NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - If Acme Feed and Seed is the Lower Broadway music venue for locals and millennials, then its recently launched Internet radio station, Acme Radio, is hoping to become the platform that exposes "Nashville's underbelly" to the rest of the world.
In the two years since it opened inside the historic building at the corner of First Avenue and Broadway, Acme has carefully cultivated a reputation as the alternative honky-tonk, with an upscale food service and music programming, unlike its well-established neighbors.
Acme owner Tom Morales explains: "When I was growing up in the '50s and '60s, Lower Broad was the place you wanted to get on a stage to be discovered," Morales said. "And over time, tourism has taken over where now they're just playing Garth Brooks and covers from 1992, and there's no real discovery going on.
"When Patsy Cline came to Nashville, she wanted to be on that Opry stage to become a star. And once she got on the stage, she became a star. Now there's nothing down here. We're trying to be the voice; we're trying to give them a showcase."
Acme's alternative take on live music includes "Grateful Mondays," dedicated to the Grateful Dead and its jam band peers. Local music blog No Country for New Nashville curates a non-country music night every other Tuesday. Star studio guitarist Guthrie Trapp leads "Trapped Above Ground" each Wednesday night, showcasing the city's top session musicians, songwriters and legacy acts. On Thursday nights, Acme becomes a Funky Tonk, where a house band of emerging younger musicians plays three-plus hours of funk and soul covers.
Acme Radio launched with some fanfare in February, with Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, record producer Dave Cobb and veteran songwriter J.D. Souther. Morales said the goal is not necessarily to turn Acme Radio, a streaming-only station, into a money-maker on its own. Instead, he wants to take the unique live music his club offers and combine it with an alternative take on radio programming to broadcast the other side of Nashville to the rest of the world. Acme program director and talent buyer Carl Gatti said that Morales refers to it as "Nashville's underbelly."
"Without a doubt, we have a ton of eclectic programming going on," Gatti said. "And that's why it made sense to launch a broadcasting appendage of the Acme brand, extend the conversation and take it to a worldwide audience.
"Now this entire building is wired with 10-gig fiber. We can broadcast from any floor at any time. And we can record from any floor at any time, and it all ties back to the studio. Every live show is a radio show, and every radio show could potentially become a live show."
The studio is nestled into a small space at the front of the building right on Broadway. There are smudge marks on the windows from tourists pressing their faces against the glass to get a glimpse of the various shows broadcasting in real time. Acme Radio has tapped Lightning 100 veteran Justin Hammel to serve as its program director, and Hammel has already lined up shows to match the unique music offerings of the venue.
The station's daily lunchtime show, "Vinyl Lunch," celebrates the vinyl boom by spinning records, often with local musicians bringing favorites from their collection. The station also offers lifestyle programming.
Local chef Matt Farley hosts "Pairs Well with Food." There's a show dedicated to entrepreneurship, as well as a sports talk show that isn't really about sports. Hosted by former Titan Brad Hopkins and Rachel Barribeau, "B Hop and Barribeau" is a mix of sports, fitness, lifestyle advice and music talk.
"My whole goal is to try to build off of what was already established here," Hammel said. "Our playlist is definitely heavy locally influenced. Our playlist is probably 60 or 70 percent local, and I want to bump that higher."
Morales calls Gatti and Hammel the "Spotify of Nashville" because they are identifying and supporting local artists, as well as giving them a place to play live. The radio station takes that concept to another level and lets the artists showcase their music outside of Nashville.
"What we're trying to create here is not a competition," Morales said. "We want to be a reflection of Nashville. When people tune in from Japan, we want them to know really what Nashville is about."
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Information from: The Tennessean, http://www.tennessean.com