Franklin resident and co-founder of Pilgrimage Festival, Kevin Griffin, recently listed his top 5 Pilgrimage moments to date.
The Better Than Ezra vocalist dreamed of bringing a festival to Franklin one Thanksgiving day as he was jogging at Harlinsdale Farm. Now in its third year with Justin Timberlake as a headlining act on Saturday night, Griffin reflects on memorable moments.
1. Pilgrimage 2015 – Cage the Elephant: When Matt got out in the audience, it just blew everybody’s mind. It blew my mind, to see what a great band Cage The Elephant is.
2. Pilgrimage 2015 – Weezer: Rocking out to “Buddy Holly” when the rain came in.
3. Pilgrimage 2016 – Langhorne Slim: On the Harpeth River Stage, it was such a hot day, remember? It was a pretty good crowd, but it felt like it was sold out at Bridgestone or MSG and he took it to a whole ‘nother level.
4. Pilgrimage 2016 – Beck: Beck just blew my mind. His sound was just the best sound I think we’ve had in the past two years at Pilgrimage.
5. Pilgrimage 2015 – Willie Nelson: The sun was setting, it was a classic Tennessee sunset. Preservation Hall Jazz band got up with Willie, they got up together, and it was a magical moment of musical alchemy.
For those of you that have attended the previous years, what was your most memorable moment? We have to say seeing Willie Nelson play at Harlinsdale was definitely a highlight and if you missed Chris Stapleton in 2015, it was just after his first solo album debuted. Stapleton went on to win three CMA Awards that year -Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and New Artist of the Year. And to think we can say, we remember when he played at Harlinsdale Farm.
The City of Franklin approved the additional sale of 2,500 tickets, there are only a few two-day tickets remaining and a few one-day passes for Sunday. Make your plans now to attend Pilgrimage Festival on September 23-24 at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin.
