Abby Hamilton Leads A Kentucky Takeover Of Nashville’s Famed Bluebird Cafe
Joined by Katie Pruitt and Magnolia Boulevard’s Maggie Nöelle and Ryan Allen
By Matt Wickstrom
NASHVILLE, Tn. (April 28, 2025) — Three of Kentucky’s brightest songwriters took over the famed Bluebird Cafe for a captivating songwriter round Friday night.
Lexington based musicians Maggie Nöelle and Ryan Allen of Magnolia Boulevard and Abby Hamilton — who made her debut at another revered Nashville venue, the Grand Ole Opry, last November — all were making their first appearances at the venue that has served as a launchpad for stars like Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks in the past. Atlanta born, Nashville based singer-songwriter Katie Pruitt joined in on the action as well.
While the weight of the moment wasn’t lost on any of them throughout the show, all three also did well to not let it affect them — in fact, they thrived despite it. From the onset of Hamilton’s first song, “Whatever Helps You Sleep,” each of the performers had the crowd hanging on every lyric and bit of witty banter, showing that their stories could more than hold their own weight in the storied room in the process.
“Any room that listens like that is such a privilege,” said Hamilton in regards to playing for the Bluebird crowd. “I’m stoked to get to play Nashville as much as I have these past couple years.” Throughout the night that weight oftentimes manifested itself through a stillness so profound you could hear a needle drop, while at other times it came about through laughter, like during a rendition of Hamilton’s “Midnight Call” when she sang the lines “Like a country band with no bass / Or rich ******* going to space,” prompting Pruitt to respond tongue-in-cheek, “Katy Perry!” Later on she dove into “Saltwater Aquarium,” a light-hearted ballad about a megachurch priest with a fish tank in his house containing a shark that again sent the sold out room into a frenzy.
From laughing one moment to crying the next and listening intently throughout, the Bluebird crowd ate up every nibble of music they heard out of Hamilton, who herself was just as in awe of those she was sharing in the round with as the rest of those in attendance were of her.
The same could be said for performances from Pruitt and Nöelle & Allen as well, both of whom were specifically selected by Hamilton to join her for the landmark show.
“The Bluebird gave me the opportunity to invite people with me for this one. I thought to myself, who are the best singers I know…. Maggie Nöelle and Katie Pruitt, DUH,” exclaimed Hamilton. “I wanted to bring a taste of Kentucky to Nashville too so it was so fun to be able to bring Magnolia Boulevard with me.
Fresh off the release of their latest single “It’s About Damn Time” with Magnolia Boulevard earlier in the day, Nöelle and Allen floored the crowd with their stripped down bluesy, soulful numbers like “More,” “Spellbound,” and “Sister.”
It was especially fun watching the tightly packed audience grow wide eyed with each big note Nöelle’s mountainous vocals hit, the combination of which with Allen’s complimentary guitar playing and occasional harmonies was the definition of pure sonic bliss.
Although the show went off without a hitch, Allen — who also celebrated his birthday on Friday — reflected on how prior to it happening he never saw the opportunity to play the Bluebird as a possibility for him.
“I always saw it as something for people who moved to and lived in Nashville,” he says. “Getting to play there was a crazy surprise to me.”
Nöelle echoed that sentiment. “I’m grateful for Abby for inviting us to join her in the round. She’s always been so supportive of our music and songwriting, so I was honored when she invited us to be there with her.”
The only Bluebird veteran in the round last night was Pruitt, who previewed several new, unreleased songs for the audience like the Nolan Taylor co-write “Blackout,” ”Risk I’m Willing To Take,” and “Disaster” — the latter of which she just finished writing earlier in the week.
While the new material showed off the softer side of her voice, she also found time to belt out a few big high notes on ditties like “Out Of The Blue” from her breakout 2020 debut, Expectations, as well. She’s set to perform in Lexington at The Burl for the first time since sharing a bill with S.G. Goodman there nearly four years ago on May 7.
