SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. — Humble Baron’s Keith Weaver possess a long track record of developing talent. So, we he and his wife, Fawn, relocated to southern, middle Tennessee to launch The Nearest Green Distillery it didn’t take long for the former Sony Picture Exec to want to search the backroads and hollers for the best unsigned musical talent out there.

Live music is core to both Keith and Fawn’s vision for Humble Baron – and it runs in the family. Fawn’s father and Keith’s father-in-law was none other than legendary Motown producer Frank Wilson, who wrote songs for big names like Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Miracles, and The Four Tops.

It’s in that vein that Weaver launched The Quest, a new talent search to find Tennessee’s next big music star on September 20. Over the course of the past several weeks, they’ve narrowed the field to 10 finalists and on Saturday, November 4 those finalists will perform in front of a live audience and a star-studded panel of industry judges to see who can win a monthly artist-in-residency at Humble Baron. It’s a cool prize considering that the former technical director and engineer for Prince’s Paisley Park designed the stage at Humble Baron.

The event will be hosted by radio personality Kenny Lattimore.

The event takes place at the Guinness Book of World Records World’s Longest Bar – a 518-foot bar that wraps around an indoor stage. They also serve hand-crafted cocktails like the Dear Fawn (an espresso martini) and the Sand Creek Farm Julep made with Uncle Nearest 1884. They also serve a menu of what can best be described as a not-the-normal-bar-food menu with items like Nashville Hot Shrimp and Grits and the Tennessee Butter Lobster Roll. {To see a full drink and food menu, click here.}

Humble Baron is located at 3125 US 231 in Shelbyville. They open Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a nonpartisan, independent community newspaper serving Lynchburg, Tennessee and the surrounding counties. We are dedicated to public service journalism for the greater good of our community. You can support us, by clicking here.}