Americana Experience
Venues and community leaders in Franklin, Tennessee have come together to create the Americana Experience, ten music-filled days featuring more than 50 acts performing throughout the area’s restaurants, theatres and music venues. Events begin on Thursday May 22nd and are highlighted by the Americana Music Association’s ‘Cross-County Lines’ Festival (presented by Nissan) on May 31st. The “Experience” was created to shine a light on the distinct-but-connected genres and places that make up the roots of Americana music.
For most, the term “Americana” evokes images of small towns and Norman Rockwell scenes and, more recently, has become a banner under which various styles of American roots music have found a home. From the delta blues to bluegrass as well as Cajun, jazz, soul, country, rock and gospel…Americana is a contemporary celebration of the sounds which history helped define in the triangle roughly framed by New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville.
“We tip-off with Grammy winning Cajun artists, BeauSoleil from Lafayette, Louisiana,” says event chairman Aubrey Preston. “And then take a musical cruise through places like Muscle Shoals, Alabama with members of the legendary Swampers, to Clarksdale, Mississippi and authentic delta-blues acts like the colorful “Super Chikan Johnson, 81 year old Leo Bud Welch and 15 year-old prodigy “Kingfish” Ingram. We’ll wrap up on Sunday (June 1) by inviting the entire county to an unplugged gospel sing-a-long near a beautiful creek in Leiper’s Fork.”
A variety of venues have joined the festivities, including Puckett’s Grocery (both Leiper’s Fork and Franklin locations), the Lawnchair Theatre (Leiper’s Fork), the Franklin Theatre, Music City Roots (Loveless Barn), The Factory (Franklin), Grays on Main (Franklin), Kimbro’s (Franklin) and more. A detailed schedule follows and will be updated as more events are added at www.AmericanaExperience.com. Some events are free and others are ticketed. Those events that require tickets can be purchased directly from the venues.
The crescendo of the Americana Experience happens Saturday, May 31st with the Americana Music Association’s “Cross-County Lines” Festival featuring Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, Ashley Monroe, Brandy Clark, Joe Pug, Parker Millsap and Luther Dickenson. This ticketed event will be hosted at The Park at Harlinsdale Farm, on Franklin Road located across from the Factory at Franklin. For more information or tickets for the Cross-County Lines Festival, go to www.ticketmaster.com.
“We’re fired up about the Americana Experience and expect, in highlighting the Americana Music Triangle and the growth of the Cross-County Lines Festival, it will become a signature event for the region,” says Franklin Theatre director Dan Hays. “There will be amazing music everywhere and a chance to see friends from around the world.”
For information on hotel accommodations and attractions in Franklin and the unique communities of Williamson County, Tennessee, go to www.VisitFranklin.com.
AMERICANA EXPERIENCE
Franklin, Tennessee – May 22 through June 1, 2014
SCHEDULE
(all times US Central)
Thursday, May 22
7:00 PM Capt. Billy’s Whiz Bang Live Blues Radio Show (FREE – Puckett’s Boat House, Franklin)
8:00 PM BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet (Franklin Theatre)
Friday, May 23
7:30 PM “Muscle Shoals” Movie Screening and Artist Q&A (Franklin Theatre)
7:30 PM The Jake Leg Stompers (FREE – Puckett’s Boat House, Franklin)
9:00 PM Raven Cliff (Gray’s on Main, Franklin)
Saturday, May 24
6:00 PM Muscle Shoals in the Fork Concert (FREE – Lawnchair Theatre, Leiper’s Fork)
7:30 PM Farmer & Adele (FREE – Puckett’s Boat House, Franklin)
8:30 PM Pat and Jamie McLaughlin (Puckett’s Restaurant, Franklin)
9:00 PM CottonWine (Gray’s on Main, Franklin)
9:00 PM Kerry Gilbert (Puckett’s Grocery, Leiper’s Fork)
Sunday, May 25
3:00 PM Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers (FREE – Lawnchair Theatre, Leiper’s Fork)
7:00 PM Jesse Terry, Craig Carothers & Tony Arata (Puckett’s Restaurant, Franklin)
Monday, May 26
7:00 PM BrewBQ with Rachel Davis & Friends (Kimbro’s, Franklin)
7:00 PM Mabrey Parsley & the Rotten Tomatoes (FREE – Puckett’s Grocery, Leiper’s Fork)
Tuesday, May 27
6:30 PM The Wrinkles (Puckett’s Grocery – Leiper’s Fork)
7:00 PM Matt Tedder (FREE – Puckett’s Boat House, Franklin)
7:00 PM Kimbro’s Legendary Deconstructed Songwriter Night (Kimbro’s, Franklin)
7:30 PM Don Gallardo (FREE – Puckett’s Restaurant, Franklin)
7:30 PM David Ball & The Pioneer Playboys (Puckett’s Grocery, Leiper’s Fork)
Wednesday, May 28
7:00 PM Music City Roots (Loveless Barn, Off Natchez Trace)
7:00 PM Walker Hayes (FREE – Puckett’s Boat House, Franklin)
7:00 PM My Politic and The Black Feathers (Kimbro’s, Franklin)
7:30 PM Willow Park (FREE – Puckett’s Restaurant, Franklin)
8:00 PM Jackson Nance (Puckett’s Grocery, Leiper’s Fork)
Thursday, May 29
7:00 PM “The Hank Legacy: The Songs of Hank Williams” (Studio Tenn at The Factory at Franklin)
7:00 PM PBH Zydeco Dance with YaYa (FREE at Puckett’s Boat House)
7:30 PM The Ham Family (FREE – Puckett’s Restaurant, Franklin)
7:30 PM Robert Rivers Band (Kimbro’s, Franklin)
6:30 PM Creole Shrimp Boil & Open Mic (FREE at Puckett’s Grocery, Leiper’s Fork)
Friday, May 30
7:00 PM “The Hank Legacy: The Songs of Hank Williams” (Studio Tenn at The Factory at Franklin)
7:30 PM Allen Thompson (FREE – Puckett’s Boat House, Franklin)
8:00 PM Juke Joint Friday – Live from Clarksdale MS: Leo “Bud” Welch (Kimbro’s, Franklin)
8:00 PM Juke Joint Friday – Live from Clarksdale, MS: “Super Chikan” (Franklin Theatre)
8:30 PM Donna Ulisse & The Poor Mountain Boys (Puckett’s Restaurant, Franklin)
9:00 PM Danika Holmes (Gray’s on Main, Franklin)
Saturday, May 31
11:00 AM Viva! NashVegas Radio Show featuring The Carmonas (Handy Hardware Store, Franklin)
2:00 PM “The Hank Legacy: The Songs of Hank Williams” (Studio Tenn at The Factory at Franklin)
3:30 – 11 PM CROSS-COUNTY LINES FESTIVAL (The Park at Harlinsdale Farm)
7:00 PM The Stoves, Tumbleweed Company, Anthony Adams & The Nite (Kimbros, Franklin)
7:00 PM “The Hank Legacy” (Studio Tenn at The Factory at Franklin)
7:30 PM Red Head Express (FREE – Puckett’s Boat House)
8:30 PM Peter Cooper & Eric Brace (Puckett’s Restaurant, Franklin)
Sunday, June 1
2:00 PM “The Hank Legacy: The Songs of Hank Williams” (Studio Tenn at The Factory at Franklin)
4:30 PM Down By The River – Gospel Sing-A-Long (Pow Wow Field, Leiper’s Fork)
Visit www.AmericanaExperience.com for the latest information on all shows and venues.
All acts and performance times subject to change without notice. Please check with venues for ticketing options and to confirm performance details before travelling to specific events.
