Exit/In takes Nashville back to its roots with performances from Maggie Antone, Shawna Thompson, Jesper Lindell, Tenille Townes and Emily Nenni during AmericanaFest

September 20, 2024

For many Friday nights in Nashville, bachelorette parties can be found pedaling down Broadway and line dancing from bar to bar. This friday night, AmericanaFest took the Exit/In stage to bring five underrated artists some of the recognition they deserve. 

Maggie Antone took the stage at 7:00 p.m. in a silk floral dress and black cowboy boots, with her dark hair falling around her face, she sat on a stool with her guitar when she began to serenade the crowd. The first song of her set was her single “Johnny Moonshine” from the 2024 album “Rhinestoned.” 

She also blessed the crowd with numerous other tracks from her recent album, along with unreleased songs “If i'm Ever in Denver” and “Blah Blah Blah.”

“What a great crowd… Thank you all for being here. It makes my heart smile. I love AmericanaFest.” Antone said before closing her set with a cover of “Lady May” by Tyler Childers.

Shawna Thompson took the stage at 8:00 p.m. with a full band behind her, Thompson wearing a blue floor length dress, and her band in matching pearl snap shirts and each adorned with a large belt buckle. 

Thompson turned the exit/in into a honky tonk with songs like “Jones on the Jukebox” and “Bama Clay” as well as the title track from her debut album “Lean on Neon.”

“Thank y'all so much for being here, it means a lot,” said Thompson .

Jesper Lindell took on the Friday night crowd at 9:00 p.m. in sunglasses and a leather vest with his band and a large collection of instruments behind him, including an organ and multiple guitars. 

“We've come all the way from Sweden to play here” the mustached singer said to the crowd, which was followed by plenty of cheers and whooping from audience members who wore his merchandise. 

He introduced the title track from his 2024 album “Before the Sun” to the crowd after letting them know that this was his first time in America, and during his time here he has already cut two records. One in Memphis, and one in Muscle Shoals.

His artistic use of stops and instrumentation kept the crowd spread out and dancing throughout his set, occasionally going acapella to show off his vocal range, and then picking back up with his fun loving band. He ended his set with a song titled “Dance” off his 2022 album “Twilights” and encouraged the audience to let loose and move their feet.  

Tenille Townes took the stage with her band playing “Where You Are” clothed patterned bell bottoms and sparkly black boots, she seemingly flew around the stage as she tossed her hair in all directions throughout her set.  

She reached her hands out towards the crowd and told them that this was her first americana fest, and that she felt honored to be in a place with true authentic music. 

“I think I wrote this because it's what I wanted to hear when I was struggling to let someone in.” Townes said, introducing “Lighthouse” to the audience, 

Townes also gave the audience a gritty cover of The Beatles “Come Together” during her set, and ended with her radio hit “Somebody's Daughter.” 

Emmily Nenni ended the night for fans at the Exit/In with her set beginning at 11:00 p.m. when she took the stage with gold hoop earrings, and her dark curls in a bun on top of her head. 

“This is our last americanafest show and boy does it feel nice. Thank y'all for being here with us.” Nenni said. 

Nenni introduced the three piece band backing her, Teddy and the Roughriders, providing the audience with vintage country guitar sounds and a fun environment to bask in. 

“I don't know if I love to cry or if crying loves me.” Nenni said before introducing her next top songs “Don't Wanna Cry” and “Driving and Crying.” 

Her set ended with the crowd in high spirits, couples swing dancing in the back of the room, and friends line dancing together in the front as Nenni brought the 90s country sound back to life.