From Paramore to The Protomen, Kanye to Cream, 2008 was another memorable year in Nashville

Special thanks to The Groove and Performance Studios

While the local music scene is always unpredictable—one minute everything’s cool, the next someone’s splitting their head open at a Jonathan Richman show, or a bass player is getting written up on the New York Post gossip page—2008 seemed to have more ups and downs than usual. Or maybe it’s just that the ups seemed to reach a bit higher and the lows, at the very least, felt a little weirder. Whatever it was, against the backdrop of both a historic presidential election and an almost-as-historic economic face-plant, Nashville’s unique collection of buskers, hustlers and DIY freaks kept our bar tabs open and our ears ringing for another year.

JEFF and MEEMAW Get an Oil Change
Remember when housing bubbles sounded innocuous? When subprime loans sounded mildly worrisome, but our biggest concern was high gas prices? While plenty of bands took a major hit in the wallet in order to take their show on the road this past summer, JEFF and MEEMAW organized several grassroots fundraisers to purchase a school bus that they then converted to run on vegetable oil. They toured, then, five or six months later, the economy went to shit. As much as we love both bands, you better believe as soon as that hippie bus breaks down, they're gonna want some fix-my-bus handouts. (They'll call them house parties.) We've already got the auto industry asking for money, and can't go around bailing out everybody's vegetable oil-fueled bus. The Big Three better throw some sweet house parties for the cash they're asking. Might I suggest booking JEFF or MEEMAW? —M.S.

The 5 Spot Arrives as a Top Venue
All a sudden this year we found ourselves rolling up on The 5 Spot more often. We should point out that ruling East Nashville as a venue isn't exactly that hard—the only competition are FooBar and the more low-key Family Wash. Todd Sherwood and his gang could have rested on their geographic laurels, but instead, they finally sorted out their identity crisis and tapped into the local rock scene—and therefore our hearts—with consistently solid bills of local favorites and a Monday night dance party that's starting to rival Mercy Lounge's 8 off 8th. —T.M.

The Protomen Become a Big Deal
The year 2007 saw Nashville's premier video game rock operateers The Protomen surface as one of Music City's highest-paid novelty acts. In 2008, the band did some extensive touring and played some very high-profile gigs at Bamboozle and numerous comic book conventions, officially graduating into cult status. Turns out the band had a built-in niche of übergeeks all over the nation ripe for the harvesting. Even their local gigs brought out hardcore fans from all over, with some driving from several states away in full Mega Man costume regalia to show their support. The Protomen also released a 7-inch single on Theory 8 and spent a great deal of this year writing and recording the follow-up to their debut, which is yet another thing to look forward to in '09. —S.G.

Mercy Lounge Defends Its Title as Best Club
Hardly a week goes by that I don't find myself at the Mercy Lounge at least two or three times. Thanks to the cavalcade of great shows (both national and local), a staff whose dedication to the place is apparent in every aspect of running their venue (booking, sound, bar, door, etc.), and a vibe that straddles the fine line between rock venue and "place where everybody knows your name," Mercy once again reigned supreme as ground zero for Nashville's music scene in 2008. Because of the club's commitment to both cultivating local bands' followings and coming up with unique events, Nashville can always rest assured in finding its cultural pulse on Cannery, as opposed to Music, Row. —A.G.

The Privates Make Pitchfork—as The Walkmen
In a town starved for touring acts, it should come as no surprise that, for any local band, supporting slots on national shows are about as coveted as porn in Afghanistan. So it was really something when indie war-horses The Walkmen came not only to Nashville but to The Basement and pulled a Fugazi by tapping into our local resources. For The Privates—whose avowed love for The Walkmen was displayed two months earlier with a covers set in the very same building—their opening slot was a dream come true. This make-a-wish story didn't end there, as Dave Paulson & Co. were tapped to back The Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser on "Thinking of a Dream I Had." YouTube footage of the performance later got posted on Pitchfork, and finally a local treasure were thrust, however briefly, into the national spotlight...as another band. —A.G.