I hope you all had a happy and safe New Years! To say that 2015 was the biggest year to date for Middle Tennessee A&M Club would be an understatement. We hosted our Fightin’ Texas Aggies TWICE within six weeks. Let that fact sink in for a moment. Twice. In six weeks.
We learned a lot from our first experience during the Vandy game. Ironically, we had bowl game crowds for the Vandy game and closer to regular game crowds for the Bowl game. However, that’s understandable given the fact that, again, there were less than six weeks difference between the two games. And, of course, holiday travel was probably an issue given how big Nashville goes for New Years Eve. Nonetheless, we hosted thousands of Aggies here in Nashville, and I could not be prouder of us all for doing so.
Huge thanks to The Association of Former Students for their work to secure our Midnight Yell location as well as Rock Bottom Brewery for the Battle of the Bands. Even more, though, for your friendship, support and guidance. I’m going to miss seeing you guys!
To every single Aggie who gave their time at the Second Harvest Food Bank… THANK YOU. When I was contacted by Louisville about it, I never doubted we’d step up. From what I understand, we had one of the biggest groups of “opposing team” fans to show up since they started doing the bowl service project. You all ROCK.
Thank you to Aggieland Outfitters for coming up and joining us again… Thank you for the t-shirts that got handed out at Aggie HQ day of the game, being our electricity at Yell, and for being the biggest supporter of Aggies across the country. Come back soon!
Thank you to Melanie Chandler ’88 and Andrew Peercy ’03 for working with Limelight to have that amazing venue as our Aggie HQ (FYI — the hangup on start time and the buffet was a management miscommunication at the venue, not anything anyone with our group did or didn’t do.)
Thank you to the Yell Leaders who showed up early to Yell and took pictures with a lot of Aggies, and then came by Limelight… thank you for helping make this experience special.
I am sure I missed someone, and to anyone I missed… thank you just the same. Without all of you we wouldn’t have had the super successful events that we had.
We lost the game, and, yes, that was disappointing. But the Aggie Spirit was alive and well in Music City last week, and for me that is enough. My pride as an Aggie does not come from our results on the field; it comes from so much more… like looking around a room, stadium, parking lot or wherever and seeing the Aggie Family come together.
Our next big event on the calendar will be Aggie Muster on April 21st. We’ve already begun planning it, so mark your calendars now! When/if other events come up between then and now, I will absolutely keep you all posted.
Again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all.
If you enjoyed your visit to face Vanderbilt in November, buckle your seat belts this is going to be even bigger and better! We are so excited to welcome Aggies back to Music City for the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl.
Keep checking back RIGHT HERE for all your details about all the events surrounding the big game, when we BTHO louisville!
Ideally, I’m sure everyone would love to stay downtown. But be forewarned, Nashville goes ALL OUT for New Years Eve, and you’re going to pay a definite premium to stay downtown. I highly recommend looking a little bit out of downtown. Check the Vanderbilt area, or stay out near the airport. All our recommendations are on the “Where to stay?” page of this site.
Download and use ride-share programs of Lyft or Uber to avoid paying to park downtown. Don’t be freaked out about riding in a stranger’s car! All drivers have had background checks done and are deemed safe. They’re also a LOT cheaper than taxis.
BONUS: Use code MUSICCITYAGGIES if you’re using Lyft for the first time for a discount!
4:00 pm :: Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl 2nd Annual Hot Chicken Eating World Championship in conjunction with All Pro Eating 1st Ave and Broadway
5:00 pm :: Battle of the Bands 1st/2nd Ave and Broadway
** You do not want to miss this!!
MIDNIGHT YELL PRACTICE (Yes, its at midnight!) Lot R of Nissan Stadium
Wednesday, December 30
Aggie HQ Limelight
201 Woodland St Nashville, TN 37213
Instead of a traditional tailgate, Limelight is opening their doors to us as our Aggie Headquarters on game day! Join us for food, drinks and a whole lot of Aggie camaraderie from 1:30 – 5:30 before we BTHO louisville!
Students, former students, parents, faculty, staff, and fans are asked to volunteer at the Second Harvest Food Bank in Nashville on Wednesday, Dec. 30, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. CST as Texas A&M University and the University of Louisville work together on this annual bowl tradition. Sign up at tx.ag/AggieServeNashville.
2:30 pm :: Pep Rally with Marching Bands and Cheerleaders 1st Ave and Broadway
4:00 pm :: Pregame Concert 1st Ave and Broadway
6:00 pm :: Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium
Okay, so what else is there to do while I am in Nashville?
Our friends at The Hermitage have shared with us a coupon to go visit them while you’re in Nashville. There is so much amazing history in Middle Tennessee… definitely head out to visit the home of Andrew Jackson while you’re here!
click for full size to print
If you stay through Saturday:
One of the owners and tour guides for Music City Brew Tours here in Nashville reached out to us to offer club members and affiliates $5 off of the tour this Saturday when they use promo code “MUSIC CITY BOWL” on our website.
The tour runs from about 1:00 PM – 5:30 PM on Saturdays. Guests get at least 4 4-oz beer samples at 3 different local breweries, plus a guided tour of one brewery in a fun, safe, and educational environment. They learn how beer is made, how to properly taste a beer, and interact with local brewmasters. We always go to one brewery that has a full kitchen should they wish to purchase food. For their convenience, we offer pick up and drop off at most locations around Nashville, including downtown, midtown, and the airport areas. Our tour guides are experienced local craft beer lovers, pointing out the sights of Nashville as we roll down the road.
We currently have 7 seats available on our climate-controlled bus. We hope you’ll consider offering your club members our information and the $5 off promo code (tours usually cost about $69). We also offer private tours where you can rent the whole bus for your group for $700, with at $300 non-refundable deposit.
Don’t miss the Gaylord Opryland Hotel all lit up for Christmas. While you’re there, check out the ICE! exhibit. This year’s theme is “The Nutcracker.” While you are in Music Valley, swing over the Dancing Lights of Christmas over at Jellystone Park. Think Santa’s Wonderland, only all the lights are set to music. It’s really cool. The kids (and kids at heart!) will love it.
Lots of live music every where you turn! Grab a Nashville Scene (they’re free!) when you arrive and look for the listings of who is where while you are here. You never know who you might get to see!
Nashville LOVES sports, too!
The Houston Texans will the coming to face the Tennessee Titan‘s on December 27th.
The Nashville Predators will face the NY Rangers on December 28th at Bridgestone Arena . Come check out some hockey!
Nashville REALLY LOVES New Years Eve (and July 4th… and… okay, we like to party!)
Broadway (and please don’t call it “Broadway Street”) will be closed to all traffic on New Years Eve to make room for the thousands of visitors to our city to watch the note drop! The Jack Daniels Bash on Broadway will feature Kings of Leon, Chris Stapleton, Kelsea Ballerini, The Whigs, Wild Cub, Sugar + The Hi-Lows, and LANco.
What else can you tell me?
We can’t wait to Maroon Out Nashville once again! Check out our Welcome to Nashville! pages (Where to Stay, Where to Play, Where to Eat, Transportation) for great suggestions from fellow Aggies. And bookmark this page and check it often. We’ll be updating it as new event information becomes available.
To everyone who helped put this event on, without you this wouldn’t have happened. To every Aggie who made the trek to Music City, we hope you enjoyed your stay and will come again.
