In the year that marked the Apple Original series “1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything,” the Basement East presented a four-hour tribute to the song of that iconic year, following their successful showcase of 1969 at the last Americana Fest. With a stellar house band and backup singers, the music was presented season by season with a variety of performers who had showcases of their own throughout the four-day festival in Music City.
The music ranged from the Bee Gees to Dolly Parton, from Loggins and Messina and Elton John to the beloved godfather of Americana, the late John Prine.The summer set opened with Dave Hause tipping his hat to the new revolution, singing the Who’s “We Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and Chris Pierce singing John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.”
Texas singer-songwriter Joshua Ray Walker performed the Band’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece.”
Jill Andrews’ cover of Melanie’s “Brand New Pair of Roller Skates” was followed by Adam Chaffins singing Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey.” Mr. Americana himself Jim Lauderdale made an appearance to sing “Wild Nights,” and house band guitarist Griffin Winton sang Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery.”
One song from John Prine’s debut album from that year was not enough, so Austin Sawyer of Drumming Bird followed with “Sam Stone” and Texas songwriter Thomas Csorba urged the crowd to “blow up your TV” as they sang along to “Spanish Pipedreams,” off the same album.
The final set, from fall of 1971, showcased several female Americana singers of great variety. Jaida Dreyer of Thunder Bay, Ontario, performed Dolly’s iconic “Coat of Many Colors” and Kristina Murray sang “Danny’s Song,” recorded both by Loggins and Messina and Anne Murray. Sarah Potenza closed the night with a rousing performance of the classic Marvin Gaye hit, “What’s Going On?”
In the popular East Nashville venue rebuilt during the pandemic after the destruction of the March 2020 Nashville tornado, the standing space at the Basement East looked more like a dance floor.
While the audience may have been skewed predictably toward a Boomer demographic, the young faces in the crowd also danced along and knew all the words to most of the songs that represented the wide diversity of music of one of the best years for music.
