Autovaughn, American Bang and Luna Halo
Birdy’s Bar and Grill
Thursday, Dec. 20, doors 7:30; show at 8:30 p.m.; $7

As the country music industry with its current crop of generic stars has been moving its focus from Nashville to the coasts, those left behind have been slowly making Nashville into a relevant music town again. This Thursday, Dec. 20, Birdy’s will present three of Nashville’s brightest rock hopefuls. Frequent visitors Autovaughn will be playing along with American Bang and Luna Halo.

All three have new albums coming out on major labels, yet each carries a distinctive sound. Luna Halo has stepped out from a so-so career as a Christian rock outfit, got signed to Rick Rubin’s American Records imprint and have settled into a Brit-tastic sound with nods to electronics and pure pop. Their “Kings and Queens” single has been making the rounds lately, even showing up on the TV show King of Queens.

American Bang, formerly known as a more hillbilly Kings of Leon wanna-bes, Bang Bang Bang, have ramped things up since announcing its name change and new album coming out on Madonna’s Maverick label. After a summer spent playing high profile gigs like Bonnaroo and recording its label debut, American Bang is getting ready to play the Lynryd Skynryd Simple Man Cruise before heading out on a non-stop, 2008 tour.

Autovaughn, who recently finished recording their Epic records debut, has been a regular visitor to these shores and carry a sound that keeps them straddling the line between ’80s keyboard fetish rock and just plain rock and roll. Their live shows have spun a thick current of buzz around this band.

Three different bands. Three different sounds. One low price. A nice chance to discover that Nashville ain’t all big hats and songs that sound like bland Eagles music.