The Five Spot in East Nashville was packed June 25 for Shelby Means’ release of her self-titled solo album. She was joined on stage and in the audience by top-notch bluegrass musicians and fans. Means was at the top of her game—decked out in spangles, boots, and cowboy hat. She was joined throughout the night by all three fiddlers from the album—Michael Cleveland, Billy Contreras, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Means’ bandmate from Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. They doubled on some songs and then played triple fiddles on an instrumental tune.
Ron Block, who played banjo on the album, also joined Means for the set. Means noted that husband Joel Timmons (on guitar) and brother Jacob Means (on mandolin) did a great job replacing Bryan Sutton and Sam Bush. Cody Kilby also made a guest appearance on guitar.
Rounding out the family affair, Means’ father also made a cameo appearance modeling the “Shelby Means Bluegrass” t-shirt from the merch table, after getting a tip of the hat from Timmons, who played “Guitars, Guns, and Pickup Trucks,” from his recent album Psychedelic Surf Country, which opens with “If you want to date my daughter. . . .”
Maya de Vitry, who produced the album, also joined Timmons on backup harmony. Means noted how instrumental she had been in getting her songs out of the notebooks to create this album.
Contreras played fiddle on “Elephant at the Zoo,” which Means called her weirdest song, crediting Rushad Eggleston’s inspiration. She followed, keeping up what she called her “animal theme,” with “Wild Tiger Style” from their earlier Sally & George duo album.
Means told the crowd that Lady Gaga had once played the stage at the Five Spot, before launching into her cover of the diva’s “Million Reasons,” one of Means’ singles released in advance of the album. Geoff Saunders played bass, allowing Means to have her own diva moment at the mic.
The event showcased Means’ musical variety. She called “Fisherman’s Daughter” her answer to the “dead girl in the hole” murder ballad genre, followed by “Calamity Jane,” an entertaining tribute to her former school bus driver in Wyoming, a descendant of the iconic cowgirl.
Means performed Dolly Parton’s “Wildflowers” from the Trio album, leading into “Up on the Mountain,” a track from the album co-written with Langhorne Slim before Hurricane Helene hit, but evoking the spirit of the Appalachians. She closed with Ernest Tubb’s “Drivin’ Nails in My Coffin,” a perfect song, she said, to perform in a bar. From start to finish, Shelby Means owned the stage as she kicked off this album that emphasized the alternate meaning of her tee shirts: Shelby Means Bluegrass.
