Live Music in Nashville this Summer

I love Brentwood!! I really do, but I don't understand why I don't take advantage of our beautiful neighbor, Nashville. My husband and I just celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary and went to The Melting Pot on Second Avenue. The food and atmosphere were great. The downtown area was packed and lots of fun was being had by tourists and locals alike. Every time I visit downtown, I wonder why I don't take the time to visit more often.
Wednesday night, we had a friend come in town from Los Angeles. What did he want to do? Go see live music of course! That's what we all used to do together growing up in Brentwood. We would go all over Nashville hearing music of all genres. The three of us went to see local Franklin boy gone good, Will Hoge. He's one of our family favorites and his 2003 CD, Blackbird on a Lonely Wire, gets a lot of play on our road trips. His brother Josh is also making his way on to local radio Lightning 100.1. It was a fantastic show but the only problem with the evening was our underage teens were feeling left out of the action. http://www.willhoge.com/
Will Hoge and friends will be playing every Wednesday night in June at Twelfth and Porter. It's easy to get to this venue as it is right off the Broadway exit. I encourage you to go check it out and support our local boy as he makes a brave comeback from a terrible vehicular accident.
Another great band my husband and I love is The Long Players. In fact, he will be mad that I have blogged about them because their shows are so well-attended there really isn't room for any more of you. We Long Players fans are very loyal and adoring. This is an ever-changing group of A-list musicians and singers who pick an LP album and play every song on the album for the first set. The second set is usually a compilation of the bands' biggest hits not included on that album. Recently, they have performed Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run, Jimi Hendrix' Are You Experienced, Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You, and next will perform Prince's Purple Rain later this summer. My favorite performance was the first time I saw them perform Van Morrison's Moondance and I've been hooked ever since. The success of this band really hinges on the ability of Bill Loyd and his commitment to bring the best artists together for each album. As much as I'm not willing to give up my space on the front row, I encourage you to check them out. http://www.thelongplayers.com/

Harvest Hands CDC

Today, I want to share with you one way I get outside the bubble. I like to get out for fun (live music), for adventure (hikes) but mostly in service to others. In South Nashville, near the State Fairgrounds and Wedgewood Houston community, there is a growing community development group called Harvest Hands. My daughter(13) and I volunteer there every Monday afternoon for an after school tutoring program. No two weeks are the same. The kids that attend are so beautiful and open. Devotion can sometimes be an adventure when some tricky questions get asked. Some of these kids come from broken homes, some deal with a home life that which we in Brentwood have never dreamed. Yet, there are families that are whole and happy but struggling financially in this new country of theirs. Either way, I learn something new every time I am there. Each face lights up when my daughter is chasing them on the playground. Each face lights up with pride when praised for homework well done. Being with them and being part of their lives has changed the way I see the world around me. My political views are affected and my awareness of racisim and bigotry has quadrupled. I desire to be a better person and I believe as I reach out to them that they can help me with that goal. Check out their website and see if this is a partnership you may be interested in investing. It's a partnership of love, acceptance, patience, and joy.
http://www.harvesthandscdc.com/