A “Phoenix Rising Psychedelic Speakeasy” in Nashville offers a glimpse into the world of psychedelics
By Katharina Moser
For hundreds of years, speakeasies have been the hidden places of the world. Spaces that offered, to a knowing member, what could be illicit goods or simply gems of forbidden knowledge. A spot where people spoke in hushed voices about things that were meant only for an understanding ear, and that demanded initiation into a circle that dealt with something sacred enough it had to be concealed from ill intent. Speakeasies were democratic in the sense that they were open to anybody who showed interest, and yet sympathetic only to those who cherished and maintained the sacred nature of whatever they hid.
In the year 2026, a speakeasy is about to take place in Nashville which has abandoned its illicit connection but certainly gathers the pioneers of a knowledge that is as much sacred as it is, in large parts, still concealed from the common eye – an unfortunate fact which these pioneers have set out to change. The “Phoenix Rising Psychedelic Speakeasy” may not be lawless but certainly unconventional in its venture to bring psychedelic education to an interested public.
By its own description, the event taking place at Analog on November 5, 2026, will bring together speakers of various fields who will present their spiritual, artistic, and practical methods of use for many psychoactive substances and their roles in culture and the advancement of human consciousness. “Phoenix Rising Psychedelic Speakeasy” wants to bring an evening composed of art, science, philosophy, history, psychology, comedy, and music – “a celebration of creativity and a masterclass on psychedelics”.
An event for psychedelic education that offers knowledge about the medicinal use of psilocybin mushrooms, DMT, LSD and the like, the “Phoenix Rising Psychedelic Speakeasy” gathers seven pioneers of spiritual awakening. The speakers are P.D. Newman, Dennis Walker, RIME, Charles Patti, Andy Sudbrock, Dr. Dax, Demi and Edward Crowe.
Known by many as a successful music industry executive and manager of the Nashville-based rapper Yelawolf, Edward Crowe has long been one of the most influential figures of the spiritual use of psilocybin mushrooms, a mystic and lifelong student of sacred plant medicine and ancient mystery school teachings. Focused specifically on high dose ceremonies, Crowe is a psychedelic guide and business innovator.
“We want to bring psychedelic education as well as psychedelic safety to Nashville. People talk about mushroom gummies and chocolates and microdosing all the time, but we need to connect real meaning to these empty buzzwords”, Crowe says. “We want to break the mold in Nashville and establish it as a place where, like Oakland or Portland, mushrooms and the like are accepted as a medicine and understood for their sacramental purposes. As we see a renaissance of psychedelic substances, education is necessary to keep people safe.”
With each speaker occupying a different field of expertise, the event offers a holistic approach to the understanding of and education about the responsible use of psychedelics, with each speaker presenting different pillars of the same realm.
“Together, we want to create awareness. The use of psychedelics is a lifechanging situation, it is a ceremony and a ritual. It is extremely sacred and serious”, Crowe emphasizes. “Imagine you just let someone run around with a plug in a socket and didn’t explain to them how it works – they would probably shock themselves to death. And everybody would say that socket was bad. It’s the same thing with psychedelics. You must know how to use them the right way. If you do, they can change your life for the better. If not, they could seriously harm you. They key is education.”
Crowe has years of experience under his belt and a life story that certainly proves the spiritual and mental impact of using psychedelics as a pathway to knowledge and mental clarity. “I come from a very rough background with a long history of things that should have killed me or gotten me locked up forever. And mushrooms are fully responsible for changing my perspective, my mind, my attitude, raising my confidence, and allowing me to understand how to treat people the right way. They’ve opened my mind and removed the mold off my mind to allow me to understand how to conduct myself properly in this world”, he says. “I’m not saying that it’s a fix-all or fix-everybody, but I do know that it’s helped me tremendously, and I’ll stick to doing that. These mushrooms are a product of nature, so they are meant to be consumed in some capacity. They have been used medicinally and spiritually and religiously for thousands of years.”
With that conviction, he stands in line with the other speakers gracing the lineup of the “Psychedelic Speakeasy” about to take place in Nashville. Charles Patti is the Chief Visionary Officer and Co-Founder of “Eleusis”, the world’s first legal, luxury, physician-supervised DMTx immersion experience based on the island of Bequia in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He is also Co-Founder and CEO of “My Self Wellness”, a ketamine clinic in Florida, where he has overseen more than 25,000 treatments since 2019. Patti’s journey into this work began with his own personal experience. After battling addiction and depression for over 25 years, he found healing through psychedelic therapies, an experience that reshaped the trajectory of his life and became the driving force behind everything he has worked on since, the event states. It is also the underlying principle for Eleusis, where he is helping pioneer extended-state DMT, or DMTx, as a structured, physician-supervised path for others to explore consciousness intentionally, with the right medical oversight and integration support, as he says. “Events like the Phoenix Rising Psychedelic Speakeasy in Nashville aren’t just gatherings — they’re where the psychedelic renaissance actually gets built. I went from heroin addiction to co-founding two legal psychedelic companies because someone, somewhere, was brave enough to have this exact conversation before it was mainstream”, Patti says. “Every artist, storyteller, and person in that room on November 5th is doing the same work: turning stigma into education, and education into access for people who need it most.”
Dennis Walker, then, is the founder of “Mycopreneur”, a media platform covering mushroom entrepreneurs and innovation globally. He has interviewed over 250 people from over 50 countries for the “Mycopreneur Podcast” and the weekly online “Mycopreneur Incubator”, the event states. His work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, Wired, Vice, and many other outlets. He writes about mushrooms and psychedelics for platforms like “High Times” and “Double Blind”, and appears at international conferences and festivals as an emcee, keynote speaker, and stand-up comedian. “Storytelling and community connection have always been at the heart of the psychedelic zeitgeist. We’re bringing both to Nashville in a fun and accessible format that prioritizes education and fellowship”, Walker says. “The Phoenix Rising Psychedelic Speakeasy is a one-of-a-kind event, and with public opinion and policy evolving in favor of psychedelics across the world, the timing couldn’t be better.”
P.D. Newman, in turn, is a writer, lecturer, documentarian, and music producer from Tupelo, Mississippi. He is the author of the books “Alchemically Stoned: The Psychedelic Secret of Freemasonry”, “Angels in Vermilion: The Philosophers Stone from Dee to DMT”, “Theurgy: Theory and Practice”, and “Tripping the Trail of Ghosts: Psychedelics and the Afterlife Journey in Native American Mound Cultures”. According to him, Nashville is just the right place for an event such as the “Psychedelic Speakeasy”. “It’s fitting that Phoenix Rising should be held in the Athens of the South. Indeed, in 1874, Nashville was home to a psychedelic, magical society—founded by an African American sex magician named Paschal Beverly Randolph—known as the Brotherhood of Eulis. Like a speakeasy, Eulis met in secret. But, quite unlike a speakeasy, it wasn’t alcohol that they were consuming”, Newman says. “The Brotherhood of Eulis convened, partly, to experiment with the psychological, mystical, and magical effects of entheogenic plants, including hashish, opium, henbane, and belladonna. To chat with me about Randolph, Eulis, and other obscure giants of the psychedelic South, come to the Phoenix Rising Psychedelic Speakeasy at Analog on Nov. 5, 6:30pm.”
And then there is Demi. She is a Memphis, Tennessee, native, Les Mills certified instructor, and yoga teacher with 16 years of experience. Her work spans sound bath therapy, hot yoga, trap yoga, and aerial yoga, bringing a grounded, creative approach to fitness and wellbeing. She also developed her own aerial yoga certification course, helping train and certify other instructors, the event states. Over the years, Demi has led multiple fitness and wellness events, creating spaces that help people move, reset, and reconnect with themselves. “Sound has long been used across cultures as a pathway to presence, reflection, and inner exploration. Whether you’re simply curious or deeply engaged in the conversation around expanded states of consciousness, a sound bath offers an opportunity to slow down, listen, and reconnect with yourself”, Demi says. “Transformation begins in stillness. Through the resonance of crystal singing bowls, chimes, and intentional sound, we’ll create a space to soften the noise of everyday life and reconnect with the wisdom within.”
Among the speakers is also the American graffiti artist RIME, also known as Jersey Joe. He began his graffiti practice in 1991 on Staten Island, gradually expanding across New York City and, by 1995, into New Jersey. In 2003, he made his first international journey to Europe, traveling for two months and earning recognition under the names Rime and Jersey Joe, as the event states. Upon returning to the United States, he began exhibiting in galleries and creating ambitious public artworks alongside his painting partner, Setup.
Dr. Dax is a multidisciplinary artist, graffiti historian, and cultural archivist based in Atlanta, Georgia. A member of both the legendary Dungeon Family and the internationally recognized MSK, he has spent more than three decades shaping the visual language of contemporary urban culture, according to the event. Working across muralism, painting, sculpture, photography, fashion, and film, Dax creates immersive works that want to bridge the energy of the street with the discourse of contemporary art. His practice intends to explore identity, memory, community, and transformation while documenting the cultural evolution of Atlanta and beyond.
And then there is Andy Sudbrock, a medicine man, shamanic practitioner, ceremonial guide, and founder of “Sacred Path Retreats”, where he wants to help individuals reconnect with themselves, nature, and a deeper sense of meaning through sacred ceremony, meditation, breathwork, and contemplative practice, as the event describes. Drawing from both modern neuroscience and ancient wisdom traditions, Sudbrock aims to create safe, intentional spaces for personal transformation, emotional healing, and expanded self-awareness. His work wants to bridge the worlds of science and spirituality, exploring how ancient shamanic practices can help modern people rediscover balance, purpose, and connection in an increasingly disconnected world. “As someone who leads international psychedelic retreats and a Nashville Native I am delighted to be a part of this amazing educational and community building event in my hometown. Nashville has a nascent psychedelic scene and the Phoenix Rising Psychedelic Speakeasy will bring a new level of awareness and opportunities for learning and growing and elevating together”, Sudbrock states. “The speakers that Edward Crowe has selected for this event are exceptional and out of the ordinary. I’m looking forward to this community-building event.”
Crowe has indeed committed a large part of his life to sharing knowledge and understanding about psychedelics with anybody interested to become familiar with the pathways nature offers to an expansion of the human mind and soul. “Psychedelics are like an iPhone, everybody has a use for it”, Crowe smiles. “This event is directed predominantly at people who are dipping their toes in the water and don’t really have an outlet or a network to become informed on how to do this the right way. It’s about mental safety”, he says. “Currently, in the community in Tennessee, there is a lot of curiosity alongside a lot of misinformation. Let’s change that.”
Beyond that, the event is also about building acceptance and fostering tolerance and understanding in a geographic region that remains highly sceptical towards the medicinal and spiritual use of substances such as mushrooms. Psilocybin mushrooms are, after all, still completely illegal in Tennessee. The state classifies them as Schedule I controlled substances, making the possession, sale, or cultivation a criminal offense. There are currently no medical or decriminalization programs in place, either – something the speakers of the “Psychedelic Speakeasy” would like to see changed. For now, pioneers such as Edward Crowe are working towards an environment where debate is welcomed, and where a culture of understanding is built towards recognizing mushrooms as nature’s medicine and instrument of growing the mind.
In November, in the dimly lit room of the Analog, six men and one woman will create a space that allows for such conversations, growth and understanding – one important step towards educating the public about what nature can potentially offer us for the expansion of the mind, and the healing of the soul.
Note of the editor: This post is not sponsored, and The Wrapper has no affiliation with the mentioned event. The author was not compensated in any way for creating this content.
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