By Luke Brogden, Jennifer Duncan-Rankin, John Flannagan, Matt Miller and Matt Rankin
For the 10th edition of Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms, Knoxville’s preeminent rock, folk and Americana festival, one might think producer Chyna Brackeen and her Attack Monkey Productions team, along with the Dogwood Arts crew, would be content to resume prior systems, set the controls to cruise and celebrate their accomplishments.
Instead, they continue to innovate.
This year’s iteration again has multiple new elements coming into play. Firstly, the festival has taken major steps to diversify its booking practices in order to assemble an inclusive lineup. Brackeen says she is proud to report that Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms is following Keychange, an international initiative created by a nonprofit arts arm of the European Union devoted to promoting more inclusive booking practices for female artists. She also emphasizes wanting to promote artists of color and those from the LGBTQ+ community.
“One of the things I am pretty proud of this year is that over 50 percent [of the lineup] is female, and over a third are people of color,” Brackeen says. “It’s not sacrificing quality, it is more inclusive and representative of our society. I started talking about it last year, and [there] is really a push in the industry. If somebody brings their little girl to this festival, I want them to see a girl up onstage and know they could do that one day.”
A second major development this year is the implementation of a street-fair element along Jackson Avenue. Since the relocation of the festival to the Old City five years ago, the area situated underneath the interstate and adjacent to Jackson has housed the Cripple Creek Stage, the main stage where headliners perform, as well as beer, liquor and food vendors. With perimeter fencing in place, attendees were forced to finish or dispose of any alcoholic beverages before leaving that area. Merrymaking could continue once they re-entered another festival venue that sold alcohol.
This year, however, the festival was able to secure the appropriate permits to allow for both another stage on Jackson and the placement of vendors lining the length of the avenue from Cripple Creek to where it intersects with Central Street. This new setup should give the festival the feel of a genuine street fair each day.
“I’ve always wanted to see that in the past,” Brackeen says. “I want that street-fair feeling. I want people to be able to buy a beer at the main stage and walk all the way down the street with it and peruse some vendor tents with it. I’m really excited; it’s going to be a huge addition.”
The new outdoor venue along that stretch, the Kid Curry Stage, is named for the infamous onetime partner of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Arrested in the Old City for brawling in a bar and then shooting two officers, the outlaw later escaped from jail, stole the sheriff’s horse and rode it out of town across the Gay Street Bridge. Throughout the weekend, Kid Curry will host sets that are free and open to the public, running up until the headlining primetime sets begin at Cripple Creek.
The Kid Curry slate is packed with talented performers, too. Artists like Katie Pruitt, Cereus Bright and Andy Wood will make appearances there on Friday, while local favorites like Teen Spirit and Temp Job (among others) will play there on Saturday. On Sunday, regional favorites and Bonnaroo alums Three Star Revival will headline the outdoor stage just before Dawes takes to the main stage.
The focus on showcasing local talent has always been an integral part of Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms. “It’s been important to me to give a platform to our local artists,” Brackeen says. “I think that if your hometown festival isn’t going to embrace you, it’s going to be hard to get Bonnaroo or Coachella to embrace you. In a lot of cases, it may be the first festival one of these bands may get to play, and I am proud to do that.”
However, Brackeen is somewhat leery of using “local” as descriptor for any of the acts, as it is almost a misnomer for a large percentage of the Knoxville bands on the bill. Many of them are either independently touring or even signed, and several just claim the city as a home base. Artists like Three Star Revival, Joey English, Daje Morris and Brian Paddock and the American Gentleman have multiple critically acclaimed albums under their belts and frequently play out of town. Brackeen manages The Black Lillies, who started in Knoxville but return to the festival as seasoned veterans of multiple cross-country tours and chart-topping albums.
“In a lot of cases, I am almost embarrassed to say ‘local’ because they are based here,” she explains. “But many of them play everywhere, so I tend to prefer to say ‘locally based’ because they happen to be based here. That just starts to help build this region’s reputation for music, too. I want [people] to expect that there’s good music in Knoxville.”
One internationally renowned artist who can attest to the solid reputation Knoxville has built over the years is Dave Eggar, veteran Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms performer and celebrated Grammy-nominated cellist, bandleader and composer. This year he returns with Holler Jake and Cellogram, his collaboration with percussionist Chuck Palmer. They recently wrapped up a tour opening for Evanescence, a group with whom Eggar often has recorded and performed in the past.
“It sort of feels like home,” says Eggar of Knoxville and Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms in particular. Such a statement is high praise from an artist who was a musical prodigy, debuting at Carnegie Hall at 15 years old as the youngest-ever winner of the New York Artists International Competition, performing regularly on Broadway and later attending Juilliard and Harvard. He would go on to pen multiple award-winning world-music albums as a solo artist, score independent films, lead symphonic sections for classic-rock bands like Foreigner and create signature hooks in the studio for pop acts like Coldplay, Zayne Malik and Phillip Phillips.
Eggar was taught lessons as a boy from legendary composer Aaron Copland, who had retired in the Eggar family’s small New York suburb. One of Copland’s notable works is “Appalachian Spring,” indicative of his fascination with this region. Eggar says that Copland and, later on, musicians from this area were able to impart knowledge that sometimes his classical training left out: the beauty of a heartfelt story and a simple melody at the core of an intricate movement.
Eggar says he feels that connection deeply when playing with local musicians like fiddler Evie Andrus, who will be joining him with Holler Jake. “We come from different places, but we cross-pollinate,” he says of the collaboration. “I feel like, as a cello player, at the end of the day you’re a fiddler, and the most important part as a musician is being a storyteller.”
Eggar says he enjoys the crowds in Knoxville, as well, because of their appreciation for stringed music when much of the country has gone so digital. “It’s really powerful to come to a part of America where playing is so revered,” he says. “Such a welcoming, powerful feeling … you want to feel that connectivity.”
Fans of interactive sets should enjoy both of Eggar’s sets. Holler Jake features break-dancing, jamming, classical, jazz, bluegrass, funk and more, whereas Cellogram presents all original compositions between Eggar and Palmer, who have worked together on several projects, most notably the Grammy-nominated 2011 album “Kingston Morning.”
“I think our skills really complement each other,” Eggar says of his musical partnership with Palmer. “We’re really excited. We have a high-energy show. It’s an honor to be back in such a musical city.” – Luke Brogden
Below are a few of the acts the BLANK fam are looking forward to. If you’re reading this post-fest and weren’t able to catch them live, give these bands a listen.
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NPR’s “Tiny Desk” concert series has made quite the impact on this year’s Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms lineup, with this act appearing on the program just this March. Both accomplished solo performers, singer Donn T and rapper Chill Moody first debuted as a duo last year at The Roots’ annual Jam Session and have been collaborating ever since. The chemistry between these two is unmistakable and manifests itself in both their writing and performances. Their first album, “Ethel Bobcat,” features song titles like “WAR,” “Rise Up,” “4Ever 1st Lady” and “Future Come Around,” which may seem too political or confrontational for some, but each really is more of a call to build community by addressing each other with love and compassion – and to engage in meaningful conversations rather than shouting matches. Donn T’s voice is strong but comforting, while Chill Moody is earnest and deliberate in delivering his messages. You can catch these guys deliver what’s likely to be a powerful performance Friday night at the Pilot Light. – Jennifer Duncan-Rankin
Benji.
Pittsburgh native Ian Benjamin Welch aka Benji. (stylized with a period) knows better than most what it’s like to persevere through blow after life-sucking blow. From a close friend’s suicide to thinking he had his entire life’s work stolen, Benji. chose to pick up the pieces and start over instead of throwing up his hands and calling it quits. Life rewarded him for that positive attitude by hiding a flash drive containing “Smile, You’re Alive!,” his completed debut album, in a forgotten backpack. Retooling it and weaving in some new material inspired by a rotten few years, Benji. turned out an album that beautifully displays the range of human emotion, from the fun, sexy and danceable “Mimosa” to the honest yet relatable frustrations of feeling like you’re never able to keep up on “Sanctuary.” Benji.’s flow and delivery are downright magnetic – so much so that NPR took notice, naming him among their 20 artists to watch in 2019. Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms is giving you three opportunities to do just that over the weekend (including one set that will be free and open to the public on Saturday), so there simply is no excuse to not catch at least one amazing performance that no doubt will find you rapping right along with him by the end. – JDR
Dawes
Brothers Goldsmith (Taylor on guitar/vocals and Griffin on drums), along with Wylie Gelber (bass) and Lee Pardini (keyboards), are no strangers to playing in the Scruffy City, having performed here several times in the past. They even headlined Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms back in 2013 when the festival still utilized the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum. This time around, however, the four-piece is a more mature collective that consistently has charted at or near the top of Billboard’s categories for folk and Americana albums since 2011’s “Nothing Is Wrong,” and it has had a string of charted records in the rock category, as well. Dawes are touring off of last year’s “Passwords,” which saw the return of Jonathon Wilson, the man who produced the group’s first two albums. The resulting collection of songs is mellower and more romantic than past efforts. No word yet if Taylor’s wife Mandy Moore will be in attendance at the festival; guess you’ll have to attend Sunday evening’s Cripple Creek show to find out. Either way, you won’t be disappointed. – John Flannagan
Rainbow Girls
This trio of college friends based out of Northern California has been making music together for over a decade. They cover many different styles, from the folksy “39 Green Lights” from their 2017 album “American Dream” to the rocking and slightly Spanish-sounding “Painted Cave” from “The Sound of Light.” Their songwriting tells many different kinds of stories, too, from ones about love to ones expressing frustration over social injustices, as can be heard in “Song for Standing Rock,” written about the pipeline built through indigenous lands in the Dakotas. Instrumentation, while cool and intriguing on its own, takes a backseat with this group, as their harmonies are nothing short of exquisite. They put their voices on full display on this year’s “Give the People What They Want,” an album full of covers like John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” and “Helplessly Hoping” by Crosby, Stills & Nash. You can catch them Friday evening at the Pilot Light, but if you miss out on that one, there’s another opportunity Saturday afternoon at the Kid Curry Stage. – JDR
Sloppy Jane
One of the most – if not THE most – raucous offerings on this year’s lineup comes in the form of the mysterious bicoastal band Sloppy Jane. Consisting of eight-plus members, the group is spearheaded by artist-in-every-sense-of-the-word Haley Dahl, who has been working on this project since she was a teenager. Live, this punk-fueled act offers what’s really more of a complete performance piece that leaves audiences with little choice but to be pulled in by the spectacle. The music rises to peaks full of noisy guitars, wild percussion and random screams and ebbs to quiet moments featuring vulnerable vocal turns, telling a story all the while. Watch as Dahl at times writhes around the stage in scant clothing, other times letting blue liquid drip from her mouth. Taken as a whole, it’s a can’t-miss performance that deviates fairly drastically from the Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms norm. Catch them at the Pilot Light – which absolutely is the most appropriate of venues for this show – on Saturday night. – JDR
Tristen
Singer-songwriter Tristen Gaspadarek has been crafting pop ballads since the mid-aughts, having toured over the years with the likes of Those Darlins and Jenny Lewis. Always busy creating, Tristen has released four albums to date, most recently the critically lauded “Sneaker Waves,” an album that showcases the musician’s knack for producing excellent pop music with plenty of hooks and that expertly blends elements of garage and twang into the mix. Tristen has collaborated with artists as diverse as good friend Caitlin Rose, noisy rockers JEFF the Brotherhood and psych standouts All Them Witches, and she even found time to release a book of poetry in 2016. You will have the opportunity to catch Tristen on two separate occasions on Sunday: first at the Jig & Reel and later at the Pilot Light. – JF
Katie Pruitt
In a weekend driven by diverse, powerful female musicians, it’s only fitting to kick off with Nashville’s increasingly popular transplant, Katie Pruitt, who is becoming a common name in festival undercards this year. Pruitt’s powerful voice and incredible melodies shine onstage, but it’s her strong and honest songwriting that will draw you in. Backed by a collection of stellar Nashville musicians (including the talented Jess Nolan), her performances are entrenched in the same raw vulnerability and emotion that is heard in each of her songs. Pruitt’s authenticity and talent, along with stories that appeal widely to different audiences, are driving her success. Constantly drawing comparisons to Brandi Carlile and Joni Mitchell, this unique, genre-bending artist is a must-see to kick off this year’s festival. – Matt Miller
Rayland Baxter
Rayland Baxter steps in on Saturday evening to replace Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. This Nashville favorite is a great addition, bringing his unique, pop-influenced storytelling to a lineup that celebrates a great story. Baxter immerses himself into his writing and strives to be a captivating writer and performer. His latest release, “Wide Awake,” has a heavy Beatles influence, full of catchy melodies with Americana roots. Get ready for one of the most energetic, compelling and rocking sets of the weekend with Baxter’s main stage performance. – MM
Scott Mulvahill
For the last decade, the 30-year-old world-renowned upright bassist, Scott Mulvahill, has made a name for himself in many music communities. Sharing stages with Alison Krauss, Bruce Hornsby, Ricky Skaggs and many more, Mulvahill is a master of his craft, both when performing with others and writing his own songs. His catchy melodies, gripping narratives and impressive skill drives his success as a front man, and his live shows are being praised for his unique style and talent. If you are a big fan of Ben Sollee or The Wood Brothers, Scott Mulvahill may just be your favorite show of the weekend. – MM
Frances Cone
This soulful indie band from Nashville is just another example of the festival’s terrific ability to choose great storytellers from multiple genres across the southeast and beyond. Frances Cone consists of duo Christina Cone and Andrew Doherty, who bring amazing harmonies to their stories of love and struggle. Driven by building percussion and dreamy synths, their sound is emotional and entrancing, an experience that will fit the Pilot Light perfectly on Sunday afternoon. – MM
The Suffers
You won’t find a band more soulful or groovy this weekend than Houston’s The Suffers on Sunday afternoon. From head to toe, the 10-person soul collective, lead by the vocally powerful and lovable Kam Franklin, represents what soul and R&B was meant to be. The band considers their sound “Gulf Coast Soul,” but combines strong elements of reggae, ska, hip-hop and rock. The band is energetic, entertaining, precise and guaranteed to make you move. The Suffers are another example of the diversity and talent this festival brings, proving that music can be fun, intelligent and captivating all at once. – MM
Tank and the Bangas
I distinctly remember hearing this band’s winning NPR “Tiny Desk” performance in 2017 and being positively struck, absolutely sure they were on the edge of blowing up. Boy howdy, was I right! Take my advice and DO NOT MISS THIS BAND! They are so versatile, blending bouncy funk, zippy jazz, soulful grooves and driving hip-hop into the most energizing music that will ever hit your ears. Frontwoman Tarronia “Tank” Ball spent years in the New Orleans spoken-word poetry scene honing her skills as a wordsmith, and the musicians with which she’s surrounded herself all are just as experienced and talented. Ball’s confidence oozes out of the speakers, exuding an effortless air of cool that is simply magnetic. Listen to the newly released single “Nice Things” to get you in the mood for what will be the most booty-shaking show of the festival. Don’t miss the party Saturday night on the Cripple Creek Stage. – JDR
Good Guy Collective
Knoxville’s best-known and most-loved hip-hop collective is much more than a group of musicians. They are “good guys” in every sense, using their talent and influence to improve the community around them. They offer workshops, mentor youth and work with community leaders, using music and art to build better citizens. Well-known members include cousins Black Atticus and J Bush, who have been making names for themselves for years as solo artists. Their music addresses a variety of topics, from serious societal issues to fun and flirty romance. Check out these hometown boys-done-good either Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon at the Pilot Light. – JDR
Cereus Bright
A few years ago, these local roots rockers ascended to a promising level of fame that ultimately proved to be untenable, and the group eventually disbanded. However, early this year and with the blessing of the group’s other co-founder Evan Ford, Tyler Anthony resurrected the Cereus Bright name as a creative outlet for the songs he had written and that had accumulated in the year since the dissolution of the original lineup. The new material is looser and rawer than much of what had come to define the previous iteration of the band, and it is heartfelt and relatable – perfect for a late-afternoon set on Friday at the outdoor Kid Curry Stage. – Matt Rankin
Gamenight
This Knoxville four-piece is a throwback in the best sense of the word, as it churns out poppy nuggets of catchy indie rock that harken back to the genre’s ‘90s heyday and that are reminiscent of the output of Superdrag, another esteemed outfit the Scruffy City produced in that fabled decade. The group’s most recent effort, “Buddro,” is a patient, fully realized album brimming with excellent guitar work and dripping with honeyed vocals. Gamenight’s lone appearance at Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms will occur late Friday night/early Saturday morning at the Pilot Light, but it is worth it to stay up late to watch one of the best under-the-radar acts on the bill do their thing in front of a hometown crowd. – MR
Handsome and the Humbles
Josh Smith is in fact a good-looking frontman, but what is most attractive about the hulking bandleader isn’t his physical appearance, but rather his songwriting ability, which has developed considerably in the nearly three years since the group released its debut album. Last year’s “We’re All the Same” showcased this new maturity, with several songs featuring honest, open lyricism buoyed by expertly crafted musicianship. The band will bring its earnest brand of alt-country to Boyd’s Jig & Reel twice over the weekend: the first time will be late Friday night/early Saturday morning and then again on Sunday afternoon. – MR
Temp Job
Before Tank and the Bangas deliver a knockout haymaker to your noggin on Saturday night, Knoxville’s own Temp Job is going to leave you stunned, swarmer-style, with a peppering of rhythmic uppercuts to your jaw. Dazzling staccato vocal stylings punctuate driving, eclectic instrumentation, resulting in a feverish, surging wall of sound that has wowed every crowd that has witnessed the group perform and which has led to strong word-of-mouth support rapidly growing its devoted fanbase. In addition to bringing the funk, the large collective exudes boundless energy, enticing even the most buttoned-up of observers to bust a move at each Temp Job show I’ve attended. With temperatures expected to be hovering in the mid-80s and the booze flowing freely on Jackson Avenue, don’t be surprised if a full-on block party breaks out during this set on the Kid Curry Stage. – MR
Travis Bigwood and The Lonesome Doves
A member of local favorites Guy Marshall and Sweet Years, Bigwood already has proven himself to be a versatile, immensely talented musician. But his ambitions aren’t limited to playing supportive roles; with this project serving as a vehicle for his individual abilities, he is just now beginning to make a name for himself as a solo artist. With a timbre akin to that of Conor Oberst and snippets of tracks emerging to suggest that he possesses the songwriting chops to match such a lofty comparison, Bigwood is provided with gorgeous harmonious backing by Aubrey Mullins and Skylan Bracey and musical accompaniment from bassist Cord Johnson. The four face stiff competition at their time slot on Sunday, but be present at the Jig & Reel that evening to witness a budding voice in the world of Americana captivate a receptive audience at Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms. – MR
