Subject: Nashville

• Signs of a New Day: The Z. Alexander Looby Story at Looby Theater

  February 4, 2010

• Wish Fulfillment: WSJ Article About Nashville Music Scene Actually Kinda Gets It

  ​Thank you, Mr. Barry Mazor. Last time I lamented the flood of stories about Nashville that lazily employ the same old shock that Nashville isn't just country, folks more or less said with a status-quo shrug: "Quit-yer-whinin'," "What do you expect?," "Stop beating a dead horse" or "Any publicity is good publicity." You yourself, as a Nashville residing national reporter (and veteran, revered music journalist, author and editor), even pointed out in the comments that national stories need nati

  February 9, 2010

• Ask General Petraeus: Submit Your Question For His Vanderbilt Appearance March 1

  ​If you didn't know that General David Petraeus -- you know, the extremely decorated dude who oversaw the surges in Iraq and Afghanistan, is now over Central Command, rewrote the counterinsurgency manual and once made that funny Air Force joke -- was coming to Nashville March 1 to speak at Vandy, too bad. It's already sold out. The good news is you still have until Feb. 15 to submit a question for him, which may or may not be used in his conversation with law prof Mike Newton. The event will b

  February 9, 2010

• Morning Roundup: We're Pessimistic about the Economy and Other News Flashes

  ​Consumer confidence still declining as Middle Tennesseans grow even more pessimistic about the economy, MTSU survey says. ... State's holiday sales tax revenues below budget. ... Crafton adds his name to the crowded juvenile court clerk's race. ... Tennessee's Gannett and Scripps papers team up on Twitter. That's worth a tweet! ... Mississippi legislature OKs guns in parks and restaurants. ... Rep. Curry Todd hints he won't try to pass his bill banning alcohol sales after midnight. He's

  February 11, 2010

• Hearty Meals

  February 11, 2010

• The Return of Damian's Lair

  February 11, 2010

• Nigerian vocalist Nneka explores America with a varied sound and hopeful message

  February 11, 2010

• Love is Deaf at Douglas Corner

  February 11, 2010

• Webb Wilder's Hillbillies for Haiti at Mercy Lounge

  February 11, 2010

• Sweetback Sisters at Loveless Barn

  February 11, 2010

• Open Thread: City Food Looking Good

  From the Nashville! Flickr photostream, photo by fallingwater123"Statue of Liberty Goes to College" reads the title of this photo on Flickr.​The weekly open thread is usually about words but this week, we take a photographic approach to Nashville restaurants with images from Flickr. Starting with bar photos from various Nashville photo pools on Flickr here And this black-and-white bar shot from Christmas Eve. This pretty January wedding cake doubtless was the talk of the wedding. Refle

  February 12, 2010

• Jimmy Buffett to Play The Sommet Center, May 1

  I don't know about the man's music, but these Calypso Coconut Shrimp are delicious!​Of course we all know that Nashville has no coastline. But that's about to change, if only for a few short hours in May. While our readers here at the Cream are a diverse bunch with a wide range of musical tastes, I feel confident in hazarding a guess that our little bloggity blog isn't exactly rife with Parrotheads, or better yet: soldiers of The Buffett Army. In the event that I'm wrong, I'll go ahead a

  February 16, 2010

• Wine Wednesday: Bonnacorsi Wine Company

  ​While attending a tasting last week at Bistro 360 hosted by West Meade Wine and Liquor Mart and ably emceed by Tom Black, I got to thinking about how lucky we wine lovers are to live in Nashville. Not only were the Bonaccorsi wines universally excellent, but the very fact that they are exported here and the winemaker herself was willing to fly across the country to share her knowledge with us is a testament to the oenophile community in this town. Jenny Lee Bonaccorsi only makes 3,000 ca

  February 17, 2010

• We Shall Not Be Moved at the Tennessee State Museum

  February 18, 2010

• Swing! at the Senior Center for the Arts

  February 18, 2010

• Jaquise at Exit/In

  February 18, 2010

• The Howlies with The Privates & Natural Child at The End

  February 18, 2010

• Rayland Baxter EP Release Show

  February 18, 2010

• Love/Hate Mail

  February 18, 2010

• Chefs Brown and Wilson Named James Beard Semifinalists

  My colleague Chris ​earlier reported big doings at the Hermitage Hotel. More big doings were announced today. Tyler Brown, the executive chef at the hotel's restaurant Capitol Grille, joins Tandy Wilson of City House as the two Nashville chefs selected in the semifinals of the prestigious James Beard Awards. They're named under the category of Best Chef in the Southeast. Another familiar name in the category is Sean Brock of McCrady's in Charleston, S.C., who preceded Brown at Capitol G

  February 18, 2010

• Roman Candle Featured in Billboard

  ​This has been quite a week for international coverage of Nashville's local rock scene. On Tuesday we told you about JEFF the Brotherhood's fashionable feature in the pages of Spin. Yesterday we brought to your attention NME's report on the ensuing bromance between The Features and Kings of Leon. And today we direct you to Billboard, who have published a nice little profile on Nashville-by-way-of-Chapel-Hill alt-country transplants Roman Candle. The piece talks about family life on the roa

  February 19, 2010

• At this year’s Nashville Film Festival, the movies could feature anyone from Kristofferson to Iggy Pop

  February 25, 2010

• Love/Hate Mail

  February 25, 2010

• Our Wicked, Wicked Ways: Ripping Tales from Nashville's Past

  There may come a time when you are stuck listening to journalists talk about how awesome it was back in the good old days when people drank openly at their desks and editors and reporters came to blows over word choice and you could call a dame a dame and she liked it. And you will have nothing to share, by dint of being a normal person or bartender, or having come lately to journalism -- or worse, by being a blogger (or even worse than that, perhaps a dame blogger). Your only recourse is to te

  March 2, 2010

• Nashville's Dead - The 'Dead' Beat Kids

  March 4, 2010

• Kent Marcus - The Rock Rainmaker

  March 4, 2010

• 10x10x2: People's Branch's Festival of Short Plays at Belmont's Black Box

  March 4, 2010

• The People Issue 2010

  March 4, 2010

• Nashville Is Host City for National Folk Festival From 2011-2013

  ​You may have heard that today Mayor Karl Dean was going to announce "a new, free music and arts event starting summer 2011 that will highlight and celebrate Nashville's unique mix of musical talent and genres." Well, he did. It's the National Folk Festival, an outdoor, location-jumping festival -- currently being held in Butte -- that claims it's the longest-running such event in the country. The festival also boasts providing the first national stage for the blues, Cajun music, a polka band,

  March 10, 2010

• Morning Roundup: Would You Like Some Cocaine With Your Big Gulp?

  The new (improved?) guns-in-bars bill is locked and loaded, as far as a House committee is concerned. ... TSU's got some explaining to do to keep its accreditation. ... Rep. Frank Niceley's bill to reapportion congressional districts every two years dies in a tie vote. Hat tip: Kleinheider. ... Police bust a Jefferson Street market for allegedly selling pot, cocaine and ecstasy. Whew, we were afraid they might be selling wine. ... Mayor Dean sentences Nashville to three consecutive years of acou

  March 11, 2010

• The Birdhouse Thing Benefit at W.O. Smith Music School

  March 11, 2010

• One Kiss Cafe at the Country Music Hall of Fame

  March 11, 2010

• From Nashville With Love at the Nashville Farmers Market

  March 11, 2010

• Love/Hate Mail

  March 11, 2010

• Gibson Guitar’s new eatery Diana’s Sweet Shoppe serves sweets and sandwiches, with a heaping side of nostalgia

  March 11, 2010

• A Hollywood feature employs locals to tell a Music City story the right way — for once

  March 11, 2010

• Our Weekly Open Thread Loves Green Beer and Corned Beef

  Looking ahead, who's planning on a big St. Patrick's Day? Maybe the Get Lucky East St. Pat's pub crawl? Ready for the next Nashville Originals discounted gift certificate sale? It's March 24 -- start planning. Even further ahead, who wants to visit Martin's Barbecue on April 1 to be part of the crowd when "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" comes calling? D,D and D contacted Bites on the super-huge snow day, first ticking off Carrington so much with their TV arrogance that she handed them off to me

  March 12, 2010

• Chefs Unite for Haiti Benefit at Farmers' Market

  ​It's easy for foreign disasters, no matter how massive, to slip out of Americans' daily consciousness. But when it comes to Haiti's terrible earthquake, it's interesting to note that one of Nashville's chefs already has a history of helping out in that country (in his youth he went to Haiti to build a school), and he's now recruited fellow chefs for a big party to raise money for a hospital in the devastated nation. Chef Andy Hunter of Acorn Restaurant has organized From Nashville With

  March 12, 2010

• Nashville Can't Even Get Crazy Right

  ​Though you could posit that Nashville often operates at a slower, arguably better pace, there's plenty of reason to lament how slow on the uptake we usually are when it comes to trends: breast-milk cheese, ironic mustaches, progressive politics, slow food -- it all takes so yawn-inducingly long to catch on. On the upside, statewide, we're usually full-steam ahead when it comes to embarrassing news stories, dumb laws, backwoods politicians, myopic and pitiful views. But crazy? I thought we'd s

  March 12, 2010

• Morning Roundup: Alleged Shoplifting Ring Busted

  Want a say about the fate of the Fairgrounds? You've got four chances before August. ... Two women nabbed with more than $1,000 worth of stolen loot may be behind a suspected West Nashville shoplifting ring. ... An arrested man allegedly has his gold grill yanked out of his mouth by a Davidson County sheriff's lieutenant. ... "Singing Sheriff" Ricky Headley won't be backed by the Supremes. ... A criminal genius tells Franklin police he's somebody else to avoid detection; unfortunately, the name

  March 16, 2010

• A Few Songs by The Semantics

  Fans of listening to hard-to-find Southern power-pop on the Internet: Rejoice, for someone has uploaded three songs off Powerbill, the 1993 album by The Semantics, to YouTube! "Don't Say Goodbye" (above) is about as perfect a piece of pop melancholy you're going to hear -- the chorus is so, so good. (Side note: Read Michael Chabon's essay on Big Star in the latest McSweeney's. If I had my copy with me I would quote it at length.)

  March 16, 2010

• Nashville Food Blog Launches Burger Brackets

  www.ulikafoodblog.com​Sometimes we here at Bites can't always get our acts together on short notice (and by "we" I mean "me.") Luckily, the organized folks at the Ulika BBQ blog have seized upon our commenters' suggestion to create an NCAA tourney-style burger war. They have set up a pool of 64 great Nashville burger joints and are inviting you help pick a champion. Go over there and help some lucky fry cook experience their "One Shining Moment." We'll try to keep you posted on the result

  March 16, 2010

• Morning Roundup: St. Patrick's Day Edition

  ​Happy St. Patrick's Day! Apparently, there's a shamrock shortage in Ireland, and it's putting a real damper on celebrations for this much-maligned group. But since most of you will just go out and drink for no actual Irish-affiliated reason, keep in mind that, here in Nashville, the Sober Ride program is alive and well tonight. Call 862-RIDE between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. for free transport. ... A West Nashville dude who gets arrested a lot shot and killed another dude who also got arrested

  March 17, 2010

• Morning Roundup: State Medical Examiner Faces Fallout from Drug Bust

  ​The state medical examiner, Bruce Levy, is in hot water over a marijuana bust Tuesday night in Mississippi. Mayor Karl Dean has suspended him indefinitely. ... A robber dressed as a leprechaun finds his luck runs out with Gallatin police in a deadly showdown. ... If you're going to gamble in the County Clerk's office on St. Paddy's Day, you can bet Phil Williams will show up to spoil the party. ... Two bills that drew the wrath of the Chamber of Commerce go down in flames with legislators. Je

  March 18, 2010

• Chester Thompson at The Nashville Jazz Workshop

  March 18, 2010

• Love/Hate Mail

  March 18, 2010