
The Nicest Night in Nashvillefeaturing Marcus Hummon, Yeli Ensemble, Phil Madeira, Rachel Rodriguez& More!
Wed, 4 Nov, 6:30 PM CST
Doors open
5:00 PM CST
3rd and Lindsley
818 3rd Ave. S, Nashville, TN 37210
Description
Join us on November 4 for The Nicest Night in Nashville: NICE's annual gala celebrating the beauty and resilience of our New American community. The evening will be hosted at 3rd & Lindsley from 6:30 pm–9:00 pm and features an incredible lineup of live music, firsthand stories from refugees and immigrants who have found a home in Middle Tennessee, and the opportunity to invest in the work that makes it all possible. Dress code is semi-formal or cocktail attire.
Event Information
Age Limit
All Ages

Music
The Nicest Night in Nashville
The Nicest Night in Nashville
Music

Pop
Marcus Hummon
Marcus Hummon
Pop
Grammy winner, and 2019 inductee into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, Marcus Hummon has enjoyed a successful career as a songwriter, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, playwright and author. His songs have been recorded in many genres-Pop, R&B, gospel - and most notably in country music, where he has written some of the genre’s most iconic songs.
Hummon has received 7 BMI Awards, and 5 BMI #1 Awards; for Rascal Flatts’ ‘Bless The Broken Road’(winner of the Grammy for Best Country Song 2005, nominated for Song Of The Year in all genres 2005, two-time NSAI Song Of The Year Award 2005 and 2007, nominated for a Dove Award for Song Of The Year 2007); The Dixie Chick’s ‘Cowboy Take Me Away’; Sara Evans’ ‘Born To Fly’ (nominated for CMA Song Of The Year 2001, won CMA Video Of The Year 2001); Tim McGraw’s ‘One Of These Days‘; Wynonna Judd’s ‘Only Love’ (nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female). Another Hummon co-written song, the Dixie Chick’s ‘Ready To Run’, was nominated for a Grammy For Country Song Of The Year, and won the Grammy for Best Country Performance By A Group Or A Duo, off the Grammy winning Country Album Of The Year, ‘Fly’ in 2000. In addition, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Performance By A Group Or Duo With Vocal for ‘Roll The Stone Away’ co-written by Hummon.
Most recently Hummon had a song on the ‘Best Americana Album’ nominated Rhiannon Gidden’s album, ‘You’re The One’. Hummon co-wrote the duet between Giddens and Jason Isbell, ‘Yet To Be’.
Turning to theatre, Hummon has written, and had produced, six musicals and two operas produced regionally and Off-Broadway with the NYMF Festival. His most recent opera, ‘Favorite Son’ (produced with Nashville Opera February of 2022) was nominated for a Regional Emmy for musical composition. His most recent musical ‘American Prophet’ (Winner of the prestigious Edgerton Award 2022) about the life of Frederick Douglass premiered at Washington DC’s Arena Stage Theater, the Summer of 2022 under the direction of co-writer, Charles Randolph-Wright (co-creator and director of the musical, ‘Motown’) to sold-out audiences, and rave reviews across the board, including Charles Isherwood of the Wall Street Journal, and Peter Marks of The Washington Post, who wrote, “The other star is Hummon…who has found a ravishing musical language to match Douglass”. Marks also included ‘American Prophet’ in his Annual Top 10 for 2022 for Theater in the Washington Post. In addition to this ‘American Prophet’ was also nominated for 6 Helen Hayes Awards.
As a recording artist and multi-instrumentalist, Marcus released a critically acclaimed country record for Columbia Records in 1995, ‘All In Good Time’. In 1998, Marcus and Scottish ‘Big Country’ front man, Stuart Adamson, released their duo album ‘Supernatural’, as ‘The Raphaels’, with Track Records out of London. He has also released several independent records.
Hummon has scored two films: ‘Lost Boy Home’ narrated by Sam Waterston, winner of Best Shorts Award for the Palm Beach International Film Festival 2013; and ‘The Last Songwriter’ (a documentary he co-produced, featuring Garth Brooks and Jason Isbell), winner of the Audience Award at the Nashville Film Festival 2017.
In literature, Hummon's children's book, ‘Anytime, Anywhere’, was published by Athenium Press, a division of Simon and Schuster, in 2009. In 2017 his book, ‘The Passion’, a book co-written with his wife Rev. Becca Stevens, was published by Church Publishing, reflecting his cantata of the same name.
Marcus lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife Becca and their 3 sons...Levi, Caney and Moses.

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Yeli Ensemble
Yeli Ensemble
Music
SORY DIABATE: Balafonist & Traditional West African, Percussionist (Guinea Conakry)
MOHAMED 'DHO’ CISSE: Traditional West African Dancer & Percussionist (Guinea Conakry)
AGATHE MOUBEMBE: Traditional West African Percussionist (France)
IBRAHIMA DIOUBATE: Traditional West African Percussionist (Guinea Conakry)
SORY, & IBRAHIMA are from the Yeli caste (also called Djeli or Griot). MOHAMED AND AGATHE were raised in a Yeli tradition by their parents. A ‘Yeli’ is a ‘living archive’ of the African people's traditions. They all grew up learning their traditional music and dance from their parents and elders and are recognized as storytellers and keepers of knowledge that has been passed down through countless generations.

Pop
Phil Madeira
Phil Madeira
Pop

Soul
Rachel Rodriguez
Rachel Rodriguez
Soul
Rachel Rodriguez has established herself in Music City as an enchanting frontwoman, blending her Latino heritage, Rock ‘n’ Roll attitude, and soulful voice into a distinct sound. She is the founder of “Songs for My Little Amigos,” a bilingual music and movement program for children. Through partnerships with arts and education organizations, she brings culturally rich programming to schools, libraries, and community spaces, in Nashville TN and beyond. Rachel also co-founded Magenta Expression, a performance and life coaching company supporting fellow creatives. She is passionate about building community and celebrating her Hispanic roots through music and education. Her work has earned her awards for entrepreneurship, education, and community involvement. She strives to uplift others by fostering expression, creativity, and cultural connection. With every endeavor, Rachel uses her platform to inspire, educate, and bring people together.
She is currently in the studio recording her album called " Mi Vida" and is excited for the upcoming release.
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More!
More!
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