Eastside Buzz, March 18

Love Buzz Artist of the Week Molly Tuttle. Photograph by Samantha Muljat

Eastside Buzz

Fri 18 Mar 2022 2:21 CST

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Three inches of snow and springing forward to Daylight Savings Time in one week! Fortunately, plowing through both wasn’t as bad as it might seem — lotsa of interesting news in this week’s edition of Eastside Buzz. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the new issue of The East Nashvillian, which will feature Old Crow Medicine Show in a crackerjack cover story by Brittney McKenna — coming soon to a pick-up location near you!

No Parking Here!

No Parking signs went up this week on the westbound side of Main Street in front of Hunter’s Station at 975 Main St. They’re an addition that many Eastside residents welcome and have demanded for several months. Rather than parking in nearby surface lots, many patrons of the surrounding restaurants have been illegally parking on the street and blocking one lane of one of the busiest intersections in East Nashville. Add the fact that the affected area is just around the sharp turn where Gallatin Avenue transitions to Main, and it’s been a recipe for tragedy.

Police are now ticketing cars parked on Main Street within 30 feet of the Main and 10th Street intersection. Free 90-minute parking for patrons is available in the lot directly behind Hunter’s Station.

Laissez les bon temps rouler on McFerrin!

Spicy Boy’s Cajun food is now open at 924 McFerrin Ave., near Eastside institutions The Pharmacy and Mas Tacos Por Favor. Spicy Boy’s serves traditional Louisiana staples, including po’boy sandwiches, gumbo, boudin sausage, New Orleans beignets, and more, along with a variety of fine cocktails and beer, all prepared under the supervision of soul food chef, owner, and Baton Rouge native, Justen Gardner Cheney. For hours and a look at their menu, follow @spicyboysnashville on Facebook.

Drifter’s is Back, Baby!

A belated “Welcome back!” to Eastside fave, Drifter’s Bar-B-Que Joint, which reopened with a soft launch on March 1. Damaged by the March 3, 2020 tornado, the road back has been filled with many delays, but now they’ve returned to serve up their signature take on barbecue along with their fried hot pickles and an ample variety of cold beers. Live shows on their outdoor stage return soon. For updates, follow Drifter’s on Facebook @driftersBBQ or Instagram @drifters_bbq. 1008-B Woodland St.

Matters of Development

The 0.18-acre property home to the East Nashville location of Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish (aka Hot Fish Heaven), 624 Main St., recently sold for $1 million. Bolton’s new landlord is an LLC affiliated with Justin Leach, a shareholder with the Nashville office of Birmingham-based law firm Maynard Cooper & Gale, according to a story published in the Nashville Post. Bolton’s location appears to be secure for now. For more about Bolton’s, visit them online at boltonsspicy.com.

The Cleveland Park home of Grace Apostolic Church 1100 Lischey Ave., recently sold for $2.15 million. Local businessman Martin Bubis purchased the property. No word on any possible future for the property at this time.

Not East Nashville, but it was announced this week that the historic downtown location of the Ernest Tubb Record Shop at 417 Broadway would be closing this spring. Founded in May 1947 by Grand Ole Opry star Ernest Tubb in partnership with his tax accountant, Charles Mosley, the store began business at 720 Commerce St., moving to its Broadway location in 1951. For many years, the shop was also home to the Midnight Jamboree radio program, broadcast each Saturday night immediately after the Grand Ole Opry. In recent years, changes in record retailing and the decline of music sales in all formats severely affected the store’s business. A petition to save the store was launched this week by members of the Tubb family, but no plan on how this would happen has been announced.

Lights Off for Earth Hour

Mayor John Cooper and city leaders invite Nashvillians and businesses to celebrate Earth Hour 2022 on Saturday, March 26, from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. by turning off all non-essential lighting for one hour. Earth Hour is held annually on the last Saturday in March to acknowledge climate change. For more information on Earth Hour, visit earthhour.org.

Be a Neighbor for Neighbors

Registration is now open for the C4N Nashville 2022 on Saturday, April 2, at the Music City Center. Sponsored by the non-profit neighborhood organization Neighbor 2 Neighbor, the annual conference will address such issues as development, dangerous driving, litter, and homelessness. For more information about the conference and registration, visit n2n.solutions/c4n.

Love Buzz

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway “Big Backyard”

This week’s “Love Buzz” spotlights Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s new song, “Big Backyard,” featuring special guests Old Crow Medicine Show (cover stars of our soon-to-be-hittin’-streets March/April issue!). The latest teaser release is from Tuttle’s forthcoming Nonesuch Records debut, Crooked Tree, which will drop on April 1. The album was recorded live at Nashville’s Oceanway Studios, Crooked Tree, and produced by Tuttle and Jerry Douglas featuring collaborations with Old Crow Medicine Show, Sierra Hull, Margo Price, Billy Strings, Dan Tyminski, and Gillian Welch.

Reflecting on this tune, Tuttle says, “I wish that Woody Guthrie were still around. I’d love to hear the songs he would write about the crazy world we’re living in today. But since he’s not, Ketch Secor and I wrote the best Woody Guthrie song we could think of. Old Crow Medicine Show joined in on the chorus and made it shine. We’re all one family in the big backyard; it ain’t mine, it ain’t yours, it’s all of ours!

For more info and to preorder Molly’s new album
visit mollytuttle.link.to/CrookedTree.

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