For nine years, Mercy Lounge has been the social and sonic ground zero for Nashville’s rising rockers, rappers and DJs, as well as club-level national acts on their way through town. Every January, the club celebrates said history with a free, multi-night birthday bash that — boasting Nashville’s best newcomers and most beloved local bands — is as much a hi-res snapshot of the city’s bountiful musical bailiwick as it is an alcohol-fueled, who’s-who hobnob with musically inclined local luminaries. Friday night’s festivities will feature performances from How I Became the Bomb, Cheer Up Charlie Daniels, Kyle Andrews, Ponychase, Wild Cub and ReLapse. And on Saturday night the stage goes to Heypenny, Evan P. Donohue, The Nobility, Escondido and Long Players-footstep-followers Mayhem, who will turn in a tributary performance of Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ jilted-lover’s classic
This Year’s Model in its entirety.
— Adam Gold