An Adroit Night at The Bluebird and how to be a Songwriter Savvy Local

There is a special joy that comes from being able to share something uniquely beautiful with someone who has not been exposed to it before. I got to do that this week. I took a friend to the Bluebird Café.

The Bluebird Café is often recommended to the more savvy tourists in tones of awe, but the dirty little secret is that not many of the locals have actually been…which is why you may get precious few facts to accompany the recommendation. The other reason is that, like other truly unique artistic experiences, the kinetic energy of a good night at The Bluebird is something that is hard to put into words.

For the uninitiated, here’s the skinny. The Bluebird is a tiny little place in Green Hills that started up in the 80s and turned the tradition of a songwriter’s guitar pull into a publicly accessible Nashville treasure. The story goes that this was the origin of songwriters-in-the-round, a format that has been copied and adapted with many a unique twist in venues all over town. The other uniquely Bluebird aspect is the “Shhhh!” policy. This is not background music…you won’t be chatting. And for God’s sake don’t be the person who forgot to turn off a cell phone.

Typically it is 4 songwriters, facing each other in the center of the room. 4 mics. 4 guitars. You might occasionally get a keyboard or a singer/guitar player combination, but you get the basic idea – it is acoustic. The fundamental rule is that they only play songs they have written, and they go around for 4 or 5 rounds each playing in their turn. Generally, one performer is the host and invites the others to be a part of the round. This means, by definition, that you tend to get co-writers in a round who can comfortably play along, sing harmonies, or make up a guitar solo in the moment.

Some of the best are good singers/performers but that isn’t the magic of a songwriter night. The magic comes from the intimacy of a show that has awkward moments precisely because these are not the headliners themselves, and from the seminal moment when your heartstrings are plucked by the person who wrote the song, who experienced the story, who crafted the emotional journey from their own heart and is now sharing it with you. As an audience member, it is a privilege to be able to share that journey with the first person author.

The performance we went to this week was no exception. Adroit Records, a new indie label that specializes in promoting exposure to the original songwriters, put together two shows as a showcase for their stable of writers and a benefit for the ALS Association (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Mason Douglas hosted the round which also included Cheley Tackett, Ray Sisk, and Brenden McKinney who was a last minute substitute for an ailing Karleen Watt. I had not seen any of these writers perform before, but let me tell you, I will definitely look for their gigs in the future. They were all excellent and there were a couple of real standouts.

Adroit seems to have a knack for collecting writers that are from a very accessible Americana flavor of country music with lots of influences from the blues, folk, and southern rock. This was an early show at The Bluebird and yet nearly every song brought the audience to an emotional peak; there was no filler. And of course, Adroit was hawking their CD, Words and Music, so songs from the CD were featured.

Mason kicked off the show with a personal appeal for the ALS Association. It turns out his father suffered from the disease. It brought a truly genuine feeling to the fundraising effort that you don’t always get when musicians are recruited to help with a cause that may or may not be as personally relevant.

He also did something that I have not seen at a Bluebird benefit before…he integrated the fundraising into the dynamic of the show itself. Ever since the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) took over The Bluebird there have been more and more benefits, and it is easy to become somewhat inured to the causes they represent. But this was no pass-the-bucket fundraiser! As the show progressed audience members tossed money into the center of the songwriter configuration in a cross between teenagers throwing popcorn at the movies and the guitar case of a street corner musician. The audience became the 5th player in this cozy performance, included in the intimacy in an organic and dynamic way. Cheley made an absolutely hysterical comment at one point (perfect comedic timing!) about feeling a special connection with what strippers go through to earn a buck that set the tone for many of the contributions that followed. Unlike many a telethon, it was actually fun!!

Okay, okay…I know. Back to the MUSIC!

Mason’s signature Words and Music tune was a stirring tribute to his father, a Viet Nam Air Force vet, called Home Free. By the end of the first chorus there was a widespread group exhale at the power of a lyric that could have sounded trite but instead was delivered with a genuine respect for the experience of veterans of any generation.

I may come back home to a big parade or to my name carved in stone
But either way, don’t shed a tear for me
Yeah either way I’m comin’ home…
And I’m comin’ home ….free

Any male country singer on the charts today would be lucky to get this song, but I hope Mason keeps it close at hand and uses it to launch his own rise to the top. See, it wasn’t just that the lyrics were sooo poignant. He is also an exceptional performer with a gravelly baritone that brings authenticity to the salt-of-the-earth character of the song. As he demonstrated over the course of the night he is versatile enough to lean into a tender moment or create riotous excitement pretty much at will. Other notable songs included his kick off for the night Call Me When You Need a Man about the age-old barroom battle for the girl. It’s the pretty boy vs. the real man…and let’s just say that no one is pulling for the pretty boy in this version. His closer was also a doozy -- a raucous, hedonistic ditty about the Big Bad Wolf and how he can make you howl!

Cheley Tackett is a regular around town in the Girls With Guitars show, which immediately tells you that she is a saucy broad with a sense of humor, a point of view, and a lot of talent. But her showcased tune, Play the One I Like, is an ode to requesting the deejay to play that perfect song that reminds you of the romantic dream just as you are falling apart.

You must be tired of the same ol' request
But could you please play the one I like

Where the guy gets the girl
And they take on the world
With nothing but their hopes and their dreams
And by the second verse
For better or worse
She promises that she'll never leave
Just for that moment it'll make me feel alright
Could you play the one I like

Ray Sisk demonstrated an ability to countrify the blues or take a leisurely stroll through the story like a cowboy in old Texas. His showcase tune was Memphis (Ain’t No Place to Lose the Blues).

Somewhere tonight the mood is just right for getting’ me over you
But I’m in Memphis, Lord and Memphis ain’t no place to lose the blues

But I found another of his songs, I Cried Like the Rain (Hurricane), even more heartrending, telling the story of a man who is floored when the love of his life up and leaves.

I didn’t cry like the rain in the spring with the feeling of a healing pain
I didn’t cry like a shower on a summer day cooling down a country lane
No I cried like the rain
from a hurricane

Brenden McKinney is a seasoned performer who flew in from Colorado for this evening at The Bluebird. He was scheduled for the second show, but when Karleen Watt was down for the count with bronchitis, he graciously stepped up to do double duty and perform at both shows.

He had some fabulously fun songs that he delivered with a laid back attitude and talent that seemed as natural and easy as putting on a flannel shirt in the wintertime. His signature song was an audience participation phenomenon that took me by surprise. Apparently, there was a loyal Adroit following among the crowd that knew exactly when to jump in and do their part. Yeah, She Does is a bad boy song about a guy getting the girl that is probably out of his league but who ends up loving him anyway. And this is a man who knows what he’s got!

And she feels nice, Yeah she does! She’s all soft and silky smooth
She smells sweet, Yeah she does! Like honeysuckle in bloom
She looks good, Yeah she does! No two ways about it
She really does it for me,
Yeah she does!
Yeah she does!

It was a fabulous night, even by Bluebird standards. And I got to experience it all for the first time (again) through the eyes of the previously uninitiated. Afterward, I asked my friend what he thought and he said “I think that was pretty awesome!” I couldn’t agree more! And once you have experienced it, you can’t help but want to share it with someone new and carry on the tradition, which is pretty awesome in and of itself.

Good to Know:

There are some logistics you should know when you decide to venture to The Bluebird. There are 2 shows a night, Tuesday through Saturday. The early shows (6 or 6:30) are generally the ‘up and coming’ songwriters while the later shows (9 or 9:30) are typically the more established writers. Sundays and Mondays are for the newer writers in town, which is also a unique and special experience but is more hit and miss in terms of well constructed songs that take you through the paces and find emotional and structural resolution. You have to be willing to sit through several songwriters, performing 2 songs each, to discover the diamond in the rough. As you might expect, an invitation for a songwriter to perform the weekend shows is a big deal and those reservations are a little harder to come by.

On that note, reservations are strongly recommended. These days you make your reservations online up to one week before the show. There is a no-reservation line at the door for any empty seats and the handful of church pews in the back, but you should plan to arrive early and be certain you are in the correct line if you go this route. For all seats except the church pews there is a $7 minimum per person and the late shows and weekend shows typically have a small cover charge.

The food is fine, but that’s not why you are there so don’t expect a culinary delight. The service is slow and you need to order early. The wait staff has to make the rounds of the whole joint before the show starts, after all. If you are looking for a night with more than 1 or 2 beverages, make a beeline for a seat at the bar -- location, location, location.

And for the locals who want to be ‘in the know,’ The Bluebird also has a summer concert series at Dyer Observatory that is basically a master class of performers. It is an opportunity to buy a season ticket to great performances without having to know any of the names of great songwriters to find a good show. But that is a story for another day, and the truth is that you will be hard pressed to find a ‘bad show’ at The Bluebird anyway. Try it. You’ll like it.

Where are you reading this blog? You can subscribe at http://singerssongwritersandstorytellers.blogspot.com