music journalist Archives

Monday evening was elevated to a whole new level thanks to RockNite.Nash and Skinny Dennis in Nashville. Along with curator, and guitar Goddess, Grace Bowers, they put on a banger of a FREE show, and it was exactly what we needed on a school night. Three stupefying bands raged the stage with a bewildering showcase that had the crowd moving in both chaos and tandem. There was crowd surfing, moshing and a meshing of community that found the perfect home for folks to let off some steam. Thank you to everyone that made this show happen. What a joyous occasion. Thirsty Thursdays have their place. Taco Tuesday can be pretty great. However, Mosh Pit Monday was exactly what I needed before the work week officially got hectic. The Criticals,Lombardy Band and Bad Bad Luck put on a stupendous show at Skinny Dennis and I was right up front to soak it all in and I feel great for saying YES! to a weekday show.

May 19, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

Popville’s 2nd Anniversary Pool Party

Welcome My Ghouls, Demons and Fellow Wyrd Ones! I had the absolute pleasure of attending Popville’s 2nd Anniversary Party at the Covered Bridge Recording Studio, hosted by the Fabulous Nikki Forbes. Popville truly is everything Pop inside the pits of Nashville. Nashville definitely wants pop, and that was most certainly demonstrated by the killer crowd that abandoned the Broadway Chaos to join us all in celebration of this Anniversary. It is quite refreshing to have a solid event choice outside of the never- ending country music tickets being shoved down our throats in Music City.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

May 11, 2026 Jason Shrum

Toadies on tour with a New Album after Nearly a Decade

The current tour is built around a new album called The Charmer. It was released on May 1, 2026, via Spaceflight Records, and it is their first full-length studio release in nearly a decade. Produced by the late Steve Albini in 2024, the 13-track album features a raw, fast-paced sound born from “pandemic-era introspection”. Frontman Vaden Lewis had said in a statement, “This album has been a long time in the works, and it’s such a joy to see it come together, we went back to basics for this session: all analogue, live takes, high energy.” Drummer Mark Reznicek added, “I’ve been a fan of Steve Albini’s since I first heard the albums he recorded with the Pixies and PJ Harvey, so being able to record with him is really a dream come true. In fact, when we first signed with a major label, they asked us who we would like to work with and we all said “Albini!” Well, for whatever reason, the label didn’t go for it. And now 30 years later, it finally happened!”

FEATURED INTERVIEWS

April 29, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

Artist Spotlight on Dolly Cash

I grew up in Abingdon, VA. It was a small historic town in South-Western Virginia, in the Appalachians. But after graduating High School, I bounced around the US in the army. Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Afghanistan. It was in North Carolina, more specifically Fayetteville, that I began to hone my music skills. The community within the city was very rooted in the arts. I’d crash on my friend’s couch and cut songs with like 5 or 6 different people. They would put on cool local shows and really push each other to create. I got out of the Army in 2016 and moved back to Abingdon. After a year of couch surfing and job hopping, I applied to go to The University of Tennessee. That’s how I ended up in Knoxville. While here, I met my wife, and realized Tennessee was now home. While here, I got back to my mountain roots, fell in love with mountain music, as well as the Goth culture. I believe traveling to the US and war-torn countries has given me an appreciation of where I live.

FEATURED INTERVIEWS MUSIC NEWS

April 28, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

TreeHouse Nash Queen, Mar Lamar has an Album in the Works

This leads into the Sol purpose Artist Spotlight. Not only do I want our readers to know more about her and TreeHouse Nash, Mar Lamar is Crowd Funding her next Album. A solo project that is near and dear to her heart. Listening to her passion, and witnessing her vulnerability within her content humbled me to say the least. I have found a new awareness within how much of my own passion and vulnerability I have kept buried beneath my surface. A fear that continues to lurk within my young/naive phase of life. A commonality for Aquarian folks. Often priding myself at how open I can be, not realizing that there could be so much more of myself I could offer to the world. Not for myself. Not solely for humanity. But for the Circle of Life. The give and take that is required for evolution, progression and harmony within society, civilization, and more intimate communities. Mar Lamar has granted me a gift of evolution spiritually, astrologically and creatively.

ALBUM REVIEWS B Sides MUSIC NEWS

April 27, 2026 Jason Shrum

The Weird Sisters Have a New Single Out

When you see them play live, it is a cavalcade of foot pedals and knobs turning, all while playing their instruments and singing melodic harmonies that match the tonality of lasers and humming spaceships. They are wildly mesmerizing and talented as all get out. So, when a new song comes from the depths of the minds from this dynamic duo, you know that the work has been put in and sonically it will be different from anything you typically hear in the mainstream.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS MUSIC NEWS

April 16, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

Popville Masquerade Ball- A Night with Jean Saint Lazarus, Kate Cosentino and Kelley Cole!

Welcome Ghouls, Demons and Fellow Wyrd Ones! I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to
Popville Music’s “Masquerade Ball- A Night with Jean Saint Lazarus, Kate Cosentino and Kelley Cole!”
It was a lovely Spring Nashville Evening. I had never been to the East Room before. Or not knowingly. I
have driven by The Cobra a thousand times. I have stopped by the Alternative and Occult Shop “Hail” a
handful of times. This can go to show, how directionally challenged I am. Or how often I Passenger
Princess my way through Life at the hands of my Beloved. Or maybe it highlights what a nightmare
Gallatin Ave truly manifests to be. I will digress. As I finally secured a free (rare) parking spot, I began my
Final Candle Vendor Evening and my First Rock Oracle Drop in with Popville Music.