Daisha McBride, Aaron Lee Tasjan and Many More Sing Out for Marquita Bradshaw

Early voting has been underway since Oct. 14, and campaigns for the Nov. 3 election have been running far, far longer. If anyone needed more convincing that Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Marquita Bradshaw is the people’s candidate, Third Man Records’ 11th-hour telethon on Oct. 20 — which you can rewatch on TMR’s YouTube channel — put a fine point on the sentiment with characteristically bold style. The event brought together more than 50 musicians, poets, authors and comedians, most of whom are Volunteer State residents and all of whom lent their support with their art. 

A few weeks earlier, Nashville-raised comedian John Early hosted a similar event with comedians and actors to raise funds for Bradshaw, the first Black woman to be nominated for a statewide race by a major party in Tennessee. It was a little hit-and-miss, both from a technical perspective and content-wise — the performances suited the medium, but diluted the message somewhat. The TMR telethon’s aesthetic, however, was flawless. Clearly, the time spent cultivating TMR’s Public Access series in the pandemic’s early months was well spent, because this stream, which hopped between live footage in Third Man's Blue Room show space and heaps of pre-filmed performances, ran seamlessly. 

Scene fave Alicia Bognanno ripped through a solo rendition of “What I Wanted,” from her band Bully’s flawless third LP Sugaregg, on seafoam-green electric guitar. Expert Dylanologist Emma Swift’s brand-new original song “Soft Apocalypse,” delivered with an assist from partner Robyn Hitchcock, was also lovely. But the standout for me was brothers Rob and Jay Griffith’s slowed-down bedroom-pop take on The Jam’s “In the City,” a plea to those in power to listen to the kids. Despite originally being released more than 40 years ago, the tune felt perfectly relevant without being heavy-handed. 

Also among the highlights were IMAKEMADBEATS, a mysterious figure wilding out on a laptop and sampler from a South Memphis studio; Steelism, whose smooth-as-silk, pedal-steel-powered instrumentals perfectly soundtracked watching the sun set out my living-room window; and Andrew Combs, whose blend of layered falsetto harmonies and unsettlingly pretty soundscapes evoked a Bends-era Radiohead demo. Hip-hop up-and-comer Daisha McBride performed a stripped-down take on her self-empowerment anthem “Ride Fr,” which fans last heard in concert during Spewfest V in February, mere weeks before everything would change forever. If Bradshaw needs a campaign song, it’s hard to imagine a better pick. Back-to-back heartfelt duets from Margo Price and Jeremy Ivey and Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell wrapped up the stream in fine style. 

Tyler Mahan Coe of Cocaine & Rhinestones podcast fame played host and hype man to perfection. An example of his expert quipping: “Aaron Lee Tasjan … I can promise you’ll never see anything that cool on a Republican candidate’s telethon.” Meanwhile, a masked-up (but easily recognizable) bank of operators manned the phones, including comedian (and Scene advice columnist) Chris Crofton, as well as musicians Erin Rae, Caitlin Rose, Tristen Gaspadarek and William Tyler. Bradshaw herself hit all the right notes as she discussed her background, clearly and cogently stating her case. 

The nearly three-and-a-half-hour stream reportedly raised more than $15,000 for the campaign. The coffers of Bill Hagerty, Bradshaw’s Trump-endorsed Republican opponent, are much deeper. No matter the outcome of the election, the impact of the vital, visible support for Bradshaw’s candidacy is something we may be measuring for a long time to come.