It's festival season in Nashville again, and the biggest on the block is the Music City Food + Wine Festival, returning Sept. 17-18 to Bicentennial Mall Park and Walk of Fame Park. In addition to a stellar lineup of returning chefs and newcomers, as well as some pretty rockin' talent expected for the Harvest Night of music and food, the organizers of the festival are offering a contest for what they're calling an "All-in Giveaway." Stay tuned to the end of the post for the details on how to win the total VIP experience.
And even if you don't win the contest, tickets go on sale today, May 11, at 10 a.m. at the festival website, so get a jump on it! For your price of admission, you'll get access to the popular tasting tents, cooking demos, entertaining panel discussions featuring local and national chefs, a Sunday Gospel Brunch, the return of Pat Martin's pitmaster playground and, of course, the unique Harvest Night event.
Here's who we know will be participating this year:
The Chef Showcase will take place on Bicentennial on both Saturday and Sunday. (Don't worry, Titans fans. We're on the road in Detroit that weekend. I'm guessing the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. has a little pull with the NFL.) Some participants will be under the tents both days, but there will be plenty of variety to make it worth your while to attend both days for the best of Nashville's food and drink scene. Although the exact schedule of who will be serving up samples on which day hasn't been confirmed, it's a pretty darned impressive list:
Kahlil Arnold (Arnold's Country Kitchen); Salvador Avila (Prima Nashville); Jessica Benefield & Trey Burnette (Two Ten Jack); Kristin Beringson (Silo); Matt Bolus (The 404 Kitchen); Carey Bringle (Peg Leg Porker); Larry Carlile (Americano); Chris Carter & James Peisker (Porter Road Butcher); Maneet Chauhan (Chauhan Ale & Masala House); Trey Cioccia (The Farm House); Josh Habiger (Bastion); Matt Farley (Acme, The Southern Steak & Oyster); Jay Flatley (Tavern); Brandon Frohne (Hollar and Dash Biscuit House); Sarah Gavigan (Otaku South, Little Octopus); Nick Hertel (Merchants); Hal M. Holden-Bache (Lockeland Table); Philip Krajeck (Rolf and Daughters); John Lasater (Hattie B’s); Daniel Lindley (5th & Taylor); Andrew Little (Josephine); Jason McConnell (McConnell Hospitality Group); Margot McCormack (Margot Café & Marche); Travis McShane (Adele’s); Deb Paquette (Etch Restaurant); Kyle Patterson (Sinema Nashville); Nick Pellegrino (Mangia Nashville); Giovanni Pinato (Giovanni Ristorante); Ryan Poli (The Catbird Seat); Vasisht Ramasubramanian (The Hook); Andrew Rodriguez (Pinewood Social); Joshua Simpson (Proper Bagel); Nina Singto (Thai Esane); David Tieman (Five Points Pizza); Matt Tocco (Patterson House); Kaelin Ulrich Trilling (Bajo Sexto Taco); Cory Untch (Capitol Grille); Levon Wallace (Cochon Butcher); Bryan Lee Weaver (Butcher & Bee); Andrew Whitney (Virago); Karl Worley (Biscuit Love Brunch); and Jason Zygmont (The Treehouse).
For Harvest Night on Saturday, Sept. 17, they're bringing out the big guns among the national chefs to whip up tasting portions and interact with their legions of fans. There are also a few vaunted locals participating that evening as well. Check out the roster:
Mashama Bailey (The Grey); Sean Brock (Husk); Lisa Donovan (Buttermilk Road); Billy Durney (Hometown Bar-B- Q); Vivian Howard (Chef & The Farmer, The Boiler Room); Ludo Lefebvre (Trois Mec, Petit Trois, Trois Familia); Joseph Lenn (J.C. Holdway); Tim Love (Lonesome Dove, Woodshed Smoke House, Love Shack, White Elephant Saloon, Queenie’s Steakhouse); Tony Mantuano (Spiaggia); Aarón Sánchez (Johnny Sánchez, Chopped, Taco Trip); Nancy Silverton (Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza, La Brea Bakery); Michael Symon (Lola Bistro, Lolita, B Spot Burgers, Roast, Bar Symon, Mabel’s BBQ); Jonathan Waxman (Adele’s, Bajo Sexto Taco, Barbuto, Brezza Cucina, Jams, Waxman’s San Francisco); Tandy Wilson (City House); and Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Foods America and Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World).
Musical guests for Harvest Night will be announced late summer, but local rock legends the Kings of Leon will be helping to pick the talent lineup
The specific topics and participants for the panel discussions are still being developed, but the lineup of cooking demos has been released. Throughout the weekend at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, attendees will have the opportunity to get up close and personal as chefs lead interactive and informative cooking demonstrations, including: Vivian Howard; Ludo Lefebvre; Tim Love; Tony Mantuano; Aarón Sánchez; Nancy Silverton & Jonathan Waxman; and Andrew Zimmern. The book-signing schedule and cooking demonstrations will be released this summer.
Here are the deets on tickets and what is covered by each price level:
Music City Food + Wine Festival ticket options include an All-In Ticket, as well as Saturday Day Ticket, Sunday Day Ticket and Harvest Night Ticket. All attendees must be 21 years of age or older. The All-In Ticket ($500 per person) enables guests to experience the full weekend of Music City Food + Wine Festival, including access to cooking demonstrations, wine, beer & spirits tastings, intimate panel discussions, Saturday & Sunday’s Grand Taste tents, Martin’s Bar-B- Que Joint and Friends, as well as Saturday’s Harvest Night, and a one-year FOOD & WINE magazine subscription (U.S. Only).
The Saturday Day Ticket ($150 per person) includes single-day access to Saturday, Sept. 17, festival programming at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, including cooking demonstrations, wine, beer and spirits tastings, intimate panel discussions, Chef Showcase and Tasting Sessions, book signings, Martin’s Bar-B- Que Joint and Friends and Saturday’s Grand Taste tents.
The Sunday Day Ticket ($150 per person) includes single-day access to Sunday, Sept. 18, festival programming at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, including cooking demonstrations, wine, beer & spirits tastings, intimate panel discussions, Chef Showcase and Tasting Sessions, book signings, Martin’s Bar-B- Que Joint and Friends and Sunday’s Grand Taste tents.
Harvest Night ($275 per person) tickets are also available as a stand-alone ticket option. Hosted at the Walk of Fame Park in downtown Nashville, Harvest Night will offer guests the opportunity to sample signature dishes from over 15 of the nation’s most decorated chefs, paired with live music, curated by Kings of Leon.
For more information, visit musiccityfoodandwinefestival.com.
Now about that contest for the freebies. Visit the official contest site to enter for your chance to win two All-In Tickets plus:
Two round-trip flights to the festival
Three-night stay at the Renaissance Hotel, Nashville
Lyft credit for safe rides to and from the festival
Meet-and-greet with chef Tim Love
Sunday Supper at City House
Official festival merchandise
If you're already a local, you can use those free flights to invite an out-of-town friend for the weekend. If your buddy would like to explore more of the city while he or she is in town, the Music City Food + WIne Festival is also throwing in a Music City Backstage Attraction Pass, granting free admission to more than 30 attractions and venues throughout Nashville. You and your guest can come early or stay late and explore the Cheekwood Botantical Garden & Museum of Art, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Frist Center for Visual Arts, the world-famous Grand Ole Opry, and more.
In the official announcement for the festival, lots of local luminaries speak excitedly about this fourth edition.
“Tandy Wilson of City House just won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southeast, and now he and so many other great chefs and restaurants from Nashville and across the nation will be featured at this year’s Music City Food + Wine Festival,” Mayor Megan Barry says. “Reading the lineup makes my mouth water. This will be another great showcase for our city. I appreciate all the hard work and organization that goes into producing the festival each year.”
“Music City Food + Wine gathers some of the greatest chefs, artisans and musicians from the city and around the country in one place, making it one of the most special – and delicious – weekends in Nashville,” festival co-founder Ken Levitan says.
“After last year's nearly flawless festival, 2016 looks to be even better. Music City Food + Wine Festival gets mightier every year, and I am confident that we will exceed any and all expectations,” chef Jonathan Waxman says. “The one component that separates Music City from its fellow festivals is our ability to combine food, wine and live music. While I can vouch for my food buddies, our festival partners — Kings of Leon, Ken Levitan and Andy Mendelsohn — ensure that the music will be without parallel.”
“We are so excited for another Music City Food + Wine,” says Kings of Leon’s Nathan Followill, festival partner. “September can’t get here fast enough, but it gives me time to lose the 10 pounds I’ll gain that weekend.”
Make your plans now and think about following Followill's advice about that diet!
