Insomnia's My Closest Friend is a poetic and musical retrospective on Black/Biracial mental health and presented masculinity. Performance Poet Tavius Marshall and composer Joshua Dent have created a show that discusses their own personal perspective on the lack of representation and conversation around the issue. Performed by chamber ensemble and a theatrical thesis of words and thought, we discuss the struggle of being "othered" in a world already not built for you.

chatterbird will host a post-event talkback session featuring Dr. Raquel Martin, focused on mental health-related resources & challenges for Black communities.

This event will be hosted at Analog at Hutton Hotel in Midtown. Doors will open at 8, and music will start at 8:30 (lasting around 45 minutes), followed by a 30-minute talkback.

This event is 18+ unless accompanied by parent or guardian.

About Joshua Dent: Composer and cellist Joshua Dent began playing cello at the age of fourteen in Kissimmee, Florida. Their career is always changing; currently, their work ranges from playing in chamber music groups, vaudeville style bands, rock groups, and jazz ensembles, to playing with singers/songwriters, recording for studio sessions, and teaching improvisation workshops for cello studies around the country. Currently they are an artist in residence with abrasiveMedia, principal cellist for Strings of Saturn, and active member of chatterbird since its beginning. Spending much of the year away from their home, Joshua frequently travels around the U.S. and Europe playing music and collaborating with artists of other mediums such as painters, dancers, writers, and actors.

About Tavius Marshall: Tavius Marshall has been a poet and storyteller in Nashville for more than 20 years. He is the project lead and creator of the podcast/live show “The Mixer: Legal to Brew since 1967” and the comedy fiction podcast “Spooning in the Apocalypse.” Tavius believes that stories are the essential element that defines us as human beings; he has spent his career dedicated to crafting, forming, and sharing these stories so that we can reinvent our definitions of ourselves.

We are grateful for the support of Metro Arts Nashville, Tennessee Arts Commission, and New Music USA in helping to make this performance possible.