28 Best Performing Arts in Tennessee, USA
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in Tennessee - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Dolly Parton's Stampede
This is dinner theater on steroids—you (and several thousand other people) get to eat a finger-lickin' good (silverware is optional) four-course meal while animals kick up the dust on the arena floor to the accompaniment of dramatic music, lighting, and pyrotechnics. The pace is quick, and the service is quicker. In a sequence timed as tight as a traffic signal on a four-lane highway, you'll watch rodeo clowns picking on cute girls in the audience, kids chasing chickens running in all different directions, knights jousting on horseback, and a chorus of costumed singers belting out rousing patriotic songs. Vegetarian and gluten-free meals are available by advance request.
Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage
Each year in mid-to-late April, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains Association host the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage. It attracts wildflower enthusiasts from all over the country for five days of wildflower and natural-history walks, seminars, classes, photography tours, and other events. Instructors include National Park Service staff, along with outside experts. Most of the activities are at various locations in the park, both on the North Carolina and Tennessee sides, but registration is in Gatlinburg at the W. L. Mills Conference Center adjoining the Gatlinburg Convention Center. Begun in 1951, the pilgrimage has grown to more than 150 different walks, classes, and events. Advance registration online begins in February of the year of the conference, and some events quickly sell out. Check the website for current details and dates.
Recommended Fodor's Video
The 5 Spot
The Bluebird Cafe
You can't get the full Nashville experience without a visit to the Bluebird Cafe, one of the city's most famous music venues. Catch a show on any given night and you're bound to see some of the world's best songwriters performing new and old material in a truly intimate setting. Be mindful of the Bluebird's admission policy, and do your research before you visit.
CMA Music Festival
In the second week of June, the CMA Music Festival hosts big-name country music stars at Nissan Stadium, Riverfront Park, and Bridgestone Arena. Over the long weekend lower Broadway also hosts many free concerts.
Darkhorse Theater
Fall Heritage Festival and Old Timers' Day at Cades Cove
Visitors are invited to bring lawn chairs and a picnic along to Old Timers' Day at Cades Cove. Held in late September at the Cable Mill area of Cades Cove, Old Timers' Day allows former residents of Cades Cove and their descendants, along with the general public, to reminisce about the old days in the valley. The Cades Cove event is now part of a two-day Fall Heritage Festival at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend, just outside the park. At Townsend you can enjoy bluegrass music, clogging and square dancing, arts and crafts demonstrations, and mountain food. Both events are free, though there's a park fee at Townsend.
Full Moon Cineplex
Gallery of Iconic Guitars
Memphis in May International Festival
The Memphis in May International Festival salutes the cuisine, crafts, and other cultural offerings of a different country each year over four consecutive weekends. This festival—Memphis's largest—galvanizes the city each year.
Nashville Ballet
Nashville Children's Theatre
Nashville Jazz Workshop
Nashville Opera
Nashville Symphony
Orpheum Theatre
The Orpheum Theatre is a restored 1920s movie house that hosts touring Broadway shows as well as performances by Opera Memphis and Ballet Memphis.
Oz Arts
Pull-Tight Players Theater
Tennessee Performing Arts Center
This multicultural center with elegant concert halls is the home of the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, Tennessee Repertory Theatre, and various touring performers. The center's Andrew Jackson Hall also hosts touring Broadway shows, and the building also houses the Tennessee State Museum.
Tennessee Repertory Theatre
Presenting original and well-known works, the Tennessee Repertory Theatre performs in Nashville'sTennessee Performance Arts Center.
Tennessee Welcome Center
The Tennessee Welcome Center provides an up-to-date rundown of events.