NSN with Lilyphone and Pictures & Sound 9/21/08

Our opener this week, Lilyphone, is a fresh group from Denmark with a folky sound. They have some business ties to Nashville, so maybe we'll be seeing them around some. They're just starting to get their name established here in the U.S. They came by the Lightning 100 office to play a private lunchtime set for us earlier in the week and were impressive, so I was already somewhat familiar with them and looking forward to the broadcast. Lead singer Marie Keis Uhre is lovely, has a beautiful voice and an infectious smile. She looks like she's always having a good time and it rubs off on the audience. They won some new fans with this show. The other members are Thomas Bang on bass, Thomas Stern Hansen on drums and Jakob Thomhav on guitar and all the guys add harmony vocals. The setlist was:

Rosie
Please Baby Please
Baby Makes It Burn
Twinkling Of An Eye
All Because Of You
One For The Road
Watching You*
Susie Why Do You Do Me Wrong
You
Natural Born Heartbreaker

Ex-Blue Merle frontman Luke Reynolds returned to Nashville Sunday Night to perform under the name of Pictures and Sound, which is basically just a name he's chosen to use as a solo artist. I don't think there's a set "band," at least not yet, and in fact for this show, none of the sidemen listed on the record were present. Instead, Luke utilized Nashvillians James Haggerty on bass and Marc Pisapia on drums - the rhythym section of Joe, Marc's Brother. Luke's old Blue Merle bandmate Beau Stapleton was spotted in the audience, but any hope for a semi-reunion on stage didn't come to pass. Beau didn't bring his mandolin, he was just hanging out enjoying the show. Pictures and Sound did perform a mandolin-less version of Blue Merle's big hit "Burning In The Sun," which was interesting, but not quite the same without Beau's stellar mandolin playing which we're accustomed to on that song. The setlist:

The Last Ocean
Burning In The Sun
Forever To Reach
Everything Leaves A Mark*
Big Screen
It's You*
100 Different Directions
Every War
Space Between The Lines
The Youth

Also spotted in the audience on this night was David Mead, who was our guest on the show just three weeks earlier.

NSN with Rick Brantley & Moon Taxi 9-14-08

It was a great finale to the Next Big Nashville festival which we broadcast this week. Atlanta's Rick Brantley kicked off the show at 8. He was voted by fans on Metromix.com as Atlanta's hottest rocker. You may have wondered why during his mellow, solo opening song, but then he brought the band on stage and all hell broke loose. It was a rockin' set full of songs from his new CD "Prize Fight Lover Soul Auctioneer." The set list:

Liberty
PFLSA
She's A Woman
You Shoot Me
Ride With Me
Born In A Bottle
Peace On Earth
Tookie
War For The People

Then it was time for the last act of this year's Next Big Nashville - and the honor fell to Nashville's own Moon Taxi. These improvisational rockers have been described as The Allman Brothers meets Rush, and I found that to be a fairly appropriate description. They pleased their fans and won new fans with this outstanding set:

The Breeze
Common Ground
Music City
Whiskey Sunsets
Fools Gold
Gimme A Light
Poncha Cooper
Here To Stay

And how about those new stage lights at 3rd & Lindsley? They were projecting changing green patterns on the black curtains that frame the stage - a nice new touch.

Seen in the audience this week: Local Lightning artist - Audrey Spillman, Local Lightning Rewind host and friend of Moon Taxi - Justin Hammel, and former Lightning 100 DJ and co-founder of Next Big Nashville - J. Moon Wilkins.

NSN with David Mead & Matthew Ryan 8-31-08

It was great to have both David Mead and Matthew Ryan back on our Nashville Sunday Night show. Although both have been spotted in the audience from time to time enjoying our shows, neither had actually been on stage on our show in two, to almost three years!

David Mead led off and revealed that he has a new album coming in October called "Almost & Always." He previewed a few new songs for us, backed by an all-star band that included Bill DeMain on guitar and Tommy Keenum on backing vocals. Both of those gentlemen have headlined our show on their own in the past. David's set list:

Rainy Weather Friend
Little Boats
Blackberry Winters
Mojave Phone Booth
20 Girls Ago
From My Windowsill
Sicily
Grammercy Park
Last Train Home
Nashville (solo)

David said someone had requested he do "Nashville" and I'm glad they did. It's one of my favorites, too.

Matthew Ryan came on at 9 and due to a mysterious "gardening accident," played his set sitting down - a rarity for him. Despite the injury, Matthew seemed in fine spirits, joking between songs and during "Irrelevant," threw in some lyrics from Elvis' "Suspicous Minds" and from U2's "All I Want Is You." The set list:

Dulce
For Blue Skies
Me & My Lover
Symphony
Irrelevant
Caged Bird
Everybody Always Leaves (with Kate York)
Jane
American Dirt
It Could've Been Worse

After we went off-air, Matthew took requests for a few more songs, and unable to stay seated any longer, he played them standing up. I tried to get him to reveal what the gardening accident was, but he kept it a mystery.