-6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday). It’s also an impressive display of the staff ’s resourcefulness, as their Woodland shop is, at the moment, the organization’s only place to store those materials. “Donations come from everybody, everywhere,” Sherry says. “We have a lot of teachers who come in. There are artists who might have some extra art supplies. … A lot of times we get people who are moving and are like, ‘Regular
thrift stores won’t take this, this, and this.’ That’s what we do. We try to find homes for those materials that people can’t recycle or can’t donate otherwise and typically get landfilled. We get a lot of our donations from businesses that have supplies in bulk. We’ve had U-Hauls show up with fabric samples from interior designers. You name it, it’s coming to us.” With that many donations coming through the door any given day, it’s inevitable that some odd items have turned up, too. One of Sherry’s personal favorites: an old pistol, accidentally dropped off by an elderly woman donating a basket-weaving kit. The police took that one off of Turnip Green’s hands. ‟We had a competition once to see who could push a donated horse tooth off on a customer,” Sherry says, laughing. “All kinds of weird things come in.” Those weird things may not present immediate usefulness, but they always end up finding a second home, often with folks looking to add an unusual touch to a piece of art or to their home decor. Art is of course a big part of Turnip Green’s mission, and it’s something they celebrate both in the programming they do and on the walls of their headquarters, which serve as a gallery for artists who create pieces using repurposed materials. They just launched a second Green Gallery in East Nashville, right down the road at Eastside Station (805 Woodland
St.), and hopes are to expand further throughout the city in the future. Turnip Green’s growth and expanding impact throughout Nashville is entirely contingent upon involvement from the community, whether through material donations, workshop attendance, or strategic partnerships. They’re also working hard to expand fundraising efforts, and at press time, were gearing up to host the second iteration of their “Reduce.Reuse.Repeat.” event — “a social function” with food music, art, and a silent auction, proceeds going to support the Turnip Green cause. “I almost feel like we’re big kids now and we finally have our own fundraiser,” Sherry says. “We of course participate in Big Payback and all the other regular ones like Giving Tuesday. But [Reduce.Reuse.Repeat] went really well and was so much fun, so we’re doing that again.” For anyone still wondering how to live a greener lifestyle in your own home, Sherry, who admits she may be a bit biased, has a simple piece of advice: Sign up for a class at Turnip Green. “Take advantage of the programs that we can offer,” she says. “The city has invested in us to educate people who are wondering what they can do. We can offer programs for free, which we do, every day, and we have all levels. We have catered programs for anyone on any level who just wants to do a better job.”
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Love thy
Good Neighbor With events and celebrations all across town, Jack Davis and Good Neighbor Festivals aim to bring Nashville together By Michael DeVault
Photograph by Travis Commeau 92
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ack Davis arrived in Nashville 14 years ago with a job wrangling large-scale live events for Vanderbilt University, and a keen interest in the community. The combination of the two planted a seed. “While I was at Vanderbilt, I had the privilege of serving on the Nashville Pride board and a couple of other non-profits,” Davis says, weeks away from the 15th Annual Tomato Art Fest, the largest festival he now organizes. “I had always done live event management, arena management, and large events, so (combining the two) seemed like a good fit.” Davis saw transformative potential in large, community-focused events, and an opportunity to become a driving force behind those kinds of events here in Nashville. He also noticed that, in Nashville, something was missing. “If you look back in Nashville’s history, the only festivals that were happening were tourist-driven festivals,” he says. Other cities similar in size to Nashville boast (community-focused) fests with 50, 60, or 70-year anniversaries. That wasn’t the case here. “The oldest festivals were 15 years, and there weren’t many of them.” Davis recognized a window of opportunity while working with founders Meg and Bret MacFadyen on the Tomato Art Fest (which he’s been doing for eight years now). The skills he’d developed organizing large events, pre- and during his Vanderbilt stint, gave him the resources and abilities to help coordinate a new breed of festival in Nashville — one focused on communities, and bringing people together. Davis founded JD Events in 2013, organizing a crop of outdoor festivals and concerts, and building the groundwork for a citywide network of community-engaging events. In 2017, the company rebranded as Good Neighbor Festivals, and together with his staff, Davis now manages some of the area’s most popular community happenings, including East Nashville’s Cornelia Fort Pickin’ Party and Edgehill’s annual Edgehill Rocks. “We’ve been able to come in and help create some uniquely Nashville, community-oriented events,” Davis says. “I want to make sure we help those grow and thrive.” Davis believes events and festivals like these not only bring neighbors together, but also serve an important role in opening up a community and its culture to wider audiences. A well-executed festival becomes part of the fabric of the community that hosts it. He sees the Tomato Art Fest as a key specimen. With that event, East Nashville rallied around a simple idea — the humble tomato — and created an annual celebration that’s nearly become synonymous with the neighborhood. Local businesses embraced the festival, people threw time and energy into the costume contests, and hopeful gardeners entered fruit after fruit — misshapen to splotchy — to compete for the coveted Ugliest Tomato prize. “The Tomato Art Fest is a great example of what I love about what we do,” Davis says. “People latched on to something that was fun and wacky, where they could
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Celebrating its 15th anniversary, this year’s Tomato Art Fest is going to be bigger and more tomato-y than ever before. If you’re new to the event, organizer Jack Davis has a few tips for making the most of your experience. PLAN AHEAD
Even though it’s just a two-day festival, there is a lot going on, with multiple stages, competing events, and lots of art and artistry to take in. Check out tomatoartfest.com, make a list of the things you’re wanting to do, and work a schedule. That way, you’ll see as much as possible and not get lost in last-minute hustle.
GET INVOLVED
One of the most anticipated events each year is the Tomato Art Fest “Push, Pull & Wear” Parade. Don’t just watch the parade from the sidelines. Instead, get involved. Walk in the parade in costume or take part in the many, many, many groups who are walking in the parade. You’ll have a great time and everyone on the sidewalks will be there to encourage you as you get your tomato on. Enter the contests. Participate in the tomato events. Make sure you’re putting all of you into the festival, and the festival will give it all back and then some.
HYDRATE, PUT ON SUNSCREEN, REPEAT
The Tomato Art Fest takes place in August, at the height of the Nashville summer. Drink lots of water, and when you think you’re done, drink some more. Also, wear plenty of sunscreen, because tomatoes are supposed to be red. But you? Not so much.
MAKE GOOD USE OF TO M ATOA RT F E ST. CO M
The Tomato Art Fest is a neighborhood festival. That means planning ahead is vital, not just for the events you want to see, but where you’ll be parking your car, how far you’ll have to walk, and how you’ll enter the festival. Visit tomatoartfest.com to make sure you’re ready when the big day gets here. Parking will be a challenge, but a fun, invigorating, tomato-filled time will more than make up for your efforts.
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pull their creative juices together. It becomes a weekend for them to celebrate the tomato, and also to come together and celebrate what makes East Nashville.” Davis has a special affection for East Nashville, where the Good Neighbor offices are located, but the sense of identity and camaraderie found on the East Side is hardly exclusive. Other parts of town have similar energy — like The Nations, where the Light the Nations event street festival goes down each October, or 12 South, host to the Sevier Park Fest each spring — even if they express themselves a little differently. For each of the Good Neighbor events, Davis and his team work to get to know the communities and organizations they’re working with as they create and implement plans. They manage branding, marketing, and vendor relations. They coordinate stages and schedules, arrange for each event’s logistical needs. They even help
the Sevier Park Fest supports Friends of Sevier Park. And like the festivals Good Neighbor helps build, the team also supports its community through direct engagement and involvement in the issues that are important to them. Davis is an active member of the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and Good Neighbor is an integral part of the annual, two-day Nashville Pride festival, which the team was busy organizing during the lead-up to this year’s Tomato Art Fest. The company also supports animal advocacy organization Crossroads Campus, Friends of Shelby Parks and Bottoms, and numerous other local non-profits and charities. Davis sees a connection between building community festivals and supporting the community organizations people rely on — they go hand-in-hand with encouraging the thriving communities he wants to see in his adopted home.
It becomes a weekend for them to celebrate the tomato, and also to come together and celebrate what makes East Nashville.
“
recruit staff and volunteers for the festivals. Vendor manager Brittany Carlberg coordinates hundreds of local, regional, and national vendors, bringing to each community festival a unique amalgam of products and crafts for festival goers to peruse. Ellice Evins gets the word out on social media and with local media outlets. Kristyn Corder handles graphic design and website management. And Sean Pritchard, who recently left the company, relied on his relationships with local musicians and Nashville’s live music community to coordinate live performances on numerous stages, specialized for each individual event and community. Beyond, Davis and the Good Neighbor team work to develop the kinds of partnerships between festivals and other organizations that add a charitable mission to each celebration. Light the Nations supports the work of Thistle Farms, an organization that empowers survivors of human trafficking and supports them on their path to recovery. Edgehill Rocks benefits the Organized Neighbors of Edgehill;
Davis hails from “all over the place” — born in Wisconsin, with stops in Utah, upstate New York, and Missouri — but Nashville, with its tapestry of fun, funky, and sometimes offbeat communities, is his idea of home. If he can give back to it, he’s going to. This year alone, Good Neighbor Festivals is supporting half a dozen organizations with their services, money, and volunteer hours. They’re also managing 15 large-scale events, from neighborhood music festivals to Nashville Pride and December’s Winterfest at Centennial Park. Managing that many moving pieces requires dedication and devotion, and Davis and Good Neighbor aim to bring both to each of their events. “For me, it’s about creating something that people can let go of their daily lives with for a couple of hours,” Davis says. “Tomato Art Fest is probably the best example of that. People can come there, be someone else, be creative, and have an outlet to have a lot of fun.”
AUGUST 6
GORDON LIGHTFOOT
The Legend Lives On...
AUGUST 9, 10 & 11
JOE BONAMASSA
The Guitar Event of the Year
SEPTEMBER 7
LUCERO
with Langhorne Slim and The Lost at Last Band
SEPTEMBER 8
BEN HARPER & CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE SEPTEMBER 16
K.D. LANG
Ingénue Redux 25th Anniversary Tour
SEPTEMBER 21
BØRNS
with Twin Shadow
OCTOBER 3
SHAKEY GRAVES
THE TOUR X9 TOUR
with The Wild Reeds
OCTOBER 15
CHVRCHES
with Lo Moon
OCT 20 SHOW SOLD OUT!
OCTOBER 20 & 21
BEN RECTOR
with The Band Camino
OCTOBER 30
YOUNG THE GIANT
with Lights
NOVEMBER 12
IRON & WINE
FOR TICKET INFORMATION AND MORE, VISIT RYMAN.COM
FOLLOW US @THERYMAN
Historically Cool Since 1892 116 Fifth Avenue North Nashville, TN 37219
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B Y
J O E L L E
H E R R
Summer readin’, had me a blast!
R
ight under my profile photo, my Facebook “intro” simply says, “Lit lover, through and through.” I don’t remember when exactly I wrote that, though it was definitely before I opened a bookstore. I also don’t remember when exactly it was that I fell in love with books, but summer reading most definitely had something to do with it. I was a nerdy kid. Like, bookishly nerdy. While most of my classmates were counting down the days, hours, minutes until no more pencils, no more books, I was itching to get a hold of that magical (to me, at least) reading list. Sure, I spent plenty of sunny days getting prune-skinned at the neighborhood pool, but I was just as happy to evade the Southern swelter by staying inside and diving into a story. Summer reading introduced me to the likes of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, along with others. My within-the-pages summer adventures included a log-raft journey along the currents of the Mississippi River and an action-packed (if doomed) whale-hunting expedition on the swells of the Atlantic. It wasn’t always smooth sailing, of course. I wasn’t immune to procrastinating and sometimes had to cram a book or two into the last couple days of summer break. I was also initially, admittedly, terribly bored by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (with its snooze-inducing abundance of “thous” and “haths”). But then something clicked. I adjusted to — appreciated, even — the gorgeous lusciousness of the language to the point of finding it
difficult to put the book down. These days, one telltale sign of summer’s arrival at my shop, Her Bookshop, is that folks come in asking for recommendations of what to read on their vacation — a “beach read,” even if their destination is the mountains or only as far as their front porch. This usually means they’re looking for something not too dense or difficult. A page-turner. No, I do not recommend The Scarlet Letter. Instead, I ask, “Fiction or nonfiction?” And begin pulling books based on the answer (to this and a few follow-up questions). This summer’s go-to lighter fare includes Less by Andrew Sean Greer, The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, Chemistry by Weike Wang, Calypso by David Sedaris, Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero, and Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny, along with perennial favorites like Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff and The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. But what about this desire, as an adult, to read something “brainless” during the warmer months? Could it be a rebellion of sorts against the “chore” of required summer reading? I’m just hypothesizing, because (see above). As for these days, when I’m on a beach, I confess that I have trouble concentrating on a book at all, my attention preferring the mesmerizing repetition of breaking waves (and the people watching, of course). What say you? Did you enjoy or despise summer reading while you were growing up? As an adult, do you prefer lighter books when the days themselves are lighter longer? I’m curious and hope you’ll consider popping into the shop to chat about this or any other bookish topic that’s on your mind these languid, perfect-for-reading, summer days. →
“There is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work; and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs.” —Henry Ward Beecher
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Lockeland Students love Tomato Fest!
Emerson Blankenship – 4th Grade
Stop by the Good Wood booth to purchase tomato artwork made by our talented kids. Thank you for supporting Lockeland Design Center Elementary.
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New July/August releases
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Zoje Stage
This buzzy thriller about a mom unable to connect with her 7-year-old daughter sounds like The Bad Seed for a whole new generation.
(July 17)
Don’t Make Me Pull Over! Richard Ratay
Feeling nostalgic for the family road trips of yesteryear? Part memoir, part pop history, this could be the most meta read of your summer vacation.
The Book of Books PBS
(July 3)
This coffee-table companion to The Great American Read series on PBS explores “America’s 100 best-loved novels” and is sure to be a hit with book nerds.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation
(August 21)
Ottessa Moshfegh
Fans of Moshfegh’s Eileen are not likely to be disappointed by this daringly original sophomore effort dotted with her trademark dark humor.
The Beatles Yellow Submarine
(July 10)
Hope Never Dies
Bill Morrison
The beloved, iconic film and album get a fully authorized, wildly colorful graphic-novel treatment. (August 28)
Andrew Shaffer
Shaffer’s latest fanfic satire hilariously casts post-2016 Joe Biden and Barack Obama as amateur sleuths teaming up to solve a murder. (July 10)
Joelle Herr worked as a book editor at various publishers across the country for nearly 20 years. In 2016, she opened Her Bookshop in East Nashville, a cozy bookstore featuring a highly curated selection. She is also the author of several books.
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Baby Teeth
SE
ELEA
AL R LOC
Physical Disobedience Sarah Hays Coomer
In her second book, “diet abolitionist” Coomer — an East Nashville resident — attempts to disconnect the notion of “fitness” from the grips of the beauty industry. Instead, she argues that self-care and wellness are necessary, physically and psychologically, for today’s feminists to stay active, engaged, and empowered. (August 21)
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A HEARTFELT
THANK YOU FROM EVERYONE AT
TITLE SPONSOR
SUPPORTING SPONSOR
LEAD SPONSOR
GLASS SPONSOR
PARTNER SPONSORS
EVENT SPONSORS
VENDORS
ice cream
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HOM AY D E L ATT EB I N FAN
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SEE YOU
MAY 30, 2019!
Yum!East benefits Fannie Battle Day Home for Children, whose mission is to continue the tradition established in 1891 by founder, Miss Fannie Battle: to provide affordable, high-quality child care for at-risk children in a nurturing environment, while empowering families to reach their potential. Fannie Battle thanks the Nashville community for supporting its children and families.
EAST SIDE CALENDAR EMMA ALFORD CALENDAR EDITOR
J U L Y | A U G U S T 2018
FOR UP-TO -DATE INFORMATION ON EVENTS, AS WELL AS LINKS, PLEASE VISIT US AT: THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
UPCOMING GO ANALOG, BABY Mono Mingler
process easier. This tribute at The 5 Spot will raise money for those in need of these devices, while honoring Diamond’s music. Local artists will hop on stage for tributes, alongside Nashville’s resident Diamond tribute artist Black Diamond. Grab your “Sweet Caroline” and dance on down.
the5spot.club
6-8 p.m., Saturday, July 14 and Aug. 11, The Groove
1006 Forrest Ave., 615.650.9333
East Side record shop The Groove is harking back to yesteryear with a night of old-fashioned vinyl appreciation. This device-free mingler/ mixer will feature DJs on the turntable, free beer from Southern Grist, and backyard games, all free. Vinyl may be in, but spending happy hour without your phone is a legitimate throwback. Groove on over.
COMMUNITY CRIME-FIGHTING
thegroovenashville.com
1103 Calvin Ave., 615.227.5760
SPARKLING FOR A CAUSE
Spoons of Diamond: A Neil Diamond Tribute
9 p.m., Saturday, July 28, The 5 Spot Early in 2018, Neil Diamond announced that he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and that he’d be retiring from touring. For many suffering from similar debilitating diseases and disabilities, a savvy, smart spoon has been developed. Made by Liftware, it can be life-changing for individuals, helping to stabilize their hands and make the eating
Night Out Against Crime
5-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 7, East Park East Nashville likes to celebrate the National Night Out — a “community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships” — in its own way. Our annual crime-fighting roundup is organized by local neighborhood organizations and offers everyone a chance to meet and greet East Precinct police officers, firefighters, and other local officials. Food and activities for the kiddos will be in the mix, and you’ll be able to pick up a few pointers from local non-profits on the basics of crime prevention, too. Safety first, folks. 700 Woodland St.
TALL TALES OF THE TOMATO Tomato Story Time
10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 8, Inglewood Library If your family wants to sink your tomato roots in before the 15th Annual Tomato Art Fest, the Inglewood Branch Library can color you red (or read). Just ahead of this year’s fest, the library has an interactive storytime sesh, with stories, songs, and crafts for kiddos ages 2-5, with our beloved tomato as the star. 4312 Gallatin Pike
(LIVE ON THE) GREENER PASTURES Live On The Green
5-11 p.m., Aug. 10, 17, 24, and Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, Public Square Park Live, free music? ’Nuff said. Nashville’s free annual outdoor concert series Live On The Green is gearing up again for an August kickoff, with a host of national and local acts set to take the stage. Shows run every Thursday in August, culminating in a three-day festival to end the series over Labor Day weekend.
Thursday, Aug. 9
!
Dispatch, The Wood Brothers, Mt. Joy, Roscoe & Etta
Thursday, Aug. 16
Cold War Kids, Car Seat Headrest, Colony House, *Repeat Repeat
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EAST SIDE CALENDAR
Thursday, Aug. 23
Trampled By Turtles, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Parquet Courts, Alanna Royale
Thursday, Aug. 30
Main Stage: Dr. Dog, The Wild Feathers, Rival Sons 615 Stage Roots of a Rebellion, Savannah Conley, The New Respects
Friday, Aug. 31
Main Stage X Ambassadors, Elliot Root, Theo Katzman, Mikky Ekko 615 Stage Republican Hair, The Foxies, Waker
Saturday, Sept. 1
Main Stage Jimmy Eat World, Matt & Kim, ZZ Ward, Lissie, Rayland Baxter, Larkin Poe 615 Stage Natalie Prass, MCM Contest Winner, Luthi, Paul McDonald, Arlie
liveonthegreen.com 408 Second Ave. N.
TAP INTO TOMATO ART Tomato Art Show
Aug. 10 through Sept. 9, Art & Invention Gallery
11 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday through Saturday; Noon to 5 p.m., Sunday The signature event of the annual Tomato Art Fest, the Tomato Art Show spotlights a slew of talented artists, many of them from here in East Nashville, all working with the fest/show’s titular inspiration. You’ll see everything from paintings to sculptures, realistic to abstract, available for you to take home to celebrate the tomato year-round. The show kicks off on Friday, Aug. 10 with a nighttime Tomato Art Preview Party from 6-9 p.m., and runs through Sept. 9.
artandinvention.com
1106 Woodland St., 615.226.2070
PAINT THE EAST SIDE RED Tomato Art Fest
Aug. 11 - 12, 5 Points and environs When August rolls around in East Nashville, our favorite fruit/vegetable rears its red head. The Tomato Art Fest is back for its 15th year of ’mater celebration, and be you an Heirloom, Roma, Carolina Gold, or Cherry, you’ll surely find something to love. Planted in 5 Points, this fruity festival has live entertainment, choice local tomato art, food vendors, contests, and games. Go bobbing for tomatoes, get your fill of Bloody Marys and tomato-based treats, enter your pup in The Faux Paw Fashion Show, or enlist your kid to help build the biggest ice cream sundae in Nashville. Get there early to catch the parade and join in on the Tomato 5K. Check out the full lineup of festivities in our guide, which begins on page 67.
tomatoartfest.com
BAHAHA BLOCK PARTY Crying Laughing Anniversary Block Party
2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 18, The Crying Wolf Feisty-femme comedy show Crying Laughing is celebrating its first year of shows in the best way: with a block party. The monthly event invites local and regional female comedians to take the stage, and you can expect more of that for this anniversary celebration, along with live music, vendors, tarot readings, burlesque, and drag shows. Because Crying Laughing’s brand of comedy has a political slant, they’ll also have a voter registration booth. (Hey, midterms are on the horizon.) Entry is only $5 and door prizes and drink specials are on offer for block partygoers, too.
thecryingwolf.com
823 Woodland St., 615.953.6715
SUMMER LEARNING
Nashville Community Education Courses
Various dates/times across the city, including East Nashville
Nashville Community Education is a program sponsored through Metro’s Nashville Community Education commission that aims to enrich the population of Nashville through professional and personal education. See the full schedule and sign up at nashville.gov/ Nashville-Community-Education. Some neighborhood offerings are:
Drypoint Etching
1-4 p.m., Saturday, July 28; $40 fee Platetone Studio 947 Woodland St.
Biking Basics
6-7 p.m. Tuesdays, July 17, 24, and 31; $40 fee Inglewood Elementary 1700 Riverside Drive
Understanding Recovery
6-8 p.m. Tuesdays, July 17, 24, and 31 Inglewood Elementary 1700 Riverside Drive
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RESIDENCIES
7/18 NSAI SUMMER SONGWRITER SERIES PRESENTED BY FORD FEATURING HUNTER HAYES, BEN CAVER, AND SARA HAZE 7/18 FINK, MARXER, GLEAVES IN THE LOUNGE 7/19 WHO KNEW CELEBRATES STEVE CROPPER 7/21 HIP HOP YOGA WARRIORS & MIMOSAS
7/26 JON MCLAUGHLIN AND FRIENDS 7/27 KEVIN GORDON “TILT & SHINE” RECORD RELEASE SHOW WITH OPENER SHANNON MCNALLY, AND BEN DE LA COUR PRESENTED BY WMOT / ROOTS RADIO 7/28 SHELBY LYNNE PRESENTED BY WMOT/ROOTS RADIO 7/29 TNT “CATCH THE BOOM” RECORD RELEASE SHOW
7/21 JT HODGES
7/31 HOT SUMMER COOL WHITE WINE NIGHTS
7/22 SOUL SACRIFICE: A TRIBUTE TO SANTANA 7/22 MINTON SPARKS RESIDENCY WITH OPENER TBA IN THE LOUNGE 7/23 SCOT SAX SOUL REVUE, THE RAD TRADS, AND SUZIE BROWN 7/24 THE MINIMALISTS: SIMPLY SOUTHERN TOUR WITH SPECIAL GUEST RACHEL CRUZE 7/25 GAELIC STORM
8/1 CHRIS BLUE 8/3 SYLEENA JOHNSON - THE REBIRTH OF SOUL TOUR II 8/4 MICHAEL HENDERSON 8/3 HANNAH GILL IN THE LOUNGE 8/5 SAIL ON: THE BEACH BOYS TRIBUTE 8/7 US THE DUO: THE TOGETHER TOUR – SUMMER 2018
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DEE’S COUNTRY COCKTAIL LOUNGE deeslounge.com
102 E. Palestine Ave., Madison 615.852.8827
Worldclass Bluegrass Jam
Wine delivered right to your doorstep. JOIN VINOFILE RESERVE.
Hosted by East Nash Grass
Mondays, 6-8 p.m.
# C I T Y W I N E RY N AS H V I L L E
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EAST SIDE CALENDAR
Madison Guild
Hosted by various songwriters
Mondays, 8:30-11 p.m.
Jon Byrd acoustic Tuesdays, 6-8 p.m.
The Spotmen
(with Kenny Vaughan and Dave Roe)
Strictly ’80s Dance Party First Friday of the month 9 p.m. to close
Funky Good Time First Saturday of the month, 9 p.m. to close
LANE MOTOR MUSEUM lanemotormuseum.org 702 Murfreesboro Pike
The Dan Auerbach Collection: Vintage Harley-Davidson Motorcycles from 1937-1950
Through May 6, 2019 ∑
Tuesdays, 8-9:30 p.m.
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RAVEN AND WHALE GALLERY
Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m.
ART EXHIBITS
1108 Woodland St. Unit G, 629.777.6965
Songwriter Showdown
STUMBLE ON TO ART
Wednesdays, 8-10 p.m.
6-10 p.m., second Saturday of every month, multiple East Nashville galleries
Through August Noon to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday 6-10 p.m., second Saturday of every month
The One and Only Bill Davis Happy Hour Hosted by Andy Beckey
Don’t Ease At Dee’s
Hosted by various bands
Wednesdays, 11 p.m.-1 a.m.
Big Monti Acoustic Blues Happy Hour Thursdays, 6-8 p.m.
Daniel Lawrence Walker’s Hoedown Fridays, 5:30-8 p.m.
= THE COBRA NASHVILLE
East Side Art Stumble
We don’t art crawl on the East Side, we art stumble. Every month, local galleries and studios will open their doors after hours to showcase some of the fabulous work they have gracing their walls. You can expect to see a diverse, eclectic mix of art, affording the opportunity to meet local artists and support their work. Local retail stores are stumbling in as well, with some businesses participating in a “happy hour” from 5-7 p.m., offering discounted prices on their merchandise to fellow stumblers. Be sure to check out the happy hour deals in The IDEA Hatchery.
∑
thecobra.plusvanvelzen.info 2511 Gallatin Ave., 629.800.2518
ART & INVENTION GALLERY
Not Another Open Mic
1106 Woodland St., 615.226.2070
artandinvention.com
An evening of open mic comedy
Sundays, 7 p.m.
11 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday through Saturday; Noon to 5 p.m., Sunday
Industry Night
Tomato Art Preview Party
Mondays, 8 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 10, 6-9 p.m.
Western Wednesday with The Cobra Cowpokes
Saturday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Wednesdays, 9 p.m.
FRIST CENTER FOR THE VISUAL ARTS
Curated by Brendan Malone
= THE 5 SPOT the5spot.club
1006 Forrest Ave., 615.650.9333
Sunday Night Soul
Hosted by Jason Eskridge
Second and fourth Sundays of the month, 6 p.m.
Two Dollar Tuesday Hosted by Derek Hoke
Tuesdays, 9 p.m. to close
Tim Carroll’s
Rock & Roll Happy Hour
Fridays, 6-8:30 p.m. ♬♫♪
Tomato Art Fest ∑
fristartmuseum.org 919 Broadway
Chaos and Awe: Painting for the 21st Century
Through Sept. 16
The Presence of Your Absence is Everywhere: Afruz Amighi
Through Sept. 16
Image Building: How Photography Transforms Architecture
July 20 through Oct. 28
We Shall Overcome: Civil Rights and the Nashville Press 1957-1968
Through Oct. 14 ∑
ravenandwhalegallery.com
Works by Vibhuti Krishna
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RED ARROW GALLERY theredarrowgallery.com
919 Gallatin Ave. Ste. 4, 615.236.6575
Molly Barnes The Smell of Honeysuckle
Opening reception 6 p.m., July 14; through Aug. 5 Bethany J Carlson
Opening reception 6 p.m., Aug. 11; through September 2 con-fab
a red arrow gallery art talk series Every month – check online for details!
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THEATER|OPERA NASHVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE presents
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Aug. 11 through Sept. 9
Summer 2018 Drama Camps (Ages 4-18)
Through Aug. 3 Evenings and weekends are open to the public. nashvillechildrenstheatre.org 25 Middleton St.
∏
NASHVILLE OPERA Season tickets on sale now nashvilleopera.org 505 Deaderick St.
∏
NASHVILLE REPERTORY THEATRE presents
AVENUE Q Sept. 8 - 22
nashvillerep.org 505 Deaderick St
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EAST SIDE CALENDAR
THE THEATER BUG presents
CONCERTS
JD Wilkes with the Legendary Shack Shakers Unplugged Wednesday, July 25, 8 p.m.
exitinn.com
Bit Brigade Performs The Legend of Zelda Friday, Aug. 10, 8 p.m.
EXIT/IN
You’re Still Here July 28 and 29, Aug. 2 - 5 thetheaterbug.org
2208 Elliston Place
đ&#x;ƒ?
Toddzilla’s Rip-Roarin’ Rock n’ Roll Big Top Saturday, July 14, 9 p.m.
4809 Gallatin Pike
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MARATHON MUSIC WORKS marathonmusicworks.com
THE NCT SNUGGERY
An immersive theatre experience for Ages 0-5
1402 Clinton St.
Lightning 100’s 2018 Half Christmas Beerfest Friday, July 20, 7 p.m. ∑
RYMAN AUDITORIUM ryman.com
116 Fifth Ave. N
Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman
Hot Rize 40th Anniversary Bash with Sierra Hull and Justin Moses
Thursday, July 12, 7:30 p.m. Janelle MonĂĄe Friday, July 13, 8 p.m.
Americana at the Ryman Buddy Miller & Friends
Sunday, July 15, 7:30 p.m.
World Premiere
TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR By Ernie Nolan
NCT’s professional Snuggery performances include: • • • • • •
August 11September 9 Tickets: $10/person NashvilleCT.org or Call 615-252-4675
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A small audience An immersive environment Pre- & post-performance experiences Music, sound, & movement Audience interaction & participation Privacy suite for nursing moms Complimentary coffee by BONGO JAVA
Echo & the Bunnymen and Violent Femmes Tuesday, July 17, 7:30 p.m. Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman
Rhonda Vincent & the Rage
Thursday, July 19, 7:30 p.m. Punch Brothers
with Madison Cunningham
Friday and Saturday, July 20 - 21, 8 p.m. Americana at the Ryman
Jim Lauderdale, William Fitzsimmons, and the Secret Sisters
Sunday, July 22, 7:30 p.m.
Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman
Ricky Skaggs
Thursday, July 26 7:30 p.m. Americana at the Ryman Mark O’Connor Band and Brandy Clark
Sunday, July 29, 7:30 p.m.
Lily Tomlin Tuesday, July 31, 7:30 p.m. 108
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Americana at the Ryman
Alejandro Escovedo and Hayes Carll with Caroline Spence
Sunday, Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m.
Joe Bonamassa
The Guitar Event of the Year
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Aug. 9 - 11, 8 p.m. Americana at the Ryman
Amanda Shires with Caitlin Rose
Sunday, Aug. 12, 7:30 p.m. Toto Friday, Aug. 17, 8 p.m.
Americana at the Ryman Justin Townes Earle with The Band of Heathens
Sunday, Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m. ∑
NASHVILLE SYMPHONY
nashvillesymphony.org One Symphony Place
j SHELBY BOTTOMS NATURE CENTER 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Noon to 4 p.m., Wednesday and Friday Closed, Sunday and Monday The Nature Center offers a wide range of nature and environmental education programs and has a Nashville B-Cycle station where residents and visitors can rent a bike to explore Nashville’s greenways. For more information, as well as the online program registration portal, visit:
nashville.gov/Parks-and-Recreation/ Nature-Centers-and-Natural-Areas/ Shelby-Bottoms-Nature-Center 1900 Davidson St., 615.862.8539
EVENTS & CLASSES
Buddy Guy Tuesday, July 17, 7:30 p.m.
Nature Play! 9-10:30 a.m., Thursday, July 12
Spirits of Summer Friday, July 20, 6 p.m.
It’s the Balm (night series) 6-7 p.m., Thursday, July 12
Music City Beatles Bash featuring The Weeklings Sunday, July 22, 7:30 p.m. ∑
All ages, registration required
Ages 21 and up, registration required
Shelby Short Story Series 10-11 a.m., Friday, July 13 Ages 5 and up, no registration
Morning Hike 8-10 a.m., Saturday, July 14
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM
Ages 10 and up, registration required
222 Fifth Ave. S.
All ages
countrymusichalloffame.org
Exhibits: Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s
This major exhibition, slated for a minimum three-year run, explores the artistic and cultural exchange between Nashville, Tenn., and Austin, Texas, during the 1970s.
Ongoing
Shania Twain Through July 22
Musician Spotlights:
Thomas Maupin and Daniel Rothwell
Sunday, July 15, 1 p.m.
Andy Reiss and Jeff Taylor
Sunday, July 29, 1 p.m.
Austin Derryberry
Sunday, Aug. 12, 1 p.m.
Invasion! 10-11 a.m., Saturday, July 14
Back Porch Ice Cream Social and Pickin’ Party 2-3 p.m., Saturday, July 14 All ages, registration required
Storytime 2-3 p.m., Wednesday, July 18
All ages, registration required
Farmers Market Mash-up 5-6 p.m., Wednesday, July 18 Ages 10 and up, registration required
Naturalist Notebook 10-11 a.m., Thursday, July 19 Eco-Documentary Night 7-9 p.m., Thursday, July 19 All ages, registration required
Mud Play Day 1-3 p.m., Saturday, July 21 All ages
Insects for Lunch! Noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 25 All ages, registration required
Back Porch Ice Cream 5:30-7 p.m., Wednesday, July 25 All ages, registration required
Shelby Short Story Series 10-11 a.m., Friday, July 27
Ages 5 and up, no registration
Full Moon Mosey 8-9 p.m., Friday, July 27
All ages, registration required
Summer Scavenger Hunt 10-11 a.m., Saturday, July 28 All ages
NWS SKYWARN
Storm Spotter Training
1-3 p.m., Saturday, July 28
Ages 12 and up, registration required
An Evening Bird Walk 7:30-9 p.m., Saturday, July 28 All ages, registration required
Trail Cleanup Day 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Aug. 1 All ages
Nuts for Squirrels 10-11 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 4
Ages 8 and up, registration required
“Days of Our Youth”
an art collection by Dayo Johnson
4-6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 4 All ages
Storytime 2-3 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 8
All ages, registration required
Fun with Flowers! 1-2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 11 All ages
The Wonders of Water 1-2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 11 All ages, registration required
Eco-Documentary Night 7-9 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 16 All ages, registration required
Young Birders 4-H Club 9:30-11:30 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 18 Ages 10 to 18
Play it Again, Sam! 2-3:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 18 All ages
Insects for Lunch! Noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 22 All ages, registration required
Moon Walk 8-9 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 25
All ages, registration required
Dog Days of Summer Night Hike 7-8 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 28 All ages, registration required
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EAST SIDE CALENDAR
RECURRING SHOP AROUND SUNDAY
kick out the Gaelic jams with some Irish Step dancing. No experience, or partner, required. Just enthusiasm, a heart of gold, and Scott-Ellis School of Irish Dance classes, and you’ll be dancing in the clover in no time.
danceast.org
805 Woodland St., Ste. 314, 615.601.1897
Sundays at Porter East
Eastwood Christian Church, Fellowship Hall
The Shops at Porter East open their doors the first Sunday of every month for a special parking lot party. You can expect to enjoy a selection of rotating food trucks (and usually a flower truck), fix-ups from Ranger Stitch, and often some good tunes, too. 700 Porter Road
ANSWER ME THIS
Noon to 4 p.m., First Sunday of every month, Shops at Porter East
RINC, Y’ALL
Scott-Ellis School of Irish Dance
Sundays at DancEast:
2-2:30 p.m., Beginner Class; 2-3 p.m., Intermediate/Advanced Soft Shoe Class; 3-4 p.m., Intermediate/Advanced Hard Shoe Class
M ondays at Eastwood Christian Church: 5-5:30 p.m., Beginner Class; 5-6 p.m., Intermediate/Advanced Class
1601 Eastland Ave., 615.300.4388
Trivia Nights
8 p.m., each week, various locations East Siders, if you’re one of the sharper tools in the shed (or not), stop by one of these East Side locales to test your wits at trivia. They play a few rounds, with different categories for each question. There might even be some prizes for top-scoring teams, but remember: Nobody likes a sore loser.
Drifter’s Edley’s BBQ East Lipstick Lounge (7:30 p.m.) Wednesday Noble’s Kitchen and Beer Hall The Mainstay (7 p.m.) Monday Tuesday
You’re never too young — or too old — to
Thursday
3 Crow Bar
BRING IT TO THE TABLE
Community Hour at Lockeland Table
4-6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, Lockeland Table Lockeland Table is cooking up family-friendly afternoons to help you break out of the house or away from that desk for a couple of hours. Throughout the week, they host a community happy hour that includes a special snack and drink menu, as well as a menu just for the kiddies. A portion of all proceeds benefits Lockeland Design Center PTO, so you can feel good about giving back to your neighborhood while schmoozing with your fellow East Nashvillians.
lockelandtable.com
1520 Woodland St., 615.228.4864
SHOUT! SHIMMY! SHAKE! Motown Mondays
9:30 p.m. to close, Mondays, The 5 Spot For those looking to hit the dance floor on Monday nights, The 5 Spot’s Motown Mondays dance party is the place to be. This shindig, presented by Electric Western, keeps it real with old-school soul, funk, and R&B. If you have two left feet, then snag a seat at the bar. They have two-for-one drink specials, so you can use the money you save on a cover to fill your cup. Get up and get down and go see why their motto is “Monday is the new Friday.”
electricwesternrecords.com 1006 Forrest Ave., 615.650.9333
TELL ME A STORY East Side Storytellin’
7 p.m., first and third Tuesdays, The Post East
Classes start Sept. 4 Join us for affordable classes in languages, cooking, business, art + much more. Fall 2018 registration opens August 4. Now offering evening classes at Inglewood Elementary in East Nashville.
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Looking for something to get your creative juices flowing? East Side Story has partnered with WAMB radio to present an all-out affair with book readings, musical performances, and author/musician interviews in just one evening. Look for this event twice each month. If you want some adult beverages, feel free to BYOB. Check the website to see who the guests of honor will be for each performance. The event is free, but you may want to reserve a spot by calling ahead of time.
The Post East
theposteast.com
1701 Fatherland St., Ste. A, 615.457.2920
East Side Story
eastsidestorytn.com 615.915.1808
But wait — there’s more!
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EAST SIDE CALENDAR
LADIES AND LAUGHS Crying Laughing
9 p.m., first Wednesday of each month, The Crying Wolf At monthly comedy showcase Crying Laughing, two talented ladies — Chloe Stillwell and MK Gannon — lead the proceedings, with
local and regional comedians serving up feisty, feminist jokes. Expect lighthearted ribbing on politics, LGBTQ rights, pop culture and more. The show donates a portion of proceeds to Everytown for Gun Safety, so your laughs go toward a worthy cause. Think wisecracking with a hint of activism. (They’ll also host a special anniversary block party in August.)
thecryingwolf.com
823 Woodland St., 615.953.6715
TRANSFORMING AT THE POST
Free Conscious Transformation Groups
7-8:30 p.m., second Wednesday of every month, The Post East A supportive environment to focus on professional and personal development, these monthly meetings offer a place to focus on conscious transformation teaching, tools, and meditation practices to promote and focus on a plan of action to support your transformation. Energy healer Ben Dulaney leads. Think of it as conscious coupling with other like-minded folks.
theposteast.com
1701 Fatherland St., Ste. A, 615.457.2920
WALK, EAT, REPEAT Walk Eat Nashville
1:30 p.m., Thursdays; 11 a.m., Fridays, 5 Points What better way to indulge in the plethora of East Nashville eateries than a walking tour through the tastiest stops? Walk Eat Nashville tours stroll through East Nashville, kicking off in 5 Points, with six tasting stops over three hours. You will walk about a mile and a half, so you’ll burn some of those calories you’re consuming in the process. This tour offers the chance to interact with the people and places crafting Nashville’s culinary scene. You even get a little history lesson along the way, learning about landmarks and lore on the East Side. Sign up for your tour online.
walkeatnashville.com
Corner of South 11th and Woodland Streets 615.587.6138
HONESTLY, OFFICER ... East Nashville Crime Prevention Meeting
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Thursdays, Noble’s Kitchen & Beer Hall Join your neighbors to talk about crime stats, trends, and various other issues with East Precinct’s Commander David Imhof and head of investigation Lt. Greg Blair. If you are new to the East Side, get up to speed on criminal activity in the area. 974 Main St., 629.800.2050
A DANCE PARTY WITH STYLE Queer Dance Party
9 p.m.-3 a.m., third Friday of every month, The Basement East On any given month, the QDP is a mixed bag of fashionably clad attendees (some in the occasional costume) dancing till they can’t dance no mo’. The dance party has migrated over to 114
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The Beast, which gives shakers and movers even more space to cut up. Shake a leg, slurp down some of the drink specials, and let your true rainbow colors show.
thebasementnashville.com 917 Woodland St., 615.645.9174
AIRPARK PICKIN’
Cornelia Fort Pickin’ Party
variety of speakers, sip some wine, and snag a signed copy of their books — and aside of the books themselves, it’s all free.
♀
FARM FRESH
Aug. 5: Katie Burnett Aug. 26: Rea Frey and the Year of Agatha
East Nashville Farmers Market
herbookshop.com
Amqui Station Farmers Market
1043 W. Eastland Ave., 615.484.5420
3:30-7 p.m. Wednesdays, Shelby Park
Noon to 3 p.m., Sundays through August,
Every third Saturday, July through October, 6 p.m., Cornelia Fort Airpark It’s pickin’ season at the Airpark again. Running through October, Cornelia Fort will host a monthly pickin’ party fundraiser, with neighbor-led pickin’ and grinnin’ starting up at 6 p.m., and the month’s featured performer going on two hours later at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the “door.” Admission includes one adult beverage, and all proceeds from the series go toward supporting the restoration of Cornelia Fort, so put your money where your neighborhood is. July 21: Brazilbilly featuring Jesse Lee Jones Aug. 18: Nora Jane Struthers and Keats Sept. 15: Miss Tess & The Talkbacks and The Cowpokes feat. Sierra Ferrell Oct. 8: The Tillers and Cicada Rhythm
corneliafortpickinparty.org 2640 Airpark Drive
PICKIN’ YOUR BRUNCH Bluegrass Brunch
10 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturdays, The Post East What could make brunch even better, you might ask? Bluegrass. For a pickin’ and grinnin’ kind of meal, join the folks at The Post East. Every Saturday they’ll have jammers there to complement the biscuits (and jam). Scope the menu out online and see who’ll be serenading each weekend. (For those who prefer unaccompanied snacking, brunch overall runs from 8 a.m.-3 p.m.) 1701 Fatherland St.
ONCE UPON A TIME… Weekly Storytime
10 a.m., Saturdays, Her Bookshop Her Bookshop has a story to tell to us each and every weekend. On Saturdays, they sit down for a good old-fashioned storytime for young East Side bookworms, occasionally welcoming special guests (learn more about that on the shop’s website). One thing is certain: This makes for solid Saturday plans for our wee bibliophiles.
Sunday Salon at Her Bookshop
4:30-6 p.m., select Sundays, Her Bookshop
Hop on down to Her Bookshop for some of recurring salon events this summer. They invite authors to sit down and hold a conversation about their published work. You can catch a July|August 2018 theeastnashvillian.com
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Amqui Station and Visitors Center, Madison The East Nashville Farmer’s Market is in the middle of another fresh season, setting up each Wednesday in Shelby Park near the baseball diamond. Just up the road in Madison, Amqui Station offers weekend market shopping. Looking for something a little fresher than the usual Kroger haul and far more local than Whole Foods? Make a pit stop at either or both, and meet the farmers and artisans who grow and make your food; browse locally grown, organic and fresh produce; sniff, sample, and snag local cheeses, milk, breads, jams, and jellies. Food trucks are usually on site as well, so you can even make a dinner/lunch outing out of it. Both accept SNAP (food stamp) benefits. The East Nashville Farmers Market will run through the end of October, and Amqui Station will run until the end of August.
NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS & EVENTS
HISTORIC EDGEFIELD NEIGHBORS
Board Meeting 7 p.m., Tuesday, July 24 Turnip Truck Business Meeting 7 p.m., Tuesday, July 31 East Park Community Center Ice Cream Social 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 28 Location TBD
Trinity Community Commons
204 E. Trinity Lane CLEVELAND PARK N.A.
6:30 p.m., second Thursday of every month Cleveland Park Community Center
facebook.com/groups/Cleveland Park 610 N. Sixth St. INGLEWOOD N.A.
7 p.m., first Thursday of every month Isaac Litton Alumni Center inglewoodrna.org 4500 Gallatin Pike MCFERRIN N.A.
6:30 p.m., first Thursday of every month McFerrin Park Community Center 301 Berry St. ROSEBANK NEIGHBORS
6:30 p.m., third Thursday of every month Memorial Lutheran Church
women to discuss the ins and outs, ups and downs of being a mother. Check their website for the MOMS group in your area. momsclubeast.blogspot.com
fin. Would you like to have something included in our East Side Calendar? Please let us know — we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us at:
calendar@theeastnashvillian.com
1211 Riverside Drive MOMS Club of East Nashville
Monthly business meetings at 10 a.m., first Friday of every month, location varies by group
MOMS (Moms Offering Moms Support) Club is an international organization of mothers with four branches in the East Nashville area. It provides a support network for mothers to connect with other EN mothers. The meetings are open to all mothers in the designated area. Meetings host speakers, cover regular business items of the organization including upcoming service initiatives and activities, and also allow
historicedgefieldneighbors.com 700 Woodland St. LOCKELAND SPRINGS N.A.
Date and time tba
lockelandsprings.org 1701 Fatherland St. SHELBY HILLS N.A.
6:30 p.m., third Monday of every month Shelby Community Center shelbyhills.org 401 S. 20th St. MAXWELL HEIGHTS N.A.
6 p.m., second Monday of every month Metro Police East Precinct
936 E. Trinity Lane ROLLING ACRES NEIGHBORS
6:30 p.m., second Tuesday of every other month Eastwood Christian Church (Sanctuary) 1601 Eastland Ave.
EASTWOOD NEIGHBORS
Business Meeting 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 10 Eastwood Christian Church
eastwoodneighbors.org 1601 Eastland Ave. GREENWOOD N.A.
Meeting times and dates TBA Metro Police East Precinct
greenwoodneighbors.org 936 E. Trinity Lane HIGHLAND HEIGHTS N.A.
6 p.m., third Thursday of every month
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Misty Waters Petak M.S., CFPÂŽ, CLUÂŽ Financial Advisor (615) 479-6415 mistypetak.nm.com
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East of NORMAL ⟿ by Tommy Womack ⟿
I
The suffering news junkie
used to be a news junkie. I loved being informed, loved editorials (so long as I agreed with them), and watched the Sunday morning pundits with relish. Now I don’t watch the news. I can’t bear it. I’ve found I can’t stomach any more coverage of … him. I can’t even say his name, or look at his florid meat-eater’s face, or, worst of all, listen to him talk. The only good thing that comes from the latter is a drinking game. Everybody takes a drink whenever he says, “believe me,” or “unfair,” or repeats the same sentence fragment he just said, or raises his right hand and touches the tip of his thumb to his forefinger. And when he uses a derisive nickname for some antagonist or says “disaster,” you chug your whole glass. When he tweets, you kill yourself, because the last thing anyone wants from Jabba the Hutt is another godforsaken tweet. It’s all piled up like a mountain of brown sewage on the courthouse steps. With every infantile tweet, every foreign leader he alienates, every whiplash message shift, with every redneck Bund rally held to feed a narcissistic ego that’s beyond the pale, the pile gets taller and taller, with a redolence that offends over more of the Earth as prevailing winds carry the notion of the U.S. as a laughingstock. As a country, we’ve long been hated by many, loved by many others, and feared too. But a laughingstock? That’s a new one. Not even W made us a laughingstock. Perhaps in his first few months, yes, he was at least himself one. Then 9/11 happened and the country went categorically insane. W became the dangerous Cheney-puppet
mouthpiece for people whose political beliefs were a nanosecond left of Hitler’s. And now? Do we really live in a world now where W comes off as a wizened elder statesman? We actually look at W now and console ourselves with the notion that he was a moron with a heart, whereas the current president is a moron without one. Are we really in a world where this can be so? The worst of our current president’s traits is his absolute surrender to dishonesty. He’s a carny barker, a used car salesman in a checkered blazer who has lied so long and so often that the truth is never his first option anymore. He lies about big things and small things, and tells lies when he doesn’t even have to. Nixon’s word meant more. Clinton mainly lied about “sexual relations” — and show me a man over 25 who hasn’t. The current corpulent charlatan’s word is worthless. And still his supporters love him. They love him because the economy is good, because unemployment is below four percent, because it’s a sunny day outside, because their lucky left toe is itching, and most of all because he makes them feel more comfortable about their own prejudices. But they won’t love him forever. Let’s see how reverent they stay when the economy does tank. Let’s see how they feel when they learn that destroying your own room in a temper tantrum leaves you with nothing but wreckage you have to clean up yourself. Let’s see if they wake up to the notion that, when it comes to politics, we could do worse than politicians. (We already are.) Where have you gone Barack Obama? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Tommy Womack is a Nashville singersongwriter, musician, and freelance writer. Keep up with his antics on Facebook and at tommywomack.com.
☕
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PARTING SHOT
“NOW THAT’S A BLOODY MARY!”
Somewhere in East Nashville Sometime in June Photograph 122
by
Stacie Huckeba
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NASHVILLE REPERTORY THEATRE PRESENTS
MUSIC AND LYRICS BY
BOOK BY
ROBERT LOPEZ JEFF & JEFF MARX WHITTY
BASED ON AN ORIGINAL CONCEPT BY
ROBERT LOPEZ & JEFF MARX
SEPTEMBER 8-22, 2018 TPAC’S JOHNSON THEATER Tickets on sale Friday, July 27 at 10am
Nashvillerep.org | 615.782.4040
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