Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Photo: Kristen DrumZac Farro, the Franklin-raised drumslinger who’s helped turn Paramore into one of Middle Tennessee’s most beloved exports, kicked off a new chapter in his solo career Saturday at The Blue Room at Third Man Records with the release show for Operator. The LP is Farro’s first under his own name, following five releases from his project halfnoise.
The perpetually hatted percussionist has played with a lot of different sonic textures in his work outside Paramore. Farro’s most recent halfnoise album, 2023’s City Talk, bears the slick influence of city pop, a sound first popular in Japan in the 1970s and ’80s, while the project’s 2014 debut Volcano Crowe draws from an abundance of contemporary indie pop. Sudden Feeling brought bombastic synth pop in 2016, while 2019’s Natural Disguise focused on garage rock.
Motif came in 2021, and it shares perhaps the most DNA with Operator by nodding to 1970s soft rock. But where Motif embraces the massive, lush string arrangements of that genre, Operator seems to have been written with a smaller ensemble in mind. That means the songs sound great in a small-to-midsize venue like The Blue Room.
Joshua Crumbly at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Photo: Kristen DrumJoshua Crumbly opened the night. The Juilliard-educated bassist has shared the stage with titans such as Kamasi Washington and Ravi Coltrane. But for his first time performing in Nashville, he appeared with only his white Fender Precision Bass and a set of exceedingly mellow, mostly instrumental numbers.
Josh Gilligan at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Photo: Kristen DrumMusic City indie-scene standard-bearer Josh Gilligan, whose debut full-length Party of One came out in January, played next. Farro worked closely with Gilligan on Operator, and it’s easy to hear why they fit together well. Many of Gilligan’s songs don’t just share musical DNA with Farro’s work but also hit on similar lyrical themes of striving to be better and fighting isolation and anxiety with community and understanding. “Turn the Lights Back On,” Gilligan cheerfully said, was about his “old friend, depression.”
Farro and his five-piece band — Gilligan on pedal steel and keys, Crumbly on bass, Brandon Combs on drums, Andy Catá on keys and Chancey Pierce on guitar — took their seats onstage at 9:40 p.m. Farro, for his part, nestled in between a set of congas and a drum machine as they began their front-to-back playthrough of Operator with the peppy titular song.
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Photo: Kristen DrumIt was immediately clear that the night was about hanging out with great musicians having a great time playing together. Crumbly in particular flexed his musical muscles, abandoning the meditative vibes of his solo set to unleash bouncy, propulsive bass parts that laid down an undeniable ’70s groove. By “Second Chance,” the second song in the sequence, Farro was fighting himself to stay seated as his bandmates served up tasty fills and wide smiles to the sold-out crowd.
“Kind of a new adventure for me,” Farro said between songs. “I love this city, and I’m just thankful that y’all showed up to see the show.”
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Photo: Kristen DrumThe next trio of tunes especially stood out, beginning with “1.” The song as recorded has plenty of danceable halfnoise DNA, but on Saturday, it was elevated by Gilligan’s falsetto backing vocals and the arrival of saxophonist David Williford to the stage. Then came “Simple Actions,” one of a few yacht-rock-tinged numbers from Operator. Farro took great pride in handing the spotlight over to Pierce for an electric guitar outro solo before the guitarist switched to a 12-string for the next song.
“My My,” Operator’s lead single and arguably its strongest track, would sound at home in between songs by Marshall Tucker Band and Rod Stewart on a ’70s soft-rock station. The song sounded much like it did on the record, proving that you don’t need giant string arrangements to make a towering, memorable number in that genre.
Farro was so enamored with his bandmates’ performances during “Gold Days” that he first swiveled on his stool to face them head-on, then finally stood up to dance by song’s end. After “All I Really Want Now” — which once again waded deep into yacht-rock waters thanks to Catá’s swirling key textures — Farro and Gilligan sat cross-legged on the floor to take in the drum intro Combs played solo. Following album closer “I Need You,” the band bowed and took their exit, but the house lights stayed down.
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Photo: Kristen DrumAs the audience waited the customary two minutes or so for the band to return for an encore, an interesting question was posed. Farro had exhausted the supply of songs released by the artist “Zac Farro” throughout the night. What, then, would he play during the encore? When he returned to the stage, he gently let down Paramore fans who might have been hoping for a particular halfnoise song.
“I’m just going to warn you: This is a Zac Farro show,” he said. “We only have the one album. So, we’re going to run a couple back. No ‘Scooby’s in the Back’ today, sorry.”
The audience didn’t seem to mind repeat performances of “Gold Days” and “Operator.” Farro and company had already accomplished their mission of introducing the new album to the world, and all the encore had to do was bring us along for one final two-song dance party to remember. If the buzz among the crowd leaving The Blue Room was any indication, the operation was a success.
The Spin: Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Josh Gilligan and Joshua Crumbly supported at the release party for the Paramore drummer's solo album 'Operator'
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Zac Farro at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Josh Gilligan at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Josh Gilligan at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Josh Gilligan at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Josh Gilligan at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Josh Gilligan at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Josh Gilligan at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Joshua Crumbly at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Joshua Crumbly at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Joshua Crumbly at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
Joshua Crumbly at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
At The Blue Room at Third Man Records, 7/19/2025
