Bully Packs A Punch at The Blue Room

August 25, 2025 Jason Shrum

Alicia Bognanno AKA “Bully” Played Two Sold Out Shows in Nashville

I was back at The Blue Room again in Nashville to cover the Bully show with Jawdropped supporting on the second evening of a two-show engagement. You know you spend a lot of time at a venue when you walk up to the ticket person and they say, “Oh, it’s you again”. I laughed. Live music venues are my happy place, so I was certainly glad to be there again. This would be my third time seeing Alicia Bognanno and her band. “Bully” refers to her “inner bully” or the “inner demons” she confronts in her music and life. The name Bully also represents the initial band she fronted a decade ago but later became synonymous with Bognanno herself as the sole member.

All you need to know is that her dynamic is impressive. If you are not listening to Bully, then you are not living your best life. She embodies all the great female led-hard alternative rockers of the 90’s. If you like Kim Deal, Kathleen Hanna, Courtney Love, Donita Sparks, Kim Gordon, Kat Bjelland, etc. then you’ll absolutely fall in love with Bully. Bognanno earned a degree from Middle Tennessee State University in audio recording before getting an internship at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studios in Chicago. She eventually settled in Nashville, and the locals certainly claim Alicia as their own.

On Saturday night we were treated to a very special show next to Jack White’s Thirdman Records Studio. Jawdropped was opening up the gig and I didn’t know anything about them before I received the tickets, so I raced to my streaming services and the internet to get a feel for the supporting act. What I found out about this Los Angeles based collective is that they are absolutely wonderful. The power-pop-indie rockers dropped their debut EP, Just Fantasy back in April. Jawdropped is made up of Roman Zangari (guitar and vocals), Kyra Morling (guitar, tambourine, vocals), Joe Fastiggi (drums), and Sean Edwards (bass).

First off, I really love hearing dual vocals, and Kyra and Roman meld, as well as bounce off each other poetically. It sent me in a time warp, back to the days of Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon in the golden years of Sonic Youth (let’s be honest, every day with that band was golden). Frank Black and Kim Deal with Pixies could be a heavy influence for this emerging band. I don’t know if they hear it, but I did. They are a young group just getting off the ground, but they have a lovely trajectory. Jawdropped plays with an earnest motive and doesn’t try to do too much or dazzle. Instead, they play great fuzzy riffs with power chords blended over a steady rhythm built into the backbone of the sound. Is it me or is this indie-rock genre just getting stronger? We used to lump everything “non-mainstream” into “alternative” when I was a teen and hopefully, we are not doing that now with the “indie-rock” moniker but then again, who cares about labels. Find music that you like and support the hell out of it by going to live shows and buying the merch.

Bully now has four studio albums to claim and each one rips. Alicia came onto the stage with her strapped axe ready to shred and then began properly melting our faces. She plays with a purpose, and her vocals scratch into the walls, leaving an indelible mark. There is a fight coming forth from her mouth and it can quite literally punch you in the nose. I love everything about her on stage. The last time I saw Bognanno play it was at The Ryman kicking off a Suki Waterhouse show. The gig was also phenomal but it seemed a little different. Here at The Blue Room her beloved fans were packed in shoulder to shoulder, and she was the headliner. All the focus and fandom was centered. She is punk and she is grunge personified, but she can be soft too. In a moment of vuneralibilty she sat alone at the piano and performed two gorgeous melodies. One was Atom Bomb, which we knew about as a stand-out single. The other was unknown. “Bear with me”, she said. “This is only my second time playing this”. I hope it appears on the next album because it was stellar.

The scene was all empowering and so was the music. I felt inspired by the moment and often glanced over to my friends Kassie and Will to see if they were ingesting the same deliciousness. They were indeed basking in the moment as our frontwoman played at a tumultuous pace. I bring up the power of music often, and its ability to soothe, heal and narrate our lives. To me, it is my balance. Collectively, myself and all these other sonic travelers may have nothing in common outside of this show, but here we all are, together, with a common purpose and Alicia has created a like-mined community full of hope and that’s beautiful (especially today).

The show was so incredible that the word “incredible” falls flat. Her vocals slayed up into the heavens as she bounced around and laid waste to her strings. She resonates angst with a purpose and that is to awaken the listener. Stand Up! Be heard! The time is now! All these seem to be a theme and she wants us to be participants, not just onlookers. She is harsh in her delivery but the messaging is comforting.

Alicia writes and performs to battle her demons. Those voices that she has dubbed Bully are quieted for a moment – in so, she eases our hurt too.