We all know Valentine's Day is weird, so let's go ahead and get that out of the way. While there's nothing wrong with doing nice things to celebrate your significant other or any special people in your life any day of the year, the holiday has a funky commercial aftertaste. Maybe it's all those goofy Necco hearts.
Anyhow, we at the Scene marked the occasion by writing letters to things we love about Nashville. And on this day of celebrating love and/or things like it, there are at least two cool ways that you can show a little love, too.
Back in December, multiple Nashville DIY music venues (Drkmttr among them) closed or limited operations following the tragic fire at the Oakland, Calif. art and music space Ghost Ship. The folks who run these venues want them to be as physically safe as they are "psychologically, socially [and] emotionally" welcoming, to quote managing editor D. Patrick Rodgers' love letter, and Queen Ave and Drkmttr are both in the process of getting it done.
No matter what your plans are for tonight (Ariana Grande brings Dangerous Woman to Bridgestone and Isaiah Rashad stops at Exit/In, if you have tickets), you can contribute to the Revive Drkmttr GoFundMe campaign. In less than 24 hours, they exceeded the $2,500 goal they set to update the bathrooms, install a door with a crash bar for the emergency exit, upgrade their soundproofing and more. But any extra dinero will go a long way toward getting the space back open and helping it be a valuable resource for up-and-coming artists for years to come.
And if you don't happen to have plans this evening, check out "The Closer I Get to You: A Night of Gender-Bending Duets." Organized by local music MVP Larissa Maestro, it features an all-star band of Jerry Pentecost, David Guy, Sam Farkas and Kent Toalson backing up a heap of great singers, including Kyshona Armstrong, Alex Caress, Joshua Hedley, Beth Cameron and many more.
They're singing classic duets, from the titular Roberta Flack-Donny Hathaway tune to choice Porter-Dolly cuts to Marvin Gaye-Tammi Terrell gems, and they're flipping the gender roles to support the idea that people of every gender identity belong. They're going a step further, too, by donating the proceeds to Just Us, a program of The Oasis Center that supports LGBTQ youth. The cover is $7 in advance ($10 at the door), and the show kicks off at 8 p.m.
