After a successful debut last winter, Ceremony Festival returned to Cannery Hall in Nashville on November 8 for its highly anticipated second year. What started as an ambitious newcomer to the festival circuit in 2024 has quickly become one of the most exciting events in Nashville’s growing alternative scene, bringing together a genre-blending mix of punk, emo, alt-rock, and indie acts from across the country.
This year’s Ceremony Fest was led by powerhouse headliners Sueco and Rain City Drive, alongside sets from Weathers, Jutes, Huddy, and girlfriends. While these new-kids-on-the-block brought fresh fire to Cannery Hall’s stages, returning performers like BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT, John Harvie, and sace6 helped tie this year’s energy back to Ceremony’s debut last year.
The event utilized all three stages within Cannery Hall, allowing for the festival to move cohesively across the stages without feeling too spread out or like a true festival. Between the tattoo pop-up from Kind Tattoo Parlor, the live art installations from Visual Minds, and the energy of the crowd packed with fans who traveled from all over the country, Ceremony Fest .
On the Row One stage, the early afternoon kicked off with strong performances from glimmers and MVSSIE. Johnnie Guilbert followed with elements of emo rock and dark pop, while Chandler Leighton balanced vulnerability and confidence. Later in the evening, If Not For Me took things up a notch with heavy riffs and high-energy breakdowns. Closing out Row One with a surge of adrenaline that perfectly captured the spirit of Ceremony’s smaller stage was South Arcade.
Over at The Mil Stage, the stage opened with rising talent before building into a packed lineup of heavy hitters. John Harvie, one of the returning performers from last year, gave fans a dose of signature mix of punchy guitars and crowd-ready singalongs, making sure the crowd knew their parts to sing. Girlfriends followed with infectious pop-punk energy. Their chemistry and stage presence kept the energy alive before Huddy took over with a set that blended pop-punk edge with Gen Z flair. Closing out the stage, Rain City Drive delivered a commanding headline set, performing to a crowd singing ever lyric.
The Main Stage kicked off with a nostalgic start from Emblem3 before sace6 took control of the stage, and debatably drew one of the biggest crowds of the entire night. The band’s guitarist and screamer, Noah Thomas, doubled as a hype man, fired up the crowd every chance he got. BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT followed with their usual dose of chaos, proving once again why they’ve become festival staples. Later in the night, WesGhost kept the crowd moving before Jutes, who made a stop during his Sleephead Tour and delivered one of the most vocally emotional sets of the night. As the night hit its peak, Weathers stormed the stage with fan-favorite anthems, leading perfectly into the night’s final act, Sueco. He brought pure energy from start to finish, even crowd crowf surfing upon a large piece of wood before stopping in the crowd to sing “Loser.”
With only two years under its belt, Ceremony Fest has created something in the city that is well needed for the alt-music scene. An indoor festival with artists on the rise and soon to scale out of venues like Cannery Hall, it shows the alt-scene isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Be on the lookout for 2026 updates and announcements from Ceremony’s social pages: Website // Instagram // X
