Hey Nashville, we've got a secret: You're going to love this band. This Columbus, Ohio outfit's 2011 album
Don't Blame the Stars is the sort of deep, haunting folk couched in dreamy arrangements that y'all love to listen to while you're polishing your flannels and grooming your hypothetical beards. (Everybody in Nashville has a beard, right? Regardless of gender? Or have our nightlife excursions of late just taken us to some really weird places?) Anyway, all follicle-scaping aside, The Black Swans are the band you want to check out this weekend, and the smoky, slightly-downtrodden vibe at Springwater (not to mention the rampant alcohol abuse) is a perfect fit — imagine Leonard Cohen doing a Dylan impression as Mickey Newbury and Townes Van Zandt chain smoke in the background and you've got a good idea of what’s gonna go down.
— Sean L. Maloney