Welcome back to Nashville, except we’re in Houston, where Bobby Delmont is DJing KCUT 105.2 and teasing opening night for Juliette’s “Inside The Dream” tour. But wait, he’s teasing that the undercard, Layla Grant, may be even better than the main event, much to Juliette’s disdain as she listens in her limo. Juliette and Manager Glenn call him “Santa” and wonder why the handsy perv hasn’t been fired or arrested yet.
Meanwhile back in Nashville, Rayna and Luke are bantering about a contract confirming Scarlett will open for him on tour. Luke wants a date. Rayna plays hardball, saying he can send over the paperwork and then they can discuss getting together. Tandy walks in, and she and Rayna talk men. Rayna says they are her last priority right now, and she just wants to get Scarlett off on tour before Jeff Fordham can get her in studio, because the minute Scarlett records something, it belongs to Jeff. Daphne walks in and complains to Rayna that since Maddie doesn’t want to sing at Teddy’s upcoming wedding, she’s refusing to practice. Rayna says she’ll talk to Maddie. Out of earshot, she tells Tandy the girls cannot find out about Peggy’s pregnancy today. Which totally means they’re going to find out about Peggy’s “pregnancy” today, right?
Cut to Deacon’s place, where Deacon is not amused to discover there’s no milk for his morning coffee. Out of the corner of his eye he spots a sheepish Avery eating cereal. Avery says he didn’t know Deacon was going to be there and is very sorry about the milk. A groggy Scarlett walks out, and the awkward hijinks continue. She thought Deacon would be staying at Megan’s, expect Megan is out of town dealing with depositions. Avery excuses himself. Deacon didn’t know Avery and Scarlett were back together. Scarlett says they’re “not not back together.”
Zoe and Gunnar are post-coital giggling at Gunnar’s place. They discuss how they can’t do this at Zoe’s place because Scarlett has a key and could walk in. They’re agreeing when Gunnar gets a call from Jeff Fordham. Fordham still wants “What If I Was Willing,” and asks if he and Gunnar can meet. Gunnar agrees. After they hang up, Gunnar asks Zoe if he’s being stupid about hanging onto that song. Zoe says he’s not, since he wants to cut it himself. Gunnar says there may not be much point to that if nobody outside Nashville hears it, and wonders if he can leverage the song into a record deal or a spot on a tour or something that could break him as an artist.
Scarlett visits Rayna, who breaks the news that she’ll be joining Luke Wheeler’s tour, which starts tomorrow. Rayna’s sending a couple of her band members to back up Scarlett. Scarlett is all aflutter but wonders if she’s ready, since she expected to hit the studio first. Rayna reassures her.
Back at the Houston concert venue, Juliette is still griping to Manager Glenn about Bobby Delmont, worrying about him giving more airplay to Layla. Delmont will be attending the meet & greet, so Juliette plans to give him an exclusive then to keep him on her side. They run into Charlie Wentworth, and have a starchy conversation in which he turns out concert tickets and a dinner invite for him and his wife. Manager Glenn lets them catch up, and Juliette and Charlie take the opportunity to *ahem* reconnect in a dressing room while Charlie tells Juliette that as the new queen of country, she shouldn’t have to kiss up to radio, radio should be courting her. She likes the sound of that.
Teddy arrives at Casa James/Conrad to pick up the girls for a dress/lunch outing. Rayna warns him about Maddie not wanting to sing at his wedding, and the selectively empathetic Teddy doesn’t seem to understand why not. This escalates into an argument between Rayna and Teddy until Daphne interrupts. She tells Teddy Maddie doesn’t want to come, and when Teddy says he’ll talk to her, Rayna cuts him off and goes instead. She sits next to Maddie and asks her if she wants to talk about it. Maddie says Teddy’s leaving them, that her friend Talia’s dad got remarried and is never around. She questions whether Teddy is even going to want to spend time with her when she isn’t even his daughter. When Rayna has no answer, Maddie says she wants to see Deacon.
When we return from a commercial break, Rayna is talking to Tandy about Maddie’s request. Tandy understands why Maddie wants to connect with Deacon. Rayna isn’t sure what to do. Tandy asks if Deacon would feel welcome to interact with Maddie, and Rayna says probably not. She admits she just wants to protect herself and her family, and just not have to think about Deacon because, as Tandy says, if Maddie has a relationship with Deacon then Rayna has to also.
We’re now at the meet & greet before Juliette’s Houston concert, where Juliette’s “Trouble Is” is playing. Glenn is chagrined to be taking a picture with a Juliette cutout, and Will & Layla are working the crowd. Juliette finally arrives, late because she can be. She asks if “Santa” Bobby Delmont is there and Glenn says yes, he never misses the chance to rub elbows with the stars. Juliette says he never stops with just the elbows and says it’s time he treat her with a little respect. Manager Glenn knows he’s not going to like what happens after this and sure enough, when Delmont gets all handsy with Juliette, she tells him to take his hands off her hips. He asks her what her problem is, and she says she has no problem, she’s just no longer “17 and desperate.” After she walks off, Delmont turns his attention to Layla, who tells him she hears he has the most powerful microphone in Texas. He gets sexually suggestive, saying he doesn’t know about having the most powerful mic but he does have the biggest. Layla giggles and complies when he sits her on his lap, as Juliette watches.
Rayna visits Deacon. She tells him Maddie wants to see him and wants to know how Deacon feels about that. Deacon wants to know how Rayna feels about that and she admits she’s worried. Deacon says he wants to do right by Maddie and feels like he has to bring something to the table, something she can look up to him for. Rayna says that she doesn’t want to open this door to Maddie if Deacon is going to shut it later, and asks Deacon to think about that.
Teddy is trying to talk to Peggy about this wedding coming too fast for Maddie, and Peggy works over Teddy, focusing on how bad it would look if they postponed and telling Teddy that Maddie’ll get over it while offering no reason to think so. Peggy reminds Teddy of his political ambitions and says waffling on a wedding/date shows indecisiveness and puts them at risk of having a wedding when Peggy is six months pregnant. She reassures him everything’ll be OK and Teddy goes along with it.
Avery shows back up at Deacon’s with a quart of milk in hand. Turns out Deacon called him over, and Avery thinks it’s to discuss his overnight stay with Scarlett. But Deacon never wants to discuss that ever. He actually wants Avery to play guitar for him at an open mic (not at the Bluebird but at Shotgun Sally’s in Murfreesboro). Why Avery and not one of the many great guitar players Deacon knows? Because Deacon is positive he’ll look like a fool and doesn’t want to embarrass himself in front of anybody he really respects, no offense to Avery. Avery asks why he’s doing this at all if he’s so sure he’ll look bad. Deacon doesn’t want to explain himself, he just wants to know if Avery’s in or not.
Juliette is closing her show in Houston with “Hypnotizing,” and the crowd seems to be loving it. Layla is sidestage, watching with crossed arms when Will comes over and asks if she’s ready to hit the town. Layla has something else in mind, she says suggestively, and Will reminds her this is a business relationship. Layla says this is going to be a long tour and this would be more fun if they were at least friendly. She says she’s apologized for the Scarlett thing, and Will tells her the “Scarlett thing” could have gotten Scarlett kicked off the label. But he agrees to dinner. As they’re walking out, they run into Brent, who has his arm around a guy named Craig. After introductions, Brent invites them to dinner, and Will says he and Layla have plans of their own. Back on stage, Juliette looks over and notices a practically empty press box. She covers during her performance, but when she gets offstage she demands to know from Manager Glenn how she is supposed to generate any buzz if no media is there to cover her show. Manager Glenn tells her Delmont instigated the press walkout after Layla’s set and he couldn’t stop it.
The morning after, Juliette is reading aloud from Delmont’s twitter feed, where he says among other things there was no point in staying after Layla’s set and so on and so forth. She’s with Charlie, of course, and he tries to calm her down. This leads to one of the finest, maybe realest moments on this show, when Juliette explains to Charlie why people in the business call Bobby Delmont “Santa.” It’s because young girls have to sit on his lap to get airplay. Juliette tells Charlie that he thinks he knows how radio works, but the reality for a girl in the business is that everybody else holds the cards: the labels, management, the programmers, and you just have to play nice and beg. Juliette says that sometimes, if you’re pretty, you’re asked to do more, so you just smile and “pretend you don’t hate everybody who’s using you.” If anybody remembers Michelle Branch’s rant from several years ago (from before she went country, I think), this rings all too true.
Meanwhile Gunnar is at lunch with Jeff Fordham, and tells Jeff Fordham that he’s not jerking him around. Gunnar says he wanted to record the song himself, and gives Jeff a demo CD. He says, in his own awkward way, that if Jeff likes what he hears, maybe he can help Gunnar get a break and then, the song is Jeff’s. Jeff smiles that oily businessman smile.
Maddie is at Casa James/Conrad, dressed up for Teddy and Peggy’s wedding. Teddy walks in and tells her she looks beautiful. Maddie shrugs it off. Teddy tells her that he gets that this is going too fast for her, and that maybe she thinks he isn’t being considerate of her feelings (because he isn’t). He tells her that he cares about her very much, but he also cares about Peggy. He asks Maddie if she could give Peggy a chance. Maddie says she’ll try. Teddy helps her with her necklace, and tells Maddie she is his first girl and she will always be his first girl. And that’s what she needed to hear.
Rayna is over at Luke’s 700-acre farm. He’s showing her the lay of the land, his house, his stables. Luke tells her it was a horse that got him signed to Edgehill, because Jeff Fordham sent him the grandson of a Derby winner. Rayna rolls her eyes at Jeff Fordham, and Luke asks if she doesn’t like him. Rayna chuckles and says she doesn’t like anybody right now, which leads to a conversation about exes and coping mechanisms.
Back at Deacon’s, Deacon is awkwardly performing “You’re The Kind Of Trouble” with Avery occasionally giving stage presence tips. Deacon just doesn’t know what to do without a guitar in his hands.
Juliette is finishing up soundcheck for her next concert when a grinning Manager Glenn informs her that Bobby Delmont’s been fired.
Will and Brent take an elevator ride together at Edgehill offices, where Will asks about Craig. Brent tells Will that Craig is his boyfriend and that unlike some people, he likes for his romantic relationships to mean something.
Over at “Coping mechanisms” ranch, Rayna and Luke are having a grand old time shooting cans and bottles. Rayna’s loving it. They have a conversation about co-parenting, and agree that it’s hard to hand over one’s kids to people who can never be worthy. Luke tells Rayna that you have to cut the world a little slack, or else you’ll go crazy. Rayna and Luke wind up making out.
Deacon and Avery are driving out to Murfreesboro and Avery asks Deacon why he wanted to play Shotgun Sally’s. Deacon tells him it was the first open mic he ever played & is as good a place as any to try to start over. Avery tells Deacon people at the Bluebird miss him. Deacon says they miss the old Deacon, the guitar guy, but that guy’s gone. He finally gets through to Avery when he says there’s a look people get when they’re disappointed in a person, and he’s sick of seeing it.
Teddy and Peggy are now married and feeding each other cake as Maddie and Daphne watch. Daphne comments that Teddy seems happy. Maddie agrees, and in a sweet moment, brings Daphne on stage for a performance of “Share With You,” written by Garrison Starr. Impossible not to smile watching the Stella sisters, and the performance certainly makes Teddy proud and emotional.
Juliette storms into Charlie Wentworth’s hotel room (does he just happen to have local hotel rooms everywhere she goes now?) and says she knows KCUT is owned by a Wentworth subsidiary. She demands to know if Charlie had Bobby Delmont fired. He did, and Juliette lays into him, telling him she doesn’t need him to fight her battles for her. Charlie says he was just trying to help. Juliette says if he really wants to help, he’ll give Delmont his job back. OK then.
Rayna has slept with Luke, and says she enjoyed this “coping mechanism.” Their snuggling is interrupted by a call from Maddie, who’s a little glum watching Teddy dance with Daphne at his wedding. Maddie wants to know if Rayna can come pick her up and bring her home. She’s not in the mood for the planned sleepover at Talia’s. Luke is totally understanding and says kids come first.
Avery and Deacon are now excited for their performance, but when they drive up to Shotgun Sally’s they find it’s now a comedy club. It’s a sign, says Deacon.
Back at Casa James/Conrad, Rayna brings some popcorn to Maddie and asks if she wants to have a movie night. Maddie would rather read and listen to her music. What’s playing? Deacon’s “A Life That’s Good.” Maddie asks Rayna if Deacon will ever look at her the way Teddy looks at Daphne. Rayna isn’t going to make false promises, and tells Maddie that there are decisions they made a long time ago that are having a huge impact on Maddie’s life now. She chokes up as she says she’s sorry for causing Maddie even an ounce of pain but promises that together, they’ll make it right. Once again that’s what Maddie needs to hear, and she agrees to a movie night.
As Deacon and Avery mope outside Shotgun Sally’s, Rayna calls Deacon and tells him they have a daughter together and she’s asking for Deacon. Deacon asks Rayna what they’re doing tonight.
Will is having a drink at the hotel sports bar/restaurant, chuckling while a bunch of meathead football fans are also groaning over the game. In walk Brent and Craig being couple-y, to Will’s chagrin. The meathead football fans harass them, but Brent keeps it classy. Will tells the bartender to charge the drink to his room and walks out with his head down.
Gunnar and Zoe are having a date night at home, giggling about how if they keep asking for the same nights off, people at the Bluebird are going to start talking. They’re interrupted by a call from Jeff Fordham, who tells Gunnar that he’s got potential but needs seasoning. Jeff is sending Gunnar out to write with an Edgehill act to get an idea of what it takes to make it at the label, and expects him to use what he’s learned when he gets his own set at the Music City Music Festival. Jeff thinks that qualifies as a break. Gunnar tells him he got himself a song.
As Rayna and Maddie walk into the Bluebird, Deacon takes the stage. In a pointed message delivered while looking right at Maddie, he tells the crowd that even though he hasn’t been there, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been thinking about them the whole time. He introduces Avery, and launches into “You’re The Kind Of Trouble.” It goes really well, and Maddie is thrilled.
To DONWLOAD “You’re The Kind Of Trouble,” cowritten by Paul Kennerley and Adam and Shannon Wright and performed by Charles Esten, click HERE.
BONUS: Check out “Nashville: On The Record” featuring Adam and Shannon Wright plus Charles Esten and Nashville producers Buddy Miller, Callie Khouri, and Dee Johnson.
Cowriters Adam and Shannon Wright perform “You’re The Kind Of Trouble”:
Here’s an extended clip of Charles Esten performing “You’re The Kind Of Trouble” as Deacon:
Back in Texas, Juliette is applying the finishing touches of her lipgloss when there’s a knock on her dressing room door. It’s Bobby Delmont, who has appeared at her request. Juliette informs him of her close ties to Charlie and Olivia Wentworth, and that he was fired at her request, but also rehired at her request. She tells him if he even so much as glances sideways at another girl, she will have him fired again and she will make sure Charlie Wentworth makes sure he never works again. Is that clear, Bobby Delmont? It is. Before dismissing him, Juliette tells him she also wants twice as much airplay as Layla Grant. Delmont is cowed and defeated, and Juliette dismisses him.
It turns out Will is lurking in the parking garage when the 2 meathood football fans guilty of harassing Brent and Craig walk out. He purposely runs into them, picks a fight, and punches both of them out before running away.
Back at the hotel, Juliette is boarding an elevator when Layla catches up to her. Layla asks how her set went and Juliette says it went fine. Layla says she would’ve stayed except she promised a Dallas DJ an exclusive. In a protective moment, Juliette tells Layla she gave a few exclusives too when she was coming up, that as a young up & coming female you think you might not have a choice, but you do. She tells Layla that if anybody treats Layla like a whore on her tour, Layla should come tell Juliette. Layla nods at first but tells Juliette that they are not the same, and Juliette can go save somebody else. Huh. After Layla walks out, Juliette snarks, “Apparently nice isn’t my color.” LOL!
Scarlett calls Avery after the Bluebird gig. He tells her Deacon’s gig went great, and that Rayna came with one of her daughters, Maddie. So Scarlett hasn’t told Avery about Maddie being Deacon’s. Scarlett tells Avery about the bus, where everybody else is bunking and she gets the bedroom in the back. Avery tells her she’s successful and shouldn’t be ashamed about it. As they’re having this nice conversation, Scarlett’s eyes suddenly get wide. Turns out there’s somebody else boarding her bus…and of course, wouldn’t ya know, it’s Gunnar.
Layla is dressed for nighttime when there’s a knock at the door. It’s an upset Will, ready for sex, and Layla is eager to oblige.
Deacon is taking pictures and chatting with an appreciative Bluebird crowd while Rayna and Maddie wait at a table. Maddie’s nervous and doesn’t know what she’ll say. Rayna assures her she’s known Deacon all her life, and he’s always loved her. Deacon asks if he can join them, and they share cute banter about being nervous about performing without a guitar. Rayna goes off to get them another round of root beer and some chicken fingers. Deacon and Maddie have another sweet conversation, this time about her wearing contacts to look more grown up, and him telling her she is growing up but asking her not to grow up too fast since he just got here. Awh!
Juliette is waiting for Charlie, but it turns out to be Olivia who finally appears at her hotel door. Juliette plays it off at first, but Olivia quickly informs her she knows Juliette is sleeping with her husband. What Olivia doesn’t understand, apparently, is why Juliette isn’t sleeping with her. As the episode ends, Olivia grabs a shocked Juliette in for a kiss. Heh. And that’s a wrap, until next week!
P.S. Amazingly, Maddie and Daphne did not find out about Peggy’s “pregnancy” this episode. Guess they’ll wait until Maddie and Teddy are in a good place and/or Maddie and Deacon are not in such a good place for that to happen. Or, Peggy’s non-pregnancy will be revealed, meaning they don’t ever have to deal with telling Maddie and Daphne.
