Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 14h

I've asked him for a link. He is not really on social (smart).

1 2

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 14h

I think Eli very clearly lays out how it's more complicated than YIMBY/NIMBY!

1 2

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 19h

!

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 21h

This will be resolved in about 90 seconds, art director had to fix a URL issue. You picked a bad time to click lol

1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 21h

Some of the categories have been around since day 1, back in 1989. Just because the Belcourt is the undisputed champ doesn't mean we're going to ditch the category!

All good, no worries.

1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 21h

Anyway your complaint has been registered lol. Everyone's entitled to their take. 🫡

1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 21h

Probably needless to say here but we sort through a LOT that we don't ultimately include. 274 writers' choices is significant (actually down a few dozen from years past), but obviously isn't every institution/individual/business in Nashville, so "everyone gets a trophy" is pretty hyperbolic!

1

Reposted by D. Patrick Rodgers

Betsy Phillips @betsyphillips.bsky.social · 1d

I especially love the photo.

www.nashvillescene.com/bon/2025/peo...

Best Historian

Linda Wynn — the Tennessee Historical Commission’s assistant director for state programs — is a historian’s historian. Not only is her own work impeccable, she’s also responsible for a lot

www.nashvillescene.com

1 9 34

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 21h

Ouch thanks a lot gang.

We work hard on it for months. I think the writers’ contributions are phenomenal this year. Readers’ poll? I always have significant qualms with what folks select there but it is what it is.

Anyhow cant please all the people all the time. Thanks for reading anyhow.

2 1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 22h

It’s so good, and run by solid people. Keep up with em on IG!

www.instagram.com/saapsaapbbq?...

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

www.instagram.com

1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 22h

Obviously we don't tamper with the readers' poll votes (we work our asses off on the writers!) but yeah that one was ... not my favorite to see lol.

1 2

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 22h

There are more! A few more I wrote and about 270 more by our staff and contributing writers, along with our annual readers’ poll. Good stuff, hope you'll check it out. /end

1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 22h

We wrote Dusty Slay up as Nashville’s Best Comedian back in 2019 — and his new special ‘Workin’ Man’ is so good I had to give it to him again.

Best Comedian

Alabama-born longtime Nashvillian Dusty Slay is no stranger to the pages of the Scene’s Best of Nashville issue. We named him our Best Comedian in the 2019 writers’ choices, and

www.nashvillescene.com

1 1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 22h

I wanted to throw a little love the Nashville Humane Association’s way. Their 24/7 microchip-scanning station in West Nashville is a very valuable resource.

Best Resource for Lost Pets

Losing a pet can be an extremely stressful situation — for both the pet owner and their furry little friend. Fortunately, when a good Samaritan stumbles across a lost pet,

www.nashvillescene.com

1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 22h

I wrote up Nashville Hidden Gems as Best Instagram Account. With roughly 130,000 followers on IG (and another 7,500 or so on TikTok), Anas Saba tours the city’s best undersung restaurants, many of them immigrant-owned.

Best Instagram Account

The critics and editors at the Scene pride ourselves on being a pretty solid source for Nashville’s curious eaters — but for the past couple of years, Anas Saba of

www.nashvillescene.com

1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 22h

For Best Country Album I wrote up Kristina Murray’s fantastic ‘Little Blue,’ which features Murray’s big voice and knack for evoking raw emotion.

Best Country Album

In writing about Nashville country singer Kristina Murray’s third LP Little Blue in May, the Scene’s Jacqueline Zeisloft noted the clear influence of Emmylou Harris, Jerry Jeff Walker, Harlan Howard

www.nashvillescene.com

1 1

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 22h

My pick for Best Pop-Up is Saap Saap, Clinton Spruill and Amy Watson’s unique blend of Southern barbecue and Laotian food. So good.

Best Pop-Up

Over the past several months, Clinton Spruill and Amy Watson of Saap Saap BBQ have popped up at spots including Bad Idea, Hearts, Rice Vice, Martha My Dear and Lowbar.

www.nashvillescene.com

1 2

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 22h

I’m going to do a little thread of some of the Best of Nashville writers’ choice blurbs I wrote, starting with our selection for Best New Mural — Creative Girls Rock’s “They Fought With Words: Leaders, Lawyers and Educators” at the Looby Community Center.
www.nashvillescene.com/bon/2025/art...

Best New Mural

Every Nashvillian should know the name Z. Alexander Looby. The West Indian immigrant was a lawyer and city councilmember who — despite being the target of racial terror in the

www.nashvillescene.com

1 1 8

D. Patrick Rodgers @dpatrickrodgers.bsky.social · 23h

Best of Nashville 2025 is here! Lots of hard work by lots of great folks in this issue. Hope you'll give it a read.

Nashville Scene @nashvillescene.com · 1d

Best of Nashville 2025 has landed! Read all the writers' choices and readers' poll results in the Scene's massive 37th annual #BON25 issue. Illustrations by Kat Conde.