The free concert series Live On the Green will bring two of Nashville’s top up-and-comers Moon Taxi and the Delta Saints to downtown’s Public Square Park Thursday night. However, one name that locals might not be so familiar with is Greg Holden, this week’s opening act.
Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Holden is a singer-songwriter that has been on the rise for the last decade. He began his career in 2005 after seeing the impact music could have on others, and how beneficial it was to share personal thoughts and opinions through song.
“I saw a friend play guitar and saw the way he could grab hold of a crowd of people. It was that moment that I realized that I really wanted to try and say something,” Holden said in a phone interview earlier this week. “I had opinions [and] things that I really felt passionate about, but I didn’t know how to communicate them. When I saw my friend do that with songs that he’d written, that was the moment when I was like, ‘You know what? I should go this route.’”
Holden’s career started to take form when he moved to New York City in 2009, shortly after the release of his debut album. He toured in support of fellow singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and later successfully crowd-funded his second album, “I Don’t Believe You,” through a Kickstarter campaign. But Holden’s biggest success to date would come as a songwriter in the form of “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillip’s “Home,” which he co-wrote with Drew Pearson.
He was was uninspired musically and “needed more of purpose.” He time in Asia changed his perspective for the better and encouraged him to spread the same positive message with others.
“While I was in India I realized that everything i was complaining about was pointless and unnecessary because I’m actually very lucky to be doing what I’m doing and to have the opportunities I have in life,” he said. “‘Chase the Sun’ was my way of not only celebrating how fortunate I am, but also trying to spread that message toward the people who were experiencing the same sorts of doubts and droughts of inspiration.”
One of the album’s most impactful moments is “Boys in the Street,” a compelling narrative detailing a father’s gradual understanding of his son’s sexuality. Holden says the song not only represents the struggles of a gay son and his father, but also a broader message of acceptance that he hopes can be universally felt by listeners.
“I have a lot of gay friends and I [know] a lot of people who have been through the struggle of their family not understanding them,” Holden said. “The song isn’t necessarily just supposed to be about a gay kid and his dad. That song is a really a song of acceptance on any sort of level.”
After his Live On the Green performance, Holden is set to return to Nashville on Oct. 16 for a concert with Vintage Trouble at Cannery Ballroom.
IF YOU GO
Live On the Green continues Thursday at Public Square Park (1 Public Squre). Gates open at 5 p.m., and music runs from 6:15-11 p.m. For a complete schedule, visitwww.lineup.liveonthegreen.com.
This article was published in cooperation with the Seigenthaler News Service. To see the version of this article that ran in The Tennessean, click here.
For our full archive of Live on the Green coverage, click here.
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