Shovels And Rope - Hurray for the Riff Raff Play Cannery Ballroom

Nashville – Americana fanatics will be excited to know (if they didn’t already) that Shovels & Rope and Hurray for the Riff Raff are teaming up for a mini tour through the southeast. Both bands make daring, raucous music that befits the kickass women who lead them. We saw their show in Nashville at Cannery Ballroom along with five hundred or so other people. The show sold out to no one’s surprise.

These two bands draw a diverse crowd: it was the gender neutral women and bearded men in plaid who one would expect, but also teenagers with their parents, frat boys, industry-types, mom-types, types-etc. Americana is a genre beloved by all Nashvillians. Despite the fact that Cannery Ballroom is still the weirdest-shaped venue in the city (cannot be described in fifty words or less), Shovels & Rope and Hurray for the Riff Raff put on an incredible show.

New Orleans-based Hurray for the Riff Raff opened the set promptly at 8pm. Such an early start time was unconventional, but surely appreciated by everyone who had to wake up at a normal-person hour the next morning.

Lead singer Alynda Lee Segarra rang in her twenty-seventh birthday the night of the show. Her style tips borrowed from Bettie Page have all the appearance of youth, but Segarra’s burning voice, stage presence, and provocative song content come from a place more mature than her twenty-seven years. Segarra made no pretensions about herself on stage. Her modesty and passion are evident, and she didn’t try to woo the crowd with falsified energy or obsequious remarks about Nashville.

Hurray for the Riff Raff have been touring in support of their new album that we recently reviewed, Small Town Heroes. Their set was spotted with songs off the new album like the backcountry ode, “Blue Ridge Mountain,” and the blasé “Crash on the Highway.” The thudding bass drum on “The Body Electric” fell heavy with the weight of its anti-violence, feminist message, as fresh as the day the band recorded the song.

The band also took up some older material such as the title track off “Look Out Mama” as well as “Slow Walk.” The older songs were a reminder of how far this band has come since that 2012 debut, and even earlier in their career when they busked the streets of New Orleans. Their rise goes to show that talent prevails.

The crowd at the front of the room had a song for Segarra too. They sang her “Happy Birthday” as she left the stage before Shovels & Rope played.

The energy on the stage changed as soon as Cary Ann Heart of Shovels & Rope walked on. With her new Debbie Harry hair and scratchy, boisterous voice, she was the life of the party. Her husband Michael Trent took up the guitar while Hearst played a big bass drum that she sat on. Both were one-man bands, usually playing not one but a few instruments and singing close harmonies all the while. They even switched these instruments around with each other after a few songs, and thus confirmed our suspicion that this is the coolest couple making music today. They represent their hometown of Charleston, South Carolina with good times and grace.

Highlights were two of their singles, “Gasoline” and “Birmingham,” off 2012’s O’ Be Joyful. They also played a few unknown songs, which hopefully indicate that a new album is in the works.

Shovels & Rope will continue to tour with Hurray for the Riff Raff through North Carolina. Then both bands are splitting to do their own thing for a while before reuniting at Newport Folk Festival this summer. It’s a festival that is awesome every year (seriously) and will only be made better by the presence of these two talented bands.

Photos: Hurray For The Riff Raff By Gordon Johnston - Shovels & Rope By Scott Newton

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Caroline McDonald

My first memory is of singing Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” quietly to myself during preschool naptime. Perhaps it’s because I’m from Nashville where an instrument lives in every home, but music has gripped me for as long as I can remember.

After dabbling in many parts of the music industry—recording studios, PR, management, labels, publishing—I’m expanding into music journalism because I’m yet to find anything more rewarding that finding and sharing new music.

A longtime sucker for girls with guitars, my musical taste unabashedly follows the songwriting lineage of Dolly Parton and includes Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch, and Neko Case. But not to pigeonhole myself, my music love is big love that stretches from R.L. Burnside to Animal Collective to Lord Huron.

I’ve recently moved home to Nashville after living in Boston and Big Sur for several years. I’d forgotten how music pours onto the streets ten hours a day, seven days a week. I’m honored to share the creative explosion happening here. If your band is in the area or of the area, please reach out!