music community Archives

My prize was going to be in the Neuhoff District at the River Steps, along the Cumberland River, for a FREE show that flew under the radar somehow. This curation was also put on by a radio station but had limited advertising and was in the realm of IYKYK. Lightning 100.1 FM kept their promotion fairly low key, but if you were following along on The Gram you knew. The semi-secret show was one that severely caught my eye with Big Star on the bill. More specifically, Big Star Quintet, which is an amalgamation of legendary musicians who have recently joined forces to bring you the timeless music of the 1970’s indie power-pop band from Memphis, Tennessee. In fact, they were playing the bill alone with a gorgeously managed 7pm start time. The beauty of seeing older bands is those early start times that lead to early end times.

B Sides FEATURED INTERVIEWS

September 10, 2026 Mooney

Cinematica | Small Town Artist Highlight

The band itself started simply enough: Eddie and Bean, guitar and drums, two guys making instrumental music together. Six months later, bassist Oj joined, and the connection was immediate. The trio eventually christened themselves the “Cosmic Triangle”, which is exactly the sort of wonderfully dramatic name I expect from a psychedelic instrumental band wandering around the New Mexico desert.
And for nearly nine years, the triangle held.

B Sides FEATURED

September 10, 2026 Stacy Marie

September – Tarot of the Month: Hibiscus – Lean into Joy!

The people who make music (at any/every stage of the process) absolutely embody Hibiscus/Hummingbird energy. They pursue that flow in order to send something of true beauty out into the Universe that brings so much joy to so many people. While joy (as well as music that brings joy) can be highly subjective, some artists that immediately come to my mind are: Cher, Hans Zimmer … DOLLY PARTON. (We will miss you so much, dearest Dolly. See here for The Godfather’s piece regarding his mom’s recent visit and their outings that led them to honoring and sending love to Dolly.) Artists like these more-than-honorable mentions have creates such an abundance of good energy with their music – and thank Universe for that.

ALBUM REVIEWS FEATURED

September 7, 2026 Jason Shrum

Tower Brothers | All The Dogs | New EP Review

The band is originally from Boston, but has made a home in Nashville and is on the label Red Guitar Music. RGM is a record label based in the Music City and founded by Travis Fairley of Catchfire. Signing with the label means full service. RGM handles A&R, booking, publicity, recording, mixing and producing. I have had excellent music pushed my way by the label including Catchfire, Carl Pariso, and Daisy Sellas. The band under my current light is made up of the brothers Jackson Tower (Keys / Bass / Vocals / Guitar) and Owen Tower (Guitar / Vocals), alongside friends Thomas Prescott (Guitar) and Quinten Cohen (Drums / Vocals).

B Sides FEATURED

September 2, 2026 Jason Shrum

Kathie, Kathy, Dolly and Punk Rock

On August 25th, 2026 the world stopped with the news that Dolly Parton had passed away. It was a shockwave that was felt by so many. Everyone who had ever been touched by her music and her kindness was saddened to learn that the earth would keep spinning without The Smoky Mountain Songbird. We were so lucky to live in a timeline that saw us floating on this space rock with such a bright and selfless human being. So how would we cope? For me this bombshell coincided with my mom, Kathie, coming up to Nashville to see my new house and celebrate her birthday. She was also arriving in Music City with her friend, Kathy, who was also celebrating her birthday. The best thing that we could do was to dive headfirst into the sounds and soul of Dolly.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

August 24, 2026 Jason Shrum

WNXP Summer Line Series with Bully and Massie99

This summer’s shows hit a little bit different than last summer’s shows because now, Rock Oracle is a building a team and we had our first team building exercise at WNXP’s Summer Line Series. We were in attendance for the second of four events curated by Nashville Public Radio Station WNXP (91.1 FM) for this summer. By we, I mean myself, plus new additions to the squad Sarah and Stacey who, along with Florida Oracle, Mooney, have been instrumental in taking Rock Oracle to the next level. The first WNXP event was with Devon Gilfillian and was deemed a huge success as people filled the Ascension St. Thomas Landing at Nashville Yards on June 26th. The sophomore installment of this well orchestrated showcase was Bully and Massie99, on August 22nd, at the outdoor venue. I was thrilled to introduce these artists to my team and share in a magical night evening of music community.

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.