Music festival season is in full swing, but music lovers planning to head to one annual free music festival in downtown Nashville will be in for a bit of disappointment. Live On The Green, Nashville’s free outdoor concert series at Public Square Park, has been canceled for 2023, Lester Turner, president of Tuned in Broadcasting at Lightning 100 and Live On The Green executive producer, announced Friday.
In a statement shared to the festival’s socials and addressed to the festival’s family and friends, Turner wrote, “Putting on a festival of this size, with this caliber of talent, and keeping it free and open to the public each and every year since 2009 has been a labor of love and one of our greatest joys as Nashville’s independent radio station.” According to Turner, Live On the Green 2023 was canceled due to “cost and demands.”
“Unfortunately, this year, the cost and demands of that challenge are too great for us to deliver the same quality experience that supporters of our festival have come to enjoy through the years. For that reason, we are sad to announce the cancellation of the 2023 festival, however, this is not the end of Live On The Green,” the statement continued, Turner closing the statement by stating that they plan to return in 2024.
Sponsored by Lightning 100 (WRLT, 100.1 FM), a local independent radio station, Live On the Green is a multi-day event featuring free music from local, regional, and national artists. Live On the Green 2022’s lineup festival saw Sheryl Crow, Coin, Moon Taxi, Santigold, Yola, Arrested Development, Cautious Clay, Colony House, Devon Gilfillian, Jenny Lewis, and many more take the public stage. Per The Tennessean, officials previously revealed that more than 700,000 attended its festivals, dating back to 2009.
The festival has been held annually at Public Square in Nashville since 2009 over Labor Day weekend, though it was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, with the radio station instead hosting live performances and interviews during those years. Video streams were also available on Lightning 100’s website. Live On the Green returned to its usual public format in 2022. During the event, Nashville Mayor John Cooper declared the festival, “an event of significance and encourage all Nashvillians to join me in recognizing its presence and impact in our community.” The festival has also been ranked as Best Event/Festival, Best Concert Series, Best Free Fun, Best Radio Station, and Best Cheap Date by local magazine the Nashville Scene.
