Photo and story by Micaela Griffin / Contributing Writer

Murfreesboro knows that Bonhoeffer’s is the place to go when craving a chill Thursday night. With some great acts in addition to their free coffee bar, the venue keeps audiences happy.

Thursday night’s impressive lineup featured Shawn Goyer, Ally Burgess, Jarren Blair and The City Planner, all providing different vibes for the audience.

For Goyer and his new band, this was their first gig. While it didn’t go exactly as planned, Goyer said, “You always live, and you learn, so just try to be optimistic with it.”

The New York native has two singles on Spotify and Apple Music and is working to release more songs to fit his unpredictable style.

He favors a bluesy pop genre and says his single, “Alive,” is very “cinematic in style.” However, his newest project “Live Again” is the complete opposite.

“I like to push myself to make music that is outside my comfort zone, and I release things that people don’t even expect.”

His biggest goal after his May graduation is to continue making music people will want to listen to and enjoy.

Ally Burgess is a songwriting major hailing from Alabama and strives to connect with people through her music.

“I’ve always just wanted to capture a vibe, like a moment, with each song,” she explained.

She achieves that with the help of her multi-piece band and backup vocalists. Burgess met most of them around MTSU’s campus, and they work really well together.

Burgess is currently working on releasing her single, “Lil Mama,” while playing more shows outside Murfreesboro.

Jarren Blair is a songwriter and musician from Hendersonville, Tennessee, and brings a party of genres to the stage.

“It’s like pop with soul/R&B influences and a little bit of rock,” he says.

The band backing him, a collection of his favorite artists, is informally called The Groove Crew. Their work from the summer is available on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Music.

Blair is working on producing a single, planning an album and playing as much as he can around the area. He is a songwriter first and is learning to “let the songs write themselves.”

The City Planner closed out the night with an energetic set like none other.

Frontman Dominic LaBonia is an artist and musician who writes for The City Planner and pulls together his favorite artists to play around town.

In addition, he also makes the album art for the band to create “a whole experience—art and music together.”

While the band currently plays indie-alternative in the house-show scene, they are moving toward an alternative, emo-rock style as they branch out to larger venues.

On Thursday night, LaBonia’s guitar string broke very early in the set. He has learned from being a musician that “anything that can go wrong will go wrong and you just gotta be able to roll with the punches.”

The City Planner is working on a new album to drop in a few months, but until then, catch them playing in the area or check them out on all major streaming services.

By bringing together unique talents and upcoming artists, Bonhoeffer’s concerts never fail to cultivate exceptional shows for their Murfreesboro audience and Thursday night was no exception.

To contact Music Editor Hayden Goodridge, email [email protected].

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