This time last year, live music opportunities in Music City were as ubiquitous as kudzu and bachelorette parties. Since the pandemic hit, such opportunities are worth tracking down. Sutler’s Saloon on 8th in Melrose has all the safety measure in place to host their regular Bluegrass Brunch every Saturday and Sunday.
Nedski & Mojo returned for a repeat performance on Sunday. The duo of Stephen “Mojo” Mougin and Ned Luberecki have been playing together over then years when their schedules permit. Mougin has been playing guitar with the Sam Bush Band for several years, and Luberecki plays banjo for the Becky Buller Band, whose recent album Distance and Time Mougin produced at his Dark Shadow Recording Studio. Mougin also released his latest album Ordinary Soul in 2020, on which Luberecki appears on banjo.
Playing for a good Nashville crowd, the duo alternated between such bluegrass standards as “Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms,” Bakersfield hits like “Act Naturally,” and old-time instrumentals, along with originals the two have recorded together and separately. With Mougin singing lead, the two kept up their trademark repartee.
The restaurant is located upstairs over the billiards room that has drawn crowds for decades. Whether the excellent brunch menu or the music draws the crowd, at Sutler’s Saloon folks in Nashville get a good reminder that country music isn’t the only genre rocking Music City.