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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...
John Carpenter
Feb 5, 20244 min read
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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...
John Carpenter
Jan 30, 20245 min read
58 views
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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...
John Carpenter
Jan 2, 20242 min read
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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...
John Carpenter
Nov 29, 20235 min read
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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...
John Carpenter
Oct 26, 20234 min read
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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,...
John Carpenter
Sep 19, 20234 min read
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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...
John Carpenter
Oct 11, 20225 min read
33 views
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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...
John Carpenter
Oct 7, 20222 min read
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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...
John Carpenter
May 27, 20223 min read
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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...
mary carpenter
Feb 21, 20224 min read
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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...
John Carpenter
Oct 25, 20213 min read
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