If you are a music fan, going to see a live show is always cool. However, it can start to feel repetitive at times if you are always watching your favorites play an arena or any other traditional concert locations.
What makes those really good shows become the best shows you’ve ever been to though? Simple. The atmosphere! (And in Franklin, Tennessee that’s exactly what we specialize in!)
I’m the resident country music fan around the Visit Franklin offices, and I carry the flag proudly (except bro county, seriously, just stop it with that junk guys!). Charlie Daniels is a favorite of any country fan out there and I’ve seen him perform dozens of times. The show of his I’ll never forget though. Seeing him play on a back porch of a house to 10-15 people at an event. Seriously, a backyard concert from a legend is something I’ll never forget. What made that so memorable wasn’t the songs I’d heard hundreds of times already, it was the awesome setting that made the moment.
While it’s not all private backyard concerts, there are some really cool places to see a show in Franklin that’ll blow your mind before your favorite artist even takes the stage. I mean have you every been to a jam session at an old stove factory? How about rocked out in a voodoo room?
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Here are five spots around Franklin where you can do just that, and more.
The Factory
Let’s heat this show up a little bit! The Factory at Franklin, which spent the early part of its life producing kitchen stoves is now home to multiple performance halls where you can see live shows like the famed Music City Roots every Wednesday night. It is also a frequent destination for the filmings of CMT Crossroads episodes, where artists from country and pop or rock spend the evening performing each other’s songs in a unique way you’ll find nowhere else. The Factory is also home to special spots like the Little Brick Theatre, perfect for very intimate concerts for you and only about 100 of your closest friends.
Franklin Theatre
The best 300 seat music venue in the world. Whew, that’s a pretty high bar to set, but amazingly the Franklin Theatre surpasses it every time they put on a show. The staple of Franklin’s Main Street since the 1930s is built acoustically perfect, assuring that there truly is no bad seat in the house. On top of that, the renovation completed in 2011, included an iconic neon sign that perfectly sets the tone of any performance inside the doors.
Puckett’s Leiper’s Fork
When you think of hearing a Grammy winner performing up on a stage, you naturally assume that happens inside a grocery store where you eat BBQ off a paper plate. No? Am I the only one? Well, that’s exactly what you have a great chance of finding at Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant in the idyllic little village of Leiper’s Fork. If there is anything as good for the soul as a plate of BBQ and fried okra from the Puckett’s counter, it is a Thursday evening at open mic night. In a town crawling with world famous talent, it is not uncommon for the weekly lineup to include anything from first time performers to multi-time Grammy winners. The music and the BBQ would make a visit to Puckett’s Leiper’s Fork unique enough, but any Thursday night visit is almost certain to include a friendly welcome and chat with a few locals too. Throw in a conversation with the unofficial mayor of the village, and a guy named Goose, and I assure you this will be an open mic night you’ll never forget.
Pilgrimage Music Festival
So we do have one backyard concert, and it’s a cool one! Set on the gorgeous former horse farm now known as the Park at Harlinsdale Farm, Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival is where the biggest names in music play. Seriously, likes of Willie Nelson, Daryl Hall & John Oates, and Chris Stapleton, to this year’s lineup that features Justin Timberlake and Eddie Vedder are just a few of the stars that have (or will soon) grace the Pilgrimage stage. What makes Pilgrimage stand out from any other festival though is that it’s also where the kids can rock out to their stage, entire families can taste their way around the local concoctions of area chefs, and everyone can shop their way through the works of Franklin’s most talented makers.
Having a world-class festival that’s also a great place for families and kids, all in the gorgeous setting of the Park at Harlinsdale? I assure you, that is something you are only going to find in Franklin!
Kimbro’s Pickin’ Parlor
It was once a house, but now it’s a quirky music venue that features “The Red Bar” which is made out of vintage radios built around the old fireplace, and a back porch known as the voodoo room. Any fans of The Steeldrivers? The voodoo room is where they first banded together and played their first show!
With other spaces dubbed “The Crawl Space” and “The Music Room” in addition to going to see a show, you’ll also find instruments on the wall offered free-to-use for patrons, plus loads of fun and unique local art adorning the walls.
So what do you think? Feel free to hit us up on Social Media and tell us you’re coming or let us answer any questions you may have about planning your next adventure in #FranklinTN!