Mike Farris and The Cumberland Saints at Grimey's

 Mike Farris played with one of the largest bands ever to do an in-store at Grimey’s the night of October 26th, sharing that honor with Dark Meat and Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings playing a set list from The Night the Cumberland Came Alive which is already number twenty two on the Americana charts on its first day of release. 

The album was recorded live just weeks after the Nashville flood in just six hours.  Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart), Ketch and Gill (Old Crow Medicine Show) and The McCrary Sisters were a part of that session and were able to be a part of the CD release party.

Kenny Vaughan Breaks out at Grimey's

Sharing time with found Pre-War Gospel Blues gems were the originals “The Night the Cumberland Came Alive” written by Mike as well as “Dear Lazarus” that Mike co-wrote with Ketch Secor.

The all acoustic set lead to some great jamming between Ketch on Harmonica, Kenny leaning into the Guitar and some fiddle, Resonator and Upright Bass. It may have been Grimey’s but it might as well have been a church in rural Louisiana or an old juke joint in the Hill Country not long after the Memphis Jug Bands.

Mike even got an encore as he noted that only in Nashville can you walk in with a framework of songs that you would like to do and come up with such a great recorded list in only six hours. Mike will be at Music City Roots Wednesday night with special guest Jerry Douglas at The Loveless Barn which can be heard on WRLT-FM, The Lightning 100.

John Carter Cash

It was too early to head home so I stopped by The Rutledge for The Billy Block Show to listen to John Carter Cash play a more rocking set of songs off his latest release The Family Secret as well as Billy Block on drums with Mary Hartman and the Mistakes. Mary Hartman had garnered some interest with a few fans coming in from Kentucky and Chattanooga after seeing her set from last month on The Billy Block Show on YouTube.

Mary Hartman and The Mistakes

 – Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN     thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com  all photos Brad Hardisty