Winter Releases From Local Musicians to Get You Through the Live-Show Drought

Since the start of the month, many Nashville musicians have been placed in a tough spot. First there was the deadly tornado on March 3. In addition to devastating neighborhoods, the storm damaged popular bars, restaurants and venues where locals perform and often also work when they’re not on tour. About a week later, wave after wave of artists, promoters, venue owners and festival organizers began canceling or postponing events and tours as part of a response to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Health care experts say limiting large gatherings is important to slowing down the pandemic and not overwhelming our health care system. 

But this situation leaves you without shows to see — and in a business where live performance is a critical revenue stream, it leaves musicians short on income. One way you can help is by purchasing artists’ albums and other merch online. Besides, when was the last time you sat down and just listened to a record all the way through? Below, find links to buy as well as notes on a handful of outstanding releases that Music City musicians have issued over the past three months (plus a couple that will be out within a week or two). 

A special note: After this issue went to press, Bandcamp announced that on Friday, March 20, from midnight to midnight Pacific time, no fees will be collected from sales on the platform — all of the money will go directly to artists. That'd be a great time to do your shopping. 

Devon Gilfillian, Black Hole Rainbow

Rising songwriter and R&B-schooled singer Devon Gilfillian’s debut album draws on sophisticated sounds of ’70s soul as well as contemporary psych rock. The songs cover timeless themes — love, loss, complicated relationships — but feel fresh and new in his capable hands. His exceptional voice might be the first thing you notice, but you’ll stick around for what he has to say.

BEZ, The Music City Triumph

Rapper and Columbus, Ga., native BEZ made the move to Music City a few years back, and his first project as a local is a great introduction. A lot of anger about injustice and major social problems like cyclical poverty and systemic racism comes through in his rhymes, and he’s a hell of a storyteller. The track “Plotting & Scheming” keeps you on the edge of your seat, while the follow-up “Caprice” begs to be played on a cruise around town with the windows down.

Purchase via iTunes | BEZ on Facebook

Donors, Donors 

Donors push at the boundaries of what you typically expect from a band that describes itself as post-punk. Like their self-titled EP from 2018, Donors’ second self-titled effort (released in January) focuses on creative ways to convey dissonance. It’s not just the off-kilter harmonies and mechanical rhythms that push you to the edge of your seat. There’s an intentional looseness to the group’s playing that adds to the unsettling nature of their narratives about trying to get through a chaotic time.

Brian Brown, Journey

Brian Brown has been hyping his first full-length, Journey, at live shows and online for a couple of years now, and it’s well worth the wait. As Scene associate editor Alejandro Ramirez points out, it’s both an easy listen and a showcase for strong bars. Brown gives the impression that he’s both eager and well-prepared for the next phase of his career to take off.

Purchase via iTunes | Brian Brown on Twitter

Katie Pruitt, Expectations 

Katie Pruitt’s writing, singing and guitar playing are all extraordinarily rich and vital, and the anticipation was strong for her debut album, Expectations. As she told Scene contributor Brittney McKenna before the release, it was important to make an album that sounded the way she heard the songs in her head. Many of said tunes are vulnerable portrayals of being authentic to herself as a gay woman while evolving and strengthening her relationship with her conservative family. Her decision to enlist a friend with little production experience to produce the record yields a characteristic and compelling blend of rock, soul and folk. 

Purchase via Pruitt's online store | Katie Pruitt on Instagram

Evan P. Donohue, Page of Wands  

Singer, multi-instrumentalist and live-sound engineer Evan P. Donohue isn’t prolific, but the quality of his work outweighs any gripes about the quantity. His third full-length, Page of Wands, is full of songs that showcase both the art and craft of his writing — they’re illuminating, clever and catchy as hell — and blend together Harry Nilsson-esque pop chops and subtly Dead-like psychedelia in unique and delightful ways.

Kyshona, Listen

Kyshona’s voice is a mighty instrument, but her new LP Listen is about the power of what you can learn by stepping back and letting someone else have their say. It’s a message that’s especially important in our fractious society. Ace producer Andrija Tokic (who’s worked with Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Josephine Foster and many more) applied a similar logic to his work on the record. Kyshona says Tokic took time to get to know her voice and her interests in folk, rock, gospel and soul, which helped cultivate distinctive arrangements.

Soccer Mommy, Color Theory

Soccer Mommy, the dreamy rock project led by songwriter and bandleader Sophie Allison, has long been known for sophisticated takes on the challenges of getting into adulthood with your confidence in yourself intact. Allison & Co.’s new record is organized around processing three very heavy subjects: The blue section focuses on depression, yellow on illness, and gray on loss. In a press release, Allison says she intended the experience of listening to the album to be like playing a long-lost cassette, and she hit the nail on the head.

Shell of a Shell, Away Team 

There are many worlds to explore within Shell of a Shell’s first full-length album. The group is skilled at bringing out the emotional nuances of its songs, whether the mode is post-hardcore intensity, melancholy grunge, math-rock complexity or something else entirely. You’ll hear all of that and more in Away Team, an album that sets a high standard for adventurous guitar-centric rock. 

Tom Violence, The Widow 

The sound Tom Violence makes is unrelenting, but far from predictable. On their debut album, The Widow, the quartet takes twists and turns through ominous ambient sections, ferocious hardcore passages and more that can make you feel like you’re being dragged down a dark tunnel. This kind of intense music can sometimes be hard to interpret beyond the visceral impact in a live setting, so the record provides a whole new way to get into the group’s carefully crafted stories of loss and revenge.

Lilly Hiatt, Walking Proof 

Over the past couple of years, Lilly Hiatt has emerged as one of the finest writers working in the city, as well as one of the best rock bandleaders and frontwomen. Her fourth LP Walking Proof, set for release March 27, rocks and grooves as hard as anything she’s done yet, and the theme running through the songs is openness and acceptance. That applies whether she’s singing to herself, as in the song “Candy Lunch,” or to someone else, as in “Brightest Star.”

Lou Turner, Songs for John Venn

Lauren “Lou” Turner — who’s also a poet, radio host and a member of the inventive folk-rock outfit Styrofoam Winos — will release her second solo album, Songs for John Venn, April 3. The record features contributions from an array of fellow locals who stretch the formal and sonic dimensions of rock and pop songs, and Turner’s songs look hopefully at the commonalities between people, seeking out ways that those are bigger than the differences between us.