Jason Shrum, Author at Rock Oracle

Rock Steady will be making its debut as a show promoter at The Basement East on Sunday, August 23rd for an evening that celebrates Nashville’s enduring rock scene. That’s right, it is not all country music. This unique event is a new collaborative concept that aims to connect the creative thread between the long-standing legendary rock music scene and its surrounding arts community. This music and art showcase honors Nashville’s past, present, and future local rock scene with live performances, local art features, interactive experiences, and community organizations. Nashville’s rock scene is incredibly rich in history and has long been a launching point for some of the highest rock talents. This legacy continues to influence the scene today, setting the foundation for Nashville’s unique music community. While much has changed in this city, Nashville’s supportive network of impassioned artists remains the same

August 14, 2026 Jason Shrum

Sophia Brand’s New Single ‘Rodeo’ is Much More than Just Another Breakup Song

Sophia told me, “Honestly, ‘Rodeo’ was born out of a moment of transformation. After being cheated on and discovering it was with the same woman who had been involved with a previous partner, I was done being the victim. I didn’t want to write another heartbreak song so I leaned into the anger and the writing process became my way of reclaiming power. I wanted it to be a song about recognizing the pattern, refusing to be blindsided again, and this time being the one in control. The concept is equal parts seduction and revenge with luring him back in and then tearing him apart. I want anyone listening to feel empowered with any situation that leaves them feeling minimized because it’s not in their control”. She added, “Anyways, I promise I’m a nice person!”

B Sides FEATURED MUSIC NEWS

August 6, 2026 Jason Shrum

Let’s Get Weird One More Time!

The complexity of the music paints abstract grooves and scratches scores of stories we have all wanted to behold. Their voices add to the fray and slap on yet another layer of gorgeous convolution. Izaac has a raspy, robotic element piped into his microphone that heightens this mystical adventure. His words seem to bounce around the room and crash through any physical barriers. Gabrielle is not to be missed on the other side of this team. She brings forth an element of soul, hitting high angelic notes and phenomenally constructed primal screams. She dances graciously between notes and vocals. She is in the moment. We are all in the moment.

ALBUM REVIEWS FEATURED

August 4, 2026 Jason Shrum

Parker Barrow | Hold The Mash | Album Review

When you listen to the album, it seems timeless in the sense that you could drop this compilation in any decade, post the mid-60’s, and it would be identifiable as being made in that timeframe. This construction of their art is well thought out, well place and certainly orchestrated with meticulous care. The fact that Parker Barrow’s sophomore record and the Rolling Stones 25th studio release came out within a week of each other is quite a cool coincidence. It bookmarks a place in musical history, yet it also says that the future has been listening and that the music never dies;it just takes on new shapes with fresh voices. Megan is that vocal prominence that tears into these tracks with a vibrance and a soul sound that is never mundane. She never sings in an idle space. Megan’s range matches the components of her bandmates’ abilities, and that is to say it is all endless. The twin lead guitars of Tipton and Bender jangle and twang with idyllic riffs and Safka’s electric ivories dance alongside, as all the cosmic tones race in the ethos of these recordings. Turner’s powerful pacing from behind the kit looms large with Priber’s bass and that uproarious thundering echo of life maintains an arc of toe-tapping joy.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

July 29, 2026 Jason Shrum

Pavement Rocks 26 Song Set at The Ryman

The show was beyond phenomenal with Pavement playing for nearly two hours on Monday, July 27th. School night Schmool night. They orchestrated 26 songs (including the encore) and sounded incredible. The Ryman is a fantastic venue known to locals as “The Mother Church” (it is in fact an old church) with a glorious sound built into its walls. You couldn’t recreate the sonic tonality or the ambience of its foundation today if you tried. Everyone was up out of their pew row seating and on their feet the entire time, singing the words and shouting the hooks where they were needed. Fifty-two-year-old me kept thinking back to my teenage self and wondering if he would have appreciated this as much as I do now.

ALBUM REVIEWS B Sides FEATURED MUSIC NEWS

July 29, 2026 Jason Shrum

Meghan Pulles: New Single and New Record

I can honestly say that Pulles has left everything on the table and has come at us with a record from a deeply emotional place and ‘The Midhaven’ is just a sample of her putting her vulnerability on display so that the world may not only empathize together but also begin to heal through human connection. When the single drops,there will also be a gorgeously shot, black and white video, to accompany it. This is the first time that Pulles has released a video and a single on the same day. Meghan’s voice floats in the atmosphere and invites you to take part in the feast of her magical lyrics. Her words are a sonnet filled with staggering imagery that invokes heartfelt sentiment.

ALBUM REVIEWS FEATURED

July 23, 2026 Jason Shrum

Album Review: “Time Will Tell” by Devon Gilfillian

This is Devon’s third studio project, and it is called Time Will Tell and it pulls from all the various sounds that he grew up with in Philadelphia. The album is a landslide of rock, country, funk & soul that comes from his youth and listening to those classic tones that played throughout his home. Upon doing a deep dive into the artists’ background, his hero was Jimi Hendrix, who spent some time in Nashville (as he was stationed at the Army base in Clarksville) grooving with a lot of those legendary blues musicians at clubs downtown. That’s what was inspiring Devon in high school, and eventually he picked up his gear and headed to Music City.

Author: Jason Shrum

Are You Ready to Rock? Rock Steady Nashville Sure Is.