Rock Steady Nashville Crushes Their First Live Event at The Basement East

August 27, 2026 Stacy Marie

Hellooo you cute little clumps of Stardust ~ Your fav (and better be your only fav! LOL) Gemini, Stacy, here with a recap of an event that we folks at Rock Oracle have been greatly looking forward to: Rock Steady Nashville’s official first event at Basement East!

Rock Oracle’s Godfather, Jason, did a tasty pre-event write up last week – which you can read here to learn a bit more about Rock Steady in general – and now I’m here to bring you the official event review!

The event took place this past Sunday (August 23) and was such a massive success! It’s taken me a couple days to collect my thoughts and edit photos only because I’ve had so many good thoughts to put together and so many awesome photos to go through!

I’d like to start off with saying a MASSIVE THANK YOU to Rock Steady Nashville and everyone involved (will give more details on that a bit later) for organizing such a kick ass, inspiring event. Nashville certainly has a reputation for its extensive music community, but there’s also tons of other art and artists here that sometimes wind up feeling a bit separate from the music scene, which has always felt like a missed opportunity in my mind.

What I loved most about Rock Steady’s event was that it brought together several different artists and mediums – as well as community missions – into one event … all in the name of Rock! What could be better?!

My overall review: Rock Steady Nashville is doing more than just organizing and promoting events; they’re creating a movement to bring together Nashville art, artists, and dreamers to encourage genuine community, support, and love. What’s not to cheer on about that! This mission couldn’t align better with our own here at Rock Oracle, as well – Bringing People Together Through Music. We see Rock Steady Nashville as an integral part of our own mission now and can’t wait to continue supporting them and rocking out at their events!

Okay – now onto the artists!

We had four bands in the lineup on Sunday: Year of October, Campanula, Fatal Affair, and Echo Pilot … and when I tell you every one of these f’ing bands brought down the f’ing house, I seriously f’ing mean it!

Year of October kicked off the night, and what I really want to start off with saying about them is: What the actual hell, friend?! LOL You’re a three piece band that sounded like there should’ve been at least five people on stage to produce all that sound – my mind was blown! Their sound was BIG, and I loved it! On their website, they describe themselves as Fuzz, Rock, Soul, and I honestly couldn’t think of a better way to explain their music. It was a unique blend of sounds, ebbing and flowing between something familiar and then purely unique – and the singer, Phlecia Sullivan, has a seriously cool voice, reminiscent of Amy Winehouse but in the Rock genre.

Their energy on stage was EVERYTHING. It was crystal clear they’re a band that truly loves writing and playing together. The passion was obvious. Their performance was tight and full of energy, resulting in a truly fantastic kickoff for the night. This is definitely a band to jump on early so you can celebrate their success with them! A couple songs to get you started with them: ‘Flannel’ (off their latest album ‘I’ve Given You Everything’, 2025) – ‘The Hounds’ (‘Keep on Fighting’, 2023).

The second band up for the evening was Campanula. I’m honestly not sure where to start with this band LOL They were introduced as “Your mom’s favorite band”, which is a sentiment that can go either way for me personally hah as I’ve come to learn this kind of expression is often used for “jam bands”. Not that there’s anything wrong with jam bands! … I’m just not normally a fan of that style of performance. Once Campanula took the stage, though, any preconceived notion I might have made from past shows flew right out the window (which we love – right?! It’s so easy to make assumptions and unintentionally block yourself from discovering something new and awesome!)

To put it simply: Campanula isn’t a jam band, they ARE A JAM. Every musician in this band is INSANELY talented, and their music is the perfect balance of technical expertise and feel-good groovin’. No one could fight the urge to dance when this band was on stage – it was fabulous! The band members themselves were right there with the crowd, as well – vibing and dancing like there was no tomorrow. Just like Year of October, it was clear the band thoroughly enjoys performing together and in front of a crowd. They were there for a good time, and that made for a great energy exchange!

Currently on Spotify they only have 170 monthly listeners, and I am honestly shooketh LOL This group has the potential to make it BIG, and the fact that we’re getting “in” with them this early on is RAD. I highly encourage you to jump on board with us and get to groovin with Campanula! Some songs to kickstart your interest (and the songs that made it hard for me to get crisp photos because I couldn’t stop moving my feet LOL): ‘You Don’t Dance With Me’ (‘I Don’t Care At All’, 2025) – ‘She Said’ (2025 Single). Waste no more time you shall not: Go listen to Campanula today and get your groove on!

Then came Fatal Affair – the third performing band. It was clear by the audience’s reaction, they were one of the most anticipated performances of the night … and it didn’t take long for me to understand the hype! This four-piece femme fatale-esque band brought immediate energy to the stage, and it was infectious. There was no “easing in” to the music, either – they just fucking went for it LOL – it was awesome. Electric energy – definitely rock/grunge inspired – but overall (for me), there was this sultry Alt sound that reminded me of Avril Lavinge – mixed with Evanescence. That’s an interesting blend I’m not sure many would be able to pull off, but Fatal Affair rocked it without a hitch!

Hailing from Murfreesboro (a special city for me, as I gained my first “real life” experiences there via college), I couldn’t help but love this band. All band members were talented but most clearly, they are all very passionate. Not to mention, their lead singer, Julia Jayne Watkins, is a powerhouse vocalist. She pulled off some longgggg notes, and the audience ate it up. It seems Fatal Affair is just getting started on their music journey, showcasing only a few singles so far on Spotify. I’ve got a suspicious feeling they’re going places, though – and quickly! With continued performances like the one on Sunday? I ain’t got no doubt! Go take a listen now to their three singles and join in the hype: ‘Love Bomb’,’The Lines’, and ‘Trickster’.

The final band of the evening was Echo Pilot – Rock Steady’s founders! (Along with Art Director Chloe Briz and Dream House Productions: Johnny Boyd, Sarah Boyd and Chris Ammons) Echo Pilot fully encompasses the Rock genre, so it’s very fitting they went with a name like Rock Steady.

For their performance, frontman and one of two guitarists, Ryan brought fantastic energy with powerful vocals and fun, engaging crowd work. Of course, everyone in the band showcased immense talent, as well. This was yet another band where it was clear to see music is the main passion and driver – and that they had been playing music for a long time. There was no hiding their experience!

Their sound was reminiscent of Foo Fighters with some classic rock sound mixed in – like Rush! It was just an all around great performance. It was the perfect way to close off the evening – especially their surprise guest, Jordan from Diarrhea Planet (!) – a staple band in the local pop-punk scene and a band I was lucky enough to see perform at house shows in college! It was too fun of an overlap and was appreciated by all!

In addition to all this incredible music, Rock Steady brought in a couple of local artists whose talents were BANANAS (photography, painting, and mixed media mediums). It was a great backdrop for the event and encouraged loads of great conversation throughout the night. (Unfortunately I wound up forgetting to note down the artists’ names – I know … absolutely shame on me – but we will work to find out their names so we can update this article with their details – asap!)

There were some very important community organizations spotlighted for the evening, as well: Nashville Launch Pad (dedicated to providing street-free sleeping shelters for unhoused young adults which are open and affirming to LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies) – Yeah! Rocks (aimed at empowering youth voices from all backgrounds through music education) – and The Contributor (the newspaper that brings together Nashvillians from all walks of life, as well as awareness for our neighbors who are houseless or experiencing homelessness. This is the aspect of Rock Steady’s efforts I loved the most, as it’s SO important to recognize the organizations working to save and change the lives of our friends in/around the city.

When I finally (reluctantly) dragged myself home, I found myself riding a high of that warm-and-fuzzy feeling you get after experiencing pure joy for an extended period of time LOL There was so much love and sincerity at The Basement East the whole night … I left feeling so grateful for getting to be part of it. I also left feeling incredibly inspired and connected with my community – which is Rock Steady’s mission! So – mission accomplished, friends! Woo! If you don’t mind me being punny … YOU ROCK, Rock Steady Nashville!

Whether you’re in Nashville now or will be visiting soon, keep an eye on Rock Steady’s social media for more event announcements (yay!) – and when you see one coming up, do yourself a favor and go! Make the choice to immerse yourself in the true, local artist community and take home that warm, fuzzy feeling of belonging for yourself!

Until next time, you badass, bright-shining Lights of Love ~

Check out the Gallery Below. All photos taken by Stacy Marie: