Sound of Nashville Open Air 2025 (Atmosphere)

In contrast to my 2024 coverage, I dedicate an explicit post to the atmosphere at the Sound of Nashville Open Air 2025. This also gives me the opportunity to tell a couple of stories which happened during the three day festival at Cologne’s Freideck. There is no gallery in this post. Therefore, I used my larger Pictured Story format.

 

Sound of Nashville Open Air 2025 – The Atmosphere

I split this post into different sections.

 

The Freideck – Stage and Venue

The parking situation is a bit tricky, but overall, the Freideck has proven to be the perfect location. The space is rather large and leads to a relaxed atmosphere. A key reason for the relatively low capacity is that the fact that at the open air space of the former industrial ground just has two emergency exits. This leads to a great view from all seats and a lot of space for vendors and to hang out with friends and future friends. Apart from some shows, which had a bit of trouble, the sound was perfect. Due to the late sunset in late August, there were only some stage light issues for the man act (which you might be able to see on my pictures as well).

 

Shopping and Entertainment

The Sound of Nashville Open Air organizers again contracted a nice range of different vendors. Their own pavilion featured own and artist merch majorly. From a spirits booth to delicious Malay snacks, you had a nice range of food options. Of course, you could also buy some appropriate clothing and even design and make your own keyring.

There was also some opportunity to enjoy yourself. Especially the three cornhole areas were very popular among all visitors. The lasso throw always felt a bit of frightening to me, but some visitors felt being surprisingly skilled in “catching” the wooden bull.

 

The Community

Especially when you look at the front row, the Sound of Nashville Open Air feels like a family reunion. There were many familiar faces and a lot of opportunity to make new friends. The atmosphere on all days was extremely relaxed, respectful and friendly – something you don’t find in these occasions too often. I haven’t seen a single incidence like fights or injuries. Many visitors loved that – the festival is definitely family-friends (and there were indeed quite some kids as well).

 

Line Dancing

On each day before the two major acts, the stage break was used to offer Cologne a line dance session – and many visitors made used of it. The audience felt really skilled in the short and basic sessions, so that any of them could end with a nice-to-watch dance to the music. Cool!

 

Meet The Stars

A major feature of the festival is the close contact to the artist. Practically all of them went to the Sound of Nashville booth after their sets and met the fans. Some of them, like the Crowe Boys, also enjoyed the different vendors and had chats and pictures with their fans. They are part of the family at this family reunion. Callie Twisselham “fangirled” herself by taking some naps at the Liam St. John show.

 

 

Pictured Stories 2025

Here are all my Pictured Stories I released in 2025:

 

Country Music 2025

Here are all my postings related to country music published in 2025: