🎷 Rock Hall inductee

It is Friday. You know what that means. 

• Today's weather: Sunny with a high near 72.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Nashville member Christy Szarwark! And happy early birthday to member David Fox!

Today's newsletter is 900 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Jeff Coffin has a lot of jobs.

• The Nashville-based saxophonist is a longtime member of the Dave Matthews Band. But his resume also includes work as a bandleader, a composer, an instructor at Vanderbilt University and the head of his own independent label.

Why it matters: After decades as a working musician, Coffin and the rest of DMB will receive one of the music industry's highest honors this weekend when they are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

• Coffin is still reeling from the news.
• "I just wanted to play music," Coffin tells Axios. "And this is where the path has taken me."

Flashback: Coffin discovered music at a young age. The infatuation was immediate.

• "I decided a long time ago that that I wanted to live a creative life surrounded by creative people," he says.

Zoom out: He moved to Nashville in 1991 and racked up Grammys as a member of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones from 1997-2010.

• In July 2008, he began touring with DMB, filling in for the beloved founding member LeRoi Moore. After Moore died, Coffin joined the band as his permanent replacement.

What he's saying: "The band is incredible," he said this week in an interview from Cleveland, Ohio, where he was preparing for the induction ceremony. "It's like a big traveling circus."

• It took him a few years to find his footing within the band. Once he did, he began to relish the euphoric moments during performances "when time kind of ceases to exist."
• "When you're really in that zone, it feels like literally everything is connected. There's no me, there's no them, there's no audience. It's all one thing."

The big picture: Coffin is the first to acknowledge that getting to the Rock Hall has been a sprawling team effort.

• "The people that have also sacrificed with us, our family and our friends and our teachers and our students," he says. "This belongs to them, in my opinion, as much as it belongs to us."

The bottom line: While touring will continue to take him around the world, Coffin says Nashville will remain his home.

• "My creativity is pretty wide, and I feel that the breadth of my creativity can be satisfied and satiated with the players who are in Nashville," he says.
• "No matter what I want to do musically, I can do it there."

How to watch: The induction ceremony will stream live tomorrow at 6pm on Disney+. A highlight special will air Jan. 1 on ABC.

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The legal battle over the high-society Swan Ball fundraiser could be close to an end, as the event's upper-crust boosters and Cheekwood Estate and Gardens say they are finalizing a settlement deal.

Why it matters: Cheekwood, which has hosted and benefitted from white-tie gala since its inception in the 1960s, has been at odds for months with a group of volunteers who organize the annual fundraising event.

• Both sides said they should be able to control the Swan Ball name. Their dispute boiled over into a federal lawsuit in July.

Zoom out: Cheekwood argued that the volunteer organizers had not managed funds properly while the volunteers said the botanical garden was overreaching into the planning and finances of their event.

• Last month, a federal judge declined Cheekwood's request to stop the organizers from hosting the Swan Ball at a different location.

The latest: In a joint court filing this week, both sides said they were "working to finalize a written agreement and anticipate imminent settlement of this matter."

• No details about the settlement agreement have been made public yet.

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⚖️ The town of Forest Hills won a court ruling this week in its fight to rename streets named after Confederate leaders. (Tennessee Lookout)

🏈 Cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. has been the Titans' surprise breakout star. (Tennessean)

🎻 Buddy's, a small honky-tonk inspired by veteran fiddle player Buddy Spicher, is planned for the Arcade. (Nashville Business Journal, subscription)

"Nashville Cocktails" is your guide to more than 100+ drinks inspired by Music City.

Here's the deal: From honky-tonk classics to modern creations, bring Nashville's vibrant flavors and stories to your glass.

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As the Tennessee Senate battle entered the home stretch, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn dropped a new ad touting her tough stance on China while state Rep. Gloria Johnson made a play for moderate voters.

State of play: Blackburn, the incumbent Republican, enjoys a fundraising advantage over Johnson.

• Her new ad "Breaking China" highlights her hardline stance on issues related to the top U.S. rival.
• In the ad, Blackburn is seen smashing plates illustrated with the Chinese flag. "China stole our jobs, sent us a virus. They're buying up our land and spying on us," Blackburn says. "We're gonna have to break a lot more 'china' to save America."

The other side: As a state lawmaker, Johnson has carved out a reputation as a progressive champion.

• In her new ad called "TN not DC," Johnson touts herself as a gun owner who fought for low taxes. She calls herself a teacher, not a politician.

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It's a tradition unlike any other: the Axios Nashville Friday News Quiz.

1. Which former Tennessee Titan is off to a great start this season with his new team?
2. A new book by Nashville food writer Delia Jo Ramsey focuses on what aspect of the city's culinary scene?
3. True or false: Most Americans think our democracy is in good shape according to a new Vanderbilt poll.

✍️ Reply with the correct answers and your name will grace a future edition of this newsletter.

Take a journey through the heart of Nashville with "Nashville Cocktails," the ultimate guide to the drinks that embody the soul of our iconic city.

Plus, plus, plus: Use code AXIOS at checkout to get an additional 15% off your purchase of any other City Cocktails books.

Our picks: 

Nate is very demure.

Adam is very mindful.

This newsletter was edited by Jen Ashley.