A Tribute to Bob Marley with Austin Grimm & Friends
02.02.2024 - Uum-Chukka, Uum-Chukka, Uum-Chukka…
Robert Nesta Marley masterfully used one of the most infectious, simple, primal grooves ever created as a vehicle to convey strong lyrics about injustice, freedom, peace and love for everyone. No wonder that a full house assembly of Bob Marley fans turned out for the first Finally Fridays of 2024 with an outstanding lineup of talent that focused on Marley’s incredible body of work.
And those devout Marley-seekers got just what they were looking for…and more! Chris Golden and JB, who have appeared at the Burlap Room in the past with 40 Oz. Burrito: A Sublime Tribute, opened up the reggae evening as a bass/guitar duo with Chris handling most of the lead vocals, with JB chiming in on harmonies. It’s not easy to sing high harmony when you’re thumping’ the bass, but they established the Marley theme of the evening, tossing in a few Marley songs that were definitely on the obscure side, but the “real” fans knew ALL the words and Chris and JB had ‘em singing along by the end of their set.
Austin Grimm, who appeared at the Burlap Room in June 2023’s Summer Solstice Shindig with a smaller configuration of players, went all out for his Harvester Event Center debut, and showed up with an All-Star Band full band that included Tim Kreis originally from Sacramento, California, on sax and Nashville native sir Frederick Weathersby on trumpet - Frederick is also spearheading a renewal of the Historic Jefferson Street Music Scene, plus a stellar Austin Grimm on lead guitar, founding ROAR member Troy Wiggins on the drums, Adam Quellhorst on bass (who is also flight instructor) and Tony Hartman on keyboards, who is not only a fantastic keyboard player but an accomplished steel drum player - he performed at The Burlap Room back in 2020. This entire band was animated, joyful, and they also added very tasty melodica and musical embellishments. STRONG musicianship, ladies & gentlemen - that’s what I’m talkin’ about. A well-oiled, professional, polished, fun-loving band that poured their heart out and connected with all of us last night - Austin Grimm exuded love and the audience responded. Thank you gentlemen, you fed our souls.
Austin led his Friends band members through a 2½ hour set that landed squarely in the Bob Marley pocket on the very first verse, and proceeded through their performance in well-planned set that brought the crowd directly into Austin’s “right here, right now” vision and his obvious belief in the healing power of music. The band also did some ROAR originals and a few nuggets from Austin’s new album Day Moon which he collaborated with Mellodose - they will be performing this Sunday night 2/4/2024 at the the venerable 3rd & Lindsley (go see a show at this venue - one of the originals and only a one story building - how many of those remain in Nashville??!!). Austin’s release is sponsored by a renowned Independent Radio Station Lighting 100 - check it out.
When Bert Driver was addressing the audience between acts, he mentioned that he believed Bob Marley might have done more to spread the concepts of peace and love in the world than any other musician. His statement got me thinking, and I checked on Google and ran across some interesting facts that seem to indicate Bert might just be right. As an example: “Marley's image has become a totemic symbol for peace, unity and reggae, his songs have been a mainstay of popular music since the 1970s and, even now, Marley has the second-highest social media following of any posthumous celebrity.”
Here’s one more factoid: Alongside Marley's embalmed corpse, the casket contained his red Gibson Les Paul guitar, a Bible opened at Psalm 23, and a stalk of ganja placed there by his widow, Rita, at the end of the formal funeral ceremony (May 20, 2021). Bob Marley was indeed one soulful dude - and a tribute to him has been on the drawing board for years, just waiting for the right time…and guess what? This was IT!
As always, many thanks to the Security and Service Staff of the Harvester, Phil Stafford, Sound Engineer, Smokehouse BBQ, and Morty’s Donuts for making the first Finally Fridays of 2024, Izzie from long time sponsor SnapDragon Hemp out of Chattanooga and the Bob Marley Tribute a resounding success!
Uum-chukka, Uum-chukka, Don’t worry…about a thing…Uum-chukka, Uum-chukka. ‘Cause every little thing gonna be alright!
Join us again this Thursday, 2/8, for an intimate theatrical performance as Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet with Nashville Shakespeare Festival Tour takes over the Flatwoods Stage, St. Patrick's Day with Randy Steele and High Cold Wind on Friday, 3/15, and Spring Songwriter Night with Sam Lewis and Friends on Friday, 4/19. Stay up-to-date with all the events in the Bert Driver Network (Nursery, Burlap Room, and the Harvester) by signing up for our ‘The Local Vibe’ Newsletter - released the first Tuesday of the month, straight to your inbox!
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