Vector Management’s Ken Levitan, Andy Mendelsohn, C3 Presents, Kings of Leon and chef Jonathan Waxman kicked-off opening day of ticket sales for the Sept. 20-21 second annual Music City Food + Wine Festival at Nashville’s Peg Leg Porker yesterday (May 13).

Mayor Karl Dean welcomed the industry gathering, giving kudos to Levitan’s community involvement, noting his A+, tremendous work as a Nashville citizen.
“We are looking forward to building upon the success of the inaugural year with more chefs from Nashville and across the South,” Waxman continued. “The food should be even more exciting and diverse this year.”
Over 30 tasting sessions, cooking demonstrations, book signings and panel discussions are planned from national and local culinary experts, including Trisha Yearwood, for September afternoons at Public Square Park. A Harvest Night evening dinner will again bring signature dishes to the Walk of Fame Park. Music will pair with the evening’s dishes, curated by Kings of Leon.

Ticket options include Single Day Passes ($150 per person), Harvest Night Pass ($225 per person) or All-In Pass ($500 per person). A full cooking demo schedule will be released in June. Panelists and moderators will be announced in July. The Grand Taste schedule will be available in August. A lineup of musical guests will be revealed in summer.
Read MusicRow‘s recap of the 2013 events here.
Chefs planned to attend September’s events include:
Sean Brock (Husk) and Lisa Donovan (Buttermilk Road & Husk Nashville)
Kahlil Arnold (Arnold’s Country Kitchen)
Roderick Bailey (The Silly Goose)
Matt Bolus (404 Kitchen)
Carey Bringle (Peg Leg Porker)
Tyler Brown (Capitol Grille)
Larry Carlile (Silo)
Trey Cioccia (The Farm House)
Daniel Dillingham & George Harvell (Loveless Café)
Matt Farley (The Southern Steak & Oyster)
Jay Flatley (Tavern)
Sarah Gavigan (Otaku South)
Robert Grace (Kayne Prime)
Josh Habiger (Pinewood Social)
Hal M. Holden-Bache (Lockeland Table)
John Lasater (Hattie B’s Hot Chicken)
Andrew Little (Josephine)
Pat Martin (Martin’s BBQ)
Todd Alan Martin (The Treehouse)
Margot McCormack (Marché & Margot Café & Bar)
Trevor Moran (Catbird Seat)
Arnold Myint (Suzy Wongs, PM, blvd)
 Deb Paquette (Etch)
James Peisker & Chris Carter (Porter Road Butcher)
Nick Pellegrino (Mangia Nashville)
Charles Phillips (1808 Grille)
Giovanni Francescotti(Giovanni Ristorante)
Barclay Stratton (Merchant’s Restaurant)
Tandy Wilson (City House)
Karl Worley (Biscuit Love Truck)
Celebrity chefs include:
Aarón Sánchez
Michael Symon
Tyler Florence
Andrew Zimmern
Regional chefs include:
North Carolina’s Ashley Christensen
Memphis’ Michael Hudman & Andy Ticer
South Carolina’s Mike Lata
Texas’ Tim Love
New Orleans’ Alon Shaya
Louisville’s Levon Wallace
Masaharu Morimoto
Jonathan Waxman
Frank Stitt
Amanda Freitag

Reba McEntire took an opportunity yesterday morning (May 13) to welcome a crowd of impressionable Middle Tennessee youth to the CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where her All the Women I Am exhibit is nearing conclusion (June 22).
Titled All Access: Reba McEntire, 700 privileged pupils from Apollo Middle School, Cameron Middle School, Cane Ridge High School, Coopertown Middle School, I.T. Creswell Middle Arts Magnet School, John Early Museum Magnet Middle School, Smyrna Middle School, Watertown Elementary School and homeschool students were able to question the queen of Country during a 90-minute program, aimed at providing students a way to interact and work with world-class musicians and artists.
Addressing a largely post-millennial audience, McEntire treated the crowd with adapted anecdotes from “the good ole days,” which her grandson refers to as “the nineteen’s.” Some students were more familiar with her career history than others. One student mistakenly thought the Reba TV show originated on CMT (where it currently airs), but others recalled her 1994 appearance as A.J. Ferguson in Little Rascals.
McEntire, who presumed she would have been a second grade school teacher had stardom not panned out, reminisced of the lessons she has gained through the life she ended up leading. “One thing I learned growing up on a cattle ranch was how to take direction,” she said. “I learned the same thing playing sports. I wasn’t a good basketball player, but I learned from taking direction. And when I started doing the [Reba] TV show, that’s one thing the directors always said: ‘Reba works hard, and she takes direction well.’ So that’s what I’ve learned.
“Whatever you do in life, just remember that it takes a great team,” McEntire said, mentioning all the family members and associates who helped her along the way and continue to boost her career today. “That team is what gets you where you are. I didn’t get here by myself. It takes lots and lots of help.”
On finding her own voice, McEntire commented that her mother told her, ‘There’s only one Dolly [Parton], there’s only one Loretta [Lynn], you have got to be Reba.’”

Students engaged with inquisitive questions about life on a tour bus (answer: she prefers a jet), how to handle nerves on stage (be prepared), the most outrageous thing that has happened on stage (ripping her britches over a stage monitor), and her favorite Country artist (Dolly Parton).
Even more pertinent questions were aimed at adolescent curiosities–what inspired her to become a singer (attention), were her parents supportive of a singing career (yes), how does she deal with stress (walk outside), and how difficult was it to leave parents for the road (hard, until you make friends with band and crew).
Afterwards, classes were able to view the museum exhibits.