by Jayme Foltz | Jun 29, 2021 | Arts and Entertainment, COVID-19, News Slider
COVID left most Tennessee residents and tourists and performers saying goodbye to the 2020 entertainment scene in Nashville. Now, it’s 2021. Forty-five percent of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated and 53% of the population has received one dose of the vaccine. As the world continues to slowly go back to normal, so does Music City. With venues being reopened, artists getting out of the studios and their homes and fans ready to cheer, big name concerts and festivals are making a grand comeback to Tennessee. Here’s a sampling: Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th @ Downtown Nashville – July 4 The free concert is the city’s first major post-pandemic event and will be headlined by country music star Brad Paisley. Lily Hiatt, Regi Wooten and Friends, Priscilla Block, and more will also take the stage. The event will also feature the Nashville Symphony in a synchronized performance with what officials are heralding as the largest fireworks display in Nashville’s history. Lifest Music City @ Hideaway Farm – July 29-31 Originating in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Lifest extends Music City for the very first time with Lifest Music City. The Christian music festivals are presented by nonprofit organization Life Promotions, focused on supporting mental health and wellness in today’s youth. With three days filled with music and fun, Lifest gives the option to its concert goers to camp on the festival grounds. The festival will include performances from Newsboys, Skillet, Lecrae, Sidewalk Prophets, Mandisa, Matthew West, Michael W. Smith, and more. Luke Bryan @ Bridgestone Arena – July 30 Fresh off his third ACM Entertainer of the...
by Cavin Jacobson | Jun 28, 2019 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Tradition, tradition. Bartlett Sher’s rendition of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is the 21st-century update for a tale about tradition. Sher’s 2015 reboot is currently on its national tour and is at the TPAC June 25-30. This classic musical brings the difficulties of facing changes to long-standing traditions to a younger audience with a story that still resonates despite moving away from its historical period. ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is a musical comedy set during the beginning of the Russian Revolution of 1905. The story follows a poor Jewish dairyman named Tevye (played by Yehezkel Lazarov in this production) as he confronts defiance of Jewish tradition among his three eldest daughters. Tevye’s story begins with him, as the patriarch of his family and having the most control in his household. He immediately starts losing control when his horse suffers an injury and he is forced to pull his milk-wagon himself. The play takes us through his life as he deals with the loss of control among his family — and how his love for his family helps him overcome his ties to tradition — or almost overcome it, as Tevye says, “Some things do not change for us. Some things will never change.” The original play was first performed on Broadway in 1964 and amass critical success it found many fans. This 2015 rendition of the 60’s hit, however, makes some noticeable changes to original Broadway hit. Some of these include turning Tevye into more of comedic relief and lessens the stage time for the younger two daughters’ stories. These changes, as well as others, had some waxing nostalgia for...
by Mckenzi Harris | Jun 11, 2019 | Arts and Entertainment, Galleries, News Slider
Lipscomb alums Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini were the hosts for CMA Fest’s biggest stage: Nissan Stadium, where country music’s biggest stars performed to four nights to fans from all over the world. Their hosting chores will be showcased again when the highlights of the performances on CMA’s biggest stage will be broadcast by ABC later this summer. While Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley and Brantley Gilbert loaded on the star power, it was rapper Lil Nas X who captured the stage and perhaps the festival itself when he and Billy Ray Cyrus teamed up for their “Old Town Road,” the surprise hit that has topped the charts for more than two months. Lending his able hands to the duo was Keith Urban. Other special guests included rock legend Joan Jett, HARDY, Midland and many others. This was “CMA Fest’s 48th year of connecting fans with Country Music artists” according to the website. The festival fell on a temperamental weekend for weather, and caused delays in both the daytime and nightly shows. Despite the rain coming down multiple evenings. CMA Fest 2019 sold out four straight nightly shows and met capacity crowds throughout the weekend. “Attendees were more engaged than ever before with users of The Official CMA Fest App up 15 percent year-over-year, spending an average of 15 minutes per session during the four days of the festival and scheduling nearly 700,000 events,” according to the CMA. This year’s three-hour primetime television special will air at 7 p.m. August 4 on ABC, Channel 2 in Nashville. In addition to Rhett and Ballerini, that broadcast will include Bobby Bones, host...
by Mckenzi Harris | Apr 29, 2019 | Galleries, News Slider
Lipscomb’s SGA put on the annual spring concert Saturday night, featuring the headliner, Johnnyswim. The couple, Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano formed their duo in 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. During the concert, the indie-folk duo introduced their new album Moonlight and shared stories of their journey in the music industry, as well as Ramirez’ experience as a Nashville resident and former Trevecca student. Sudano shared the couple’s love story, followed by Ramirez serenading her with a song on their new album titled “Amanda.” After the song, Sudano shared the first time Ramirez saw her. “That’s the woman I’m going to marry,” Ramirez said, remembering the first time he saw Sudano. He added that his previous girlfriend broke up with him “on the spot.” The couple closed the concert by entering the crowd and standing on the chairs in the center of Collins Alumni Auditorium amidst the crowd of students....
by Erin Turner | Aug 13, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Christian music artists, fans and community members will return to Music City this fall to unite for the 46th Annual GMA Dove Awards show, “Better Together.” “Since 1969, the GMA Dove Awards has honored the outstanding achievement and excellence of our music community,” GMA executive director Jackie Patillo said in a press release. “We hope to bring much more light to our mission with this year’s ‘Better Together’ theme as we focus on unity, diversity and creativity and come together during this exciting time in our industry.” The awards show will be held under Lipscomb’s roof in Allen Arena for the third consecutive year on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The Gospel Music Association now calls Lipscomb home after holding the awards show in Atlanta. Most may know Nashville as home of country music, but it is now a hub for the Christian music industry as well. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, a press conference was held at which award nominations were announced and Mayor Karl Dean spoke about the importance of music in Nashville’s community. “Not only do we get to celebrate the diversity of the music in Nashville, but we also get to celebrate the fact that hundreds of music fans will be traveling here in October and they will get to see our city firsthand,” Dean said. “Music is one of the top econmic drivers we have. It is the city’s DNA and it is who we are.” Dean described the music industry as Nashville’s “econmic engine,” with 215 million people listening to Christian and Gospel music each month, for example. “Lipscomb, along with other campuses, is a huge part of the boom we’re...
