If I am being honest, I had pretty low expectations this past Tuesday for Tech N9ne’s show at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, TN. It wasn’t that I thought the music would be bad; I certainly know Tech N9ne is amazing. I think it was more a combination of life burnout and the fact that […]
I’ve always held firm to the belief that if a band moves you, truly moves you, you owe it to yourself to see them more than once. Some artists just need to be witnessed repeatedly; each performance peels back a layer of something you didn’t know you needed. I feel like bands like Phish, The […]
I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t walk into Marathon Music Works on May 1st as an Ashnikko fan. I’d heard a couple of tracks floating around, enough to recognize the name, but I was there primarily as a photographer. I’d seen images of her online: the electric blue hair, the theatrical costuming, the almost […]
I’ll be upfront, I had a pretty good idea of what I was walking into Thursday night. I’d seen The Haunt once before — opening for The Hu — and, even in that supporting slot, they made an impression. But there’s a difference between watching a band open a show and watching a band headline, […]
If you know me at all, you know I’m basically a fixture at Nashville venues. Any given week, you’ll find me somewhere like the East Room, The Basement, Exit/In — wherever catching whoever’s playing. It’s just kind of what I do. I’ve seen a lot of bands. Which is exactly why it’s kind of a big […]
More often than not, when a famous musician starts a side project band, it’s often seen as a watered-down version of the group that gained them fame. Usually diehard fans latch onto the project out of some form of loyalty, but it never quite hits as profoundly as the original. In the case of Maynard […]
The year was 2017 and, in typical music-discovery fashion, I heard a really cool song come through my Spotify suggestions called “Matador” by a band called Model/Actriz. I saved it to my new music playlist and didn’t really think much about it beyond the fact that it was a really cool song. Flash forward to […]
Over my last five years here, Nashville has often felt like a giant pot of musical soup. The dominant flavors are familiar — country, pop, indie rock are the sounds that define the “Music City”. But every so often, an artist rises to the surface that makes you stop and listen, with a sound that’s […]
Few British rock bands have carved a transatlantic identity quite like Band of Skulls, the Southampton-born group that improbably broke into the United States mainstream before their own homeland ever knew what hit it. Needless to say, Top Shelf Music was very stoked to have an exclusive interview with the band as they prepared to […]
Nashville is a city that has never been short on storytellers, but the band MNERVA (comprised of duo Matt Wagner and Eric Vatima) is working hard to go against the typical grain. With From Beginning To End, they deliver a debut album that feels less like a collection of random songs and more like a […]
They say ‘third time’s a charm’, but in the case of Babe Haven’s third 2025 performance at Nashville’s Blue Room, it’s been nothing but charm — each time. If you can believe it, this was supposed to be their fourth time in Nashville this year, if it hadn’t been for a cancelled Jhorts Fest appearance. […]
In a year when national tension has seeped into nearly every corner of American life, the arts have felt an especially heavy strain. Even the Kennedy Center in Washington DC — long considered a pillar of arts and culture in the U.S. — has faced a noticeable dip in attendance and revenue, a rare drought […]
UK rock powerhouses Band of Skulls are hitting the road with their brand-new The Cold Fame Tour. The journey kicks off on November 16th (this Sunday!!) in Nashville at The Basement East, with special guest Tom Hamilton Jr. joining select dates. Nashville, get ready to rock! After building a reputation for gritty riffs, hypnotic harmonies, and […]
When Max Gomez talks about music, it feels less like an interview and more like a front porch conversation at dusk… the kind where two friends just share stories while guitars lean against chairs and the truth slips out easily. The Taos, New Mexico-born Americana artist has been writing songs that feel like weathered pages […]
Every once in a while, I find myself attending a show I otherwise would never considered going to, had it not been for the suggestion of someone close to me. A few weeks ago, I was hanging out with some of my music friends when a song came across our Spotify queue; it turned out […]
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