Fan Fair ♦ June 14-17

Snobs look down their noses at Fan Fair as some sort of mass flowering of trailer-park kitsch. And the annual Nashville meet-and-greet is not without its tacky side. But more than anything else, Fan Fair is an easygoing gathering of unpretentious folk from small towns and subdivisions across the nation who scrimp and save all year long to make the trek down to Nashville in hopes of hearing, getting an autograph from, or mugging for a snapshot with their favorite country singers. This year, the 30-year-old event moves from the Tennessee State Fairgrounds and Nashville Speedway to the Adelphia Coliseum and Riverfront Park. For the first time, tickets for individual shows will be available to the general public. Anchored by Patty Loveless, the Kinleys, and Travis Tritt, Thursday’s Sony showcase promises to be one of the festival’s highlights—as does Saturday’s Universal Music Group showcase featuring Gary Allan, Jessica Andrews, Vince Gill, and Trisha Yearwood. There’s also plenty of great music this weekend for those whose tastes roam afield of Music Row’s pop- and rock-leaning aesthetic. Foremost among these alternatives is Friday’s free Opry Plaza Party with neobilly stalwarts BR5-49 and Depression-era revivalists Old Crow Medicine Show. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, you can also hear the likes of Tyler England, Irene Kelley, Leslie Satcher, Chalee Tennison, Joe Stampley, and Country Music Hall of Famer Charley Pride at Riverfront Park. On Saturday, promoter Billy Block hosts an installment of his Western Beat Roots Revival that boasts mountain singer Sonya Isaacs and neo-honky-tonker Darryl Worley, along with local favorites Eric Heatherly and Radney Foster. On Sunday, vintage hitmakers ranging from Vern Gosdin to Charlie Louvin appear on the riverfront, along with Campañas de America, a Mariachi band from Texas that should prove the highlight of the entire weekend. All of the Riverfront shows are just 10 bucks.

—B.F.W.

Thursday, 14th

Juvenile “Back that thang up” all the way to the Municipal Auditorium for a night of heavy-hitting hip-hop. Part of the new crop of ready-made-for-MTV rap demigods, New Orleans’ gold-toothed Juvenile has exploded upon the tailgate-party scene with his raw rhymes, the most famous of which is the aforementioned anthem. Also appearing on the bill are Memphians Eightball and MJG, Nashville’s Haystak, Skip and Wacko, and Quanie Cash. All in all, it proves to be a great night of regional hip-hop.

—W.T.

Dennis Brennan If only The Rolling Stones were making Rolling Stones records as well as Dennis Brennan, a fire-breathing Boston roots-rocker with passion and chops to spare. Last year’s album Rule No. 1 cemented Brennan’s rep for taut blue-collar rock and raw backstreet soul, especially on bruising tracks like “This Kind of Love.” Backed by simpatico local talent Tim Carroll on guitar, Brennan plays The Sutler.

—J.R.

Matt King In a time when label heads admit they’re churning out crap that they themselves wouldn’t listen to, it must be hard to be a major-label country artist. It must be doubly frustrating, then, for major-label artists who got signed because they’re clearly talented. So anyone who goes to Wildhorse Saloon to catch King’s show will likely see what they’ll hear only hints of on his Atlantic releases: credible hard-country songwriting galvanized by nice guitar work.

—C.D.

Soul Brains As the Bad Brains, this pioneering hardcore/dub group smashed the segregation of late ’70s punk with classics like “Pay to Cum.” The group have reformed with the classic lineup (including frontman HR) but without their name—partly because of ownership distinctions, partly because the band reportedly think the old name had too many negative connotations. The new Soul Brains play 328 Performance Hall with Brooklyn’s Candiria, a group that testifies to the influence of the headliners’ punk-meets-funk stance.

Johnny Mathis/Jim Hoke & His Orchestra Bop with The Nashville Symphony Orchestra Velvet-voiced Mathis performs at AmSouth Amphitheatre with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, which also backs saxman Hoke and his nine-piece outfit on three of his original compositions and arrangements.

An Evening of Bluegrass The Nashville Bluegrass Band,

Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, and Sally Jones & the Sidewinders raise the roof for Habitat for Humanity in a benefit show at Brentwood High School’s Carolyn Campbell Auditorium.

Thursday, 14th-Saturday, 16th

Independent Music Fest 2001 Thursday through Saturday at Municipal Auditorium, acts from across the country will gather for a series of workshops and showcases that begin at 9 a.m. and go until 9 p.m. Admission is free, so anyone interested in checking out an assortment of aspiring musicians—or finding out how best to make money as an aspiring musician—should pop by.

—N.M.

Thursday, 14th-Sunday, 17th

King Crimson If you can tap your foot in time to the square root of 11, then head to 12th & Porter to catch these avatars of slide-rule rock, featuring Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew.

Friday, 15th

Radney Foster/Jim Lauderdale Two outstanding acts on the fringes of mainstream country—and both with new albums to push—will be playing around town in various venues throughout Fan Fair weekend. Radney Foster’s Are You Ready for the Big Show? was recorded live in Austin and attempts to bridge the gap between the pop-savvy guitar-slinger’s rock and country sides, chiefly by offering new, largely acoustic arrangements of old Foster favorites. Jim Lauderdale’s The Other Sessions offers 12 cuts of pure honky-tonk heaven, 11 of which are collaborations with other songwriters; the workshop approach seems to have invigorated Lauderdale, who sings as sweetly and plays as passionately as he ever has. Foster will be making an in-store appearance Thursday at Tower, he and Lauderdale will be performing Friday at Ernest Tubb’s Record Shop, and both of them will be part of a special Billy Block’s Western Beat Roots Revival Saturday at Riverfront Park.