Spring is the most popular time to visit Nashville, and the popularity is deserved but not without complications. The weather is solid. The events are stacked. And the crowds start building from early April onward into peak season territory.
March: Transition Month
March in Nashville averages highs around 61F with lows in the 37F range. It starts cold and ends mild. The month sits squarely in Tennessee’s tornado season (March and April carry the highest severe weather risk), which means the pleasant days can give way quickly to storms.
March is still uncrowded compared to what follows. Hotel rates have not hit spring peaks. Tin Pan South, one of Nashville’s most interesting music events, typically runs in late March or early April: 350+ singer-songwriters performing over 90 shows across 10 venues over five days. It’s not Broadway-style entertainment; it’s the songwriter culture that built Nashville’s music industry, presented in small venues across the city. Worth building a trip around if that format interests you.
Cheekwood in Bloom begins in March or early April, when the estate’s 250,000+ bulbs bloom across its gardens. Cheekwood in spring is a specifically good version of Cheekwood and worth prioritizing over any other time of year.
April: The Sweet Spot With Asterisks
April averages highs around 70F and represents the temperature range most people picture when they think of ideal conditions. Lows still dip to the upper 40s, meaning evenings are cool enough to warrant layers.
The crowds build. Nashville hosts the Rock and Roll Marathon in April (a full marathon, half marathon, and 5K that closes with a live music concert, drawing runners from around the country). The Nashville Comedy Festival runs in mid-April. Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival brings cultural events and the city’s cherry trees in bloom.
Hotel rates in April are substantially higher than January or February but still below the absolute peak of late spring and summer weekends. The practical advantage: restaurant reservations at places like Henrietta Red or Catbird Seat are still gettable with advance planning, which is not always true in May.
May: Best Month, Most Expensive
May is when Nashville’s weather is closest to ideal. Average highs reach 78-81F, lows in the low-to-mid 50s. Humidity hasn’t reached summer intensity. Rain peaks in May (averaging about 5 inches), but the rain comes in afternoon thunderstorms that clear rather than all-day grey weather.
Musician’s Corner at Centennial Park launches weekend outdoor concerts in May, running through fall. Patio dining reaches its full potential. Radnor Lake is at its most lush.
The trade-off is price. May is when Nashville hotel rates, restaurant demand, and event competition peak before the summer crowds shift the dynamic. Weekend hotel rates in May can rival the highest prices of the year. If May fits your schedule and budget, it rewards the cost. If budget matters, April gives 80% of May’s weather at meaningfully lower rates.
The Spring-Specific Warning
Spring in Nashville means severe weather risk in a way summer and fall do not. The 2020 tornadoes caused significant damage across the city in early March. The 2010 flooding, which happened in May, caused billions in damage. These are the extreme cases, but Middle Tennessee’s position on the fringe of Tornado Alley is real, and March through May represent the window when that matters. A spring trip with any outdoor-heavy itinerary should include awareness of the forecast, not paranoia, but awareness.
Sources:
- 6th Man Movers, “Nashville Climate: Weather by Month” (6thmanmovers.com)
- Lonely Planet, “When to Visit Nashville” (lonelyplanet.com)
- Visit Nashville TN, “13 Spring Events in Nashville” (visitmusiccity.com)
- Nashville Guru, “Spring Break in Nashville” (nashvilleguru.com)
- Southbound Stays, “Visit Nashville in Spring” (southboundstays.com)
- AvantStay, “Best Time to Visit Nashville” (avantstay.com)