Before Nashville Knows
Good things. A little advance notice.
The Weekend — Thu Nov 12, 2026 (sample issue)
For Fri–Sun, Nov 13–15
Kahan at noon, two last tables, and a lantern-lit Hermitage
The weather story is the season's first hard freeze: highs around 50, but the nights drop to about 30 on Friday and into the 20s on Saturday (the National Weather Service's words: "widespread hard freeze this weekend"). Dry, at least — but anything outdoors after dark, from Glow Wild to the art crawl, is a bundle-up event, and Saturday's 11:45 kickoff will feel like January.
Ticket windows — set an alarm
- TODAY, Thu 12:00 PM CT — Noah Kahan public on-sale, via SeatGeek. Verified Not Ticketmaster: Nashville is the exception on this tour, SeatGeek is Nissan Stadium's ticketing partner, and Ticketmaster's own page marks this date "on partner site." Be logged into SeatGeek before noon.
- Fri 9:00 AM CT — Kings of Leon w/ Band of Horses public on-sale Verified (FirstBank Amphitheater, Fri Oct 8, 2027). livenation.com
- Fri 10:00 AM CT — the verified stack: Verified Widespread Panic, three nights at The Truth (Feb 11–13, 2027) · Conversations with Nick Cave (Ryman, May 16, 2027) · Joseph, two nights (The Basement, Mar 12–13, 2027) · Stewart Copeland: Police Deranged (Ryman, Apr 28, 2027).
- Fri 11:00 AM CT — King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard public on-sale (just announced; The Caverns' Above Ground Amphitheater, Mon Oct 11, 2027). Not yet confirmed by the venue — check the Caverns' shows page before you build a lunch hour around it, but a Gizzard cave show will not wait for anyone.
- Also reported for Fri 10:00 AM, unconfirmed: Silversun Pickups and Beach Bunny (both Brooklyn Bowl). Check the venue pages before setting an alarm around them.
- On sale now: 615 Indie Live's first wave — 50+ Nashville artists across 21 stages, Jan 30, 2027. The whole local scene on one bill.
- Hermanos Gutiérrez (The Truth, May 22, 2027): Live Nation's page shows a 10:00 AM presale but doesn't date it; it was reported for today — worth a look if they're yours.
Today — ThursdayBefore the weekend starts
- Iron Fork — Harken Hall (Madison), 6:00 PM. One night only: a live chef competition with unlimited bites and limited libations, $103.75 all-in. Tonight's splurge doesn't repeat tomorrow — which is exactly what a Thursday pick should be.
- An Evening with Carlyle Griffin — Analog at Hutton Hotel, 7:00 PM, $15 (doors at 6:00). If you don't know Analog: it's the Hutton's listening room — intimate, seated, no talking over the songs, and a Best of Nashville readers' pick for exactly that. It's also Jeff's second stop tonight, so the plan in the Good Call box has a door anyone can walk through. analognashville.com
The Good Call — if you do one thingChristmas by Lamplight — The Hermitage, Friday 6:00 PM
The candlelit mansion tour is the weekend's best single ticket: $50, and it has to be booked ahead — this is the one that punishes waiting until Friday afternoon. (Also Saturday at 6:00 PM if Friday fills.) thehermitage.com
Instead: Sawyer Brown at the Ryman, Friday 8:00 PM — the safer pair of boots.
We're doing: Leigh's taking her girlfriends to Christmas Village on Friday. Jeff's Thursday is Grimey's, then Analog; Friday, the comedy show at Brooklyn Bowl; Saturday, Vandy–Bama in person — and Saturday night, a couples' farewell dinner at Sunda. (Tears.)
Hear Them FirstBefore they get big
Girl Tones — Grimey's in-store, TODAY 4:00 PM, free and all ages. It's their record-release celebration, signing after — a young duo on the way up, in the smallest room they'll play all year. Walking in is free while the aisles last; preorder the record at Grimey's and a wristband guarantees your spot. The cheapest "I saw them when" you'll ever buy.
Friday, Nov 13The rest of Friday
- Nat King Cole Songbook — Schermerhorn, 7:30 PM, final night. Denzal Sinclaire sings it straight, with the full orchestra behind it — the weekend's one dressed-up night, and after Friday it's gone.
- Grand Ole Opry: OPRY 100 — 7:00 PM. Friday's circle: Hannah Harper, Antwane Tyler (Opry debut), Red Camel Collective, Karley Scott Collins, Shelly Fairchild, Lee Roy Parnell, and members T. Graham Brown and John Conlee. Seat prices vary by night, so check the Opry calendar rather than a resale listing.
- Up Top Comedy — Brooklyn Bowl rooftop, 7:00 PM. Stand-up above the lanes — and it's a rooftop on a night headed for 30°, so bring the real coat. (It's also Jeff's Friday plan; say hello.)
- Fortuna the Time Bender vs. the Schoolgirls of Doom — Noah Liff Opera Center, 7:30 PM (also Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3:00 PM — final performances). Nashville Opera's campy comic-book premiere: Gilbert & Sullivan wit, a live '80s soft-rock band and Scott Pilgrim energy, in a studio-sized room. The weekend's theatrical wildcard — and a room that small means seats are genuinely scarce. tpac.org
- The Jayhawks at the CMA Theater — 7:30 PM, the 40th-anniversary tour, with Mary Gauthier. A quiet-great Friday room.
- Kelley's Heroes at Robert's Western World — 6:30 PM, free. The Recession Special economy still works. robertswesternworld.com
- The SteelDrivers open their Four of a Kind residency at The Caverns — 8:00 PM (with Thomm Jutz, Adam Wright and Laci Green). Bluegrass in a cave, an hour and change away: the weekend's best excuse for a drive.
- Christmas Village — The Fairgrounds, opens Friday (runs Fri–Sun). The city's big holiday market — a fairgrounds full of vendors and gift shopping, and a standing Nashville tradition. Friday runs 9 AM–9 PM (Sat 9–6, Sun 12–6); $15, and kids 9 and under are free. This weekend is its only run; Leigh and her girlfriends are going Friday. christmasvillage.org
Saturday, Nov 14Game day, and everything around it
- Football — Vanderbilt vs. Alabama, 11:45 AM. The game is sold out (resale only), and the whole day bends around it. The free way into the morning: the Spazmatics play Vandyville at 9:45 AM — a full-costume '80s party band warming up a freezing tailgate. Only in Nashville.
- 615 Asia Fest: Korea Edition — Two Rivers Mansion, 11:00 AM–7:00 PM. Free admission and parking; food $10 and under; cooking classes and crafts. friendsoftworivers.com
- Grand Ole Opry: OPRY 100 — 7:00 PM. Saturday is debut night: Tiny Habits (Opry debut), Mick Flannery (Opry debut) and Joshua Burnside (Opry debut) step into the circle with Valerie June, Maura O'Connell, the Gardiner Brothers, DEK of Hearts, and members Rhett Akins, Rhonda Vincent, Connie Smith and The Whites.
- Shane (1953) — Belcourt, 11:45 AM. The classic western on a big screen while everyone else is at kickoff.
- Second Saturday Art Crawl — 6:00 PM, free. Every gallery on the downtown stretch opens late the same night — art, people-watching and a warm room every few doors, for zero dollars. Bundle up between galleries.
- Jim Gaffigan — Ryman, Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 PM both nights. An arena comic in a 2,300-seat room — and if Saturday's crowd scares you, Sunday's show is the same set with an easier door.
- Hatch Show Print Block Party — the grown-ups' sessions: Saturday at 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM, $75, 18+, only 12 spots each. Hands-on letterpress at the press itself. Not to confuse with Sunday's family block party (13+) in the family box below — same name family, different event.
One last tableTwo closings, both Saturday
- Judge Bean's BBQ, Brentwood — final day Saturday, with a farewell celebration from 5 PM. Twenty-plus years of brisket ends this weekend; expect a line and go early. Also ending Saturday: Sunda New Asian in the Gulch — its final day is Saturday too, a very different last supper. Their farewell post
Sunday, Nov 15The slow day, decided
- Football — Titans vs. Jaguars, 12:00 PM, Nissan Stadium. A division game in the stadium's farewell season, at prices that reflect the standings — which is exactly when a noon kickoff downtown is worth it.
- Churchill & Roosevelt: The Christmas That Saved the World — final performance, TPAC Johnson, 2:00 PM. The history play of the season closes Sunday. tpac.org
- Tiny Habits — Brooklyn Bowl, 7:30 PM. They made their Opry debut Saturday night; Sunday it's the club version, up close — The Keepers Tour. livenation.com
- Bluegrass Jam — Station Inn, 7:00 PM, free. The Sunday-night institution, no ticket, no fuss — the closer after a cold weekend. stationinn.com
Next timeSorry you're missing it
Bacco's 'Big Night' Sunday Supper — sold out. The $225 monthly supper (this month: Chef Joe Sasto, a lamb menu) went before most people ever heard of it. It runs monthly — and the next one, Sunday, Dec 13, is the Feast of the Seven Fishes with Chef Adam Sobel, $250, and still bookable. That's the one to catch, and catching it early is the entire point of this newsletter.
Last callsEnding this weekend
- Nashville Nightmare (Madison) — final night Friday. The Scene's critics picked it, and after Friday the haunt goes dark for the season. The Scene's pick
- Wolves Are Coming for You — The Barbershop Theater, 4003 Indiana Ave; ends Saturday. Baby Teeth Performance Lab's U.S. premiere of Joel Horwood's play — a company that's been around since May taking the biggest swing indie theater gets to take, and exactly as strange as it sounds. The Scene's pick
- KEDAGORO: The Age Is Yours, My Liege! — Japanese dance-theater at OZ Arts, $35; its only two performances are Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 5:00 PM. Mature audiences — adult content and partial nudity — and there is no third chance. ozartsnashville.org
- Churchill & Roosevelt — final performance Sunday (above).
With the kidsFamily, banded
- Glow Wild — Nashville Zoo, opens Friday night. The zoo's brand-new holiday light show (5–9 PM nightly through Jan 3; $27, under-2s free, parking $10) — and with Saturday night in the 20s, Friday's opening is the warmest night to take little kids. One expectation to set: Santa doesn't arrive until Nov 27.
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show — opens Saturday 2:00 PM, Nashville Children's Theatre. Preschool–Elementary. Puppets, listed for ages 3–8; runs through Jan 3, so no rush if naps win. nashvillechildrenstheatre.org
- 615 Asia Fest — Saturday. Free, outdoors, food at kid prices.
- For older kids — Middle / High School: Hatch Show Print Family Block Party, Sunday 10:00 AM, Country Music Hall of Fame. Hands-on letterpress — listed 13+, so this one is for the teens, not the little ones. countrymusichalloffame.org
The Deep CutSomething you've never done
Wendy Moten Sings Richard Whiting — Nashville Jazz Workshop, Saturday 7:30 PM. A voice big enough for arenas, in a room built for listening, singing the 1930s songbook — "Hooray for Hollywood" and its cousins, up close. nashvillejazz.org
Book nowFor December, and one for next week
Monell's Victorian Christmas Dinner — runs Dec 3–5, 10–13 and 16–24, $62.62 plus tax and service. It sells out every year and reservations are by phone only (615-248-4747 ext 3), prepaid and nonrefundable. This is the week to pick your date, not the week after Thanksgiving. monellstn.com
And a Thursday deadline: Vega Shawarma in Madison serves its final day Thu Nov 19 — if it's on your list, this week is the week.