I stood on the porch of a beautiful, quintessentially East Nashville home and fidgeted with my phone as I waited for someone to come to the door. “Just a second!” yelled Alanna Quinn-Broadus and I hear a rowdy dog beat her to the door.
A few moments later, Alanna answered the door and took me to her studio where her fiancé and bandmate Jared Colby were wrapping up a session and getting ready for band practice. Alanna Royale members Braxton Nicholas, Matt Snow, and Gabriel Golden filed in eventually.
During our interview, Alanna and her merry men dropped twenty-eight f-bombs. The aforementioned rowdy dog gnawed on Alanna’s arm throughout, and a full two minutes of the recording I made was of us laughing. These guys are one heck of a good time, even before you put them on stage.
“For us, it’s sort of a combination of things. Our songs are good, and we’re good performers, but we’re grateful for the things we have.”
One thing they have is a ton of people. They have a horn section. Not a lot of bands in Nashville with horn sections, I noted.
“And they all have the same horn section,” Alanna said. “Our horn section plays for everybody. Saturday they played six sets in one day.”
We mused for a little while about what it is about horn sections people are so drawn to. Matt, inarguably the loudest member of the band said simply, “They’re loud!” and let out a hearty laugh. “They’re loud and it’s different.”
“So different,” Alanna agreed. “Also there’s something about the sheer amount of people you see on stage. You cannot help but be fascinated as to what the hell they’re going to do with eleven people on stage. So much sound.”
Alanna Royale definitely has a big sound. But more importantly, they exude energy. Even when they’re sitting around getting ready for rehearsal, the room is vibrating. On stage they’re electric. Their sold-out EP release show at the Basement “was like a rumor that spread the week after,” Alanna laughed. “It was like, ‘Oh, I heard about what happened at the Basement,’ like it was a tragedy.”
It’s clear these seven people (six beards, three horns, and one lady, according to their Facebook) are on to something special. “It’s been overwhelming, in a good way,” Jared said. They were Lightning 100’s Artist of the Month in February. They’ve played East Nashville Underground, Music City Roots, and are headed to Bonnaroo this summer and Austin City Limits Music Festival this fall. And they’re just getting started.
“We’re touring on the weekends this summer,” Alanna said excitedly. “We’re working with a bunch of promoters that are really excited about us and want to help us grow.”
Former president of Nashville Pride Jack Davis is among those who want to see Alanna Royale succeed. Alanna explained, “Jack booked us after we had been a band for barely any time and kind of overnight we became a Nashville buzz band. And it’s good on him, because he took a chance on someone who wanted to be a part of Pride.”
Pride, tour dates, and music festivals aren’t the only things Alanna and the gang has cooking. “We are also releasing a four-on-the-floor, gay club-banger remix of our single,” she elucidated and a devious smile spread across her lips. “Do you want to hear it?” she asked slowly.
Of course I heard it but you’re going to have to catch them at Nashville Pride to get a taste of the phenomenal track.