Nashville for Free

Congratulations to Nick Floyd, your Ted Nugent-y entry was hilarious and disgusting, and the bonus points undoubtedly helped you win our first contest of the year: a pair of tickets to guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke’s March 16th show at TPAC. Thanks again to AEG Live/The Messina Group for making this contest possible.

As usual (which is why I love you guys), a lot of you sent in some great pictures, and I’d be a fool to not share them with the world, so here they are. As you might remember, the theme was to send in a picture of yourself playing the real guitar, air guitar, or photoshop your head onto the body of a famous guitarist.  There’s even a bonus pic from our contributor Matt Kraatz in there!

So, what’s your favorite pick? Aside from our winner I think I’m partial to the jumps accomplished by Mr. Dan Berrios. How is that humanly possible??

Monday

Rock’n’Roll Trivia at the Mercy Lounge – 6:30pm
What, you think you know more rock minutia than I do? Well, you’re probably right, but if you really want a challenge then you should hit up this event. It consists of three rounds of questions, two rounds of “name that tune,” and the rock and roll-est of final wagers where you can bet (and possibly lose) it all. The prizes are $50, $25 or $10 to be spent at Mercy Lounge. Plus, everyone gets free parking and beer specials all night. It’s about teams, so grab some friends, hopefully ones that are as nerdy as you.

8 off 8th at the Mercy Lounge – 9pm
This week’s 8 off 8th is the first in the Road to Bonnaroo series. Some of Nashville’s best act will play for the masses and a series of judges, and the winner will continue on in the goal of playing at Bonnaroo this year. This week it’s a battle between Evan P. Donohue, Courtney Jaye, Chancellor Warhol, Majestico, Heartbeater, Kink Ador, The Kicks, and Tyler Byant. Yeah, that’s a really hard decision.

Film Screening: Hiding at Rocketown - 5pm and 6:30pm
While the world focuses on North Korea’s security issue, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans continue to be enslaved in prison camps today. Up to 300,000 have also escaped to China – seeking food, medicine, work, or freedom from political and religious oppression. Among the 300,000, 70 to 90 percent of North Korean women are trafficked and sold into the sex trade, and more and more refugees are fleeing to Southeast Asia to es…cape imprisonment upon repatriation by China. Hiding is a film about a group of North Korean refugees hiding in China today, and their attempt to escape.

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If there’s one thing the Country Music Hall of Fame is good at it’s hosting really cool family-friendly events.

An event happening today at 1pm is a perfect example of that. Today the Nashville Opera On Tour will present the American premiere of Dean Burry’s The Brothers Grimm. Now, while this performance will focus on the Brothers Grimm while they write their classic fairy tales, don’t worry, it won’t be anything like that odd, odd movie with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. Seriously, why did that movie exist?

But I digress. We are all familiar with the Grimm fairy tales, from classics such as “Rapunzel,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” chances are their stories were a pretty significant part of your childhood. Unlike a lot of that crap on Nick or Disney these stories are something everyone in the family can enjoy.

As for the details, the performance will be in English, and there will be a full set with a cast that features five professional opera singers and a pianist (from Nashville Opera’s Mary Ragland Young Artist Program), all  in full costume. Oh yeah, and there will be audience participation, so be ready for that! Again, things get started at the Country Music Hall of fame at 1pm today.

It sounds like a pretty great way to spend a beautiful Sunday, and thanks to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Opera for putting on this great event.

-Emily

There are a lot of things I’d do for a free burrito. I’d wait in line for an extended period of time, I’d scrounge for coupons, I’d flirt with the guy in line in front of me, the list is basically endless. You’ll then understand why I’m so excited that NBC is giving the world a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for a Chipotle burrito, bowl, salad, or order of tacos.

And all you have to do is go to their Facebook page and watch a 90 second promo for their new TV show, America’s Next Great Restaurant. That’s it. You “like” their page, watch the video, and they give you a coupon for buy-one-get-one. The only catch is you have to use it within 7 days of getting the coupon, but I’m pretty sure you can find time out of your busy schedule to make it to Chipotle. A difficult task, I’m sure, but quite possible. Oh, and make sure you watch the video before March 6th, because that’s when this whole deal ends.

May you eat heartily, my friends.

-Emily

PS.

According to Mashable, anyone to texts ANGR at any Chipotle restaurant (I imagine that means texting to the store’s phone number unless technology has gotten amazing) you’ll be entered to win a catered burrito party, which I would obviously use on you, my amazing followers. Maybe. If my roommates let me. Yes.

Yesterday was a good great night for free happenings around Nashville. What else do you expect out of a Tuesday? First, there was the open tasting of the premier Cuestión brand tequila and after that was three hours of non-stop, local music in two different venues. A productive evening: I totally unlocked the Crunked badge on foursquare (holla), and I was able to escape with enough sobriety to get some work done (holla holla).

So, my evening started with a trip to Uptown’s Smoke Shop with a couple friends to try this new tequila. We arrived early and to a manageable crowd, in arguably the smokiest establishment around Nashville (I’m looking at you, Melrose). Cuestión complemented their samples with free chips and some legit guacamole. They kept it hyper local last night: salsa and guac were from Trader Joe’s next door to the right, and the tequila was for sale at the spirits shop next door to the left.

Jumping right into a round of tasting, we started with the Blanco (mmm), followed by the Reposada (mmmm), the Anejo (mmmmm), and finally, a Cuestión margarita (OH YEAH). After all, it was National Margarita Day yesterday, was it not? And let me tell you, this tequila is GREAT, no chaser required. It’s aged in Jack Daniel’s barrels and is held to very high standards of quality. All at a pretty reasonable price: a 750ml Anejo (definitely the best variety) will run you about $55. Glad I got some for free.

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Grimey’s has a great habit of bringing awesome in-store performances to their shop, and tomorrow at noontime the tradition will continue with an exclusive Grace Potter and the Nocturnals set.

You may have heard of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. A lot of people have. They’re also playing (not for free) at the Cannery tomorrow night and that show is SOLD OUT. That means if you didn’t snag tickets to that the only chance you’ll have at seeing this awesome band that’s been described as Tina Turner fronting the Rolling Stones is by taking your lunch break at Grimey’s tomorrow.

Yep, the show is at noon. Yes, in a way that kind of sucks, but it means you won’t have to get there 3 hours early for a spot. Less competition is worth it, trust me. You know you wanted to take a long lunch tomorrow anyway! I mean, come on, it’s Grace Potter. The woman’s got soul, and you have the chance to see her in the most intimate venue in Nashville, for free. Do I have to start chanting “do it, do it” because I swear I will.

No I won’t.

-Emily

You know what I like? Movies. I watch all kinds, good movies, old movies, Lifetime movies, I just like watching movies. That’s why I like International Lens. They show movies every week, and for free. That’s right, every week International Lens at Vanderbilt shows movies that you probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

Take Moloch Tropical, the movie they’re screening tonight at the Sarratt Cinema at 7pm. It’s about a fictional Haitian president (based on Henri-Christophe, the first King of independent Haiti) and is about on the last days of his reign before a violent revolution erupts around him.

Hey, that actually sounds pretty interesting. It promises a Haitian take on Alexander Sokurov’s Hitler pic Moloch, which I haven’t seen, but I’ve heard that it one several awards in Russia. As for Moloch Tropical, director Raoul Peck offers a critique of absolute power in an apparently beautifully shot film.

Now, before you go running to RottenTomatoes you check the rating you should know that this was not a film that has been released in theater, but if you’ve ever been to a film festival you’ll know that this doesn’t mean it’s not a good movie, it just means most critics aren’t going to rate it. Hell, Tribeca Film Festival thought it worthy to give a screening to, and so did International Lens. And that means masterpiece or not, it’s probably worth seeing, especially for free.

-Emily

Get ready, I’m about to pour my heart out. I love, LOVE Bar No. 308; the new edition to East Nashville that sits comfortably next to Dino’s on Gallatin road.  After a couple failed attempts to check out the mysterious new bar in town, last Thursday I was so excited to see they were open, I unloaded all of my excitement on the door man who certainly thought I was crazy for being so excited about going to just a bar. My friends, this not JUST a bar and it certainly not your typical Nashville bar. The best way for me to explain No. 308, is to imagine every idea you’ve ever constructed about Brooklyn, and this would be it. It feels like Brooklyn and owner, Alexis, was more than willing to sit down and talk about how No. 308 came to be and got it’s name. It involves a good love story and I can’t spoil it, so you’re going to have to hear it from them for yourself!

Like I said, they are new in town, so they aren’t open all day yet. However, get there at 5pm on any day of the week and you can be that guy that hangs out until 3 am, it’s okay, at least you’ll be in good company. The staff was so attentive, which is a nice change of pace for the East side, right? I think so.  Today, Tuesday February 22, is National Margarita Day, so for today only get your margaritas for $6. During the week, Monday through Thursday from 5:00pm-7:00pm, their selections of mixed drinks are only five bucks! And guess what, they make all of their sodas in-house too, and they’re delicious. I can’t say enough good things about this place, and because I’m in a hurry to get over there for $6 margs, I’ll leave with this: Bar No. 308, you have Nashville For Free’s official seal of approval and we welcome you to the neighborhood.

THE DEALS:

MON-THURS: 5pm-7pm $5 mixed drinks

After a pretty long stretch without it, Rock the Block is back tonight with a free show curated by How’s Your Music, a group that likes to book shows and support local bands, which is a totally cool thing to do.

Rock the Block is a totally free show that spans two venues: Exit/In and The End. That makes for a lot of free rock’n'roll music, y’all. That’s like a rock show squared. WHAT? Yes. Twice the rock for the price of none.

Of course, the most important question to consider when going to a free rock show is “who’s playing?” Exit/In will present to you the lovely sounds of Reid Magette, Samantha Harlow, Dylan Rowe, Dylan Jones & Your Friends, and the ever-fantastic Evan P. Donohue.

The End’s lineup doesn’t look too shabby either. It’ll feature performances by The Inscape, Conestyle, Nineteen Eighteen, Casa Castile, and Paper Machete.

The show gets started tonight at 8pm. Get there early, get there late, whatever, just get there and have a good time. Just be careful when you cross that there street during your night of rock (especially after that fancy tequila tasting).

-Emily

Boy have we got a treat for you today. So get this, Cuestión Tequila is a premium brand from Mexico making its stateside debut right here in Nashville–apparently we have good taste. And when I say premium, I’m talking like: this makes Patron look like lemonade that an eight-year-old just sold you for $0.75 (what a ripoff)/I’ll never be able to afford this in real life so I might as well get it while it’s free. The drink is fashioned exclusively in the Mexican region of Jalisco, a state known for its rich tequila heritage. Every glass bottle is hand-blown, and Cuestión is as classy as it gets.

Tonight is their first tasting open to the public and is a unique opportunity to experience the tequila early! It will be hosted by Uptown’s Smoke Shop on Hillsboro from 6 – 9pm, but I’d suggest getting there early for a guaranteed taste. They might even throw down some cigars, who knows? And seriously, people who have known the joys of free alcohol (can you say NBN parties?) definitely won’t miss this opportunity.

So, to recap: super exclusive/expensive tequila at the first open tasting in the US. If you’ve ever paid $10 for a shot of tequila before, this is your chance for redemption. See yah there!

- Matt