AmericanaFest 2023: Thursday Show Recommendations

Hats off to the AmericanaFest organizers for making the festival look more and more like the America we actually live in. It feels like there’s a fight unfolding for the soul of American music, with the overlapping country, roots and Americana communities right in the middle. We all know the real action is on the undercard, including an absolute banger of a showcase spotlighting LGBTQ artists at The Vinyl Lounge. At the top of the bill and playing at 11 p.m. is our cover interviewee, the ever-awesome Adeem the Artist, and we are especially excited about Mya Byrne’s set at 10 p.m. Rhinestone Tomboy, Byrne’s debut record for Kill Rock Stars Nashville, is as queer as it is catchy, a détournement of American music traditions that is very welcome and very refreshing. Her “Autumn Sun” will absolutely be our festival theme song, while “Burn This State House Down” is at the ready for any time the legislature gets together. The outrageously talented Willi Carlisle brings rich story-focused songs and underrated guitar playing to his set, which starts at 8 p.m.

Of course, you can get started much earlier. At noon, The Native Guitars Tour’s Voices of Native Americana program brings Indigenous musicians, artists and fashion designers to The Blue Room, while the Northern Lights Music showcase kicks off at 1 p.m. at City Winery, with Brandi Carlile, Instrumentalist of the Year nominees SistaStrings and more. The Equal Access program, beginning at 4 p.m. at The Music Makers’ Stage at Delgado Guitars, gives you another chance to see Byrne and other folks in an intimate setting. (Update, 9/21/2023: Due to a conflicting engagement, Byrne had to drop off the bill for the Equal Access program.)

There is no rest for the wicked stoked, so we’re hoping to teleport across the Music City-verse in time to catch Nat Myers, who’s on at 10 p.m. at 3rd and Lindsley. The Kentucky-residing Korean American bluesman’s new Dan Auerbach-produced album Yellow Peril investigates and interprets American traditional music in a way that feels corrective, contemporary and classic. Myers’ deep, resonant voice anchors achingly attentive songwriting and seriously downhome picking that feels like it climbed out of the Victorola to slap that cellphone out of your hand. Myers’ set is nestled in between Nashville mainstay and swoon-worthy singer Jonell Mosser and the Tajmaholics at 9 and a Tribute to Loretta Lynn at 11; performers haven’t been announced yet, but the Coal Miner’s Daughter has influenced so many talented people that it’s bound to be a blast.

Across town at the Station Inn, folk historian and world-class performer Dom Flemmons (who plays at 8 p.m.) warms up the stage for legendary bluesman Bobby Rush (on at 9) for an evening that will likely involve some of the best stories you’ve ever heard told onstage and some of the strongest tunes of the whole weekend. Tommy Prine — who happens to be the son of a guy named John who wrote a song or three you might like, though Tommy does his own thing — makes his festival debut at City Winery at 7 p.m., and you’ll definitely want to stick around for The Secret Sisters at 9.

If you’re on the hunt for string-band sounds, Analog at Hutton Hotel boasts Steep Canyon Rangers at 7 p.m., Philip Bowen at 8, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper at 9 and Dan Tyminski Band at 10. And if you’d like to get your bowl on, you can get a few frames in before never-not-cool rocking country songsmiths like Chuck Mead (playing at 8:30 p.m.) and Amy Rigby (on at 9:30) take over Eastside Bowl.