Nashville for Free

Is it just me or have we been experiencing a surge of In-Store’s lately? Today’s special event will mark four in one week. And four stellar ones at that (to recap: Apache Relay, Warpaint, Amos Lee and, of course, the War on Drugs). I’m not complaining–mind you–as long as we don’t start taking them for granted!

That being said, today’s In-Store will feature the up-and-coming the War on Drugs, who are currently running through North America with Destroyer (not to be confused with Destroyer Destroyer, or, Destroy  Destroy Destroy) and are graciously playing for a select handful before their show at Mercy Lounge this evening. For those unacquainted with the Philadelphia-based act, think the dreamy atmosphere of My Bloody Valentine with the heartfelt melodies of Bob Dylan. They’ve been around the block once or twice, and have been touring relentlessly since dropping their latest impressive offering, Future Weather.

Check them out over on their .net and stop by Grimey’s before 4pm for some good tunes and free beer. What time is it? Beer:30, duh. Happy weekend!

- Matt

I don’t really know what to say about Yelawolf. Hip-Hop isn’t really my thing, but from what I can tell Yelawolf has had a pretty cool career so far.

He’s a Southern rapper from Alabama who’s half white and half Cherokee (the name Yelawolf is a sort of tribute to his heritage). He tried to be a professional skateboarder but had to give it up due to injuries, so he turned to hip-hop. He’s only been actively rapping since 2007 but he’s already had some significant success; he was just recently signed to Eminem’s label, Shady Records.

But why in the world am I talking about Yelawolf? Well, if you ever look at concert calendars you’ve probably noticed that he’s playing the Mercy Lounge with Wick-It and Chancellor Warhol next Tuesday, April 12th, and thanks to our fantastic friends at AEG Live we have a pair of tickets to give away!

The contest starts today (obviously) and I’ll announce a winner this Friday. All you have to do to enter is comment on this blog post and say something witty (or not witty, if that suits you better). Please please please, if you don’t comment using your Twitter or Facebook accounts then please leave me your real name, first and last. I need to know who to put on the list and don’t really want to chase you down. As always, the winner will be chosen by random drawing.

As always, there is a bonus step. For five bonus points post a picture of yourself with a skateboard (as an homage to Yelawolf’s first career choice) on our Facebook page. Heck, I’ll give you six bonus points if you’re riding it! Since a lot of you might not be the skateboarding types I’ll give you one bonus point for holding up a sign or piece of paper that says “I love Yelawolf and N4F!” You might get more than that if you somehow manage to make me bust out laughing.

Again, I’ll announce the winner this Friday, so you better get yourselves entered ASAP!

-Emily

Please don’t take the fact that I haven’t written a lot about the Mercy Lounge’s week of free shows as anything other than laziness on my part. Okay, maybe not laziness so much as an attempt to write about other free events that might not have been able to get as much publicity, but with tonight’s lineup at N4F’s favorite club for free shows I just couldn’t help but speak up.

Thad Cockrell & Courtney Jaye, Matthew Ryan, Brian Ritchey, Kopecky Family Band; it’s like someone put my iPod on shuffle. Well, at least the Americana and Rock genres on shuffle. I’m not as familiar with Tyler James and Keegan Dewitt, but I’ve heard great things about them.

As great as this whole lineup is, two names really stand out to me. Matthew Ryan and Brian Ritchey. A few years ago Matthew and Brian, along with David Mead and perhaps another singer/songwriter or two, would play these monthly writers rounds at the Rutledge and they were always fantastic. When I started going I was really only familiar with Matthew Ryan thanks to a family friend in Cincinnati who has fantastic taste, but my god, everyone who played in those writers rounds was incredible, and since I haven’t seen either Ryan or Ritchey since the Rutledge I’m excited to see them both at the Mercy Lounge tonight. They’re both great songwriters who might be thrown into the vast genre of Ameriana, but make no mistake, these guys know how to rock.

Hell, even if you ignore the rest of the lineup (which is pretty stellar) and just come to see a few songs each by Ryan and Ritchey I feel pretty confident that at the end of the night all you’ll be able to do is look at the person next to you, nod, and say “wow. yes.”

-Emily

Our good friends at AEG Live have given us at N4F a Christmas presents to pass on to one of our awesome followers: tickets to see Lissie at the Mercy Lounge on February 3rd!

She may still be a relative newcomer to the world of music, but both her 2009 EP and 2010 full-length album (much of which were both recorded in Nashville with Band of Horses’  Bill Reynolds) that Paste Magazine called “unbridled, unselfconscious, swirling, head-pounding pop.” She’s toured with Ray LaMontagne, A.A. Bondy, City & Colour, and The Low Anthem and played 10 shows in 4 days at SXSW where she got positive reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Perez Hilton.

Here’s how to enter the tickets, just comment on this blog post, the Facebook page, or tweet at me telling me why you want to see Lissie. If you’re entering on Twitter please be sure to use the hatchtag #LissieN4F!

Good luck! I’ll announce a winner on Thursday, December 23rd sometime in the evening.

-Emily

In case you’ve missed the news: Nashville likes to dance. Something about feeling the music, or moving to a beat, or beautiful people yadda yadda… If you don’t believe me, just take a glance at Next Big Nashville’s headliners. Or the madness when Bassnectar gathered 2300+ people to a makeshift festival in a dilapidated parking lot. Kesha was smart enough to snag up Justin Kase right at the start of her career, launching Nashville into the big time. Back on earth, Coach’s Y2K series has come to embody Saturday night, and two years later it’s still growing. We’ve got the moves, we’ve got the music, and we love to show them off.

So this Friday, bring out you’re A-game as one of our favorite parties celebrates a momentous anniversary. Brought on by trip-hop extraordinaire Kidsmeal and mash up scratch-master Wick-It, Mashville has wrecked the Mercy Lounge for three years now and tomorrow they’re doing it for FREE. That’s right, some of the hottest talents in town playing beats until your ears bleed and they don’t ask a thing.

That also gives you a few bucks to, say… splurge on some parking (buy two spots, why not? You’re a VIP), or grab an extra two PBR tall boys (worth 4 hipster points a pop), or swagger up with the latest knockoffs. Face it, everybody is gonna be there, you might as well look cool.

Mashville enthusiasts will recognize Orig, Mike Vulcan and Andrew Bateman pumping sweet jams into your forgiving ears. I hear that Bateman character has some legit visuals for you too, yummy. Don’t miss this earth-shattering party on Friday, Mashville kicks off at 9pm at the Mercy Lounge (18+).

I don’t usually spend much time writing about specific 8 off 8ths (unless N4F is hosting), so I figured it was a bit over due.

This week’s show is hosted by The Deli in Nashville, an online magazine that focuses on the local music scene, and for once I’m actually familiar with several of the bands playing. Well, probably because a lot of them have attended Belmont, but that’s not the point. Here’s the lineup:

• Holmes & Presley
• Erin Manning
• Alvin Love
• Paper Machete
• Evan P. Donohue
• Turtle Bangs
• Modoc
• Overzealous

There you have it, free rock for a Monday night. That makes them a little more bearable, right? And if you’re feeling especially sharp in the rock trivia department, show up at 6:30 with some friends and partake in Rock’n'Roll Trivia: The Of Montreal and Chromeo Edition. 8 off 8th starts right afterwards, around 9 or so.

As always, the show is 21 and up, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

-Emily

Man, Kyle Andrews is going to have one hell of a weekend. First of all he’s having this free show at the Mercy Lounge to celebrate the release of his new EP, KANGAROO TONIGHT, Friday September 3rd. It’s going to be a party, with Heypenny, Mother/Father, and Gold Motel playing as well. That’s pretty much the definition of indie-pop heaven, right? That show starts at 9pm and is 21+.

If you’re not yet 21 or just can’t make it to the Mercy Lounge on Friday then don’t fret; Kyle is playing a free all ages in-store at Grimey’s on Saturday at 5pm. Oh yeah, and there will be free beer (is there ever not free beer at a Grimey’s in-store?)

So there you have it. You have no excuse to not check out Kyle Andrews at some point this weekend. It’s like this weekend of his was designed for cheapskates like ourselves.

Also, Kyle has hit the big time and has a song in a Holiday Inn commercial. I hear that this song is called “You Always Make Me Smile” and can be found on his new EP, so you might want to consider buying it if you dig this song:

-Emily

This is the week every indie music fan has been waiting for. This is the week the new Arcade Fire album drops. They’re one of the biggest names in less-than-mainstream rock, and Nashville is surprisingly doing quite a few things to celebrate their new album release.

Merge must be sending out prize packages like it’s Christmas, because you’ll have the opportunity to win the exact same things at tonight’s Rock’n'Roll Trivia at the Mercy Lounge at 6:30 AND at the Grimey’s listening party tomorrow at noon. The package includes:

• a super-rare Arcade Fire “Month of May” 12″ vinyl
• a Merge tote
• a Merge discography book (photo of every Merge release for first 20 years)
• a Arcade Fire Suburbs CD
• an Arcade Fire Mirror Noir DVD

If you want to win those pretty awesome things at Rock’n'Roll Trivia you better be ready to have a random trivia question thrown your way, but at Grimey’s you just have to put your name in a hat and stick around until they call a name, which could be tricky if you’re using your lunch hour to be there. You’ll have less competition at trivia.

And if you want to win tickets to their show next week at the Ryman…we can’t help you there. Show’s sold out and we don’t have any to spare. Sorry dudes.

-Emily

Mmmm, Pied Piper ice cream. Though I’ve only been there a few times I’m well aware of how amazing it is. When I think of good designer ice cream, like Graeter’s in Cincinnati, it’s first on my list.

Tonight, though, the Pied Piper is stepping away from just serving up ice cream. They’re hosting the night at the Mercy Lounge and are bringing some of their favorite bands along. Performers include Brian Van Meter, The Avery Set, I Became the Sky, and Canago & The Japanese School.

This event is tonight, July 22nd at the Mercy Lounge. It starts at 9pm and is 21+. If Pied Piper’s taste in music is half as good as their ice cream then this show should be a blast.

Photo by Studio Rigby

This isn’t the first Miller Made Music Showcase in recent memory. In fact, last December Miller brought the rock by putting on an awesome free show with The Protomen,Parachute Musical, Tallest Trees, and Majestico.

Well, it’s time for another great, free 21+ show. This Thursday, May 27th at the Mercy Lounge Keegan Dewitt, Kink Ador, The Vespers, and Paper Route will be playing. It looks like a good mix of bands I’ve heard of and a few I haven’t, but that might just be because I’m not very up-to-date on local bands.

It’s going to be an especially big night for Kink Ador, who will also be celebrating the release of their new album, which features the song “Animal,” a song you might have heard for free if you have an Android. The phone’s music player comes with that song pre-loaded. The video is cool and although the song isn’t really my thing I can understand the appeal (I cannot, however, understand a word the singer is saying). It’s kind of bluesy indie rock and not really too unlike the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Again, the event is on Thursday, May 27th at the Mercy Lounge at 9pm and is 21+. You can RSVP to the event on Facebook.