BRATTLEBORO-When Tennishu - stage name of rapper Marcus Tenney - plays in Brattleboro, the audiences remind him of his home city of Richmond, Virginia.
"You know, more small-town, more folks appreciate the craft," Tenney said. "It's not really about commercial performance; it's more so about being able to create a moment with what's around."
This is why he's coming back for a third time, at 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at The Tower Bar & Lounge, 55 Elliot St. The show is for ages 21 and over. There is no cover.
Kate Barry, owner of The Tower Bar & Lounge, said she has been hosting live music in the space since 2021. The spot was previously named The Collective Bar & Lounge and rebranded in April 2024 to honor the town's historical Retreat Tower.
"Since we switched over to The Tower, our focus on local live music has increased a lot," Barry said.
Upon first listen, Tenney's songs call to mind popular rap music with worldly instrumentation. His instruments include trumpet, tenor saxophone, flugelhorn, keyboards, bass, drums, and tambourine. He is also a music producer. His website describes him as a multifaceted artist who has "spent the last decade crafting a unique sonic identity that blurs the lines between hip-hop and jazz."
"My discovery of rap music was from family and from cousins, and then my discovery of jazz was through school and organized musical situations, and so I just took the two and just smashed them together," Tenney, 39, said in a recent phone call.
Growing up, he said he marveled at commercial rappers' abilities to master rhythm and wordplay without formal education - going from street corners to selling records on major record labels.
"But then, as I got older and started playing more instrumental stuff, I started getting more into jazz, which in my eye is the forefather of rap music," Tenney said. "They had the same hurdles, but they were just in a different area, different time frame, different things."
Daniel Guerra, of Brattleboro, who booked the show at The Tower Bar & Lounge, first heard Tenney in a guest verse on a DJ Harrison album.
"I was just like, 'Whoa, this guy's incredible. Who is this dude?'" Guerra said. He reminded him of The Notorious B.I.G. "The lyrics were, like B.I.G., they were smooth. They were just fantastic. I love his delivery, his flow."
Then, Guerra heard Tenney perform with the Richmond jazz quintet Butcher Brown.
"This guy is an incredible jazz musician, playing the trumpet, playing the sax - and he can rap his face off," Guerra said.
The stage name Tennishu grew from a suggestion by Tenney's friend when he was 18 or 19.
"It's like, 'You gave me my rap name, so I'm gonna take it,'" Tenney said. "After many years of influence and different things going on, I stylized it to be more of a stage name," he said, noting the elaborate spelling for the simple words, tennis shoe.
"That's what makes my friend a brilliant guy," Tenney said with a laugh.
More information on Tenney's music can be found at tennishu.com.
This Arts item by Gen Louise Mangiaratti was written for The Commons.