Nashville doesn’t do well with snow, but the forecast couldn’t keep people away from a soulful night of rock and roll at 3rd and Lindsley.
On the south side of Nashville, in the shadow of yet another new building, sits 3rd and Lindsley – a small venue with a great kitchen. It features a nice-sized stage spanning the entire width of the place as well as a balcony that stretches across the center of the restaurant. Fans were seated at tables throughout the venue, ready to take it all in comfortably.
Jon Latham and the Lifers took the stage with a strong rock groove establishing their guitar and drum-driven sound with “Last in Line” – a telling of constantly trying to get ahead in life, but it never quite working. Folksy lyrics wrapped in incredible driven musical backup from The Lifers tell more relatable stories of feeling like the world is passing you by in “Learning Now.”
From the first song, it was immediately clear that Jon Latham is an emotional storyteller with a great mind for writing. The songs are full of common struggles wrapped poetically and sung with the voice of a dude who grew up in Georgia. Moving to East Nashville in 2013, Jon got to work on his first album, Real Bad News, playing almost every instrument on the album and releasing it in 2015. Jon Latham is now a Cafe Rooster recording artist.
Guest fiddle player Drayton Aldridge stepped in for a few tunes to add an even more country feel to this folk-rock soundscape. “Kimberly Met Billy,” Jon declared, was about freedom and kids having sneaky sex at rock and roll shows in the 1980s. He got the crowd involved to “bring back the gods of rock and roll” as he taunted them to sing the chorus louder and louder.
Throughout the whole set, guitars wailed with amazing solos and sometimes a familiar borrowed lick. Jon Latham and the Lifters ended by singing the praises of rock and roll, and then the woes of a hard life one more time, finishing with one of their biggest tracks “Major Key.”
Trigger Hippy made their way onto the stage, energetically laying down their blues-rock style with the soulful “Dandelion” sung by singer, and bari sax player, Amber Woodhouse. After Amber got the crowd’s attention with her powerful voice and stellar stage presence, guitarist Ed Jurdi took a southern rock turn with “Dry County.” Backup vocals from Woodhouse helped paint the picture of unrequited love.
Trigger Hippy is unique in its creation and style. Most bands are formed by the lead singer, but Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and Nashville songwriter and bassist Nick Govrik, have been the core of Trigger Hippy for the last fifteen years. Amber Woodhouse and Ed Jurdi, guitar, have been with the band since 2019.
Songs melt into one another with long rock jams that show off the insane level of musicianship on stage. “If Not Now” (new and unreleased) and “Born To Be Blue” melted from one into the other showing their sound diversity. Their style can’t be nailed down as each song has a little more funk, more country, more gospel, more rock, or more soul than the last one.
Highlights included “Heartache on the Line,” where vocals melted between Woodhouse and Jurdi as they sang about imperfect love. “Don’t Wanna Bring You Down” shows how well the band blends their vocal styles to create the luscious style melting pot unique to Trigger Hippy.
Saying their thank yous and leaving the stage, the guys and gal from the band couldn’t help but to come back out for an encore… and then one more, giving us a sneak at a new tune they’ve been working on. After their rocking reprises, they pulled Jon Latham back on stage for a barn burner to close out the show.
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