Apr
15
Americana Experience comes to Franklin May 22-June 1
Music Fills Region Highlighted by “Cross-County Lines” Festival
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 or visit the Franklin Theatre box office.
“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.”
Visit www.AmericanaExperience.com for the latest information on all shows and venues.