Nashville will ring in the new year on Sunday, December 31st at Bicentennial Park located at 600 James Robertson Parkway. Artists set to perform include Lainey Wilson, Thomas Rhett, Morgan Wallen, Jon Pardi, Blake Shelton, and more.
Before heading out to the free event. Here are a few things to know.
- The concert is free and open to the public. The five-hour CBS special will air live on Sunday, Dec. 31 at 6:30 pm CT on the CBS Television Network, Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs). Gates open at 4:30 p.m.
- Big Bash will kick off at 5:15 p.m. with a 50-minute tribute to hip-hop’s 50th anniversary to celebrate the genre over the decades. Music City Hip-Hop 50 will conclude with a guest DJ set by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, who has experience as a DJ.
- This will be the 15th annual concert and seventh year at Bicentennial Park. The event will include the famed red Music Note, which will be dropped on a 138-foot tower at midnight to ring in the new year. As a live event, the Big Bash generates as much as $38 million in direct visitor spending and attendance of 200,000, with more than half being local residents.
- This year marks the 15th New Year’s Eve event and seventh year at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.Music Note and Tower.
- The red Music Note tower is 138 feet. The Music Note is 16 feet tall and approximately 400 pounds. It is made of aluminum and acrylic. There are 13,000 LED pixels in the Music Note.
- On the busiest day of setup, there will be more than 300 production crew members working to build the stage and setting up other elements for the concert, fireworks and Music Note Drop.
- Big Bash is partnering with the HERO (Homeless Education Resource Office) Program of Metro Nashville Public Schools to support students and their families who are experiencing homelessness. Through the partnership, Big Bash sponsor Crav’n Flavor will replenish the HERO food pantry for the month of January from scratch.
- The event’s perimeter will be fenced and include six entry points conveniently located around the site. Attendees should expect to walk through metal detectors as they enter. Bags and purses (size limit: 16” by 10” by 4”) may be searched. There will be five public first aid tents.
- Phone charging station ($5 unlimited) will be located at the Jack Daniel’s Lounge in State Lot 4 and the Neighborhood Taproom in State Lot 8. Please, no large bags, but locker rentals will be available for $10 on Sixth Avenue near the main entrance and off Rosa Parks Boulevard near the Tennessee State Museum.
- A Designated Driver Zone tent will offer complimentary coffee, Coca-Cola products, Dr Pepper Zero Sugar, water and light snacks provided by Crav’n Flavors, presented by Tennessee Highway Safety Office.
- Advance Financial Picture Frame, giant 2024 numerals and a 360-degree camera will be located near the Carillon bell towers. Additional photo locations include the Jack Daniel’s Barrel Tree near the Jack Daniel’s Lounge.
- Vehicle parking will be available at Nissan Stadium for $10.
- Beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday, December 31, free bus rides will be available on WeGo Public Transit bus routes, and service on 16 routes will be extended until 1:30 a.m. Monday, January 1, 2024.
- Permitted items
- Small bags with maximum measurement of 16” by 10” by 4”
- Personal cameras
Prohibited items
- No handheld umbrellas of any kind
- No guns, knives, weapons or other dangerous devices of any kind
- No backpacks or luggage
- No coolers
- No outside alcoholic beverages (Only alcoholic beverages purchased from a designated official event vendor are permitted.)
- No illegal substances, drugs or drug paraphernalia
- No fireworks
- No laser pointers
- No pets (service animals are permitted)
- No drones or other remote-controlled aerial or ground-based devices
- No unauthorized vending, sales, sampling, solicitation or distribution of materials including handbills, flyers, stickers, beach balls, giveaways, etc. (event credentials required)
- No wagons or pull-carts
- No unauthorized personal transport devices, including bicycles, rollerblades, skateboards, Segways, golf carts, mopeds, scooters, electric scooters (Bird, Lime, Spin, Lyft, Jump, Gotcha, Bolt), or any personal motorized vehicles other than wheelchairs or ADA devices (event credentials required)
- No pedicabs or pedal taverns
- No unauthorized amplification devices which disrupt event production, including handheld megaphones
- No other noisemakers (musical instruments, bullhorns, air horns, whistles, etc.)
- No performances or demonstrations of any type outside of the designated Freedom of Expression zone
- No chairs of any type
- No pop-up tents
- No beach or pole-style umbrellas
- No inserting stakes, poles or any other objects into the ground or using ropes, cords, tape, etc. to reserve space
- No blankets or ground tarps
- No hammocks or attaching anything to any park structures or trees
- No audio recorders or video cameras
- No camera stands, monopods, tripods, attachment sticks or selfie sticks
- No aerosol containers of any kind
- No sealed containers of any kind
- No throwing objects
- No smoking, e-cigs or vaping outside of designated smoking area
- No professional-grade radios or walkie-talkies
- No large chains or spiked jewelry
- No signs, flags on sticks or poles
- No pepper spray
- Phone recordings of concerts are illegal: No bootleg recordings, streaming or reposting
