Ron Wynn

Nashville

Sports and Entertainment Editor at The Tennessee Tribune

Freelance Contributor at The Bluegrass Situation

Articles

Alison Joy Williams Dives Deep Into the Blues

2 weeks ago | nashvillescene.com | Ron Wynn

Playing 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, at 3rd and LindsleyThroughout her career, explosive vocalist and songwriter Alison Joy Williams has done a bit of everything — from rock and pop to country, Americana and gospel. But the blues remains the genre she most enjoys. While she has appeared in numerous venues and at festivals across the U.S. and around the world, she considers Nashville her second home, even since relocating to the Pacific Northwest.
Another Look: Valerie June, ‘Owls, Omens, and Oracles’

3 weeks ago | nashvillescene.com | Ron Wynn

Dynamic vocalist andinstrumentalist Valerie June delivers 14 conceptually challenging, lyrically intriguing numbers on her newest release Owls, Omens, and Oracles. She's exploring the realm of spirituality, both in terns of personal beliefs and social impact. These songs espouse and celebrate expressions of joy, with June's vocals consistently engaging and exuberant. M.
Classic gospel, contemporary blues artists come to Nashville

1 month ago | tntribune.com | Ron Wynn

By Ron WynnOne of gospel’s finest groups and the son of a legendary blues musician will be appearing in Nashville to get April underway in fine fashion. They are both coming to the City Winery, with the Blind Boys of Alabama slated to appear there April 1 and Cedric Burnside on April 3.
Another Look: Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra, ‘Tenor Madness’

1 month ago | nashvillescene.com | Ron Wynn

Since COVID lockdown, we’ve run a recurring print column called Another Look that rounds up several super-brief record reviews. It’s a way to highlight worthy releases from Nashville-residing musicians during the past few months that we haven’t yet covered in-depth. The time has come for an evolution: Rather than one whopping article, we’re revamping Another Look as a series of single short reviews, with one or more iterations online each week.
Fisk makes more athletic history

2 months ago | tntribune.com | Ron Wynn

When Fisk University announced it was starting gymnastics back in the fall of 2022, the general feeling was great in terms of symbolic importance, but beyond that, what would be the impact? As the first HBCU to venture into this athletic area, there was no precedent, nothing to make a comparison with or to beyond simply wanting to do well. That first team in 2023 was profiled everywhere from CNN to CBS and on the NCAA’s website.
Gary Clark Unifies All Sectors of the Blues World

2 months ago | nashvillescene.com | Ron Wynn

Playing March 6 (with opener Danielle Ponder) and March 7 (with opener Grace Bowers) at the RymanThough he would most likely embrace this notion reluctantly, if at all, Gary Clark Jr. stands tall among the few contemporary artists with the creative imagination and technical ability to reach every segment of the blues community.
Levert Experience comes to Nashville

2 months ago | tntribune.com | Ron Wynn

Vocal groups aren’t exactly flourishing these days in R&B/soul circles, which makes the trio known as the Levert Experience quite unusual. But they also have extremely impressive credentials. Marc Gordon was a producer and original founding member of the famed trio Levert, teaming with Gerald and Sean Levert to make a series of hits from the late ‘80s into the early and mid-90s. Later, he was also part of a second act known as the Levert Reunion.
Lorenzo Washington Keeps the Jefferson Street Legacy Going

2 months ago | nashvillescene.com | Ron Wynn

When the names of legendary Black music communities are cited, you often and immediately hear about places in Harlem, Chicago, Philadelphia or Detroit, and such sites as Beale Street in Memphis or Central Avenue in Los Angeles. But Lorenzo Washington wants the world to know that Nashville’s Jefferson Street in its heyday was every bit as busy as any of those places, and its legacy equally as important.
New documentary examines burden of Black genius

2 months ago | tntribune.com | Ron Wynn

For anyone who’s ever thought that extremely talented people also often had problems coping with the challenges of daily life, Questlove’s new documentary on Sly Stone directly examines that contention. It’s at the heart of Sly Lives!, his latest production, which debuted last Thursday on Hulu. He also told NPR’s Terry Gross he’s experienced the same phenomenon himself, particularly in the wake of all the acclaim given to his previous documentary Summer of Soul in 2021.
Documentarian spotlights forgotten figure

2 months ago | tntribune.com | Ron Wynn

Documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter has done some powerful films already, but her latest one will examine a figure seldom profiled or spotlighted. She’s also moving into new territory. Porter announced last week that she would make her narrative feature debut with “Nobody: The Bert Williams Story,” a biopic of the vaudeville performer of the same name.