Music City Roots Set For Big Band Performance At Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium

Americana and roots music weekly broadcast Music City Roots is set to partner with the War Memorial Auditorium for a Valentine’s Day-themed Big Band performance on Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.

DJs Reno Bo and Jacob Jones of the Electric Western Dance Party start the night with a pre-show dance hour at 7 p.m. Then, Jim Lauderdale and Peter Cooper will co-host the special edition of Music City Roots, taking the audience on a trip to the 1940s, with appearances by Darrell Scott, Elizabeth Cook, John Cowan, and The McCrary Sisters accompanied by the full 20-piece Nashville Jazz Orchestra, Music City’s finest Big Band.

Tickets starting at $35 are on sale now at WMArocks.com, by phone at 615-782-4030, and at the TPAC Box Office, 505 Deaderick St., in downtown Nashville.

“As a child, even before there were my beloved Beatles singles, I had my parents’ 45 rpm Big Band singles as my earliest musical diet. Miller, Dorsey, Ellington … my first concert was Count Basie. While it’s not ‘Americana’ by definition, it is a wonderful part of the ‘roots’ of American popular music history,” said John Walker, executive producer of Music City Roots. “My hope is to find yet another point of unification between generations as younger music fans discover the sheer analog power and rich harmonic texture that only a large ensemble can provide. I thought the best way to do that would be to feature iconic artists in our community that you wouldn’t normally hear in this context.”

“The venue itself is one of the night’s stars, embodying the best of the old and the now. War Memorial Auditorium was dedicated in 1925, the same year WSM radio went on the air from the fifth floor of the National Life & Accident Insurance Co. across the street,” said Craig Havighurst, producer and co-host for Music City Roots . “WSM aired concerts from the auditorium, including those of the Nashville Symphony, and hard core country music fans will remember the auditorium was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1939-1943, just before it moved down the hill. Today, its elegance and extraordinary acoustics make it the perfect setting for this one-of-a-kind show.”