Autumn Nicholas, Jason Isbell, More Stand for Gun Reform at Together in Action

“Sometimes the best you can do is just piss off the bad guys,” Jason Isbell told a sold-out house at City Winery. “I sleep really good when the bad guys are angry. They’re fired up right now. … They are large mad.”

He was addressing the crowd Aug. 15 at Together in Action, an event featuring a shedload of songwriting talent presented by two Nashville organizations that elevate marginalized people’s voices in music — Country Any Way, launched by Black Opry’s Holly G and Tanner Davenport, and eQuality Events, founded by Richard M. Williams and songwriter Autumn Nicholas. Taking the stage as the lights went down, Davenport explained that the funds raised from ticket sales would be donated to the Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action — a national organization allied with Everytown for Gun Safety, which organizes educational events as well as advocating for stricter gun laws through lobbying, protest actions and more. 

The show came ahead of a special session of the state legislature, called by Gov. Bill Lee to start on Aug. 21. One of the session’s ostensible goals was to discuss gun reform, responding to calls for changes that might prevent tragedies like the Covenant School shooting. Said voices include parents of Covenant students, famous musicians like Margo Price and Ketch Secor and, per a recent Vanderbilt poll, a majority of Tennesseans. Republicans in the legislature made it clear they weren’t interested in discussing any measure that would restrict access to guns, going so far as to publicly urge Lee, their Republican colleague, to not call the special session. Though Lee had previously voiced support for extreme risk protection orders, which would take guns away from people experiencing a crisis, he did not include an ERPO proposal among the session’s bills (though it remains possible for another lawmaker to do so). 

An array of speakers at Together in Action addressed the importance of pushing back. Leeann Hewlett, leader of the Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action, noted that even after the Covenant shooting, the General Assembly passed a bill that would limit liability for gun manufacturers. State Rep. Gloria Johnson — one of the Tennessee Three, called to the carpet by state House Republicans in April for participating in an anti-gun protest — said that bills up before the special session focus on the wrong things, like trying juveniles as adults in court and moving toward criminalizing mental health issues.

“If it isn't abortion, it's gun violence,” said Tequila Johnson, co-founder of The Equity Alliance, emphasizing the importance of building a broad coalition to counteract the legislature. “If it isn't gun violence, they're attacking trans kids. If they're not attacking trans kids, they're attacking people of color. … This is not just a one-issue thing. This is an issue of hate. Hate is running rampant in our state, and it is not going to change without us.”

Relevant to Tequila Johnson’s comment: Beyond the exceptional talent of the many musicians who performed at Together in Action, what stood out was the diversity and intersectionality of their perspectives on gun violence. It’s a credit to the event organizers as well as the players, and it made the night even more than a fun show for a good cause, with highlight after highlight after highlight. 

Simply put, the proliferation of guns in the United States, coupled with astonishingly minimal gun control, makes everyone less safe. It increases the already elevated risks for the LGBTQ community, which Jessye DeSilva pointed out as they introduced “Dysphoria” and “Queen of the Backyard.” Julie Williams called up Brittney Spencer to duet with her on “Big Blue House,” in which a young Black girl’s father keeps her at home — because to play with the neighborhood kids, she’d have to get past a white man who carries guns and flies a Confederate battle flag. Even being a white family with means doesn’t insulate you from the anxiety of sending your child to school in our current environment, as Isbell sang in “Save the World,” a song from his latest LP Weathervanes.

It was also a night for expressing joy. The Kentucky Gentlemen, bringing some of the coolest harmony parts I’ve heard in a country tune in a while, sang about breaking cycles of poverty and instability in an as-yet-unreleased song whose chorus goes: “It ran in the family / Till it ran into me.” Denitia sang about embracing the present moment in “All the Sweet Tea.” Devon Gilfillian, who shouted out his old co-workers from his days as a City Winery employee, spoke eloquently and genially about not demonizing people you disagree with. As he sang “Love You Anyway,” the refrain “We’re all in this shit together” resonated.

“I think a lot of times we forget,” co-organizer Autumn Nicholas said quietly, tuning up their guitar before performances of “Listening” and “Be Gentle.” “We put a space in between what has happened, and we kind of just move on. … It is also hard to live with knowing we can make a difference — so why don't we try?”

City Limits

Post-Covenant Special Session Begins With Little Hope for Gun Restrictions

• Stephen Elliott