All Access Pass to Bright Shade Music & Arts Festival
Words by Lucy JonesPhotos by Jackilyn Cooper and Sierra SevierSummer is the time for relaxing, hanging with friends, and above all else, music festivals. Recently, some members of the Pleaser team soaked up the sun in Downtown Nashville while covering the local music festival, Bright Shade Music & Arts Festival. The festival provides an intimate setting for fans to enjoy their favorite bands and showcase the diverse talent that Nashville has to offer, spanning genres from country to rock and everything in between. The impressive 14-act lineup this year featured heavy hitters like The Greeting Committee, Hovvdy, and The New Respects, alongside up-and-coming artists like nickname jos, Cece Coakley, and Hotel Fiction.
One of the hardest parts about going to music festivals is racing between stages to catch all your favorite artists. Bright Shade cleverly addressed this issue by arranging a two-stage setup, allowing festivalgoers to leisurely stroll between acts as they alternated stages. With a jam packed schedule of nearly 12 hours of music, Bright Shade offered an intimate environment for discovering new music and singing along to beloved bands, all while basking in the summer sun on the festival’s green grounds.
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Faith Ashley Hopkins
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Hovvdy
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The day kicked off with a performance by W.B Sims, a promising country artist, and songwriter-pop artist Faith Ashley Hopkins, whose music carries a subtle southern twang. The Pleaser Team bounded across festival grounds, eager to catch up with all your favorite Bright Shade artists and learn more about their upcoming projects. Michael Alan Scott and Spuddy, two local talents from Nashville, delighted crowds with their unique styles– Scott with his rocking folk sounds and Spuddy with his funk-infused dance tunes reminiscent of Dayglow. Despite playing early in the day, both artists captivated the audience with energetic performances, accompanied by bands composed of their talented friends.
PLEASER: So if you had a festival lineup of all your favorite artists, who would be playing?
MICHAEL ALAN SCOTT: Kings of Leon would be headlining and we'd have 1975 co-head line. Then Phoebe Bridgers. Ethan Gruska. Oh gosh, this is a hard question, but I think that’s a good lineup.
PLEASER: That’s an insane lineup. Do you have anything else in the works right now or coming up soon?
MICHAEL ALAN SCOTT: I have an EP I'm working on, it'll come out in the fall sometime.
PLEASER: Sick, we’ll keep an eye out for that. Finally, what brings brightness to your shade?
MICHAEL ALAN SCOTT: Oh man. Brightness to my shade. <laugh>, uh, warm weather and good music.
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PLEASER: If you could give your genre of music a new name or description, what would it be?
SPUDDY: Oh man, I would, I would give it, oh, this is crazy, I would say like, jangly alt-pop.
PLEASER: Love that! What's been the most rewarding or challenging part about playing a festival?
SPUDDY: I think the most rewarding part is just being in such a big space, especially outdoors. It's so much fun to just move around. I mean, I was just like running everywhere because it's like, whoa, there's so much space. Um, but, uh, challenging: I feel like there's a bit of a disconnect to the crowd. I mean, at least here. Cause it's just such a huge, it's like, it's big and that's a great thing, but it's also kind of a difficult thing.
PLEASER: Yeah, that makes sense. Okay finally, what brings brightness to your shade?
SPUDDY: Ooh, <laugh> um, water.
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Arcadian Wild
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Pacific
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Mercury and nickname jos were two bright spots in the lineup, and clearly fan favorites by the amount of people glued to the stage singing along with both respective artists. Perhaps Pleaser is a bit biased for these two, or maybe they are both just that f*cking good. Mercury’s soul-stirring songwriting intertwined with unrelenting rock, while nickname jos delivered pulsating, gritty pop that rattled bones. . It’s only a matter of time before these two artists make a splash in the mainstream music scene.
PLEASER: If you could give your genre of music a new name or description, what would it be?
MERCURY: So I play like indie rock, but I also have folk music. And I feel like there's definitely a mixture of that in there somewhere. I feel like maybe like, I wanna say it's swamp dweller.
PLEASER: Swamp dweller - I can hear it now in your music. Okay, if you had a festival lineup of all your favorite artists, who would be playing?
MERCURY: Yeah. Okay, so Radiohead is headlining for sure. I'm so into them right now. Definitely Wednesday, Indigo De Souza. Big Thief. Oh let me think, I have so many just like flying around in my head right now. Oh, Deftones. And uh, this is a weird one, just like out of the blue, but Miley Cyrus.
PLEASER: That’s an absolutely stacked lineup. Okay, last question we are asking everyone - What brings brightness to your shade?
MERCURY: I like burritos, and I’m going to say I like listening to music because that truly does bring brightness to my shade. And nice people.
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PLEASER: First question. If you could give your genre of music a new name or description, what would it be?
NICKNAME JOS: Bubble boy, dark pop grunge.
PLEASER: Zero hesitation with that one. Do you have anything in the works right now or coming up?
NICKNAME JOS: I have like three songs that should be coming out this summer, I believe. I'm working on an EP. It's coming along slowly just because of what I'm doing this season, but yeah, it's been coming along. I'll probably make a record sometime like, right at the end of this year and hopefully put it out in 2024, but who knows?
PLEASER: Sick, can’t wait to hear all that. Lastly, what brings brightness to your shade?
NICKNAME JOS: Oh, what brings brightness to my shade? Um, honestly, a wonderful day like today. It's not too hot, not too cold. I came up wearing a jacket here. Yeah, it drizzled a little bit, but it wasn't that hot, which is pretty awesome. The other thing that brings brightness to my shade is my friends and my family. I missed the Annie crew and the Hannah crew that I'm away from, for one day. but I will see them tomorrow. They bring brightness to my shade.
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The powerhouse acts known as Cece Coakley and Gatlin took the stage towards the end of Bright Shade. Cece Coakley enchanted the audience with her songwriter folk-pop, while Gatlin delivered vibrant pop-rock melodies. Both artists possess the extraordinary power to bring you to your knees with a sucker punch to your heart from their poetric and masterful lyricism. Oh, and Gatlin covering Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” during the most picturesque Tennessee sunset after a long day in the sun? Blasphemy, because we’ll never exist in that perfect moment again.
PLEASER: What's been the most rewarding or challenging thing about playing a festival?
CECE COAKLEY: I think the most challenging thing is playing with so many awesome people, and it makes you very like, oh, like embarrassed. Not embarrassed, but just kind of super anxious because like, all of my friends are here and they're all really good at their craft. So it makes me feel like I have to be like, I gotta get my shit together. But it's a good inspiration as well. Yeah. So on both sides, it's the good and the bad thing.
PLEASER: That makes sense being surrounded by so many incredible musicians. Do you have anything coming up or like in the works that you can share?
CECE COAKLEY: I'm coming out with a single next month [May]. I don't know the date, and then people say that to be secretive, but I really don't know when it's coming out yet, but hopefully by the end of next month, and then a project in the summer.
PLEASER: That's all really exciting, we can’t wait to listen. Okay. Last question. What brings brightness to your shade?
CECE COAKLEY: A good lemonade on a hot summer day.
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PLEASER: So first one, if you could give your genre of music a new name or description, what would it be?
GATLIN: Oh, that's a good question. Um, heartbreaking but dancing. Dance heartbreak.
PLEASER: Dance heartbreak. I love that. Okay, who would be on your dream festival lineup?
GATLIN: Oh, that is a good question. I feel just like I'd wanna do like an all women or LGBTQ indie sad pop girls. So Charlie XCX has to be there, and Caroline Polachek has to be there. MUNA is there for sure.
PLEASER: We’ll be barricade at that festival, no question. Finally, what brings brightness to your shade?
GATLIN: My cat. I'm obsessed with my cat. His name is Banks. Oh, he is my bestie. He's like really angry all the time, but I love it because he loves me.
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After an exhilarating day filled with the most banging soundtrack, the time had finally come for the highly anticipated headliner: The Greeting Committee. The band’s performance was nothing short of electrifying, thanks in large part to the captivating frontwoman, Addie Sarting, who bounded around the stage with stunning vocal control. Known for their bright and lively music, the band kept the energy high until the 11:00 p.m. curfew forced them to wrap their set up. The Pleaser team seized the opportunity to talk with Sarting before they closed out the night.
PLEASER: if you could describe your genre of music with a new name or give it a new description, how would you describe it?
THE GREETING COMMITTEE: It's not new to us, but I would say the way that I like to describe it: dancing music that you cry to.
PLEASER: Love that. Um, so what's the most challenging or rewarding thing about playing festivals?
THE GREETING COMMITTEE: Festivals? I would say one of the most rewarding parts is getting to see other artists that you're a fan of. Hovvdy is playing behind us right now and I'm a big fan of them, and then Gatlin went on earlier and I love her music so much. So probably that. Um, and then the difficult part is just that, you know, we're very fortunate that since we were headlining Bright Shade Fest, we got a sound check, but most of the time you don't get a full sound check and that's really stressful.
PLEASER: That's been a common response from people. If you had a festival lineup of all your favorite artists, who would be playing?
THE GREETING COMMITTEE: Taylor Swift is headlining.
PLEASER: Did you hear Gatlin sing “All Too Well?”
THE GREETING COMMITTEE: Of course, yes. It was incredible, I was singing back here, but yes, Taylor Swift. I'm seeing her on July 8 in Kansas City and I'm so excited. The 1975, Lorde, Hippo Campus, Coin. Oh my God. Big, big Lorde girl. I'm a “Melodrama” girl. I'm sorry. I know, my time has not come with Solar Power yet. I know I will get there eventually, but I'm not there yet. I can feel the disappointment on your face. I'm so sorry.
PLEASER: We promise to not hold it against you. So it's been about what like, eight years since your first release on Spotify? What would you say you have learned either about yourself or as an artist in that span of time?
THE GREETING COMMITTEE: We’ve really been together for nearly a decade now, like almost 10 years. I was 15 when we started and I just turned 25. So I've literally grown up putting music out, which is… There are times where I really don't like that because then everyone gets to hear me at 15 and I know what I've learned and like how proud of myself that I am for the things that I've learned. I haven’t really talked much about my journey in the band mostly because I don't think I knew how bad it was, because when you're in something, you're really in it and you just kind of, maybe to survive to, think, “Oh, this is just the way it is.” I am really happy this year, with all of the changes that have happened, and they've really led to a much happier band dynamic and a lot of freedom being felt. I am so thankful to my bandmate, Pierce. He's just like, the absolute best. He has been my rock. I feel like we're very yin-yang when it comes to working together and it's been so enjoyable. So really, I would say I've learned to put my happiness and my health above, maybe my fear of abandonment. I think I didn't know how to do that, but my brain just fully developed, so maybe that's a part of it. <laugh>.
PLEASER: That is really great to hear how well this year is going. Do your fans at all influence your music? Be that in your live performance or when you're actually making music?
THE GREETING COMMITTEE: 110%. Probably not like the writing per se. I mean, overall, just like wanting to be successful exists. I am - all I do is try, try, try. I am that girly. I am not the like, “cool I don't care.” I'm in it to make art. Of course, I wanna make art, but my favorite thing is writing lyrics and words and connecting to people. So if I don't feel like I'm connecting with people, then I'm not fulfilling myself. I gather something different than I think a lot of artists do. Especially artists that like are solely on instruments to them. I totally get that fuel. I would say I think of them and at my shows, like, I want everyone to feel very welcome, to feel very safe. I want to participate and I have no problem getting mad at people if they don't do what I want them to do with the show because I am trying to cultivate a very specific memory for people. And so I - I need everybody's involvement to make that happen. Thankfully it hasn't backfired on me yet. Like, I'll pick on a grouchy person and they end up liking it. I've only had it go south one time and we're not meant to be friends. It's fine. That person just probably will never come back to a show again. <laugh>. That's alright.
PLEASER: That totally comes through when you’re performing, the desire to create a welcoming environment and good memories for your fans. Kind of going off of that, what are your tactics for crowd surfing?
THE GREETING COMMITTEE: Oh, my tactics, um, I don't have many to be honest. Except I will feel it out, like if I don't think you're gonna catch me, I'm not gonna do it. Yeah, because I've been dropped and that hurts really bad. My shtick is kind of to be a bitch on stage because if you know me well then, you know, I like to think I'm very kind when I talk to people and like that's my mission is to be welcoming and warm. But right now I have a bone to pick with people because they have their phones up when I'm trying to crowd surf. I'll yell, “Put your phone down and put your hands up because you can't catch me if you're holding your phone.” I have now taken it upon myself to start stealing people's phones like a teacher almost. I warn them, I'm like, “Put it down, put it down,” and if they don't do it, I grab it. So I grabbed this guy's in Austin, Texas and I got back on stage and I was like, “You motherfucker,” and he thought it was the funniest thing. He was having a great time. His girlfriend sent me a hilarious message later and was like, “He is a motherfucker.” So that's when I'm like, “Yeah, these are good people.” No one's trying to intentionally hurt me, but I’m just trying to educate and look out for myself. I pull my back when I jump sometimes and I'm like, “Oh my God”. I feel archaic when that happens.
PLEASER: I love the fact that you crowd surf, it's so sick. I can imagine that can be kind of scary, especially when putting your faith in other people like that..
THE GREETING COMMITTEE: Yeah, I just get really stubborn about it where I'm like, “You will catch me. This will happen.” <laugh>. “You will not let me hit the floor.” <laugh>. I got dropped in Houston, Texas in probably 2018 and like, on my back got dropped, and I legitimately got back on the stage and it was a room of no more than like 75 people and I said, “We’re doing that again.” And I made them catch me and I could just feel the resentment in their hands of like, we hate this girl.
PLEASER: <laugh>. That’s insane, I love it. Okay, last question I have is what brings brightness to your shade?
THE GREETING COMMITTEE: Oh, what brings brightness to my shade? My dog Clementine, I adore her. She is the cutest thing ever, and she's so snuggily. I love her so much. Also a really good reality TV show, like trashy. Like I love, “Love is Blind.” It's so good, they're all so horribly awkward and it's so entertaining. <laugh>
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The New Respects
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Although relatively smaller in scale, Bright Shade Music & Arts Festival is a fantastic choice for those who prefer a more intimate experience and feel overwhelmed by massive crowds. The festival offers a wonderful opportunity to enjoy your favorite artists or discover new talent, whether you’re right in the heart of the crowd or relaxing on the outskirts of the park, soaking up the sun. With its well-organized and clean setup, Bright Shade provides the perfect environment to enjoy a stellar lineup of performances. It’s definitely a festival worth adding to your must-attend list for next year. And don’t be surprised to find the Pleaser team at the front of the line for entry into Bright Shade next year.
