Poster + Outings + Schedules + A New Year

Hey there y’all,

So January has been kind of a busy month for our group with the he craziness that goes along with the start of another new semester. Because of this we haven’t gotten to do much this semester as far as organized group outings etc, but that does not mean that we haven’t got some great things in the works for the upcoming semester. We all met up this month and put together an amazing poster display of what our group is all about to be presented at the annual VIP poster showcase at the Commons. It should be an exciting opportunity for us to get to explain our project and the Living and Learning community in general. We all had a great time putting it together and are really looking forward to the possibilities for this new semester.

That’s all for now!!

Sara, Evyn, Lexi, Alex, Abby, & Liesel 

Exploring Country Music in October

Hey y'all!

So October has been a pretty busy month for us as a group getting everything together, but in the past four weeks I have had some pretty spectacular opportunities (along with some of my group members) to begin to experience what living in Nashville and understanding country music really looks like.

The first opportunity came when Live on the Green, a free, Nashville-sponsored concert series, brought Band of Horses downtown to play a concert outside on October 7. Being one of my favorite bands even before I got to Nashville, it was really exciting for me to see them live, and to understand a little bit more about them stylistically. Having just released a brand new album this May, Band of Horses now identifies themselves as a completely "folk" inspired ensemble, a movement that grew out of country music in America in the last century.

Alex, me, and Evyn at Band of Horses

The next concert that I was fortunate enough to experience was a name that all fans of country music will recognize: Carrie Underwood. Emerging onto the country music scene only five years ago after she won American Idol, Carrie has taken Nashville and the world by storm with her powerful voice, winning several CMA's and celebrating an induction into the renowned Grand Ole Opry in 2009. Not to mention the fact that Carrie is an INCREDIBLE entertainer. Her take on pop-country style is fresh and engaging, but she knew how to make all of her fans happy, performing a duet of one of her singles with Randy Travis in a tribute to her Opry membership during the show. Four words to describe the show: glitter, glamour, and steel guitar. It was such a fun experience!

A view of the stage from our seats

Liesel and I enjoying the show!

And while this last concert technically happened on November 1st, I had to include it in this blog post, because it blew me away. Last night at TPAC I got to go see Mumford & Sons, with openers King Charles and Cadillac Sky. Wow. Just wow. Their musicianship was unparalleled, their grasp on Americana style and folk influences in spite of their London roots was inspiring. In fact, the lead singer, Marcus Mumford, mentioned during their set that he bought his very first guitar that he ever played in Nashville three and a half years ago, and described how significant it felt to be back in this city performing where, in a sense, he got his first shot. Besides the use of steel guitar, which was an obvious country instrument, the technique of the upright bassist, the plucking of the back-up guitarist's banjo and the brief appearance of a mandolin during "Winter Winds" all signaled to the audience that Mumford & Sons were country at their core, and the crowd response confirmed that they will be on the music scene to stay for some time to come. I'm so excited to see what new directions they will take and understand their music more in the context of their history (they brought out one of their biggest influences, Old Crow Medicine Show, during their encore to play a cover of 'Wagon Wheel'!)

Only a month into the project, and we're learning so much! We hope you're having fun learning with us as we continue to explore this great city that we're living in.

Y'all come back now, you hear!

Abby

From You Guys to Y'all - September!

           Hey y’all!  This is Lexi Zarecky presenting our first expedition with country music!  Because Nashville is country music central, we decided to start our project by exploring the downtown area and the effects that music has had on it.  A couple weeks ago, we drove downtown and walked down Broadway – even at four o’clock on a Friday afternoon the Honky Tonks are full of people and bands.  We started out by walking through the Charlie Daniels museum, which had memorabilia from his past shows and his life.  For those of you who don’t know who Charlie Daniels is (as many of us did not), he is a famous fiddle player who sings “The Devil Went down to Georgia”.  It was interesting for me to see this museum because I had previously seen him live at the Grand Ole Opry before the flood.  After the museum, we went into a couple of stores that sold cowboy boots, and talked to one of the shopkeepers.  They mentioned how country music tends to bring people together, and Nashville is such a friendly city that it seemed fitting that country music is centralized there.

            Finally, we went to a Honky Tonk that had a live band playing.  It was really crowded, but we got to listen to some classic country tunes (such as those by Tim McGraw and the Zac Brown Band), and witness everyone enjoying themselves and the country music surrounding them.  It truly seems that country music is a defining factor of Nashville at any time of the day, and that everyone embraces it.  I believe that country music presents stories that many people face everyday, and is emotional and truthful.  I believe that these characteristics also represent Nashville, and that the combination of the city and country music makes Nashville a truly unique and wonderful place.

            Oh, and a great majority of us went to the Nights of Sun Concert!  It was wonderful to see how country music singers are willing to put on a benefit concert in the middle of frat row!   Especially Love and Theft, which, though many don’t realize it, is a pretty famous country band!

That's all for now!

Lexi Zarecky, Sara Perez, Evyn Cosgrove, Liesel Burks, Abi Hardaway, and Alex Manthey

From You Guys To Y'all....Here We Go!

Hey Y'all! (Sorry, I had to do it.)

This is Liesel Burks from the VIP Group "From You Guys To Y'all," and I can definitely say that my group and I are so excited to get the ball rolling and get started! These past two weeks have been full of class schedules, bookstore runs, other preparations, etc....we are finally ready to start exploring Nashville! :)

This month, we are going to start putting a lot of our efforts into creating a general schedule for the semester and year. There are so many things that we want to do, so we want to make sure that we have the time to do it all! As a group, our goal is to not only expore the history and role of country music in Nashville, but to also see how Nashville's identity has been somewhat shaped by country music. Concerts, line dancing, you name it- we will be doing it!

We cannot wait for this year to get started! By next month's blog, we will have some cool experiences under our belt! :)

-Liesel, Evyn, Alex, Abby, Sara, and Lexi