Nashville singer-songwriter K.S. Rhoads kicks off this year’s Live On the Green free concert series tonight, so he spent his Wednesday morning rehearsing with his new bandmates. All 70 of them.
Rhoads’ “band” for the evening is the Nashville Symphony, who entrusted the independent pop/rock songsmith and arranger with putting together an exciting set that mixes his symphony-savvy originals with bold, orchestral takes on tunes by artists ranging from Paul Simon to Katy Perry.
“It’s music that young people and people who don’t listen to classical music at all are going to dig, but I’m using the orchestra in such a way that they’re going to be forced to come face to face with it,” Rhoads says. “Someone might say, ‘Man, I never knew the bassoon could do something so (cool).’ ”
Rhoads says this concert makes his list of “top 5 things to do in my life.”
“I just want (the symphony) to know that in one way, this is fulfilling a young man’s dream, and I hope it’s just the beginning.”
Rhoads and the symphony have moved their performance time at Live On the Green to 7 p.m. due to weather conditions. (For the protection of their instruments, symphony members may not play outdoors in temperatures below 65 degrees.) The show starts at 5 p.m. at Public Square Park (1 Public Square).
— DAVE PAULSON
