Our ever-earnest singer-songwriter Afton Wolfe rarely skips an AmericanaFest, and when he’s in town, he always collects the best stories—whether it’s playing showcases or discovering the kind of hidden local spots only Nashville insiders know. His upcoming release, Ophiuchus, arrives later this fall and is already shaping up to be one of Americana’s boldest records of 2026.
Wolfe generously took some time with Glide to share the highlights, surprises, and triumphs of his week in Nashville. Dive into the full story below.
I try not to get too wrapped up in the ego part of this journey, by which I refer to the pursuit of connection and experience through the discovery, performance, recording, and distribution of music. I know that things like my ego, recognition, acknowledgement, acceptance, and the like are ultimately toxic reasons to pursue what I believe to be either a sacred, ancient calling or a mental disorder – both of which deserve my reverence. But I’m also in Nashville, and I’m just a human. So it feels nice to get those things, as long as I don’t let them become the reason I continue.
But I was very proud this year to have been selected as an official showcasing artist at AmericanaFest. I don’t know why I was able to break through and get a slot this year, and I don’t really care. This event is important to me, because I’ve made a lot of friends and memories at this event. I truly wasn’t expecting it, because I’d already planned to be pretty busy for the week, considering I’m in the home stretch of my crazy convoluted album release cycle for Ophiuchus. So, being selected complicated things, because there’s never more yin than yang.
But all that to say, it was a busy week, so without further ado, a day-by-day recap of my AmericanaFest.
Monday 9/8
On Monday, I hosted a party, which has become a fun thing I like to do, now that a few venues trust me enough to let me. This was a party inspired by the name (not the first or last time that’s been the case with me. Craftin’ with Afton is something you may be hearing about soon), and this event was dubbed “A-Married-Cana” – a kickoff party at the rooftop bar Tall Tales in East Nashville, on top of the Waymore Hotel.
It’s a great space that I’ve been doing a monthly Full Moon residency at (get it? Wolf[e]? Full Moon?). And when the weather’s nice, it’s unbelievably gorgeous, with a beautiful view of the Nashville skyline from East Nashville. And the weather was the best I’ve ever experienced there. But essentially it was a goofy party that I threw so that I could sing with my lovely wife Robin, and the first official performance of our duo “Tittle Tassies” which is also the name of our wifi network. It was a great way to start the week – reminding a lot of people there what was most important – Love. And romantic love is the best kind.
But it ended up being an exceptionally sweet night, as all of the acts were married couples. Robin and I kicked off the show with a song of her father’s off my album The Harvest, which is all songs by my father-in-law, LH Halliburton. Everybody did a sweet cover of some sort. The show featured the Americana stylings of Brand New Heartache and The HawtThorns, the fiery anti-establishment anthemic Anana Kaye and Irakli Gabriel, comfort food folk from Daniel and Jann Seymour (“The Midwesterneers”), the beauty and comedy of Scot Sax and Suzie Brown, Mike Younger joining the great Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus, and the unexpected synergy of the vastly different styles of relative newlyweds Van Darien and Chris Emmert. Check them out individually then imagine them together. It was as interesting a combination of styles as you might imagine.
Tuesday 9/9
I didn’t have anything planned for Tuesday, really. I had to work during the day. Because things cost money, and music doesn’t pay. That’s not a complaint; it’s a fact. I wish it did pay, but we’re in late-stage capitalism, and there’s not much I can do about that.
So, after I got done with work, I went to The 5 Spot for the first of many times that week. Not only would I be asking people to come see me there the next night (and in some ways the two days after that), I also wanted to go see the incredible lineup Chris Frasco put together for his weekly Tuesday night series “Tight 5 Tuesdays.” The lineup was non-stop badass, with Kevin Gordon, Adrian + Meredith, Courtney Santana, Frasco himself, Sophie Gault and Laney Jones & the Spirits. Everybody was incredible. It was a special treat to see Courtney lift her timeless, powerful voice above her otherworldly band. And I challenge anyone to be in a bad mood after watching Laney Jones sing. My fucking cheeks hurt from smiling through her joyful set. And, of course, Mark Robertson – The Snipcatcher – is always my favorite part of Frasco’s parties. He just operates synths on another planet in between sets. Come out one Tuesday. There’s statistically a 58% chance I’ll be there.
Wednesday 9/10
Wednesday was my official showcase night. In true poetic justice, I played my official showcase at The 5 Spot. I guess it would have been cool to play my official showcase at a place I don’t play very often – to get a change of scenery for such a seemingly momentous occasion. But any disappointment about that was instantly erased by how excited I was to share this experience with my favorite venue – a place I’ve played more times than I can count. Todd Sherwood, the owner, was my first sound guy in town at a now-closed venue called Hair of the Dog; I first played The 5 Spot back in 2008; when I decided to restart my pursuit of this calling, I went right to The 5 Spot to do so; I’ve been part of the annual Get Behind the Mule tribute to Tom Waits every year there. It’s a place where I’m genuinely surprised – in a non-entitled way – when the door guy or bartender is new and doesn’t recognize me. And with the loss of Travis Collinsworth, Todd’s long-time business partner, there and just a wonderful human, this year, along with this being my dear friend Mary Sack’s favorite place (with a tribute to her prominently displayed just inside the door), it was perfect that I did my official showcase there. I feel good about the past and present looking the same, but feeling different. I feel like I’ve been in the right place, especially there.
The show itself was a triumph in my opinion. I had my favorite people on stage (except Seth Fox, who I’ve been playing with for 5 years but moved to Charleston shortly before the festival – gotta shout him out). My band was all great musicians and friends – Daniel Seymour on the bass, Madison George on drums, Chad Stuible on keys, and as much as I wish Seth could have been there, I take nothing away from the perfect job that Jakub Martin did, playing everything that Seth usually plays: “The Divorceé Garage Sale” I like to call it of guitar, saxophone, flute and some background vocals. How do I find these people?
We played several songs from the upcoming album. Zachery Douglas – who plays trumpet on several of my recordings – ran sound and lights, and he put a little extra into it for me. It’s family up there. And at the end of the set, I was fortunate to bring up Nashville’s best emcee, Brian Brown, to spit some verses over “So Purple” and “Forgive Yourself.” I think adding some hip-hop to the set was a cherry on top of a near-perfect 43 minutes of music. Of course, I thought I was being unique and clever until I found out that Brian jumped up with his friend Joy Oladokun at the Blue Room the next night. Regardless, that’s good company to be in, and it was clear that the packed house at The 5 Spot was pleased with the performance.
My victory lap took me closer to my house, where I stopped off with some friends, including Daniel Seymour and Cora Lee (who created the album cover and all of the illustrations for the songs on Ophiuchus) at Vinyl Tap to see Billy Swan deliver a short but unforgettable set. Then we went to Schulmann’s for “Spaghetts.” Have you done this? High Life and Aperol with lemon? Delicious and deadly.
Thursday, 9/11
The problem with the Spaghetts was that Thursday morning, I was to play in the Chuck Mead Golf tournament at Shelby Bottoms Golf Course. Not only was I two years older than the last time I swung a golf club (and while the perception of time might slow as we age, the effects of time on the body seem to multiply exponentially in the inverse), I was also a little groggy from the late evening of Schulmann’s hospitality.
So, on very little sleep, I played serviceable golf. I was put on the LadyCouch team, because I didn’t have 3 other people to create a clever team with, and several members of LadyCouch were on other side missions and couldn’t fill out their team this year. So myself, Ray and Clint from LadyCouch, and our golf-ringer Logan pushed through a nine-hole scramble and finished +2, which is a great score for a single person, but not nearly enough to win a scramble. I don’t know what their final score was, because I had to leave as soon as the round was through, but I’m pretty sure the team with Dillon Warnek, Jason Morrow, and Mort Guffman won.
But I had to change clothes and get over to … The 5 Spot! Somehow, I was invited to participate in a tribute to the beloved songstress Jill Sobule. The bill was populated with a lot of her friends, and it also had a hefty share of folks like me, who were not fortunate enough to know her personally, but were just gigantic fans. I’ve been listening to her music for 30 years, and I did not hesitate or question why I was invited when I was. I just eagerly accepted and submitted a dozen ideas for songs I wanted to interpret. In the end, I did “Sold My Soul” and “Resistance Song.” The great Brad Jones and Molly Felder played with me, and during “Resistance Song,” I was thrilled when an excited Robin Eaton jumped on stage to sing the theatrical “La La La La La” part to the song he wrote with Jill Sobule. It was very cool. Other highlights of that show were Aaron Lee Tasjan performing amazingly as usual, but also playing a voice memo from a writing session with Sobule that left no dry eyes, Robyn Hitchcock playing one of Jill Sobule’s songs right after my set, the great Bill Lloyd telling stories and playing a recording of a song he and Jill Sobule wrote together about free speech over the house speakers (again with the crying), Marina Rocks melting everyone’s faces with her original tune, “Willie Hole” and everybody left playing the prescient self-written epitaph “It Was a Good Life” together to close it out.
That was, again, sweeter and more sentimental than I was prepared for. So I took my tired ass home, while so many friends went to see Daniel Lanois, and I took a nap. I wanted to get out later that night to support my friends Cordovas – who host the Tropic of Cancer Music Festival in Todos Santos, BCS, Mexico every year, that I attend and perform at, and that you should go to – and the bill they put together at another of my favorite venues, The Underdog. So I woke up and had a rare 10pm cold brew and went there. I saw Brian Wright play a set with Thayer Serrano on melodica, and Cordovas did a beautiful set. I didn’t have any fuel in the tank for Saddle – a Knoxville jam band that reads like pre-cult Laurel Canyon in the sixties. They’re really fun. Check them out.
Friday, 9/12
I had to squeeze a little of the regular job in on Friday morning. Thank God it’s remote. But thereafter, I went to – guess. No. Seriously. Guess. Yup. The 5 Spot.
The public relations outfit that I work with – that’s responsible for almost every bit of press and a whole chunk of my performances and even a handful of my good friends – 18//88 Media threw a day party (i.e., an associated daytime showcase alternative to the conference). Rob Evanoff is the captain of that outfit, and he always curates a great lineup. Since we work together, I get included with these amazing artists. It was a very cool show, which featured some incredible performers like the stunning Taylor Rae, the aforementioned under-appreciated guitar goddess Marina Rocks, the gentle and warm power of Hannah Connolly, and the undisputably loudest rock band I’ve heard in a while, Marfa. I played the set with myself and Daniel Seymour on the upright. I decided to make that set, which was slated to be a little shorter than the official set, a little more somber. I wanted to pay tribute to Travis and Mary before I said goodbye to The 5 Spot for the week (I played there again the following Tuesday to celebrate the digital release of “Dream Song”). I also paid tribute to David Olney by playing “Titanic” to close the show.
But that wasn’t the last cover I’d play, not even that day. For I had to go get yet another nap. And I had yet another late-night cold brew before I headed up to Eastside Bowl in Madison, right on the northern edge of East Nashville. At 10 pm, the jam outfit led by Cory Nichols – Gaucho Marx (great f’n name) – was throwing a big late-night party in the Low Volume Lounge. The guys had a bunch of their friends – who’ve joined their respective residency at LVL at various times – sit in with them on a selection of cool, curated cover tunes. Jamie Rubin murdered “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding” – he gave the necessary lesson that it’s a Nick Lowe song, but promptly played the Costello version with precise accuracy. Emma Decorsey of I Am The Polish Army did a vicious version of Bob Dylan’s “Isis” with Nathan Kalish brilliantly and recklessly adding harmonica, and I covered “Hard Times” by Baby Huey before I closed out the night, duetting “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” with Courtney Santana. That’s always crazy fun to be on stage with such a badass performer.
Saturday 9/13
I kind of slept in on Saturday, but I’d also been suffering from a little FOMO. While I’d gotten some great hangs in with some friends, like I look forward to at AmericanaFest, I’d performed a lot, which has its own stressors that inhibit social interaction. So I took the narrow opening in my schedule to attend a party at Love & Exile, with two stages, hosted by Little Hollywood Creative and Mule Kick Records. Apparently, I missed Jim Lauderdale-led Tai Chi. But I’d never been to Love & Exile. It’s a very cool spot. I went back and forth between the two stages, but I mainly stayed at Little Hollywood’s party, because it was air conditioned, and because Scot Sax and Sally Jaye, who run LHC, are inspiring artists and produced my upcoming video for “Rules of War”- coming in October. They played several of their videos, including that one (very exclusive sneak peek), videos for Ruby James and Minto Sparks were also awesome. Their party also featured some hip-hop, with Ruby James bringing on the fabulous Ten, and Gucci Racket.
I am very encouraged by the amount of hip-hop music present at AmericanaFest. Hip-hop is the most American Music style, and for whatever “Americana” is, if it’s not just Country music that couldn’t get radio play, then it represents another quintessential element of the American ideal (other than hip-hop) – the blending of different cultural influences into harmony. Including real, genuine rap influence into this festival moves towards that. And, if I may be so arrogant, I think Joy Oladokun and myself integrate hip-hop into other genres in a more interesting way than Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock or the bro Country Top 40 bullshit. And that’s about the motivation for the integration, if you ask me.
I hung around Love & Exile until I went over to the second event 18//88 Media put on and graciously included me. It was hosted at a new, killer photography studio and gallery that’s starting to moonlight as a cool event space. It’s called 5point6 Studio, and it is straight up in the MIDDLE of East Nashville. Brian (Castro) and Jacob (Smith) have a great space, and they’re very impressive people. I’m going to be releasing my album Ophiuchus there on November 30, as the sun crosses into the constellation Ophiuchus and my magic spell is complete. It will be a special night if you’re in Nashville, and you should take an opportunity to check out 5point6.
Frankly, I was so sleep-deprived and exhausted that I was grateful to Rob Evanoff for putting me first at this event. It was a bill of great songwriters, most of whom played a somewhat gentler style of music. If I’d stayed, I’d have fallen asleep, and that’s rude. So, since he came to my showcase on Wednesday, and because I’m a gigantic fan of his songs and performances, I decided to return to Eastside Bowl’s Low Volume Lounge to see Brian Wright before going home.
As much as I love Brian, and as brilliant as his set was – as usual, with amazing songs executed flawlessly – I almost nodded off. I had to get up and dance with Shilah Morrow to “Poor Little Genius” to get the blood flowing. I also stayed for most of Jamie Rubin’s set, which was badass, with Joe McMahan on guitar and a killer rest of the band.
But that was it. Even as a lot of my friends were showing up, and the temptation to ramp the party back up was starting to swell, I’d run out of gas hours ago and was just coasting on momentum at that point. I went home.
Because if there’s anything that you have to be able to do in Nashville, and at AmericanaFest especially, and that’s accept the fact that there is something going on that you would really enjoy, that a lot of your friends are at, and might even change your life, and you can’t be there. FOMO is embarrassingly ridiculous here. You’re definitely missing out. So there’s no need to fear it. Just accept it.
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