No Small Endeavor

Lee C. Camp hosts No Small Endeavor at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Sunday, November 22, at 7:30 PM. It's his annual Thanksgiving variety show, and this year he's bringing along Emmylou Harris and Ira Glass, with additional special musical guests joining them on stage. It's a rental booking at the Schermerhorn, so the Nashville Symphony doesn't appear on the program.

No Small Endeavor started as an acclaimed podcast and national public radio show from PRX, and over the years it's grown into this yearly Thanksgiving tradition. The Nashville Scene named it the city's "Best Local Variety Show," and The Tennessean has described it as "one of a kind" and a "virtuoso ensemble" that blends music, humor, and scholarship. That's a good way to frame what you're getting into: it's not just a concert, and it's not just a comedy show. It's a variety bill that pulls from a few different directions at once.

Having Emmylou Harris and Ira Glass on the same bill tells you a bit about the range. You've got one of the most distinct voices in American music and one of the most recognizable voices in public radio, and the show is built around the kind of curiosity and storytelling that fits right in with the PRX roots. With Lee C. Camp hosting and more musical guests added to the mix, it's the kind of evening that moves between songs and conversation rather than sticking to one or the other.

It's a Sunday night show, so it's a good way to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The Schermerhorn is downtown on Broadway, and the curtain goes up at 7:30 PM.