In 2025, the Scene’s readers gravitated toward reporting about ICE operations, federal funding cuts and lawsuit settlements. Below, you’ll find a roundup of the past year’s most-read Nashville Scene articles, along with a bit of context. Fallout from the first year of Trump’s second term colors a whole lot of this list, but believe it or not, there’s a little bit of joy to be found here as well.
In the interest of transparency: We disqualified a couple of Scene links from this list that are more logistical than editorial — the Best of Nashville readers’ poll voting page and the “You Are So Nashville If …” submission page, for instance. We also disqualified stories published prior to 2025 that saw a spike in traffic this year. (A 2016 cover story about a Columbia, Tenn., end-times cat cult — yes, really — saw an enormous uptick in traffic thanks to a related episode of HBO’s The Curious Case Of ...; and likely due to his seemingly failed nomination to the TVA board, Nashville businessman Lee Beaman’s messy divorce proceedings got a lot of attention as well. Thanks, Google.)
10. Owner of Canvas Gay Bar Dies
Founder Darek Tanner remembered as pillar of local LGBTQ community
2024 began on a sad note, when — as reported by Scene staffer Hannah Herner — Darek Tanner, the longtime proprietor of Nashville gay bar Canvas, died suddenly. As Canvas management shared at the time, “Darek Tanner was a beacon of kindness and love and will forever remain in our hearts.” In our In Memoriam issue just a couple of weeks ago, Hannah wrote that Tanner’s work “was all about giving people something he wished he could have had as he came of age.”
9. Road Trip Issue 2025: Gulf Shores and Ocean Springs
Here’s to sand and sun — a tale of two beaches, seven hours south
Our annual Road Trip Issue is always one of my favorites. Staffers and freelance contributors traveling throughout the region (on the company dime, thanks boss!) and writing about the best sights, sounds and eats that our neighboring communities have to offer. What’s not to love! Even so, longtime contributor Margaret Littman’s writeup on two Gulf Coast towns was not a feature I necessarily expected to be among our most-read of 2025. I reckon lots of folks heard the sandy beaches of Gulf Shores and Ocean Springs calling out to them back in August. Doesn’t hurt that Margaret is a sensational travel writer.
8. MNPS Will Settle Wrongful Dismissal Lawsuit for $6.5 Million
Five plaintiffs had accused Director of Schools Adrienne Battle of retaliation for the loss of their jobs
In the dog days of summer, former Scene staffer Stephen Elliott had this update on a "a long-simmering multiplaintiff case brought by five former Metro Nashville Public Schools administrators against the district and Director of Schools Adrienne Battle.” It’s also the only syndication from our friends at the Nashville Banner to make the Top 10 in 2025. The MNPS board ultimately voted to approve the wrongful-termination suit settlement of $6.5 million — one of the largest in Metro schools history.
7. VUMC Layoffs Take Effect
Medical center responds to $250 million federal cut
Following federal budget cuts, Vanderbilt University Medical Center began layoffs in May. “In response to reductions in federal funding, VUMC is strategically reducing operating costs,” a spokesperson told reporter Hannah Herner at the time. “Hiring for most research and administrative positions has been paused and some positions have been eliminated.” The layoffs came just weeks after VUMC announced a budget reduction of $250 million. As the weeks went by, Hannah went on to report deeper VUMC cuts, the gutting of LGBTQ programming at the medical center, and VUMC’s withdrawal of financial support for Nashville Pride.
6. Lipscomb Academy Sees Staff Shakeup After Students' Charlie Kirk Tribute
Parents allege that country star John Rich is behind a move to oust private school principal who enforced dress code policy
The assassination of Charlie Kirk in September led to a spate of firings and attempted firings in both the public and private sectors — firings related to criticism of Kirk’s frequently abhorrent takes on race, gender and more. One dustup took place at private school Lipscomb Academy, where principal Jesse Savage came under fire for how he handled students’ memorialization of the right-wing provocateur. As reported by Scene managing editor Alejandro Ramirez, parents at the Christian private school alleged that country star John Rich was behind a move to oust Savage — while supporters said the principal was simply enforcing dress code policy.
5. In Memoriam 2024: Music
Remembering Kris Kristofferson, Mary Sack, DJ Svnny D and many more
Our annual In Memoriam Issue, in which we commemorate the Nashville and Nashville-adjacent figures who died over the course of the year, always garners lots of reads. Our 2024 edition was published in January 2025, and the music portion of the issue in particular earned an outsized number of views. Perhaps that’s due to the enormous impact made by the folks included there, from industry insiders like Mary Sack to icons like Kris Kristofferson. Wrote our own Nicolle S. Praino: "Kris Kristofferson’s biography includes so much that’s notable: He was a Rhodes scholar, a boxer, a helicopter pilot, a self-described peacenik who spoke truth to power, a movie star (who won a Golden Globe for his 1976 performance in A Star Is Born) and a family man.”
4. Cheekwood Loses Staff Over Conservative Ties
Arts organization lost at least two employees in recent months due to institutional politics
In September, reporter Eli Motycka wrote about staff departures at longtime arts institution Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. As it turns out, the organization’s various connections with corporations like Tractor Supply Company and CoreCivic as well as former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales … well, they didn’t go down too smoothly with at least a couple of employees.
3. Tennessee Joins 23 Other States Challenging Birthright Citizenship
State AG Jonathan Skrmetti says ‘not every child is entitled to American citizenship’
In the fall, Tennessee joined 23 other states in challenging birthright citizenship in the United States Supreme Court. In a release, state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti claimed that “not every child is entitled to American citizenship.” (The 14th Amendment would disagree!) As the Scene’s Hamilton Matthew Masters wrote at the time, “The amendment has long been a target of Republicans who aim to reduce immigration to the country.” SCOTUS is expected to hear arguments related to birthright citizenship in September of next year.
2. Kitchens Close to Avoid ICE at Steve Smith’s Broadway Bars
Conservative bar owner lost prime weekend service at Honky Tonk Central, The Diner and Kid Rock’s because of heavy ICE presence
If you live in Nashville, you're almost certainly aware that Immigration and Customs Enforcement engaged in mass arrests throughout the city back in May — and as it turned out, fewer than half of the 196 people arrested had any criminal history, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As our own Eli Motycka reported later that month, several downtown kitchens shuttered in order to avoid immigration arrests. Once some national publications made the Kid Rock connection (Rock co-owns an absurdly titled Lower Broad bar with local honky-tonk magnate Steve Smith ... you know the one), well, it was off to the races.
1. Best of Nashville 2025
The Scene’s annual Best of Nashville issue is a massive undertaking, rounding up up our staff’s, our freelance contributors’ and our readers’ favorite local food, art, music, businesses, media, athletes and beyond. We begin work on the issue at the beginning of the summer, and publish it in October. It was once again our most-read issue of the year.
