According to the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC), CMA Fest and “Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th” 2024 experienced record-breaking numbers in visitor spending. Stadium concerts have also helped to drive leisure visitation this year.

“Nashville’s tourism economy, built on our vibrant live music scene, is truly a driving force of our city’s success,” says Deana Ivey, NCVC President & CEO. “It creates jobs, generates tax revenue, boosts our local businesses and supports our musicians and creative culture. We’re thrilled to see our major-event strategy leading to record-breaking visitor spending and hotel room nights sold.”

CMA Fest, which took place June 6–9, generated $77.3 million in estimated direct visitor spending, 3.5% more than the 50th anniversary celebration last year. Almost 90,000 fans from across all 50 states and 46 countries attended the event daily. The average travel party size was 3.4 people, spending $3,608 and staying five nights. About half of attendees indicated they traveled by air, and 11.4% of visitors surveyed were international. The number of downtown rooms sold over the four-day function was up nearly 5% over last year, and the occupancy rate downtown peaked at 93.5% on Friday night (June 7). The top five feeder states outside of Tennessee were Florida, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and California.

“Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th,” the free Independence Day concert and fireworks show, resulted in the most hotel nights ever booked on July 4 in Davidson County with 27,136 rooms filled. The spectacle, which included drone lights for the first time, amassed $17.5 million in vistor spending. The crowd of approximately 355,000 marked a 42% increase compared to last year.

Additionally, Morgan Wallen‘s stint at Nissan Stadium during the first weekend May helped to set an all-time record for hotel sales, alongside a Predators’ home playoff game and numerous college and university graduations, with more than 75,500 hotel rooms booked-the most ever in the city’s history for a Friday and Saturday.

The weekend of June 28-29 was the second-best weekend on record in terms of hotel-room demand with a total of 74,983 rooms sold, a 13% increase compared that same weekend last year. Driving visitation was Zach Bryan‘s concert at Nissan Stadium on June 29, resulting in downtown hotel occupancy of 97.4% that day, along with the Ally 400 Nascar Cup Series at Nashville Superspeedway.

Gulf Coast Jam presented by Jim Beam has unveiled Lainey Wilson and Sam Hunt as its first headliners for the 2025 festival.

The four-day event wrapped up last month with a sold out crowd. Choreographed drones announced that Wilson was the initial headliner for the upcoming year. Following the announcement, organizers revealed Hunt as the second of four headliners.

“Lainey has just exploded the past couple of years, and we were so excited to announce her as the first of four headliners for next year,” says festival Executive Producer Rendy Lovelady. “Sam Hunt has been one of our most requested artists, and we can’t wait to see him open the 2025 festival.”

This year’s festival, headlined by Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson and Parker McCollum, sold out before 2023 came to a close. With a fourth night added to the event to commemorate the festival’s 10 year anniversary in 2022, organizers made the decision to make the additional day a permanent part of the schedule moving forward.

“What better way to kick off our 2025 Festival than with the ACM Entertainer of the Year and Sam Hunt,” adds Gulf Coast Jam Presented by Jim Beam COO Mark Sheldon. “Every year just gets better and better, and having Lainey and Sam here is an amazing start.”

The upcoming Gulf Coast Jam presented by Jim Beam is set to take place in Panama City Beach May 30 through June 1, 2025, with additional headliners to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets are available now at www.gulfcoastjam.com.

Hardy Performs On Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Hardy appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week to perform “Psycho” from his recently released new LP, Quit!! The album is No.1 on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart and, with 24,000 units, comes in at No. 9 on Album Sales and No. 5 on Current Rock Albums charts. He also released the debut of a live deluxe edition of Quit!! and visuals for “Soul4Sale” featuring Fred Durst and “Psycho.”

 

Russell Dickerson Brings ‘Bones’ To GMA3

Russell Dickerson brought his newest single “Bones” to GMA3 last week. Penned by Dickerson, Chase McGill, Chris LaCorte and Parker Welling, “Bones” blends soul-mate symphonies with epic country devotion.

With over 77 adds at country radio, “Bones” is Dickerson’s biggest first week release; shattering his previous high of 52. He continues his time on the road this summer with performances at fairs, festivals, and shows across the country including dates on Sam Hunt’s “Locked Up Tour 2024” and will close the season headlining his “Good Day To Have A Great Tour” in the UK.

 

Grand Ole Opry Celebrates 30 Years Of Forrest Gump

The Grand Ole Opry celebrated the 30thanniversary of Paramount Pictures’ beloved classic Forrest Gump on a special sold-out Sunday Night Opry at the Opry House and the Opry debut of Gary Sinise & The Lt. Dan Band, who was introduced to the stage by a heartfelt video message from Tom Hanks. Additionally, the movie’s producer, Academy Award-winner Wendy Finerman, actor Mykelti Williamson, who portrayed the iconic character Bubba in the film, and Michael Conner Humphreys, who portrayed Forrest Gump as a young boy, each appeared as guest hosts.

The special Opry also featured Mandy Barnett, Madeline Edwards, The Gatlin Brothers, Scotty Hasting, Jamey Johnson, Gary LeVox, Scotty McCreery, and Stolen Silver performing songs from the 12-times Platinum-selling movie soundtrack. Additionally, the live audience was treated to clips of the movie throughout the show. A sold-out post-show event was held in the Opry House’s Studio A and featured a Q&A discussion of 30 years of Forrest Gump with Sinise (Lt. Dan), Williamson (Bubba), Humphreys (young Forrest Gump) and producer Finerman as well as photo ops on the iconic park bench seen in numerous scenes from the film.

 

Green Hill Music Tributes Three Decades Of Business At Anniversary Party

Green Hill Music held its 30th anniversary celebration July 13 in partnership with the Nashville Jazz Workshop. The evening was filled with heartfelt tributes and was attended by a crowd of music enthusiasts and industry professionals.

Green Hill artists performed including Roger Spencer, Lori Mechem, Jack Jezzro, Luke Woodle, Sam Levine, Jaimee Paul, Matt Belsante and Phillip Keveren. The evening closed out with a heartfelt video tribute and performances of songs by the late Beegie Adair. Adair, a towering figure in the jazz world, was remembered for her virtuosic piano skills and her impact on the music community as an educator and mentor. Her contributions to the Nashville Jazz Workshop and enduring legacy were celebrated through a lineup of emotional performances, underscoring her lasting influence on the jazz scene.

Post Malone has added two Texas dates to his “F-1 Trillion Tour.”

A show at Houston’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Oct. 22 and a performance at Austin’s Germania Insurance Amphitheatre on Oct. 26 now round out the journey, kicking off in September.

With Citi serving as the official card of the “F-1 Trillion Tour,” Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets for the Texas dates starting tomorrow (July 31) at 10 a.m. local time until Thursday (Aug. 1) at 11:59 p.m. local time through the Citi Entertainment program. Fans can also sign up for access to another presale that begins Thursday at 10 a.m. local time, ahead of the general sales starting Friday (Aug. 2) at 10 a.m. local time. For more information, click here.

Before hitting the road on his headlining run, the global sensation will unveil his debut country album, F-1 Trillion, which includes recently-released single “Guy For That (feat. Luke Combs)” as well as “Pour Me A Drink (feat. Blake Shelton)” and history-making hit “I Had Some Help” with Morgan Wallen.