Take Advantage of a Packed Slate of Music City Bowl Festivities

Are you ready for some football?!

Written by Chris Chamberlain
Take Advantage of a Packed Slate of Music City Bowl Festivities
Dec 30, 2016; Nashville , TN, USA; at Nissan Stadium. Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports, Courtesy of Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl

Well, we finally know who’ll be playing in the big Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium on Monday, November 30 at 3:00. After the University of Tennessee did or didn’t snub their invitation after Vol fans complained that they would prefer to head to warmer weather in Florida instead of Nashville (go figure), bowl officials announced that the Mississippi State Bulldogs would play the Louisville Cardinals in the big game, and the teams’ respective fans are fired up about their upcoming visits to Music City. That means you can expect to see a lot of maroon and red in the streets of downtown after the holidays and that the sound of Bulldog fans’ ubiquitous cowbells will be ringing in your ears long after they leave.

One of the reasons teams and fans love coming to Nashville for the Music City Bowl (besides how darned much fun the town can be) is that the game’s organizers treat their guests so well with a slate of ancillary events surrounding the game that is unmatched in the rest of the bowl season. Tickets are still available for the game if you want to sit in the stands instead of watching it on ESPN, and not just from desperate Vol fans who jumped the gun and bought their seats before the official announcement. Even if you don’t intend to be a part of the action live, there are some entertaining events that are open to the public during the run-up to the game.

Dec 30, 2016; Nashville , TN, USA; at Nissan Stadium. Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports, Courtesy of Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Dec 30, 2016; Nashville , TN, USA; at Nissan Stadium. Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports, Courtesy of Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl

Starting at noon on December 29 the day before the game, a free Fan Zone will be open on Lower Broad stretching four blocks from 4th Avenue to the Cumberland River. The Fan Zone will feature food, drink, live music and all sorts of team-based interactive activities that are free to check out. The Fan Zone will be open until 9:00 pm on Sunday and from 10:00 am until 9:30 pm on game day. The official kick-off event for the Music City Bowl will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort on Sunday from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm with the annual Franklin American Mortgage Coaches Luncheon. The opposing teams will be introduced to the crowd and the two coaches will speak to the assembled fans at the luncheon.

Visitors and locals alike will assemble at the base of Broadway for the always entertaining Battle of the Bands between 1st and 2nd Avenue as each marching unit plays their fight song and other tunes to win the votes of the crowd. (Don’t be too concerned if you can’t tell who wins since everybody screams at the top of their lungs anyway. They’re competing for pride anyway.) After the bands are done, 80’s and 90’s music tribute band Rubik’s Groove will take the stage to entertain the masses with a set of nostalgic cover songs played note-for-note like the originals.

Dec 29, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; During the Battle of the Band events in downtown Nashville. Credit: ©2016 Wade Payne, Courtesy of Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Dec 29, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; During the Battle of the Band events in downtown Nashville. Credit: ©2016 Wade Payne, Courtesy of Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl

The Music City Bowl plans to offer an app for visitors to stay on top of all the other events that pop up over the weekend, so check their website to see when it goes live.