The first installment 8 off 8th Road to Bonnaroo was last night, Feb. 3rd, at the High Watt/Mercy Lounge, and Blank Range took first place. They earned high marks from fans and judges thanks to their magnetic chemistry and air tight musicianship, perhaps not unaffected by guest players from Apache Relay and Diarrhea Planet. This is already shaping up to be a great freaking year for Blank Range, after 2013 involved the release of 6-track “Phase II” in April and “Scraping/Before I Go to Sleep” in November. They are just about perfect for Bonnaroo, aligning closely to the festival’s mellow, down-home vibe, and similarly populated by kids hopped up on various things (in this case, possibly the ghost of Lou Reed.) How many peasant skirts will go flying when the crowds catch a whiff of these post-everything phenoms Nashville has thus far kept hidden? –Terra James-Jura
