Briston Maroney is a singer-songwriter from Knoxville, Tennessee. His music can be best described as indie-folk rock. I heard Briston Maroney for the first time at Moon River Festival 2022. Although that festival was cut short, he was one of the lucky ones that survived the storm. He was one of my favorite performances at the festival. I had run into his ad for Paradise Festival to be held at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, somehow and noticed some familiar artists on the bill. Two nights of incredible artists at a venue I have never photographed in before? Sign me up!
Although it was two nights, I was only able to cover one of those nights. But even so, the show was much more than I anticipated. I walked through a hallway to get to the stage. The hallway and the bowling area was divided by a wall of the mechanical clowns from the Down The Clown arcade game. I walked past Briston Maroney’s photo booth along the way. Towards the back, they had set up a merch area. They were also collecting food donations for The Nashville Food Project. To learn more about this charity visit www.thenashvillefoodproject.org.
Night one of the festival featured Annie Dirusso, The Greeting Committee, Sunflower Bean, and of course, Briston Maroney to end the night. Annie Dirusso is an indie-rock musician based in Nashville, TN. Sunflower Bean is an alternative and indie band from Glen Head, New York and Brooklyn. I have seen Sunflower Bean perform in the past at a festival in Pasadena, California. It was amazing to see them again several years later. The Greeting Committee is an indie-rock band from Kansas City, Missouri.
Each artist brought their all on stage. They were all exceptional in every way. The energy was high and the crowd loved every minute of it. This photographer had no complaints. Briston Maroney put together a successful festival with such talented musicians, like himself.