‘Ceremony Fest 2025’ Featuring Sueco, Rain City Drive, Weathers, +More — Nashville, TN — 11.8.25

Ceremony Fest in Nashville was a good experience overall, a day full of great music, a welcoming crowd, and the kind of energy that makes you remember why you love live shows in the first place. The lineup was stacked with everything from heavier alt-rock to more emotional, melodic sets, and you could feel how much everyone there genuinely loved the scene.

The festival setup itself was really cool. Having multiple stages spread across the venue gave you a lot of options, and the smaller rooms made some of the performances feel more intimate. The sound was solid throughout, and everything ran perfectly on time, which isn’t always the case at festivals like this.

That said, there was one thing that really stood out to me.  The stage assignments for certain bands felt a little strange. Some of the most popular acts ended up playing on the smaller stages, and those rooms were completely packed. Meanwhile, a few bands on the main stage were playing to noticeably smaller crowds. It just felt like the festival underestimated which artists would pull the biggest audiences.

It didn’t ruin the experience by any means, if anything, the packed smaller rooms had an incredible energy, like you were witnessing something special. But it did make things a bit uncomfortable at times, and it was weird walking out of a jammed side room only to see a headliner on the main stage playing to a half-empty floor. It made the overall vibe feel a bit uneven.

If they can fine-tune that for next year, maybe swap a few stage slots or think more carefully about where certain artists play,  it would definitely improve the fest. Even with that odd scheduling issue, though, it was a really fun day. The crowd was great, the artists were clearly happy to be there, and it had the kind of grassroots energy that makes a festival feel personal rather than corporate.

PHOTO GALLERY BY DAWSON BOURDETTE

The Foxies

Beauty School Dropout

John Harvie

Chandler Leighton

WesGhost

Jutes

Huddy

South Arcade

Weathers

Rain City Drive

Sueco