We are Nashville's home for radically unique, independent artists.
Founded in 2018, Kindling Arts develops innovative new works by Nashville’s experimental artists, empowering diverse creators with the resources required to explore challenging ideas in a multidisciplinary context. By providing local artists with space, resources, and practical support, Kindling promotes underrepresented voices and aesthetics, making space for boundary-pushing work that would otherwise be impossible. Kindling’s core programming includes the annual Kindling Arts Festival, a multi-day celebration of local artists that showcases more than a dozen diverse performances and events in various venues throughout Nashville, as well as unique arts events year-round.
Kindling Arts Festival 2026:
U T O P I A S
July 23-26 | West Nashville
Kindling Arts Festival 2026 invites you to explore the theme of Utopias: an invitation to imagine what's possible if we let ourselves dream beyond the limits of what is. For our 9th year of radically unique arts programming, we will again feature more than a dozen performances and events from July 23-26, 2026 (Thursday - Sunday) at multiple venues across West Nashville.
The 2026 Festival celebrates the audacity of imagination. We ask: What does it mean to create in the direction of a world that isn’t here yet? How might artists model systems of belonging, justice, and joy that stretch our shared sense of what’s possible? Together, we can make something better, not someday, but here and now.
Early Bird passes are now on sale with discount prices: $99 for a Standard Pass, $135 for a VIP pass. Book your Festival pass today! Early Bird pricing ends June15th.
EAST NASHVILLE FACEBOOK PAGE:
THE MUSICAL
Created & Directed by Emma Supica
Musical Direction by Alex Dolezal
August 6-7 | Eastside Bowl
The riotous, fan-favorite East Nashville Facebook Page: The Musical is back -- bigger, weirder, and ready to roast the neighborhood with the strongest opinions about everything (including itself). Now in its fourth year, this partially-improvised musical sketch comedy celebration of East Nashville's most chaotic corner of the internet has become an unofficial Tomato Art Fest weekend tradition. The show is 90% new every year, built from real posts pulled from the Facebook page over the past twelve months, so even longtime fans see fresh material. After two sold-out nights at Riverside Revival in 2025, we're moving to Eastside Bowl in 2026, with surprise guest stars each night. Onstage, off the rails, and absolutely iconic, this show is, as one fan put it: "a loveletter to our neighborhood and collective bullshit."
