by Quinn Gorte | Sep 20, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Nashville songwriter Tyler Russell has made a lasting impression on his teachers, and not just because of his talents. This Lipscomb alum wants to let God use him to bless others. Russell, a 2015 musical theatre graduate, intentionally chooses to live with joy. Whether it is in his music or while meeting new people, Tyler tries to let God help him to spread joy and love. “Now or Never,” which was released on August 17th on all major music streaming platforms, is Russell’s latest single. While the song isn’t specifically a Christian song, Russell said he and songwriting partner, Alexandria “Zandy” Fitzgerald from The New Respects, placed emphasis on “choosing joy.” “The Bible says there’s a time and a place for everything,” he said. “It’s just important to remind people to dance and have a good time.” Russell recalled his experience at Lipscomb as having a positive and inspirational impact on his songwriting. “The skills that I learned at the (Lipscomb) theatre department taught me so many things that I’m using now with songwriting,” he said. “I got to learn about so many different people’s stories, where people came from and what they go through. “I’m someone who loves to be inspired by what people go through, and I feel like God really puts inspiration through the people around me. I feel like lots of songs came from my time at Lipscomb.” Beki Baker, Chair of Lipscomb’s Theatre Department and one of Tyler’s old professors, was excited to hear Russell’s new single. “The song itself is such a great representation of Tyler,” Baker said. “It’s upbeat, it’s positive and it’s looking for the good things in...
by Quinn Gorte | Sep 7, 2018 | News Slider, Opinion
The words “healthy” and “affordable” are rarely found next to each other, but Sunflower Cafe challenges the norm by offering $5 vegan quesadillas and other appetizers every week during happy hour. Nestled in the heart of Nashville’s Berry Hill neighborhood, Sunflower is a cozy, vegetarian restaurant. But don’t let the word “vegetarian” stop you from sampling Sunflower’s numerous tasty offerings. If you hear “vegetarian,” and the first thing you picture is unseasoned tofu plopped onto a white plate, it’s time for you to embrace the new season of being a vegan. Welcome to Nashville, where select restaurants are dedicated to making vegan and vegetarian food DELICIOUS. Now, if you’re a fairly health-conscious foodie like me, you love trying new places. But not when it costs $15-$20 per plate – that’s just not realistic for a college student. However, what if I told you Sunflower Cafe offers $5 vegan quesadillas during their 3-6 p.m. happy hour from Monday through Friday? Would you start cartwheeling around your dorm room? Good, I thought so. Keep rejoicing, just as “happy” hour would have you do. Yes, at Sunflower Cafe, you can eat guilt-free without breaking the bank. One of my favorite things about Sunflower is that my non-gluten-free father loves their food. He actually chooses to go to Sunflower sometimes. That, my gluten-free/vegan community, is what we call a win. But back to drooling over Sunflower’s happy hour. You can choose from seven vegan (and mostly gluten-free) appetizers, all of which are $5. I chose my favorite: the filling Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla. Since I’m gluten-free, I subbed a brown rice tortilla in for the traditional flour tortilla (for...
by Becca Risley | Aug 25, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Several Lipscomb theatre students were named as 2015 Most Promising Actors for The First Night Honors, an annual celebration of all things theatrical held in Nashville every September. The First Night Honors, styled after the Tony Awards, is a ceremony held for the Nashville theatre community. Every September a gala recognizes the young Most Promising Actors, Star Award Winners and First Night Honorees for their performances and work produced. Lipscomb students selected as Most Promising Actors this year are sophomores MacKenzie Lewis, Rebekah Stogner and Scott Patrick Wilson, junior Bekah Purifoy, and 2015 spring graduates Tyler Russell and Lacy Hartselle. They are joined by 16 other young performers. “Being able to get my name out there in the theatre community in Nashville is great,” Stogner said. “Before this, I only knew of two theaters in the area and this process has opened me up to so much more. This was my first brush with the theatre world of Nashville.” To determine who this season’s young Most Promising Actors would be, Nashville writer, editor and performance art critic Jeffrey Ellis traveled throughout the region seeing several shows and scouting young talent. “If he sees someone, normally younger than 21 or 22, that is impressive to him, he’ll nominate them for the award,” Stogner said. “I was in Picnic earlier this year and I played a teacher. Jeffery directed the show and nominated me because of that.” In addition to performing at the First Night Gala later in September and being recognized at the First Night Preview Party in July, the Most Promising Actors took center stage at The Darkhorse Theatre...
by Erin Turner | Aug 13, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Christian music artists, fans and community members will return to Music City this fall to unite for the 46th Annual GMA Dove Awards show, “Better Together.” “Since 1969, the GMA Dove Awards has honored the outstanding achievement and excellence of our music community,” GMA executive director Jackie Patillo said in a press release. “We hope to bring much more light to our mission with this year’s ‘Better Together’ theme as we focus on unity, diversity and creativity and come together during this exciting time in our industry.” The awards show will be held under Lipscomb’s roof in Allen Arena for the third consecutive year on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The Gospel Music Association now calls Lipscomb home after holding the awards show in Atlanta. Most may know Nashville as home of country music, but it is now a hub for the Christian music industry as well. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, a press conference was held at which award nominations were announced and Mayor Karl Dean spoke about the importance of music in Nashville’s community. “Not only do we get to celebrate the diversity of the music in Nashville, but we also get to celebrate the fact that hundreds of music fans will be traveling here in October and they will get to see our city firsthand,” Dean said. “Music is one of the top econmic drivers we have. It is the city’s DNA and it is who we are.” Dean described the music industry as Nashville’s “econmic engine,” with 215 million people listening to Christian and Gospel music each month, for example. “Lipscomb, along with other campuses, is a huge part of the boom we’re...
by Erin Turner | May 22, 2015 | News Slider
What has recently become its own school will also have its very own new contemporary music program. Lipscomb’s School of Music recently announced the expansion of its existing classical music offerings to include contemporary music undergraduate programs, which will dive into songwriting and music production. This charge first began after Lipscomb formed its College of Entertainment and the Arts that houses the new school. School of Music director Sally Reid said that the idea of having a College of Entertainment and the Arts, and even the School of Music, have been in the works for a while. “At some point the president [Lipscomb President Randy Lowry] intervened and said ‘this really sounds like a new college,'” Reid said. After the new college was formed, Lipscomb’s filmmaker-in-residence Steve Taylor had a connection that made the contemporary music program come to life. “Steve had this really good friend who was at a point in his career where he was looking to give back,” Reid said. Producer and singer-songwriter Charlie Peacock will serve as Lipscomb’s artist-in-residence for the contemporary music program. “I really think that we couldn’t launch out and do this without his guidance, because none of the faculty are trained in contemporary music or have any experience,” Reid said. “We needed new faculty, and we needed someone who understands the music industry.” And Peacock has demonstrated his understanding of the music industry ever since he started his career in the ’70s, producing hundreds of albums. He will lead the new program to become more integrated with Music City. “His vision is for it to be Nashville-centric in that it immerses the students in how business...
