Artsy Fartsy is a semi-annual event started by Nashvillian Morganne Allen. It began in her front yard in 2022 with three bands and three vendors. After her landlord threatened to evict her if she did it again, she expanded to venues all across Nashville. Happening this Thursday (August 14) at Brooklyn Bowl, each event aims to raise funds for local charities through raffles or canned food drives while featuring live performances from artists such as Avalon, Summer Joy and Jarren Blair alongside vendors including visual artists, chefs and tattoo artists. The fest is designed to ensure that all people have the opportunity to share their talents in a welcoming and accessible space.

This week is the 2025 Tomato Art Fest on Friday and Saturday in East Nashville’s Five Points. Featuring activities and contests, the parade, Bloody Mary Garden Party, of course tomato art, and musician performances from Nashville artists Brennan Wedl, Gee Slab, Pressure Heaven, BEAN., and more. If you are looking for pre Tomato Art Fest activities, there’s a pre-view party on Thursday. An unofficial Tomato Art Fest celebration is Pre-Mater Party happening at the East Room on Thursday (August 7). 

Pro Wrestling Symphony mission is to provided pro wrestling for everyone in the heart of Music City. The promotion officially ran their first show back in June with their latest event happening this Sunday (August 3) at Brooklyn Bowl blending wrestling and live music from Nashville band Year of October.  Owners Rory Miller, Connor Casey, and Pat Dooley, met at a wrestling training school. Wanting to go to wrestling shows consistently and feeling like no one was running them in Nashville properly, the three thought, why not us? Miller says they put a lot of care, time, and attention into this, wanting to see pro wrestling succeed on the independent level, especially with its history in Middle Tennessee.

The Symphonic Blues Experience will stop in Nashville on Friday, September 26, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. According to the show's description, this immersive musical performance fuses the raw, aching power of authentic Delta Blues with the grandeur of a symphony orchestra, creating a soundscape that is both deeply rooted and breathtakingly expansive. Featuring cinematic narration by Freeman and powerful storytelling, masterful performances by Blues artists from Ground Zero Blues Club, and sweeping orchestral arrangements, Symphonic Blues unveils the Delta’s profound cultural legacy and its indelible influence on music across the world. 

This year's 2025 Kindling Arts Fest is happening Thursday through Sunday. Kindling Arts is an organization that helps support and provide the practical infrastructure necessary for creatives to make original, innovative and independent live performances. The festival will feature 19 original projects ranging from an electropop musical and contemporary dance to interactive performances at eight different venues across Nashville. 

This week for What Where When-sday, we feature Walk Bike Nashville’s Open Streets Summer Series happening this Sunday from noon until 5 p.m.. The local nonprofit has been around for over 25 years dedicated to making Nashville more walkable, bikeable, and livable for everybody. Meredith Montgomery, executive director of Walk Bike Nashville says they want people to be able to get wherever they need using whatever mode of transportation they want to use. And behind the scenes, the organization is doing a lot of grassroots work with the neighborhoods to inform and educate people so they can help shape their streets into great spaces.

Adrian Younge, multi-instrumentalist and composer that has worked with the likes of Roy Ayers, Tony Allen, The Delfonics, to Kendrick Lamar and Ghostface Killah, provided scores for Luke Cage and Black Dynamite and one of the brains behind the Jazz is Dead series with Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest. He just released a new album Linear Labs: Sao Paulo featuring appearance from Snoop Dogg & Bilal and his third installment of his Something About April series. 

Ohio band DEVO, some of the founding fathers of New Wave, continue celebrating 50 years of "Devo-lution" on an extended American tour, which will soon feature dates with The B-52s. The "DEVO" documentary begins streaming on Netflix in August. Frontman Mark Mothersbaugh caught up with WNXP before DEVO's festival performance in Utah to discuss the band's origin, its message and how he sees technology interacting with art of all kinds.

When you go to a live show these days, you are expecting to see a spectacle — some artistic production that will blow you away. Behind the scenes, there’s one person responsible for bringing this production to life, wrangling dozens of people and fixing daily snafus - the Production Manager. Episode 4 of Music Citizens goes behind the scenes with Nashville production manger Tori Butash. We explore how her job has become more complicated in recent years and how the pandemic continues to impact touring. Voices in the episode include: ·         Jason Moon Wilkins — Host ·         Justin Barney — Reporter, Producer ·         Tori Butash — Production Manager ·         Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso — Touring Musicians ·         Michael Pollard— Touring crew member ·         Various Wilco tour members This episode was produced by Justin Barney, Emily Siner and Jason Moon Wilkins. Mixing and Mastering by Michael Pollard. Scoring by Jay Ragsdale. Tape sync by Brian Burns. Special thanks to Tony Gonzalez, Jewly Hight, Marquis Munson, Cindy Abrams, Carly Butler, Stephanie O’Byrne, and everyone who helped. Institutional support from Tennessee Arts Commission, Metro Arts Thrive and First Horizon Foundation. Follow WNXP on social platforms as @WNXPNashville

We have a famous actor paying tribute to a rock legend. Hank Azaria brings his EZ Street Band to the Franklin Theatre tomorrow night. The acclaimed actor and voice artist, best known for his decades of work on The Simpsons, will be using his talents  to celebrate Bruce Springsteen. Azaria spent months creating an impression of Bruce’s speaking and singing voice but he told our very own Jason Moon Wilkins during an interview that the concert experience is more than just a night of cover songs. He also tells us what Springsteen and Julia Roberts have in common and what the Boss himself thinks of the EZ Street Band.

When you go to a live show these days, you are expecting to see a spectacle — some artistic production that will blow you away. Behind the scenes, there’s one person responsible for bringing this production to life, wrangling dozens of people and fixing daily snafus - the Production Manager. Episode 4 of Music Citizens goes behind the scenes with Nashville production manger Tori Butash. We explore how her job has become more complicated in recent years and how the pandemic continues to impact touring. Tori Boutash is The Wrangler. Coming July 9 anywhere you get your podcasts.

his week for What Where When-sday, we discuss Shops at Porter East’s First Sunday. Located at 701 Porter Road in East Nashville, Shops at Porter East is a go-to shopping center for locally owned businesses featuring bakeries, boutiques, floral shops and more. The first Sunday of every month they host a family friendly event to bring together local vendors, food trucks, and the community, to raise awareness for the shopping center.  Allison Holley, who owns Apple & Oak, talks about starting First Sunday told me how she came up with the idea and why she opened a shop at Porter East.

This week is also Nashville Pride with the festival and parade this weekend. One of the Grand Marshals this year is former WNXP Nashville Artist of the Month Joy Oladokun, and performers include Chrysalis, Estelle, Kim Petras, 4 Non Blondes and Big Freddia with Nashville in Harmony. There’s also interactive booths throughout Bicentennial Park including one for Nashville CARES, celebrating their 40-year anniversary. Founded in 1985, Nashville CARES is the premier HIV/AIDS service organization in Tennessee. Dr. Kassem Bourgi says Pride is more than just a festival or a celebration, but an event that would allow them to serve the community.

Recorded live to tape in Nashville with an all-star band initially assembled for a southeastern festival performance, Scratch It is the new full-length album by Meg Remy, who performs as U.S. Girls. We got Remy on the record with WNXP discussing lyrical inspiration, the weighed risk/reward of touring and the new-to-her process of making Scratch It.

Tomorrow is Juneteenth with programming happening throughout Middle Tennessee including Juneteenth Kickback at Brooklyn Bowl, Community Day at the National Museum of African American Music, and the annual celebration at Fort Negley. This week for What Where When-sday, we discuss Juneteenth programming at the Tennessee State Museum. Stephanie Davis, Communication Assistant at the museum, tell about the importance of black history in Tennessee and their event on Thursday. 

Celebrating the music of Sly Stone, who passed away at the age of 82 earlier this week. For someone who wants to dive into his story further, there is an documentary titled Sly Live (aka the Burden of Black Genius) on Hulu and Disney Plus. Directed by Questlove and produced by Joseph Patel, Patel joins for Soulphonic Sounds to talk about the documentary and the legacy Sly Stone left on music.

French electronic duo Justice plays a late night set at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival this year. Acclaim for their most recent LP Hyperdrama, including hit collaborations with Tame Impala, has grown their audience. So has their legendary live stage production.

This week for What Where When-sday, we discuss a performance from AfricaNashville happening at The Blue Room this Friday. The group’s stated mission includes aspiring to train the upcoming generation of dancers & drummers within the Nashville community and helping African music find its rightful place in Music City. We spoke with Windship Boyd, who co-founded AfricaNashville with the saxophonist, Jeff Coffin, about the organization and this week’s show. 

In the sea of musicians in Nashville, it’s hard to stand out. It’s even more of a challenge to carve your own path in a folk and Americana scene that seems to grow by the minute. Yet chrysalis has done just that. As their name suggests, their artistry is ever-growing and ever-changing. Grounded in folk sensibilities, their sound blends indie production with traditional instrumentation. They describe themselves “as a patchwork amalgamation of genres and sounds,” drawing inspiration from Joni Mitchell to Indigo De Souza. Watch chrysalis perform “do you?,” “too early” and “how much longer?” live at WNXP’s Sonic Cathedral here. 

Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, a married couple that started their musical project Tennis 15 years ago writing songs on a sailboat, have just released what they're calling their final record, Face Down In The Garden. They've also embarked on their final tour, which stops in Nashville June 7. We caught up with them at the Kilby Block Party festival in Utah in May.