Nashville, Tennessee is not called “The Music City” for nothing and one of the most highly anticipated events since 2009 is the local music festival Live on the Green. The 6 week concert series happens every year beginning in August where both local and international bands play on a stay at Public Square Park downtown for 6 weeks in a row. The best part? It’s FREE. Fans and tourists; newcomers to the city and natives; even people from all over the united states flock to the city to experience the event that is just another reason why Nashville is called “The Music City.” And it is fantastic.
At week one of 2014’s Live on the Green, audiences were treated to an exhilarating opening to the 6 week concert series presented by Nashville’s Lightning 100 radio station. Week one started off with a set from Spanish Gold, followed by local band The Weeks, and it finished off with the headlining band City and Colour.
Spanish Gold kicked off the evening with their most popular songs along with some newer tracks to jazz up the crowed as the inaugural Live on the Green band. With the almost perfect weather and sun setting behind them, their set played out to be an ideal experience for all fans in attendance. You almost couldn’t ask for a better setting to begin the outdoor concert.
The Weeks were by far the best performance of the evening. They opened with their hit single “The House We Grew Up In” and it rocked the fucking house public square park. If there was anyone in the mass of 20,000 people in the audience not excited, The Weeks got their bodies moving. They followed up with a mix between favorite hits and deep tracks. Towards the end of their set, they treated their fans to brand new songs from a forthcoming album. To say these songs were crowd-pleasing would be an understatement. They ended the hour and a half set with their current single, “Buttons,” which easily blew the crowd away. It is rare to see a local band that sounds as good live as they do on a recording but The Weeks accomplishes that and more.
The headlining band for week one was City and Colour and it is no surprise that as it got closer to their set, the audience started crowding towards to stage. Everyone wanted to be as near as possible to the folksy indie group. They spent they next hour and half serenading the audience with delicate melodies and brilliant ballads.
If you live in Nashville but have never been to Live on the Green or if you are new to the city, take an evening off and get out of the house and go. You can’t beat free and you never know who you will meet. With over 20,000 people in attendance so far this year, this event is a great chance to get out and meet people, make new friends, and listen to some amazing free live music. It really doesn’t get much better than that. Oh wait, there are a TON of puppies and dogs there. So it does kind of get better doesn’t it?
Week two (August 21) of Live on the Green presented by Lightning 100 features Goodbye June, Wild Cub, and The Head and the Heart.
You can see an album of photos from week one below.
