Nashville, Tennessee

"Nashville" and "Music City" redirect here. For other uses, see Nashville (disambiguation) and Music City (disambiguation).

Nashville, often known as Music City,^[9] is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. Located in Middle Tennessee, it had a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census.^[d] Nashville is the 21st most populous city in the United States, and the fourth most populous city in the southeastern U.S.^[6] Located on the Cumberland River,^[10] the city is the center of the Nashville metropolitan area, and is one of the fastest growing in the nation.^[11][12]

Nashville
State capital and consolidated city-county
Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
Downtown Nashville The Parthenon in Centennial Park AT&T Building Vanderbilt University Bridgestone Arena The Grand Ole Opry Tennessee State Capitol
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  Music City, Country Music Capital, Athens of the South, Nashvegas[1]
Show Nashville balance Show Tennessee Show the United States
Nashville Show map of Tennessee Nashville Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 36°09′44″N 86°46′28″W
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Davidson
Founded	1779; 245 years ago (1779)
Incorporated	1806; 218 years ago (1806)
City-county consolidation	1963; 61 years ago (1963)
Named for	Francis Nash
Government
• Mayor	Freddie O'Connell (D[a])
• Vice Mayor	Angie Henderson
Area [3]
• Consolidated	525.94 sq mi (1,362.2 km2)
• Land	504.03 sq mi (1,305.4 km2)
• Water	21.91 sq mi (56.7 km2)
Elevation [4]	554 ft (169 m)
Population  (2022)[b][5][6]
• Consolidated	715,884
• Rank	69th in North America 21st in the United States[c] 1st in Tennessee[c]
• Density	1,420.32/sq mi (548.39/km2)
• Urban	1,158,642 (US: 42nd)
• Urban density	1,980.7/sq mi (764.8/km2)
• Metro [7]	2,072,283 (US: 35th)
• Balance	689,447
Demonym	Nashvillian
GDP [8]
• Nashville (MSA)	$187.8 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	37201-37222, 37224, 37227-37230, 37232, 37234-37236, 37238, 37240-37244, 37246, 37250
Area codes	615 and 629
GNIS feature ID	1652484[4]
Website	nashville.gov

Named for Francis Nash, a general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, the city was founded in 1779 when this territory was still considered part of North Carolina. The city grew quickly due to its strategic location as a port on the Cumberland River and, in the 19th century, a railroad center. Nashville as part of Tennessee seceded during the American Civil War; in 1862 it was the first state capital in the Confederacy to be taken by Union forces. It was occupied through the war. After the war, the city gradually reclaimed its stature. It became a center of trade and developed a manufacturing base.

Since 1963, Nashville has had a consolidated city-county government, which includes six smaller municipalities in a two-tier system. The city is governed by a mayor, a vice-mayor, and a 40-member metropolitan council. Some 35 of the members are elected from single-member districts, while five are elected at-large. Reflecting the city's position in state government, Nashville is home to the Tennessee Supreme Court's courthouse for Middle Tennessee, one of the state's three divisions.

As of 2020, Nashville is considered a global city, type "Gamma" by the GaWC.^[13] The city is a major center for the music industry, especially country music. It is home to three major professional sports teams: the Predators, Titans, and Nashville SC. The city is also the home of many colleges and universities including Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt University, Belmont University, Fisk University, Trevecca Nazarene University, and Lipscomb University. Nashville is sometimes referred to as the "Athens of the South" due to the large number of educational institutions.^[14] The city is also a major center for the healthcare,^[15] publishing,^[16] banking,^[17] automotive,^[18] and technology^[19] industries. Entities with headquarters in the city include AllianceBernstein,^[20] Asurion,^[21] Bridgestone Americas,^[22] Captain D's,^[23] Concord, Gideons International, Hospital Corporation of America,^[24] LifeWay Christian Resources,^[25] Logan's Roadhouse,^[26] and Ryman Hospitality Properties.^[27]

History

Main article: History of Nashville, Tennessee

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Nashville, Tennessee.

18th and 19th centuries

In 1689, French-Canadian trader Martin Chartier established a trading post on the Cumberland River, near the present-day site of the city.^[28] In 1714, a group of French traders under the command of Charles Charleville established a settlement and trading post at the present location of downtown Nashville, which became known as French Lick. These settlers quickly established an extensive fur trading network with the local Native Americans, but by the 1740s the settlement had largely been abandoned.^[29]

In 1779, explorers James Robertson and John Donelson led a party of Overmountain Men to the site of French Lick, and constructed Fort Nashborough. It was named for Francis Nash, the American Revolutionary War hero. Nashville quickly grew because of its strategic location as a port on the Cumberland River, a tributary of the Ohio River; and its later status as a major railroad center. By 1800, the city had 345 residents, including 136 enslaved African Americans and 14 free African Americans.^[30] In 1806, Nashville was incorporated as a city and became the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. In 1843, the city was named as the permanent capital of the state of Tennessee. Knoxville, Kingston & Murfreesboro were prior locations of the state capital.^[31]

The city government of Nashville owned 24 slaves by 1831, and 60 prior to the Civil War. They were "put to work to build the first successful water system and maintain the streets."^[32] Auction blocks and brokers' offices were part of the slave market at the heart of the city.^[32] It was the center of plantations cultivating tobacco and hemp as commodity crops, in addition to the breeding and training of thoroughbred horses, and other livestock. For years Nashville was considered one of the wealthiest southern capitals and a large portion of its prominence was from the iron business. Nashville led the south for iron production.^[33]

Nashville riverfront shortly after the American Civil War

The cholera epidemic that struck Nashville in 1849–1850 took the life of former U.S. President James K. Polk and resulted in high fatalities. There were 311 deaths from cholera in 1849^[34][35] and an estimated 316 to about 500 in 1850.^[36]

Before the Civil War, about 700 free Blacks lived in small enclaves in northern Nashville. More than 3,200 enslaved African Americans lived in the city.^[37] By 1860, when the first rumblings of secession began to be heard across the South, antebellum Nashville was a prosperous city.

The city's significance as a shipping port and rail center made it a desirable prize for competing military forces that wanted to control the region's important river and railroad transportation routes. In February 1862, Nashville became the first Confederate state capital to fall to U.S. troops, and the state was occupied by the U.S. Army for the duration of the war. Many enslaved African Americans from Middle Tennessee fled as refugees to Union lines; they were housed in contraband camps around military installations in Nashville's eastern, western, and southern borders. The Battle of Nashville (December 15–16, 1864) was a significant Union victory and perhaps the most decisive tactical victory gained by either side in the war; it was also the war's final major military action in which Tennessee regiments played a large part on both sides of the battle. Afterward, the Confederates conducted a war of attrition, making guerrilla raids and engaging in small skirmishes. Confederate forces in the Deep South were almost constantly in retreat.

In 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, the Nashville chapter of the Ku Klux Klan was founded by Confederate veteran John W. Morton. He was reported to have initiated General Nathan Bedford Forrest into the white-sepremacist organization.^[38] The latter became Grand Wizard of the organization, which had chapters of this secret, insurgent group forming throughout the state and across the South. They opposed voting and political organizing by freedmen, tried to control their behavior by threats, violence and murder, and sometimes also attacked their White allies, including schoolteachers from the North and Freedman's Bureau officials.

Whites directed violence against freedmen and their descendants both during and after the Reconstruction era. Two freedmen, David Jones and Jo Reed, were lynched in Nashville by White mobs in 1872 and 1875, respectively.^[39][40] Reed was hanged from a bridge over the river, but survived after the rope broke and he fell into the water. He successfully escaped the city soon thereafter.^[41]

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville emerged as a beacon of hope and cultural pride. By 1871, this ensemble began touring the U.S. and Europe, earning international acclaim for their performances of Negro spirituals.^[42] Their success not only provided vital funding for their university^[43] but also marked Nashville as a significant center for African American music and culture, laying the groundwork for the city's enduring musical legacy.

In 1873, Nashville suffered another cholera epidemic, along with towns throughout Sumner County along railroad routes and the Cumberland River. This was part of a larger epidemic that struck the Mississippi Valley system and other areas of the United States, such as New York and towns along its major lakes and rivers. The epidemic is estimated to have killed around 1,000 people in Nashville,^[44] and 50,000 total.

View from the Tennessee State Capitol c. 1865

Meanwhile, the city had reclaimed its important shipping and trading position and developed a solid manufacturing base. The post–Civil War years of the late 19th century brought new prosperity to Nashville and Davidson County. Wealthy planters and businessmen built grand, classical-style buildings. A replica of the Parthenon was constructed in Centennial Park, near downtown.^[45]

On April 30, 1892, Ephraim Grizzard, an African-American man, was lynched in a spectacle murder in front of a European-American mob of 10,000 in Nashville. He was a suspect in the assault of two white sisters.^[46] His lynching was described by journalist Ida B. Wells as: "A naked, bloody example of the blood-thirstiness of the nineteenth century civilization of the Athens of the South."^[47] His brother, Henry Grizzard, had been lynched and hanged on April 24, 1892, in nearby Goodlettsville as a suspect in the same assault incident. From 1877 to 1950, a total of six lynchings of Blacks were conducted in Davidson County, four before the turn of the century.^[48]

Earlier 20th century

Depiction of Nashville skyline c. 1940s

By the turn of the century Nashville was home to numerous organizations and individuals associated with revisionist Lost Cause of the Confederacy pseudohistory, and it has been referred to as the "cradle of the Lost Cause."^[49] In 1893, the magazine Confederate Veteran began publication in the city.^[50] In 1894, the first chapter of United Daughters of the Confederacy was founded in the city, and it hosted the first two conventions of the organization.^[51] Prominent proponents of the mythology, the so-called "guardians of the Lost Cause," were concentrated Downtown and in the West End, near Centennial Park.^[49]

At the same time, Jefferson Street became the historic center of the African American community, with similar districts developing in the Black neighborhoods in East and North Nashville. In 1912, the Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial and Normal School was moved to Jefferson Street.^[37] The first Prince's Hot Chicken Shack originated at the corner of Jefferson Street and 28th Avenue in 1945.^[37] Jefferson Street became a destination for jazz and blues musicians,^[37] and remained so until the federal government split the area by construction of Interstate 40 in the late 1960s.^[52]

In 1925, the establishment of the Grand Ole Opry marked the beginning of Nashville's journey as the 'Country Music Capital of the World',^[53] drawing musicians and fans alike to the city and setting the stage for its future as a country music powerhouse.^[54]

In 1950, the state legislature approved a new city charter that provided for the election of city council members from single-member districts, rather than at-large voting. This change was supported because at-large voting required candidates to gain a majority of votes from across the city. The previous system prevented the minority population, which then tended to support Republican candidates, from being represented by candidates of their choice; apportionment under single-member districts meant that some districts in Nashville had Black majorities. In 1951, after passage of the new charter, African American attorneys Z. Alexander Looby and Robert E. Lillard were elected to the city council.^[55]

During the mid-1950s, Nashville underwent a musical transformation with the emergence of the 'Nashville Sound,' which was characterized by "smooth strings and choruses", "sophisticated background vocals" and "smooth tempos" associated with traditional pop.^[56][57] The new sound broadened country music's appeal and solidified Nashville's status as a music recording and production center.

With the United States Supreme Court ruling in 1954 that public schools had to desegregate with "all deliberate speed", the family of student Robert Kelley filed a lawsuit in 1956, arguing that Nashville administrators should open all-White East High School to him. A similar case was filed by Reverend Henry Maxwell due to his children having to take a 45-minute bus ride from South Nashville to the north end of the city. These suits caused the courts to announce what became known as the "Nashville Plan", where the city's public schools would desegregate one grade per year beginning in the fall of 1957.^[37]

Urban redevelopment accelerated over the next several decades, and the city grew increasingly segregated. An interstate was placed on the edge of East Nashville while another highway was built through Edgehill, a lower-income, predominantly minority community.^[37]

Postwar development to present

Rapid suburbanization occurred during the years immediately after World War II, as new housing was being built outside city limits. This resulted in a demand for many new schools and other support facilities, which the county found difficult to provide. At the same time, suburbanization led to a declining tax base in the city, although many suburban residents used unique city amenities and services that were supported financially only by city taxpayers. After years of discussion, a referendum was held in 1958 on the issue of consolidating city and county government. It failed to gain approval although it was supported by the then-elected leaders of both jurisdictions, County Judge Beverly Briley and Mayor Ben West.^[58]

Following the referendum's failure, Nashville annexed some 42 square miles of suburban jurisdictions to expand its tax base. This increased uncertainty among residents, and created resentment among many suburban communities. Under the second charter for metropolitan government, which was approved in 1962, two levels of service provision were proposed: the General Services District and the Urban Services District, to provide for a differential in tax levels. Residents of the Urban Services District had a full range of city services. The areas that made up the General Services District, however, had a lower tax rate until full services were provided.^[58] This helped reconcile aspects of services and taxation among the differing jurisdictions within the large metro region.

In the early 1960s, Tennessee still had racial segregation of public facilities, including lunch counters and department store fitting rooms. Hotels and restaurants were also segregated. Between February 13 and May 10, 1960, a series of sit-ins were organized at lunch counters in downtown Nashville by the Nashville Student Movement and Nashville Christian Leadership Council, and were part of a broader sit-in movement in the southeastern United States as part of an effort to end racial segregation of public facilities.^[59] On April 19, 1960, the house of Z. Alexander Looby, an African American attorney and council member, was bombed by segregationists.^[60] Protesters marched to the city hall the next day. Mayor Ben West said he supported the desegregation of lunch counters, which civil rights activists had called for.^[61]

In 1963, Nashville consolidated its government with Davidson County, forming a metropolitan government. The membership on the Metro Council, the legislative body, was increased from 21 to 40 seats. Of these, five members are elected at-large and 35 are elected from single-member districts, each to serve a term of four years.^[58]

As Nashville evolved in the 1960s, its music scene diversified, welcoming rock, pop, and other genres and the 'Nashville Sound' transformed into 'Countrypolitan'. Artists like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash came to Nashville to record, reflecting the city's expanding influence in the music industry.^[62][63] In 1960, Time reported that Nashville had "nosed out Hollywood as the nation's second biggest (after New York) record-producing center."^[64]

In 1957 Nashville desegregated its school system using an innovative grade a year plan, in response to a class action suit Kelly vs. Board of Education of Nashville. By 1966 the Metro Council abandoned the grade a year plan and completely desegregated the entire school system at one time.^[65]

Congress passed civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965, but tensions continued as society was slow to change. On April 8, 1967, a riot broke out on the college campuses of Fisk University and Tennessee State University, historically Black colleges, after Stokely Carmichael spoke about Black Power at Vanderbilt University.^[66] Although it was viewed as a "race riot", it had classist characteristics.^[66]

In 1979, the Ku Klux Klan burnt crosses outside two African American sites in Nashville, including the city headquarters of the NAACP.^[67]

Historically, Nashville zoning permitted the construction of duplex housing. In the 1980s and 1990s, Nashville lawmakers downzoned sections of Nashville to exclusively permit single-family housing. Proponents of these downzonings said they would raise home values.^[68][69][70]

Since the 1970s, the city and county have undergone tremendous growth, particularly during the economic boom of the 1990s under the leadership of then-Mayor and later-Tennessee Governor, Phil Bredesen. Making urban renewal a priority, Bredesen fostered the construction or renovation of several city landmarks, including the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the downtown Nashville Public Library, the Bridgestone Arena, and Nissan Stadium.^[71][72]

Nissan Stadium (formerly Adelphia Coliseum and LP Field) was built after the National Football League's (NFL) Houston Oilers agreed to move to the city in 1995. The NFL team debuted in Nashville in 1998 at Vanderbilt Stadium, and Nissan Stadium opened in the summer of 1999. The Oilers changed their name to the Tennessee Titans and finished the season with the Music City Miracle and a close Super Bowl game.^[73] The St. Louis Rams won in the last play of the game.^[74]

In 1997, Nashville was awarded a National Hockey League expansion team; this was named the Nashville Predators.^[75] Since the 2003–04 season, the Predators have made the playoffs in all but four seasons. In 2017, they made the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, but ultimately fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4 games to 2, in the best-of-seven series.^[76]

21st century

On January 22, 2009, residents rejected Nashville Charter Amendment 1, which sought to make English the official language of the city.^[77]

Between May 1 and 7, 2010, much of Nashville was extensively flooded as part of a series of 1,000 year floods throughout Middle and West Tennessee. Much of the flooding took place in areas along the Cumberland and Harpeth Rivers and Mill Creek, and caused extensive damage to the many buildings and structures in the city, including the Grand Ole Opry House, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Opry Mills Mall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Bridgestone Arena, and Nissan Stadium. Sections of Interstate 24 and Briley Parkway were also flooded. Eleven people died in the Nashville area as a result of the flooding, and damages were estimated to be over $2 billion.^[78]

The city recovered after the Great Recession.^{[citation needed]} In March 2012, a Gallup poll ranked Nashville in the top five regions for job growth.^[79] In 2013, Nashville was described as "Nowville" and "It City" by GQ, Forbes, and The New York Times.^[80][81][82]

Nashville elected its first female mayor, Megan Barry, on September 25, 2015.^[83] As a council member, Barry had officiated at the city's first same-sex wedding on June 26, 2015.^[84]

In 2017, Nashville's economy was deemed the third fastest-growing in the nation,^[85] and the city was named the "hottest housing market in the US" by Freddie Mac realtors.^[86] In May 2017, census estimates showed Nashville had passed Memphis to become most populated city in Tennessee.^[87] Nashville has also made national headlines for its "homelessness crisis". Rising housing prices and the opioid crisis have resulted in more people being out on the streets: as of 2018^[update], between 2,300 and 20,000 Nashvillians are homeless.^[88]

On March 6, 2018, due to felony charges filed against Mayor Barry relating to the misuse of public funds, she resigned before the end of her term. A special election was called. Following a ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Davidson County Election Commission set the special election for May 24, 2018, to meet the requirement of 75 to 80 days from the date of resignation.^[89] David Briley, who was Vice Mayor during the Barry administration and Acting Mayor after her resignation, won the special election with just over 54% of the vote,^[90] becoming the 70th mayor of Nashville.^[91]

On May 1, 2018, voters rejected Let's Move Nashville, a referendum which would have funded construction of an $8.9 billion mass transit system under the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (now WeGo Public Transit) by a 2 to 1 margin.^[92]

On September 28, 2019, John Cooper became the ninth mayor of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.^[93]

On March 3, 2020, a tornado tracked west to east, just north of the downtown Nashville area, killing at least 25 people and leaving tens of thousands without electricity. Neighborhoods impacted included North Nashville, Germantown, East Nashville, Donelson, and Hermitage.^[94]

On December 25, 2020, a vehicle exploded on Second Avenue, killing the perpetrator and injuring eight others.^[95]

On March 27, 2023, a gunman killed three children and three staff at the Covenant School, before getting killed by police.^[96]

On December 9, 2023, tornadoes caused considerable destruction and left three people dead.^[97]

Geography

Topography

Satellite image of Nashville 2020

Nashville lies on the Cumberland River in the northwestern portion of the Nashville Basin. Nashville's elevation ranges from its lowest point, 385 feet (117 m) above sea level at the Cumberland River,^[98] to its highest point, 1,163 feet (354 m) above sea level in the Radnor Lake State Natural Area.^[99][100] Nashville also sits at the start of the Highland Rim, a geophysical region of very hilly land. Because of this, Nashville is very hilly. Nashville also has some stand alone hills around the city such as the hill on which the Tennessee State Capitol building sits. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 527.9 square miles (1,367 km²), of which 504.0 square miles (1,305 km²) of it is land and 23.9 square miles (62 km²) of it (4.53%) is water.

Cityscape

See also: List of tallest buildings in Nashville

Skyline of Nashville in 2024

U.S. Navy Blue Angels over Nashville in 2020

Nashville's downtown area features a diverse assortment of entertainment, dining, cultural and architectural attractions. The Broadway and 2nd Avenue areas feature entertainment venues, night clubs and an assortment of restaurants. North of Broadway lie Nashville's central business district, Legislative Plaza, Capitol Hill and the Tennessee Bicentennial Mall. Cultural and architectural attractions can be found throughout the city.

Three major interstate highways (I-40, I-65 and I-24) converge near the core area of downtown, and many regional cities are within a day's driving distance.

Nashville's first skyscraper, the Life & Casualty Tower, was completed in 1957 and launched the construction of other high rises in downtown Nashville. After the construction of the AT&T Building (commonly referred to by locals as the "Batman Building") in 1994, the downtown area saw little construction until the mid-2000s. The Pinnacle, a high rise office building which opened in 2010, was the first skyscraper in Nashville to be built in the preceding 15 years.^[101]

Since 2000, Nashville has seen two urban construction booms (one prior to the Great Recession and the other after) that have yielded multiple high-rises (defined by Emporis as buildings of a minimum of 115 feet tall). Of the city's 33 towers of 300 feet tall or taller (as of April 2023), 24 have been completed since 2000. Of note, Nashville has a disproportionate number of buildings 300 feet and taller in relation to its overall metropolitan statistical area (MSA) population of about 2 million (2021 U.S. Census Bureau estimate). This is due, in part, to the tourism-centric city's multiple hotel towers and to many condominium towers having multiple unit owners who also own other residential properties in both Nashville and in other markets. In contrast, and for comparison, Phoenix, with an MSA population of about 4.95 million (2021 estimate) offers only 21 buildings of 300 feet and taller.

Many civic and infrastructure projects are being planned, in progress, or recently completed. A new MTA bus hub was recently completed in downtown Nashville, as was the Music City Star (now known as the WeGo Star) pilot project. Several public parks have been constructed, such as the Public Square. Riverfront Park is scheduled to be extensively updated. The Music City Center opened in May 2013.^[102] It is a 1,200,000-square-foot (110,000 m²) convention center with 350,000 square feet (33,000 m²) of exhibit space.^[103]

Neighborhoods

• 12South
• Antioch
• Belmont-Hillsboro
• Belle Meade
• Bellevue
• Berry Hill
• Bordeaux
• Buena Vista
• Cane Ridge
• Cleveland Park
• Crieve Hall
• Donelson
• East Nashville
• Edgehill
• Five Points/East End
• Germantown
• Green Hills
• The Gulch
• Hermitage
• Hillsboro Village
• Hope Gardens
• Inglewood
• Joelton
• Lakewood
• Lockeland Springs
• Madison
• McFerrin Park
• North Nashville
• Oak Hill
• Old Hickory
• Richland/Cherokee Park
• SoBro
• Sylvan Heights
• Sylvan Park
• The Nations
• Tusculum
• Whitland
• Woodbine
• Woodland-in-Waverly
• Whites Creek
• West Meade
• West Nashville

Flora

The nearby city of Lebanon is notable and even named for its so-called "cedar glades", which occur on soils too poor to support most trees and are instead dominated by Virginian juniper. Blackberry bushes, Virginia pine, loblolly pine, sassafras, red maple, river birch, American beech, river cane, mountain laurel and sycamore are all common native trees, along with many others.^[104]

In addition to the native forests, the combination of hot summers, abundant rainfall and mild winters permit a wide variety of both temperate and subtropical plants to be cultivated easily. Southern magnolia and cherry blossom trees are commonly cultivated here, with the city having an annual cherry blossom festival.^[105] Crepe myrtles and yew bushes are also commonly grown throughout Metro Nashville, and the winters are mild enough that sweetbay magnolia is evergreen whenever it is cultivated. The pansy flower is popular to plant during the autumn, and some varieties will flower overwinter in Nashville's subtropical climate. However, many hot-weather plants like petunia and even papyrus thrive as annuals, and Japanese banana will die aboveground during winter but re-sprout after the danger of frost is over. Unbeknownst to most Tennesseans, even cold-hardy palms, particularly needle palm and dwarf palmetto, are grown uncommonly but often successfully, while the taller windmill palm is more marginal, perishing below about 5 °F (−15 °C) without protection. High desert plants like Colorado spruce and prickly pear cactus are also grown somewhat commonly, as are Yucca filamentosa and the trunking Yucca rostrata.

Climate

Nashville, Tennessee
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     4     49 30     4.5     54 33     4.5     63 40     4.7     73 49     5     80 58     4.4     88 66     4.2     91 71     3.8     90 69     3.8     84 62     3.4     74 50     3.9     61 39     4.4     52 33 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     102     9 −1     114     12 1     114     17 4     119     23 9     127     27 14     112     31 19     107     33 22     97     32 21     97     29 17     86     23 10     99     16 4     112     11 1 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

Nashville International Airport in Donelson has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa, Trewartha Cf),^[106] with hot, humid summers and generally cool winters typical of the Upper South.^{[107][108][109]}

Snowfall occurs during the winter months, but it is usually not heavy. Average annual snowfall is about 4.7 inches (12 cm), falling mostly in January and February and occasionally in March, November and December.^[110] The largest snow event since 2003 was on January 22, 2016, when Nashville received 8 inches (20 cm) of snow in a single storm; the largest overall was 17 inches (43 cm), received on March 17, 1892, during the St. Patrick's Day Snowstorm.^[111]

Rainfall is typically greater in solar spring (Feb-Apr) and summer (May-Jul), while the solar autumn months (Aug-Oct) are the driest on average. Spring and fall are prone to severe thunderstorms, which may bring tornadoes, large hail, flash floods and damaging wind, with recent major events on April 16, 1998; April 7, 2006; February 5, 2008; April 10, 2009; May 1–2, 2010; and March 3, 2020. Relative humidity in Nashville averages 83% in the mornings and 60% in the afternoons,^[112] which is considered moderate for the Southeastern United States.^[113] In recent decades, due to urban development, Nashville has developed an urban heat island; especially on cool, clear nights, temperatures are up to 10 °F (5.6 °C) warmer in the heart of the city than in rural outlying areas. The Nashville region lies within USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7a.^[114] From 1970 to 2020 the average summer temperature has risen 2.8 degrees F (1.5 C).^[115]

Nashville's long springs and autumns combined with a diverse array of trees and grasses can often make it uncomfortable for allergy sufferers.^[116] In 2008, Nashville was ranked as the 26th-worst spring allergy city in the U.S. by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.^[117]

The coldest temperature ever officially recorded in Nashville was −17 °F (−27 °C) on January 21, 1985, and the hottest was 109 °F (43 °C) on June 29, 2012.^[118] Nashville allegedly had a low of −18 °F (−28 °C) on January 26, 1832, but this was decades before record-keeping began and isn't counted as the official record low.^[119]

Threshold	Number of days
High > 80	139.0
High > 90	48.2
Low < 32	71.4
High < 32	7.3
Low < 10	3.0

Donelson

The mean annual temperature at Nashville International Airport is 60.8 °F (16.0 °C). Monthly averages range from 39.6 °F (4.2 °C) in January to 80.7 °F (27.1 °C) in July, with a diurnal temperature variation of 18.9 to 23.7 °F (10.5 to 13.2 °C). Diurnal temperature variation is highest in April and lowest in December, but it is also relatively high in October and relatively low in January. Donelson's climate classifications are Köppen Cfa and Trewartha Cfak thanks to its hot summers (average over 71.6 °F (22.0 °C)), cool winters (average over 32.0 °F (0.0 °C)) and long (8+ months) growing seasons (average over 50.0 °F (10.0 °C)). Precipitation is abundant year-round without any major difference, but there is still slight variation. The wet season runs from February through July, reaching its zenith in May with 128 mm of rain. The dry season runs from August through January with an October nadir of 85 mm and secondary December peak of 113 mm.

v t e Climate data for Nashville (Nashville Int'l), 1991–2020 normals,[e] extremes 1873−present[f]
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	78 (26)	85 (29)	89 (32)	91 (33)	96 (36)	109 (43)	107 (42)	106 (41)	105 (41)	99 (37)	88 (31)	79 (26)	109 (43)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	68.5 (20.3)	73.3 (22.9)	80.1 (26.7)	85.3 (29.6)	89.9 (32.2)	94.7 (34.8)	97.1 (36.2)	96.7 (35.9)	93.4 (34.1)	86.4 (30.2)	78.1 (25.6)	69.6 (20.9)	98.5 (36.9)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	49.1 (9.5)	53.8 (12.1)	62.7 (17.1)	72.6 (22.6)	80.4 (26.9)	87.7 (30.9)	90.9 (32.7)	90.4 (32.4)	84.4 (29.1)	73.5 (23.1)	61.4 (16.3)	52.2 (11.2)	71.6 (22.0)
Daily mean °F (°C)	39.6 (4.2)	43.4 (6.3)	51.5 (10.8)	60.8 (16.0)	69.3 (20.7)	77.1 (25.1)	80.7 (27.1)	79.7 (26.5)	73.1 (22.8)	61.7 (16.5)	50.3 (10.2)	42.7 (5.9)	60.8 (16.0)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	30.1 (−1.1)	33.0 (0.6)	40.2 (4.6)	48.9 (9.4)	58.3 (14.6)	66.4 (19.1)	70.5 (21.4)	69.0 (20.6)	61.8 (16.6)	49.9 (9.9)	39.2 (4.0)	33.3 (0.7)	50.1 (10.1)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	11.2 (−11.6)	15.4 (−9.2)	22.7 (−5.2)	32.7 (0.4)	43.1 (6.2)	55.2 (12.9)	62.4 (16.9)	60.2 (15.7)	47.3 (8.5)	33.3 (0.7)	23.5 (−4.7)	17.4 (−8.1)	9.0 (−12.8)
Record low °F (°C)	−17 (−27)	−13 (−25)	2 (−17)	23 (−5)	34 (1)	42 (6)	51 (11)	47 (8)	36 (2)	26 (−3)	−1 (−18)	−10 (−23)	−17 (−27)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	4.02 (102)	4.47 (114)	4.52 (115)	4.72 (120)	5.02 (128)	4.36 (111)	4.16 (106)	3.79 (96)	3.80 (97)	3.36 (85)	3.86 (98)	4.43 (113)	50.51 (1,283)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	2.0 (5.1)	1.5 (3.8)	0.7 (1.8)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.1 (0.25)	0.4 (1.0)	4.7 (12)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	10.8	10.9	11.6	11.2	11.6	10.7	10.3	9.4	7.8	8.4	9.0	11.4	123.1
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	2.0	1.9	0.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.5	5.5
Average relative humidity (%)	70.4	68.5	64.6	63.2	69.5	70.4	72.8	73.1	73.7	69.4	70.2	71.4	69.8
Average dew point °F (°C)	26.4 (−3.1)	29.5 (−1.4)	36.9 (2.7)	45.1 (7.3)	55.9 (13.3)	63.9 (17.7)	68.0 (20.0)	66.9 (19.4)	61.2 (16.2)	48.4 (9.1)	39.4 (4.1)	31.3 (−0.4)	47.7 (8.7)
Mean monthly sunshine hours	139.6	145.2	191.3	231.5	261.8	277.7	279.0	262.1	226.4	216.8	148.1	130.6	2,510.1
Percent possible sunshine	45	48	52	59	60	64	63	63	61	62	48	43	56
Average ultraviolet index	2	4	6	7	9	10	10	9	7	5	3	2	6
Source 1: NOAA (snow depth 1991-2023, relative humidity, dew point, and sun 1961−1990)[120][121][122]
Source 2: Weather Atlas (UV index)[123]WMO[124]

Old Hickory

The mean annual temperature at Old Hickory Dam is 58.5 °F (14.7 °C). Monthly averages range from 37.1 °F (2.8 °C) in January to 78.6 °F (25.9 °C) in August, with a diurnal temperature variation of 19.8 to 26.3 °F (11.0 to 14.6 °C). Diurnal temperature variation is highest in April and lowest in January. Old Hickory's climate classifications are Köppen Cfa and Trewartha DOak thanks to its hot summers (average over 71.6 °F (22.0 °C)), cool winters (average over 32.0 °F (0.0 °C)) and mediocre (4–7 months) growing seasons (average over 50.0 °F (10.0 °C)). Precipitation is abundant year-round without any major difference, but there is still slight variation. The wet season runs from February through July, reaching its zenith in April with 120 mm of rain. The dry season runs from August through January with an October/November nadir of 85 mm and secondary December peak of 113 mm. Data for record temperatures is spotty before June 2007, but temperatures in Old Hickory have been known to range from −10 °F (−23.3 °C) in January 1966 to 106 °F (41.1 °C) in June and July 2012.

Climate data for Old Hickory Dam, TN (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1965–present)[125]
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	73 (23)	79 (26)	86 (30)	91 (33)	94 (34)	106 (41)	106 (41)	105 (41)	101 (38)	96 (36)	87 (31)	76 (24)	106 (41)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	67 (19)	72 (22)	79 (26)	86 (30)	91 (33)	96 (36)	97 (36)	97 (36)	95 (35)	88 (31)	77 (25)	69 (21)	99 (37)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	47.0 (8.3)	51.4 (10.8)	60.5 (15.8)	71.3 (21.8)	78.9 (26.1)	86.1 (30.1)	89.9 (32.2)	90.2 (32.3)	83.4 (28.6)	72.1 (22.3)	60.1 (15.6)	50.2 (10.1)	70.1 (21.2)
Daily mean °F (°C)	37.1 (2.8)	40.7 (4.8)	48.6 (9.2)	58.2 (14.6)	66.9 (19.4)	75.1 (23.9)	78.5 (25.8)	78.6 (25.9)	71.6 (22.0)	59.7 (15.4)	47.9 (8.8)	39.5 (4.2)	58.5 (14.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	27.2 (−2.7)	30.0 (−1.1)	36.8 (2.7)	45.0 (7.2)	54.9 (12.7)	64.1 (17.8)	67.0 (19.4)	67.0 (19.4)	59.8 (15.4)	47.2 (8.4)	35.7 (2.1)	28.8 (−1.8)	47.0 (8.3)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	10 (−12)	13 (−11)	21 (−6)	31 (−1)	40 (4)	54 (12)	59 (15)	58 (14)	48 (9)	33 (1)	22 (−6)	17 (−8)	9 (−13)
Record low °F (°C)	−10 (−23)	0 (−18)	8 (−13)	21 (−6)	34 (1)	47 (8)	52 (11)	54 (12)	36 (2)	26 (−3)	14 (−10)	6 (−14)	−10 (−23)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	3.73 (95)	4.26 (108)	4.64 (118)	4.74 (120)	4.55 (116)	3.76 (96)	4.05 (103)	3.38 (86)	3.70 (94)	3.33 (85)	3.35 (85)	4.44 (113)	47.93 (1,217)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	0.6 (1.5)	0.3 (0.76)	0.2 (0.51)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0.1 (0.25)	1.2 (3.0)
Source: https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=ohx

Demographics

See also: List of people from Nashville, Tennessee

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1810	1,100		—
1820	3,410		210.0%
1830	5,566		63.2%
1840	6,929		24.5%
1850	10,165		46.7%
1860	16,988		67.1%
1870	25,865		52.3%
1880	43,350		67.6%
1890	76,168		75.7%
1900	80,865		6.2%
1910	110,364		36.5%
1920	118,342		7.2%
1930	153,866		30.0%
1940	167,402		8.8%
1950	174,307		4.1%
1960	170,874		−2.0%
1970	448,003		162.2%
1980	455,651		1.7%
1990	488,374		7.2%
2000	545,524		11.7%
2010	601,222		10.2%
2020	689,447		14.7%
2023 (est.)	687,788		−0.2%
Sources:[126][127][128][6] Notes:[g]

Historical racial composition	2020[129]	2010[130]	1990[131]	1980[131]	1970[131]
White (Non-Hispanic)	53.3%	56.3%	73.2%	75.2%	79.5%[h]
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)	24.3%	28.2%	24.3%	23.3%	19.6%
Hispanic or Latino	14.0%	10.0%	0.9%	0.8%	0.6%[h]
Asian	3.9%	3.1%	1.4%	0.5%	0.1%
Mixed	3.8%	1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.2%	0.2%	0.8%	0.2%	0.1%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%	N/A	N/A
Other Race	0.5%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 689,447 people, 279,545 households, and 146,241 families residing in the city. The population increase of 88,225, or 14.67% over the 2010 figure of 601,222 residents, represented the largest net population increase in the city's history.^[i] The population density was 1,367.87 inhabitants per square mile (528.14/km²).

In 2010, there were 254,651 households and 141,469 families (55.6% of households). Of households with families, 37.2% had married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present. 27.9% of all households had children under the age of 18, and 18.8% had at least one member 65 years of age or older. Of the 44.4% of households that are non-families, 36.2% were individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.16.^[132]

Ethnic origins in Nashville

The age distribution was 22.2% under 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.^[133]

The median income for a household in the city was $46,141, and the median income for a family was $56,377. Males with a year-round, full-time job had a median income of $41,017 versus $36,292 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,372. About 13.9% of families and 18.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.^[134] Of residents 25 or older, 33.4% have a bachelor's degree or higher.^[135]

Because of its relatively low cost of living and large job market, Nashville has become a popular city for immigrants.^[136] Nashville's foreign-born population more than tripled in size between 1990 and 2000, increasing from 12,662 to 39,596. The city's largest immigrant groups include Mexicans,^[137] Kurds,^[138] Vietnamese,^[139] Laotians,^[140] Arabs,^[141] and Somalis.^[141] There are also smaller communities of Pashtuns from Afghanistan and Pakistan concentrated primarily in Antioch.^[142] Nashville has the largest Kurdish community in the United States, numbering approximately 15,000.^[143] In 2009, about 60,000 Bhutanese refugees were being admitted to the U.S., and some were expected to resettle in Nashville.^[144] During the Iraqi election of 2005, Nashville was one of the few international locations where Iraqi expatriates could vote.^[145] The American Jewish community in Nashville dates back over 150 years, and numbered about 8,000 in 2015, plus 2,000 Jewish college students.^[146]

In 1779, approximately 20 percent of the settlers in Fort Nashborough were enslaved and free individuals of African descent. From this period until the Civil War, a burgeoning African American community in Nashville, under the guidance of a select few black leaders, diligently laid the groundwork for a prosperous society. They established educational institutions, places of worship, and enterprises, all contributing to the development and progress of the city.^[147]

Metropolitan area

Main article: Nashville metropolitan area

As of 2020^[update], Nashville has the largest metropolitan area in the state of Tennessee, with a population of 2,014,444.^[148] The Nashville metropolitan area encompasses 13 of 41 Middle Tennessee counties: Cannon, Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Macon, Maury, Robertson, Rutherford, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, Williamson, and Wilson.^[149] The 2020 population of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Columbia combined statistical area was 2,118,233.^[150]

Religion

59.6% of people in Nashville claim religious affiliation according to information compiled by Sperling's BestPlaces. The dominant religion in Nashville is Christianity, accounting for 57.7% of the population. The Christian population is broken down into 20.6% Baptists, 6.2% Catholics, 5.6% Methodists, 3.4% Pentecostals, 3.4% Presbyterians, 0.8% Mormons, and 0.5% Lutherans. 15.7% identify with other forms of Christianity, including the Orthodox Church and Disciples of Christ. Islam is the second largest religion, with 0.8% of the population. 0.6% of the population adhere to eastern religions such as Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and Hinduism, and 0.3% follow Judaism.^[151]

Economy

See also: List of companies based in Nashville, Tennessee

AT&T Building, the tallest building in Tennessee

In the 21st century's second decade, Nashville was described as a "southern boomtown" by numerous publications.^[152][153] In 2017, it had the third-fastest-growing metropolitan economy in the United States^[154] and "adds an average of 100 people a day to its net population increase".^[155] The Nashville region was also said to be the "Number One" Metro Area for Professional and Business Service Jobs in America;^[156] Zillow said it had the "hottest Housing market in America".^[157] In 2013, the city ranked No. 5 on Forbes' list of the Best Places for Business and Careers.^[158] In 2015, Forbes put Nashville as the fourth Best City for White Collar Jobs.^[159] In 2015, Business Facilities' 11th Annual Rankings report named Nashville the number one city for Economic Growth Potential.^[160]

Fortune 500 companies with offices within Nashville include BNY Mellon, Bridgestone Americas, Ernst & Young, Community Health Systems, Dell,^[161] Deloitte, Dollar General, Hospital Corporation of America, Nissan North America, Philips,^[162] Tractor Supply Company, and UBS. Of these, Community Health Systems, Dollar General, SmileDirectClub, Hospital Corporation of America, and Tractor Supply Company are headquartered in the city. Many popular food companies are based in Nashville including Captain D's, Hunt Brothers Pizza, O'Charley's, Logan's Roadhouse, J. Alexander's, and Stoney River Legendary Steaks.

As the "home of country music", Nashville has become a major music recording and production center. The Big Three record labels, as well as numerous independent labels, have offices in Nashville, mostly in the Music Row area.^[163] Nashville has been the headquarters of guitar company Gibson since 1984. Since the 1960s, Nashville has been the second-largest music production center (after New York City) in the United States.^[164] Nashville's music industry is estimated to have a total economic impact of about $10 billion per year and to contribute about 56,000 jobs to the Nashville area.^[165]

The area's largest industry is health care. Nashville is home to more than 300 health care companies, including Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), the world's largest private operator of hospitals.^[166][167] As of 2012^[update], it was estimated the health care industry contributes US$30 billion per year and 200,000 jobs to the Nashville-area economy.^[168]

CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America and one of the largest private corrections company in the United States, was founded in Nashville in 1983, but moved out of the city in 2019.^[169][170] Vanderbilt University was one of its investors before the company's initial public offering.^[171] The City of Nashville's pension fund included "a $921,000 stake" in the company in 2017.^[172] The Nashville Scene notes that, "A drop in CoreCivic stock value, however minor, would have a direct impact on the pension fund that represents nearly 25,000 current and former Metro employees."^[172]

The automotive industry is also becoming important for the Middle Tennessee region. Nissan North America moved its corporate headquarters in 2006 from Gardena, California (Los Angeles County) to Franklin, a suburb south of Nashville. Nissan's largest North American manufacturing plant is in Smyrna, another suburb of Nashville. Largely as a result of the increased development of Nissan and other Japanese economic interests in the region, Japan moved its former New Orleans consulate-general to Nashville's Palmer Plaza. General Motors operates an assembly plant in Spring Hill, about 35 miles (56 km) south of Nashville.^[173] Automotive parts manufacturer Bridgestone has its their North American headquarters in Nashville and manufacturing plants and a distribution center in nearby counties.^[22]

Other major industries in Nashville include insurance, finance, and publishing (especially religious publishing).^[16] The city hosts headquarters operations for several Protestant denominations, including the United Methodist Church, Southern Baptist Convention, National Baptist Convention USA, and the National Association of Free Will Baptists.

Nashville is known for Southern confections, including Goo Goo Clusters, which have been made in Nashville since 1912.^[174]

In May 2018, AllianceBernstein pledged to build a private client office in the city by mid-2019 and to move its headquarters from New York City to Nashville by 2024.^[175][176]

The technology sector is an important and growing aspect of Nashville's economy.^[19] In November 2018, Amazon announced its plans to build an operations center in the Nashville Yards development to serve as the hub for their Retail Operations division.^[177] In April 2021, Oracle Corporation announced that it would construct a $1.2 billion campus in Nashville, which is expected to employ 8,500 by 2031.^[178][179]

In December 2019, iHeartMedia selected Nashville as the site of its second digital headquarters.^[180]

Real estate is becoming a driver for the city's economy. Based on a survey of nearly 1,500 real estate industry professionals conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute, Nashville ranked seventh nationally in terms of attractiveness to real estate investors for 2016.^[181] As of October 2015^[update], according to city figures, there is more than $2 billion in real estate projects underway or projected to start in 2016. Due to high yields available to investors, Nashville has been attracting a lot of capital from out-of-state. A key factor that has been attributed to the increase in investment is the adjustment to the city's zoning code. Developers can easily include a combination of residential, office, retail and entertainment space into their projects. Additionally, the city has invested heavily into public parks. Centennial Park is undergoing extensive renovations. The change in the zoning code and the investment in public space is consistent with the millennial generation's preference for walkable urban neighborhoods.^[182]

Top employers

According to the Nashville Business Journal, the top employers in the city are:^[183]

#	Employer	Employees
1	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	28,300
2	State of Tennessee	26,733
3	U.S. federal government	13,707
4	HCA Healthcare	10,600
5	Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools	10,281
6	Vanderbilt University	8,822
7	Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County	8,700
8	Ascension Saint Thomas	8,335
9	The Kroger Co.	7,813
10	Amazon	5,000
11	Asurion	4,260
12	Bridgestone Americas Inc.	4,110

Culture

Half-chicken at Hattie B's with side of baked beans and mac and cheese

Much of the city's cultural life has revolved around its large university community. Particularly significant in this respect were two groups of critics and writers who were associated with Vanderbilt University in the early 20th century: the Fugitives and the Agrarians.

Popular destinations include Fort Nashborough and Fort Negley, the former being a reconstruction of the original settlement, the latter being a semi-restored Civil War battle fort; the Tennessee State Museum; and The Parthenon, a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. The Tennessee State Capitol is one of the oldest working state capitol buildings in the nation.^[184] The Hermitage, the former home of President Andrew Jackson, is one of the largest presidential homes open to the public, and is also one of the most visited.^[185][186]

Dining

Some of the more popular types of local cuisine include hot chicken, hot fish, barbecue, and meat and three.

Entertainment and performing arts

Ryman Auditorium, the "Mother Church of Country Music"

Nashville has a vibrant music and entertainment scene spanning a variety of genres. With a long history in the music scene it is no surprise that city was nicknamed 'Music City.' The Tennessee Performing Arts Center is the major performing arts center of the city. It is the home of the Nashville Repertory Theatre and the Nashville Ballet. In September 2006, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center opened as the home of the Nashville Symphony.

As the city's name itself is a metonym for the country music industry, many popular attractions involve country music, including the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Belcourt Theatre, and Ryman Auditorium.^[187] Hence, the city became known as America's 'Country Music Capital.'^{[188][189][190]} The Ryman was home to the Grand Ole Opry until 1974 when the show moved to the Grand Ole Opry House, 9 miles (14 km) east of downtown. The Opry plays there several times a week, except for an annual winter run at the Ryman.

Bill Porter's audio console at RCA Studio B in Nashville. Studio B was the birthplace of the Nashville sound.

Many music clubs and honky-tonk bars are in downtown Nashville,^[191] particularly the area encompassing Lower Broadway, Second Avenue, and Printer's Alley, which is often referred to as "the District".^[192][193]

Each June, the CMA Music Festival (formerly known as Fan Fair) brings thousands of country fans to the city. The Tennessee State Fair is also held annually in September.

Nashville was once home of television shows such as Hee Haw and Pop! Goes the Country, as well as The Nashville Network and later, RFD-TV. Country Music Television and Great American Country currently operate from Nashville. The city was also home to the Opryland USA theme park, which operated from 1972 to 1997 before being closed by its owners (Gaylord Entertainment Company) and soon after demolished to make room for the Opry Mills mega-shopping mall.

The Contemporary Christian music industry is based along Nashville's Music Row, with a great influence in neighboring Williamson County. The Christian record companies include EMI Christian Music Group, Provident Label Group and Word Records.

Music Row houses many gospel music and Contemporary Christian music companies centered around 16th and 17th Avenues South. On River Road, off Charlotte Pike in West Nashville, the CabaRay opened its doors on January 18, 2018. The performing venue of Ray Stevens, it offers a Vegas-style dinner and a show atmosphere. There is also a piano bar and a gift shop.^[194]

Although Nashville was never known as a major jazz town, it did have many great jazz bands, including The Nashville Jazz Machine led by Dave Converse and its current version, the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, led by Jim Williamson, as well as The Establishment, led by Billy Adair. The Francis Craig Orchestra entertained Nashvillians from 1929 to 1945 from the Oak Bar and Grille Room in the Hermitage Hotel. Craig's orchestra was also the first to broadcast over local radio station WSM-AM and enjoyed phenomenal success with a 12-year show on the NBC Radio Network. In the late 1930s, he introduced a newcomer, Dinah Shore, a local graduate of Hume Fogg High School and Vanderbilt University.^{[citation needed]}

Radio station WMOT-FM in nearby Murfreesboro, which formerly programmed jazz, aided significantly in the recent revival of the city's jazz scene, as has the non-profit Nashville Jazz Workshop, which holds concerts and classes in a renovated building in the north Nashville neighborhood of Germantown. Fisk University also maintains a jazz station, WFSK.

Nashville has an active theatre scene and is home to several professional and community theatre companies. Nashville Children's Theatre, Nashville Repertory Theatre, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, the Dance Theatre of Tennessee and the Tennessee Women's Theater Project are among the most prominent professional companies. One community theatre, Circle Players, has been in operation for over 60 years.

The Barbershop Harmony Society has its headquarters in Nashville.

Tourism

Perhaps the biggest factor in drawing visitors to Nashville is its association with country music, in which the Nashville sound played a role.^[195] Many visitors to Nashville attend live performances of the Grand Ole Opry, the world's longest-running live radio show. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is another major attraction relating to the popularity of country music. The Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, the Opry Mills regional shopping mall and the General Jackson showboat, are all located in what is known as Music Valley.

Civil War history is important to the city's tourism industry. Sites pertaining to the Battle of Nashville and the nearby Battle of Franklin and Battle of Stones River can be seen, along with several well-preserved antebellum plantation houses such as Belle Meade Plantation, Carnton plantation in Franklin, and Belmont Mansion.^[196]

Nashville has many arts centers and museums, including the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, the Tennessee State Museum, the Johnny Cash Museum, Fisk University's Van Vechten and Aaron Douglas Galleries, Vanderbilt University's Fine Art Gallery and Sarratt Gallery, the National Museum of African American Music, and the full-scale replica of the Parthenon. A sculpture of Athena Parthenos inside the Parthenon is the tallest indoor sculpture in the Western World – standing 42 feet high.^[197]

Nashville has become an increasingly popular destination for bachelor and bachelorette parties.^[198] In 2017, Nashville Scene counted 33 bachelorette parties on Lower Broadway ("from Fifth Avenue down to the Cumberland River, it's their town") in less than two hours on a Friday night, and stated that the actual number was likely higher. Downtown, the newspaper wrote, "offers five blocks of bars with live music and no cover".^[199] In 2018, The New York Times called Nashville "the hottest destination for bachelorette parties in the country" because of the honky-tonk bars' live music.^[191] City boosters welcome the bachelorette parties because temporary visitors may become permanent; BuzzFeed wrote, "These women are at precisely the point in their lives when a move to Nashville is possible".^[198] The city in 2022 began regulating party buses that provide transportainment in downtown, issuing dozens of permits and rejecting applications for dozens more.^[200] The CMT reality television series Bachelorette Weekend follows the employees at Bach Weekend, a Nashville company that designs and throws bachelor and bachelorette parties.^[201]

Major annual events

Event	Month held and location
Nashville Film Festival	A weeklong festival in April that features hundreds of independent films. It is one of the largest film festivals in the Southern United States.
Nashville Fashion Week	A citywide event typically held in March or April, this is a celebration of Nashville's fashion and retail community featuring local, regional and national design talent in fashion events and shows.[202]
Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon	Marathon, half marathon, and 5k race held in April with runners from around the world. In 2012, participation surpassed 30,000 runners.
Rites of Spring Music Festival	A two-day music festival held every April at Vanderbilt University since 1986. Rites of Spring has welcomed a number of famous artists to the Vanderbilt campus, including Wiz Khalifa, Young the Giant, Drake, Steve Aoki, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.[203]
Iroquois Steeplechase	Annual steeplechase horse racing event held in May at Percy Warner Park.
CMA Music Festival	A four-day event in June featuring performances by country music stars, autograph signings, artist/fan interaction, and other activities for country music fans.
Nashville Pride	A two-day event held in June that fosters awareness of and for the LGBT community and culture in Middle Tennessee. The 2019 festival drew a record crowd of over 75,000 people, establishing it as the largest LGBT event in Tennessee.[204]
Let Freedom Sing!	Held every Fourth of July at Riverfront Park, featuring a street festival and live music, and culminating in one of the largest fireworks shows in the country.[205] An estimated 280,000 people attended the 2014 celebration.[206]
Tomato Art Festival	Held each August in East Nashville, this event celebrates the Tomato as a Unifier.[207]
African Street Festival	Held in September on the campus of Tennessee State University. It is committed to connecting and celebrating the extensions of Africa to America.[208]
Live on the Green Music Festival	A free concert series held in August and September at Public Square Park by local radio station Lightning 100.
Tennessee State Fair	The State Fair held in September at the State Fairgrounds, which lasts nine days and includes rides, exhibits, rodeos, tractor pulls, and numerous other shows and attractions.
Celebrate Nashville Cultural Festival	A free event held the first Saturday in October at Centennial Park, it is Middle Tennessee's largest multicultural festival and includes music and dance performances, ethnic food court, children's area, teen area, and marketplace.[209]
Art Nashville International Art Fair	An annual Art Fair in downtown Nashville. Includes galleries and dealers from around the world. Open to the public.[210]
Nashville Oktoberfest	A free event held in the historic Germantown neighborhood since 1980 celebrating the culture and customs of Germany.[211] Oktoberfest is Nashville's oldest annual festival and is one of the largest in the South.[212] In 2015, over 143,000 people attended the three-day event which raised $60,000 for Nashville non-profits.[213]
Southern Festival of Books	A festival held in October, featuring readings, panels, and book signings.[214]
Country Music Association Awards	Award ceremony normally held in November at the Bridgestone Arena and televised to a national audience.
Veterans Day Parade	A parade running down Broadway on 11/11 at 11:11.11 am since 1951. Features include 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Tennessee National Guard, veterans from wars past and present, military plane fly-overs, tanks, motorcycles, first responder vehicles, marching bands and thousands of spectators.[215]

Nicknames

Nashville is a colorful, well-known city in several different arenas. As such, it has earned various sobriquets, including:

• Music City, U.S.A.: WSM-AM announcer David Cobb first used this name during a 1950 broadcast and it stuck. It is now the official nickname used by the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Nashville is the home of the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and many major record labels.^[216] This name also dates back to 1873, where after receiving and hearing a performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is reported as saying that "These young people must surely come from a musical city."^[217]
• Smashville: This moniker is most closely associated with the Nashville Predators hockey team. According to Yahoo News, the name was conjured by local fan Frank Glinski, "Glinski actually came up with the term "Smashville" during a conversation with the Predators' then-vice president of marketing, who like Glinski had a child playing youth hockey locally." Archived April 10, 2023, at the Wayback Machine A "Smashville" sign is located outside the home of the Predators, Bridgestone Arena.
• Athens of the South: Home to 24 post-secondary educational institutions, Nashville has long been compared to Athens, the ancient city of learning and site of Plato's Academy. Since 1897, a full-scale replica of the Athenian Parthenon has stood in Nashville, and many examples of classical and neoclassical architecture can be found in the city.^[218] The term was popularized by Philip Lindsley (1786–1855), President of the University of Nashville, though it is unclear whether he was the first person to use the phrase.
• The Protestant Vatican^[219] or The Buckle of the Bible Belt:^[220] Nashville has over 700 churches,^[221] several seminaries, a number of Christian music companies, and is the headquarters for the publishing arms of the Southern Baptist Convention (LifeWay Christian Resources), the United Methodist Church (United Methodist Publishing House) and the National Baptist Convention (Sunday School Publishing Board). It is also the seat of the National Baptist Convention, the National Association of Free Will Baptists, the Gideons International, the Gospel Music Association, and Thomas Nelson, the world's largest producer of Bibles.^[222]
• Cashville: Nashville native Young Buck released a successful rap album called Straight Outta Cashville that has popularized the nickname among a new generation.^[223]
• Little Kurdistan: Nashville has the United States' largest population of Kurdish people, estimated to be around 11,000.^[138][224]
• Nash Vegas or Nashvegas^[225]

Nashville has additionally earned the moniker "The Hot Chicken Capital",^[226] becoming known for the local specialty cuisine hot chicken.^[227][228] The Music City Hot Chicken Festival is hosted annually in Nashville and several restaurants make this spicy version of southern fried chicken.^[229] Due to a short-lived smokeless gunpowder plant in 1918, Nashville also had the nickname "Powder City of the World."^[230]

Sports

Professional

Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans and formerly Nashville SC

Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators

Geodis Park, home of the Nashville SC

First Horizon Park, home of the Nashville Sounds

Nashville is home to four professional sports franchises. Three play at the highest professional level of their respective sports: the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL), the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL), and Nashville SC of Major League Soccer (MLS). The city is also home to one minor league team: the Nashville Sounds of Minor League Baseball's International League. An investment group, Music City Baseball, seeks to secure a Major League Baseball expansion franchise or lure an existing team to the city.^[231] The Women's National Basketball Association is considering a franchise expansion to Nashville.^[232]

Team	Sport	League	Venue	Founded
Tennessee Titans	Football	National Football League	Nissan Stadium	1959/1997
Nashville Predators	Hockey	National Hockey League	Bridgestone Arena	1997
Nashville Sounds	Baseball	International League	First Horizon Park	1978
Nashville SC	Soccer	Major League Soccer	Geodis Park	2020

The Tennessee Titans moved to Nashville in 1998. Previously known as the Houston Oilers, which began play in 1960 in Houston, Texas, the team relocated to Tennessee in 1997. They played at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis for one season, then moved to Nashville in 1998 and played in Vanderbilt Stadium for one season. During those two years, the team was known as the Tennessee Oilers, but changed its name to Titans in 1999. The team now plays at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, which opened in 1999. Since moving to Nashville, the Titans have won five division championships (2000, 2002, 2008, 2020, and 2021) and one conference championship (1999). They competed in 1999's Super Bowl XXXIV, losing to the St. Louis Rams, 23–16.^[233] The city previously hosted the 1939 Nashville Rebels of the American Football League and two Arena Football League teams named the Nashville Kats (1997–2001 and 2005–2007).

From April 25–27, 2019, Nashville hosted the 2019 NFL draft, which saw an estimated 200,000 fans attend each day.^[234]

The Nashville Predators joined the National Hockey League as an expansion team in the 1998–99 season. The team plays its home games at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators have won two division championships (2017–18 and 2018–19) and one conference championship (2016–17).^[235]

Nashville SC, a Major League Soccer franchise, began play in 2020 at Nissan Stadium.^[236] It moved into the newly completed soccer-specific stadium Geodis Park at the Nashville Fairgrounds in 2022.^[237]

The Nashville Sounds baseball team was established in 1978 as an expansion franchise of the Double-A Southern League. The Sounds won the league championship in 1979 and 1982. In 1985, the Double-A Sounds were replaced by a Triple-A team of the American Association. After the circuit dissolved in 1997, they joined the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 1998 and won the league championship in 2005. The Sounds left their original ballpark, Herschel Greer Stadium, in 2015 for First Horizon Park, a new ballpark built on the site of the former Sulphur Dell ballpark. In 2021, they were placed in the Triple-A East, which became the International League in 2022.^[238] In total, the Sounds have won eleven division titles and three league championships.^[239]

The Music City Fire, an arena football team of the American Arena League began play at the Williamson County AgExpo Park in 2020.^[240]

Nashville is the home of the second-oldest continually operating racetrack in the United States, the Fairgrounds Speedway.^[241] It hosted NASCAR Winston Cup races from 1958 to 1984, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Truck Series in the 1980s and 1990s, and later the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and ARCA Racing Series.^[242]

Nashville Superspeedway is located 30 mi (48 km) southeast of Nashville in Gladeville, part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The track held NASCAR sanctioned events from 2001 to 2011 as well as IndyCar races from 2001 to 2008. Nashville Superspeedway reopened in 2021^[243] and hosts the premier NASCAR Cup Series race Ally 400 annually.

The Nashville Invitational was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1944 to 1946. The Sara Lee Classic was part of the LPGA Tour from 1988 to 2002. The BellSouth Senior Classic of the Champions Tour was held from 1994 to 2003. The Nashville Golf Open is part of the Web.com Tour since 2016. The 1961 Women's Western Open and 1980 U.S. Women's Open were also held in Nashville.

College and amateur

Nashville is also home to four Division I athletic programs. Nashville is also home to the NCAA college football Music City Bowl.

2004 Vanderbilt-Navy Game

Program	Division	Conference
Vanderbilt Commodores	Division I (FBS)	Southeastern Conference
Tennessee State Tigers	Division I (FCS)	Ohio Valley Conference
Belmont Bruins	Division I (non-football)	Missouri Valley Conference
Lipscomb Bisons	Division I (non-football)	ASUN Conference

Nashville Roller Derby is Nashville's only women's flat track roller derby team. Established in 2006, Nashville Roller Derby competes on a regional and national level. They play their home games at the Nashville Fairgrounds Sports Arena. In 2014, they hosted the WFTDA Championships at Municipal Auditorium.

The Nashville Kangaroos are an Australian Rules Football team that compete in the United States Australian Football League. The Kangaroos play their home games at Elmington Park. The team is the reigning USAFL Central Region Champions.

Three Little League Baseball teams from Nashville (one in 1970; one in 2013; and, one in 2014) have qualified for the Little League World Series. Teams from neighboring Goodlettsville qualified for the 2012 and 2016 series, giving the metropolitan area teams in three consecutive years to so qualify; and four teams in five years.

Parks and gardens

The Parthenon in Nashville's Centennial Park is a full-scale reconstruction of the original Greek Parthenon.

Metro Board of Parks and Recreation owns and manages 10,200 acres (4,100 ha) of land and 99 parks and greenways (accounting for more than 3% of the total area of the county).

Warner Parks, situated on 2,684 acres (1,086 ha) of land, consists of a 5,000-square-foot (460 m²) learning center, 20 miles (32 km) of scenic roads, 12 miles (19 km) of hiking trails, and 10 miles (16 km) of horse trails. It is also the home of the annual Iroquois Steeplechase.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains parks on Old Hickory Lake and Percy Priest Lake. These parks are used for activities such as fishing, water skiing, sailing and boating. The Harbor Island Yacht Club makes its headquarters on Old Hickory Lake, and Percy Priest Lake is home to the Vanderbilt Sailing Club and Nashville Shores.

Other parks in Nashville include Centennial Park, Shelby Park, Cumberland Park, and Radnor Lake State Natural Area.

On August 27, 2013, Nashville mayor Karl Dean revealed plans for two new riverfront parks on the east and west banks of the Cumberland River downtown. Construction on the east bank park began in the fall of 2013, and the projected completion date for the west bank park is 2015. Among many exciting benefits of this Cumberland River re-development project is the construction of a highly anticipated outdoor amphitheater. Located on the west bank, this music venue will be surrounded by a new 12-acre (4.9 ha) park and will replace the previous thermal plant site. It will include room for 6,500 spectators with 2,500 removable seats and additional seating on an overlooking grassy knoll. In addition, the 4.5-acre (1.8 ha) east bank park will include a river landing, providing people access to the river. In regard to the parks' benefits for Nashvillian civilians, Mayor Dean remarked that "if done right, the thermal site can be an iconic park that generations of Nashvillians will be proud of and which they can enjoy".^[244]

Law and government

See also: List of mayors of Nashville, Tennessee and Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County

The State Capitol in Nashville

The city of Nashville and Davidson County merged in 1963 as a way for Nashville to combat the problems of urban sprawl. The combined entity is officially known as "the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County", and is popularly known as "Metro Nashville" or simply "Metro". It offers services such as police, fire, electricity, water and sewage treatment. When the Metro government was formed in 1963, the government was split into two service districts—the "urban services district" and the "general services district." The urban services district encompasses the 1963 boundaries of the former City of Nashville, approximately 72 square miles (190 km²),^[245] and the general services district includes the remainder of Davidson County. There are six smaller municipalities within the consolidated city-county: Belle Meade, Berry Hill, Forest Hills, Oak Hill, Goodlettsville (partially), and Ridgetop (partially). These municipalities use a two-tier system of government, with the smaller municipality typically providing police services and the Metro Nashville government providing most other services. Previously, the city of Lakewood also had a separate charter. However, Lakewood residents voted in 2010 and 2011 to dissolve its city charter and join the metropolitan government, with both votes passing.^[246]

Nashville is governed by a mayor, vice-mayor, and 40-member Metropolitan Council. It uses the strong-mayor form of the mayor–council system.^[247] The current mayor of Nashville is Freddie O'Connell.^[248] The Metropolitan Council is the legislative body of government for Nashville and Davidson County. There are five council members who are elected at large and 35 council members that represent individual districts. The Metro Council has regular meetings that are presided over by the vice-mayor, who is currently Jim Shulman. The Metro Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm, according to the Metropolitan Charter.

Nashville is home to the Tennessee Supreme Court's courthouse for Middle Tennessee and the Estes Kefauver Federal Building and United States Courthouse, home of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Politics

Nashville has been a Democratic stronghold since at least the end of Reconstruction, and has remained staunchly Democratic even as the state as a whole has trended strongly Republican. Pockets of Republican influence exist in the wealthier portions of the city, but they are usually no match for the overwhelming Democratic trend in the rest of the city. The issue of school busing roiled politics for years but subsided after the 1990s.^[249] While local elections are officially nonpartisan, nearly all the city's elected officials are publicly known as Democrats. The city is split among 10 state house districts, all of which are held by Democrats. Three state senate districts and part of a fourth are within the county; three are held by Democrats and one by a Republican.^[250]

In the state legislature, Nashville politicians serve as leaders of both the Senate and House Democratic Caucuses. Representative Mike Stewart serves as Chairman of the House Caucus. Senator Jeff Yarbro serves as Chairman of the Senate Caucus.

Democrats are no less dominant at the federal level. Democratic presidential candidates have failed to carry Davidson County only five times since Reconstruction; in 1928, 1968, 1972, 1984 and 1988.^[251] In most years, Democrats have carried Nashville at the presidential level with relatively little difficulty, even in years when they lose Tennessee as a whole. This has been especially true in recent elections, as the state capitol has continued to trend more Democratic even as most of the rest of the state has become staunchly Republican. In the 2000 presidential election, Tennessean Democrat Al Gore carried Nashville with over 59% of the vote even as he narrowly lost his home state and thus the presidency. In the 2004 election, Democrat John Kerry carried Nashville with 55% of the vote while George W. Bush won the state by 14 points. In 2008, Barack Obama carried Nashville with 60% of the vote while Republican John McCain won Tennessee by 15 points.

Nashville was in a single congressional district, the 5th, for most of its history. A Republican had not represented a significant portion of Nashville since 1874, until 2023 when the GOP-controlled state legislature controversially split Nashville into parts of the 5th, 6th, and 7th districts in a partisan gerrymander an additional Republican to Tennessee's congressional delegation as part of the 2022 redistricting cycle.^[252] This Republican gerrymander ‘cracked’ the Democratic stronghold of Nashville across three otherwise Republican districts, ensuring three Republican representatives. This gerrymander ‘diminished the influence of Black voters and other voters of color concentrated in Nashville’, by splitting them up and adding portions of the Nashville community into districts that are overwhelmingly white and Republican, thus diluting the voting power of Black voters in the state.^[253]

Prior to this gerrymander, Republicans made a few spirited challenges to the 5th district in the mid-1960s and early 1970s, almost winning the district in 1968. The last serious bid for the district while still a Democratic stronghold was in 1972, when the Republican candidate gained 38% of the vote even as Nixon carried the district in the presidential election by a large margin. The district's best-known congressman was probably Jo Byrns, who represented the district from 1909 to 1936 and was Speaker of the House for much of Franklin Roosevelt's first term as president. Another nationally prominent congressman from Nashville was Percy Priest, who represented the district from 1941 to 1956 and was House Majority Whip from 1949 to 1953. Former mayors Richard Fulton and Bill Boner also sat in the U.S. House before assuming the Metro mayoral office.

From 2003 to 2013, a sliver of southwestern Nashville was located in the 7th District, represented by Republican Marsha Blackburn. This area was roughly coextensive with the portion of Nashville she had represented in the state senate from 1998 to 2002. However, the 5th regained all of Nashville after the 2010 census.

Crime

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting database, Metropolitan Nashville has a violent crime rate approximately three times the national average, and a property crime rate approximately 1.6 times the average.^[254][255] The following table shows Nashville's crime rate per 100,000 inhabitants for seven UCR categories.

Crime	Nashville (2017)[254]	National average (2017)[255]
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter	16.29	5.3
Rape	72.89	30.7
Robbery	303.13	98.0
Aggravated assault	745.84	248.9
Burglary	631.31	430.4
Larceny-theft	2,806.6	1,694.4
Motor vehicle theft	380.03	237.4

Education

Wyatt Center, Vanderbilt University

See also: List of private schools in Nashville, Tennessee

The city is served by Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, also referred to as Metro Schools. This district is the second largest school district in Tennessee, and enrolls approximately 85,000 students at 169 schools.^[256] In addition, Nashville is home to numerous private schools, including Montgomery Bell Academy, Harpeth Hall School, University School of Nashville, Lipscomb Academy, The Ensworth School, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Father Ryan High School, Pope John Paul II High School, Franklin Road Academy, Davidson Academy, Nashville Christian School, Donelson Christian Academy, and St. Cecilia Academy. Combined, all of the private schools in Nashville enroll more than 15,000 students.^[257]

Further information on the Nashville charter school organization: LEAD Public Schools

Colleges and universities

Campus Center, Tennessee State University

Nashville has been labeled the "Athens of the South" due to the many colleges and universities in the metropolitan area.^[218] Total enrollment in post-secondary education in Nashville is around 43,000.

The largest is Vanderbilt University, with about 13,000 students.^[258] Vanderbilt is considered one of the nation's leading research universities and is particularly known for its medical, law, and education programs.^[259]

Nashville is home to more historically Black institutions of higher education than any other city save for Atlanta, Georgia: Fisk University, Tennessee State University, Meharry Medical College, and American Baptist College.^[260]

Other schools based in Nashville include Belmont University, Lipscomb University, Trevecca Nazarene University, John A. Gupton College. The Tennessee Board of Regents operates Nashville State Community College and the Nashville branch of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.^[261]

Other nearby institutes of higher education include Murfreesboro's Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and Clarksville's Austin Peay University, both full-sized public university with Tennessee's second- and eighth-largest undergraduate populations, respectively; Daymar College in Franklin; and Cumberland University in Lebanon.

Media

Main article: Media in Nashville, Tennessee

Former offices of The Tennessean

The daily newspaper in Nashville is The Tennessean, which until 1998 competed with the Nashville Banner, another daily paper that was housed in the same building under a joint-operating agreement.^[262] The Tennessean is the city's most widely circulated newspaper. Online news service NashvillePost.com competes with the printed dailies to break local and state news. Several weekly papers are also published in Nashville, including The Nashville Pride, Nashville Business Journal, Nashville Scene and The Tennessee Tribune. Historically, The Tennessean was associated with a broadly liberal editorial policy, while The Banner carried staunchly conservative views in its editorial pages;^[262] The Banner's heritage had been carried on, to an extent, by The City Paper which folded in August 2013 after having been founded in October 2000. The Nashville Scene is the area's alternative weekly broadsheet. The Nashville Pride is aimed towards community development and serves Nashville's entrepreneurial population. Nashville Post is an online news source covering business, politics and sports.

Nashville is home to eleven broadcast television stations, although most households are served by direct cable network connections. Comcast Cable has a monopoly on terrestrial cable service in Davidson County (but not throughout the entire media market). Nashville is ranked as the 26th largest television market in the United States.^[263] Major stations include WKRN-TV 2 (ABC), WSMV-TV 4 (NBC), WTVF 5 (CBS), WNPT 8 (PBS), WTNX-LD 15 (Telemundo), WZTV 17 (Fox, with The CW on DT2), WNPX-TV 28 (ion), WPGD-TV 50 (TBN), WLLC-LD 42 (Univision), WUXP-TV 30 (MyNetworkTV), (WJFB) 44 (MeTV), and WNAB 58 (Dabl).^[264]

Nashville is also home to cable networks Country Music Television (CMT) and RFD-TV, among others. CMT's master control facilities are located in New York City with other Viacom properties. The Top 20 Countdown and CMT Insider are taped in their Nashville studios. Shop at Home Network was once based in Nashville, but the channel signed off in 2008.^[265]

Several FM and AM radio stations broadcast in the Nashville area, including five college stations and one LPFM community radio station. Nashville is ranked as the 39th largest radio market in the United States. WSM-FM is owned by Cumulus Media and is 95.5 FM. WSM-AM, owned by Gaylord Entertainment Company, is based on the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. WSM is famous for carrying live broadcasts of the Grand Ole Opry, through which it helped spread the popularity of country music in America, and continues to broadcast country music throughout its broadcast day. WLAC, whose over-the-air signal is heard at 1510 AM, is an iHeartMedia-owned talk station which was originally sponsored by the Life and Casualty Insurance Company of Tennessee, and its competitor WWTN is owned by Cumulus.

Several major motion pictures have been filmed in Nashville, including The Green Mile, “The Matrix”, The Last Castle, Gummo, “Starman”, The Thing Called Love, Two Weeks, Coal Miner's Daughter, Nashville,^[266] and Country Strong, as well as the ABC television series Nashville.

Infrastructure

Transportation

According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 78.1% of working Nashville residents commuted by driving alone, 9.8% carpooled, 2% used public transportation, and 2.2% walked. About 1.1% used all other forms of transportation, including taxicab, motorcycle, and bicycle. About 6.7% of working Nashville residents worked at home.^[267] In 2015, 7.9% of city of Nashville households were without a car; this figure decreased to 5.9% in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Nashville averaged 1.72 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.^[268]

Highways

Nashville is centrally located at the crossroads of three Interstate Highways, I-40 (east-west), I-24 (northwest-southeast) and I-65 (north-south). I-40 connects the city between Memphis to the west and Knoxville to the east, I-24 connects between Clarksville to the northwest and Chattanooga to the southeast, and I-65 connects between Louisville to the north and Huntsville to the south. All three of these interstate highways, which also serve the suburbs, form brief concurrencies with each other in the city, and completely encircle downtown. I-440 is a bypass route connecting I-40, I-65, and I-24 south of Downtown Nashville. Briley Parkway, the majority of which is a freeway, forms a bypass around the north side of the city and its interstates. Ellington Parkway, a freeway made up of a section of US 31E, runs between east of downtown and Briley Parkway, serving as an alternative route to I-65. I-840 provides an outer southern bypass for the city and its suburbs. U.S. Routes 31, 31E, 31W, 31 Alternate, 41, 41 Alternate, 70, 70S, and 431 also serve Nashville, intersecting in the city's center as arterial surface roads and radiating outward. Most of these routes are called "pikes" and many carry the names of nearby towns to which they lead. Among these are Clarksville Pike, Gallatin Pike, Lebanon Pike, Murfreesboro Pike, Nolensville Pike, and Franklin Pike.^[269]

Public transit

Map showing Lines Owned and Operated by the Nashville Railway and Light Company c. 1907

WeGo Public Transit provides bus transit within the city. Routes utilize a hub and spoke method, centered around the Music City Central transit station in downtown.^[270] A rejected expansion plan included use of bus rapid transit and light rail service at some point in the future.^[271] A subsequent expansion plan focused on improving sidewalks, adding smart signals, upgrading bus stops and transit centers, implementing a 24-hour bus service and adding 54 miles of high-capacity transit corridors was passed in 2024.^[272]

Nashville is considered a gateway city for rail and air traffic for the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion.^[273]

Air

Interior of the terminal at the Nashville International Airport

The city is served by Nashville International Airport (BNA), which is operated by the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA). Nearly 23 million passengers visited the airport in 2023, making it the 29th busiest airport in the US.^[274] BNA is ranked the fastest growing airport among the top 50 airports in the United States. Nashville International Airport serves 600 daily flights to more than 100 nonstop markets.

In late 2014, BNA became the first major U.S. airport to establish dedicated pick-up and drop-off areas for vehicle for hire companies.^[275]

The airport authority also operates the John C. Tune Airport, a Class E airspace general aviation airport.

Intercity rail

A WeGo Star commuter train beneath the Shelby Street Bridge

Although a major freight hub for CSX Transportation, Nashville is not currently served by Amtrak, the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. to have this distinction.^[276] Nashville's Union Station had once been a major intercity passenger rail center for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad; Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway; and the Tennessee Central Railway, reaching Midwestern cities and cities on the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. However, by the time of Amtrak's founding, service had been cut back to a single train, the Floridian, which ran from Chicago to Miami and St. Petersburg, Florida. It served Union Station until its cancellation on October 9, 1979, due to poor track conditions resulting in late trains and low ridership, ending over 120 years of intercity rail service in Nashville.

While there have been few proposals to restore Amtrak service to Nashville, there have been repeated calls from residents.^[277] In addition to scarce federal funding, Tennessee state officials do not believe that Nashville is large enough to support intercity rail. "It would be wonderful to say I can be in Memphis and jump on a train to Nashville, but the volume of people who would do that isn't anywhere close to what the cost would be to provide the service," said Ed Cole, chief of environment and planning with the Tennessee Department of Transportation.^[277] Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, said rail trips would catch on if routes were expanded, but conceded that it would be nearly impossible to resume Amtrak service to Nashville without a substantial investment from the state.^[277] However, in 2020, Amtrak indicated it was considering a service that would run from Atlanta to Nashville by way of Chattanooga.^[278]

Nashville launched a passenger commuter rail system called the Music City Star (now the WeGo Star) on September 18, 2006. The only currently operational leg of the system connects the city of Lebanon to downtown Nashville at the Nashville Riverfront station. Legs to Clarksville, Murfreesboro and Gallatin are currently in the feasibility study stage. The system plan includes seven legs connecting Nashville to surrounding suburbs.

Bridges

Bridges within the city include:

Official name	Other names	Length	Date opened	Notes
Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge	Gateway Bridge	1,660 ft (510 m)	May 19, 2004	[279]
Kelly Miller Smith Memorial Bridge	Jefferson Street Bridge	1,835 ft (559 m)	March 2, 1994	[280]
Old Hickory Bridge		1,222 ft (372 m)	1928; second span built 1967	[281]
Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge	Bordeaux Bridge		September 18, 1980	[282]
John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge	Shelby Street Bridge	3,150 ft (960 m)	July 5, 1909	[283]
Silliman Evans Bridge		2,362 ft (720 m)	January 14, 1964	[284]
Lyle H. Fulton Memorial Bridge			March 15, 1971	[285]
Victory Memorial Bridge			May 19, 1956	[286]
William Goodwin Bridge	Hobson Pike Bridge	2,215 ft (675 m)
Woodland Street Bridge		639 ft (195 m)	April 10, 1886; replaced 1965	[287][288]

Utilities

The city of Nashville owns the Nashville Electric Service (NES), Metro Water Services (MWS) and Nashville District Energy System (NDES). The Nashville Electric Service provides electricity to the entirety of Davidson County and small portions of the six adjacent counties, and purchases its power from the Tennessee Valley Authority.^[289] Metro Water Services provides water, wastewater, and stormwater to Nashville and the majority of Davidson County, as well as water services to small portions of Rutherford and Williamson counties, and wastewater services to small portions of all of the surrounding counties except for Cheatham County. MWS sources its water from the Cumberland River and operates two water treatment plants and three wastewater treatment plants.^[290] Ten additional utility companies provide water and sewer service to Nashville and Davidson County. The Nashville District Energy System provides heating and cooling services to certain buildings in downtown, including multiple government buildings.^[291] Natural gas is provided by Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy.^[292]

Healthcare

See also: List of hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee

As a major center for the healthcare industry, Nashville is home to several hospitals and other primary care facilities. Most hospitals in Nashville are operated by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the TriStar Division of Hospital Corporation of America, and Ascension Saint Thomas.^[293] The Metropolitan Nashville Hospital Authority operates Nashville General Hospital, which is affiliated with Meharry Medical College.^[294]

International relations

Sister cities

Nashville's sister cities are:^[295]

• Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
• Caen, France
• Chengdu, China
• Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq^[296]
• Edmonton, Canada
• Kamakura, Japan
• Magdeburg, Germany
• Mendoza, Argentina
• Taiyuan, China
• Tamworth, Australia

Candidates^[297]

• Gwangjin (Seoul), South Korea

International Friendship City^[298]

• Crouy, France

Municipality United in Friendship^[298]

• El Port de la Selva, Spain

Consulates

Nashville is also home to consulates for the following countries:

• Denmark^[299]
• El Salvador^[300]
• France (honorary)^[301]
• Germany (honorary)^[302]
• Guatemala^[303]
• Ireland (honorary)^[304]
• Japan^[305]

See also

• List of people from Nashville, Tennessee
• Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency
• The Children, 1999 book about the Nashville Student Movement
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Davidson County, Tennessee
• USS Nashville, 3 ships

Notes

1. Tennessee Code 2-13-208 requires all municipal elections and their respective offices to be nonpartisan.^[2]
2. Consolidated refers to the population of Davidson County; Balance refers to the population of Nashville excluding other incorporated cities within the Nashville-Davidson boundary.
3. This ranking is based on Nashville's balance population of 689,447.
4. De jure, the city of Nashville includes all of Davidson County including its satellite cities. However, the Nashville-Davidson balance will be used when referring to Nashville.
5. Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
6. Official records for Nashville were kept at downtown from December 1973 to December 1939, and at Nashville Int'l since January 1940. For more information, see Threadex
7. The significant increase between 1960 and 1970 is due to the merging of Nashville and Davidson County in 1963.
8. From 15% sample
9. Excluding the increase between 1960 and 1970, which was mostly due to the consolidation of the governments of Nashville and Davidson County

References

1. Peter, Kris (August 6, 2020). "Why Is Nashville Called Nashvegas?". sunlightliving.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
2. "Tennessee Code 2-13-208 – Municipal elections to be nonpartisan". LawServer.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
3. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 – County – County Subdivision and Place: 2010 Census Summary File 1". U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
4. "Geographic Names Information System". edits.nationalmap.gov. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
5. "QuickFacts: Davidson County, Tennessee". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
6. "QuickFacts: Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
7. "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
8. "Total Gross Domestic Product for Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN (MSA)". fred.stlouisfed.org. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
9. "How Did Nashville Become the Hub of Country Music?". HowStuffWorks. June 25, 2018. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
10. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
11. Francis, Erica (July 28, 2021). "Nashville takes top spot as city with most economic growth in 2021". WKRN-TV. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
12. Boston Sellers, Jan (January 18, 2018). "Nashville is one of the fastest growing U.S. cities". Crossville Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
13. "The World According to GaWC 2020". GaWC - Research Network. Globalization and World Cities. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
14. Harper, Garrett; Cotton, Chris (2013). Nashville Music Industry: Impact, Contribution, and Cluster Analysis (PDF) (Report). Nashville Chamber of Commerce. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
15. Haggard, Amanda (September 13, 2018). "How Nashville Changed Health Care for the Nation". Nashville Scene. Nashville, TN. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
16. Hillinger, Charles (May 28, 1986). "Nashville: Publishing Bibles Is Big Business". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
17. McGee, Jamie (June 18, 2018). "Big financial companies increasingly choosing Nashville". The Tennessean. Nashville, TN. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
18. Grigsby, Karen (March 27, 2018). "Tennessee's huge auto industry: 7 things you may not know". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
19. Layden, Melanie (April 6, 2021). "Booming tech industry in Middle Tennessee". WSMV-TV. Nashville. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
20. "Contact Us AB". Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
21. "Asurion: Contact Us". Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
22. "Bridgestone Americas Corporate Headquarters". Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
23. "Captain D's: Careers". Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
24. "HCA Healthcare". Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
25. "LifeWay Christian Resources: Contact Information". Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
26. "Company Overview of Logan's Roadhouse, Inc". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
27. "Ryman Hospitality Properties: Contact Us". Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
28. "Alvin Wirt, "The Upper Cumberland of Pioneer Times," 1954" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
29. Albright, Edward (1909). Early History of Middle Tennessee. pp. 18–19. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
30. Cumfer, Cynthia (2007). Separate peoples, one land: The minds of Cherokees, Blacks, and Whites on the Tennessee frontier. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-8078-3151-9.
31. All About Nashville: A Complete Historical Guide Book to the City. 1912. p. 54.
32. Zepp, George (April 30, 2003). "Slave market included auction blocks, brokers offices in downtown Nashville". The Tennessean. p. 16. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
33. "Iron Industry". Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
34. "James Knox Polk". American President: A Reference Resource. Miller Center, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
35. "Cumberland Masonic Lodge 8; Existing Tombstones". Nashville City Cemetery Association. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
36. Bowling, William King (1866). Cholera, as it appeared in Nashville in 1849, 1850, 1854 and 1866. Nashville, TN: University Book and Job Office, Medical College. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
37. Martin, Rachel L. (2018). "How Hot Chicken Really Happened". The Bitter Southerner. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
38. "John W. Morton Passes Away in Shelby". The Tennessean. November 21, 1914. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. To Captain Morton came the peculiar distinction of having organized that branch of the Ku Klux Klan which operated in Nashville and the adjacent territory, but a more signal honor was his when he performed the ceremonies which initiated Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest into the mysterious ranks of the Ku Klux Klan.
39. "A Night of Excitement. David Jones, the Murderer of Murray, Taken from the Jail by a Mob. Murderer Offers Resistance, and is Shot Twice. Afterwards Taken to the Public Square and Hanged in Front of the Station House. The Hanging Witnesses by Immense Crowd of Excited Citizens. Efforts of the Mayor to Restore Quiet. Gov. Brown Makes an Appeal in Behalf of Law and Order". Nashville Union and American. March 26, 1872. p. 4. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
40. "A Fearful Outrage. A Negro Murderer Lynched by a Few Citizens in Nashville—A Mob Looking On and Endorsing the Deed. The State Disgraced by a Supine Set of Officers—An Unmitigated Outrage Against Law and Decency. A Crime for Which the Perpetrators Out to be Made to Pay with Their Lives—The Whole State Demands It". Memphis Daily Appeal. May 3, 1875. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
41. "Marshall's Exit. A Fast Man's Career, with the Usual Ending. The Little Game He Played on Ex-Collector Peabody. His Address Is Now Somewhere Beyond the Rio Grande. What He Claimed to Know about the Jo Reed Affair". The American. Nashville, Tennessee. December 25, 1875. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
42. II, Vann R. Newkirk (November 13, 2023). "How the Negro Spiritual Changed American Popular Music—And America Itself". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
43. "About The Fisk Jubilee Singers". Fisk Jubilee Singers. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
44. Barnes, Joseph K. (1875). The Cholera Epidemic of 1873 in the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 478 – via Google Books.
45. "Nashville: History". City-data.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
46. "The Mob Had Its Way. Ephraim Grizzard Taken from Jail at Nashville and Lynched". The Richmond Item. Richmond, Virginia. May 2, 1892. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
47. Wells, Ida Bell (1892). United States Atrocities: Lynch Law. "Lux" Newspaper and Publishing. p. 7. JSTOR 60222131. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
48. "Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror. Supplement: Lynchings by County" (PDF). Equal Justice Initiative (3rd ed.). 2017. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
49. Simpson, John A. (2003). Edith D. Pope and Her Nashville Friends: Guardians of the Lost Cause in the Confederate Veteran. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press. pp. 29–31. ISBN 978-1-57233-211-9. OCLC 428118511.
50. Goff, Reda C. (Spring 1972). "The Confederate Veteran Magazine". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 31 (1): 45–60. JSTOR 42623281.
51. Simpson, John A. (2003). Edith D. Pope and Her Nashville Friends: Guardians of the Lost Cause in the Confederate Veteran. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-1-57233-211-9. OCLC 428118511.
52. Deville, Nancy (June 24, 2004). "Footpath became heart of city's black middle class. From '40s to '60s, Jefferson Street among best known music districts in the nation". The Tennessean. pp. 1, 11. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
53. "Nashville: Country music capital of the world". NZ Herald. March 2, 2024. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
54. Senator & William Frist, Senator Fred Thompson-- Collector (2000). "Grand Ole Opry". lcweb2.loc.gov. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
55. Spinney 1998, p. 96
56. Byworth, Tony (2006). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music. London: Flame Tree Publishing. pp. 115–117, 169. ISBN 978-1-84451-406-9.
57. Dawidoff, Nicholas (March 10, 1997). In the Country of Country. Great Britain: Faber and Faber. pp. 48–50. ISBN 0-571-19174-6.
58. Bucy, Carole (2015). "A Short History of the Creation of Metropolitan Government for Nashville-Davidson County" (PDF). Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 25, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
59. Houston 2012, p. 91-99
60. "Blast Wrecks Home Of Nashville Negro Lawyer". The Oshkosh Northwestern. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. United Press International. April 19, 1960. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
61. "Nashville's Mayor for Integration". The News Palladium. Benton Harbor, Michigan. Associated Press. April 20, 1960. p. 8. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
62. "Bob Dylan in Nashville". Country Music Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
63. "Johnny Cash". Country Music Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
64. "Country After Elvis | Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum | Nashville, Tennessee". May 16, 2008. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
65. "Historic Nashville | Keeping Nashville Unique Since 1968". historicnashvilleinc.org. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
66. Frizzell, Scott (Spring 2011). "Not Just a Matter of Black and White: The Nashville Riot of 1967". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 70 (1): 26–51. JSTOR 42628733.
67. Ebert, Joel (August 18, 2017). "Nathan Bedford Forrest bust at the Tennessee Capitol: What you need to know". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
68. McKnight, Gail (June 4, 1984). "Bill requires Council nod on duplexes". The Tennessean.
69. McKnight, Gail (July 6, 1984). "Council advances housing controls". The Tennessean.
70. Roland, Cindy (January 27, 1993). "Neighbors target duplexes". The Tennessean.
71. Ammenheuser, David (January 22, 2016). "Arena took downtown Nashville from eerie to epic". The Tennessean. Nashville, TN. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
72. Allison, Natalie (October 27, 2018). "Phil Bredesen holds event celebrating 20 years of Titans, Predators in Nashville". The Tennessean. Nashville, TN. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
73. Boclair, David (July 27, 2017). "20 Moments From 20 Years of Titans in Tennessee". Nashville Scene. Nashville, TN. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
74. Maske, Mark (January 31, 2000). "Rams Get Late Score, Final Tackle to Win, 23–16". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
75. "Nashville Predators Timeline". Nashville, TN: WSMV. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
76. Pinchevsky, Tal (June 12, 2017). "Penguins win Stanley Cup after controversial early whistle cancels out Predators goal". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
77. "Nashville voters reject English-only measure". CNN. January 22, 2009. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
78. Grigsby, Karen (April 30, 2015). "20 things to know about the 2010 Nashville flood". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
79. Morales, Lymari; Daly, Joe (March 29, 2012). "Oklahoma City Leads Large Cities in Job Creation". Gallup. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
80. Jankowski, Paul (January 23, 2013). "Nashville Is Nowville...And Has Been For A While". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
81. "Nowville: The GQ Guide to Nashville, Tennessee". GQ. July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
82. Severson, Kim (January 8, 2013). "Nashville's Latest Big Hit Could Be the City Itself". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
83. Garrison, Joey (September 22, 2015). "Barry picks 'We make Nashville' as inauguration theme". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
84. "Mayoral candidate Megan Barry performs first wedding for same-sex couple in Nashville". WJHL.com. June 26, 2015. Archived from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
85. "Fastest Growing Large Metro Economies Of 2016 Are Grand Rapids, Orlando, Nashville; Slowest Are Oklahoma, Houston, New Orleans". Headlight Data. July 5, 2017. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
86. De Lombaerde, Geert (December 1, 2016). "Freddie Mac says Nashville still hottest housing market in U.S." Nashville Post. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
87. McKenzie, Kevin (May 25, 2017). "Nashville overtakes Memphis as Tennessee's largest city". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, Tennessee. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
88. Hale, Steven (April 16, 2018). "Nashville's Homelessness Crisis in the National Spotlight". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on April 16, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
89. Garrison, Joey (April 11, 2018). "Nashville mayoral election now set for May 24". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
90. "May 24 Election Results". Davidson County Election Commission. May 24, 2018. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
91. "List of Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee" (PDF). Metro Archives. Nashville Public Library. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
92. Tabuchi, Hiroko (June 19, 2018). "How the Koch Brothers Are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
93. "Mayor's Office". Nashville.gov. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
94. Gee, Brandon; Timothy Bella; Kim Bellware; Matthew Cappucci (March 3, 2020). "Tornadoes kill at least 19 people, leave trail of destruction in and around Nashville". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
95. "LIVE COVERAGE: Police release photo of RV before explosion in downtown Nashville". WTVF. December 25, 2020. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
96. "Nashville school shooting live updates: Six killed, including three children". NBC. March 27, 2023. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
97. "'Sad day for our community': At least 6 dead as tornadoes rampage through Middle Tennessee". The Tennessean.
98. "Elevations of the 50 Largest Cities (by population, 1980 Census)". Elevations and Distances in the United States. U.S. Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
99. "Davidson County High Point, Tennessee". PeakBagger.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
100. "Radnor Lake State Natural Area". Important Bird Areas. Tennessee Ornithological Society. February 19, 2006. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
101. "Gallery: Grand opening for Pinnacle tower". Nashville Business Journal. February 11, 2010. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
102. "About | nashvillemusiccitycenter.com". www.nashvillemusiccitycenter.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
103. "Music City Center in Nashville". Visit Nashville TN. March 22, 2019. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
104. Tankersley, Larry (July 1998). "Native Trees for Tennessee" (PDF). The University of Tennessee, Agricultural Extension Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
105. Kobayashi, Hiroyuki (April 9, 2019). "Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival is a chance to celebrate international friendship". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
106. Petersen, James F.; Sack, Dorothy I.; Gabler, Robert E. (2016). Physical Geography (11th ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-305-65264-4.
107. "Humid subtropical climate". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. March 14, 2016. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
108. Pidwirny, Michael (2006). "Climate Classification and Climatic Regions of the World". Fundamentals of Physical Geography (2nd ed.). Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
109. Harris, Amy (2011). "Climate of Nashville, Tennessee". USA Today. Travel Tips. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
110. "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
111. "Snowstorms Producing at Least 6" at Nashville". NOAA.gov. November 17, 2009. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
112. "Nashville Relative Humidity". Cityrating.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
113. Gale Research (2006). Cities of the United States. Vol. 1 (5th ed.). Detroit: Thomson-Gale. p. 511. ISBN 0-7876-7369-2.
114. "USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map". United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
115. "An urban heat island: How average summer temperatures keep rising in Nashville". WTVF. July 22, 2022. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
116. Buchanan, Joy (March 21, 2007). "Nashville's an allergy leader, but it's not alone". The Tennessean. Retrieved March 21, 2007.^{[dead link]}
117. "Spring Allergy Capitals 2008" (PDF). AAFA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
118. "Calendar of Significant Weather Events in Middle Tennessee". NOAA.gov. August 3, 2009. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
119. "Calendar of Significant Weather Events in Middle Tennessee". Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
120. "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
121. "Station: NASHVILLE INTL AP, TN". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
122. "WMO Climate Normals for NASHVILLE/METRO ARPT TN 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
123. "Nashville, Tennessee, USA - Monthly weather forecast and Climate data". Weather Atlas. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
124. "Nashville/Metro. TN - 72327" (PDF), CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMALS (CLINO) . FOR THE PERIOD 1961-1990, World Meteorological Organization, pp. 438, 443, 1996, ISBN 92-63-0084 7-7
125. "Climate". Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
126. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
127. Gibson, Campbell (June 1998). "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places In The U.S.: 1790 to 1990". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 14, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
128. "Ranking Tables for Incorporated Places of 100,000 or More: 1990 and 2000". U.S. Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009.
129. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
130. "ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
131. "Table 43. Tennessee – Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Large Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. July 13, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 17, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
132. "Davidson County, Tennessee: Selected Social Characteristics in the United States: 2007–2009". U.S. Census Bureau. 2009. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
133. "Davidson County, Tennessee: Population and Housing Narrative Profile: 2007–2009". U.S. Census Bureau. 2009. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
134. "Nashville-Davidson County metropolitan government: Selected Economic Characteristics: 2007–2011". U.S. Census Bureau. 2011. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
135. "State & County QuickFacts – Davidson County, Tennessee". U.S. Census Bureau. April 18, 2019. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
136. Swarns, Rachel L (July 20, 2003). "U.S. a Place of Miracles for Somali Refugees". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
137. "Nashville's Hispanics". The Economist. March 14, 2015. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
138. Copeland, Larry (June 15, 2006). "Who's the biggest fish in the South?". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
139. Meyer, Holly (April 30, 2015). "Nashville residents recall harrowing fall of Saigon". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
140. "Top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas by Laotian population, 2015". pewsocialtrends.org. Pew Research Center. September 8, 2017. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
141. Piven, Ben (October 15, 2012). "Immigrants thrive in US country music capital". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
142. Cornfield, Daniel B.; Arzubiaga, Angela; BeLue, Rhonda; Brooks, Susan L.; Brown, Tony N.; et al. (August 15, 2003). "Final Report of the Immigrant Community Assessment" (PDF). Nashville.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
143. Sawyer, Ariana Maia (June 23, 2017). "Who are the Kurds, and why are they in Nashville?". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
144. Echegaray, Chris (January 1, 2009). "Newest refugees hail from Bhutan". The Tennessean.^{[permanent dead link]}
145. Alligood, Leon (January 11, 2005). "Local Iraqis ready to vote but worried about process". The Tennessean.^{[dead link]} Alt URL Archived September 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
146. Boxer, Matthew; Aronson, Janet Krasner; Brookner, Matthew A.; Perry, Ashley (2016). "2015 Nashville and Middle Tennessee Jewish Community Study" (PDF). Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
147. "Introduction - Black Nashville in History & Memory". Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
148. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018". U.S. Census Bureau. April 2019. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
149. "Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Components, November 2004, With Codes". U.S. Census Bureau. March 2005. Archived from the original on August 4, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
150. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018 – United States – Combined Statistical Area; and for Puerto Rico". U.S. Census Bureau. April 2019. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
151. "Religion in Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee". Sperling's BestPlaces. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
152. Gordon, Claire (May 7, 2013). "Nashville Is America's New Boomtown". Business Insider. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
153. Kotkin, Joel (July 6, 2011). "The Next Big Boom Towns In The U.S." Forbes. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
154. Strauss, Karsten (August 9, 2017). "The 10 Big U.S. Cities With the Fastest-Growing Economies". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
155. Garrison, Joey (March 28, 2017). "New data: Nashville region still growing by 100 people a day". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
156. Kotkin, Joel (June 26, 2017). "The Cities Creating The Most High-Wage Jobs". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
157. Allison, Melissa (January 6, 2017). "Nashville Tops the List of Hottest Housing Markets for 2017". Zillow Porchlight. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
158. Badenhausen, Kurt (August 7, 2013). "Best Places For Business and Careers". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
159. Kotkin, Joel; Shires, Michael (July 13, 2015). "The Cities Creating The Most White-Collar Jobs". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
160. "11th Annual Rankings Report: Metro and Global Rankings". Business Facilities (BF) Magazine. July 30, 2015. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
161. "Dell to Expand Nashville Operations; Increase Area Workforce By Up to 1,000 Employees" (Press release). Dell.com. June 2, 2006. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
162. Sichko, Adam (August 24, 2017). "Fortune 500 company bringing jobs to Middle Tennessee". Nashville Business Journal. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
163. "Country Music Labels". ClubNashville.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2006.
164. "Hoedown on a Harpsichord". Time. November 14, 1960. Archived from the original on December 5, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
165. "Nashville Music Industry: Impact, Contribution and Cluster Analysis" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of America. September 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
166. Hill, Melanie (September 12, 2011). "Nashville's Health-Care Industry has Great Prognosis". Businessclimate.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
167. Genova, Jane (December 17, 2010). "Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) has 4,000 Job Openings". AOL Jobs. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011.
168. Williams, Tiffany L. (April 12, 2012). "Nashville's Premier Medical Services Keep Health-Care Industry Booming". Businessclimate.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
169. Quade, Vicki (November 1983). "Jail Business: Private firm breaks in". American Bar Association Journal. 69 (11): 1611–1612. JSTOR 20756517.
170. Davis, Bethany. "Corrections Corporation of America Rebrands as CoreCivic". Corrections Corporation of America. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
171. Selman, Donna; Leighton, Paul (2010). Punishment for Sale: Private Prisons, Big Business, and the Incarceration Binge. New York City: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-1-4422-0174-3. Pre-IPO shareholders included Vanderbilt University, where Thomas Beasley received a law degree (and which has done some research favorable to private prisons).
172. Elliott, Stephen (September 14, 2017). "Cities Are Divesting From Private Prisons, but Not Nashville". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017. A lot of the money "that flows into the private-prison business" flows directly to Nashville, where private-prison leader CoreCivic has its headquarters. [...] Nashville's pension fund holds a $921,000 stake in the company formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, according to the most recent investment report.
173. "GM Corporate Newsroom - United States - Company - Spring Hill Manufacturing". May 10, 2019. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
174. Goo Goo Cluster – A Real Milk Chocolate Original Southern Treat! Archived May 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Googoo.com (August 13, 2013). Retrieved on September 5, 2013.
175. Snyder, Eric (October 18, 2018). "Finance giant signs lease for new Nashville HQ". Nashville Business Journal. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
176. "Adam Sansiveri To Head Bernstein's New Nashville Private Client Office" (Press release). PR Newswire. February 6, 2019. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
177. "Amazon's Operations Center bringing 5K jobs to Nashville". WTVF. November 13, 2018. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
178. Gonzalez, Tony (April 14, 2021). "Oracle Pitches Nashville On Record-Setting 8,500-Person Tech Hub". WPLN-FM. Nashville: Nashville Public Radio. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
179. Luxen, Emily (May 4, 2021). "Metro Council approves $1.2 billion Oracle hub". WTVF-TV. Nashville. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
180. "iHeartMedia Selects Nashville as Second Headquarters for iHeartRadio Digital". businesswire. December 2, 2019. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
181. Lewitinn, Lawrence (October 14, 2015). "Never mind New York – Dallas and Nashville are hotter for real estate: PwC". Yahoo! Finance. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
182. Schneider, Keith (October 13, 2015). "Nashville's Skyline Being Reshaped by Building Boom". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
183. "Largest Employers in Nashville". Nashville Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
184. "State Capitol | Tennessee Secretary of State". sos.tn.gov. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
185. "The Hermitage". National Park Service. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
186. "Andrew Jackson's Hermitage: Home of the People's President". TNVacation.com. State of Tennessee, Department of Tourist Development. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
187. "Why Nashville Can't Quit Country Music". Bloomberg.com. September 15, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2020 – via Bloomberg.
188. "Nashville: Country music capital of the world". NZ Herald. June 17, 2023. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
189. "Country Music Capital". Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
190. "Nashville: America's Country Music Capital". Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
191. Cain, Stephanie (June 13, 2018). "Bachelorettes in Boots Take On Nashville". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
192. Romine, Linda (2006). Frommer's Nashville & Memphis (7th ed.). Hoboken: Wiley. pp. 117–120. ISBN 0-471-77614-9.
193. Guier, Cindy Stooksbury; Finch, Jackie Sheckler (2007). Insiders' Guide to Nashville (6th ed.). Guilford: Globe Pequot. pp. 118–129. ISBN 978-0-7627-4186-1.
194. "Ray Stevens CabaRay Showroom | Music Shows in Nashville, TN". Ray Stevens CabaRay. Archived from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
195. Roos, Dave (June 25, 2018). "How Did Nashville Become the Hub of Country Music?". How Stuff Works. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
196. Davidson, Carla (November–December 2005). "Singing City". American Heritage. 56 (6). Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
197. Hubbard, Ashley (August 16, 2022). "Nashville Trivia – Fun and Interesting Facts About Music City". Wild Hearted. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
198. Petersen, Anne Helen (March 29, 2018). "How Nashville Became One Big Bachelorette Party". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
199. Hale, Steven (August 3, 2017). "Welcome to Bachelorette City". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
200. Gainey, Blaise (June 30, 2022). "Party's over for some transportainment companies as Nashville denies dozens of party vehicle permits". WPLN. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
201. Nakamura, Reid (May 24, 2018). "CMT Orders 'Bachelorette Weekend' Reality Show From 'Jersey Shore' Producers". The Wrap. Archived from the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
202. "Nashville Fashion Week". nashvillefasionweek.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
203. "History". Rites of Spring. February 1, 2011. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
204. Gill, Joey. "Nashville Pride Festival breaks attendance record with over 75,000 attending". WSMV Nashville. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
205. Lori Grisham (June 9, 2015). "Nashville vies with New York for largest U.S. fireworks show". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
206. "Nashville's Fourth of July 'Let Freedom Sing!' celebration". WKRN News 2. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
207. "Home". Tomato Art Festival. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
208. "African American Cultural Alliance". AACANashville.org. Archived from the original on May 17, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
209. Bliss, Jessica (October 5, 2019). "Celebrate Nashville culture festival is a vibrant display of the city's diversity". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
210. "Art Nashville". Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
211. "Oktoberfest German Beer Festival · Nashville's Top October Event". Nashville Oktoberfest. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
212. Pleasant, Joseph (October 10, 2015). "Nashville's Oktoberfest continues in Germantown". WKRN. Archived from the original on October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
213. "Oktoberfest Raises More than $50K For Local Organizations". WTVF. October 12, 2015. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
214. "Southern Festival of Books". Nashville Visitor's & Convention Corp. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
215. "Nashville's Veterans Day Parade". Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
216. "Music City, U.S.A." BMI.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2001. Retrieved February 15, 2006.
217. "Fisk Jubilee Singers Celebrate 135 Year Tradition with "Walk of Fame" Honors" (PDF). Fisk. 2 (1): 14. March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
218. Kreyling, Christine M; Paine, Wesley; Warterfield, Charles W; Wiltshire, Susan Ford (1996). Classical Nashville: Athens of the South. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 0-585-13200-3.
219. Guier, Cindy Stooksbury; Finch, Jackie Sheckler (2007). Insiders' Guide to Nashville (6th ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot. pp. 13, 35, 396. ISBN 978-0-7627-4186-1.
220. Fausset, Richard (September 19, 2016). "Following Its Country Music, Nashville May Loosen Up on Marijuana". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 15, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
221. "Nashville Area Churches". NashCity.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
222. Miller, Rachel L (April 14, 2008). "Nashville: Sophisticated Southern City with a Country Edge". RoadandTravel.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
223. Silverman, Jack (September 22, 2005). "Cashville Underground". Nashville Scene. 24 (34). Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
224. Demsky, Ian; Avila, Oscar (December 30, 2004). "Iraqis to cast votes in Nashville". The Tennessean and Chicago Tribune.
225. Asimov, Eric (July 6, 1997). "True Grits in Nashville". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 26, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
226. Cornett, Alan (July 3, 2013). "Chicken That Lights You Up: Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish of Nashville". Pinstripe Pulpit. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
227. Talbott, Chris (March 27, 2013). "Burning desire: Hot chicken takes over Nashville". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
228. Olmsted, Larry (November 3, 2011). "Scorching Hot Fried Chicken in Nashville". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
229. "Music City Hot Chicken Festival". Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
230. "The Powder City of the World". Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
231. Speddon, Zach (October 1, 2019). "Potential Nashville MLB Ballpark Renderings Released". Ballpark Digest. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
232. Skrbina, Paul (May 7, 2024). "Here's what WNBA commissioner said it would take for Nashville to get expansion team". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
233. "History" (PDF). 2017 Tennessee Titans Media Guide. National Football League. 2017. pp. 319–464. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
234. Leimkuehler, Matthew (April 27, 2019). "NFL Draft in Nashville Breaks Attendance Record at 600,000, League Reports". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
235. "Franchise Timeline". Nashville Predators. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
236. "Nashville SC Breaks Tennessee Soccer Attendance Record With 59,069 on Hand for MLS Debut". Nashville SC. March 1, 2020. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
237. Davenport, Turron (May 2, 2022). "Welcome to Nashville, Whose New MLS Stadium Is the Largest, and Might Be Loudest, Soccer Stadium in the U.S." ESPN. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
238. "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
239. "Team History". Nashville Sounds. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
240. "Teams". AAL Football. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
241. Pogue, Greg (April 4, 2013). "Fairgrounds Speedway primed for 55th season". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
242. "History". Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
243. "Nashville Superspeedway welcomes Cup debut as track reopens". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
244. Bundgaard, Chris (August 27, 2013). "Amphitheater, more parks planned for Nashville riverfront". WKRN.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
245. Maldonado, Charles (November 21, 2010). "Metro's two-tiered revenue system raises taxing questions". The City Paper. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
246. Humbles, Andy (April 15, 2011). "Residents Vote To Surrender Lakewood's Charter". NewsChannel5.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
247. "Rein of Council redefines mayoral relationship". The City Paper. April 9, 2004. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
248. Jeong, Yihyun (September 28, 2019). "John Cooper sworn in as Nashville mayor, pledges to make city that 'works for everyone'". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
249. Pride, Richard A.; Woodward, J. David (1985). The Burden of Busing: The Politics of Desegregation in Nashville, Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0-87049-474-0.
250. Bruce, John M.; Clark, John A.; Gant, Michael M.; Daugherty, Linda M. (2003). "Tennessee: A Maturing Two-Party System". American Review of Politics. 24: 165–182. doi:10.15763/issn.2374-7781.2003.24.0.165-182. ISSN 2374-7781.
251. David Leip's Presidential Atlas (Maps for Indiana by election) Archived November 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Results prior to 1960 available through subscription only
252. Sutton, Caroline (February 7, 2022). "Gov. Lee signs congressional redistricting bill splitting Davidson County". WTVF-TV. Nashville. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
253. Witherspoon, Andrew; Levine, Sam. "A masterclass in election-rigging: how Republicans 'dismembered' a Democratic stronghold". the Guardian. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
254. "Table 6: Crime in the United States by metropolitan Statistical Area, 2017". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2017. Archived from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
255. "Table 1: Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 1998–2017". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2017. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
256. "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Davidson County". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
257. "Search for Private Schools". nces.gov. National Center for Education Statistics. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
258. "Vanderbilt University". National Center for Education Statistics. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
259. "Vanderbilt University". Forbes. 2019. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
260. "American Baptist College Designated as HBCU". The Tennessee Tribune. April 18, 2013. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
261. "Our Institutions". tbr.edu. Tennessee Board of Regents. May 2018. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
262. "Nashville Banner prints its own true 'final edition'". The Jackson Sun. Jackson, Tennessee. February 21, 1998. p. 6. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
263. "2021 Nielsen DMA Rankings" (PDF). Out of Home Advertising Association of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
264. "Stations for Nashville, Tennessee". Rabbitears.info. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
265. Harrington, Carly (January 8, 2008). "Jewelry Television pulls plug on Shop at Home network". Knoxville News Sentinel. Knoxville, Tennessee. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
266. Romine, Linda (2006). Frommer's Nashville & Memphis (7th ed.). Hoboken: Wiley. p. 32. ISBN 0-471-77614-9.
267. "Means of Transportation to Work by Age: American Community Survey 1-year estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
268. "Car Ownership in U.S. Cities Data and Map". Governing. December 9, 2014. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
269. Tennessee Department of Transportation Long Range Planning Division Office of Data Visualization (2018). Davidson County (PDF) (Map). Tennessee Department of Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
270. "Getting around". The Tennessean. October 8, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
271. Garrison, Joey (May 2, 2018). "Nashville voters overwhelmingly reject transit referendum". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
272. Mealins, Kelly Puente and Evan. "Nashville voters overwhelmingly approve $3.1 billion transit plan". The Tennessean. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
273. "Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion (PAM)". GATech.edu. 2009. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
274. "Total Passengers" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
275. McGee, Jamie (September 25, 2014). "Nashville airport first in U.S. to allow Uber, Lyft". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
276. "National Association of Railroad Passengers - Amtrak Service by Metro Area". Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
277. Howard, Kate (July 2, 2007). "Fans of rail want Amtrak here; Nashville not ready to support train service, state says". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
278. "Amtrak pitches passenger train from Nashville to Atlanta". WTVF. January 17, 2020. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
279. "Gateway Boulevard Bridge". Nashville.gov. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
280. Tran, Tini (March 3, 1994). "New bridge honors Kelly Miller Smith". The Tennessean. p. 1B, 2B. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
281. "Old Hickory Bridge". HistoricBridge.org. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
282. "New Bordeaux Bridge Slated for Use Today". The Tennessean. September 18, 1980. p. 68. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
283. Slater, Margaret; Skinner, Nancy (August 1998). "Sparkman Street Bridge (Shelby Street Bridge)" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. National Park Service. HAER No. TN-38. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
284. "Nashville Then: Best of 1964". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. December 30, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
285. "Interstate Sections To Open Monday". The Nashville Tennessean. March 12, 1971. p. 1, 12. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
286. Horn, Huston (May 20, 1956). "Traffic Moves On New Bridge". The Nashville Tennessean. pp. 1, 12. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
287. Carver, Martha (2008). "A History of Bridge Building in Tennessee" (PDF). Tennessee's Survey Report for Historic Highway Bridges. Tennessee Department of Transportation. p. 29. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
288. "Nashville's Woodland Street Bridge Repaired with Minimal Traffic Impedance". EZ Street Asphalt. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
289. "Nashville Electric Service". tva.gov. Tennessee Valley Authority. 2018. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
290. "About Metro Water Services". nashville.gov. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
291. Jeong, Yihyun (April 23, 2019). "Nashville wants to sell its downtown energy system to a private buyer for $60M". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
292. "Tennessee Service Territory". piedmontng.com. Piedmont Natural Gas. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
293. "Nashville-area hospitals". The Tennessean. September 10, 2015. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
294. "Nashville General Hospital". nashville.gov. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
295. "Sister Cities". Sister Cities of Nashville. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
296. "Kurdish presence in Nashville grows as city hopes to link with Erbil as sister city". The Tennessean. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
297. "Candidate Cities". Sister Cities of Nashville. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
298. "Friendship City". Sister Cities of Nashville. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
299. "Danish Consulate in Nashville, Tennessee". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
300. "Consulado de El Salvador en Nashville, TN". Consulados de El Salvador en Estados Unidos (in Spanish). November 20, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
301. "Amélie de Gaulle, a "petite France" in Nashville". Consulate General of France in Atlanta. April 13, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
302. "Tennessee". German Missions in the United States. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
303. "Consulate of Guatemala in Nashville". Cita Consular de Guatemala. August 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
304. "Amy Seigenthaler Pierce Appointed Honorary Consul in Tennessee". Consulate General of Ireland, Atlanta. March 7, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
305. "Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville". Retrieved October 6, 2024.

Bibliography

• Barnes, Melville Marshall (1974) [1st pub. Foster & Webb, 1902]. Biographical Sketches and Pictures of Company B, Confederate Veterans of Nashville, Tenn. Illustrated by Giers' Art Gallery. Brentwood, Tennessee: Beverly Pearson Barnes.
• Carey, Bill (2000). Fortunes, Fiddles, & Fried Chicken: A Nashville Business History. Franklin, Tennessee: Hillsboro Press. ISBN 1-57736-178-4.
• Duke, Jan (2005). Historic Photos of Nashville. Nashville, Tennessee: Turner. ISBN 978-1-59652-184-1.
• Durham, Walter T (2008). Nashville: The Occupied City, 1862–1863. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-1-57233-633-9.
• Durham, Walter T (2008). Reluctant Partners: Nashville and the Union, 1863–1865. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-1-57233-634-6.
• Egerton, John; et al., eds. (1979). Nashville: The Faces of Two Centuries, 1780–1980. Nashville, Tennessee: PlusMedia. LCCN 79089173. OCLC 5875892.
• Egerton, John; et al., eds. (2001). Nashville: An American Self-Portrait. Nashville, Tennessee: Beaten Biscuit. ISBN 0-9706702-1-4.
• Haugen, Ashley D (2009). Historic Photos of Nashville in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Nashville, Tennessee: Turner. ISBN 978-1-59652-539-9.
• Houston, Benjamin (2012). The Nashville Way: Racial Etiquette and the Struggle for Social Justice in a Southern City. Athens: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-4327-3.
• Lovett, Bobby L (1999). African-American History of Nashville, Tennessee, 1780–1930: Elites and Dilemmas. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1-55728-555-1.
• McGuire, Jim (2007). Historic Photos of the Opry: Ryman Auditorium, 1974. Nashville, Tennessee: Turner. ISBN 978-1-59652-373-9.
• Potter, Susanna H (2008). Nashville & Memphis. Moon Handbooks. Berkeley, California: Avalon Travel. ISBN 978-1-59880-102-6.
• Romine, Linda (2006). Nashville & Memphis. Frommer Guides (7th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Frommer's. ISBN 0-471-77614-9.
• Spinney, Robert Guy (May 1, 1998). World War II in Nashville: Transformation of the Homefront. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-1-57233-004-7.
• Winders, Jamie (2013). Nashville in the New Millennium: Immigrant Settlement, Urban Transformation, and Social Belonging. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. ISBN 978-1-61044-802-4.
• Wooldridge, John; et al., eds. (1890). History of Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: Methodist Episcopal Church, South. LCCN 76027605. OCLC 316211313.
• Zepp, George R (2009). Hidden History of Nashville. Charleston, South Carolina: History Press. ISBN 978-1-59629-792-0.

External links

Government

• Official website Archived February 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

Other

• Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau Archived October 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
• Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Archived January 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
• Metropolitan Archives of Nashville and Davidson County
• Nashville/Davidson County timeline from the Nashville Public Library