# Ascend Amphitheater

The Ascend Amphitheater is an open-air event venue located on the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee. It is set inside the Metro Riverfront Park. The amphitheater seats 2,300 in fixed seating, and 4,500 on the lawn, with a total capacity of 6,800.

## History

Ascend Amphitheater was first proposed on August 27, 2013, when then-Nashville Mayor Karl Dean unveiled plans for the venue on the site of the city's former thermal transfer plant, which was phased out in the early 2000s. The site was originally proposed to be the home of First Tennessee Field, a minor league baseball stadium for the Nashville Sounds. After numerous financing delays, the ballpark project was scrapped in 2007 and the land sat largely vacant until construction on the amphitheater began. The land was occasionally used as temporary event space in the meantime.

## Venue

Live Nation is the operator for the open-air venue. Eric Church opened the venue with two sold-out shows on July 30 and 31, 2015, followed August 1 by Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire during their Heart and Soul Tour 2015, and Phish on August 4.
Live Nation signed a 10-year contract with Nashville and a 10-year contract with Ascend Federal Credit Union.

## Concerts

A list of notable events held/to be held at the Amphitheater.
| Artist | Tour/Event | Date | Opening act(s) |
| 5 Seconds of Summer | No Shame Tour | June 30, 2022 | — |
| Alabama Shakes | — | April 21, 2016 | Dylan LeBlanc |
| Alan Jackson | Honky Tonk Highway Tour | May 19, 2017 | Lee Ann Womack & Adam Wright |
| Alicia Keys | Alicia: The World Tour | August 2, 2020 | |
| All Time Low & Sleeping with Sirens | Back To The Future Hearts Tour | October 13, 2015 | One Ok Rock & Neck Deep |
| America Fest 2015 | Loretta Lynn, Steve Earle, Nikki Lane, Valerie June, Tift Merritt & Eric Heywood, Gillian Welch, Emmy Rose Russell | September 19, 2015 | — |
| Amos Lee | Spirit Fall Tour 2016 | September 16, 2016 | — |
| Australian Pink Floyd | — | August 22, 2015 | LedZeppelin2 |
| Avril Lavigne | Greatest Hits Tour | September 4, 2024 | Simple Plan and Girlfriends |
| Barenaked Ladies | Last Summer on Earth Tour | July 5, 2016 | OMD & Howard Jones |
| Bastille | Wild Wild World Tour | May 5, 2017 | Mondo Cozmo |
| Ben Rector | The Biggest Tour I Have Done So Far Tour | August 27, 2016 | Colony House |
| Blink-182 | California Tour | August 8, 2016 | A Day to Remember, All-American Rejects, & DJ Spider |
| Boyz II Men (with the Nashville Symphony) | — | September 11, 2016 | — |
| Brand New & Modest Mouse | — | July 19, 2016 | — |
| Bryan Adams | Get Up! Tour | April 15, 2015 | — |
| Cage the Elephant | 2016 Tour | May 19, 2016 | Portugal. The Man |
| Carnival of Madness | 2016 Tour Black Stone Cherry, Halestorm, Shinedown, Whiskey Myers | August 4, 2016 | — |
| Cheap Trick, Heart & Joan Jett & the Blackhearts | Rock Hall Three for All | September 19, 2017 | — |
| Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire | Heart and Soul Tour | August 1, 2015 | — |
| Chris Stapleton | Chris Stapleton's All American Road Show | October 14, 2016 | Lee Ann Womack |
| Chris Stapleton | Chris Stapleton's All American Road Show | October 15, 2016 | Brent Cobb |
| Chris Tomlin | Love Ran Red Tour | October 8, 2015 | Rend Collective |
| Chris Young | I'm Comin' Over World Tour | September 30, 2015 | Jerrod Niemann & Cam |
| CMA Festival | Jonathan Jackson + Enation | June 9, 2016 | — |
| CMA Festival | Ryan Lafferty | June 9, 2016 | — |
| CMA Festival | Sarah Evans | June 10, 2016 | — |
| Cody Jinks | Change the Game Tour | April 27, 2024 | The Steel Woods |
| Counting Crows | Somewhere Under Wonderland Tour | August 7, 2015 | Citizen Cope & Hollis Brown |
| Counting Crows & Rob Thomas | Counting Crows & Rob Thomas on Tour | September 30, 2016 | K. Philips |
| Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds | 2017 Tour | May 6, 2017 | — |
| Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds | 2017 Tour | May 7, 2017 | — |
| Depeche Mode | Global Spirit Tour | September 18, 2017 | — |
| Dierks Bentley | Miles and Music for Kids | November 1, 2015 | Thomas Rhett, The Cadillac Three, Cole Swindell, Florida Georgia Line, Canaan Smith, Brooke Eden |
| Disturbed & Rob Zombie | — | May 7, 2016 | Pop Evil |
| Duran Duran | Paper Gods on Tour | July 6, 2016 | Chic feat. Nile Rodgers |
| Eric Church | The Outsiders World Tour | July 30, 2015 | J. Roddy Walston & The Business |
| Eric Church | The Outsiders World Tour | July 31, 2015 | Ryan Bingham |
| Flight of the Conchords | Sing Flight of the Conchords | July 14, 2016 | Arj Barker |
| Florence and the Machine | How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Tour | October 9, 2015 | — |
| Garth Brooks | — | October 24, 2016 | — |
| Gary Clark Jr. | The Story of Sonny Boy Slim Tour | July 16, 2016 | Raury |
| Goo Goo Dolls | Boxes Tour | August 5, 2016 | Collective Soul & Tribe Society |
| Goo Goo Dolls | The Miracle Pill Summer Tour | August 29, 2020 | Lifehouse |
| Grace Potter and the Nocturnals | Midnight Tour | October 10, 2015 | Lake Street Dive |
| Hall & Oates | 2015 Tour | September 14, 2015 | — |
| Halsey | Hopeless Fountain Kingdom World Tour | July 18, 2018 | Jessie Reyez |
| Idina Menzel | Idina Menzel: World Tour | August 15, 2015 | — |
| Jackson Browne | Standing in the Beach Tour | October 11, 2015 | Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams |
| Jake Owen | — | April 27, 2017 | Eric Paslay & LANco |
| Janet Jackson | Unbreakable World Tour | September 27, 2015 | — |
| Jeff Beck | — | August 3, 2016 | Buddy Guy |
| Jill Scott | — | August 5, 2015 | Lecrae & BJ the Chicago Kid |
| Jimmy Buffett | I Don't Know Tour | May 26, 2016 | Huey Lewis and the News |
| Jimmy Buffett | — | June 25, 2020 | — |
| John Legend | Darkness & Light Tour | May 18, 2017 | Gallant |
| John Legend | Bigger Love Tour | August 15, 2020 | The War and Treaty |
| Journey | Eclipse Tour | July 27, 2016 | Dave Mason |
| Kesha | The High Road Tour | May 16, 2020 | Big Freedia |
| Kings of Leon | Album release concert | October 6, 2016 | — |
| Kip Moore | Me & My Kind Tour | August 10, 2017 | Dustin Lynch, Jon Pardi, Brandy Clark & Chris Lane |
| The Lumineers | Cleopatra World Tour | September 20, 2017 | Børns & Rayland Baxter |
| The Lumineers | Cleopatra World Tour | September 22, 2017 | Børns & Rayland Baxter |
| Lynyrd Skynyrd | — | October 2, 2015 | Blackstone Cherry |
| Meghan Trainor | The Untouchable Tour | August 6, 2017 | Hailee Steinfeld & Common Kings |
| Muse & Thirty Seconds to Mars | 2017 North American Tour | June 3, 2017 | PVRIS |
| My Morning Jacket | The Waterfall Tour | August 6, 2015 | Moon Taxi |
| NEEDTOBREATHE and Switchfoot | Tour de Compadres | August 14, 2015 | Colony House & Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors |
| Neil Young & Promise of the Real | The Monsanto Years Tour | April 28, 2016 | Steve Earle |
| Niall Horan | Flicker World Tour | July 23, 2018 | Maren Morris |
| Odesza | A moment Apart | May 12, 2018 |
| Old Crow Medicine Show | — | August 28, 2015 | The Devil Makes Three |
| Peter Frampton & Cheap Trick | — | August 16, 2015 | Slash & Sammy Hagar |
| Phillip Phillips & Matt Nathanson | 2016 Summer Tour | July 28, 2016 | A Great Big World & Eric Hutchinson |
| Phish | — | August 4, 2015 | — |
| Phish | Fall 2016 Tour | October 18, 2016 | |
| Phish | Fall 2016 Tour | October 19, 2016 | |
| Phish | — | August 4, 2020 | — |
| Phish | — | August 5, 2020 | — |
| Pretty Lights | Pretty Lights Hallows Eve | October 31, 2015 | Goldroom, Chali 2na, Daily Bread, DJ Matoma |
| Ray LaMontagne | The Ouroboros Tour | July 29, 2016 | — |
| Sheryl Crow | July 4th Celebration | July 4, 2016 | — |
| The Smashing Pumpkins & Marilyn Manson | The End Times Tour | August 9, 2015 | Cage |
| Snoop Dogg | Wellness Retreat Tour | April 28, 2017 | Flatbush Zombies |
| Steely Dan | Rockabye Gollie Angel Tour | August 8, 2015 | Elvis Costello & The Imposters |
| Steve Earle | | September 19, 2015 | |
| Styx (with the Nashville Symphony) | 2016 North American Tour | May 21, 2016 | — |
| Sublime with Rome | — | August 18, 2015 | Rebelution, Pepper, & Mickey Avalon |
| Thomas Rhett | Home Team Tour | April 20, 2017 | Kelsea Ballerini, Russell Dickerson & Ryan Hurd |
| Thomas Rhett | Home Team Tour | April 21, 2017 | Kelsea Ballerini, Russell Dickerson & Ryan Hurd |
| Train | Play That Song Tour | May 31, 2017 | O.A.R. & Natasha Bedingfield |
| Twenty One Pilots | Emotional Roadshow World Tour | August 7, 2016 | Mutemath & Chef'Special |
| Umphrey's McGee | 2016 Tour | August 26, 2016 | Tauk |
| Uncle Kracker, Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra & Eve 6 | Playing Under the Sun Summer Tour | August 29, 2015 | — |
| Weezer & Panic! at the Disco | Weezer and Panic! at the Disco Summer Tour 2016 | July 13, 2016 | Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness |
| Widespread Panic | Summer Tour 2015 | September 5, 2015 | — |
| Widespread Panic | Summer Tour 2015 | September 6, 2015 | — |
| ZZ Top | Grooves & Gravy Tour | September 1, 2015 | Blackberry Smoke |
| ZZ Top | — | June 28, 2020 | — |