Show Review Archives - Rock Oracle

Living in Nashville quickly introduces you to the wide world of music. It seems that everyone you meet is involved in the music industry somehow and most are extremely gifted in their area of expertise.Having lived in/around the city my whole life, I’ve been honored to meet many of those people – some being some of the most talented musicians in the area. Even more of an honor, some of those people have become good friends over time. Hell, I eventually snagged one of my own to marry LOL which is funny, really, because I used to vehemently state: “I will NEVER marry a musician!” Don’t ask why I used to say that LOL I can’t recall what so heavily concerned my early-20s brain about it … but I’m VERY glad (obviously) that sentiment didn’t manifest!

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.

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.

FEATURED MUSIC NEWS

July 28, 2026 Contributing Author

615 Indie Live Announces Year Three Return and Opens Artist Submissions

Now entering its third year, organizers say 2027 will build on the festival’s momentum with more venues, more local artists, and an even greater impact for Nashville’s independent music community. Several new festival initiatives and partnerships will be announced in the coming months as 615 Indie Live continues to expand its impact on Nashville’s independent music scene. The artist lineup will be unveiled later this fall.

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.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

July 22, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

In the Company of Serpents, Jones & the Bones & Sweet Fruits @ The Cobra

Welcome Ghouls, Demons, and Fellow Wyrd Ones!!! Last Friday Night, Gospel_ov_Hate took a leap of faith on another one of his wife’s concert ventures. As a Chatty Cathy, I tend to find friends everywhere I go. It doesn’t help that I dress eccentric-ly obscene. Donning, and styling, his eeriest of band-tees. It is no surprise that I find fellow Metal-Heads who are curious about which band name is ambiguously etched onto my OOTD. That is how I met Jones! Another Fair Park connection. Another friendly alignment of being at the Right Place at the Right time. Perhaps it is the Goddess Hekate, the Mother of Hounds, Blessing all of us Dark Souls with a Torch of Light from the Love that Glistens from our Puppy friends. Either way? I am truly grateful for every entity that wanders over the crossroads and into my sight. It is the very reason I have this tale to tell. Mine, and my Beloved’s First Night at the Cobra Nashville.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

June 23, 2026 Stacy Marie

Nicky Diamonds Shines Bright At Nashville’s Cannery Hall Supporting Madam Radar

Recently, we were invited to the Cannery Hall to check out a band called Madam Radar. First, to set the scene, Cannery Hall is a well-known, beloved – and newly revived – multi-room venue, housed in a brick building that was built in the 1800s. (Us natives and tourists alike love Nashville’s historic buildings). Our show was in “Row One” – one of four venue spaces – and my main plan was to focus on taking photos of Madam Radar for Melinoe to use in her write-up. As we walked into Row One, though, I was taken back by the sound of guitar slides, simple – yet captivating rhythm sounds – and that specific, soulful resonance you can really only experience with Blues music. It was the opener of the night: Nicky Diamonds