The Woods Amphitheater At Fontanel

So I finally made it out to the Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel. All I knew is it used to be one of the Mandrell’s place and it was now a concert venue and it is like super far away. Super far, to this in-​town snob, being anything over 15 minutes. I know, spoiled!
Kid Rock is the man that finally got me out to this place for his first Fish Fry concert. So I am not sure how it is normally set up. But for this event they had it set up kind of like a festival or fair really. There were food trucks lined up around the perimeter. Picnic tables, standing tables, and hay bales around to sit on and eat. Carnival games and a ferris wheel. Cornhole boards set up throughout. Fire pits when it got later. Behind this was the actual stage/​amphitheater. And plenty of beer stands and liquor stands. For this concert the beer was $ 5 for a big beer. THAT’S FREAKIN’ REASONABLE. I suspect that was Kid Rock’s doings. Mixed drinks were $ 7.
The actual concert area was interesting. Seats were available in front of the stage but all around and behind them is just grass and you get there early if you want to put a blanket down and get a spot. Otherwise you will do like I did and stand the entire concert. But that’s ok since it was Kid Rock and what else do you do except rock out and get your redneck on when he’s playing? The VIP areas are kind of cut into the side of a hill but damn, they seem pretty far away from the stage to be VIP. But at least you have a little seating area. Concessions are to the side and the back of the seating and it is kind of dark walking over there so be careful. AT LEAST the bathrooms were ACTUAL bathrooms and were clean and there were a ton of stalls. SO that’s nice. Concessions line wasn’t too bad I don’t think but I’ll be honest — I don’t remember some of those details after being there since 4 pm.
Other things to note… security did a legit thorough check of my bag. I mean, she was digging in there and feeling all around. It must have been the Unilocal shot glass I happened to have in my backpack. Luckily she didn’t find the fireball! But if you are trying to sneak in a little nip just know that they may get really serious about searching you.
The other thing is… man, when you first show up you are shocked at how much other stuff is out here. There’s an Inn? And a restaurant and wine bar? WHO KNEW? Certainly not me since in my mind this place was like an hour away. But really it was only about 25 or so minutes away.
That brings me to my last tip. If you are going to drink — and why wouldn’t you? — you shouldn’t be driving and you certainly shouldn’t be driving up here. You can taxi or Lyft or Über but your problem will be the lack of rides home AFTER the show. We planned ahead for this by booking a car service to take us out there and then pick us up at a specific time to bring us back. This was the way to go. We had people asking if our limo was full up quite a few times as we were leaving. Get your friends together and pitch in for a ride if you are going to drink. Or draw straws to see who gets to be the DD.
Basically I thought this was a fun event. I am not sure if that’s because of the fun festival vibe that he put on or if all concerts would be as fun. But if you get a chance to go to Kid Rock’s fish fry next year then you know what to expect!

On the plus side: Sound from the concert is crisp and not muddy one bit; I was here for the Kid Rock show on 10/​10/​2015 and could not believe my ears. We have a lot of outdoor venues in Michigan but I’ve yet to hear something as good as this place. Really nice!
However on the negative side the pitch of the hill for the fans is not good. It’s way too flat. You can’t see the stage if you’re someone under 5’8″ like my wife and countless other ladies there I’m sure. Maybe the stage could be raised up 10 feet but then the 1^st row of seats would need to be moved back. The seating was not well marked nor were there enough ushers to help people find their seats. The bathrooms for VIP seats were far away behind the stage, and finding the other bathrooms in my case was only by luck as I didn’t want to walk all that way back. I hope CID entertainment /​Kid Rock sends out some requests for feedback from their fans because I’m sure he will get some constructive comments and make it much better next year, if this is to be an annual event. If they do the survey and make some improvements, we will be coming back again all the way from Michigan and bringing friends next time as well.
Kid Rock put on a great show and carnival and we hope it gets even better next year!

Beautiful venue, too bad it takes a half an hour to get a beer. Literally, half an hour in line.

Terrible venue. Hard to see stage. Worst venue I’ve ever been too. Paid $ 50 for lawn seats and for a show that starred an hour earlier than advertised. At least the sound is decent.

Great, fun place to see a show and spend an evening, but there are just too many issues that keep it from being more than 3 stars.
The good: it’s beautiful. Can’t imagine a much more pleasant place to spend an evening listening to music. The employees were friendly. Food and drinks were pricey, but not as bad as expected.
The meh: if you shell out a ton of money for the VIP section or for seats (for a seated show), you might be able to see. Might. If you’re on the lawn, good luck (though we were to the side of the stage and the performer seemed really aware that we were there, so we actually had a better view than expected). For an ampitheater, it’s really flat.
The ugly: the traffic/​parking situation is pretty awful. Other reviewers have covered this pretty well, so I won’t harp on it, but yikes. I mean, if you get a «good» parking spot (near the venue), good luck getting out within an hour of the show ending… And it’s a total crapshoot where you’re going to park when you arrive — depends on the random pattern that they’re using. We left early and avoided much of the mess, but our friends were not so lucky.

We saw Old Crow Medicine Show here recently and had an amazing evening. It sprinkled, but resulted in a double rainbow over the woods — well worth getting slightly damp. The beer lines were long but there were plenty of purveyors wandering around on foot to make up the difference. Give yourself extra time to get in and out — one lane road.

This is a beautiful venue. It wasn’t as large as I was expecting which was a pleasant surprise. There are food trucks and beer vendors but make sure you bring cash! Parking is free but it’s field parking so try to beat the rush at the end of the night if you can.

We are extremely spoiled in Nashville. We don’t lack in music venues right in my backyard, so to drive 20 minutes might not seem like much, but for us spoiled people it seems like a feat. Especially when you are stuck in traffic on a 1 lane road adding an extra 10 – 15 minutes to the trip. But I digress.
The venue itself is very pretty with stringed lights and a picturesque atmosphere. But the concession lines are LONG. And getting to the port-​a-​potties in the dark during a show is not exactly easy. I would prefer some better signage in the dark cause I got lost getting from the seated area.
It was a sold out show when I attended and it was very crowded. If you are going to get general admission tickets, you have to have very low chairs, so plan on either a blanket or check your chairs accordingly. Also, get there early or else you aren’t going to get a spot.
We left the show early and still waited in line to exit the venue. But, they did a pretty good job of getting us out of there. Overall, this is a place that is nice if you are hanging out all day or plan on getting there early and taking it easy, but it’s just not my favorite music venue.

I went to the Ray LaMontangne show at The Woods on ⁷⁄₂₅. The setting for the venue was beautiful. The sunset as the show was about to begin was gorgeous. That’s about all that was good about this venue. There is only one way into the venue which means a 30 minute to and hour wait just to get in the gate. Once there parking is a disaster. One car will get to park close to the stage area. The next car may park near the exit. Once in the venue you will find long lines at the concession stands and porta potties. The chairs are very small and very close to one another. The seating area is very flat (no slope) so it’s hard to see the stage. And there was no video screen which would help see what is happening on stage.
All of the above added to a crowd that talked the whole show led to an early departure. We did not want to wait an hour or more to get out of the parking area. We left 30 minutes early and there was already a lot of people leaving.
Overall this is one of the worst venues I have ever been to and I’ve been to many many venues. I don’t understand why the Nashville area would shutdown the Starwood Amphitheater and start using this place. Starwood wasn’t that great but it was actually setup to handle large crowds.
We won’t be back to this venue unless it’s a standing show only. Even the. I don’t know that we would want to fight the traffic to get there.

Do not waste your money on this venue!
Especially if it’s a show with chairs, do NOT go!
Its definitely a beautiful setting, but not the place for thousands of people to gather to see a show.
There is one entrance/​exit road. Be prepared for long wait times in your car at beginning and end of night.
The lines for food and beer were over 30 minutes long.
I’ve been to amphitheatres all over the country. I can’t remember another one where the ground is flat. There are even some areas that dip down.
Finally, the seats are outrageous! I’m a small size 6, and I barely fit on the chairs. Elbow to elbow is an understatement.
The only way I’d consider this venue is if it were a total GA show and it was my favorite band’s last show for the rest of forever.

My husband got us expensive tickets to a Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss & Union Station concert. We went mainly to see Alison Krauss & Union Station. We are from Birmingham, AL and made the trip to Nashville to stay the weekend. We had dinner in Nashville before the concert & left a little later than we wanted, but still had plenty of time to get there by start of the concert. When we got a couple of miles away, as I could see on the map, traffic was totally stopped. It inched along for an hour. When we finally turned into the parking area, it was insane! None of the parking attendants knew what the heck they were doing. A few of the cars in front of us were directed to a lot near the street. We were directed to the very back of the lot, near the stage. When we got to that lot there were about five parking attendants all standing together and when they started directing us, one directed us one way and another directed us the other way! They were totally clueless! We then saw why it was taking so very long for all the cars to get into the lot. These morons! When we finally got parked & started walking to our seats, we noticed that we had to walk back, all the way to the front of that lot to get in. It was blocked with fence close to where we were. When we FINALLY got to our seats, Alison Krauss & Union Station were over an hour into their set. We got to see their last 40 minutes. During intermission to change the stage, my husband and I started talking about getting out after the concert and how terrible it was going to be to get out since we were parked in the lot farthest from the street. Then I started reading reviews on here and saw that we were right in thinking that way. We ended up leaving after one song of Willie Nelson so we wouldn’t get stuck for another 2 to 3 hours in traffic trying to get out. I have been to hundreds of concerts at many different venues & I’ve never encountered something like this. Bad experience and a waste of a lot of money. Will never go here again.

Hate to do this, but… it’s no Red Rocks. But nothing is, really. I’m forever spoiled for any other outdoor venues.
However, this is a nice little venue and beats the heck out of a corporate mega-​arena. The grounds were really nice (would have loved to see them in the daylight) and there are lots of trees and cricket/​cicada noises to add to «the woods» ambiance. And hiking trails too!
When we were here for Sigur Ros, the entire grass area was general admission. Because we were traveling, we weren’t properly equipped with lawn chairs and the like but luckily had a blanket to sit on. If you do opt to not bring chairs, be sure to get there early and get a seat where the ground is somewhat sloped. Seating is also somewhat willy nilly (no defined rows) so make sure you have a landmark before you venture out to the restroom or you might not find your way back. Speaking of restrooms, these ones were strange. All porta-​potties, but an oddly permanent inside sink set up outside set-​up. At any rate, your trip to the restroom is guaranteed to be an adventure!
Beer selection was surprisingly decent. The food looked terrible, but that’s par for the course at an outside venue with no actual kitchen. Be sure to have snack in your car as you may have to wait a bit to leave (we were in the car for close to an hour afterwards).
Another nice feature would be a screen to better see the performers. Because the ground is relatively flat and we didn’t arrive as early as we had hoped, it was hard to see. And finally, smoking seem to be permissible throughout the entire seating area. I get that it’s outside, but a bit of a shock for me.
But really, you can’t beat seeing one of your favorite bands in «the woods.»

I bought our tickets to see Sigur Ros when they went on sale ages ago and from then up until the day before the show I thought the Woods was in Franklin and it would take us 2 hours to get down there with Friday evening traffic. Another friend thought it was in Mboro, another friend thought Bellevue — which leads me to believe that The Woods is actually Camelot lost in the mists of fairy land! I figured out that it’s actually north and only 9 minutes from our front door.
Although I had no idea where the place was, I had done a little bit of research ahead of time concerning the parking situation and I’m so glad we arrived early and parked near the exit. We had friends who said it was complete and total chaos leaving. It took one couple upwards of 45 minutes to leave after the show. The problem is road rage meeting the lack of parking attendants to guide traffic out. My friends said people were lifting ropes for cars to go under, honking and screaming at each other. Also VIP show goers are totally screwed because they park you up by the stage across the creek which is great when you arrive but then when the show is over the bridge that leads out is being used by pedestrians so you have to wait to leave. INSANITY.
The place itself is okay. I’ve heard varying things about different shows. If they set up chairs on the lawn and you happen to sit at the front right you can’t see the stage. Also you are elbow to elbow with the chair next to you. If it’s lawn seating you can bring a blanket or lawn chair but it’s useless because most people end up standing up anyway. Strangers came and sat in our laps twice! No joke, sat on our blanket right in front of us. Seriously we almost had more than a verbal altercation go down at one point. The portable potties are horrific and the food/​drink options by the stage are pretty narsty. We had an okay view of the stage but I wish we were actually closer to the middle and back for sound purposes. Some folks had even brought in hammocks to put between the trees along stage right.
Having said that, seeing Sigur Ros at night, outside and during perfect fall weather couldn’t have been more amazing. And so I would recommend seeing a show here if it’s the right band, if you’ve eaten before you’ve arrived just plan to get there early and park in a good place.

It’s nice to see bands under the stars, but the location of this venue is unfortunate. It’s only accessible from one road. Expect to wait the better part of an hour to get out of the parking lot. Furthermore, the beer selection is mediocre.

I’ve only been to the Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel once so far, for the Barenaked Ladies/​Guster/​Ben Folds concert. Having grown up with an outdoor amphitheater in St Louis, I’ve had lots of experiences with outdoor concerts. Woods at Fontanel was fine – there were pros and cons to the theater that made the concert we saw there both great and not as good as it could be.
The Pros:
–Nice variety of concerts and performers – there really is something for everyone.
–It’s a small space compared to the amphitheater I’m used to, so there’s really no such thing as a bad seat
–The sound was great throughout the entire concert. Consistent, loud enough but not too loud, and a nice balance of instruments and voices.
–The vibe. Everyone is relaxed, easy-​going, and there for a good time.
–Free parking.
–Food trucks and fun contests on the way into the concert space.
The Cons:
–If you purchase actual seats, there is no slope to the grass to allow for stadium-​style seating. If the people in front of you are standing, there is no way for you to see the stage. That’s a major problem in my book.
–The seats are placed VERY close together, uncomfortably so. I need some space, particularly when it’s hot outside and the concert is sold out.
–Getting out of the parking lot after the concert was a mess. There was no one directing traffic, so it took us 45 minutes to finally leave the venue.
–Porta-​potties instead of actual bathrooms, and running water sink – without soap. Gross, especially in the summertime heat and humidity.
–High-​priced snacks and beverages. This is to be expected at a venue such as this, so it’s not a huge surprise, but it did keep us from buying dinner or a beverage during the concert.
–The delicious Café Fontanella is closed by the time most concerts let out; given that they serve pizza and alcohol, the restaurant would make a killing if it stayed open later into the evening on concert nights.
I’d return to the Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel to see a band I love (like BNL), though I’d think twice before attending a concert just because.

I have only recently experienced all the beautiful goodness that is The Woods Amphitheater At Fontanel. Now I seem to be a frequent attendee of the events on their schedule.
Old Crowe Medicine Show along with a concert pairing with Broadway notable and actress Idina Menzel with the Nashville Symphony left a nice aftertaste last year but it is 2013’s schedule that has solidified The Woods as a notable outdoor live entertainment venue in my book.
I have already enjoyed The Black Crowes and Old Crowe and still have One Republic, Alabama Shakes, FUN, and Sigur Ros left. I love the diversity of acts that are booked here ranging from Harry Connick Junior to Imagine Dragons, a little something for most audiophiles.
Lawn parking is FREE and easy to access and there is a bit of pre-​show tail-​gating going on too! I generally valet and grab a cocktail at Café Fontanella which is located on the grounds before the show too. The beautiful backdrop of nature and greenery make you feel as if you’ve been whisked to a faraway place while the layout of the stage and grounds are thoughtfully executed. You can choose to layout on a blanket, bring a chair, stand or mill around, or opt to upgrade to the VIP boxes which sit high on a hill and overlook the crowd.
The casual vibe is weaved together with local food trucks parked on the grounds and fairly priced concessions throughout.
Overall, this is a wonderful place to catch a show during favorable weather and seasons. My only suggestion is if you plan to imbibe, bring a designated driver or to carpool since the winding roads and location are a bit of a stretch and a cab ride won’t be cheap unless you live in the area.
if you’re into the great outdoors and a casual concert experience, join 4500 of your Nashville neighbors and head out to the unlikely space where country crooner Barbara Mandrell’s old estate was housed. Only in Nashville, folks. Only in Nashville…
TIP: This venue may also be rented for private events and corporate functions too!

This place is awesome! The staff is friendly, no charge for parking, the crowd is chill, just a great back drop for music shows. The food and drink is a bit pricey. Oh, and big screens would be a huge plus IMO. But a fantastic spot for music.