09.04.12 - Blind Boys Excite and Food Trucks Delight at Musicians Corner
Record numbers flock to Centennial Park for the Fall Season Kickoff
Musicians Corner has kicked off its fall season in unprecedented fashion. Coinciding with the Nashville Street Food Awards, the weekly Centennial Park event saw record numbers come out to watch performances by Jon Troast, The Nashville Symphony Quartet, Chelsea Gill, Jeremy Lister, Anthony Snape, Karen Elson, The Carmonas and the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama.
This season the event is sporting a slightly different look, turning the stage 180 degrees due to a Centennial Park tree that is rather old and at risk of coming down. However, that didn't stop the crowd from piling in and enjoying food from the street vendors and drinks from the beer and wine garden.
As a special treat for the season kickoff, Jon Troast performed an acoustic pre-show at 2:30pm. Immediately following, the crowd was treated to the classical stylings of The Nashville Symphony Quartet. As the name suggests, this foursome is made up of members of the Nashville Symphony, yet - as they explained - it is a rotating group of four, and will likely be different members each time the quartet performs.
Following a Lightning 100 Acoustic Stage performance by Chelsea Gill, the main stage welcomed Jeremy Lister. Jeremy has gained notoriety by participating in NBC's hit show The Sing Off with the Nashville a capella group Street Corner Symphony. Today, however, Jeremy showcased his singer/songwriter side with a full band, though he did treat the crowd to an a capella song with three other band mates.
Anthony Snape, who had finished up his newest album not hours before, was next on the Acoustic Stage. Following his performance, British singer Karen Elson hit the main stage. With wonderful passion and energy (and a fabulous accent), Karen incited pure enjoyment, with children even running around in front of the stage.
Last on the Acoustic Stage was the Belmont University group The Carmonas, who led way to Mayor Karl Dean. Mayor Dean is a tremendous supporter of Musicians Corner and Centennial Park, and is no stranger to introducing legendary performances at the event. Today it was Blind Boys of Alabama.
Winners of five Grammy® Awards and members of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, The Blind Boys have been making music for over 70 years. One could go on and on about their accomplishments and outstanding musical prowess; however, if you were at Musicians Corner, you whitnessed it all for yourself.
Not only did they interpret some of the greatest gospel songs of all time, but The Blind Boys also had a Musicians Corner first: an encore. The crowd went nuts when Executive Director John Tumminiello came out on stage and asked how everyone enjoyed the group. And then, wouldn't you know it... lead singer Jimmy Carter came out into the crowd to sing.
The fall season is off to an incredible start indeed!
This season the event is sporting a slightly different look, turning the stage 180 degrees due to a Centennial Park tree that is rather old and at risk of coming down. However, that didn't stop the crowd from piling in and enjoying food from the street vendors and drinks from the beer and wine garden.
As a special treat for the season kickoff, Jon Troast performed an acoustic pre-show at 2:30pm. Immediately following, the crowd was treated to the classical stylings of The Nashville Symphony Quartet. As the name suggests, this foursome is made up of members of the Nashville Symphony, yet - as they explained - it is a rotating group of four, and will likely be different members each time the quartet performs.
Following a Lightning 100 Acoustic Stage performance by Chelsea Gill, the main stage welcomed Jeremy Lister. Jeremy has gained notoriety by participating in NBC's hit show The Sing Off with the Nashville a capella group Street Corner Symphony. Today, however, Jeremy showcased his singer/songwriter side with a full band, though he did treat the crowd to an a capella song with three other band mates.
Anthony Snape, who had finished up his newest album not hours before, was next on the Acoustic Stage. Following his performance, British singer Karen Elson hit the main stage. With wonderful passion and energy (and a fabulous accent), Karen incited pure enjoyment, with children even running around in front of the stage.
Last on the Acoustic Stage was the Belmont University group The Carmonas, who led way to Mayor Karl Dean. Mayor Dean is a tremendous supporter of Musicians Corner and Centennial Park, and is no stranger to introducing legendary performances at the event. Today it was Blind Boys of Alabama.
Winners of five Grammy® Awards and members of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, The Blind Boys have been making music for over 70 years. One could go on and on about their accomplishments and outstanding musical prowess; however, if you were at Musicians Corner, you whitnessed it all for yourself.
Not only did they interpret some of the greatest gospel songs of all time, but The Blind Boys also had a Musicians Corner first: an encore. The crowd went nuts when Executive Director John Tumminiello came out on stage and asked how everyone enjoyed the group. And then, wouldn't you know it... lead singer Jimmy Carter came out into the crowd to sing.
The fall season is off to an incredible start indeed!