Just as music helps us process emotions and express ideas in ways that words by themselves can’t, writing about a performance only tells you part of what it was like. The past decade or so has been extremely busy across Nashville’s collection of music scenes, and an array of photographers have been hard at work telling more of the story. The Frist’s Guitar Town exhibit collects the concert coverage of 10 photographers — Angelina Castillo, Lance Conzett, Steve Cross, Emma Delevante, H.N. James, John Jo, Laura E. Partain, John Partipilo, Jenni Starr and Diana Zadlo — many of whose work you’ve seen in the Scene’s live-review column The Spin. (Castillo, in fact, recently came on board as a full-time staff photographer at the Scene.) They have preserved dozens of fleeting moments that showcase a network of communities evolving, keeping the creative spirit burning bright in the face of immense challenges such as the continually rising real estate prices that have made life harder for musicians and kept the independent venue landscape volatile. A small sampling of the musicians pictured includes Sierra Ferrell, Adia Victoria, Jack White, Brandi Carlile, William Tyler and Yola, performing in venues large and small — including some that have closed, like Fond Object and Mercy Lounge. See the pics in the Frist’s Conte Community Arts Gallery until Aug. 20; starting May 26, it will pair up nicely with the traveling exhibit Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art, which will feature photos and instruments in the Ingram Gallery. April 21 through Aug. 20 at the Frist Art Museum, 919 Broadway STEPHEN TRAGESER