On Nov. 8, the United Theatre in Westerly will host the first in a series of intimate live shows featuring singer-songwriters from Nashville, presented by the Music City’s legendary Bluebird Cafe. The series is part of the “Nashville North” initiative, which seeks to bring powerful songwriter-driven performances to Rhode Island.
The first show will include performances by Victoria Banks, Phil Barton, and Emily Shackelson, three of Nashville’s most respected singer-songwriters. Tickets for the Nov. 8 event go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
Morning host Luis Hernandez spoke about the Nashville North initiative with Carly Callahan, executive director of the United Theatre, and Tony Nunes, the theater’s artistic director.
Interview highlights
On how the collaboration between the United Theatre and Bluebird Cafe developed
Carly Callahan: The idea started percolating last summer. We reached out to the Bluebird and explained who we are, and they were kind enough to say, “You know what? Why don’t you come down to Nashville and check it out for yourself?” I had heard about the Bluebird, as had Tony, of course. The ABC series Nashville largely centered on the Bluebird and the magic that happens within those four walls. It had been on my bucket list.
On the experience of watching a show at the Bluebird Cafe
Callahan: It’s not like a bar environment where you’re talking amongst yourself. You are there to listen to the music and be in community with the artists. The minute that we sat down and the musician started playing, there was a transition from everyone feeling, I think, excited and maybe a little bit awkward, not knowing what to expect. Then the music starts, and there is a relaxation amongst everybody in a sense that, oh my goodness, we are witnessing a moment that is singular and we are so lucky to be here with these artists.
On what to expect from Nashville North shows at the United Theatre
Tony Nunes: So the way this works, if you go down to the Bluebird Cafe, it’s a small, unassuming space, and they bring in the best songwriters, in Nashville, people who have written for you name them. … You get three artists, they’re telling stories about their songwriting process, and they’re going song for song. Each person will talk, they’ll play a song that they wrote. Often, it’s a very familiar song that you’ve heard. Sometimes it’s a song that never found the light of day, and they go song for song.
So the first three people we have are actually songwriters, not general, big name performers, per see.
(At) our space at the United, we can accommodate 432 people seated. So we’re doing this as a seated show. Our full capacity, if this was a standing room show, would be 700. But this needs to feel intimate and like you’re in someone’s living room, with 432 people.
I think that the conversation piece that happens on stage between these three people, and the magnetism of those artists being able to draw people in with the storytelling and music, and really feeling like they’re a part of that storytelling process, and they’re really getting some insight on how art is created, especially music, because everybody loves music – I think that’s the magic piece that’s going to work.
Tickets for the Nov. 8 show go on sale to the general public Friday, July 18 at 10 a.m.
