3 Christmas Concerts & A Wedding

January 09, 2016

3 Christmas Concerts & A Wedding

I have a confession. This year, I actually put off going home for Christmas. I wasn't in any hurry to leave town because Nashville at Christmas is FUN!

First of all, there are Christmas concerts out the wazoo. I went to 3 of them.
I had really only intended to go to one, but then my friend Kaitlyn ended up with an extra ticket to Dave Barnes's Christmas show at the symphony. Here's the thing... it wasn't JUST a Dave Barnes show. He had a bunch of musician-friends come out and either sing a song on their own, or with him, but at one point Hillary Scott comes out on stage to sing and people like me try not to lose their chill. Like it was no big deal! I mean, I guess in this town everyone is connected to everybody else so that kind of thing is completely normal, but not to me. It was pretty freakin cool.
Let me also say, Dave is hilarious (look him up on YouTube), so the concert felt more like 1/2 comedy show 1/2 concert. We laughed SO hard throughout the whole night.

Dave Barnes at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center

The second concert I went to was the very next Friday night. Last year I went to see Matt Wertz's Snow Globe Christmas concert. It was so much fun, so I decided I'd go again this year. My parents have his Christmas CD and can't get enough of it, so I called my mom to see if they'd want to come to town and go with me. She couldn't - she and Mal were in NYC for the weekend - but Dad could! My roommate, Natalie, went with us and we had so much fun! Matt's concerts are always fun, and when it was over Natalie said, "Ok, now I see why everyone wants to be his best friend." He makes the audience feel like they're all his best friends, and this concert was no different. Like Dave Barnes, Matt also brought out a couple of friends to sing - including Dave. At the end of the night, Matt, Dave, Brandon Heath, and Jon McLaughlin stood around a microphone and sang O Holy Night. It was incredible.

Matt Wertz at TPAC

Dad and me at the Governor's Mansion

Dad and I had so much fun doing all the touristy things while he was in town! He spent all day Friday in Franklin touring the Carnton Plantation and walking around downtown. On Saturday, we went to the Governor's mansion for the annual holiday open house. It was pretty cool to get to wander around there and see all of the decorations!

The third concert (third Friday night in a row) was a total gamble for me. It was one Natalie wanted to go to to celebrate her December birthday. A whole bunch of us went to the show that night, but apparently I was the only one that had no idea who were there to see. (Sorry Natalie! Haha!) Even while we waited for the show to start, I leaned over to Natalie's friend Matt and said, "Wait, what's this guy's name again? Is he good?" I shouldn't have doubted because it was one of the most fun concerts I've been to. I still have no idea who Mike Farris is, but he puts on a dang good show! Imagine the best party-band you've ever heard, multiply it by 100, and throw in some Christmas music. We sang, we danced, we had a blast!

Mike Farris at 3rd & Lindsley

The very next night (Saturday), our dear friends (and sweet neighbors) got married! Kathryn, the bride, lived on our side of the house and when she moved out to the other side, I moved in! I have loved getting to know her and Danny, and it was so fun to celebrate them at their wedding!

The girls of 20th Avenue
MC, Sara, Kathryn, Lauren, Natalie

The NEXT night, the party continued. About a month ago, there was a discussion about starting a tradition of Christmas caroling with friends around 12 South. Emily organized it, and on Sunday night about 15 of us met at Mafioza's for dinner and then went caroling! It was fun and hilarious and I think we're all excited for this to become a yearly thing.