A little stage, about 8 booths, and a few hundred people made up today’s first Musicians Corner. Despite weather that wasn’t exactly bad, but certainly wasn’t good, quite a few people showed up. Unsure of how enjoyable going to a park on a rainy day would be, I ended up going about an hour or so after it started.
When I got there two things surprised me: the decent turnout and the weirdly small number of vendors. I’m not surprised that the event could draw a crowd, don’t get me wrong, but the weather sucked. Everyone who went out was a brave soul, and I salute your enthusiasm. The few vendors was utterly shocking to me, though. There was a booth giving away free vitamin water (yay!), the Pied Piper (great ice cream), Green Wagon, a booth with cool cards (I’ve forgotten the name), a merch booth, snow cones, and a place selling ice cream. Oh yeah, and a dude with hot dogs.
I really thought that a big part of this event was going to be the vendors. I was expecting different food establishments to be there with, you know, real food other than ice cream. Maybe some Mas Tacos, I don’t know, something warm and appealing. Not fair food. If I had been there for the whole 3 hours I’m sure I would’ve headed over to Hog Heaven to get some BBQ, which is great for Hog Heaven, but I was expecting a little more from the festival. I understand that it’s the first week and they’re still finding their place, and who knows, maybe some people canceled because of the rain. That’s a reasonable assumption. I enjoyed what was there, but I was a little underwhelmed.
As for the music, what I heard I found enjoyable. I came in during the end of Mikky Ekko‘s set, and I really liked him. He has a good voice and I thought his songs were pretty solid. Bravo, Mikky Ekko, I’m sold. I was a little surprised to see people on stage holding umbrellas over the performers. Very P. Diddy. I guess the roof tarp over the stage was really meant more for keeping out light than rain. Next Mindy Smith, who got rained out a little earlier came on to finish her set. She was nice, but she kept forgetting the words to one of her songs. I always feel awkward when musicians do that. I mean, I’ve forgotten words to my songs before, but she forgot words twice during one. Other than that she was good. Nice, chill music for a kind of wet, spring-like day.
Sam & Ruby followed Mindy Smith and played their little set. The music was good, but again it was very relaxed. The most exciting part of the set was when a huge clap of thunder interrupted one of their songs. Well, I can hardly say it interrupted a song; I don’t think they skipped a beat.
Halfway through Sam & Ruby’s set I was ready for some energy to be brought by Charles Walker and the Dynamites. They’re the reason I braved the weather. I have been wanting to see them for so long, but it seems like I’m always either out of town or broke when they play in Nashville. There are days when a white girl needs some soul music in her life, and today was the day for this white girl. You can then imagine how broken hearted I felt when a man came on the stage and called it. There was a pretty steady stream of rain at this point and I completely understood, but man, I’m starting to feel like I’m not meant to see the Dynamites.
I really think that Musicians Corner has a lot of promise. There are still a few kinks to work out, like adding vendors and maybe choosing lineups that are more a mix of uptempo and downtempo, maybe add more rock and soul with that folksy indie stuff (and this coming from a person who is a folksy indie songwriter).
If you want to see what’s coming up at Musicians Corner, check out their website.
-Emily
It hurts, and it’s sad, but there comes a time when we have to say goodbye to something great – at least until next spring. Yes, this is the last week for Musicians Corner in 2011. Oh, how we’ll miss killing 3 hours on Nashville’s most beautiful Saturdays in Centennial Park, listening to great music, eating food from food trucks, looking at adorable dogs, and meeting new people.
