Murfreesboro ain’t Nashville, but it has its moments as well as a few hidden gems. Gems like Grand Palace, the tiny record store/recording studio/silkscreen business/low-profile venue that’s been tucked discreetly away on Murfreesboro’s downtown square for just over five years. Sadly, this little music hideaway is splitting up. The printing shop may be headed to Nashville and the recording studio is moving to Chattanooga. The venue, however, is no more.
Not to say it didn’t go out with a bang last weekend with two final shows. Ascent of Everest, The Gold Room and Seafood Hotline played Friday night, while locals The Only Sons and Glossary (whose bass player, Bingham Barnes, co-owns Grand Palace Silkscreen) tore it up on Friday. The shows were fairly hush-hush, Barnes’ Facebook announcement being the extent of the advertising, but a sizeable crowd turned up nevertheless to bid the creaky upstairs venue farewell.
Both groups played extensive sets, starting with The Only Sons whose searing pedal steel filled the room along with Kent Goolsby’s country-soaked licks. Then Glossary finished things off with a colorful southern rock palette. Considering the bassist’s affiliation with Grand Palace and the two Boro-based acts’ growing prominence, it was the perfect way to shut down 128 ½ N. Church Street, and send pieces it off into the great beyond. – Jessica Pace