The Perlich Post

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Emily Nenni, Dylan Earl @ The Drake Underground, Saturday



Here's the scoop...

Emily Nenni has a confession: she didn’t always plan on being a performing artist. “I thought I was just going to be a songwriter,” she admits. Clearly, life had something else in store. The singer and guitarist has emerged as one of the freshest and most electrifying voices in Nashville, with a sound rooted in classic honky-tonk and spiked with serious country, soul and rock ‘n’ roll fire, and sweet-and-sassy lyrics that chronicle hard living, hot nights, heartbreak and other universal truths about the human condition. Over the past several years she’s enraptured audiences across Music City with sizzling sets in smoky bars and clubs, honing her command of the stage, perfecting her skills as a band leader and sharpening an already astute world view, all of which are on full display on her newest studio album, Drive & Cry. 

The record is a marked departure from her previous full-length, 2022’s acclaimed On the Ranch. Whereas that effort saw Nenni uproot herself to lend a hand – and write – while assisting at a ranch in southern Colorado, Drive & Cry drops the listener smack in the middle of her boisterous and bustling Nashville world. The album kicks off with “Get to Know Ya,” a honky-tonk rave-up that celebrates the end of the work day and the beginning of a music-filled, come-what-may night. Nenni busts out her biggest hoops, jumps into the jeans she can “really only stand up in,” and heads to the local bar. “Play ‘til the sun’ll come / when the daylight’s done,” she sings as the instrumental accompaniment races in step behind her.

 From there, Nenni leads into “Greatest Hits,” a pedal-steel-inflected Dolly Parton-style number in which she tips her hat to underground honky-tonk venue Santa’s Pub, a dive bar squeezed inside a double-wide trailer that has become her home-away-from-home in Nashville. “When I first came to town, I was 21 and singing at clubs with folks who were twice my age,” Nenni recalls of moving to Music City from her native California. “Then a buddy of mine said, ‘There's a place where people are making this music that are actually your age, and where you'd really fit in.’ And that was Santa’s Pub. It’s where I learned that music doesn't have to be perfect – everybody is just having fun and there’s no judgment. You can show up however you're feeling that night, have a good time and be surrounded by friends.”

You can get tickets for Emily Nenni's Toronto show at the Drake Hotel Underground on May 17 via Ticketmaster right here. Watch Emily perform her version of Terry Allen's "Amarillo Highway" and a few more clips below. 






Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Rhiannon Giddens & The Old Time Revue play Koerner Hall on May 15 & 16

Banjo boss Rhiannon Giddens plays two-nights in Toronto with Justin Robinson & pals on Thursday and Friday night!


Here's the scoop...

I’m so excited for Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue tour to kick off this April! I’ll be performing along with Justin Robinson (vocals, fiddle & banjo), Dirk Powell (vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo & accordion), Jason Sypher (bass), Demeanor (vocals, banjo), and Amelia Powell (vocals, acoustic guitar). Tickets for the Toronto shows at Koerner Hall start at $80 and are available for May 15th right here and for May 16th right here

Watch Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson rip through "Hook and Line," "Rain Crow" and "Brown's Dream" from their album What Did The Blackbird Say To The Crow along with their recording of "Old Corn Liquor" from the Sinners soundtrack followed by a list of upcoming tour dates below. 









Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue 

May 15 - Toronto, ON - Koerner Hall at The Royal Conversatory of Music

May 16 - Toronto, ON - Koerner Hall at The Royal Conversatory of Music

May 17 - Ottawa, ON - National Arts Centre, Southam Hall

June 15 - Napa, CA - Uptown Theatre

June 16 - Ventura, CA - Ventura Theater

June 19 - San Diego, CA - The Observatory North Park

June 21 - Berkeley, CA - Zellerbach

June 23 - Seattle, WA - The Moore Theatre

June 26 - Montréal, QC - Théâtre Maisonneuve at Montreal Jazz Festival

Remembering jazz great Sidney Bechet on his birthday

Remembering clarinet king Sidney Bechet on his birthday with a few Haitian-influenced swingers and a documentary.






Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Michael McKean confirms Spinal Tap sequel to be released in September

Michael McKean will reprise his "David St. Hubbins" role in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues out September 12th. 


Remembering Gil Evans on his birthday

Remembering Toronto-born pianist/composer/arranger Gil Evans on his birthday with a documentary and a few recordings.







Before They Were Famous: Howard Stern

Here are excerpts of a couple of tunes Howard Stern is said to have sang with his bands back in the mid-to-late 60s. Enjoy!



Monday, May 12, 2025

Heartbreakers' Benmont Tench hits Lula Lounge, May 13

Don't miss this rare Toronto appearance of keyboard ace Benmont Tench at Lula Lounge on Tuesday. Get tickets here

Here's the scoop on Benmont's new solo album, The Melancholy Season...
Legendary keyboard player and founding member of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Benmont Tench,  released his second solo album, The Melancholy Season, via Dark Horse Records on March 7th. Tench’s first solo effort in over a decade – following 2014’s You Should Be So Lucky – The Melancholy Season was produced by Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Margo Price) and includes performances by Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), singer/songwriter Jenny O and Sebastian Steinberg (Iron and Wine, Soul Coughing). You can get a copy of the record right here. Check out the video for "The Melancholy Season" directed by Chloe Badner along with a few of Benmont's interviews below.