September 14, 2023

Calling all Nashville fans! The Nashville: Reunion Tour is coming to town on Monday, September 25 and we’re celebrating by opening up our doors for special hours on Sunday, September 24th! Stop by from 10 AM–2 PM to take pictures, shop merchandise, and step on the same stage as Deacon and Rayna.

No reservations required.

August 30, 2023

Celero Commerce (“Celero”), a top ten U.S. non-bank payment processor, has announced an exciting new partnership with Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe. A revered music venue that has launched the music careers of many top stars, including Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, and Faith Hill, The Bluebird Cafe is a true Nashville icon.

In addition to providing payment processing services for The Bluebird Cafe, Celero will also be the presenting sponsor of Bluebird on the Mountain, a six show concert series produced by Vanderbilt University’s Dyer Observatory. The annual series, in its 20th year, occurs between May and October and features noted Bluebird songwriters. New this year, local small businesses or nonprofits will be joining Celero at each concert as a Community Feature to help build their awareness in the Nashville community. The list includes Abbie’s Safe Home, Turnip Green Creative Reuse, Strings for Hope, Pencil, Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, and The Cookery.

“Our mission is to deliver simple-to-use, bundled payments solutions that enable small to mid-sized businesses to compete and win in the marketplace,” said Celero founder and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Jones. “We cannot think of a better way to fulfill this mission than by supporting local charities, singers, songwriters, and recording artists as our way of preserving and growing what is so special about Nashville. Partnering with The Bluebird is a dream come true for us.”

The Bluebird Cafe is a 90-seat songwriters club where more than 80,000 annual visitors witness up-and-coming songwriters hone their craft and listen to established recording artists tell the stories behind their hits. Over 20,000 music lovers attend Bluebird’s off-site events, such as Bluebird on the Mountain.

“Celero Commerce and the Bluebird Cafe share a commitment of connection and service in our community, which is how we came to this idea for partnering with Bluebird on the Mountain,” said Erika Wollam-Nichols, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the Bluebird Cafe. “We are excited to have Celero as our payments partner, but even more excited about the impact we can make in the community together.”

“Like so many other businesses, we chose Nashville to begin our journey at Celero, and we couldn’t have made a better choice,” concluded Jones. “You can build great technology in many places, but we wanted to be somewhere special where our team could thrive, grow, and enjoy a special, creative, and innovative community. The Bluebird Cafe is certainly one of the places that defines Music City’s greatness.”

About Celero Commerce

Headquartered in Nashville, Celero Commerce is a full-service, integrated electronic commerce solutions provider powered by leading-edge technology, strategic partnerships, and business intelligence. Celero offers small and medium-sized businesses payment processing services, business management software, and data intelligence, empowering them to drive growth and profitability. Visit https://www.celerocommerce.com/ to learn more.

About The Bluebird Cafe

Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe is a noted listening room where emerging songwriters hone their craft, and established hit-makers and recording artists tell the stories behind their hits. Now in its 41st year, this iconic venue hosts more than 80,000 visitors annually, with another 20,000 enjoying events like the Bluebird on the Mountain summer concert series at Vanderbilt University’s Dyer Observatory. For more information, visit https://bluebirdcafe.com/.

About Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is a globally renowned research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. Ranked No. 13 among national universities, Vanderbilt offers an immersive living-learning undergraduate experience, with programs in the liberal arts and sciences, engineering, music, education, and human development. The university also is home to nationally and internationally recognized graduate schools of law, education, business, medicine, nursing and divinity, and offers robust graduate-degree programs across a range of academic disciplines. Vanderbilt is committed to inclusive excellence, drawing the world’s brightest students, faculty and distinguished visitors from across all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and provides a collaborative atmosphere of discovery that drives positive change in the world. Learn more at www.vanderbilt.edu.

About Vanderbilt University Dyer Observatory

Crowning one of Nashville’s tallest peaks, Vanderbilt University Dyer Observatory has pointed its telescopes to the sky since 1953. Its nine-acre hilltop, surrounded by Radnor Lake State Natural Area, provides visitors with a serene, park-like setting only eight miles south of downtown Nashville. Today, Dyer Observatory continues to inspire interest in astronomy and space science through programming including public viewing nights, lectures, school field trips, and summer camps. Dyer brings together art and science with events such as the Bluebird on the Mountain concert series plus collaborations with Nashville Opera and the Vanderbilt Blair School. In addition to its public outreach, Dyer Observatory provides rental opportunities for hosting events, making it one of the most unique venues in the area. dyer.vanderbilt.edu

August 18, 2023

The Bluebird Cafe has partnered with Turnip Green Creative Reuse in Nashville and Southwest Airlines® to upcycle retired awnings that hung outside our historic music venue. Featured in thousands of personal photographs, The Bluebird’s awning has distinguished our venue for 41 years with its iconic imagery. Through the creative efforts of Turnip Green artists, Bluebird awning material along with Southwest Airlines® recycled seat leather have been used to create a limited-edition line of guitar cases, tote bags, guitar straps, and wallet sleeves.

We look forward to the Bluebird Cafe history living on in these unique items and encourage you to shop the Reblue collection by purchasing or bidding on an item (via Ebay) for a limited time. 

In keeping with our commitment to be sustainable and support local, a portion of the proceeds generated by the Re-Blue campaign will be donated to PENCIL to support Metro Nashville public schools.  

SHOP THE AUCTION

About Turnip Green Creative Reuse: 
Turnip Green Creative Reuse (TGCR) fosters creativity and sustainability through reuse. They provide a welcoming, inclusive space to divert materials from the landfill and connect them with teachers, students, artists, and more. TGCR has diverted over a million pounds of materials from the landfill for reuse! Their areas of service include a donation-based storefront with reuse materials, a sustainable art gallery, and extensive art programming for youth and adults.

About Repurpose with Purpose:
Repurpose with Purpose is a Southwest Airlines® award-winning, global environmental sustainability initiative that upcycles items like aircraft seat leather coverings and transforms them into new products. Southwest partners with organizations to reimagine thousands of pounds of materials into new products every year, helping keep waste out of landfills.  Since 2014, Southwest has donated more than $1.3 million dollars in grants and more than 1.4 million pounds of leather to provide employment, skills training, and other social benefits for communities.

About PENCIL:

PENCIL is a non-profit organization that builds strategic partnerships between community groups and the needs of Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).

August 8, 2023

Sundance Mountain resort has long been recognized as a haven for art, culture, and natural beauty. Creative expression has always been the heartbeat of the resort, with one of its most unique artistic endeavors being its 20+ year partnership with The Bluebird Cafe. Sundance regulars look forward to our Bluebird concert series every year, which features some of Nashville’s best singer-songwriters in an acoustic in-the-round style show. 

Spurred by the high demand for our shows, we are pleased to present a new Bluebird Bands series which will feature original music by some of Nashville’s most talented bands. The series will kick off September 3, 2023 with Stephen Kellogg Band.

“Although today’s Bluebird Cafe is best known for its acoustic performances by notable songwriters, that’s not how the club started,” explains Erika Wollam Nichols, Bluebird Cafe’s General Manager and COO. “When the venue first opened, the nightly performances were all band shows. We still present these plugged-in performances at least twice a week, if not more with both our regular Monday Night shows featuring the Mike Henderson Band and our plugged-in weekly Sunday Spotlight. It’s exciting to me to have the chance to show our fabulous Sundance family this other facet of The Bluebird Cafe!  And you couldn’t ask for a more mind-blowing performance to kick off this new series than one from Stephen Kellogg and his band.”

Kellogg’s songs and stories speak to our lives with an immediacy scarcely seen in the modern landscape. Each performance paints a unique canvas that covers the full spectrum of human emotions. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll go home with a full heart.

Tickets begin at $60 for general admission lawn seating, with the most VIP experience being our $150 Stage Right by Zions Bank Experience. This ticket price includes prime bench seating, BBQ dinner at Stage Right, a meet ‘n’ greet with the band, and a Bluebird Band poster. Make it a dinner-and-a-show evening with your family, friends, or significant other, and enjoy an exclusive BBQ dinner only available at Bluebird Bands.

Purchase your tickets for Stephen Kellogg Band today and be one of the first in attendance at this brand new music experience. A harmonious fusion of breathtaking landscapes and soul-stirring melodies, Bluebird Bands offers music enthusiasts an unforgettable evening in the heart of nature. Tickets available here.

August 8. 2023

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) along with presenting sponsors The Bluebird Cafe and CMT have announced details for the 24th annual NSAI Song Contest.

Launching August 1 at 12:00 PM CT, this year’s contest will award over $20,000 worth of prizes. Songwriters of all genres are invited to submit their songs and/or lyrics to be evaluated by industry professionals for feedback and their chance to win.

All eligible submissions received by NSAI from August 1 at 12:00 PM CST through September 30 at 5:00 PM CT will be judged in their respective categories by music industry professionals with a 10-question scorecard evaluation. Highest scoring entries will advance to the second round for another review, and in the third round of judging, up to 10 finalists and up to 10 honorable mentions will be determined for the Song Category, and the Lyric Category winner and runner-up will be selected.

In January 2024, the top finalists for the Song Category will be scored during a live-streamed event where a panel of elite music industry professionals will score each submission from one to 10, with the highest combined score receiving the Song Category Grand Prize.

This year’s prize packages include two cash prizes ($5,000 and $2,500); $1,500 towards a Guitar Center purchase; two 417e guitars from Taylor Guitar; a mentor session with either Ingrid Andress or David Hodges; one-year single-song publishing contract with Anthem Entertainment; a tour of the CMT Headquarters and two pairs of 2024 CMT Music Awards tickets; and an experience at The Bluebird Cafe, among others.

For more information, see here.

August 7, 2023

The Bluebird Cafe’s documentary BLUEBIRD is available digitally for audiences to enjoy in the U.S., Canada, and U.K.! Our film tells the origin stories of megastars like Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift, while follow emerging singer-songwriters as they chase their dreams inside The Bluebird Cafe, an accidental landmark that altered the course of music history. BLUEBIRD is available to view on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and more.

Watch the trailer here. 
Watch the film here. 

Not available in your neck of the woods? We have region free DVDs and Blu-Rays available for purchase on our website store and onsite at our venue.

Accolades

#1 Documentary on iTunes/AppleTV

Official Selection of:

SXSW Film Festival

Nashville Film Festival

Newport Beach Film Festival

Woods Hole Film Festival

Circle Cinema Film Feestival

Dead Center Film Festival

May 30, 2023

CMA Fest is 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 this year June 8-11. As a part of the festivities, we’ll be open for special daytime hours! Come on by to see The Bluebird, take pictures on our stage, and shop exclusive merchandise deals. We hope to see you there!

Free. All ages. No ticket required.

𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦:

June 7, 11 AM–3 PM
June 8, 11 AM–3 PM
June 10, 10 AM–1 PM
June 11, 10 AM–1 PM

April 19, 2023

Once upon a time, the planets, and the fates, and all the stars aligned to have a three-night Taylor Swift tour weekend in Nashville! Are you ready for it?! We’ve been scheming to plan special daytime hours May 5, 6, and 7 from 10 AM–2PM. Join us in Celebrating The Erasas we open our doors for pre-show festivities. Come see where Taylor got her start, enter our daily giveaway, stop by our photo station, or search for the perfect Eras Tour outfit. The best *things* in life are free, and so are these events!

Free. No ticket required for entry. All ages welcome.

March 31, 2023

In December 2021, The Bluebird Cafe and NSAI partnered with Nan Kingsley and the estate of late radio icon Bob Kingsley to fund the preservation and distribution of historic songwriter performances. One of the goals of this partnership was to digitize historic Bluebird Cafe shows throughout the years that were captured in a variety of mediums. As The Bluebird continues to celebrate its 40th anniversary year, we are thrilled to be working with WSM radio, through the help of the Kingsley estate, to release Bluebird Archival Recordings live on Ryman Hospitality Classic Country WSM-AM/Nashville. This series, which will air every Saturday morning at 9 AM CT beginning April 1, will include memorable performances recorded live throughout the venue’s history. Following each one-hour show will be Bob Kingsley’s Countdown Classics. Future plans for the show are to incorporate audio engineering students from Weatherford College where Bob Kingsley’s infamous Bluestem Studios now reside. The Bluebird is a home to songwriters and we look forward to sharing these special recordings from our intimate venue to a new audience.

LISTEN LIVE ON AIR

Saturday, April 1:
Ashley Gorley, Chris DeStefano and Rhett Akins (recorded 1/31/2018)

Saturday, April 8:
Kelly Archer, Adam Hambrick and Marc Beeson (recorded 9/4/2021)

Saturday, April 15:

Foster & Lloyd (Radney Foster & Bill Lloyd) and Kennedy Rose (recorded 12/31/2004)

Saturday, April 22:
Tony Arata, Annie Mosher, Craig Carothers and Dave Berg (recorded 5/6/2022)

Saturday, April 29:
Lisa Brokop, Porter Howell, Paul Jefferson & Brady Seals (recorded 5/6/2022)

Saturday, May 6:
Harley Allen, Shawn Camp, Austin Cunningham & Dean Miller (recorded 12/8/1999)

Saturday, May 13:
Scotty Emerick, Leslie Satcher, Allen Shamblin & John Scott Sherrill (recorded 1/20/2009)

Saturday, May 20:
Phillip White, Mac Davis, Bobby Braddock & Steve Bogard (recorded 3/28/2007)

Saturday, May 27:
Casey Beathard, Buddy Cannon, Marla Cannon Goodman & Mac McAnally (recorded 3/29/2019)

Saturday, June 3:
Chuck Cannon, Dean Dillon & Paul Overstreet (recorded July 29, 2004)

March 28, 2023

In 2019, a state statute declared the last full week of February to be Tennessee Songwriters Week (TSW). TSW supports music venues, supports songwriters with live performances in all genres of music, drives visitation and inspires travelers to experience the state’s music stories, history, attractions and venues. More than 1,200 songwriters performed at qualifying rounds in February at over 50 venues, museums, attractions and cafes to advance to the showcase events around the state where seven finalists were named the winners. Each of the finalists won a branded commemorative Taylor guitar, two-night stay in Nashville, $100 gift card for travel and one-year membership to Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). In addition, they all performed on a showcase at The Bluebird Cafe on March 26, 2023.

Meet the finalists:

Garrett Boys (winners @ The Palace Theatre in Gallatin)
GarrettBoys.com
Instagram: @GarrettBoysMusic

Garrett Boys is a collaboration of the Garrett brothers, Stephen and Russell. After growing up on a small rural farm in middle Tennessee, both Stephen & Russell set out for Nashville to pursue their passion for music. This led to several years of various roles in the music industry throughout multiple genres. Garrett Boys is a reflection of an inevitable longing for home, history and heritage that finds the brothers Garrett discovering a deeper and more personal perspective of their music than ever before. Joined by Stephen’s son, Carter, they look to further explore their Folk Americana roots with Garrett Boys.

Elijah Wise (winner @ Ole Red in Gatlinburg)
ElijahWiseMusic.com
Facebook: @ElijahWiseMusic
Instagram: @ElijahWiseMusic

Elijah Wise of Cosby, Tennessee began singing in local churches and small festivals at the age of five. As he grew his voice followed as he developed a unique style in his twangy country and western singing voice. In 2015, at the age of 20 he started learning to play acoustic guitar because he didn’t want to be a singer who didn’t play an instrument. This motivation came from his dad, who was a singer as well but never played an instrument. Elijah chose to take it a step further and go to East Tennessee State University to further his abilities as a singer and guitar player. Taking lessons from Bluegrass extraordinaire Wyatt Rice, who is a brother to bluegrass legend Tony Rice, he quickly started to make ground as a guitar player. Elijah now plays at all sorts of venues such as theaters, festivals, music halls, and honky-tonks all over the south. He displays an electric performance and stays true to his roots playing traditional country music. Elijah says, ” Bro Country will die out and history will repeat itself and people like us will start to crave traditional story- telling country music. When that happens I want to be ready to step in and help in a much needed restoration.” Elijah never disappoints and it would be a great investment of your time to catch him live, especially if you enjoy real heartfelt country music.

Melanie Lafoy (winner @ The Bijou Theatre in Knoxville)
Instagram: @Lanie.Lafoy

Melanie LaFoy produces unique and profound pieces that draw from her experience as a traveling folk artist, a background in classical piano, studies in poetry, and the French Touch electronic scene in Nantes, France. It is there she began writing songs for her current project, nightjar in 2019. Her upcoming album « Supine Sea » is an ode to different kinds of loss and attempts to harness the grief that comes with finding oneself simply existing. She brings a wide array of stylings to her keys that, coupled with an at times grungy, at times spacey guitar duo by her side and her vast vocal range, creates a sound that is thoughtful, rich—and a little bit out of this world.

Ron Short (winner @ The Down Home in Johnson City)
Facebook

Ron Short is a singer, musician, songwriter, playwright, and actor. He is the son of a coal-miner and was raised on a hillside farm in Dickenson County, Virginia. He has carried on his family’s singing tradition that dates back to the 1800s. In addition to family music, electricity brought American music into his home on the radio and he was the family’s “radio player.” Ron absorbed it all—the slide guitar phrasings of Mississippi blues; the power of a-cappella lined-out hymns; the spirit of the Conjunto sounds of Texas; Zydeco and Cajun; the youthful energy of rock ‘n roll; and the timelessness of the Scots-Irish fiddle tunes and frailed banjo styles of central Appalachia. Ron joined Roadside Theater in 1979. As the ensemble’s leading playwright/composer/musician, he wrote and performed in more than a dozen main stage Roadside plays, all of which toured nationally and internationally There have been 12 major recordings of his music an he has been the Producer of four collections of Appalachian music for PBS. He lives on the side of a mountain in Duffield, Virginia with his wife, Joan Boyd Short, and plays in his “hobby band,” Ron Short and the Possum Playboys which plays American music of every shape, color and denomination.

HARZEE (winner @ Lafayette’s Music Room in Memphis)
Website
Instagram @HarzeeOfficial

Honing a deep interest in music at the age of 12, 17 year old HARZEE’s original music has accumulated an increasing fanbase, thousands of streams, consistent radio play, and local recognition for its space-like ambience, beautiful harmonies, catchy tunes, and meaningful lyrics since 2019. Formerly known as ALYX, the rebranding of his artistic sound and repertoire has exceeded his own expectations by providing opportunities for him he would have never thought possible. With two singles under his belt after the rebrand, his anticipated third single is set to drop on the 24th of this month. HARZEE is currently working on an album, as well as sharpening his craft to become the best performer he can be.

Sarah Hardwig (Winner @ The Franklin Theatre in Franklin)
SarahHardwig.com
Instagram: @SarahHardwigOfficial

Sarah Hardwig, 20, is a country singer-songwriter and a sophomore songwriting major at Belmont University. Sarah has performed on stage with such artists as Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, Lauren Alaina, and Locash, and also sang with Steven Tyler. She has performed in songwriting rounds at the Bluebird Cafe, The Local, Live Oak, Tin Roof Broadway and Tin Roof Demonbreun, the Commodore Grille, Fifth + Broadway, Belcourt Taps, Alley Taps, and Cabana Taps. Sarah has sung the national anthem over 250 times, including at the Music City Bowl in Nashville on Dec. 31 after winning the Amazon Voice of the Bowl contest at Ole Red. She released her debut single “Who I Am” this past November.

Aaron Bucks (winner @ Songbirds in Chattanooga)
AaronBucks.com
Instagram @BucksMusicOfficial

Aaron Bucks has established a reputation as a vocalist and a writer, with songs he’s written charting on Billboard, played on Terrestrial and Satellite stations like Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Radio, along with with performances around Nashville at venues such as the legendary Bluebird Cafe, Listening Room Cafe, Pucketts, Kimbros Pickn’ Parlor along with various Hotels (Hilton, Marriott) and Golf Clubs (Vanderbilt, Franklin). Along with winning the John Lennon, Unsigned Only and International Songwriting Contests as well as Bluebird Cafes Golden Pick contest. Songs from Bucks have also received songwriting recognition from other organizations like, Indie International, Unsigned Only, ISC, and JLSC. His style has been described as Country Soul, it is representative of Bucks himself: laid back, positive, and full of life. Away from music, Bucks can be found spending time with his wife and two children. He is an advocate for the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee (DSAMT) in memory of his youngest son Tobias.