Live On the Green makes outdoor concerts hot ticket again

• Live On the Green starts Thursday.
• The outdoor concert series is at Public Square Park and last year made a profit for the first time.
• Nashville is experiencing a revival of outdoor concerts.

When Live On the Green kicks off its seventh year at Nashville’s Public Square Park on Thursday, the free outdoor concert series will be following its most successful year yet.

Last year, it expanded its event space by an entire city block and closed the season with a three-day music festival. Modern rockers Cage the Elephant brought out the biggest crowd to date: roughly 22,000 people.

On top of all that, Live On the Green made a profit for the first time. It's a free event, and that money comes through sponsorships, concessions and VIP tickets.

“It was a couple thousand bucks, I think, in total,” event producer Chris Paxton said. “We were just happy that we didn't lose anything. That was a big stride forward for us. It started out with some ideals and principles that really aren't about making money. It's more about free music in Music City.”

It’s been an uphill battle — but a labor of love — for the concert series, which will bring Ben Folds, Passion Pit and dozens of other performers on a stage in front of the Metropolitan Courthouse. When local radio station Lightning 100 launched the series in 2009, Nashville’s outdoor concert prospects were dim.

The city’s beloved Dancin’ in the District — which, like Live On the Green, produced free concerts on Thursday nights — ended a decade-long run at Riverfront Park in 2005. Two years later, Starwood Amphitheatre closed, leaving Nashville without its premier outdoor venue.

In 2015 the city is singing a different tune. Led by Live on the Green, outdoor concert venues are experiencing a revival. Ascend Amphitheater opened in July, bringing dozens of summer “shed” tours to downtown. Other free series such as Musicians Corner, established in 2010, have thrived. Later this year, Franklin’s Pilgrimage Music Festival and the SoundHarvest Music Festival in Centennial Park will bring two new massive events to the area.

'Changing scene'

“We're trying to fill in a gap here in Nashville because we felt like there wasn't a festival like this in this city,” said Monica Copciac, SoundHarvest director. The inaugural festival will be headlined by psychedelic rockers The Flaming Lips and will exclusively feature rock and pop acts, which she said reflects “the changing scene” in Music City.

“With all of this excitement happening in Nashville, I think it's the perfect time to bring in something like this, because there's so much buzz and growth, and we can grow with it.”

Story continues below photo

The growth has been great news to regular concertgoers such as Jeremy Noel. The 35-year-old Nashville resident remembers going to Starwood for the final time in 2005 to see British rockers Coldplay, and he has made regular trips to Live On the Green over the years.

“It's definitely a social event,” he said. Unlike ticketed shows, he says it’s easy for him to get a large group of friends together and “make a night out of it.”

“I think every time I’ve gone it's been with at least five or six people, sometimes probably more like 10 or 15. I think that's the fun of it.”

That mindset, in part, has led to massive crowds at Public Square Park -- and a litany of challenges for Live On the Green’s producers.

“It's getting bigger, and you obviously can't make the park any bigger,” Paxton said. “It's not made for doing this kind of thing. I could list 20 or 30 different hurdles that we have to jump through logistically to try to make this work, from load-bearing to parking, everything.”

Considering the fates of a few other recent outdoor events, having to meet overwhelming demand might be a good problem to have.

The inaugural Ink N Iron Festival at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park made headlines earlier this month when headliner Merle Haggard canceled a performance, citing contract issues.

A spiritual successor to Dancin’ in the District, dubbed “Nashville Dancin’,” ran from 2013-2014, but organizers pulled the plug earlier this year. “At this time, a continued investment in Nashville Dancin' no longer makes sense,” founder Tom Morales said at the time.

Public Square Park

Meanwhile, Live On the Green has attracted a large enough following for the event to consider changing its location. Paxton said the Ascend Amphitheater was even discussed when the venue was in its planning stages, but “honestly, where we're at right now, it's not big enough.”

“I think the biggest thing to me — and I've kind of shopped this around to people in general — if we ever moved the event off of that park, it just wouldn't be the same thing anymore. Live On the Green is at Public Square Park. If you move it, you could still call it the same thing, but it would be difficult to capture the same feel, and have everybody feel like it was the same event they remember.”

Paxton said Live On the Green has “a tentative plan” to expand the grounds next year, possibly up Deaderick Street toward War Memorial Auditorium.

This year, the event will keep its same footprint and kicks off Thursday with Lord Huron, Shakey Graves and Elliot Root. A large crowd won't be a deterrent to fans such as Noel, who plans on seeing a few of the shows this year.

“Just the chance to be outside, under the stars and watching the show, I don't think it gets much better than that."

Contact Dave Paulson 615-664-2278 or on Twitter at @ItsDavePaulson

If You Go

Live On the Green kicks off Thursday at Public Square Park (1 Public Square). Gates open at 5 p.m., and music will run from 6 to 11 p.m. For the full season’s schedule, visit www.liveonthegreen.com

Nashville’s other outdoor music offerings

• Musicians Corner: Centennial Park’s free concert series takes place Saturday afternoons and returns for its fall season Sept. 5. www.musicianscornernashville.com.

• Ascend Ampitheater: Downtown’s new amphitheater has more than a dozen concerts scheduled through Nov. 1, including Janet Jackson and Dierks Bentley. www.ascendamphitheater.com.

• Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel: The Whites Creek venue is 15 miles outside of Nashville. Future concerts include Kid Rock and Disclosure. http://www.woodsamphitheater.com/.

• Pilgrimage Music Festival: Willie Nelson, Weezer and Wilco headline this inaugural two-day festival at Franklin’s The Park at Harlinsdale. Sept. 26-27. www.pilgrimagefestival.com.

• SoundHarvest Music Festival: Flaming Lips, Allen Stone and The Weeks are the first announced performers for this inaugural one-day event at Centennial Park on Oct. 17. www.soundharvest.com.

• Graystone Quarry Amphitheatre: a 5,000-capacity venue is set to open in 2017 as part of plans for a new 76-acre outdoor multipurpose entertainment venue in Thompson's Station. Construction began last month. www.graystonequarry.com.