Photo by Michella Pace

J-Roddy Walston and The Business is a mouthful for an alt-country band opening for Shooter Jennings & Hierophant Friday night. J-Roddy trekked here from Baltimore to play some rowdy key- pounding, Skynard-like tunes, which was enough to please a circle of dancing audience members up front. There were a lot of boots, denim and long, tangled hair flying (except for on the drummer, who must have a day job), and the enthusiasm gave the foursome a down-home charisma even if the songs were running together towards the end of the set.

By this time, a packed venue was pumped and waiting for Shooter, whose set commenced with a recording of dialogue by Stephen King. It was difficult to hear over a boisterous crowd, but on Hierophant’s concept album “Black Ribbons,” released in spring of this year, King provides narration as Will O’ The Wisp, a DJ broadcasting his final show before government regulation infiltrates the airwaves.

The accompanying music is just as ominous; on parts of “Black Ribbons,” Jennings moves from his country genes towards dark and entrancing psychedelic rock. It’s still alive with whiskey-sour riffs, but they’re blanketed by some eerie keyboard work and drilling guitars which, when paired with Jennings’ dark, throaty vocals, sounds kind of like electrified Tom Waits, and many “Black Ribbon” songs are made poignant by one particular instrument, be it the shrill pounding of a key or the cold, hollow pop of the snare.

But then the foreboding air lifted after the first two songs and, to the delight of all the Waylon fans in the crowd, buoyant and hard-driving country rock was back and Jennings was singing “kiss my ass goodbye” in “Manifesto No. 1.” He presents the multiple facets of the album, alternating melancholic psych-rock with up-tempo country rock all while singing the blues, and balanced things out when he announced that he would be playing one for “all the Waylon Jennings fans” before beginning “Rainy Day Woman.”

If you hear an album as powerful as “Black Ribbons” for the first time live, the recording can have less of an impact. But luckily the set, which lasted for a solid two hours, was filmed and sold with the merch, so every song and Jennings’ repetition of how glad he was to be back home in Nashville was caught on tape. – Jessica Pace

There is no other way to enter a Space Capone set than shakin’ and groovin’. Greeted by fellow funk lovers, sunshine on our backs and a whole day of music ahead, the energy was positively radiant. Stacked with groovy breakdowns, tasty guitar riffs and the tightest horn section in town, everyone knows that Space Capone only comes to deliver topnotch performances. Recently named one of the 3 best bands in Nashville by The Scene and the Atlanta Braves band of the year, they truly lived up to their predictably hyped name by getting the party started in solid Space fashion.

The Running helped keep the positive energy going by segueing the crowd from “I just want to dance” to a reggae-rock fusion. Their determination to keep everyone moving with their psychedelic vibes and shred ready guitar solos was not only catchy but also surprisingly original. It’s hard to find a predominantly reggae band that doesn’t feel like a Sublime or Ziggy Marley knock off, but these guys have mastered a grunge/reggae/rock fusion that might even leave a hint of Nirvana in your mouth. Regardless, they kept things fresh and even busted into a little blues number at the end. The trio proved to be a solid festival staple giving the hoopers something to groove to and the drunk Asian boy in the flannel pajamas another reason to thrash around.

As the wind picked up and the cold weather set in, Jeff The Brotherhood had a hard job to do. Amidst the gloom and chilly campers their music had a difficult time warming us up and quite possibly left a few of us deaf. With a similar look and appeal to Joey Ramone, lead vocalist Jake Orrall gave it his all despite his self-proclaimed electrocution and ability to disregard the music cueing him off stage (or was I the only one that heard that?). However, in all fairness, they did have some solid instrumental breakdowns that reminded me of my old school Vans and Marlboro 27s.

Turbo Fruits (whose name made a lot more sense after the fact) had a similar punk rock love affair with music but with a hell of a lot more punch. With each song no longer than three minutes they did a significantly impressive job of reelin’ out the surf rock and keeping up with the energy. Lead singer, Jonas Stein had some sweet jumps that made their tribute to the Volcano Vaporizer all the more entertaining. A fun band with a badass drummer, Turbo Fruits delivered a tight performance leaving me singing, “I wanna go where the stars don’t shine” for the rest of the evening.

After a trip back to the car for many cold weather amenities, we were refreshed and ready to be giddy with Keller Williams and his freakishly fast moving fingers. It was interesting to go from one end of the technical spectrum to the opposite, as we stood waiting for said legendary songwriter Daniel Johnston. As people swarmed around me mumbling things about devil sightings, schizophrenia, and a triumphant victory over a crashing jet plane, I was needless to say intrigued. As Daniel took the stage I was left speechless and confused. Playing an acoustic guitar with half a neck, we watched as he fumbled through his binder to find the right words while uttering something about being in Arkansas. Joined by Cage The Elephant, I started to see the resemblance to Kurt Cobain, but can’t say that I will every fully understand his following. I’ll leave this one up to the other critics.

After a set by Morning Teleportation, we were left anxious to see Nashville favorite, Moon Taxi. From house party to headliner they killed their set with help from trippy black space suits outlined with dancing glow stick figurines. Like all Moon Taxi sets, they came ready to jam. With dueling solos between lead singer/guitarist Trevor Terndrup, lead guitarist Spencer Thompson and keyboardist Wes Bailey, the crowd was found in a serious head banging unison. Their musicality, stage presence, and successful means of dressing up jam rock, leave Moon Taxi to be a forever loved and sought after group – and rest assured, they will be back.

A proud mama moment for all of Nashville, Starry Nights paid quite the tribute to our hardworking musicians. Hats off to the guys at Happy Salmon and everyone else that helped to bring the festival back for another year. –Mackenzie Grosser