Nashville Oktoberfest: Everything you need to know

Nashville is really well known for celebrity bars and the bands playing in them. But, there’s so much more to do in Music City than drink your way up and down Broadway.

For more, check out our long list of non-celebrity bars and restaurants in Nashville. They all have either a rich history or delicious food that you should check out while you’re in town.

Nashville Oktoberfest History

Nashville Oktoberfest began in 1980, which made last year’s festival, which we attended, the 45th annual iteration.

When it began, it was spread throughout the streets of Germantown, a Nashville’s oldest neighborhood (established in the 1850s). Assumption Church and the Monroe Street United Methodist Church did most of the heavy lifting, like the street festival, until the Historic Germantown Nashville association stepped in to help around 2000.

There were tents selling German crafts and food, German dances, and more.

And then there as a riff between the two. You can read all about it here because that article does more justice to the story than I can.

What you need to know is the festival seemed to splinter and now is in the hands of Monell’s owner Michael King. Instead of taking up a few blocks in town, it’s completely contained within Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park (600 James Robertson Pkwy).

The setting is interesting because the Tennessee State Capitol building overlooks that park. So the juxtaposition of the Capitol building against a giant inflatable Jägermeister bottle is phenomenal.

Where we live in Wilmington, there used to be a weekly free concert where attendees could drink alcohol on the courthouse steps. Nashville Oktoberfest gives me that kind of same lawful, but lawless feeling.

Is this better or worse for the neighborhood? Well, Reddit has a lot of opinions on that.

But still, over the course of the four-day festival, Nashville Oktoberfest hosts over 250,000 attendees. Many are probably tourists, like you and me, who have never been and don’t have any nostalgia tied to the good ol’ days of the late 90s festivals.

And so, it’s easier for us to appreciate it for what it is now because, well, we have no idea what it used to be.

Nashville Oktoberfest Review

National Oktoberfest happens in the Germantown portion of Nashville, so we decided to rent BCycle bikes, ride from downtown Nashville to Germantown, and spend the day there.

We ate at Monell’s for lunch, which is a really popular family-style southern restaurant with fried chicken and some of the best biscuits I’ve ever had.

We rode over to Monday Night Brewing, which is in the Neuhoff area, in a building that used to be a meatpacking plant.

Eventually, at 5 o’clock, we ended up at Oktoberfest.

I’ll say this here just to get it out of the way: Nashville is super safe.

There is an entrance to the festival at Jefferson Street and another at Harrison Street and the area is completely blocked off.

It was heavily patrolled by police officers, which we actually really appreciated. We just felt very safe with their presence there.

Nashville October is huge. It takes up the entirety of the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.

It’s a full city block with food vendors lining one entire side. We had a giant pretzel with hot cheese and stoneground mustard from Bavarian Bierhaus, which felt like the most Oktoberfest offering. There were snow cones, and some Mexican Italian fusion mozzarella tostada that looked equal parts amazing and horrifying.

There is also all the regular street food fair that you would imagine.

We were actually stuffed from going to Monell’s for lunch so the pretzel was enough for us.

But, in case you don’t end up there for lunch, Monell’s is actually a sponsor of the event and has a tent set up amongst the other vendors.

There is a ton of tables and seating where you can enjoy your food.

There’s also a tented off VIP area. We didn’t have VIP tickets, so I’m not quite sure what the seating is like in there.

When you get to the grassy area of the park, there are a ton of vendors set up in Artisan Alley. There’s also the official merch tent, in case you need a t-shirt or baseball cap to take home.

In that same area is the Adult Playground, with cornhole, a bounce house, and other fun activities. Plus the aforementioned giant Jäger bottle is there along with a spot to buy Jäger shots. And there’s a huge screen streaming college football too.

Also, within that area are two large beer tents where you can choose one of four Oktoberfest beers, if you’re of age. There’s also a beer tent as soon as you walk in at both entrances.

And, there are two stages for bands. Because it’s Nashville, so of course one stage of live music isn’t enough.

The Roundabout Stage is at the Jefferson Street entrance and the Party Stage is in the grassy area.

The band on the Roundabout Stage played more of Oktoberfest songs, and also a polka version of Sweet Caroline because what is a festival without Sweet Caroline? The band we saw at the Party Stage was playing more of 90s rock, which I really enjoyed.

But what I enjoyed most was there was Oktoberfest staff hired strictly for dancing. They were in Oktoberfest t-shirts and some were carrying inflatable beer steins and they went from stage to stage to hype up the crowd.

Getting a crowd to dance on a Thursday after work is hard. So I can only imagine the bands having a rough time playing to tired faces. Having this Nashville dance team there, dancing their hearts out and living their best life just gave me so much joy.

Not enough joy to join them in dancing, but still joy.

The rest of the weekend, which we were unable to attend because we were leaving Nashville that Friday, is filled with other events like a 5k bier run, pup parade (where the dogs and humans dress up in adorable costumes for a chance to win prizes), dachshund derby, brat eating content, and beer stein holding contest.

I can see those events being a lot of fun and a big draw.

Maybe we’ll have to put that on our list for next trip.

Visitors Info:

You’re starting the day while it’s light out, so make sure to wear sunscreen. There are beer tents, but you’ll be spending the majority of the festival without shade.

We suggest dressing in layers. It’s warm in Nashville in October, but you’re spending the entire time outside and it can get cool when the sun goes down. And wear comfortable shoes. The vendor tents and one of the beer tents, plus the adult playground area, is all on grass, so you want sneaker-like shoes. Flip flops aren’t best because people will be drinking and may be spilling and you don’t want beer all over your toes.

You’re allowed to bring your own stein to be filled there, but you’re not able to bring your own beer. You’re not allowed to bring in any glass containers, so that doesn’t exclude a reusable or disposable water bottle. Water is available for purchase on site, but I like having my own bottle too.

More Things To Do In Nashville:

Nashville October happens every fall, but it’s not the only annual fall festival in town There are more, like Artville, which is an art festival at the Music City Walk of Fame, which we actually stumbled upon on our first full day in Nashville.

For more things to do when you’re there, check out our full list of fall things to do in Nashville.

Some of them, like Oktoberfest, are free so you don’t have to worry about spending extra money. And some of them, like Kidsville at Centennial Park (where the Taylor Swift bench is), are geared for children. So that list will help you out no matter what type of vacation you’re taking.

Nashville Oktoberfest: Frequently Asked Questions