Ready to ring in the New Year in Nashville and enjoy Keith Urban, Styx and other great music, food, libation and a Music City New Year’s Eve countdown that involves a 15-foot music note?
Here are 11 things you need to know before you go:
It’s Moved
Once called the Jack Daniel’s Bash on Broadway, the official name is now Jack Daniel’s Music City Midnight: New Year’s Eve in Nashville.
Said name change is prompted by a change in venue. The free concerts and midnight note-drop will now be held just north of downtown at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall instead of Broadway.
Music, Fireworks and Free
Keith Urban, Styx, A Thousand Horses, Moon Taxi, Charlie Worsham, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers are playing the 2016 event. You count down to the New Year as a 15-foot-tall red official Music Note drops slowly from a 145-foot structure. The Music Note Drop triggers a fireworks display and confetti cannons at midnight.
The concerts are free, with a full schedule of events available here.
Spend the Night, Spend Big Bucks
Want to spend New Year’s Eve in a Nashville hotel? The Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation offers travel packages for New Year’s Eve in Nashville with pricing at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown ringing in at $561 for two adults for one night. A three-night stay at the Omni will cost $2,462, or about $800 more than a four-star hotel on Times Square in New York during the same period. For more information on hotel pricing, click here.
Plan on UBER/Lyft to Price Spike
On an average night UBER prices for a trip from Franklin to downtown Nashville can run anywhere from $30 for UBER/X to $129 for UBER/SUV.
Historically UBER and other on-demand taxi services adjust pricing, called surges, during peak business times. Business Insider says that UBER costs five or six times more than average on New Year’s Eve worldwide, so expect those prices to jump significantly.
UBER will be handing out codes for discounts off rides at the event with limited amounts available.
Sober Rides (But Only To Davidson County Locales)
The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office will offer Sober Ride service to anyone needing a free ride home from the event. Go to the Sober Ride tent located at Fourth Avenue North and Harrison Street from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Drivers will take people home or to a hotel, not to another party or bar, and serves Davidson County only. Operating hours are from 10 p.m. New Year’s Eve to 2 a.m. New Year’s Day. No reservations accepted.
What to Bring
You can bring a camera, a small umbrella (up to 36″) and a small bag (up to 16″x 10″x 4″) for souvenirs, ID and personal items.
What (Not) to Bring
No coolers, outside alcoholic beverages, backpacks or luggage, fireworks, chairs, pets (except for service animals) or pop-up tents.
Where to Drink
Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper products are available for purchase throughout the event site. Jack Daniel’s, Fetzer and Bonterra wines, Korbel, Bud Light, and Budweiser are also offered for sale for those 21 and over.
A Jack Daniel’s bar will be located on Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue.
Bud Light will have a bar with TVs and limited supply of party hats for guests on Sixth Avenue.
Where to Eat
With over two dozen food trucks set up around the event, you can try eateries like Bacon Nation, the Grilled Cheeserie, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and Cousins Maine Lobster for a little New Year’s Eve dining.
What to Wear
The average high is 47-degrees and average low is a chilly 28-degrees in Nashville, according to U.S. Climate Data sites. Skip the strapless dress and go straight for warmth that you can layer as the temperature drops. (And it’s Nashville so denim is always appropriate, yes?)
How to Stay Warm
To help you stay warm, McDonald’s is handing out free samples of McCafé Hot Chocolate and Hot Mocha, and Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery has donated hand warmers that will be distributed throughout the night.
