Two separate crowds formed at Ascend Amphitheater on a cool Friday morning. One, mostly wearing T-shirts and jeans, lingered near the box office facing First Avenue some hundred yards from Lower Broadway — they were waiting to see scruffy country upstart Bailey Zimmerman later that day. The second mingled in the backstage VIP lounge, swapping handshakes and business cards.
Zimmerman’s two weekend shows open a new season for the riverfront amphitheater, which was built during downtown Nashville’s resurgence in the 2010s. It also brings the city closer to local conglomerate Ryman Hospitality Properties, which will now take over Ascend from Live Nation — the music industry mega-conglomerate beset by legal battles and recently ruled a monopoly. After a tense lease-bidding period, Ryman (via subsidiary Opry Entertainment Group) won a contract with the city last year to operate the venue, adding to a local portfolio that includes the Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Ole Opry House, Ole Red and Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
Hometown operator edges out industry giants Live Nation and AEG to win a 10-year contract
“ For publicly owned, privately managed spaces like this to be successful, you need several important components to come together,” Opry CEO Colin Reed told a small audience of Metro councilmembers and media and industry professionals on Friday. “The first is a strong city with a reputation for being safe, clean and collaborative. The image of this city is so critical on a global basis.”
Ryman put more than $13 million into the site since taking over the venue on Jan. 1 from Live Nation, which operated Ascend from 2015 through 2025. Over that time, Live Nation has become taboo in the industry due to ticket-gouging and monopolistic behavior toward artists and fans.
The Nashville-based Ryman corporation made sure to emphasize its local commitment during Friday’s ribbon-cutting. After brief opening remarks from Reed, Mayor Freddie O’Connell, Metro Parks director Monique Odom and Ascend Federal Credit Union CEO Matt Jernigan, the four posed at a new greenway bridge connecting Riverfront Park to Korean Veterans Boulevard.
“ It cost us a million to build it and $100,000 on design and engineering,” says Shaw Flippen, a vice president of design and construction at OEG. “ When Live Nation operated the facility, they would shut down the greenway on a show day. When we put our bid in to manage the facility, we said we would solve that problem by building a bridge to connect the low section to the high section so Nashville residents can enjoy the greenway on show days.”
During performances, Metro Parks police will keep people moving so as not to allow show-poaching.
Another $7 million went toward hard construction costs, like revamped concessions booths, newly painted restrooms and renovated artists’ and VIP area. Ascend’s concrete shell also got a full exterior power-washing. Furniture, box office technology, and audio and communications equipment made up OEG’s remaining “FF&E” (furniture, furnishings and equipment) outlay.
