The Scene's Favorite Photos of 2024

At the national, state and local levels, 2024 was a busy year. From the Nov. 5 election to developments on the East Bank, Nashville journalists had plenty to work with over the past 12 months. Fortunately, the Nashville Scene's talented staff and freelance photographers were there to help us capture all the action.

Below find 17 of our favorite photographs from 2024, as selected by Scene art director Elizabeth Jones — with some context and commentary from yours truly.

Early last year, the Tennessee Titans broke ground on a new multibillion-dollar stadium on the East Bank of the Cumberland River. Local leaders and Titans officials donned hardhats for a photo opp as the city took its first major step in what will likely prove to be one of the largest development projects in city history.

In April, Scene arts editor Laura Hutson Hunter put together a three-part cover package on Nashville's thriving dance community. Among those featured were Shabaz Ujima and Banning Bouldin, who came by Scene headquarters to pose for a series of breathtaking shots by staff photographer Angelina Castillo.

As part of last year's Green Issue, staffer Nicolle S. Praino took a look at the Cumberland River Compact's efforts to keep Middle Tennessee's waterways clean. Staff photographer Eric England got the above snap of Chris Hornsby, field operations division manager for the Compact, at work in Seven Mile Creek.

In the spring, Middle Tennessee rock 'n' rollers The Protomen celebrated 20 years of epic, video-game-inspired madness. Music editor Stephen Trageser and longtime freelance photographer Steve Cross were at Eastside Bowl to capture the splendor.

Iconic local retail spot Friedman's Army Navy Outdoor Store closed its doors back in June. Contributor Margaret Littman wrote a cover story on how Friedman's — along with neighbors like Brown's Diner — kept a little corner of Old Nashville thriving for decades.

As part of Nashville's 2024 Pride celebration, the Nashville Pride Parade rolled down Lower Broad on June 22. Scene intern Joanna Walden was present to capture the campy fun.

In the wake of the Christmas Day 2020 bombing in downtown Nashville, Second Avenue has been undergoing a long, steady rebuild. Staffer Hannah Herner wrote our June 27 cover story on Second Avenue's rebuild and the city reckoning with its history.

At the end of Pride Month, city and community leaders painted Nashville's first rainbow crosswalk near Lipstick Lounge in East Nashville. The joyful occasion was soon marred, however, when — within days — a driver poured black paint onto the crosswalk. In August, a 24-year-old Murfreesboro man was arrested and charged with vandalizing the crosswalk after allegedly admitting his actions to a co-worker.

After a period of living in East Nashville, acclaimed singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis returned to Los Angeles, bidding farewell to Music City with a goodbye show at Soft Junk in July. Nicholas Schurman's East Side DIY space is known for its wacky, experimental approach to recording live performances, so naturally, the Soft Junk team recorded Lewis' set to VHS. Angelina Castillo was there to capture the process.

Our Aug. 1 cover story by longtime contributor Sean L. Maloney was all about hometown hero James Austin Johnson. For the story, the Nashville native and Saturday Night Live cast member posed for shots by staff photographer Angelina Castillo at Percy Priest Dam — the partial inspiration for SNL's "Lake Beach."

In August, lifelong activist Karl Meyer was arrested by state troopers for spending the night on the Tennessee State Capitol lawn in protest of a law banning camping on public property. Seemingly omnipresent local photographer Ray di Pietro — an occasional Scene contributor — was there to capture the 87-year-old advocate's arrest. We at the Scene later selected Meyer as our 2024 Nashvillian of the Year.

In September, Nashvillians Simone Boyd, Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch launched We Are North Nashville, a podcast exploring the rich history of the historically Black neighborhood. Scene managing editor Alejandro Ramirez wrote about the podcast as our Sept. 5 cover story, with photos by staffer Eric England.

Ace songwriter Wyatt Flores was nominated for Emerging Act of the Year at the 2024 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards in September. Though he ultimately didn't win, he still had a great chat with contributor Brittney McKenna, and was featured on the cover of our AmericanaFest preview issue.

Possibly no one had a bigger 2024 than breakout pop star Chappell Roan. For her third performance in Middle Tennessee in the span of a year, the Midwest princess appeared at FirstBank Amphitheater in Franklin — a show that sold out extremely quickly. Freelance photographer Emily April Allen was there to shoot the performance.

A historically fraught presidential election season concluded on Nov. 5. Though some Nashville progressives had a good night — including Mayor Freddie O'Connell, whose transit referendum passed by a 2-to-1 margin — at the state and national level, Democrats did not. Our photographers were out in the field at various election night gatherings, including the Democrats' gathering at Harken Hall in Madison.

Our Nov. 14 cover package was a multipart look at Nashville's Indigenous community. Included in the issue were Angelina Castillo's photos from the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee Pow Wow at Long Hunter State Park in October.  

For Dec. 12's Year in Music issue, music editor Stephen Trageser pulled together a strong, diverse array of coverage touching on 2024's best rock, hip-hop, country, blues and more. Our cover star for the issue was Brittany Howard, whose What Now was among our favorite releases of the year.