NASHVILLE – Nashville’s live show for Jack Daniel’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash is back at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park with Little Big Town, The Red Clay Strays and HARDY headlining the event on Dec. 31. The concert is free and open to the public with gates opening at 5:30 p.m.
As a 4.5-hour national television broadcast, NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH will air Thursday, Dec. 31 (7:00-9:00 PM, CT; 9:30 PM-12:05AM, CT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming live on Paramount+ (Premium) and next day.
Little Big Town will bring their GRAMMY-winning harmonies and celebrated catalog to the stage, while the 2026 ACM Award-winning “Group of the Year” The Red Clay Strays will showcase the raw energy that has made them one of country music’s fastest-rising bands. HARDY will deliver his genre-blurring country-rock sound.
“New Year’s Eve is one of the nights Nashville shines brightest, and with Little Big Town, The Red Clay Strays and HARDY leading an incredible lineup this year, we’re excited to once again showcase Nashville’s music on a national stage,” said Deana Ivey, President and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. “Visitors are vital to Nashville’s economy, supporting our local businesses and bringing new dollars into our community. We’re grateful for our partnership with CBS, which allows millions of viewers across the country to experience Nashville on New Year’s Eve and hopefully inspire them to plan a visit and experience Music City for themselves.”
This will be the 18th annual concert and tenth year at Bicentennial Park. The event will include the famed red Music Note, which will be dropped on a 138-foot tower at midnight to ring in the new year. As a live event, Big Bash generated $39 million in direct visitor spending and attendance of 205,000 in 2025.
Nashville’s Big Bash will again include Sober Space in partnership with Cumberland Heights for the recovery community; prioritize safety through partnerships with Safe Bar and Red Frogs USA; enhance inclusivity through a partnership with KultureCity and an ADA-accessible viewing area with an ASL interpreter; and support sustainability through Compost Nashville, recycling efforts, the donation of unused prepared food to local food kitchens and 100 pounds of biodegradable confetti.
As a TV special, NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH is executive produced by Robert Deaton and Mary Hilliard Harrington in partnership with Music City Inc., the foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. The special will be directed by Sandra Restrepo. Additional artist performances and entertainment for Nashville’s Big Bash will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Jack Daniel’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash live event is produced by Music City Inc., the foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, for the city of Nashville and presented by Jack Daniel’s. Partners include Advance Financial, Amazon, Crav’n Flavor, Nashville Farmers’ Market, Nashville International Airport, NUTRL, Southwest Airlines, Stella Artois, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Tennessee Highway Safety Office: Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk and Tennessee State Parks.
Keep up with new details: visitmusiccity.com/newyearseve. #NashvilleNYE
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Little Big Town
Little Big Town includes Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, and Jimi Westbrook, and they are one of country music’s most enduring and celebrated groups. Over a 25-year career, the GRAMMY, ACM, CMA, AMA, and Emmy Award-winning band has delivered a string of genre-defining hits including “Boondocks,” “Pontoon,” “Tornado,” “Day Drinking,” and the history-making, best-selling country single of 2015, “Girl Crush.” Their acclaimed albums Tornado, PainKiller, The Breaker (which debuted at No. 1 and featured the GRAMMY-winning “Better Man”), Nightfall, and Mr. Sun have produced multiple No. 1singles and earned widespread critical praise. The band’s 12th studio album It’s A Dying Art, arrived in August to widespread acclaim from Rolling Stone, Billboard, American Songwriter, People, and more. Co-produced by Little Big Town’s own Karen Fairchild and two-time GRAMMY winner Gena Johnson, the project blends intimate storytelling, emotional balladry, and a focus on human-made music shaped by imperfection and lived experience. The band first previewed the project with the poignant “Hey There Sunshine,” which debuted at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards to widespread acclaim, with The Tennessean calling it “a hopeful, healing moment” and Billboard praising it as “a timely message from one of country music’s greatest vocal groups.” They followed with “Over and Over,” which Billboard hailed as a “top-shelf post-breakup anthem,” “Sucker For A Sad Song” featuring Ashley Monroe, which Rolling Stone declared a “song you need to know,” and the piano-driven ballad, “We Could Have It All.” Additional standout tracks include the late night “Closing Time” featuring Kelsea Ballerini, the relationship-worn “The Door” featuring Jason Isbell, the fiery “It’s Coming Around,” and the visceral “The Idea.” Just off the heels of their 2026 CMA nomination for vocal group of the year, they will embark on their North American headline For The Art Of It Tour, which kicked off Sept. 24. To date, Little Big Town has amassed more than 45 major award nominations and taken home over 20 wins across GRAMMYs, CMAs, ACMs, AMAs, People’s Choice Awards, and an Emmy. With It’s A Dying Art, Little Big Town continues to build on a legacy as one of country music’s most respected and influential groups. littlebigtown.com
The Red Clay Strays
One of music’s fastest-rising bands, The Red Clay Strays released their debut album, Moment of Truth, in 2022, which featured the breakout single, “Wondering Why,” propelling them inside the top 20 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart. In 2024, the group signed to RCA Records and released their critically acclaimed sophomore album, Made by These Moments. Produced by GRAMMY-winning producer Dave Cobb, the album is filled with the band’s signature genre-blending sound, as they meld electric rock and roll with southern soul. The record marked the band’s first entry into the Billboard 200 and debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart, helping to earn their first Billboard Music Award for “Top Country Group,” and the 2025 ACM Award for “New Duo or Group of the Year.” They also garnered back-to-back CMA Award nominations for “Vocal Group of the Year” in 2024 and 2025, taking home the award at the 59th Annual CMA Awards. In May 2026, the band won the ACM Award for “Group of the Year” and the “Groundbreaker” Award at Billboard’s Country Power Players event. In June, they released their third studio album, Grateful. Once again produced by Dave Cobb, the album debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart. NPR praised it as a “10 out of 10…another one of those no-skip albums,” while Rolling Stone hailed that the band “level up — and power up — on their excellent new album.” With magnetic performances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, CBS Saturday Morning, and NPR’s Tiny Desk, the group recently made their Stagecoach debut and headlined Madison Square Garden. They are set to perform two headlining shows at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena later this year. redclaystrays.com
HARDY
HARDY is “a high concept craftsman” (The New Yorker), producing “some of the most intriguing music to emerge from Nashville in years” (SPIN). His latest album COUNTRY! COUNTRY! and follow up single “McArthur” feat. Tim McGraw, Eric Church, and Morgan Wallen, add to over 8 billion career streams. A 5X ACM award winner, 2X CMA award winner, 3X CMA Triple Play award recipient, and 3X AIMP Songwriter of the Year winner, the 2022 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year counts 22 No. 1 singles globally, and is “one of Nashville’s most prolific, versatile voices, a songwriter and artist who can put forth a twangy country anthem as easily as a bone-rattling rock song” (Billboard). hardyofficial.com
The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and Visit Music City
The mission of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and Visit Music City is to maximize the economic contribution of the convention and tourism industry to the community by developing and marketing Nashville as a premier destination. Visit the NCVC’s website at www.visitmusiccity.com and follow us on social media @VisitMusicCity.
