The Milk Carton Kids Were Made for the Ryman Auditorium
You know you’re going to hear beautiful music at a Milk Carton Kids show. But there is trepidation when they are the headliner. A small...
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John Carpenter
Jan 305 min read
Elvis Costello Still Knows How to Piss People Off
Okay, maybe not piss off exactly. It takes an artist of a certain stature and temperament to make 2,300 fans wait through two-plus hours...
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John Carpenter
Jan 22 min read
Foot Stomping Ryman New Year's Eve with Old Crow Medicine Show
Always good to start the year with a 2,300-person sing-along. (And I’m not talking about “Auld Lang Syne,” a song I never really...
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John Carpenter
Nov 29, 20235 min read
Liz Phair, 'Guyville,' and Happy, Hazy Memories of Early '90s Chicago
The shifting ground between youth and adulthood in my post-college years was an awesome time, at least as far as I can remember. It was a...
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John Carpenter
Oct 26, 20234 min read
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: Another Ryman Tour de Force
“Let’s see if we can turn a Sunday night into a Saturday night,” Jason Isbell told his band. Then they did. What a pleasure to catch a...
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John Carpenter
Sep 19, 20234 min read
Rhiannon Giddens at the Ryman: Reclaiming American Music One Song at a Time
Rhiannon Giddens and her band served up a lot of powerful music at the Ryman Auditorium this weekend. But it was a salty,...
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John Carpenter
Oct 11, 20225 min read
A Ryman Love Letter to the Late Great John Prine
I don’t know how John Prine would have felt about Monday night’s Covid-delayed celebration of his life. He probably would have cracked a...
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John Carpenter
Oct 7, 20222 min read
Father John Misty Blesses Nashville's Mother Church
Our expectations were somewhat low for Father John Misty. We were only going because good friends are big fans and built a Nashville...
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John Carpenter
May 27, 20223 min read
Bonnie Raitt Remembers an Old Friend at the Ryman
It’s so wonderful when an artist you’ve been wanting to see for years comes through with a killer show. Such was the case with the great...
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mary carpenter
Feb 21, 20224 min read
One Last Party at the Ryman With Robert Earl Keen
So I caught my first Robert Earl Keen show, at the Ryman here in Nashville. Good thing too, since the legendary Texas songwriter is on...
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John Carpenter
Oct 25, 20213 min read
Jason Isbell at the Ryman: A Magical Night at the Mother Church
Jason Isbell’s is a voice that commands attention, singing words and playing music that rewards the effort. It’s a gift to see an artist...
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