On a recent Saturday I find myself at yet another Nashville backyard/ house show. Tonight’s festivities are hosted by a newly established “entertainment company” called Foster Entertainment. This is the second event they’ve hosted in Max Foster’s fenced-in backyard. Which is conveniently located just across the street from Belmont University. I can imagine that this backyard has seen an embarrassing level of debauchery from Christian Belmont students on the weekends throughout the years.

The first band to perform was Cadence; the man, the band, the legend. Something that I love about Cadence is that he’s constantly selling himself. Like a true businessman, he sees everything as a networking opportunity. He really knows how to engage the crowd; this is in part because he engages with them regularly when he’s not on the stage. His band looks like “the band” in a coming-of-age movie. They were head banging and mic stand kicking. Something that is funny about this house show is that the audio (PA) system is not that great, but they did have a smoke machine. After the show, Cadence told me that he brought them himself. This guy rocks, he’s got a classic rock star style. He’s got scruffy hair, a backward hat and a Budweiser NASCAR jacket. In the midst of his last song, he runs into the crowd… twice. Also, his bass player killed it. Shout out to Kevin Bull, Jr.

The second band to perform was Keep the Eleven. I would describe their music as emo-influenced pop rock. At this point in the show, there are twice as many people in the fenced-in backyard. The fence looks like it’s one house show away from falling over. Keep the Eleven is a three-piece rock trio from Saint Charles, IL, right outside Chicago. People describe their sound as garage rock. I’m starting to wonder if we’ll get a noise complaint. I have noticed that tonight the bands have been playing a consistent mix of originals and covers.

The third band to perform was Tenneblind. The lead singer is wearing an outfit worthy of 2022 Fashion Week. It includes a sky mask and long coat. Ethan Schuster was the lead singer in question, he has been playing music for 12 years. He started with a classical background. He’s from Vernon Hills, Illinois now that he goes to Belmont he is “based in Nashville, Tennessee”. His music is inspired by bands like The Districts and Velvet Underground and Cage the Elephant. He’s spent years being a solo act and releasing music under his own name. Now that he’s in music city he started the band Tennéblind. The band includes Josef Lloyd on keys, Cole Bergwall on drums, Sam Hammock on guitar, Sam Roth on guitar, and John Johnson on bass.

Miles Squiers ,the fourth performer of the night was another student at Belmont University. He’s a producer, writer, and performer who blends alternative hip-hop and R&B music. He was born in San Francisco but grew up in Greenbrae, California. His music is a combination of jazz, rock and roll, and hip hop, which he calls music fusion. He certainly had an R&B and soulful voice.

Chasing Tonya, the final performers of the night were an alt-rock band. They’re influenced by the grassroots of the south as well as alt-rock of the 90s. Their first single, “American Man”, released on October 14th.

By the end of the show the crowd is dwindling and the ground is plastered with smashed tin cans.