It's that time again: Next Big Nashville is on! Not sure how much of it I'll get to, but it's all right here on the schedule. One of the first events is the NMP "Get Connected" meet-n-greet tomorrow night at the downtown San Antonio Taco Co, which looks pretty exciting; it's co-sponsored by Gear for Days. Starting Thursday, a slew of nifty panels are set up at the Musicians Hall of Fame downtown, which you can attend with a VIP badge. Somehow, I thought this was an invitation-only type gig, which is not at all the case; badges are available from the website under "Tickets," and get you into all the panels and showcases. If you have time to attend several of the events, it's well worth the $100.

Not much of it is directly related to engineering, but the panels get kicked off with a talk about where we as an industry ought to go next on Thursday morning. Thursday afternoon, there's a panel on "The Nashville Curse," focusing on the marketing stigma surrounding Nashville. Perhaps the strategies presented for overcoming this might be handily applied to stigmatized engineering/production practices, too? As we engineering types look for more ways to market our services, having an ear on the latest channels for sales and marketing of recordings certainly couldn't hurt; to that end, there's a pair of "21st Century DIY" panels happening Friday morning. Later that afternoon, a panel on the changing role of the producer will be in the same spot.

And of course there are shows, shows, shows! Name your venue, and you'll probably find one of your favorite local acts there sometime this weekend. Wednesday night, the Belcourt Theater hosts the premiere of an indie horror film, "Make Out with Violence," featuring largely local talent; in between screenings of the film, bands involved in the soundtrack will perform. Later that night, there's a pre-show of sorts in Murfreesboro at Casa de Juan, with Happy Birthday Amy, the Babyteeth Thieves, Ribbonpigeon, and the elusive CJ Boyd!

One of my big favorites is the Grand Palace showcase at The End on Thursday night (after the AES meeting at RCA Studio B), featuring a number of my favorites from Murfreesboro including Glossary and The Kindergarten Circus. At the same time, the show at The Rutledge on 4th Avenue features And The Relatives and All We Seabees, fresh off their CD release. The Rutledge may be the place to be, for me at least, on Friday, with Happy Birthday Amy and Umbrella Tree as highlights of the program. Saturday looks like a tough call, but maybe I could make it work; catch Shoot the Mountain opening up at The Basement, have a pie at Obie's and then spend the rest of the evening at The Exit/In with Evil Bebos, Ghostfinger, and How I Became the Bomb. It's a privilege to have these kinds of problems - too much to see and do!