High-fashion hipsters were out in full swing last night to vote the first Nashville band into the Bonnaroo lineup. So, Chancellor Warhol is headed for the festival this year, though Evan P. Donohue came in second with Tyler Bryant close behind. The order of the 8 off 8th lineup was determined the night of with the bands drawing names, and Courtney Jaye was up first. Two hula dancers sashayed onstage to dress up her buoyant, Hawaiian-and-country-tinged set, which included a fun little number called “Boxed Wine.” The Kicks were up next, clad in blazers and bandanas, with some animated pop rock, hook heavy with touches of southern twang. Then Heartbeater brought their usual bleary and beautiful guitar haze to the stage, but the energy in most of their live performances wasn’t totally there.

The winner of RTB Round One made up for that with vigor and enthusiasm at full-blast as he MCed over electronic noise and thundering beats. Mercy Lounge manager Drew Mischke added to the fun just by getting onstage before each set to introduce the band (a friend said Drew reminded him of a tipsy, gesticulating version of Kevin Spacey). He introduced Evan P., who claimed his set would “destroy other bands in the air.” A cocky assertion (I think), but the first runner-up delivered with some revving, brass-infused vintage rock.

Majestico’s psych rock and a killer punk-funk set from Kink Ador was in the final stretch, and guitar prodigy Tyler Bryant finished with what seemed like a longer set than everyone else’s. There were some staunch Bryant supporters in the crowd mixed in with some gigglers; the former group was in awe of his undeniable chops while the latter was amused with his unmistakable Bieber vibe. Anyway, congratulations, Chance. – Jessica Pace

For those of you who are intrigued by the idea of a saucy blend of St. Vincent, Adele, and maybe a touch of Tori Amos, look no further than NYC-based artist, Emily Greene. Her sound is somewhat soulful, relaxing, and fortunately, rests just outside of the typical female singer/songwriter box, so her show at The Basement on Saturday night should be a safe bet. Also playing will be funky dance/rock group, Melismatics–(who, might I add, have some pretty slick music vids)–as well as The Smoking Flowers–local husband/wife duo who play some pretty interesting Southern Gothic rock/folk/indie pop. It’s difficult to describe, and it’s unpredictable, but it’s definitely worth giving it a listen–just like the entire Saturday night lineup. It’s a somewhat strange combination of artists, but certainly respectable and interesting, so you should go, at least for the sake of getting your multi-genre fix. Doors at  8pm, $10.–Erin Manning

After a parking fee and a guest list issue took most of my drinking money, I got into Mercy Lounge as Natalie Prass was wrapping up her set. Nothing could be seen from the back except some dark bangs onstage peeking over the heads of the crowd.

Mikky Ekko, face paled with paint and clad in a D.A.R.E. shirt, took the stage next to cast a brooding audio shadow over everybody. The dark ambience of Ekko’s set put some front-of-the-house listeners in a kind of trance even stronger than my suspicion that pretty much everyone in the room was attracted to him. His eerie alt-rock resonated with Beatles-like vocal harmonies (“I Love You”), electronic glitches and tribal beats (“Who Are You, Really?”). The best out of the set was probably the gorgeous “Nothing Wrong With Your Love.”

Guitar-and-drum duo Action! were up next with guitarist/vocalist Robyn Burns’ attire resembling that of a Grimm’s fairy tale spinster (nothing wrong with that). Her piercing vocals cut prettily through guitar fuzz on songs from last year’s LP Friend Weakend, including “Sandpiper” and “This Is Your Summer.” Heypenny joined them onstage to close the set with the bouncy, key-driven, Munchkinland sort of ditty “In The Basement Corner.”

As for the gentlemen of the hour, their set was as expected. Amid piles of stacked TVs onstage, the band kicked off with the buzzing-bass anthem “Purple Street,” track one off of new LP A Jillion Kicks. Heypenny headbands circulated and at one point, an overflow of pink and blue balloons was unleashed over the crowd. Frontman Ben Elkins, dressed like some strain of a Star Trek character, delivered in his signature pinched, erratic vocals old crowd-pleasers like “CopCar” (from their last EP) and “Parade.” And pleased they were – most of the audience maintained at least a minimal shuffle throughout a set filled with the stuff of the new release. Danceable beats, outrageous vocal stamina, pretty balloons, lyrical wit and an all-around madman allure = a solid album release. – Jessica Pace

The time has arrived. Round One of Road to Bonnaroo kicks off tonight at Mercy Lounge with a crap ton of talent lined up to prove their Bonna-worthiness. This means Evan P. Donohue’s nerdy-chic retro rock, Courtney Jaye’s bubbly, sometimes country-tinged tunes, the glitchy hip hop of Chancellor Warhol, glam rock from Majestico, surfy indie rockers Heartbeater, funk-punk rockers Kink Ador, The Kicks’ southern pop rock and Tyler Bryant’s guitar chops. This is the first part of an extra-special trio of 8 offs, so come out and support.

Soul-drenched blues-and-jazz tunes from G. Love & Special Sauce await you at Exit/In March 1. And the Philadelphia visitors are in good local company; The Apache Relay, winners of The Deli Nashville’s Best of 2010 fan poll, will be there too to churn out some indie-roots rock (if you aren’t familiar, check out their beautiful 2010 release 1988). Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday night, just saying. And if you miss them on Tuesday, you can catch them again at Exit March 11. Show is at 8:30.

Irish rowdies and Celtic punk fans, take heed. Flogging Molly is headed this way on their 7th Annual Green 17 tour, a countdown of show dates until Saint Patty’s Day. Rich instrumentation that includes mandolin, accordion, banjo and uilleann pipes and dynamic stage presence is what you’ll get March 5 at War Memorial Auditorium. Download the band’s single “Don’t Shut Em Down” from their upcoming album for free here. – Jessica Pace

Painting, photography, cinematography, music, fashion, dance; name your creative outlet, and chances are Raw Artists brought it. The Mercy Lounge hosted a fantastic display of art this past Thursday night, showcasing some of Nashville’s most intriguing and captivating art forms. Raw Artists: Nashville compiled a host of talented artists for an evening of schmoozing and entertainment.

The venue morphed into an art exhibit for the night, its walls and walkways displaying photographs and acrylic paintings. One exhibit featured Tim Burton-esque figurines with grimacing faces dressed up in contrastingly bright materials. The showcase began with a satirical short film about the stages of depression after a breakup. It was the only film of the evening and was shortly followed by an interpretive dance performance. After another intermission, the musical performances started with Brandon Jazz & His Armed Forces. Although I enjoyed watching Brandon Jazz parade across the stage, the power-pop melodies and catchy hooks never really landed with me. They put on an entertaining show, but the fact that Brandon is only singing to backing tracks makes me feel like I’m watching a karaoke show instead of a live performance.

The evening progressed with a performance by one of my favorite local bands, The Black Shades. They brought a revitalizing energy to the showcase and unleashed a new song. Evan P. Donohue performed afterward with a set that fit the scene like a velvet glove. Raw Artists: Nashville had a successful inauguration, and my hopes are they take it to a new height for next month’s event. – Marc Chirico

FREE SHOW! JACKPOT! TINY POSTER! Another Rock the Block night, hosted by SESAC, and taking place at Exit/In and The End simultaneously.

Playing at Exit/In: Reid Magette, Samantha Harlow, Dylan Rowe, Dylan Jones & Your Friends, Evan P. Donohue

Playing at The End: The Inscape, Conestyle, Nineteen Eighteen, Casa Castile, Paper Machete

Personally, I would attend just to hear Wick-It and Paper Machete alone, but I’ll be going to allllll of them because it’s a free night of good quality RAWK in all of its many forms. Doors at 8:30.–Erin Manning

HEYoh! It’s what we’ve been waiting for for over two years…the full-length release of "A Jillion Kicks," by Nashville dance-pop group, HEYPENNY. Apparently this album has been a long time in the making, was at one point completely scrapped, and then re-recorded alllll over again to ultimately achieve that infectiously catchy, unique sound the persistent group has been looking for all along. Phew. Good thing they’re alive and here to tell us about it, which will all take place on Saturday at Mercy Lounge. Opening the show will be local artists Natalie Prass, Action!, and Mikky Ekko, who are also actually some of the collaborators on the Heypenny album. You’ll be getting the best of both worlds at Saturday’s show, so make sure you grab yourself a ticket in advance–(this one sounds like it juuuuust might be a sell-out)–but if you’d rather gamble your Saturday night, you can buy tickets at the door for $12 (assuming you want a CD included), or for $7 (no CD included wah wahhhhhh). Doors at 9 pm. HEYte to miss it!–Erin Manning

The three-fifths I saw of The 1-10s’ CD release show Friday night was worth getting smashed up against a wooden pole at The Basement throughout most of the sets. By 10 p.m. the house was packed and stifling as Oh No No took the stage. Only a few months ago, the band released a four-track EP, Tren Del Sexo (Sex Train), which is lyrically amusing but never settles into a sound. They cheerily genre-hop from pop rock to rambling, banjo-driven folk, and energetic as it was, I didn’t think it too memorable. After seeing their live performance, I’m changing my mind.

Crowd interaction, a penchant for tightly-belted shorts and a dopey charisma that makes them seem like they should be in a Broken Lizard movie added to the animated set. Fist-pumping, stomping and clapping were encouraged throughout the seven-song set that opened with the slow but blistering riff of “(Shake) Shake Your Hips” followed by the timid pop number “You Could Be My Lover,” both from the EP. Also included was a recently-written and particularly loud and bitter Valentine’s song titled “The Bitch.” They’re not the most sophisticated band out there, and they’re definitely not going to get all arty onstage, but they can play and it was a fun set.

Up next was The 1-10s, another group whose live performances outshine the recordings, the latest of which is Fighting for a Golden Age. The band played all 10 tracks from the LP, starting with the deep, pensive bass and warbling blues riff of “Bad Day” as frontman Will Floyd yowled in Zeppelin-like fashion and did his awkward shuffle around the microphone. “Run From Your Master” and “Dying Blues” followed with surging and stuttering guitar parts from Adam Louis that imitate Queens of the Stone Age, while Abby Hairston kept up an incessant thrash back there on the drums despite the heat.

For the most part, they stick with revving, up-tempo tunes, but they broke from that long enough for bassist Ben Lowry to take over vocals for the comparably sweet and melodic “Eye For An Eye” and finished with the gritty title track. The 1-10s toy with blues and toy with metal, tying it together with punk and classic rock of the late ’70s, and they’re talented enough to pull off all those sounds and make a cohesive album.

Theirs would have been a great set to end with, but Spoken Nerd took the stage after with an electronic hip hop fusion. I would have stuck around for that as well as The Running and I Am Sabot, but by this point I was in a 1-10s-induced punk stupor and thus wandered out to Nathan Conrad’s emphatic, “we’ll crush those who stand against us.” – Jessica Pace

The Roundtable Misfits had it going on at 3 Brothers in Murfreesboro Thursday night. This five-piece wields killer melodies over a funk and jazz rhythm section that cuts deeper than the traditional jam band. The drummer and bassist practically live in the pocket, and front-woman Kelly can hold an audience like nobody’s business rocking some of the best pipes I have heard from a female vocalist on the Nashville stages. If their arsenal isn’t already deep enough, add in a little hip-hop Nas flow and you have a band that has matured beyond their experience in the scene.

Their set never grew sour, but although their tunes are concise and structured, some songs seemed to end at the moment they were picking up. This kept the packed house wanting more, but the set lacked a climax. They need to own their sound and style. We can chalk that one up to "experience" and can also say "who cares" because this show was rockin’. You need to check this pseudo-jam band out. Roundtable Misfits, where have you been? – Beau Welsh

*Roundtable Misfits is a fairly new band that does not, as of yet, have a website, but we’ll keep you posted

Local "electro glitch hip hop" duo, Sam & Tre, will be celebrating their first album release at Mercy Lounge this Friday, along with the album release of "Shack Attack," from DJ Kidsmeal and Sam–(the same Sam of Sam & Tre. Try and say "the same Sam" 5 times fast 😉 The show is presented by Mashville, and it’s $5 for advance tickets, or $7 at the door. You probably don’t wanna miss this show if you enjoy/appreciate the elusive-but-high-quality Nashville hip-hop scene, dancing, dj’s, krunk cups, grillz, live shows, a good time, flashing lights, girls, boys, skirts, etc.–Erin Manning