How to save money and attend CMA Festival

How to save money and attend CMA Festival

CMA Fest is one of the biggest events in Nashville and visitors are arriving from all over to attend. While tickets to the main nighttime concert can be expensive, there are many free stages around town. During CMA Fest, fans can hear hundreds of artist, enjoy the downtown Nashville scene and attend six stages of free concerts. Organizers of the festival have said there will be more than 300 artists performing on the free stages this weekend. Some are up-and-coming artists, but there are many big name artist as well. A few of the big names include: Billy Currington, Gavin Degraw, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Chase Rice and Ashley McBryde. Free stages are as follow… The Chevy Riverfront Stage is the largest daytime stage at the festival and is located in Riverfront Park. Nashville Acoustic Center is a small stage located in the glass tower of Nashville visitor center just inside Bridgestone Arena. The Chevy Breakout Stage showcases the so-called next big country acts and is located in Walk of Fame Park. Budweiser Forever Country Stage is inside Forever Country Park behind Ascend Amphitheater. Maui Jim Broadway Stage is on the corner of fifth and Broadway and contains a lineup of an emerging artists. Along with the many free stages, there is also a cheap night show going on at Ascend Amphitheater at the same time as the big headliner concerts at Nissan Stadium. The Firestone Country Roads Stage  at Ascend is a $10 admission for lawn seats and $25 for reserved seating. The Xfinity Fan Fair X is another cheap event to attend, costing $10 each day or...
Lumination’s Erin Turner shares CMA Fest experience

Lumination’s Erin Turner shares CMA Fest experience

I am not a huge modern country music fan, but when I heard about the opportunity to be a photographer on the CMA Award of Merit Photo team, I knew had to apply. I began shooting for Lumination during the second semester of my freshman year, and around the same time I started a semester-long internship at The Tennessean as a news photographer. During my freshman year, I tried to seek out all the opportunities I possibly could. I saw shooting the CMA Fest as a great opportunity to meet new people, build my portfolio and just have a little fun this summer. In short, I sent CMA my portfolio and soon heard back that I was accepted on to the team. There were five student photographers on the team, along with several other veteran photographers in the area to cover the rest. The team had a meeting about a month before the fest to see how things would go, and then June 5 quickly rolled around the corner. When everything is said and done, CMA will pick the top student photographer who had the best overall images. That student will receive an award and have the opportunity to attend the CMA Awards in November. The first day of the fest started out horribly for me. I had never been before, and I was completely clueless on all the locations. I arrived late for my first assignment and spent about an hour just trying to figure out where the CMA offices were in the Music City Center. I would go up to worker after worker, each of them sending...

Saturday classes, exams still on as winter weather heads towards Nashville

By Bridgette Begle, Brianne Welch and Cory Woodroof Students with Saturday classes or exams should prepare for tomorrow’s lectures and tests, as Lipscomb University is continuing business as normal. In an email sent to the student body, Assistant Vice President of Communication and Marketing Kim Chaudoin wrote that, as the university continues to watch the weekend’s weather reports, all Saturday events will continue as planned. “As you may be aware, winter weather —  including ice and freezing rain — has affected areas in the western part of Tennessee,” Chaudoin wrote. “We continue to monitor the weather patterns as it relates to the Nashville area. “The latest update from the Nashville bureau of the National Weather Service is that we can expect rain and temperatures in the mid 30s through early evening. Tonight a mixture of rain and sleet is possible and will move out around midnight, with lows dropping into the mid-20s. Saturday will be cloudy with lows in the mid-30s with the possibility of rain. “As a result of this updated weather forecast, university offices, classes, exams and other events will operate on a normal schedule. Students and employees are expected to follow their normal schedules and routines.” A winter weather advisory has been issued for Davidson County from 4 p.m. Friday until midnight. Chaudoin notes that in the event of inclement weather, the university will follow the schedule disruption policy. The university also has a plan in case of an emergency, campus-wide power outage. “The safety of our students is our top priority,” Chaudoin wrote. “We have an emergency plan in place that we continually refine and practice to...