Blog Archives
Listen and Learn with Donna Frost
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Donna Frost is a traveling troubadour with decades of performing and touring experience. Expertly weaving folk, blues, and pop, she creates memorable concerts that champion the human spirit. She’ll be sharing her music and musical journey with the Williamson County community on November 10th at 6 pm.
Donna logs thousands of miles each year, performing across the U.S., solo and with her band. With over 300 songs in her catalog and seven albums, her music has received airplay, charted and garnered awards worldwide. She performed a tribute to the late Skeeter Davis at Kentucky Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony; and has performed live on Chicago WGN TV. Giving back to the community, she is an active performer with Music for Seniors, “Musicians on Call” and “Songs of Love.” She is an ambassador for True Joy Acoustics which donates ukuleles to pediatric hospitals for music therapy programs across the country.
The Listen and Learn music series is a collaboration with Southern Trace Songwriters. Don Schwartz brings in a variety of musicians and songwriters who share their experiences in the musical profession. It’s a great way to experience the history of music genres and explore different styles and sounds.
Registration is requested and drop-ins are welcome.
WCPLtn: Discover Learn Succeed
The Williamson County Public Library is located in downtown Franklin at 1314 Columbia Avenue.
All library programs are free and open to the public. Learn more about this event or other library programs and services by calling 615-595-1243, extension 1, or by visiting the library’s website at http://wcpltn.org.
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The views expressed in this program are of those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or opinions of the Williamson County Public Library System.
🌈First Annual Franklin Pride Today
The First Annual Franklin Pride Festival is today, July 31, 2021 at The Park at Harlinsdale Farm.
There will be live music, food vendors, as well as artisans, and local business representatives. Sponsors and affiliated nonprofits include Glendale United Methodist Church, Metro Nashville Police Department, Habitat for Humanity Williamson-Maury, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Williamson County Animal Shelter, Log Cabin Republicans of Tennessee, as well as many others!
See the schedule and lists of artisans, vendors, food, and nonprofits at the website.
🎶Live Entertainment and COVID-19
Nashville, TN, is known for being the heart of country music bustling with music venues on almost every corner where you can simply drive by with your windows rolled down and hear the beat of a live band on a stage. Tourists and locals crowd the streets of Nashville on any given night to wait for their favorite artists to play at Bridgestone Arena or the Ryman Auditorium, or to visit a bar with a country cover band playing all of the Top 40 country hits. This love of live music stretches beyond Nashville and into the Middle Tennessee area, including right here in Franklin, TN, where we have venues such as the Franklin Theatre, the Williamson County Performing Arts Center, Kimbro’s Pickin Parlor, The Bunganut Pig, Puckett’s, and many more. At these venues, you can usually find an array of local talent taking the stage and performing for an eager audience, but this has changed drastically over the past few months.🎼
With the recent restrictions due to COVID-19, live entertainment has come to a standstill, and this is a devastating blow for a place called Music City. The music industry is worth over $50 million and live music makes up 50% of total revenues. Many musicians have found themselves jobless and uncertain of when they will be able to return to work. Venues are struggling to keep their doors open. Artists, bands, choirs, and theatres have been forced to cancel their shows and concerts until it is safe again to gather a live audience. As a vocalist in a local band myself, I am personally feeling the effects of the inability to perform until further notice; however, I have faith that the live entertainment industry and Music City will get back on its feet eventually and hopefully be as lively as ever. 🎼
In the meantime, the artists, bands, musicians, actors, performers, and venues we love need our help to stay afloat. One of our local venues, the Franklin Theatre, was a part of the formation of the National Independent Venue Association, which is a group of 34 independent entertainment venues and promoters from Middle Tennessee. The members of this group are seeking $10 billion in funding and support from Congress for the Save Our Stages Act and the RESTART Act, and their hope with these two bills is to ensure the survival of independent venues across the entire nation. Many venues cannot meet the criteria for the current federal relief programs because they do not have any money coming in and others have chosen to rebrand as a restaurant/bar to keep their doors open. You can help this movement by going to #SaveOurStages and filling out the form to send an email supporting the RESTART Act and Save Our Stages Act to Sen. Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, and Rep. John Williams Rose. 🎼
Some other ways you can help our hurting music industry here in Middle Tennessee is by supporting local independent record stores, streaming local artists’/bands’ music, and donating to music-related nonprofits such as the following:
🎤The Recording Academy’s MusiCares COVID-19 Relief, which has helped upwards of 18,000 music industry professionals who have been impacted by the pandemic.
🎤Artist Relief which is “an emergency initiative to offer financial and informational resources to artists across the nation.”
During your social distancing or quarantine down time, I also suggest looking into the history of how Nashville came to be Music City. Here are some resources you can find right here at the Williamson County Public Library to get you started:
🎤 How Nashville became Music City, U.S.A. : 50 years of Music Row by Michael Kosser
🎤 Nashville Cats : Record Production in Music City by Travis D. Stimeling
🎤Air Castle of the South : WSM and the Making of Music City by Craig Havighurst
For more information on how COVID-19 has effected the live entertainment industry go to:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/this-is-how-covid-19-is-affecting-the-music-industry/
Abbie Garrett
Music Scenes in Franklin
By Lindsay Roseberry, Reference Department
We all know that Nashville is called “Music City” with all the concerts and venues that take place all over Nashville and Davidson County, covering so much more than country music these days, too. But, Williamson County is catching up and has quite a few venues that may interest you. From the annual Pilgrimage Festival to summer concerts to weekly and daily music venues, Franklin and Williamson County have much to offer!
If you want to relax and have a meal while listening to music, try out these restaurants in the area:
The Bunganut Pig
does have a strange name but it has good food. It’s been in Franklin for over twenty years; there’s a sign out front that boasts the “best burger in town.” It is a laid back place to eat, with a varied menu. There is live music on the patio in the summer, and dance bands perform on the weekends.
Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant started in Leiper’s Fork as a small restaurant in the 1950s; word spread and now there are six area restaurants. The original one is still in in Leiper’s Fork, and next Franklin, then spreading out to Nashville, Columbia and Murfreesboro. Franklin also boasts Puckett’s Boat House, which is actually in a refurbished boat house. All of the locations have live music most days of the week.
From VisitFranklin.com
Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, is more than just a place to enjoy a good meal. It’s a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. With mismatched tables and chairs and an eclectic clientele of tourists, farmers, songwriters, and country music stars, it’s a restaurant serving up a dining experience unlike any other. It is even on the National Register of Historic Places in America! Founded by the Puckett family in the 1950s, Puckett’s served as a country store to several communities in Williamson County. From fresh groceries and a good southern meal, to a tank of gas and a place to catch up with friends, Puckett’s has become a staple in the Leiper’s Fork community.
Puckett’s in Franklin is focused on providing friends new and old with great food and Southern hospitality. They built a name on hosting live, local musical acts and serving Southern staples. They offer live music Tuesday through Saturday.
Puckett’s Boat House is in Franklin’s old Boat Locker at 94 E. Main Street; they offer by-the-shore dishes that are reminiscent of the Gulf coast and the Big Easy, plus Southern staples. They also offer an oyster bar and a wine bar. Every Tuesday through Saturday they offer live music.
From VisitFranklin.com
Kimbro’s opened in 2005 as a pickin’ parlor by songwriter Ron Kimbro. In 2007 Will Jordan became a partner and changed it to a music venue. In 2014, Jordan became the sole owner. In 2013, Kimbro’s won second place behind The Ryman Auditorium for “Best Live Music Venue” in The Tennessean’s 2013 reader’s pole and second place behind The Bluebird for “Best Open Mic” in The Nashville Scene’s reader’s pole. In addition to incredible music, Kimbro’s also offers a fantastic menu of homemade foods from specialty salads to gourmet burgers, delicious sandwiches and fantastic sides. It also features more than 30 different varieties of imported and domestic beer and draft options are all made by local brewers; they also have a complete wine selection, mimosas, sangria and ciders.
The Whiskey Room at King’s Bowl at the Galleria is a relative newcomer to the area. Kings Bowl was founded in 2002 as a mission to create a new dining and entertainment experience that revitalizes the charm and nostalgia of bowling and other social games that have faded in America since their heydays. Not your average bowling alley, Kings Dining & Entertainment takes a restaurant-first approach with amazing scratch dishes from its chef-driven, award-winning kitchen in a classic retro environment. At King’s Dining & Entertainment, you can dine in one of three premium bars, on a 60-seat patio with fire pit and beer garden, or right at your bowling lane.
The Whiskey Room LIVE, part of the King’s Bowl complex, is a 120-seat entertainment stage with state-of-the-art audio and lighting. “Music is part of our DNA,” the owner said, and the Nashville area just seemed like an ideal location to introduce our first Whiskey Room and music venue.”
thefuntimesguide.com
Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers was established in 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia as a single pizzeria; the headquarters are still there. This downtown restaurant has live music in the summer on the square. Sixty-Four, a Beatles cover band, will be playing every second Saturday!
The Gray Drug Co. was a landmark pharmacy here for nearly a century. In 2013, after careful restoration, the three-story Gray’s on Main was unveiled, honoring Tennessee’s cultural heritage through fresh spirits, flavors and sounds. The menu reflects the best of the South in food, with a focus on locally and regionally sourced ingredients. The second floor bar and music hall features live performances from the best musicians in the area.
The Pond is a local neighborhood bar with music; they also offer happy hour daily from to 7 p.m. The bar is for 21+ and they do allow smoking. And for those who like late nights, they are open until 3:00 a.m.
Arrington Vineyards opened its doors July 1, 2007. Since then, we have been providing a “wine country experience” of award winning wines set among the picturesque rolling hills of middle Tennessee. Arrington Vineyards hosts Music in the Vines every year from April through October every Saturday and Sunday. To view the entire schedule, check the event calendar. They offer two live music locations on the property; they host live jazz groups in the courtyard and live bluegrass bands by the Grand Barn. Both music events are free!
from visitfranklin.com
The Franklin Theatre was established in 1937, but time caught up with the theatre and in 2007 it closed. Thanks to a community wide effort, headed by the Heritage Foundation, the theatre was restored. It now shows standard movies, recorded music and now also has live music. Featuring well known groups and singers, the theatre has reclaimed its place in downtown.
Music City Roots, Live From The Factory is a weekly, radio show and webcast that revives the historic legacy of live musical radio production in Nashville. Broadcast on Wednesday nights from 7pm to about 9:30 pm, CST, Music City Roots showcases Nashville’s astonishing music scene, from country and Americana to more progressive interpreters of tradition — a “roots and branches” format that brings together fans of different tastes and generations. The show is broadcast live over WMOT/Roots Radio 89.5 FM from Middle Tennessee State University and webcast in Livestream.
Graystone Quarry in Thompson Station is just beginning to be an outdoor music venue and there will be outdoor music concerts coming soon!
And we can’t leave out the big annual music festival at Harlinsdale Farm! The Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival is become a well-known outdoor music concert. 2018 will be the 3rd year, and it continues to grow and have popular musicians.
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