A 615 Indie Live Field Guide

Last year’s inaugural 615 Indie Live event had a lot of things in its favor. Among the biggest: Most weekends, Nashville’s independent venue ecosystem offers fans and musicians alike ample access to top-notch live music in a wide range of club settings — one of the main reasons to celebrate. The big lift for event co-organizers Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and Music Venue Alliance Nashville (and all the participating venues) was to orchestrate dozens of artists performing on more than 15 stages during one day as one unified happening, with a single pass to allow attendees to hop between shows as if it were SXSW or AmericanaFest. Despite cold, wet weather on the evening of Feb. 1, 2025, the shows seemed to go overall as planned, and some 2,200 ticketholders caught sets from Nashville musicians running the gamut from jazz to rock to hip-hop to country and beyond.

The independent venue landscape in Nashville continues to evolve — see the other part of our cover story for an in-depth look at that. For the second run of 615 Indie Live, scheduled for Saturday, organizers have their sights on covering even more ground. You’ll want to snag a pass ahead of time via Etix and check the official app and @615IndieLive on Instagram for the most current scheduling info. With that in mind, here’s a brief rundown of our picks for can’t-miss shows.

Start your day early where Lower Broadway meets the Cumberland with Charles “Wigg” Walker, who plays Acme Feed & Seed from 11:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. (It’s worth noting the end time, because the majority of the day’s performances will be 30 to 45 minutes.) The Nashville soul legend recently released a stunner of an LP dedicated to his late wife Marva, called This Love Is Gonna Last, which we at the Scene crowned the Best R&B Album in our 2025 Best of Nashville issue.

Also on the early side, Mainstage at Cannery Hall hosts harmonizing pop-rockers The Brummies at 2:15 p.m., country songsmith Zandi Holup at 3:30 and philosophically inclined rock ace Ron Gallo at 4:30 p.m. After several years in Nashville, Gallo returned to his hometown of Philadelphia in 2020. In October, he released Checkmate, a record that features more acoustic instruments and relaxed tempos than his earlier work, but is no less incisive and insightful.

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615 Indie Live is poised to celebrate the city’s independent artists and venues this weekend

Those who keep an ear out for rising Nashville rockers have strong bills to dive into at two venues — and praise be, you can conceivably get to both. At East Side nonprofit all-ages spot Drkmttr, Ol Blue kicks things off at 3:30 p.m., followed by self-described “bubblegrunge synthpunk riot band” Hussy Fit at 4:15 and experimental rock champs Total Wife at 5, with post-grunge rockers Venus & the Flytraps making a hometown stop on their winter tour at 5:45. You’ve got plenty of time to grab a bite to eat and scoot over to Rock Block stalwart The End — whose recent crowdfunding campaign to make up back rent met its goal in a matter of hours — where Boy Orbison takes the stage at 8 p.m., massie99 (whose Pen15-esque jams you might have caught at Snooper’s album release show) goes on at 8:45, New Translations hit at 9:30 and shoegaze-kissed outfit The Sewing Club wraps it up at 10:30.

Looking for more rock or a different flavor thereof? Playing at 10 p.m., Eddie Angel of superb instrumental rockers Los Straitjackets tops the bill at Lebanon Pike-area spot Mirror Mirror. Meanwhile, Eastside Bowl’s smallest stage Low Volume Lounge — not so quiet anymore after a recent P.A. upgrade — gets cooking early, with one standout on the lineup being the Zeppelin-schooled rock of A Tribe of Horsman at 3:45 p.m. The venue’s midsize room The ’58 hosts greats like Lilly Hiatt (playing 7 p.m., read more from her in our feature story in this week’s music section) and The Minks (8 p.m.). On the main stage at ESB, you’ll find a Bob Marley Birthday Bash with Plainview Vibes (8 p.m.).

Nashville School of the Arts alum Bryant Taylorr flexed his muscle as a singer and MC on his 2020 EP Rare, and has mostly focused on songwriting and appearing on others’ releases in the years since. His 8 p.m. set at Hillsboro Village’s Anzie Blue is a highlight of the night, as is the multifaceted Crystal Rose’s 9:30 p.m. set (with new tunes promised!) at The East Room.

If country is more what you’re looking for, don’t sleep on Country Latin Association co-founder Angie K (8 p.m. at The Music Makers Stage at Delgado Guitars) or Kristina Murray fresh off her awesome 2025 rocking country LP Little Blue and playing at 10 p.m. atop a stout bill at The 5 Spot. Slide guitar queen Cristina Vane teams up with country crooner extraordinaire Joshua Hedley at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge for a 9:45 p.m. set capping a long day of great locals — which includes a live taping of Rolling Stone’s podcast Nashville Now with singer-songwriter Noeline Hofmann.

Looking for something else entirely? Rudy’s Jazz Room has Rougarou 6-Piece New Orleans Brass Band at 5:30 p.m., the David Cook Quintet at 8 and the Marc Payne Quintet at 11. Meanwhile, dance club Night We Met is bustling all night with sets including renowned New York DJ (and creative and music director for wine bar Sauced) The Whooligan spinning at midnight and the team of Hayes. + Knyghts on at 2 a.m.