The Anchor - Nashville

Cannon Blue playing The Anchor during Next Big Nashville on 9-11-08


Inside The Anchor


Jesse the booking guy


The Anchor set up for church services



The Anchor
629 3rd Ave S.
Nashville, TN 37210
The Anchor Website
booking contact - Jesse Kevon - 615-733-0522

I first found out about The Anchor because the venue was used by Next Big Nashville (NBN) to showcase bands during the event in 2008. It wasn't hard to find since it is in downtown Nashville only a few hundred feet from 3rd & Lindsley, which was another venue that was being used as a showcase venue for NBN.

What makes The Anchor different from the other venues being used by NBN is that it is also a church. It probably was a shock to some of the bands that played The Anchor during NBN that even though Next Big Nashville was sponsored partly by Budweiser, no alcohol of any kind was sold at The Anchor.

The Anchor is an abandoned church that has been turned into a venue. Total capacity for an audience is about 400 to 450. It seems like the perfect place for a Christian band to play since it is a very intimate room, and the stage is only a few feet off the floor. The Anchor still has the original brick walls of the church, and in addition to the venue not being air conditioned, the walls add to the rustic feel of the venue.

Bands are booked to play The Anchor on Fridays and Saturdays. The rest of the time, the Anchor is used as a church. The Anchor Fellowship is tied loosely to Vineyard USA. However, The Anchor Fellowship refuses to see the lines of denomination. Part of their calling is to reach out to those who have been hurt by the church. They try to see people as God sees people.

Bands that play The Anchor that are in need of housing are not permitted to stay in the church, but The Anchor has the ability to hook band members up with friends of the church witin the community for housing. They go out of their way to show a little bit of love to all bands that play at their venue, and they also book secular bands to play as often as possible.

In addition to being a really cool venue in Nashville, The Anchor also hosts a stage at Cornerstone Music Festival in Illinois.