Bobby Rush, Many More Get Together on Record Store Day

Record Store Day continues to be a remarkably popular event in Music City. Saturday’s parties at Vinyl Tap and The Groove brought thoughtfully curated live sets that emphasized how mom-and-pop shops make record collecting about more than just owning stuff you can show off. 

For this year’s shenanigans at Vinyl Tap, Greenwood Avenue was once again closed so an overwhelming array of dogs, their people and said people’s takes on fringed attire could more easily mingle in and out. Even before reaching the gate, we dodged a gang of punk toddlers running a circle pit in the middle of the street and observed a chance meeting of five identical-looking maltipoos, whose owners remained completely nonchalant like this was totally a thing that happens all the time. 

Inside, Alanna Royale was at the wheels of steel, gearing up for some performances by drag aces Lucy Skrews and Coqueta. While Royale dropped the needle on Mark Ronson’s brilliant version of Brittney Spears’ “Toxic,” an old friend sidled up and offered a drink. The anxiety-inducing chaos of the world beyond the neighborhood faded away for a while.

Outside, Mount Worcester was warming up to deliver their brand of instrumental soul. The sound — the kind of groove that’ll draw you in immediately if, say, the impeccable Dap-Kings and the late, great Sharon Jones opened up the world of soul to you — was excellent. And it remained so despite Eric Slick breaking the head on his kick drum after the first song. The group carried on undaunted, weaving in an excellent interpolation of “As Long as I’ve Got You” by The Charmels (aka the source of the fundamental sample in Wu-Tang’s “C.R.E.A.M.”) in the process.

Next up, the semisweet snot punk of Winona Fighter took off like a graffitied rocket. They wasted no time punching right into “You Look Like a Drunk Phoebe Bridgers” from their debut album, February’s My Apologies to the Chef. Frontwoman Coco Kinnon lit the crowd up immediately, setting a high bar for energy that the trio maintained throughout the set. 

Then, Nashville stalwart Tristen followed up her recent celebration of newly unearthed music (see her single “Zenith”) with a set that segued seamlessly between different eras of her career. She only stopped to wish everyone calm in these turbulent times and entreat the audience to move closer: “I need you to move up. I’ve seen your band, I know you’re not shy.”

Rounding out our day (but not before Weird Pals’ tribute to “Weird Al” Yankovic capped the festivities at VT) was eminent bluesman Bobby Rush, fresh off the March release of his Kenny Wayne Shepherd collaboration Young Fashioned Ways. Decked out in a sharp, sparkling jacket and performing solo, the Grammy winner played against his name. Lacing his brilliant harmonica and guitar playing with ribald jokes, he let all the elements of his set linger, combining music, stories, lectures and sermons reflecting a career dating back to his youth in the late 1940s. The only thing that could’ve been better: Some of those folks (you know the ones) who just have to talk through a set decided to stand nearby, laying down a constant murmur that threatened to undercut the legend. 

The light of the waning afternoon on this truly gorgeous day was perfect for the fans waiting to see Tennessee rapper Case Arnold on the Acme Radio Live-curated bill unfolding in the shady backyard at The Groove. Arnold has been on the scene for more than a decade, making waves in his native Clarksville as far back as 2011 with his mixtape The Bedhead Diaries. He’s since released a string of full-lengths, mixtapes and singles that includes his 2023 collaboration with producer Ron Gilmore Jr., “Tequila Diaries.” His live show incorporated jazzy keyboard samples into the boom-bap rhythms, and the words both flowed and signified as he welcomed fellow Clarksville-born MC Tim Gent for a guest appearance.

Each of the several times we’ve seen guitarist, singer and songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan in the past few years, we’ve come away remarking on how easy he makes it all look. Like great forebears on the order of The Move and ELO’s Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood, Big Star founder Alex Chilton and all-around pop master Marshall Crenshaw, Tasjan writes succinctly brilliant songs and plays a lot of guitar that never gets in the way. With drummer Doni Schroader and bassist Ted Pecchio providing perfect backup, Tasjan rounded out the show with a set that included songs from his fifth solo LP, last year’s Stellar Evolution. When the band got into “Sunday Women,” a standout song from 2021’s Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!, the perfection of the music — and Tasjan’s jangly guitar — put us in mind of the holy power-pop trinity: The Beatles, Badfinger and Big Star.

It was as great as you’d expect from a Nashvillian who made a power-pop album that’s the epitome of the genre, 2018’s Karma for Cheap. And he’s such a tasteful guitar god that he managed to make every biting solo different from the others. When he laughingly referenced Lee Greenwood and sang a satirical tune called “I Love America Better Than You,” he made you feel like you’re part of something worthwhile, which is what rock ’n’ roll is all about.