Kentucky artists to check out while you party in Nashville

So you’re headed to the SEC Tournament this weekend to rub shoulders with enough Wildcat supporters to fill Bridgestone Arena three times over. (Note: Due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, please do not actually rub shoulders.) Once you’ve bought your tickets from a Tennessee fan on Thursday afternoon, you’ll have plenty of time to kill exploring beautiful Nashville. Did you know that, in addition to its wide variety of sporting events and boot stores, Nashville also boasts a thriving music scene? What a great way to enjoy your time thinking about going to watch Missouri vs. Texas A&M and then doing something else instead! Fortunately for you, the Bluegrass state will be well represented this weekend in Music City. Check out a few of the artists playing at Nashville venues this weekend:   Thursday Papa Bear & The Love Den Tin Roof Broadway, 7 p.m. This party band of Kentucky natives will play all your favorite country covers the night before Matt and the gang take over Tin Roof for the radio shows. https://youtu.be/aonjCWGJ8EQ   Grayson Jenkins and the Resolutions The Basement 7 p.m. Grayson Jenkins, a Muhlenberg County native who cut his teeth playing his original country/rock/Americana music in Lexington, will make his full-band Nashville debut at The Basement downtown. (Full disclosure: I'm part of the band.) https://youtu.be/wrxnq7xLpP4   Bendigo Fletcher The Basement, 8 p.m. This incredible Louisville-based indie band will take a break from its tour with CAAMP to play at The Basement downtown. https://youtu.be/HbeV8Fd0h-E   Friday J.D. Shelburne Ole Red, 2 p.m. J.D. certainly needs no introduction to Kentucky fans. The pride of Taylorsville and the Kentucky Visitor’s Guide cover boy will take his high-energy act to the Ole Red stage about the time the Cats wrap up their first game. Ole Red is about a 5-minute stumble from Bridgestone, so someone should probably warn them in advance. https://youtu.be/TFVdQYqzNYk   A Common Wealth Band Tin Roof 10 p.m. Speaking of needing no introduction, Bobby Perry and A Common Wealth Band are hitting the Tin Roof Friday night to keep the celebrations going late into the night. https://youtu.be/61v9W7d-9v8   Saturday William Matheny The Basement, 7 p.m. Technically, William Matheny is from West Virginia, but the alt-country songwriter plays in Kentucky enough for us to claim him. He even joined Tyler Childers on stage at the Ryman Auditorium during Tyler’s residency last month. You won’t want to miss his brilliant tunes at The Basement. https://youtu.be/8d06z_5MsMU   Sunday Larry Cordle Station Inn, 4 p.m. Gotta be honest, I did not expect to see Larry Cordle’s name when I took a look at the venue calendars. The Grammy-nominated eastern Kentucky legend will be part of the weekly Gospel music singalong at The Station Inn Sunday afternoon. And if you’ve made it that far into the weekend, you probably need to go to church anyway. https://youtu.be/_JacfYne4-8 Have fun, enjoy the Nashville scene, cough into your elbow, and Go Cats.