Most Anticipated 2016 Events in Nashville

Since November, 1977, Gaylord Opryland has long been a driving force behind huge conferences and special events in middle Tennessee. After all, Opryland Hotel is the largest non-casino hotel in the Continental United States outside of Las Vegas and also ranks as the 28th in the list of largest hotels in the world. But it's no longer 1977 and Gaylord Opryland, located 11 miles from downtown Nashville, is no longer the only option for these types of events. Nashville also has a diverse range of festivals, concerts and exhibits for folks living in or visiting the "it" city and an equal number of event spaces and venues popping up to meet the demand. Nashville was #9 on Cvents list of the "Top 50 U.S. Meeting Destinations" in 2015, behind cities like Orlando, New York and Las Vegas.

Take the 350,000-square-foot Music City Center, for example. This 350,000-square-foot behemoth meeting and convention space, with an estimated cost of $650 million, is located in the center of downtown Music City and played host to 305 events and 676,060 attendees during fiscal year 2015 generating 389,696 room nights for a total of $392.2 million in economic impact. Since opening just over two years ago, the building has hosted 672 events with 1.3 million attendees generating over $645 million in direct economic impact. Quite impressive, wouldn't you agree?

Patrons can experience special events under the neon lights of lower Broadway during New Year's Eve or the 4th of July, immersed in the history of the Ryman Auditorium , from the spectacular roof top of Aerial Nashville, under the stars at Ascend Amphitheater or the Bridgestone Arena who has sold the second highest amount of concert tickets in the U.S. this year, according to a Pollstar report.

The point is this: regardless of what type of music you prefer, art that moves you or industry you're in, Nashville is home to a meeting, event, concert or festival that's right up your alley. This list is an attempt to list and rank all of the events taking place in Nashville and the surrounding areas for twenty sixteen. Feel free to add an event to the list, cast your vote for events already on the list or comment as appropriate.