Spring Time in Nashville? Yes please!
Nashville is one of the top destinations on everyone’s list, but when springtime rolls around it becomes the destination! From the sweet smell of spring in bloom, the cool breeze to tame the afternoon sun, the amazing and unique festivals, or the bustling and lively nightlife, Nashville’s character is on full display in spring! You’re guaranteed to have a blast and get the fullest extent of what Nashville has to offer. So if your touring Nashville or just looking for something to do, we’ve got you covered with our Spring guide to Nashville!
General Jackson Showboat
First on our list is the General Jackson Showboat. The boat has many beautiful features including four decks, balcony views, paddle wheel, and a two-story Victorian Theatre. They offer midday and an evening cruise, both of them featuring different themes and food menus, lasting 2 ½ hours. The midday cruise, also known as a “Taste of Tennessee”, dedicates its show to the musical influence in Tennessee. Some of the genres include bluegrass, Memphis R&B, and Blues, as well as a tribute to Elvis. The food menu, set up buffet style, consists of delicious southern dishes like pork shoulder with Tennessee whiskey BBQ sauce, mac n cheese, and brown sugar baked beans. The evening cruise, “Music City Nights”, dedicates its cruise to the shows that put Tennessee on the map. Accompanying costumes, rising music stars, and choreography, some of the genres you’ll hear are rockabilly, southern rock, and soul. Some food dishes you can expect to see are Florentine stuffed chicken, broccolini with garlic cheddar gratin and chocolate cake. Regardless of the cruise you choose, you are in for a historical music lesson of the greats from the state of Tennesee. Even though The General Jackson has cruises available all year long, springtime is the best time of year to enjoy this experience.
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Phone:
615-458-3900
MUSIC CITY IRISH FEST
“What’s the craic?” If you’re in town for St. Patrick’s Day, make your way over to the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park for a fun filled weekend with all things green. This festival is both free and family friendly. If you’re looking for a heightened experience, they have a few options and events taking place March 14-17. Grab their VIP pass ($99) to have access to their shaded VIP area, all you can eat buffet, and beer. On Sunday (3/15), get your day started with a traditional Irish breakfast, known as the “Shamrock and Champagne Breakfast” ($59). If you’re feeling fancy, the “Emerald Whiskey Dinner” ($199) takes place on Monday night (3/16) featuring special food and beverages from vendors, exclusive tastings, and entertainment. You’ll have to reserve these special events and you can purchase tickets on their website. Get all of this and more on their Music City Irish fest mobile app. Let’s get it craic’n!
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Location:
600 James Robertson Parkway
Date:
March 14-17
Times:
Saturday | 11am – 11pm
Sunday | 12pm – 6pm
Tuesday | 11am – 11pm
NASHVILLE EARTH DAY FESTIVAL
If you’re looking to get to know Nashvillians and get a peek at the community, make your way over to the 50th Anniversary of Nashville Earth Day! This event is free and family friendly. Earth Day, which takes place at one of Nashville’s premier parks, Centennial Park, brings visitors and the community together to bring awareness to care for the planet and influence environmental change. You can expect live music and entertainment, activities from local vendors including local growers and non-profits, as well as a green market and much more. While you’re there, take the opportunity to check out Centennial Park. The Parthenon, the world largest replica of the Parthenon in Athens, doubles as an art museum, featuring collections, history on the Parthenon and the the largest inside statue, Athena. Centennial Park is a treasure here in Nashville and definitely worth the visit!
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Location:
2500 West End Avenue
Date:
April 18
Times:
Saturday | 11am – 6pm
EAST NASHVILLE BEER FESTIVAL
Do you appreciate the art of a perfectly crafted beer? Well this is the festival for you. Taking place in East Park, the East Nashville Beer Festival is walking into their 10th year of providing a craft beer experience like no other. They will be featuring craft breweries at the local, regional, and national levels, including a variety of international brews. There will be live music from local musicians as well as local vendors and the best food trucks Nashville has to offer. This event is 21+ and you can purchase tickets are their website ($65). But this festival is more than just beer. Rhizome Productions not only throw this event along with other events in the region, they also paired up with Ride for Reading, a non-profit dedicated to providing literacy and promoting a healthy lifestyle to low income youth. Some of the proceeds go towards this charity and they’ve raised $150,000 so far! So come take a break from downtown and enjoy some quality craft beer for a good cause.Follow them on FacebookLocation: 700 Woodland StreetDate: April 18Times: Saturday | 12pm – 5pm BUY TICKETSNASHVILLE FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL
Get your food and wine on with the Nashville Food and Wine Festival! Educate and surround yourself with top sommeliers and chefs from all over. Celebrating their 7th Annual event, they’ll be featuring over 50 wineries, 20 local restaurants, a beer garden with 10 breweries as well as an Artisan Market featuring local vendors and food and wine booths. There are two tickets options, general admission and VIP. Grab the general admission ticket ($80) and receive a 6-bottle tote bag as well as a plate and glass for your seminars. Snag the VIP ticket ($125) for the exclusive deal of your own deluxe wine tote, presentations and service from the sommeliers and chefs, wait in no lines and have access to the VIP area. What a steal! A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Nashville Symphony. Stop by the Rose Garden for a perfect photo op for your memories!
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Location:
250 5th Avenue South | Omni Nashville Hotel
Date:
April 25
Times:
Saturday | 12pm – 4pm
NASHVILLE NIGHTLIFE DINNER THEATRE
Stop by Nashvilles #1 spot for dinner and entertainment, Nashville Nightlife. Celebrate country music, both the present and the past with live musical performers from local artists and special guests. Along with the show, enjoy a wonderful spread of an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet including fried chicken, ribs, fish, pasta, baked potatoes and of course, cobbler for dessert. This venue can seat up to 300 people so be ready to make some friends. There are various payment options depending on your preferences such as “show only” tickets and others including meals with those tickets starting at $48.95 a person. With up to 4 shows a week, check out their website to plan one into your schedule! Doors open at 5:30pm and show starts at 6:30pm. Don’t be late!
Location:
2416 Music Valley Drive
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NASHVILLE COMEDY FESTIVAL
Looking for a good laugh? We’ve got a full week of gut-wrenching laughs with some of your favorite comedians. Some of the comedians you can see at the festival are Bill Burr, mostly known for his roles in Breaking Bad and Star Wars, as well as Rickey Smiley, radio personality that hosts the Rickey Smiley Morning Show. Some of the strong female comedians taking the stage are Whitney Cummings and Heather McMahan. Come get your dark humor fix with the guys of the Last Podcast on the Left. The venues you will find these events at are the Ryman Auditorium, Zanes, Tennessee Performing Arts Center – Polk Theatre and the War Memorial Auditorium. Each show sells their own tickets for each venue which can be found on their website. No matter your style, there’s plenty of funny to go around.Follow them on FacebookDates: April 13th – 19th BUY TICKETSSEVIER PARK FEST
Like many major cities, Nashville is made of mini neighborhoods and suburbs. Sevier Park Fest is an annual celebration that celebrates the Hillsboro, Belmont and 12 South neighborhoods’ local artists, makers and musicians. This festival features over 100 local vendors, a Criterium Race, food trucks, hot wing eating contest, community workouts and of course, live music. There will be two stages, Sunnyside and Hilltop Stages, so be sure to bring a blanket to relax. The hot wing eating contest is put on by local BBQ spot, Edley’s Bar-B-Que. Join the criterium race for the chance to win up to $500! There are different categories depending on gender and time so check out their website for a complete breakdown. A general admission ticket is $12. This is a community event so they ask that everyone bike or take public transportation to the event to keep it very local. If you want to live and explore Nashville the way the locals do, this would be a good place to start.Follow them on FacebookLocation: 3021 Lealand LnDate: May 1st | 4am – 10pmMay 2nd | 9am – 6pm BUY TICKETSNASHVILLE FASHION WEEK
Fashion exists everywhere with a strong influence of place and time. Nashville Fashion Week features local, regional and national designers as well as a learning workshop and promotions. The event will take place at Oz Arts Nashville, which has featured art including dance, live storytelling, choir shows and other unique forms of art presentation. Each night show starts at 6:30pm. There are different attendance options depending on preference; standing, seated as well as VIP options including backstage access and other exclusive behind the scenes extras. You’ll have the opportunity to see many designers and their collections as they make their way down the runway. They also offer a learning opportunity on March 26 at the Tennessee State Museum. At this free event, you’ll learn about fashion and how it’s affected social change, specifically with women’s suffrage. Student designers get the opportunity of showing off their modern interpretation of their new exhibit, “Ratified! Tennessee Women and the Right to Vote”.. You’ll also be the first to visit this exhibit before its debut on March 27. Get your fix on all things fashion at Nashville Fashion Week!
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Location:
6172 Cockrill Bend Cir
Date:
March 31 – April 4
NASHVILLE CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
The Cherry Blossom Festival is celebrating it’s 12th year, bringing light to a project started in 2009 to plant over 1,000 cherry trees within ten years, which was accomplished! This festival is a celebration of Japanese culture and the start of spring. Kicking off the festival is the Cherry Blossom Walk, which follows along the Cumberland River and the greenway. There’s no registration and it starts at 9:30am. Along with the walk, you’ll find sumo suit wrestling, a cosplay contest and and a puppy adoption parade. If you’ve got a knack for costume design, the cosplay contest is a fun way to bring your creativity into your vacation. All of the rules and requirements are on their website. There will be plenty of vendors and performances, including traditional Japanese music and dance, artists and exhibitors. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this new staple in Nashville.
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Location:
Nashville Public Sqaure
Date:
April 4
Times:
- Cherry Blossom Walk | 9:30 a.m
- Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival | 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
RAGIN’ CAJUN CRAWFISH BOIL
Get your food and wine on with the Nashville Food and Wine Festival! Educate and surround yourself with top sommeliers and chefs from all over. Celebrating their 7th Annual event, they’ll be featuring over 50 wineries, 20 local restaurants, a beer garden with 10 breweries as well as an Artisan Market featuring local vendors and food and wine booths. There are two tickets options, general admission and VIP. Grab the general admission ticket ($80) and receive a 6-bottle tote bag as well as a plate and glass for your seminars. Snag the VIP ticket ($125) for the exclusive deal of your own deluxe wine tote, presentations and service from the sommeliers and chefs, wait in no lines and have access to the VIP area. What a steal! A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Nashville Symphony. Stop by the Rose Garden for a perfect photo op for your memories!Location: 592 South 1st StreetDate: May 16thTimes: 4pm – 9pm BUY TICKETSTIN PAN SOUTH
Do you have a passion for music or songwriting? Tin Pan South is the worlds largest songwriter festival and one of a kind. Celebrating their 28th year, this festival brings songwriters together for performances, seminars and an up-close experience with the artists behind some of your favorite songs. Over the 5 days, there will be over 100 shows at different venues across Music City. Some of the venues include Fat Kat Slims, 3rd and Lindsey and the Listening Room café. Some of these venues hosted the beginning careers of celebrities like Taylor Swift and Blake Shelton. Some legendary performers over the years are Donna Summer and Art Garfunkel. This event truly gives you the musical experience you would expect from Nashville. The community of songwriters are like family and they put that energy into their work and your experience. Door admission can range from $10 – $30, depending on show and venue. Take a look at their website for their full schedule and add this festival to your vacation plans. You won’t regret it!Follow on FacebookDate: March 24th-28th BUY TICKETSCHEEKWOOD IN BLOOM
Natural beauty deserves its time to shine. Tennessee is one of the most beautiful states when it comes to its land. The Cheekwood Estate and Gardens is a mansion with 55 acres of non-stop beauty. It serves as a botanical garden and art museum. Every year, over 150,000 bulbs will bloom at their annual event, Cheekwood in Bloom. Every weekend from March 7 – April 5, there will be music, tours, a Spring Art Hop, Cheekwood Beer Garden and plenty actiuvites to give you the full experience of the state in full “spring”. The mansion was built in the early 1930’s and is one of the few places that represents the American Country era. Cheekwood now a non-profit program and has so much history to offer. On some of the tours, you’ll find horticultural displays, 12 district gardens and original furnishings of the mansion that have been made into art displays. Get a good taste of history here in Tennesee and witness the beauty that is Nashville in the spring.
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Location:
1200 Forrest Park Drive
Date:
March 7th – April 16th
ADVENTUREWORKS
Take a trip off of the beaten path and enjoy the beauty of Nashville’s countryside with the folks over at Adventureworks. They offer adventure opportunities including zip lines and aerial adventure courses on a 40 acre ridge top located near Harpeth State Park. Their Couple’s Adventure, which happens every second Saturday of the month, will challenge you and your partner to work together and communicate on this 6 hour course. Did we mention they feed you lunch? On the moonlight tour, you’ll zip through the forest in the evening right at dusk and into the night. This event happens once a month so check out their website for a full schedule. Their most popular experiences are the Zip Tours and the Aerial Adventure Course. On the Zip Tours, you’ll zip ridge to ridge, on up to 9 zip lines at 85 feet high! Walk, climb and swing on the Aerial Adventure Course using cables, ropes, and logs to complete your mission. Both tours are 90 minutes long. If your looking for a nature activity, this is the one for you. Grab your hiking gear and go on an adventure!
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Location:
1300 Narrows of the Harper Road
LOCAL TASTES OF NASHVILLE
Having trouble deciding where to eat? Well you can have it all with a walking food tour put on by the Local Tastes Of Nashville. They have two different tours, giving you two neighborhoods of Nashville to choose from. Take the Germantown Tour for a more historical approach to food in the region. Germantown was the first neighborhood in Nashville, home to award winning restaurants. Start at the farmer’s market and make your way through Bicentennial Capitol Park where you’ll see and outdoor museum of Tennesse’s history along with the popular Carillon Bells. Then, make your way done to historic Germantown and try food from places like B&C Barbecue and Waldo’s chicken, serving some of Nashville’s staple dishes. They also offer the Gulch Tour. Start at Union Station Hotel, originally a train station, and make your way down to the Gulch. You’ll stop at 5 popular restaurants and specialty shops including Biscuit Love and Saint Anejo, 2 restaurants featured on our Brunch Guide Blog. They ask that if anyone in your group has dietary restrictions to let them know at time of purchase. Book a tour with Local Tastes of Nashville, they’ll take good care of your tummy!
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Location:
1001 Broadway