Staff Picks: Most Anticipated Summer Concerts

By Lauren Campbell

The flowers bloom, the sun shines, and summer concert dates are being sent out to fans.

Here at the OM office, music consumes our profession and pastime—and nothing is better than summer concerts. Here are our most anticipated shows:

Erin - Musicians Corner at Centennial Park from May to June

Musicians Corner is a summer stable during the spring/summer months in Nashville. Through May and June, Musicians Corner rallies the Nashville community around good music, food, and community—and free admission!

Maddy - Taylor Swift at Nissan Stadium on May 5

Swift famously combines setlists from all ten of her albums into one show—or rather, three sold-out stadium shows (that’s nearly 210,000 people in one weekend). Even if you got stuck in the queue or spent a whole paycheck on a ticket, it’s basically ten concerts in one, plus a stellar opening show from Gracie Abrams or Phoebe Bridgers…so all’s well that ends well.

Merk - Ed Sheeran at Nissan Stadium on July 22

Speaking of selling out stadiums…Ed Sheeran will be touring around the US this summer. Sheeran used to open for Swift, and is now one of the most successful singer/songwriters in his own right. The “+-=÷x” tour seems to be his take on the “eras” tour. For the past decade, Sheeran has been releasing albums named after mathematical symbols, and his - album seems to be the finally.

Grace - Sabrina Carpenter at the Ryman Auditorium on May 2

Sabrina Carpenter’s latest album emails i can’t send has got fans raving about her newfound bravado on the pop charts. Our favorites are “because I liked a boy” and “nonsense,” naturally.

Maddie - The Chicks at Bridgestone Arena on July 27

Thirteen-time Grammy award winners the Chicks have been around since the 90s, and they are back for an arena tour in Nashville. I mean, “Wide Open Spaces” has been a playlist staple on every burnt CD (or, now, Spotify account) since it came out in 1998. Now, the iconic track can be heard live at the Chicks tour from June to August.

Lauren - Vance Joy at Ryman Auditorium on September 1

Admittedly, not quite a true ‘summer’ concert, but I’ve been kicking myself for a solid year after missing Vance Joy’s pre-album release show of In Our Own Sweet Time at Ryman for the summer 2022 concert circuit. I’ve been playing “Missing Piece” and “Don’t Fade” on repeat ever since.

OM Summer Highlights

by Cole Bishop

Soon, t-shirts will be turning into sweaters as the fall season will be upon us. This transitional period is always exciting as pumpkins start hitting porches and we all start wearing our favorite pair of pants we haven’t worn since the temperature hit 90 degrees and decided to hang out there for a while. We at Olivia Management felt that this was a perfect time to reflect on some of the great things that have happened in our lives over this past summer season. Here are some of the highlights that the team shared with me!

Erin Anderson

Erin started with a great summer story about some time she spent at National Parks, saying:

“I went to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks and it was spectacular. It was a great reminder that we are small and our problems are small and the world is big and beautiful.”

Mackenzie Fey

Mackenzie started her great summer experience by saying: “mine was too easy to choose.”

“In June, I made my way over to Wilmington, NC with my roommate Annabelle to visit our good friends Steph and Jacob. We beached a lot and just basked in the glory of finally being reunited after so long. It’s my favorite thing to think about lately.”

Anna Layne Sampson

Anna Layne shared a great trip she took to Portland saying:

“I went to Portland, Maine with my mom and sister to see Phoebe Bridgers play! We hung out in the city, went shopping around town for a couple days, and went swimming on the lake!”

Jacob Welsch

Jacob shared a fun trip he took to Chicago saying:

“I visited Chicago for the first time and saw the bean with some good friends! It easily turned into one of my favorite trips I have ever taken.”

Cole Bishop

My favorite part of the summer was going home and staying at my family’s lakehouse for a few weeks! I grew up going to this lake and it’s always the highlight of my summers to get to go!

Maddy Hicks

Maddy talked about going to a music festival in Ohio:

“Right at the end of August, I went to Wonderbus Music Festival in Ohio! One of our friends is from Columbus, so we stayed with her family which was a blast. The highlight was seeing Lorde - I will never recover.”

We love getting to share a little about ourselves and our lives outside of the office! Here at Olivia Management we love to celebrate the joys in life. They’re all important! Thanks for sticking with us and we hope you all feel encouraged to reflect on the great experiences you had this summer.

"So Good" by Alex Blue is the Summer Song You Need Right Now.

By Luke McMahon

Whether summer means a few months of a wide-open schedule and not knowing what day it is, or just another few months out of the year where you tap your foot under your desk until the weekend, Alex Blue has you covered with the perfect summer tune. With a fitting title, “So Good” is the perfect encapsulation of the inevitable summer blues and the sunshine that wishes them away. 

Sharing a little backstory on the track, Alex says, “This song is about getting a call from the worst possible person to hear from on your birthday. It makes a day that should have been celebratory a bit of a nightmare. This dancey song daydream is about what the party might have been like if that call never came.” Just because the weather is nice and the sunlight sticks around a little longer these days doesn’t mean everyday worries and struggles don’t know where to find us. Blue pinpoints that feeling so well in this song. Not only do I find comfort in someone else admitting to feeling not so great on what should be a good day, but Blue has made me want to get up and dance about it. Take a drive around your neighborhood, roll down your windows, blast some “So Good,” and thank me later.

In a visual accompaniment to the song, Alex can be seen enjoying a classic rock pop under the summer sun, taking in the colors, sounds, and scenery that are guaranteed to invigorate your summer daydreaming. 

Written by Alex Blue and produced by herself & Giulio Cercato, “So Good” joins “Coffee in the Morning,” another recent single off of Alex’s current EP project.

Be sure to check out “So Good” as well as Alex’s other incredible projects on all streaming platforms here!

Olivia Management's Summer Playlist: Splash into Summer

by Jessie Mellott

Summer is right around the corner and Olivia Management has got you covered with the perfect mix of summer songs! During the summer, everyone needs a mix of upbeat jams and some tunes to relax and enjoy the hot Nashville summer weather. If you are looking for an upbeat jam, Smooth Hound Smith has got you covered with “Knockin’ At My Door.” You also can’t go wrong with enjoying Hush Kids’ harmonies in “Taking to Myself” or relaxing to Street Corner Symphony’s cover of “Drift Away”. Whatever vacation or summer events you have planned this summer, you can Splash Into Summer with the perfect music to get you through! Happy Summer!