Get Ready for The East Room’s 10th Anniversary Extravaganza

Hard to believe, but it’s coming up on a full decade since The East Room opened on Gallatin Avenue. In summer 2012, the intimate and distinctive room joined across-the-street neighbor FooBar (which became The Cobra in 2016), turning their little stretch of the East Side into an analog of Elliston Place’s Rock Block. Way back when, our concert review column The Spin covered one of the first big public events in the space, the third installment of the quarterly fest East Nashville Underground.* Even then, it felt like it was shaping up to be a cool spot and a welcome addition to the city’s indie venue scene, and time has proven that hunch correct.

Singer-songwriters, comedians, MCs and rock bands that were ready to play a space bigger than someone’s basement are among the array of folks who have taken The East Room’s surprisingly large stage. It’s hosted first shows, homecoming shows for world-touring local bands, New Year’s Eve parties and festivals like the local-centric standouts Spewfest and Nameless Fest. In 2015, Nashville comics broke a world record for the longest continuous stand-up comedy show with multiple comedians at The East Room.

Now that the venue has a full decade of events under its belt, it’s time to celebrate with — you guessed it — a bunch of shows, from June 9 to 11. On Thursday, June 9, it’s an all-star collection of Nashville comics (lineup and cover TBA). Saturday, June 11, is the latest installment of the much-loved goth dance party Fascination Street. And Friday, June 10, is overflowing with live music from “6 p.m. to super late.” The lineup includes rocking pop-schooled outfit Okey Dokey, hip-hop champions Lord Goldie and Heru Heru, and some harder flavors of rock courtesy of Oginalii, Crocodyle and Have a Rad Day (aka H.A.R.D.). You’ve also got stellar pop songsmith Maddie Medley, wildly theatrical group Fable Cry, inventive rock duo The Weird Sisters, outstanding punks Peachy, and purveyors of incisive synth-kissed pop Full Mood.

The cover for the June 10 show is $10. Keep an eye on the Facebook event page and the Instagram profiles of co-organizers Cold Lunch Recordings and To-Go Records for updates.

*Editor’s note: If memory serves, writing this review was my second freelance assignment for the Scene. Time flies!