Ryan Coleman
You may know Ryan Coleman as the bass player in Junkbox, or as the guy who performs in cover bands around Murfreesboro and Nashville’s lower Broadway, or perhaps as the host of the Wednesday writers nights at 3 Brothers Deli & Brewhouse.
He’s played here and there locally, both in cover bands and as a solo artist, after moving from Birmingham, Ala., to Murfreesboro in 1999 to enroll in MTSU’s Recording Industry program.
As a longtime Murfreesboro resident and advocate for other local songwriters like himself, Coleman told the Murfreesboro Pulse what he remembers about Murfreesboro’s music scene in the past, and why he started the 3 Brothers weekly open mic.
“Really, I just started the writers night as a way to play my original songs more, and get experience and practice doing that,” Coleman says.
3 Brothers’ Ryan Coleman’s Writers Night has been active for nearly a year. Prior to that, Coleman hosted an open mic just up the street at Aura Lounge.
Right around the time Coleman started writing his own songs, Uncle Don Clark was hosting writers nights at Wall Street, which inspired Coleman to host his own more than 10 years later. But he didn’t entertain the idea of doing so in Nashville.
Jeremy Johnson performs at the Wednesday writers night
“I think in Nashville, everyone is really focused on country. It’s not really creative or explorative in some ways. There’s more of an open vibe here, so people do everything—country, rock, indie, jazz. It’s a lot more diverse, and it will surprise you,” he says.
“There are people who are really great artists and really great performers at the writers nights all the time, truthfully. Jeremy Johnson, he’s a regular . . . Everette Brown. Some of them come in who’ve never been on a stage before, and you’re just blown away. It’s really a variety show.”
While Murfreesboro is still just as filled today with songwriters both talented and unknown, Coleman says that when he first came to town, the scene was filled with hippie jam bands and metal, and that music was much more of a presence then.
“There was The Boro. There was Sebastian’s on the square. Everyone seemed more into music, there were more bands and they all seemed to know each other. I don’t know . . . maybe I’m just old,” he says.
“There was also the Concert Production rehearsal space by the railroad tracks on Main where a garbage dump is now. There was a studio in front, where I worked, with rehearsal spaces in back. Everyone would come and go. In retrospect, that was a big part of the scene.”
These days, Coleman plays several days a week in cover bands to make a living, which he says has done much to develop his stage skills for when he performs his originals.
Delyn Christian on the 3 Brothers' stage
“It’s really important to be onstage a lot and develop that rapport with an audience. What I like about the cover gigs is that you’re on the stage a lot, you deal with weird situations, you get to try adding different things to songs and you work the room. You have to practice that.”
When Coleman isn’t at 3 Brothers or playing with Junkbox, which he joined about three years ago, he plays the Frist Center in Nashville. The gig began with him playing bass for the Kristen Hubbard Jazz Trio. About two years ago, he started playing his own songs and has done so ever since. But he likes the environment of Murfreesboro.
“Every time I do something in Nashville, there’s a different vibe. I think people there are less receptive or more cynical toward music. Everyone’s a musician in Nashville. People are just into music in Murfreesboro. It’s a blessing in that way.”
Catch the writers night every Wednesday beginning at 8 p.m. at 3 Brothers, 223 W. Main St., Murfreesboro. Ryan Coleman will also perform at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 919 Broadway, Nashville, beginning at 6 p.m. Jan. 17 and Feb. 21.
Coleman
