Lobby Jam at Kenect Nashville: Music Row

One morning late last June, Kenect concierge Varag Hakopian threw an electric Ibanez guitar and a 5-watt amplifier into his Jeep, intent on bringing a token of Nashville’s musical soul to work. While most midtown buildings hang guitar silhouettes in their hallways as an ode to Music City, Varag, a lifelong player and teacher, knew a real guitar within artists’ reach was more than an accent piece.

Over the next few days and weeks, resident players — full time artists, singers, songwriters, and those just learning — picked up that Ibanez and shared their talent, their passion, their dreams.  Slowly, these tiny, pop-up concerts became expected, and even hoped for in the lobby. People on their way out were sometimes even able to see famous acts like Hardy, Keith Urban, or Morgan Wallen, causing them to stop and listen.

In September 2022, Varag teamed up with resident artist Tyler Cobb to give these moments a stage. Using Tyler’s personal gear, they set up a mic, made a circle of sofas around it, and called it Lobby Jams. Half a dozen resident artists, including Ancient Ravens (Tyler Cobb & Beth Marie Barie), Michael Taylor, Karebear, Jason Monachello, Laura Chen, and Mark Hyden played through the twilight for a small audience of other residents.  

That first night was free-flowing and inspired, with that quiet, opening-night vulnerability that makes you want to see the very first performance of anything. Original songs, reimagined covers, and unreleased music that may one day be sung by millions all echoed off the murals and soaring ceilings, spellbinding everyone with a campfire kind of magic for a full two hours. It felt like family.

Management company Song Bird Works’ Lisa Dufort was in the audience that night. After the event, she immediately arranged for her British soul pop act, Skinny Living, to play a set at Kenect at the end of their tour. Two weeks later, they arrived as Lobby Jams’ first touring act performance, less than a month after its debut.

After a powernap in the 7th floor lounge-turned-green-room, they put on a powerhouse performance, weaving world-class vocals with genre-defying lyricism that left the impression you’d witnessed the last small show they’ll ever play. But what stayed with you more than the stunning performance was the band’s insistence on hanging out in the same room they’d just played in, talking for hours with fascinated residents eager to know their story. 

Eventually, they were whisked away to play at the Local (the biggest writer’s round in town), but you got the feeling they wanted to stay — that this was unique, that they’d found their scene.

It’s understandable. Both artists and fans are defined by a mutual understanding that’s often obscured by the haze of celebrity, the modern necessity of industrial-scale music operations, the tiktok-ification of… everything. It all gets in the way of our search for connection with someone with a mind like ours, with a message we’d just as happily hear in a small room as in a stadium — someone we’d hang with all evening if we had the chance, had the circumstance, had the time.

Lobby Jam is that occasion.

Why? Because there is something special about a small stage, an intimate and organic gathering, a crowd of just a few, something symbolic of songwriting and its magic — the opportunity to connect — that brings people from all over the world to this town and makes them want to stay at Kenect and belong to a niche community where art is celebrated.

Every Thursday, it’s here, ringing out in raw acoustics and the cathedral reverb of Kenect’s lobby — unamplified, unadorned, unrecorded — just three chords and the truth in little moments in little concerts that come and go, but are remembered.

A note from our Executive Director:

"This is exactly what Kenect is built for," says Jessi Natalini, Executive Director of Kenect. "A staple of one of our brand pillar’s is to intentionally bring people together and create memorable moments with friends and neighbors. It's incredible that this free event, 100% run by our resident members, has become their own internal culture where they live. People coming home from a long day at work, or a trip are serenated by live, raw and unpretentious talent. The Kenect community is very welcoming to artists of all kinds. I am excited to see what other famous acts stop by Kenect Nashville. The lobby is always open.”