In Photos: Adia Victoria At Frist Fridays In Nashville

Adia Victoria performed at Nashville’s Frist Art Museum on July 27 as part of the museum’s Frist Fridays concert series. Inspired by the museum’s current exhibitions “Chaos and Awe: Painting for the 21st Century” and “The Presence of Your Absence Is Everywhere: Afruz Amighi,” the evening offered patrons an immersive arts experience with live music and interactive gallery activities. Photos by Annelise Loughead. Captions by Caine O’Rear

Victoria’s band.

Nashville poet Ciona Rouse read from her body of work in between songs. Rouse’s first collection, “VANTABLACK,” was published by Third Man Books in 2017.

Victoria released her debut album “Beyond The Bloodhounds” to critical acclaim in 2016. “Victoria is a folkie dressed up as a punk, performing with a ferocity that transforms her plaintive, neo-gothic narratives into something resembling anthems,” wrote Jonathan Bernstein in his review for American Songwriter.

Before performing a new song titled “The City,” Victoria lamented Nashville’s transformative development of late. “I look out my window and don’t recognize this city anymore. It’s hard to feel like a woman such as myself belongs here.”

Victoria’s band.

Ciona Rouse

Victoria’s band.

Victoria’s band.

“The good thing about playing a hometown show is you can sing a song about coke while your grandmother is sitting in the front row,” Victoria quipped at one point.

Late in the evening, the South Carolina native made an appeal on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement. “All we ask is that the police who we pay for don’t murder us in the streets.”