Alan Jackson's concert was the summer's biggest draw for downtown hotels
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Alan Jackson's concert led to very crowded hotel lobbies. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images
Summer 2026 has been a record-breaking season for Nashville tourism thanks to a parade of major events, but one stands out as a particularly powerful draw for downtown hotels: Alan Jackson's final concert.
Why it matters: Jackson's Nissan Stadium show corresponded with the second-biggest weekend for bookings so far this year, outpacing hotel occupancy rates for annual events such as CMA Fest and the Fourth of July celebration.
- Tourism insiders hope the new indoor stadium opening next year will expand the city's ability to pull in marquee concerts.
By the numbers: The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. reported 78,433 hotel rooms sold countywide during the June 27 weekend of the Jackson concert. Occupancy at downtown hotels hit 98%.
- That's compared with 92.5% occupancy on July 4 and 89.4% occupancy during CMA Fest.
- (The No. 1 weekend for countywide hotel occupancy this year was March 27-28, which combined spring break with a national cheer competition.)
Zoom out: Other Nissan Stadium concerts are also credited with driving high hotel occupancy.
- Bruno Mars' concert on Wednesday, May 6, corresponded with 98% downtown hotel occupancy.
- Occupancy hit 96.5% during the Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson concert on Saturday, May 23.
- On Saturday, June 20, the day of Ed Sheeran's concert, downtown hotels reached 89%.
Between the lines: The NCVC pointed to recent research that found about 60% of the crowds at Nashville stadium concerts are visitors, which is a significantly higher share than in most other U.S. cities.
To be sure, CMA Fest and July Fourth were massive moneymakers. They generated the summer's largest spending totals — and record turnout.
Zoom in: CMA Fest, June 4-7, generated a record $93 million in estimated visitor spending, per the NCVC, up from the previous year's $86 million.
- Organizers estimate 100,000 fans gathered downtown during each day of the festival.
Fun fact: Fans came from all 50 states and 39 countries for CMA Fest. Florida, California, New York, Texas and Illinois were the home markets with the most representation.
July Fourth, which included an expanded slate of live music and the largest fireworks display in Nashville history, drew an all-time high of about 400,000 attendees, up from 365,000 a year before.
- Visitor spending reached $31.6 million, another record-breaking milestone for the celebration.
What we're watching: State tourism leaders are preparing to give a big-picture overview of Tennessee tourism in 2025. They teased record statewide travel impacts ahead of the announcement on Tuesday.