Nashville for Free

I don’t really know what happened to Rock’n'Roll Trivia. It used to be a weekly occurrence, then not exactly weekly, and now it only seems to come out for special occasions. I understand; keeping a trivia game going is a TON of work, but it gave music geeks a place to show off their incredible knowledge of musical minutia. So if you’ve had a hole in your heart shaped like a trivia score sheet then you’re in luck, because Rock’n'Roll Trivia is coming back for a whole month!

It’s been moved to Tuesdays and will now be held at the back bar, but it’s still the same nerd-fest you remember. Some questions are insanely difficult, but nothing worth winning is easy. And yes, you do win stuff at Rock’n'Roll Trivia. First place gets $50 bar tab, second place gets $25, and third place gets $10. There are usually other prizes as well, including something for best wrong answer.

As always, trivia itself is free, parking is free, and there will be drink specials. So gather up your music nerd friends (and a few people who listen to Top 40 because they WILL help you at one point), follow Rock’n'Roll Trivia on Twitter, and head on over to the Mercy Lounge at 6:30 every Tuesday this month.

-Emily

Indie fans, get pumped. Nettwerk recording artist Jenny Own Youngs is playing a free show tonight right outside of Belmont University’s Beaman building (across the street from Circle K on Belmont Blvd).

It isn’t every day that decent national artists play free shows at Belmont so I personally think that this event could be pretty cool. As for Jenny Owen Youngs’ music, I haven’t personally listened to it, but I do know that I have a ton of friends who are really excited to see her tonight. Last.fm compares her to Ingrid Michaelson, Rachael Cantu, and Jenny Lewis. Not a bad group to be compared to if you ask me.

This event will take place at 9pm tonight outside of the Beaman at Belmont.

-Emily

Rock fans, rejoice!

There have been a lot of “new Springsteen” bands popping up over the last few years. The Hold Steady, Titus Andronicus, The National, and Marah.

Of all those bands Marah is probably the least famous, but that says nothing about the quality of their music and live shows. If you like Springsteen inspired rock then you’ll like them. I don’t know anything about them playing live, but I can’t imagine them sucking or being boring with music like theirs.

Marah is here to make your Monday a little less awful. Let them. They’ll be at Grimey’s tonight, Monday June 28th at 6pm. Oh yeah, there will probably be free beer, because Grimey’s is always about the free beer.

-Emily

Rock fans, rejoice!

There have been a lot of “new Springsteen” bands popping up over the last few years. The Hold Steady, Titus Andronicus, The National, and Marah.

Of all those bands Marah is probably the least famous, but that says nothing about the quality of their music and live shows. If you like Springsteen inspired rock then you’ll like them. I don’t know anything about them playing live, but I can’t imagine them sucking or being boring with music like theirs.

Marah is here to make your Monday a little less awful. Let them. They’ll be at Grimey’s tonight, Monday June 28th at 6pm. Oh yeah, there will probably be free beer, because Grimey’s is always about the free beer.

-Emily

If you’re looking for a great free rock show tonight then look no further. Holly House is hosting this week’s Rock the Block at Exit/In, and they have a really fun lineup.

Holly House is a musical collective of a few bands in the Nashville area. They play shows together, jam on each others’ albums, basically they’re a group of great musicians who get together with their friends and make great music. Real community rock.

Tonight at Exit/In you’ll get to see Caitlin Rose, And the Relatives, Shoot the Mountain, and Hannah Barbarians (best band name ever). Basically it’s the entirety of Holly House’s main bands minus Tristen.

Even if you haven’t heard of Holly House, I’m sure you’ve heard of at least one of those bands, probably Caitlin Rose, who won 8 off 8th’s Road to Bonnaroo one night and got to play a show at ‘Roo. That means she has a lot of fans who like to go to free shows. Maybe you should become one of them.

Like I said, the event is tonight at Exit/In. It should get started at 8pm.

I don’t know what the circumstances would have to be for a person to honestly say that he or she has never heard of the Rolling Stones. I mean, unless you grew up in a developing nation you’re probably familiar with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Hell, if you’ve seen Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean you at least have SOME idea of Keith Richards.

But I digress. The point I’m trying to make is that The Rolling Stones are an incredibly famous and influential band. Many regard their 1972 release Exile on Main Street to be one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded. The Stones may disagree, but there’s no denying the influence of this album.

Stones in Exile is a new documentary about the creation and impact of that album. If I know anything about the Rolling Stones there will be a lot about drug use and a lot of good music.

This is a must-see for any hard core Stones fans. And, tonight, Monday June 21st you’ll be able to see it at the Belcourt. For free. The doors open at 9:30 and it’s first-come, first-serve, so if you REALLY have to go then I suggest getting there a little early. The film will start at 10pm.

Here’s the trailer:

If you read this blog with any frequency you’ve probably come to the conclusion that we are in love with Grimey’s. Independent record stores are fading away, but Grimey’s is still going strong, probably with a little help from events like the one tonight.

Free Energy. I first heard them this past fall and I really dug it (how could I not love a band that has “free” in their name?), but I sort of folded them away and didn’t think about them too much, but since SXSW they’ve freaking blown way up!

The best way to describe them is probably arena glam rock. The Grimey’s website compares them to T. Rex and Thin Lizzy, so if that strikes your fancy then you should come on down. The in-store is tonight at 6pm, and it’s the second in a series of four in-stores Grimey’s is holding this week.

This set will be acoustic, so if you also want to see them rock the hell out you should check out their show at Exit/In later tonight.

Also, if you check out their MySpace you’ll see some links to get some of their tunes for free. I love these guys!

-Emily

If you read this blog with any frequency you’ve probably come to the conclusion that we are in love with Grimey’s. Independent record stores are fading away, but Grimey’s is still going strong, probably with a little help from events like the one tonight.

Free Energy. I first heard them this past fall and I really dug it (how could I not love a band that has “free” in their name?), but I sort of folded them away and didn’t think about them too much, but since SXSW they’ve freaking blown way up!

The best way to describe them is probably arena glam rock. The Grimey’s website compares them to T. Rex and Thin Lizzy, so if that strikes your fancy then you should come on down. The in-store is tonight at 6pm, and it’s the second in a series of four in-stores Grimey’s is holding this week.

This set will be acoustic, so if you also want to see them rock the hell out you should check out their show at Exit/In later tonight.

Also, if you check out their MySpace you’ll see some links to get some of their tunes for free. I love these guys!

-Emily

First of all, I need to make a disclaimer. The photos in this blog are not from Monday night’s show, they are from some other Mercy Lounge show (although the photographed performer is the same). When I went to take the card out of my camera to edit them, it was discovered that there was no card. *gasp* I have a sneaking suspicion my darling husband has it somewhere and just has not told me. Anyway. On to 8 off 8th….

Tyler (above mentioned darling husband) and I got there way a little early because I am anal and I have to be able to sit down in a place where I  want to sit and not just wherever is left. (don’t ask, ok? just go with it.)

We got there while Rock ‘n Roll trivia was still going on. Have any of you guys ever participated in that? I never have, but Tyler and I are going to try and make it to one soon. It seems like a lot of fun and the winners get free booze. I repeat. Free. Booze. We should get a whole N4F team together and come up with an awesome name. Because there are prizes for the best team name, too. Sound like a good idea? Great.

The main attractions for me personally were Jeremy Lister and Gabe Dixon. I’ve been long time fans of both and try to catch them whenever I can. The other performances were entertaining as well.  There was everything from funky rock to peaceful, earthy tunes. Hard to believe we get this all for free every week! If you don’t take advantage of this already, you should. Yeah, you stay out kinda late, but it’s worth sacrificing your old woman/man bedtime. And I am definitely an old woman bedtime kind of person.

This week’s theme was Paul Simon and the acts that performed Paul Simon songs really brought it home. I think hearing other performer’s interpretations of songs is really cool. To hear how other people perceive a song vs. your perception is interesting to me. (I’m not the only one, right?)

The best part of going to these shows is not only being able to hear your favorite local artists, but discovering new favorites as well. There is a lot of talent in Nashville, people. I would encourage you to step outside of your pop CD’s and experience live Nashville music. Lucky for you, there is FREE live Nashville music all the time. Which is why you should check our blog often for events every week!

And don’t forget to come to 8 off 8th Monday, April 12th! Your very own Nashville For Free blog is hosting and it will be beyond fantastic! Come out and say hi!

I had to add this picture of Richie Lister because it is just so cool. Enjoy.

If you win both giveaways you can see them twice.

It may come as no surprise to you that the writers of Nashville for Free might be described as “hipster leaning.” I don’t think that any of us have ever worn leggings instead of pants, but I think we all own several pairs of Ray-Bans (or knockoffs). Also, I lived in Brooklyn for four months and worked at the Beggars Group, so that’s gotta count for something.

I would say the most hipster thing about us is the music we listen to. We loved Garden State for the soundtrack, two of us can claim The National as our hometown heroes, and we love going to indie shows.

If you have similar tastes to us (or if you don’t but just LOVE music) then I have some good giveaways you can enter.

Big Ears Fest

The first one I’m going to mention is over at the Nashville Cream. It’s one of those caption contests that they have, but this time the prize is EPIC. It’s “Inner Ear Weekend Passes,” worth $250 each for Big Ears Fest, which is being held in Knoxville this weekend. Just so you know, the contest ends tomorrow (Thursday) at 3 p.m. so GET ON IT! Performers include Andrew W.K., The Dirty Projectors, jj (apparently a huge yawn at SXSW),Joanna Newsom, Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent, Vampire Weekend, The xx, and the National.

Vampire Weekend at the Ryman

You might remember that we gave away a Vampire Weekend 7″ awhile back. Well, we’re not in charge of this one, but AEG Live is taking care of youz guyz. You can enter to win tickets to their sold out show at the Ryman on April 5th on Facebook or Twitter. Good luck to you, and I’ll see the lucky winner at the show!

Grimey’s

Grimey’s is always doing giveaways/drawing for free tickets. You can enter at Grimey’s, and you can win tickets to these shows:

• Japandroids – Win a FREE pair of tickets to see Japandroids at The End on March 26 and a prize pack of Japandroids vinyl rarities.
• Tegan & Sara – Win a FREE pair of tickets to see Tegan & Sara at The Ryman on March 31st.
• Robert Earl Keen – Win a FREE pair of tickets to see Robert Earl Keen at The Ryman on April 3rd. Also appearing on the show will be the Randy Rogers Band & Johnny Cooper.
• Vampire Weekend – Win a FREE pair of tickets to see VW at The Ryman on April 5th.
• Allen Toussaint – Win a FREE pair of tickets to see the New Orleans R&B legend at the Belcourt Theatre on April 12th.
• My Morning Jacket + The Preservation Hall Jazz Band – Free pair of tickets + signed poster for 2 lucky winners.

Wow. I already expect to go to at least 3 of those shows.

-Emily

PS, I’m in love with the drummer from Vampire Weekend. Look at him laying on that bench with a pained look on his face. Adorable. I’m totally serious.