Grimey’s Celebrates Record Store Day 2016

Grimey’s Celebrates Record Store Day 2016

By Hayden Howell

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

            NASHVILLE, Tenn. ~ Grimey’s New and Preloved Music, a Nashville record store that opened in 1999, celebrated the annual holiday known as Record Store Day on April 12 with live performances throughout the day by local Nashville acts, two food trucks, and more than 300 exclusive vinyl releases.   

   

           Twelve acts including solo artists, bands and DJs, mostly from the Nashville area, performed on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the back lot of Grimey’s. The performances showcased talent from the wide range of genres that Nashville has to offer, from fast-paced indie rock like the band Blank Range to the soulful, country tinged blues of solo artist Adia Victoria; from the classic rock sound of 4-piece rock band Drivin and Cryin to the experimental electronica of Hecta, an act which includes three members of the Nashville experimental/indie collective Lambchop.

            Several DJs also played throughout the day, including a set from new Nashville radio station WXNA, which will soon be broadcasting from the top floor of the Grimey’s Building. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry also performed a special DJ set.

While Record Store Day at Grimey’s has hosted major touring acts such The Avvet Brothers and Mute Math in the past, the store was not able to book any national acts this year.

“It’s a mix of bands asking us about playing and us reaching out to bands to perform,” said store Manager Anna Lundy. “Some years we’re able to reach out to bigger acts, but for the most part, we book independent, local bands.

            A major part of Record Store Day as an international holiday is the release of albums and singles, including exclusives, limited and regional releases, and Record Store Day early releases. A full list of more than 300 releases is available on the Record Store Day website, and nearly all of them were available at Grimey’s on Saturday. For more information visit http://www.grimeys.com/.

Two food trucks provided food and drink: Crankees Pizza, serving wood-fired pizza and Smoke ATL, providing Southern-style barbeque. Other activities included fundraising for the Southern Girls Rock and Roll Camp, voter registration services by an organization called Head Count, and a special DJ set featuring Nashville Mayor Megan Barry.

            Grimey’s has participated in Record Store Day every year since the holiday began in 2007 and before that hosted an annual “Spring Fling” that has since been replaced by the Record Store Day celebrations.

“It’s our biggest day of sales,” said Lundy. “And it has been a great way to promote awareness of our store and bring in new customers.”

             “It went a bit smoother than the last couple of years. We closed two hours early last night to prepare, which we hadn’t done in the past. Turnout was lightly better than expected,” said Grimey’s co-owner, Doyle Davis on the success of this year’s Record Store Day at Grimey’s.

Davis went on to explain that despite somewhat lower turnout in comparison to years that Grimey’s has hosted more famous acts, record sales were still fairly high. 

“Some years when we have bigger acts, people just come for the band they want to see then leave without buying anything,” said Davis. “This year, everyone was here because of records they wanted to buy or a local band they wanted to see.”

In addition to its aid to Grimey’s as a business, Record Store Day is an excellent opportunity for vinyl enthusiasts to “add that final rare piece to their collection,” as Lundy puts it.

“It also allows people from the community to come hang out, maybe bring their kids or dogs, and listen to local bands for free,” Lundy noted, illustrating the importance of      Record Store Day as a community event within the city of Nashville.

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Top Knot Vintage Comes to Nashville and Is Here To Stay

By Kristie Patterson

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Top Knot Vintage has come to East Nashville, specifically to 307 N. 16^th St. and they don’t plan to leave.

Top Knot Vintage has brought a refreshing new element of vintage to fashion lovers around the East Nashville area since the beginning of March 2016.

            The owner, Taylor Sorrell, originally started the business as a traveling pop-up store. Eventually, he was approached by the owners of another vintage clothing store in Nashville called Local Honey who asked to enter a partnership and sell clothing in his store.  Top Knot Vintage has grown tremendously over the last few months, and according to Sorrell, there are no plans to slow down.

Sorrell says there might be expansion plans in the future. The short-term goal is to move to a bigger space located in Nashville and long-term is to open up multiple locations in bigger cities across the U.S., such as New York City, Los Angeles, etc.

Sorrell who is originally based in Nashville Tennessee, has a love for true vintage, but he struggled to find actual vintage.

“Everything was either too western, old school or overpriced,” said Sorrell.  He started collecting pieces, and his house became covered in clothing. Top Knot Vintage was born when he decided that he needed to do something with his vintage inspiration.

            In addition to being a popular vintage spot to look for unique fashion statements, Top Knot Vintage brings in new discoveries each week. Sorrell’s main focus is to find real vintage items that other Nashville stores don’t find locally or for a good price. Although similar to stores such as Buffalo Exchange and Local Honey, there is a different element brought to Top Knot Vintage.

 “Mostly ‘90s style clothing, but some ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s are mixed in, too.” Said Sorrell, when describing TKV. The clothing that we pick is all personally curated by us, so we have quality control. I would describe our clothing as vintage threads with modern fits.”

            This brand new store offers great fashion that is affordable and one of a kind. For more information, the Top Knot Vintage Instagram’s page @topknotvintage shows a visual of what their store brings to the table.

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The MTSU Singers Perform with the MET Singers

By Corrie Wunder

MTSU Raiders Shakedown Reporter

            MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee State University Singers performed with a group of student singers from Nashville metro schools at 7:30 p.m. on April 12 in Hinton Music Hall, bringing in a packed crowd, singing jazz songs, and improvising their own songs.

            The MET Singers, second to 12th^_grade students, joined the MTSU Singers to gain experience in a university setting. The students come from private, public, charter and home schools. The MET Choir is directed by Margaret Campbelle-Holman.

“My favorite part about singing with the MET singers was the mutual bonding,” said MTSU singer Luke Judkins. “We encourage them just as much as they encourage us.”

The 15-member MTSU Singers is led by Director Cedric Dent and Assistant Director Ashley Kimbrough. The vocalists perform with a jazzy style, unlike most choirs. They include improvisation, jumbled mixed sounds, and made-up words.

            The Music Hall had almost every seat filled with approximately 300 people attending. Many of the audience members were the parents of the MET Singers.

“The thing that touched me the most was seeing so many supportive parents,” said MTSU Singers Director Cedric Dent.

            The improvisation part of the concert was referred to as “The Circle Song”. Bobby McFerrin, 10-time Grammy Award winner, popularized circle songs. His unique vocal techniques and jazzy style is what inspired Assistant Director Ashley Kimbrough to lead the MTSU and MET Singers in this improvisation experience.  All the singers came together and carefully followed the creative, on-the-spot instruction from Kimbrough. A brand new song was performed for the first time. The MTSU singers begin every rehearsal with a circle song. It teaches the students the skill of mimicking and using nonsense syllables. In the beginning of the semester students are hesitant in learning this new technique.

            “By the time we get to the end of the semester they are taking leadership rolls,” said Dent.

“The hardest part about improvising is making sure you’re being expressive with what you’re wanting to do without violating what’s actually going on in the music,” said Judkins.

          

            For more information and upcoming performances about the MET singers visit http://choralartslink.org/. For more information about the MTSU Singers visit http://www.mtsu.edu/music/.

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Kelsea Ballerini Performs Writers Round for ‘Tin Pan South’

By Brianna Boyce

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

     NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country star Kelsea Ballerini performed “Tin Pan South” on April 5 at The Listening Room Café, helping kick off the first night of the songwriter festival.

     “Tin Pan South” spotlights a portion of Nashville’s best talent every year, including well-known singer-songwriters such as Ballerini.

     Ballerini, 22, performed on stage alongside local songwriters Josh Kerr, Forest Whitehead and Scott Stepakoff. Each performed his or her own songs, complementing fan favorites by Ballerini.

      Ballerini made her way to Nashville for a career in the music industry, not knowing that at age 19 she would be signed to Black River Entertainment. Her remarkable writing skills would later lead her to become one of the most well-known, young, country artists today.

     Since Ballerini has been signed, she has won multiple awards such as Billboard’s Women in Music Rising Star Award and the ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year Award. That recognition helped make her the highlight of the round on Tuesday night.

     Seats filled quickly after The Listening Room doors opened at 8:30 p.m., leaving others standing in the café. The crowd’s energy fed into the writer’s one-hour performance.

      Ballerini performed several songs for the first time. The audience erupted in screams when she said, “This is ‘Tin Pan South’, and so if it’s okay, I’m going to play you all new songs for the rest of the night.”

     The audience was content with all new music by the country star, but the excitement was yet to end. Ballerini also performed some of her top hits, including “Love Me Like You Mean It” and “Dibs”, which she shared the spotlight with co-writer Josh Kerr.

     The set came to a heart-warming end when Ballerini brought a young fan on stage she had previously met at a meet-and-greet. When the young girl said that her favorite song was Ballerini’s “High School”, Kerr moved his microphone, leaving the young fan no choice but to take the stage alongside her idol.

     “Yeah, she’s singing, oh she’s singing,” said Ballerini.

      The song ended with a hug between the two and a standing ovation from every crowd member in the café, making for a memorable night for every attendee, including the performers themselves.

      “This was one of the best shows I’ve seen here, and a very packed one at that,” said fan Ashley Mitchell.

     Ballerini’s schedule isn’t stopping at “Tin Pan South.” Ballerini is set to perform opening night of the annual “Country Music Festival” held in Nashville. She is also in the process of completing her tour in Alabama, but continuing on with Rascal Flatts for their “Rhythm and Roots Tour” this summer.

     Visit http://kelseaballerini-peterpan.com/ for more info on tickets, dates and news about Kelsea Ballerini.

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