Annual music and BBQ block party NashBash, is a good reminder that Summer still has plenty of fuel left. The late summertime concert brings a taste of Nashville to Ann Arbor's Kerrytown district.

Musicians from Nashville and Michigan will perform, while Aut Bar cooks up BBQ, a vendors' row features the Ann Arbor Artisans Market and more, "Trunkers of Trunkapalooza" will sell flea market items and other finds, and people will drink and get merry.

The 7th annual NashBash will happen Thursday, August 15, from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. Bands, eats and treats will be followed by an open-mic after party with the NashBash performers, at the Aut Bar in Braun Court.

Former Ann Arborite turned Nashvillian Whit Hill invites the music headliner and performs with her band every year. The songwriter and dance instructor co-founded the event with Kerrytown District Association President Deanna Relyea, who runs the Kerrytown Concert House.

This year's special guest headliner Wild Ponies will perform, from about 7:45 p.m. to 8:35 p.m., followed by Hill's band Whit Hill and the Postcards, from about 8:35 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

And the Kerrytown District Association has invited 6 acts to start the show. Starting at 5 p.m. to about 5:20 p.m., local songwriters Lisa Pappas and Michael Weiss will kick things off, and Ru Knoedler with Cosmic Flavor and Friends goes on from 5:20 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. Area songwriter Matt Boylan performs from 5:50 p.m. to 6:05 p.m., followed by Ann Arbor's alt country and roots band Hoodang, from 6:05 p.m. to 6:35 p.m.

Next from about 6:35 p.m. to 7:10 p.m., The Hill Tillers are duo Bill Edwards, who splits his time between Ann Arbor and Nashville, and Detroit musician Sigrid Christiansen. Nashville band The hApHaZaRds (Pam Kennedy Boylan and Steve Mitchell) play from 7:10 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. And the Wild Ponies and Whit Hill and the Postcards will follow.

Expect strong storytelling coming from this lineup, whether it comes in the form of a laid back ballad, an up-tempo alt country smasher, or some epic tale with traditional roots.

Nashville's sound is diverse. Country, singer-songwriter, Americana, folk, rock, bluegrass, and other genres of music thrive there. And I have never met a musician who only draws inspiration from one type of music nor a fan at NashBash who only listens to one genre.

Hill met the two musicians at the core of Wild Ponies, Doug and Telisha Williams, in a weekly meet-up group for songwriters in East Nashville. The married couple helps host, when they aren't touring extensively - they average more than 100 a year. The songwriter's group shares a lot of half-written songs and feedback with other.

The contemporary Americana band has hints of country - Telisha's sweet voice twangs. However, theirs is really a mix of sounds that can capture the old timey feel of traditional music while leaving room for moments of alt rock or and other contemporary sounds.

From a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the couple toured as an acoustic duo under their own names, Doug and Telisha Williams, before recently settling in Nashville and starting the band. They know how to tell legends rich in narrative detail, whether a story is inspired by true life or the imagination.

"I'm incredibly impressed with Doug and Telisha. The things they are writing about are Americana stories that they've felt and lived, and they express them in really beautiful and unusual ways," Hill says. As much as their songwriting comes from personal experiences, often deeply emotional, "they can also go on wild flights of fancy and make up amazing characters and situations," she adds. "It's emotional, creative and slightly eccentric music, of which I'm a big fan."

Wild Ponies streams many of their songs for free on their website, including 2 songs from their upcoming album, Things That Used to Shine. The official release date is September 10th.

The Williams also do a radio show, "Whiskey Wednesdays," for East Nashville Radio that is online.

After her band's recent performance at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival's Top of the Park, Hill is looking forward to the opportunity to visit home again. In fact, one of Hill's newest songs is all about Ann Arbor. She wrote it a few days before Top of the Park and looks forward to playing it again at NashBash.

"I've wanted to write a song about the town that still feels like home even though I don't live there anymore," Hill says. "I really wanted to talk about the old places that are gone now - funky stores and places - and the funkiness that is still always there under the surface. All of the corporate places coming in will never completely tap that out. It celebrates things that are gone and things that are still there," Hill says.

Somewhere in the midst of the live music, BBQ, buys and booze, you might start to push those back-to-school commercials to the back of your mind. NashBash is always a social, lively event that many people have told me they really enjoy and return to every year. It is outdoor music in Ann Arbor during the summertime plus booths and food - a festival packed into one evening.