The month of September is an exceptionally busy one for the city of Nashville, Every weekend seems to have some sort of festival or event taking up the majority of the limelight – Live On the Green, Music City Food & Wine Festival, Americana Fest, Pilgrimage – its all happening this month. So I guess it makes sense that the a lot of the music venues and clubs around town would take it easy for the latter part of the month as they prep for the upcoming run of festivals around town and subsequent tour season that’ll last us until the end of the year. So while there aren’t a ton of shows happening this week outside of Live on the Green, that doesn’t mean the week is totally devoid of shows worth checking out. There are tons of local shows happening that are well worth your while this week. Here’s your L/S Weekly Agenda for the week of 8/29-9/4.
Andrea Davidson at The Basement, Monday, August 29th
Davidson will be closing out her residency at The Basement this Monday, and she’s getting help from L/S favorite Johnny Duke. Basement residencies are always ahead of the curve, so if you’re on the up and up, you’ll catch Andrea’s final residency set before she heads on to greener pastures. Show at 7. $5 DOS
Sawyer Fredericks at Exit/In, Tuesday, August 30th
Sawyer Fredericks is a New York dude who went on NBC’s The Voice and apparently crushed it, after a stellar performance landed him with 14 songs in the iTunes Top 200. Solid soulful folk voice that’s reminiscent of a fuller Bob Dylan meets AA Bondy. Plus, he’s 17, so you should probably get used to seeing his name around, cause he’s going to be here for a while.
Dave Kennedy at The Basement, Tuesday, August 30th
Kennedy describes himself as “Waylon. Kristofferson. Earle. Zant. Big Times.” Now if that’s not enough intrigue to entice you to check out the East Tennessee native, then I don’t know what is. He’s been playing Knoxville group Kelsey’s Woods for a while now, and this solo act will likely be just as good. Show at 7. No Cover.
Matthew Mayfield at The Basement East, Wednesday, August 31st
Mayfield has been in the game for a while now, and has run the gamut of being a singersongwriter, opening for Peter Yorn, Switchfoot, and Blue October to having songs featured on Grey’s Anantomy. He’s got a new record called Recoil, and is likely to be playing some tunes off the record at the Basement East show. Sarah Simmons opens. Show at 6:30. $10 DOS.
Zach Schmidt at The Basement, Thursday, Septmeber 1st
Zach Schmidt plays some killer tunes, and things are finally starting to pick up for him – he’s just announced that he’ll be playing out at Americana Music Festival come later in the month – and his Basement show is going to be a solid primer for the fest. Come have a couple cold ones whil Zach plays his solid country tunes. Julie Rhodes and Carl Anderson are providing support. Show at 8. $5 DOS.
Birdtalker with Great Peacock and Austin Manuel at The High Watt, Thursday, September 1st
Nashville’s folk and Americana scene is expanding every day it seems, and Birdtalker is one of the finest additions to said scene. They’ll be playing the High Watt on Thursday as an alternative to the Live on the Green hordes, getting support from Great Peacock and L/S favorite Austin Manuel. Show at 8. $10 DOS.
Adam Wakefield at The Basement, Saturday, September 3rd
Another dude from NBC’s The Voice, kind of like Chris Stapleton lite (a quick youtube search would show that he auditioned with Stapleton’s rendition of the George Jones tune). The guy has got himself a set of pipes, and definitely has the Nashville sensibility, as he’s been hitting the boards in Nashville long before he got his break on TV. Show at 8. $6 DOS.
Triathalon at The End, Saturday, September 3rd
There’s a lot of folk, Americana, and country soul happening around town this week on the club circuit, but if you’re looking for something a little off brand for a Nashville Saturday night show, Triathalon is as good a bet as any. They’re bringing their “R&B dreams” all the way from Savannah, Georgia to The End. Body Origami and Slowtalker are providing support. Show at 8. $8 DOS.
Lockeland Springsteen 