10 out of Tenn

Usually, when I go to a live show by one of my favorite artists, I end up liking one of their openers and subsequently following his/her music as well.  Over a year ago, I went to see Tyrone Wells (if you don't know him, you're really missing out) at Eddie's Attic and was absolutely blown away by his opener, Andrew Belle.  I remember sitting across the table from my friend, and after only a word or two left Belle's lips, my friend and I looked at each other, jaws dropped.  So of course, I bought all his music he was selling and haven't been able to get enough since.  Andrew mentioned during his set that he was a part of a group of solo musicians in Tennessee who toured together and that they called themselves 10 out of Tenn (ten musicians out of TN - started by Trent Dabbs), and in addition, they had a documentary coming out on television soon, "Any Day Now".  When I got home, I set my DVR.  I watched the documentary at least 5 or 6 times and shared it with friends.  Then, this past fall, the 10 out of Tenn crew came to Atlanta and played a show at Variety Playhouse.. it was one of those nights that you really feel part of something, being surrounded by people who love and appreciate so many of the same things you do.  What's cool is all these artists are solo artists and tour on their own, so for the concert, each one got up and played a couple of their own songs while the others used their instrumental talents and basically became the band behind the current performer.  I have to say, EVERYONE was amazing and through this, I now follow the music of many of these artists.  The one person who stood out to me most was K.S. Rhoads.  Rhoads performed a song called "Invincible Fortress"-- he starts it out with a simple beat box, loops it, then one at at a time, adds different percussion, piano, haunting background vocals, guitar and eventually the lyrics.  The song starts out so simply and builds on itself , and with all these sounds together, made by one man, becomes a moving, hair-raising work of art.  Amazing.  All in all, every last artist was wonderful and each had his or her own styling, making the show dynamic and inspiring.  So, a big "thank you" to Andrew Belle, for being the one to tell me about 10 out of Tenn!

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LEFT: 
Ten out of Tenn "Any Day Now" film trailer.  This is their documentary I mention above.

LINKS:
10 out of Tenn
    - Trent Dabbs (founder)
    - K.S. Rhoads
    - Andrew Belle
    - Butterfly Boucher
    - Matthew Perryman Jones
    - Katie Herzig
    - Amy Stroup
    - Gabe Dixon
    - Tyler James
    - Will Sayles
    - Jeremy Lister

BELOW:  The video that I recorded at the end of the 10 out of Tenn show at Variety Playhouse.  All the artists came out into the crowd and played "Ring of Fire" together... so much fun!