Jenny Lewis Graces Soft Junk With an Analog Experiment

Jenny Lewis sampled her vast musical repertoire in Nashville on Tuesday at a last-minute performance recorded live to VHS. The crowd packed into the single concrete loading dock that is Soft Junk, Nic Schurman’s quirked-up venue tucked a few hundred yards off Gallatin Avenue, an intimate space that served Lewis well. The occasion was also a kind of bookend for the singer-songwriter, who referred to Schurman as her “bestie,” as she prepares to return to Los Angeles after a few years living on the East Side.

An Eventbrite link survived for just a few minutes before selling out Monday afternoon; just 69 tickets were up for grabs. A quick headcount by the Scene confirmed at least 63 (and that was before editor-in-chief D. Patrick Rodgers showed up). Busch Light and a house punch — citrus-forward special inspired by “Red Bull & Hennessy” — flowed freely with attendees' VIP wristbands. 

Lewis peppered her set with anecdotes about life in Tennessee and effusive praise for her band The Daffodils, consisting of Megan McCormick (guitar), Jess Nolan (keyboard), Megan Coleman (drums) and Ryan Madora (bass). (This lineup includes many longtime bandmates, though a slightly different version with Nicole Lawrence on guitars played with Lewis at the Ryman in March.) Each shined throughout the show; particular standouts included McCormick’s solo on “She’s Not Me” and Nolan’s vocal assists and melodica solo. Lewis credited McCormick with assembling the crew and reminisced on their rehearsal time.

“We never sounded better than when it was just us in that room,” Lewis said. “Except we sound pretty good right now.”

Unburdened by the set list expectations of a proper tour stop, Lewis built a show that stretched back in time. Just after 9:15 p.m., Lewis primed the crowd with a buoyant, “Welcome to Howdywood, y’all!” 

“Just One of the Guys,” “Do-Si-Do” and “She’s Not Me,” fan faves from Voyager (2014) and On the Line (2019), opened the set. A yearning cover of Keith Whitley’s “Miami, My Amy” and a cathartic rendition of Girls’ “Lust for Life” reflected Lewis’ propensity for blending pop, rock and country with pithy, wry songwriting throughout her career. Older mainstays “See Fernando” and “Rise Up With Fists!!” set the pace for a string of songs from her latest LP Joy'All that served as the show's backbone: “Joy’All,” “Giddy Up,” “Cherry Baby,” “Psychos” and “Puppy and a Truck.”

Lewis brought up country crooner Logan Ledger — who opened the show — and vocal experts The Watson Twins throughout the evening. Like her Ryman show, Tuesday's event ended with an all-hands chorus for “Acid Tongue,” with Madora’s bass the only instrumental accompaniment. 

A small kitchen-type television played back the video as it was being recorded. Cartoonish captions like “JENNY’S JAMS,” and “FUCK YEAH” overlaid the cameras’ grainy, foggy focus on Lewis as she starred in her own throwback home video.

“I didn’t go to Nashville to necessarily make music or ‘make it’ in music,” Lewis told the Scene in March. “I went to listen to music, and to learn about music — and to have a chiller lifestyle. It’s become about music, inevitably. But it wasn’t really why I moved to the city. I moved to the city for the people, and my friends, and for the hangs.”

While she comfortably commanded the Ryman in March, Soft Junk gave Lewis a far cozier stage, and the environment that buzzed like a house party. Committing the whole thing to an obsolete medium only makes it more obvious that Lewis and Schurman set up Tuesday’s show simply because it was fun.

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