GARAGE SESSIONS BRING WRITERS IN THE ROUND TO GARAGE BAR

No one can accuse Nashville of not having enough live music. It’s Music City after all, people play music on the streets, in bars, at the Laundromat, and, yes, hotels.

But sometimes it can be harder to find the intimate songwriter-fueled venue that’s really what Music City is about. Not the loud arenas with the bedazzled stars (not that there’s anything wrong with those), but the places where you can go to hear songwriter talk about the stories behind their songs. This format, called “in the round” is a signature. Songwriters take turns going around the room, playing acoustic versions of their music and explaining how they came up with their lyrics.

On the first Thursday of each month Brother Elsey hosts Garage Sessions at Bobby’s Garage Bar. Each night includes two rounds of three songwriters each, playing both popular songs and soon-to-be popular unreleased songs. Each songwriter is personally invited by Brother Elsey, a local band that plays a set in between each round.

Brother Elsey—a band composed of actual brothers, Brady, Beau and Jack Stablein—moved to Nashville in January 2022 and have been inspired by the musical community they’ve been able to build.

“Nashville has been Graceland, in a way, to my brothers and me. We’ve wanted to come here for years,” Beau says.

The Garage Sessions allow them to play with and highlight the local music community, inviting artists who play everything from indie rock to pop. While the night is unplugged, Beau says the music might be a little rowdier than other in-the-round events around town (those tend to be pretty chill). Some of the artists are those with whom Brother Elsey writes. Their style is a fusion of Americana and rock ‘n’ roll. The brothers hail from Detroit, where they started playing in bands in high school.

Since coming to town, Brother Elsey has been working on a new record, refining their sound with some of the city’s most talented recording engineers and producers and even having their music selected for an upcoming feature film. This is in addition to creating Garage Sessions

“Nashville is providing them with endless opportunities,” says agent Jay Emmons.

Garage Sessions are free and open to the public; audience members must be at least 21 years old.