Americana Music Fest
City Winery and Mercy Lounge, Friday (Sept. 24, 2021)
By Wil Comstock
MCAU Contributing Writer
NASHVILLE — I had heard of Garrison Starr, but I had never heard her sing. What a powerful voice full of soul and raw sincerity. She’s also a great storyteller!
She told us that she grew up in Mississippi and went to an evangelical high school. But she was tired of hiding her sexuality and decided in the mid-90s she could no longer live in the deep South. So she moved to LA! The first person she saw was a guy with very long hair, wearing a pink bikini, riding a bicycle! She told herself, “Hey, I’m going to be alright.” She then sang us her love song to LA, “Downtown Hollywood.”
Starr said she grew up surrounded by music in the church but felt so much hate and prejudice there. She got to the point where she didn’t want to have anything to do with it. Then a few years ago, she realized she wasn’t going to let them take Gospel away from her. Garrison started writing and co-writing Gospel-influenced songs again. One of the first ones she wrote was “On My Way to Forgiveness.”
Starr brought out Chris Pierce to join her on the swamp gospel “Bones.” Teaching us the lyrics to the chorus first and encouraging us to sing along, “Ain't no chain gonna hold you down, Ain't no grave gonna hold you now, Yesterday done came and gone, Ain't it time to bury them bones.”
She then brought out Sean McConnell, and the three of them harmonized on “The Train that’s Bound for Glory,” a song written for her grandfather. She closed duetting with McConnell on the soaring ballad “Nothing Without You,” which brought everyone to their feet.
Next up was Beth Nielson Chapman. I knew something good was up when I noticed a full band, two background singers, and a trumpet player coming on the stage at various times to do a sound check. Previously I had only seen Chapman on guitar and keyboard. Tonight was different! She announced that she and the band would be playing as many songs as they could from her upcoming album “Crazy Town.” The tracks were completed just five days before the pandemic hit Nashville.
When Chapman launched into the upbeat “All Around the World,” I knew I was really in for a special treat. You could feel the energy from the stage. Beth said Keb’ Mo’ called her up one day and said, “I need you over here to help me finish a song. The result was “Put a Woman in Charge,” a fun, yet serious song about the mess that men have made of things. All of the songs were stellar. My favorite was “Welcome to Heaven,” a song she wrote with Kimmie Rhodes and Mindy Smith dedicated to John Prine. Having gone through cancer himself, Prine heard Chapman had been diagnosed. He gave her a call and said, “I heard you got Cancer.” She said, “Yes.” He ended up coming over and spending the afternoon with her. A true friend.
After Chapman’s set, I walked over to Cannery Row to hear The Brother Brothers at Mercy Lounge. Identical twins David and Adam Moss are originally from Peoria, Ill., and formerly based in Brooklyn, N.Y. They now live in Nashville. Their sound is timeless, reminding me of the Everly Brothers and Simon and Garfunkel. Their humor brought up memories of the Smother’s Brothers.
The brothers, Adam Moss on violin and David Moss on guitar, opened with “Colorado,” a song for a friend who was bound to break his girl’s heart. Their lyrics are simple and fresh, often laced with scenes from nature. Their “Ocean’s Daughter” is a cry for the environment we are destroying.
David borrowed Adam’s guitar and Adam picked up the cello for the haunting “Banjo Song.” The singer asks the banjo player why he doesn’t play anymore. “It’s just no fun” was the answer, having lost his drive to entertain himself and others.
David introduced “Frankie,” saying this is a song about real estate. The lyrics are about a bartender talking to a customer about how much has changed since the gentrification of the neighborhood. The old crowd is gone. They couldn’t afford to stay in their homes when the taxes were raised. This reminded me of what is going on in Nashville right now.
The Moss brothers closed with the mournful Peter Rowan classic “Angel Island” about a gold prospector who leaves his Chinese bride on the island while he is gone for years chasing his dream of becoming rich. One day he returns to find her gone.
Looking around the room, I could see the honesty and sincerity of The Brother Brothers was felt by everyone in the room. I hope to get the chance to see them again, soon!
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