Pilgrimage Festival Looks Back as It Looks Forward to 2016

Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival announces that it will return to Franklin, TN for the second year taking place September 24 and 25, 2016. More information including artist lineup, on-sale ticket dates and vendors will be released over the coming months. In the meantime, Pilgrimage brings you back to relive the debut year with the festival’s official highlight video.

“We couldn’t be more excited to bring the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival back to Franklin for round 2!” says co-producer and Franklin resident Kevin Griffin. “It has been a pleasure working with the community to make this festival unique, memorable and show off the very best Franklin has to offer.”

Each day 10,000 fans descended upon the Park at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin, TN for the inaugural Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival. The two day event featured renowned artists such as Willie Nelson, Wilco, Weezer, Sheryl Crow, Cage the Elephant, Band of Horses, Steven Tyler and more who performed against the natural amphitheaters and vistas of this former walking horse farm.

“We are very excited the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival has decided to return again to our beautiful Park at Harlinsdale Farm!” say City of Franklin Mayor Dr. Ken Moore. “The 2015 festival was a huge success from entertainment, to traffic and parking, this family oriented festival is bringing a lot of attention to America’s best hometown. This is a true top-notch experience and we are anticipating more folks will make the Pilgrimage to Franklin, Tennessee this year for this one-of-a-kind festival and venue!”

As promised there were special Pilgri-mashups where one-of-a-kind pairings of musicians collaborated with one another on stage. Fans caught memorable performances such as: Willie Nelson bringing Holly Williams and Ben Jaffe of Preservation Hall Jazz Band on stage to perform “I Saw The Light;” Willie Nelson’s harmonica player Mickey Raphael sitting in with Chris Stapleton; The Grand Southern bringing friends The Apache Relay up on stage; Holly Williams surprising the audience during Sheryl Crow’s set for “Strong Enough,” Nashville native Ruby Amanfu joining Weezer for their song “Go Away,” and more.

In addition to the main-stage excitement, Pilgrimage truly became a family affair at the Hohner’s Little Pilgrim’s Family Stage which featured performances by award winning artists including Ralph’s World, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Jazzy Ash & The Leaping Lizards, Farmer Jason, Casey Campbell, Laura Doherty, and a special performance by Tom Mason and the Blue Buccaneers aboard the Pilgrimage Pirate Ship! The fun and education didn’t stop there! Interactive workshops such as rhyme writing, breakdancing, a musical petting zoo and more sparked the creativity in kids of all ages.

Not only did the festival drive tourism dollars to Williamson County but a portion of each ticket sale will benefit the City of Franklin and Franklin Parks. Additionally, a portion of ticket sales will also benefit MusiCares®, a nonprofit organization that was established by The Recording Academy® to provide a wide range of emergency financial assistance and addiction recovery resources to members of the music community.

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