NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Despite a little downpour, Nashville turned out in droves for the biggest party of the year Monday night, New Year’s Eve.
Reigning CMA Entertainer of the year, Keith Urban rounded out a multi-genre concert lineup of Nashville-based talent, and coverage on “NBC’s New Year’s Eve” national broadcast live from Times Square in New York City with cut-away segments to Nashville New Year’s Eve famous live music and note drop. The Jack Daniel’s Music City Midnight: New Year’s Eve in Nashville was the tenth annual celebration and the third year at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.
In addition to Keith Urban headlining the free outdoor concert for the third year in a row, other special guests were Grammy-winning rocker Peter Frampton, the Academy of Country Music’s New Male Vocalist, Brett Young, genre-bending rock/pop band Judah & the Lion, critically-acclaimed pop rock singer/songwriter Caitlyn Smith, contemporary soul and rock artist Devon Gilfillian and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Grammy-winning DJ Dave Audé kept the crowd going between sets.
Besides the celebrated note drop and awesome music of seven bands, guests enjoyed the Craft Beer Zone featuring local breweries, 2019 Photo Prop booth, many of Nashville’s varied food trucks including samples of Nashville’s famous hot chicken and fireworks at 6 pm and midnight.
The Fisk University Jubilee Singers provided their signature acapella gospel numbers for the nearly 200,000 in attendance. They were then treated to Brett Young’s “Here Tonight” which was simulcast to the national NBC feed. Devon Gilfillian performed his new single “Winter Wonderland” while singer/songwriter Caitlin Smith serenaded the gathering with her hit “Before You Call Me Baby.” The Alt Rock/Folk band Judah and the Lion earned new fans as they sang the gold hit “Take it All Back.” And Peter Frampton delighted the masses with fan favorite “Do You Feel Like I Do?” But the highlight of the evening was once again Keith Urban singing “Love Somebody,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” and even the Tennessee favorite, “Rocky Top,” was thrown in. He concluded the evening with a salute to the troops with the song, “Raise Them Up.” Wife Nicole Kidman, aka as Queen Atlanna from Aquaman, was there to cheer the rocker on.
Every venue in Nashville was going strong on New Year’s Eve even including the Ryman Auditorium where Old Crow Medicine Show played and the Grand Ole’ Opry where John Prine and friends played. Regardless of what the weather may bring, the Nashville New Year’s Eve party is proving to be one of the biggest highlights of the year.
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Bethany Bowman is an entertainer writer for The Tennessee Star. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
