News

The Winning Formula for You Are So Nashville If... contest

Submissions are open through June 27th for the Scene's Annual 'You Are So Nashville If ...' As a service for Weekly What readers, we analyzed the 30 past winners and have come up with the winning formula for YASNI entries.

Winning topics:

• Country music (5 winners)
• Local celebrities (4 winners)
• Crime (4 winners)
• Gay (4 winners)
• Acronym wordplay (3 winners)
• Growth/Development (3 winners)
• Southern-fried ignorance (3 winners)
• Mayoral romantic scandals (2 winners)
• Local landmark (2 winners)
• Religious sanctimony (2 winners)
• Neighborhoods (2 winners)

With those results in mind, here’s our suggested formula for a winner:

• Local landmark + country musician + crime + new development
• Mayoral election + acronym + neighborhood + southern-fried ignorance + gay
• Country music song + overcrowded city + religious sactimony

Also consider adding these hot topics in your entry: Scooters, Old Town Road, Cherry trees, high rise apartments, Cade Cothren, NFL Draft

The Batch Starter Story

Starter Story interviewed Batch co-founder Sam Davidson to learn about the story behind Batch. In this interview, Sam tells how Batch got started, how Batch has grown, and how the business runs today.

There are many more inspiring stories that provide specific advice and insight into starting a business at Starter Story. Check out the interview with Zack Fleishman—his company is Shark Wheel, and they literally reinvented the wheel.

Shop Fresh & Local - Farmers Markets in Nashville

Fresh and local, farmers markets are in season. Nashville has a bumper crop of farmers markets all over town. They are a great destination for getting the tasty produce and buying from farmers means you get to know the people growing your food. Here’s a list of a few in Davidson county and a review from a happy visitor.

Nashville Farmers’ Market - Open every day with really busy weekends

“We went to the Farmers Market last weekend and again this weekend! We LOVE it!! Produce is wonderful and just like everyone else in this beautiful state, people are so friendly and helpful! Food court is good and even heard some live music while eating. Love the market and will be back as often as possible!!”

East Nashville Farmers Market - Tuesdays 3:30PM  – 6:30PM

Great atmosphere! Great options---fruits, veggies, fresh flowers, jams, jellies, nuts, etc. And a great playground for the children. I loved it!

12 South Farmers Market - Tuesdays 4PM – 7PM

“12 South offers such a great variety of meats, produce and dairy farmers, along with beautiful artisan products as well! I love the live music, family atmosphere and all-around fun for everyone!”

Amqui Station Farmers Market - Sundays 11AM – 2PM  

“Our family loves going to the Farmers Market at Amqui Station. There's always an excellent selection of fruits and veggies at reasonable prices!”

Farmin in the Hall - Thursdays 4:30 PM to 7 PM

“This market is very family-oriented with a friendly, local atmosphere. Excellent live music, food trucks, and local vendors and artisans.”

Goodlettsville Farmers Market - Thursday 3PM – 7PM

“Lots of healthy, clean food here. Beautiful setting.”

Hip Donelson Farmers Market - Fridays 4PM – 7PM

“The Hip Donelson Farmers Market is TREWLY a special place. It is the epicenter of a vibrant, loving, kind, compassionate area of Nashville. Every single person that works so hard to make Hip D the wonderful place it is should be so proud at what they have built!”

Vanderbilt Farmer’s Market - Thursdays 1:30PM – 5PM

The market is located on the medical center plaza outside Langford Auditorium.

Richland Park Farmers Market - Saturdays 9 AM – 12:30 PM

“It was a great mix of vendors & very relaxing atmosphere. Dogs allowed which is always a plus in my book. Picked up treats for my furbabies.”

Nashville Summer Concert Calendar

Save the date, pack a picnic, and grab the family for these ongoing and upcoming outdoor summer concerts:

• Musician’s Corner - Now-June 29, Friday nights and Saturday afternoons, Centennial Park
• Nashville Symphony Community Concert - Thursday, June 6, 7:30pm, Centennial Park (other spots around Middle Tennessee during June)
• Jazz On The Cumberland Concert Series - June-October, Sundays, 5:30pm-8:00pm, Nashville Cumberland Park
• Fan Fair (CMA Music Festival - June 6-10) features five stages with free live music plus many opportunities to pay to see the stars (babies and children under two years old can attend CMA Fest for free and without a pass or ticket)
• Sunset Concert Series in Springfield - First Fridays, 6:30pm, Historic Springfield Square. Don’t miss ‘80s tribute Bueller on July 5th.
• Pack the car (a ticket is for a carload with up to 8 guests) for Bluebird on the Mountain Concerts - June-September, mostly on the 4th Saturday, sunset)
• The Cornelia Fort Pickin’ Party doesn’t kickoff (pickoff?) until July 27 but go ahead and save the dates (July 27, August 24, Sept 21, Oct 5)

Free Parking in Nashville

Peak Parking If you have lived in Nashville for more than 10 years, you woulda’ shoulda’ coulda’ bought land or another house in the city—whether for a home flip or an AirBnB. Now that Music City is full and the only place to go is up, the debate over parking has reached a tipping point. It’s nearly impossible to park downtown for free (and even the airport is raising parking prices). The mayor is in talks to privatize its own parking enforcement(George Bluth was right - there’s money in the banana stand - er - parking booth). So what’s a motorist to do?

If you’re not taking a rideshare into downtown, then keep in mind these free parking options close to the core (while supplies last and trust us but verify - we aren't paying for your towing):

• After 6pm in the capitol parking lots and on Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Blvd. from 4th-7th.
• After 6pm on Hillsboro Village on 21st
• 12South (until it's all owned by J. Crew subsidiaries)
• In front of Hume Fogg (after school pick up)
• Germantown street parking
• Cumberland Park parking lot at the foot of the John Seigenthaler pedestrian bridge
• Nashville Farmers’ Market (our favorite)

Sewing classes for kids from Elvie Creations

Elvie Creations summer camps are "sew" fun for beginner sewist up to those ready to sew their own flint pants. With themes ranging from the basics of sewing, to stuffed animal design, to Harry Potter and superhero sewing, your little sewer will be on their way to larger projects.

Bluegrass under a Full Moon

The Full Moon Pickin' Party is a chance to enjoy some of Nashville's best bluegrass under the stars and, er, full moon. Join the  Friends of Warner Parks on the next six full-moon adjacent Friday nights starting with May 17th. Pickers with an approved bluegrass instrument get a discounted ticket. Bonus event what: come out to Night Market.

Nashville Murals: Explore Street Art in Nashville

Tourists are flocking to Nashville at an ever-increasing rate (15.2 million visitors in 2018—up +4.8% over 2017) and most of them will wait in line to have their picture taken in front of the #WhatLiftsYou mural in the Gulch. Now that everyone is posting their best life on Instagram, murals are the must-have backdrops. Taylor Swift recently announced that she was going to announce something (warning: autoplay video) in front of a temporary Kelsey Montaguemural in the Gulch. New murals emerge all of the time thanks to local street artists and Nashville Walls Project’s mission to bring street artists to Nashville for mural projects. Surprisingly, there remain “unmuraled” walls (the Farmers’ Market, for instance) for those who want to leave their mark. For aspiring muralists, Metro has put together an in-depth guide for making murals in Nashville.

Need to find a new favorite mural? Here are some helpful maps:

• Kristin Luna has compiled an extensive mural list with photos on her blog.
• This map compiled by Fox17 is an (in)complete list of murals around town (we’re not throwing shade because it’s impossible to keep up with all of them).
• Metro Arts has a web/app/thing called exploreartsnashville.org that shows public art and street art.
• The Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp has a collection of Insta mural photos.
• The Y has made two mural runs (eastside or plain) if you choose to get off of your scooter, you can get some exercise while checking out murals.

See how Nashville’s street art scene compares to the 19 of the Best Cities in America for Street Art.

Best Mother’s Day Brunch in Nashville

Weekly What - Issue #3

Nashville What

Is that a catfish in your pocket or are you just happy it’s playoff time? Nashville's current hockey begins their Stanley Cup hunt against the Dallas Stars with Game 1 at 8:30 p.m. tonight at Bridgestone. While trips to the playoffs are becoming as routine asnew downtown construction, Nashville's hockey success really dates back more than 50 years. Nashville's first hockey team, theDixie Flyers, won back-to-back championships in 1965-'66 and 1966-'67 coached by John McClellan from South Porcupine, Ontario. No word if "instruments of crime" were used back then.

Food & Drink What

Local Dynamic Duo, Edley’s Bar-B-Que and Yazoo Brewing Company have created Edley’s IPA, Yazoo’s first beer collaboration with a restaurant. Go to Edley’s to try the dry-hopped, fruity brew, geared towards the IPA-curious drinker. Try it with the Tuck Special, voted best sandwich in Nashville.

Maker What

White’s Elixirs has a new potion just in time for Mint Julep month. And they even weighed in on our blog with some little known mint julep facts.

Event What(s)

What’s so funny? The Nashville Comedy Festival continues through the weekend. With over 35 comedians performing around town, this festival is no laughing matter.

Night club comedy not your what? This Saturday is packed with opportunities to enjoy the spring weather:

• Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival
• Dogs and Dogwoods at Cheekwood
• Annual Herb and Plant Sale
• East Nashville Beer Festival
• Record Store Day at Grimey’s

Bonus What

Order our official shirt of the summer before everyone else does