Tennessee Is For Lovers Festival Brings Underoath, Bayside, Mayday Parade, State Champs, Thursday, Hawthorne Heights, & More to The Caverns Today, Sept. 10

Founded by famed Ohio emo and post-hardcore outfit Hawthorne Heights, and named for the single that put them on the map nearly 20 years ago, “Ohio Is For Lovers,” Is For Lovers Festival is one of several clever, nostalgic celebrations of the emo and pop punk scene of the 2000s that have popped up in recent years to fill a post-Warped Tour void. Beginning with just a handful of dates last summer, Is For Lovers Festival expanded to eight cities across America for its second annual installment this year, boasting different curated lineups in each, and taking place in some very interesting and unique locations. For the second to last day-fest of the year, Hawthorne Heights present the very first Tennessee Is For Lovers Festival, happening today, Sept. 10 at The Caverns in nearby Pelham, TN, with a really fantastic and varied lineup of classic and new acts from the punk scene, performing across two stages- one above ground and one in the cave!

The lineup features Underoath, Bayside, Mayday Parade, State Champs, Thursday, Hawthorne Heights, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Emery, Spitalfield, Proper., House Parties, and Skye Wallace, plus Nashville’s own Winona Fighter, idle threat, and Khamsin (several of the larger acts have links to Music City as well), curated “with a focus on elevating women, artists of color, and LGBTQ musicians.” In a tribute to their dear friends who’ve since passed away, the festival’s stages will be named after Hawthorne Heights guitarist Casey Calvert (the amphitheater stage) and Bayside drummer John “Beatz” Holohan (the cave stage, which is first come first serve and standing room only). In addition to music, activations include a “MySpace Your Face” scene makeup and photo booth, a “Dunk a Punk” charity dunking booth featuring members of the performing bands, an opportunity to camp on the grounds after the show (camping pass required as a separate ticket add-on), and an Emo Cave Rave hosted by Emo Night Nashville, set to take place in the cave at 10:30 p.m. following Underoath’s headlining set, and boasting special guests.

Though the vibe (and festival hosts Hawthorne Heights) fall under the general scene shorthand genre descriptors of emo and pop punk, and that does broadly describe many of the acts, this fest boasts artists that encompass the realms of punk, alternative, post-hardcore, indie rock, metalcore, screamo, progressive, pop, and more, and should definitely keep the nostalgia going after a summer packed with great shows like Taking Back Sunday & Motion City Soundtrack at Sad Summer Fest, Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World & Manchester Orchestra, The All-American Rejects & New Found Glory, and other recent 2000s throwbacks. You can learn more about Tennessee Is For Lovers Festival here, get tickets and camping passes here, and preview the full festival lineup below!

UNDEROATH
Amphitheater Stage | 9pm

BAYSIDE
Cave Stage | 8:15pm

MAYDAY PARADE
Amphitheater Stage | 7:45pm

STATE CHAMPS
Cave Stage | 7:00pm

HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS
Amphitheater Stage | 6:30pm
& Cave Stage | 2:00pm (acoustic)

THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS
Cave Stage | 6:00pm

THURSDAY
Amphitheater Stage | 5:15pm

EMERY
Cave Stage | 5:00pm

SPITALFIELD
Amphitheater Stage | 4:15pm

WINONA FIGHTER
Cave Stage | 4:00pm

PROPER.
Amphitheater Stage | 3:15pm

HOUSE PARTIES
Cave Stage | 3:00pm

IDLE THREAT
Amphitheater Stage | 2:15pm

KHAMSIN
Amphitheater Stage | 1:15pm

SKYE WALLACE
Cave Stage | 1:00pm

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Tennessee Is For Lovers Festival will take place Sunday, Sept. 10 at The Caverns in Pelham, TN. The festival is all ages, begins at 1 p.m. (gates at 12 p.m.), and tickets are available beginning at $69.50.