Back before the days of dynamic pricing and digital queues, a little rectangle of glossy paper is all that stood between you and an evening of unforgettable music. As the concert industry continues to adopt digital tickets as the norm, a group of artists in Nashville is looking back on iconic concerts with a new mural dedicated to the ticket stubs that got fans there.
Recently unveiled at The Nashville Warehouse Company on 4th Avenue South in the Wedgewood-Houston/Chesnut Hill neighborhoods, the Big Tickets Mural immortalizes 62 concert tickets on eight, 50-foot paneled murals. Designed by Adventurous Journeys, Studio Delger, and Eastside Murals, the work highlights artists with special connections to Nashville from Johnny Cash to The Rolling Stones.
“Wedgewood-Houston, Chestnut Hill is kind of at the intersection of really [the] arts and entertainment industry, but it’s always been a unique pocket of Nashville,” Adventurous Journeys VP Lesley Florie told News Channel 5. “We wanted to tell a story that was unique [compared] to the rest of Nashville…So much of Nashville public art, as well as the marketing for the town, is about country music. But, this town has so much more rich and diverse music history and that’s really what we wanted to capture for this location.”
The Big Tickets Mural chronicles the tangential musical relationships that made Music City what it is. A ticket from blues legend Muddy Waters‘ show at Muther’s Music Emporium connects to a concert from a band named after a Muddy Waters song, The Rolling Stones, in 1972. That concert opened with a 22-year-old keyboardist named Stevie Wonder who went on to press many records at Nashville’s United Record Pressing.
“At the very basic level, this is kind of a love letter to Nashville live music, but really when you peel back the layers and you understand that all of these artists are connected to each other as well as this neighborhood,” Florie said.
The mural was created from actual physical tickets given to Eastside Murals artists Ian Lawrence and Sterling Goller-Brown. It took over three months for them to create the 5,775-square-foot mural from a mix of bucket paint and spray paint. The Big Ticket Mural pays homage to 120 artists including The Allman Brothers Band, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Dolly Parton, Eric Church, Etta James, George Clinton, Guns N’ Roses, Jack White, John Prine, Loretta Lynn, Mavis Staples, Radiohead, Run-DMC, and more.
“It’s just kind of a nice reminder that as long as people are making music and having the opportunity to experience music, that’s what matters,” Florie said.
Check out News Channel 5‘s coverage of the Big Tickets Mural below or on YouTube.