via Live Nation
On Tuesday, October 28th, Live Nation revealed plans for their latest venue in Nashville, with all the publicity fanfare, architectural renderings, and boilerplate media rebroadcasting that comes with such a revelation. Meanwhile, few if anyone is pointing out one of the most obvious things about it: This new venue called “The Truth” is Live Nation’s rival to the Mother Church of Country Music, The Ryman Auditorium.
To be located on Chestnut Street in Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, the new venue will reside only about 1 1/2 miles from The Ryman as the crow flies. The capacity of The Truth will range from 1,800 to 4,400 when going from seated capacity to standing room, which is right around the Ryman’s 2,400 seated capacity. The Truth even feels somewhat architecturally inspired by The Ryman with its rounded arched windows and center peak.
The new venue is expected to welcome all genres of music, but the name “The Truth” is inspired by songwriter Harlan Howard’s definition of country music.
“The legendary songwriter Harlan Howard said all you need for a good country song is three chords and the truth. The Truth is built on that same idea,” says Sally Williams, President of Nashville Music & Business Strategy, Live Nation. “Our goal is to create a space that could only exist here — where raw, honest music meets world-class production, and where fans and artists from across all genres can connect in a way that feels unmistakably Nashville.”
Where did Sally Williams work previously? She spent 20 years working for the Opry Entertainment Group, with much of that tenure spent as the general manager of the Ryman Auditorium.
Ryman Auditorium
In 2017, Sally Williams was promoted to senior vice president of programming and artist relations at Opry Entertainment, and was also named the general manager of the Grand Ole Opry. She left the Opry in 2019 to work for Live Nation.
Does this mean we should be worried about the future economic viability of The Ryman? Will The Truth undercut the Mother Church when it opens in the fall of 2026? Of course not. No artist or band is going to take to social media to tout their debut or sellout at the TEMU Ryman. But the new venue does illustrate the incredulous way Live Nation looks to corner markets and undercut competition. Since they can offer a slightly bigger capacity, The Truth will certainly siphon off some of the events The Ryman would otherwise be able to host.
The Truth is just one of many new pieces Live Nation is adding to their arsenal of venues as the company actively tries to corner the market on small and mid-sized venues after already monopolizing most larger venues and tours. This activity continues to put pressure on more locally and independently-owned venues that play such a critical role in the live music ecosystem, especially for local and independent artists.
AI is threatening to completely reshape the paradigm for writing, recording, and releasing music in the months ahead in very disruptive ways. But live experiences that only music can deliver in person are poised to remain insulated from AI’s onslaught, if not become even more valuable in the immersive technology era. Live Nation is actively working to corner that market, and in every capacity, with no bounds on who they’ll try to undercut. That’s “The Truth” about Live Nation, and their new venue.
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