Pilgrimage 2018 Gets Rained Out [Updated]

*Update, 9/24/2018, 7 p.m.:

Pilgrimage organizers have announced some details regarding refunds for the canceled event. The following is from an email sent by the publicity team. Watch the festival's website for more updates.

We appreciate our loyal patrons' patience and understanding as we work through Sunday’s cancellation of Pilgrimage. The inclement and dangerous weather from Saturday that continued into Sunday caused the City of Franklin officials to declare Harlinsdale Park unsafe for Sunday’s programming. While disappointing to everyone involved, we fully supported the decision that was made to cancel Sunday’s programming. As a result, we are offering all ticket buyers the following refund:

Sunday Single Day Ticket: 100% refund of your ticket price 

Two Day Weekend Ticket: 50% refund of your ticket price

The above refunds apply to all GA, VIP, and Grand Champion tickets at your originally purchased price level. We expect refunds to be processed in the next 3 weeks. 

***We are still working through what additional refund might be available for Saturday’s shortened programming. More details to come.

Original post:

Franklin’s Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival has worked through some growing pains since its inaugural run in 2015, most notably a traffic snarl following Justin Timberlake’s set in 2017. But 2018 marked the roughest go yet for the event, when thunderstorms rolled in around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, ultimately bringing the fest to a halt. Noting lightning strikes in the area, festival organizers evacuated patrons from The Park at Harlinsdale Farm, many of whom spent the next few hours in their cars waiting for updates. Just before 7 p.m., the news came that show would not go on that night, meaning sets from Jack White, Lionel Richie and others would not take place.

While the situation was handled in a way that seemed to head off any serious danger, logistics at the site remained a source of major frustration for fans. While complaints poured in over social media, the rain also continued to pour. By 9 a.m. on Sunday, the remainder of the festival was called off. A note from the organizers indicated that refunds would be issued, and that additional details would become available. As of press time, no further information had been released regarding refunds (keep an eye on the Pilgrimage website for updates). 

On the bright side, some artists whose sets were preempted put together last-minute shows in the area: Lilly Hiatt took over Kimbro’s Pickin’ Parlor in Franklin, Maggie Rogers and Caroline Rose set up shop at The Basement East, and Brandi Carlile, Jade Bird and Courtney Marie Andrews played to a full house at City Winery.

The Spin did manage to catch a few performances on Saturday before the rains came, however. We started our festivities at the Shady Grove stage just before 1 p.m. with a set from Kansas City folk-soul outfit Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear. The time slot was something of a bummer: The sound from their tour mates The Record Company bled over from the Midnight Sun stage just a few hundred yards away. The drab sky above didn’t help, either. But those annoying hurdles didn’t stop frontman Ward, his mother Ruth Ward and their band from pounding out a stellar 45-minute set. When the younger Ward holds a note, his whole upper body quivers while his legs and feet remain rigid, like a physical manifestation of his voice’s natural vibrato. The group may have started as a family duo, but the act has expanded into a full-fledged rock band. Their latest record also features a co-write with Better Than Ezra frontman/Pilgrimage co-founder Kevin Griffin.

We felt a few sprinkles from the sky as we waited for Valerie June’s band to finish their sound check at Midnight Sun. But when the roots-and-soul singer took her place on the stage, her face obscured by a pair of flashy blue-tinted spectacles that would certainly make Elton John smile, she definitely brought the sunshine with her. “I’m so glad to be home!” the Jackson native exclaimed into the mic, before playing “Tennessee Time,” her ode to the relaxed pace of life in her home state. Her sound is both unique and familiar, as if Jill Scott were fronting an electric Appalachian string band.

We made ourselves comfortable, and our ears perked up at the sounds of folk-rockers Dawes and the immediately recognizable soaring guitars of their 2015 hit “Things Happen.” The band seems almost created for this type of mid-afternoon festival slot. They have their fans to be sure, but even those in the crowd who wore their allegiances to other acts — like one young boy wearing a Third Man Records flag like a cape — were having a good time. After “Things Happen,” off of 2015’s All Your Favorite Bands, they went deeper into the catalogue for “From a Window Seat,” the groove-heavy lead single off their 2013 record Stories Don’t End. As they moved on to “Feed the Fire” from their latest release, this year’s Passwords, we started to make our way across the farm toward the Gold Record Road stage where Counting Crows were due to go on.

On our way, though, we stopped by the Shady Grove where indie-folk duo Tall Heights were performing for a sizeable crowd chilling in adirondack chairs. These guys are good, and based on the sampling we heard we’ll be checking out their forthcoming album Pretty Colors for Your Actions, due out Oct. 5. (They’re also swinging back through Nashville on Nov. 12 for a show at The High Watt.)

Then, at Gold Record Road, Counting Crows took the stage led by Muppet-esque frontman Adam Duritz and cheered by a massive crowd of folks ready for some ’90s rock nostalgia. This band is easy to mock, but we’ll always have room in our heart for their debut album August and Everything After, so we were ready too. Alas, their set was to be short-lived — but more on that in a moment.

They kicked off with the sprawling “Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby” from 1999’s This Desert Life. After a couple of songs, Duritz noted that they’d been together as a band for 25 years now. “I did not see that coming,” he said. And who could? Seeing alternative/pop-rock bands from the ’90s turn into legacy acts is going to be … weird. On that note, the band rolled into “Omaha” and the way the crowd came to life reiterated the massive popularity of August. Unfortunately for the faithful, a couple songs later Duritz was forced to cut the band off mid-song and relay a message he was hearing through his earpiece: There was lightning in the area and the festival was asking everyone to evacuate the grounds. Duritz responded to some scattered boos: “It’s not my lightning.”

With that, the masses began heading for the shelter of their cars, or across the street to The Factory, where the Jeni’s Ice Cream shop inside was suddenly slinging scoops by the dozens. (The nearby Mapco gas station also proved a popular gathering spot.) The rain came and, soon, so did the thunder and lightning. The storms were here to stay.

See our slideshow for more photos.

In The Spin — the Scene's live review column — staffers and freelance contributors review concerts under a collective byline.