So, relief efforts have been in full swing this week – much of which can be credited to the Nashville music community. Mercy Lounge was able to raise approximately $11,000 from their show on Wednesday and during the Relief Telethon last night many of Nashville’s bigger stars came out and put some serious cash out there (Taylor Swift, regardless of your thoughts on her, donated $500,000).

While everyone that has contributed thus far deserves a quick pat on the back for their work it should be noted that the relief effort is slated to cost approximately $1Billion – so we’ve got a long way to go. Beyond all that, please go through your closet this weekend and cobble together clothes for donation – lots of people lost everything and they’d really appreciate it. You can drop off all sorts of items at Halcyon Bikes this weekend. Read more about that here. Also, keep an eye on Hands On Nashville for ways to volunteer and physically help out.

This is going to be a long process and hopefully people don’t lose momentum as we move along. This site will return to local music news soon enough but expect the occasional post like this one reminding everyone we have to remain diligent to get back up to speed!

Photo by: Kelsey Wynns

Did you hear? It rained alot this past weekend. A whole whole lot. 28% of our annual amount in two days in fact. Maybe you’re dealing with a flooded basement or a downed tree into your front porch or a stack of abandoned cars in your front yard. If so, our condolences to you. If not, you may be wondering what you can do to help. Well, Nashvillest has a huge list of ways you can get involved. If that’s too long of a list for you to file through then consider just signing up for some volunteer work with Hands On Nashville or donating money to Middle Tennessee Red Cross.

After all that, you should heavily consider coming out to Mercy Lounge on Wednesday night for A Benefit for Nashville; a free show in which donations are requested and will go towards a number of charitable foundations to help those in need. There’s no easier way to lend a hand than by coming out, partaking in some good music, swapping horror stories about the weekend and getting some funds out there to those that need it.

From a proper journalistic perspective it is probably best if I disclose that the new collection of b-sides from Slowmotions is being released by yours truly. So, I’m not exactly unbiased when I say that the Square Piggy / Round Holly is an excellent partner of sound to the full-length Quick Potions.

All opinions aside, I can say that the record isn’t intended to be a cohesive or conceptual listen from top to bottom but rather further documentation of all the songs and sounds.Tracks in the vein of electronic experimentation, heavy sampling and the occasional acoustic diddy are all present and accounted for.

Obviously, I love it or I wouldn’t associate myself with it but I’ll let you be the judge. It’s an entirely free download and is available immediately. So, please, go grab it.