Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Live Nation announced today that on July 30, seven-time GRAMMY nominee Eric Church will be the inaugural performer for Music City’s new Ascend Amphitheater in Riverfront Park.
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ERIC CHURCH WILL BE FIRST PERFORMER AT NASHVILLE’S NEW ASCEND AMPHITHEATER IN RIVERFRONT PARK
Mayor Karl Dean & Live Nation Reveal Ascend Amphitheater Details
Mayor Karl Dean and Live Nation announced today that the newly named Ascend Amphitheater will open on July 30 with a concert headlined by seven-time GRAMMY nominee Eric Church. The 10-acre Riverfront Park that surrounds the amphitheater will open the same day. During a four-day grand opening weekend, Mayor Dean and Live Nation will host a free open house for the community on Sunday, Aug. 2 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., which will include tours of the amphitheater and performances by local bands and DJs.
“The newest addition to Music City’s live music scene will get off to a great start with a concert from Eric Church, who represents what’s great about Music City,” Mayor Dean said. “His songs can’t be confined to just one genre; he draws from country, rock and other types of music that help make the scene here in Nashville so vibrant and eclectic.”
Mayor Dean added, “I invite all Nashvillians to join me at the free open house on Aug. 2. It’s important to me that citizens get a chance to see everything the amphitheater and park have to offer.”
Bob Roux, President of North American Concerts for Live Nation — joined by Caren Gabriel, President and CEO for Ascend Federal Credit Union — also announced that the company had secured the venue’s corporate naming rights for the next decade.
“Ascend Amphitheater is a perfect complement to Music City’s wide array of other world-class performance spaces and is destined to become one of the most iconic open-air venues ever built,” said Bob Roux, president of North American Concerts for Live Nation. “We thank Mayor Dean and the City of Nashville for their vision and dedication to develop an absolutely perfect venue on one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. The Ascend Amphitheater was designed for live music fans and the artists we have the privilege to work with, and I can’t wait for everyone to come together and enjoy it.”
“With this amphitheater, Ascend commits to being the credit union of choice for residents of Nashville and Middle Tennessee,” Gabriel said. “And, because our growth objectives are similar to those of this city, we believe the Ascend Amphitheater will be pivotal in securing Nashville’s claim as the entertainment capital of the South.”
Church will perform a rare solo performance – just him and his guitar. The concert will kick-off the 2015 Ascend Amphitheater concert season, followed by as many as twenty-five other shows in the venue’s inaugural season. Two bands – Chicago and Earth Wind and Fire – will perform opening weekend on Saturday, Aug. 1. Tickets to the inaugural concert season go on sale starting April 30.
The free open house on Aug. 2 will give people a chance to enjoy live music, get a behind-the-scenes tour of the amphitheater, look around the park and enjoy some concessions.
Live Nation was recently awarded a long-term contract by the City of Nashville to manage, market, operate and program the venue.
The Ascend Amphitheater is located above the Cumberland River inside of Riverfront Park in downtown Nashville and is anticipated to be Music City’s premier outdoor destination for live music.
In addition to hosting major contemporary concerts each season, the state-of-the art Ascend Amphitheater will become the outdoor home to the GRAMMY-award winning Nashville Symphony.
“The Nashville Symphony has long sought a summer home here in Music City to expand our programming and service to the community, and I am confident that this amphitheater will prove to be well worth the wait,” said Nashville Symphony president and CEO Alan D. Valentine. “I commend Mayor Dean and all of our public and private partners on this project for their vision and commitment to making this amphitheater a reality. It is truly a testament to the spirit of cooperation that makes Nashville so special and a strong reflection of the community’s dedication to fostering our rich, dynamic arts and culture.”
Riverfront Park and the amphitheater will also become the new home for Music City’s biggest events, including the annual July 4th celebration, “Let Freedom Sing.” In addition the New Year’s Eve event will also attempt to incorporate use of the space.
“We are Music City and nothing amplifies that more than this announcement for the opening and the inaugural season for the park’s new amphitheater,” said Tommy Lynch, director of Metro Parks and Recreation. “This new amenity to Riverfront Park is an important page in the city’s history and just one more reason for people to make Nashville a destination or proudly call it home. For those of us who do call Nashville home, we’re excited. We’re excited about the new park. We’re excited about the lineup. We’re excited about our great partnership with Live Nation. But most of all we’re excited about what this means for the city.”
Overlooking the Nashville skyline, the 6,800 capacity amphitheater will feature a large 100 foot by 60 foot stage providing panoramic views and terrific sight-lines from every seat in the venue. The amphitheater will take full advantage of its picturesque setting alongside the west bank of the Cumberland River and will be operated in conjunction with Nashville’s 10-acre Riverfront Park that is open to the public year round.
The park includes a 1.5 acre lawn known as “The Green,” over one mile of multi-use greenway trails, ornamental gardens, Nashville’s first downtown dog park, WiFi access, and exercise and sports facilities, including two basketball half-courts.
2015 INAUGURAL SEASON LINE UP
TICKETS GO ON-SALE STARTING APRIL 30 AT 10:00 AM CST
| DATE | SHOW | ON SALE | On Sale Time |
| 7.30.15 | Eric Church | 4.30.15 | 10am |
| 8.1.15 | Chicago & Earth Wind and Fire | 5.1.15 | 10am |
| 8.4.15 | Phish | 5.1.15 | 12pm |
| 8.5.15 | Jill Scott | 5.9.15 | 12pm |
| 8.7.15 | Counting Crows with Citizen Cope and Hollis Brown | 5.2.15 | 12pm |
| 8.8.15 | Steely Dan with special guest Elvis Costello | 5.2.15 | 10am |
| 8.9.15 | The Smashing Pumpkins & Marilyn Manson | 5.2.15 | 10am |
| 8.18.15 | Sublime with Rome, Rebelution, Pepper and Mickey Avalon | 5.9.15 | 10am |
| 8.14.15 | NEEDTOBREATHE, Switchfoot, Drew Holcomb, and Colony House | 5.1.15 | 10am |
| 8.15.15 | Idina Menzel | 5.1.15 | 10am |
| 8.16.15 | Peter Frampton & Cheap Trick | 5.2.15 | 12pm |
| 8.22.15 | Australian Pink Floyd with LedZeppelin2 | 5.8.15 | 10am |
| 8.28.15 | Old Crow Medicine Show | 5.9.15 | 10am |
| 8.29.15 | Under The Sun Tour | 5.8.15 | 10am |
| 9.1.15 | ZZ Top with Blackberry Smoke | 5.8.15 | 10am |
| 9.5.15 | Widespread Panic | 6.5.15 | 10am |
| 9.6.15 | Widespread Panic | 6.5.15 | 10am |
| 9.23.15 | Daryl Hall and John Oates | 5.1.15 | 10am |
| 9.19.15 | Americana fest on the Riverfront (Presented by AEG Live) | TBD | TBD |
| 10.2.15 | Lynyrd Skynyrd | 5.7.15 | 10am |
| 10.8 .15 | Chris Tomlin (in partnership with Awakening Events) | 5.15.15 | 10am |
| 10.10.15 | Grace Potter and the Nocturnals with Lake Street Dive(in partnership with NS2) | 5.8.15 | 12pm |
About Eric Church
“Church is arguably both the mainstream country artist of the year and the mainstream rock artist of the year and his show made a case for that blend” proclaimed the Memphis Commercial Appeal when reviewing Eric Church’s concert late last year. Church’s current “The Outsiders World Tour,” which set a new venue attendance record of 18,411 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena earlier this year, was recently ranked No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot Tours chart. He finished 2014 as country music’s top-selling artist, with the year’s highest debut and sales of any release in the format as the critical and commercial success The Outsiders reached Platinum status, marking more than one million albums sold. Debuting at No. on both the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and Top Country Albums chart, The Outsiders garnered GRAMMY, CMA, and ACM Top Album nominations and features his No.1 hits “Give Me Back My Hometown” and “Talladega” as well as his current single “Like A Wrecking Ball.”
The Outsiders is the follow-up to Church’s Platinum-certified Chief, (named the 2012 Album of the Year by both CMA and ACM, and GRAMMY-nominated for Best Country Album) which featured five Top 20 singles: “Homeboy” (certified Platinum for sales in excess of one million singles); the Top 10 “Like Jesus Does” and the Top 5 “Creepin’” (both certified Gold for sales in excess of 500,000 singles each); and two No. 1 hits “Drink in My Hand” (certified Platinum) and “Springsteen” (certified Double Platinum for sales in excess of two million singles). Church’s 2006 debut album, Sinners Like Me (2006) and his sophomore album Carolina (2009) are both RIAA Gold-certified. Carolina had three hit singles: the Top 10 “Hell on the Heart” as well as Top 20 hit “Smoke A Little Smoke” and Top 10 smash “Love Your Love The Most,” which were both certified Gold. Sinners Like Me spawned three Top 20 singles: “How ‘Bout You,” “Two Pink Lines,” and “Guys Like Me.”
Called “the world’s greatest working rock star” by Stereogum and named one of the “50 Greatest Live Acts Right Now” by Rolling Stone, Church has earned four ACM Awards, one CMA Award, and seven GRAMMY nominations. The North Carolina native resides in Nashville with his wife and two sons.
VINCE VAUGHN TO RECEIVE THE “KEY TO THE CITY” FROM NASHVILLE MAYOR KARL DEAN ON BEHALF OF THE WILD WEST COMEDY FESTIVAL
Mayor Karl Dean, along with the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation, will present Vince Vaughn, president of Wild West Productions, with an official “Key to the City” in honor of his efforts to highlight Music City as a comedy destination via the highly successful Wild West Comedy Festival. The “Key” presented by the Mayor will be a framed piano key from Nashville artist Ben Folds’ piano that was damaged in the 2010 flood. The event will precede comedian Frank Caliendo’s festival debut.
CMA Keep The Music Playing All-Star Concert
CMA Foundation presents check of $1,000,000 to Metro Nashville Public Schools to support music programs.
On Tuesday, January 28th, CMA held its 5th Annual Keep The Music Playing All-Stars Concert at the CMA Theater inside the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. Continue Reading →
Mayor Karl Dean and Country Music Stars Casey James, Sarah Darling, Striking Matches Honor Music Teachers at NAfME’s National In-Service
Left to right: Sarah Zimmermann, Justin Davis, Casey James, and Sarah Darling
Credit: Randi Radcliff
On Sunday, Oct. 27, country music stars Casey James, Sarah Darling, Striking Matches and the city of Nashville honored music teachers nationwide for all they do to support quality music education in schools during a special concert at the Grand Ole Opry House. The concert kicked off the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) 2013 National In-Service Conference, which is being held now through Oct. 30 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean welcomed the packed house of over 3,500 concert attendees saying, “I think it’s pretty clear that a quality arts education and in particular, a quality music education, is a key component to a well-rounded, successful education program. Arts education is not a frill, it is not optional — not if we are going to give our students the tools they need to live rich and rewarding lives.” Continue Reading →
“The British Are Coming” Tomorrow To Belcourt Taps In Nashville | Britain’s Top Songwriters Invade Music City
A British invasion is headed for Nashville, and Music City should prepare for a unique cultural exchange between our elite songwriters and our creative overseas counter parts. Continue Reading →
Mayor Karl Dean Gives Sneak Peek Of Massive Music City Center
The massive hallway featuring the custom “sound wave” carpet
Perhaps you’ve noticed there has been some construction going on in downtown Nashville… That will all come to fruition next week as the extravagant Music City Center opens its doors. Upon touring this massive, yet beautifully artistic Nashville centerpiece, one can’t help but frequently gaze around in awe.
Mayor Karl Dean gave a sneak peek of the new convention center to the media on Wednesday, noticeably proud of the biggest municipal project in Tennessee history. From the 6,000-person Grand Ballroom modeled after the inside of a guitar to the $2 million art budget, the Music City Center is sure to impress and deliver grand results for the city.
A point emphasized on Mayor Dean’s tour was that this building has not been built with an “if you build it, they will come” frame of mind. To the contrary, this was a necessary step, because they’re already coming.
Blind Boys Excite and Food Trucks Delight at Musicians Corner’s Fall Season Kickoff
Musicians Corner has kicked off its fall season in unprecedented fashion. Coinciding with the Nashville Street Food Awards, the weekly Centennial Park event saw record numbers come out to see Jon Troast, The Nashville Symphony Quartet, Chelsea Gill, Jeremy Lister, Anthony Snape, Karen Elson, The Carmonas and the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama.
The event is sporting a slightly different look this season, turning the stage 180 degrees due to a Centennial Park tree that is rather old and at risk of coming down. Yet that didn’t stop the crowd from piling in and trying food from the street vendors and beer from the beer and wine garden. Continue Reading →
Making Nashville Proud
The 24th annual Nashville Pride Festival was held Saturday, June 16, at Riverfront Park from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. The annual event is a chance for the LGBT community and its allies to gather in celebration of advances made for LGBT equality.
For the first year ever, Nashville Pride started the day with an Equality Walk presented by Fifth Third Bank, a one-mile loop that will include participants from more than 20 community groups as a way to increase awareness beyond the festival gates.
This year’s festival was highly attended, and boasted an eclectic entertainment line-up that included Hello Kelly, Jenn Foster, Ian Harvie, Jermiah Clark, Antigone Rising, Kerli and Kristy Lee on the Bridgestone Main Stage. A variety of popular local acts also performed throughout the day on the Local Stage and the Tribe & Play Entertainment Stage featured DJ’s and drag performances.
Hello Kelly
There was music, food vendors, SWAG and people with no agenda other than having a good time. The crowd was as diverse as could be: I saw people ranging in age from 14 to 70-something. I saw families. I saw people from all races and backgrounds. Business people, blue-collar workers, entertainers, stay-at-home-moms… all coming together with a general sense of happiness and fun.
I was only able to attend a couple hours, but it was a great time. I got to see Hello Kelly, a hot new group I will be covering relatively frequently. I also saw the wonderful Jenn Foster, a crowd favorite. Mayor Karl Dean was also on hand to speak in the early afternoon; proudly conveying that Nashville is a diverse and inclusive city.
The purpose of Nashville Pride is to maintain a sense of community and awareness of, about, and for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and culture throughout Middle Tennessee.
For more information, visit www.nashvillepride.org.
The Secret is Out on Musicians Corner’s 3rd Season!
Record Crowd Packs Centennial Park for the Spring Season Kickoff
A record crowd packs Centennial Park for the free music on Saturday May 5
Maybe it was because of Cinco de Mayo, maybe it was because of the beautiful day, or maybe it was because Musicians Corner is just an awesome weekly event, but one thing was for certain at the first show of the spring season on Saturday… Musicians Corner’s popularity is growing FAST.
Over 1,400 people showed up to the Musicians Corner concert, which will take place each Saturday until the end of June in Centennial Park. And what a concert it was! With new amenities such as a Beer & Wine Garden, this promises to be a season to remember.
The day started off with the group Escondido, a groovy new duo. Following them was the young, talented trio Punchinello on the Lightning 100 Acoustic Stage.
That’s when yours truly hopped on stage (pardon me for the shameless plug). It was a special event that I wanted to commemorate and share with 1,400 of my closest friends. It was my mom’s birthday, so I got to wish her a happy birthday from the Musicians Corner stage. My family and some friends made it all the way down from Pennsylvania to spend the weekend with me, and I couldn’t have been happier. Happy birthday agin mom, love you!
Ok, back to the show. To celebrate the Cinco de Mayo festivities, MC next featured Latin Salsa by Afinke. It was hard to keep the crowd seated and still for this band, who was sporting a huge brass section. Representing the acoustic stage after that was Rayvon Owen, with a smooth voice and killer falsetto.
Friends of Musicians Corner Amy Stroup and Trent Dabbs took to the main stage next as their new duo Sugar & the Hi Lows. Each has graced the MC stage as solo artists, yet they are truly a joy to listen to together, even covering the Tina Turner classic Rollin’ on the River. Anderson East was the final Acoustic Stage act of the day and, utilizing nothing but his guitar, swooned the crowd with his unique style.
Mayor Karl Dean and Esteemed Record Producer Paul Worley at Musicians Corner on May 5
After the coveted Dog of the Day Award, there was a historic event that took place. No, I don’t mean the return of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, who haven’t performed in Centennial Park in 115 years…. I mean the fact that no less than 4 people introduced them.
John Tumminello, Musicians Corner’s Executive Director took the stage first to introduce Grammy-Award-winning record producer Paul Worley. He then introduced our wonderful Mayor Karl Dean, who introduced the band’s director, who in turn introduced the band itself.
However, we must thank both Mayor Dean and Mr. Worley for their ongoing support of Musicians Corner and for the Nashville music community as a whole. We can’t say enough about these gentlemen!
And although the quadruple-introduction was an unprecedented event, let that not diminish the true history that was made at Musicians Corner. The last time the Fisk Jubilee Singers performed in Centennial Park was for President William McKinnley during the Centennial Exhibition… in 1897! You can read more about this historic event in this wonderful article from The Tennessean.
The singers haven’t changed their style or their music since their formation in 1871. It is still traditional, beautiful choir music. And the Musicians Corner crowd stuck around to hang on their every word.
The Fisk Jubilee Singers at performed in Centennial Park for the first time since the Centennial Exhibition in 1897
Musicians Corner is a non-profit program of The Conservancy for the Parthenon & Centennial Park. The spring season of runs every Saturday through June, and promises more great artists, special guests and fun activities. For additional information and the entire spring schedule please visit www.musicianscornernashville.com.
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