Henry Rollins is Spreading True Holiday Cheer in Nashville with ‘Cool Evidence’

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Santa Claus isn’t coming to town just yet but there is a jolly, white haired fella, who slays and he is bringing some gifts to Nashville on November 6th & 7th (Friday & Saturday). That man is iconic punk legend, Henry Rollins. The former frontman of the bands Black Flag and Rollins Band will be unloading a sack of goodies that will be appearing at Radar615 in the Wedgewood-Houston area for two days only (2pm-9pm).  The event will be free to anyone who can get into the building. I am personally more excited about this than some fat dude breaking into my house and eating my snacks.

First, let me start by saying I was this many years old when I learned that Henry Rollins lived in my hometown. A couple of years ago, the music legend relocated from Los Angeles to Nashville. He said that it was specifically to work on “some kind of visual display of his collection of punk and hardcore posters, albums and other ephemera”. Last year at VersoFest, he said it’s “the biggest project I’d ever try to pull off the hook.”

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The collection of items from Rollins’ life in music is titled “Cool Evidence: Captured Moments From The Last Century” and it will feature tour posters and photos from the likes of Black Flag, The Damned, The Cramps, Iggy Pop & the Stooges, and many more. He has archived photographs, show posters and several other curios from his time on the road. The rumor is that there are also items from Lux Interior and Poison Ivy’s personal collections. I could not find any hard evidence that Henry Rollins himself will be there in person, but I feel like he’ll be nearby and hopefully pop his head in to see our reactions. Most of the artifacts on hand were compiled during the 70’s and 80’s Washington D.C. punk scene era. 

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Henry has called this passion project his “love letter to rock and roll” in several interviews.  He has spent decades cultivating this agglomeration that he will unveil in Music City, post-Halloween weekend- and I cannot wait.  For 47 years, Rollins has collected more than 400 framed pieces, which are currently stored in what he says will eventually be his living room. Rollins has spent thousands of dollars of his own money to host the Nashville pop-up event. He says his good pal, music collector/ appraiser Jeff Gold, told him, “Our job now that we’re old with stuff like this is to release joy. With your museum, your pop-up, whatever it’s going to be, release joy, Henry.”

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“For me, taking care of physical artifacts—setlists, flyers, master tapes, test pressings—and sharing them with fans is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Rollins says. “This is what interests me. That’s what I want to do until I die.”

Punkheads and old-heads unite! I’ll see you there!

Here is Rollins Full Press Release to the Public:

“Hello, Henry Rollins here. I wrote the following in an effort to somehow entice you to come to this event. An incredible amount of time, effort and expenditure has gone into this. I’ve either gotten it extremely right, or catastrophically wrong!

For many years, I’ve been fascinated with historical markers. Physical objects that still remain years after they were created, become irrefutable evidence of time and place. Memories fade and retelling of facts often leads to distortion. However, the genuine article remains unperturbed.

Something I’ve done, which is probably ridiculous, but is quite demonstrative of what’s behind the Cool Evidence exhibit—I’ve anthropomorphized Time. I think Time seeks to obliterate the past and make the future all but completely speculative in an effort to keep us in the present, where it can be the center of attention. This is why carbon-based artifacts turn to dust, and that which came before can completely disappear, unless there are those who choose to be careful and patient guardians of the past. They seek to slow down decay and keep the facts intact. While I don’t consider Time to be my enemy, I’d like to think it considers me a constant and persistent annoyance.

Humans are capable of the worst things the planet has ever endured. I try to focus on the truly great, epically inspired aspects of humanity. Everything in the Cool Evidence exhibit denotes a time and place, be it an event, or just the fraction of a second it takes for a camera to extract an image—forcing a testimony from Time that humans can be exceptional. There’s always an alternative to misery. The Cool Evidence exhibit is the proof.

You could also just say that Cool Evidence is a collection of really interesting items that has taken me decades to assemble, and hopefully those who come to check it out will have a great experience.

On display will be things from the 70s-80s Washington DC music scene, tour posters and photos of Black Flag, the Damned, the Cramps, from Lux and Ivy’s personal collection, Iggy Pop, the Stooges and more.

I’d like to thank Lain York of Radar615 for his unwavering enthusiasm in allowing this project to materialize. When I pitched him on the idea months ago, he didn’t hesitate.

Thanks for reading this,

Henry”

Rollins is also preparing for the release of his memoir called Bait Dog Boy, scheduled to come out on March 2, 2027. 

The Cool Evidence exhibit is free.

November 6 Friday: 2 – 9 PM

November 7 Saturday: 2 – 9 PM

radar615.com

516 Hagan Street

Nashville, TN 37203