After nearly four weeks in Nashville, I knew it was time for my first concert in Music City. Given that I came to school in the South, I pictured my first concert might be a country show. That said, I was extremely excited when I ended up at the indie rock performance of Dogpark and Winyah at The Basement.
Upon arriving at the venue, I joined the line, which wrapped through the alley. Eager chatter spread through the crowd, and it was clear others were excited about this show, as well. Given how long the line was, I didn’t realize how intimate the venue would be. This atmosphere between audience members and performers alike felt personal as the crowd gathered before the show began.
The members of Winyah made an appearance in the crowd before going on stage, greeting old friends and family with excitement and appreciation and beginning their set a few minutes later. The indie rock band formed in South Carolina, where Winyah got their name and start. The band played “XO,” as well as “Lot To Learn” from an audience request, plus a new and unnamed song before ending their set with “Feel It All Again.” The camaraderie between each band member and their passion for music was apparent throughout each song — with lead singer Thomas Rowland even yelling his support for music to the cheering crowd.
“Indie rock, yeah!” Rowland said.
About half an hour later, Dogpark took the stage. The band began with their songs from their EP “Breaking In Brooklyn,” opening with “Dive Bar Named Nirvana” and “Make It Happen.” The bass was pounding, and the crowd was chanting along. The energy from audience members and performers alike was infectious to me. The band then played “Caviar,” announcing its release on Sept. 17, along with two more new songs. The band, based in New York, got their start at the University of Richmond and released their first single last fall. The bonds between band members showed through Billy Apostolou and Will Harford’s guitar solos, the chemistry between Eamon Moore’s vocals and Declan Harris’ riffs and shoutouts to Chris Conte’s drum beats.
Dogpark continued with the rest of their EP, playing “Breaking In Brooklyn” and “Washington Square Park” before lead singer Eamon Moore took a break offstage. Will Harford then took over the microphone with a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” paying homage to rock bands that inspired their start. With Moore back on stage, the band finished the show with their lead single “Now It’s Over,” with the crowd going wild. In the intimate setting of The Basement, Moore, Apostolou, Harford, Harris and Conte connected with the crowd with each word sung and each beat played.
At the end of the night, members from Dogpark and Winyah took pictures with the crowd, gave away setlists and sold their merch. Throughout the night, it became apparent just how much each artist loved their craft, filling The Basement with joy and enthusiasm.
