Nashville Stars At The Bluebird Cafe

Sometimes we go watch Nashville Star as it’s being filmed for TV here in Nashville.

Beyond, that I only seem to catch bits & pieces of Nashville Star on TV each year. As a result, I usually don’t remember anyone but the final few contestants.

Such was the case this past season. So I was pleasantly surprised to find 2 former Nashville Star contestants at the Bluebird the other night. Plus, two other up & comers in the music industry.

We met some friends (who were visiting from California) there.

Here’s how the night went…

 

Allow Me To Set The Stage

We went to the early show on Tuesday night.

There was no cover… just the regular $7 minimum food & drink purchase.

New this year is a $1.50 fee… per person. They call it a “reservation fee” when you ask them about it. (It shows up as a “service fee” when you make reservations online; I made reservations over the phone and there was no mention of this type of fee.) We were caught off guard when the fee showed up as $9 on top of our $160 tab for the night … there were 6 of us.

I guess the quaint little hole-in-the-wall cafe that prides itself on being “different” thinks they should now be more like Ticketmaster or something… Whatever. It seems to me that they might want to think about “the customer experience” a little more, and consider the fact that it would be less of a slap in the face if they just charged .25 cents more for the drinks or something. Geesh.

Oh, by the way, our waitress said they did away with the service fee they used to charge when you paid using a credit card — which was just as tacky!

Okay, onto the show…

>Here’s an earlier review I wrote… The Bluebird Cafe: What It’s Like.

 

We Enjoyed The Show Immensely

Going in, we had no clue about the singer-songwriters who were performing on this particular night.

One of the best things about the Bluebird is the songwriters are usually of a higher caliber than those you might find at other clubs in town. I say that with some hesitation, because in Nashville… there really are no bad songwriters. And there’s no such thing as a bad show in this town!

So anyway… we were pleasantly surprised when we learned that two of the performers were from the most recent Nashville Star. Another one had a hit song recorded by Sara Evans. And the other one had some songs on Trace Adkins and Faith Hill’s albums.

 

Meet The Night’s Performers

• Josh Stevens

• Meg Allison

• Fred Wilhelm

• Victoria Banks

Fred has a great personality… very funny. He wrote Dearly Beloved which appears on Faith Hill’s Fireflies album and Stubborn One which appears on Trace Adkins’ Dangerous Man CD. His most memorable song on this night was one called “I’m The Designated Drinker” — truly hilarious!

Victoria‘s voice is very memorable… very smooth and perfectly in tune. She wrote Saints and Angels which appears on Sara Evans’ Born to Fly album. Victoria often accompanies Pam Tillis on stage at her concerts. I’m surprised more of her songs aren’t hits yet. She’s sure to be a fast-rising star! I liked her the best of all the singers tonight.

Tonight was Meg‘s first appearance at the Bluebird. I liked her sound. And I liked the words she penned into her songs. But I left wishing she had switched things up a bit. Everything sounded the same — slow, and sugar sweet. Be sure to check out the videos that Meg has on her website. They give you a good insight into her personality and her style.

Josh is one heck of a talented singer and songwriter! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… losers always win on reality TV shows. I think Josh is yet another example of that! He just signed a record deal.

Here is Josh’s Nashville Star profile page. Check out that “do”! (I guess he got as far as Week 5 according to his blog.)

A few of the songs Josh wrote and performed on this night (most of which you can listen to on his web page):

• “Drifting” – a song he wrote with Lee Miller (?)
• “Can’t Buy A Beer” – it’s about the fact that you have to be 21 to drink beer, but you don’t have to be 21 to serve your country
• “As Long As There’s Rock & Roll And Pensacola” – Jim & I used to live in Pensacola, so this one has special meaning for us
• “I Don’t Need You” and “Parachutes” – ehhhh
• …and another song that I can’t remember the name of that Josh said was going to appear on Danielle Peck‘s album which will be released next week (…I think).

 

In Sum

Overall, it was a great show. And the best part… you never know which “no-name” you see today is going to be tomorrow’s next big star!

Oh, and cheers to our California friends, Bruce & Beth. Good to see you again, and we look forward to you guys moving here next year.

 

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