I know I am a little late in getting this post out and several other attendees have shared their experiences with the recent Block Party II, but it has been a crazy week and I'm just now getting down to it. Let me start by saying that this is going to be a bit of a photo dump as well and I apologize in advance. Also, I may forget to mention a name or two, but rest assured that I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and spending time with everyone there! @enginewitty did a phenomenal job organizing this amazing event and every detail was pretty close to perfect...thanks brother for the memories!
I started my trip up to TN a day earlier than I originally planned in order to get a day of fishing in with "bassmaster extraordinaire" @enginewitty. I chronicled this fishing excursion in this previous post! I woke up early and headed out around 5am in order to get to Witty's neck of the woods by around 9ish. About an hour and a half up the road into my journey I HAD to stop at Buc-ee's, you now they have good coffee and food if you see cops cars there (trust me, I'm an expert! lolol). If you are not familiar with this southern extravaganza of a gas station....it is basically a 24 hour-gas station-bbq joint-walmart-gift store. The people watching is some of the best I've experienced and I always load up on their jerky. With my shopping fix in and a fresh cup of coffee, I continued northward towards my destination.
After a full day of fishing, Witty dropped me off at my hotel so I could rest a bit before he treated me and a couple more @thealliance fam to dinner at a fabulous cajun-themed restaurant. The pic above is my splurge on some mouth-watering shrimp and grits! The next morning I grabbed breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and headed towards Nashville to meet up with some of the attendees at Opry Mills mall for lunch and some excursions.
I arrived at the mall a little early and started exploring some of the stores. I couldn't believe there were no boutique coffee shops in the mall so I settled for the evil empire latte that does the job in a pinch lololol. I found a Van's store that was having a sale and as you can tell by the pics below, I couldn't resist the powerful temptation to add a couple of pairs to my collection. Come on....you know those are fire!!!! lolol We met up at Dave and Busters where we were again treated to lunch my Pimpdaddy Witty!
After lunch, several members of our group decided to stay at the mall and partake of some activities, but I had a date with destiny to check off an item off of my bucket list!
Ever since discovering the White Stripes in a much younger version of myself, I have been thoroughly impressed with Jack White and his various talents, so it was an absolute must I visit his Third Man Records shop while in Nashville. And sometimes the image you have of an experience may build it up so much that the real event lets you down, that was definitely not the case with this experience! The best way I can describe this little piece of creativity was that it was a physical embodiment of the superb creativity one comes to associate with Jack White and his numerous artistic pursuits. It was mind expanding and impressive to say the least.
The property is a mix of record shop, recording studio, carnival side show, and even a lounge after hours. There is a vintage recording booth that will put your voice (singing, speaking, or otherwise) straight to a vinyl record! I greatly enjoyed this experience and will definitely go back in the future.
After being a bit emotionally overwhelmed at the days events, I headed over to my hotel to check in and marvel at the indoor pool on site! I don't care who you are, you are never too old to get really, really excited about your hotel having an indoor pool! After checking in and settling in for the night, I headed down to the pool to swim and relax for a bit before the big day coming up! Sorry @hettyrowan and @thisismylife no racy pics or dance videos of my speedo! Maybe next time...lololololol
The next day I slept in a bit and grabbed breakfast at the hotel before heading out to the event location. Witty, again, knocked it out of the park for the event location! It was a intimate and eclectic setting that houses a local organization that aims to help musical artist find their voice and grow. The stage area was perfect and the acoustics were so very impressive! Outside the stage area, there were several intimate nooks and seating so conversations and sharing could happen outside the constant beat of the magic happening.
Witty had an extraordinary BBQ food truck show up and the pulled pork was out of this world. All the artists were so talented and you could feel every ounce of their soul in the pieces that were shared. Two of the stand outs that spoke to me personally was the next level funk powerhouse @trentonlundy1 and the powerful voice and guitar of @darrenclaxton. There were so many more artists that thoroughly rocked the stage that night, but I either don't know them on Hive or didn't get their name. The night started to wrap up with an amazing set by the crazy talented @d-vine! If you weren't there, I could never capture the talent and magic on that stage in mere mortal words....you just had to be there!
Oh did someone say "swag bags"? That's right, Witty even had some sweet merch in swag bags for the gold and silver ticket holders! It could just be favoritism, but I am especially fond of the @cinetv and Bro items! lolol
This was definitely a banger for the record books and I feel some immensely proud and privileged to have been able to attend and witness it first hand. I can't wait for the next one and I will find a way to get to it no matter where it may be! Thanks again to @enginewitty for being such a great host/tour guide to me, an organizer for the event, and, most importantly, a true friend!
All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter,
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
-Tolkien
