This year’s Pilgrimage Festival almost didn’t happen. Over the last week week, the remnants of Hurricane Helene dumped buckets and buckets of steady rainfall on Tennessee, and while the eastern part of the state saw more significant damage, the central third of the state remains…soggy.
Pilgrimage is hosted on a farm in the notoriously picturesque town of Franklin, all rolling hills and green pastures just south of Nashville. No one is eager to see the Park at Harlinsdale Farm torn up by foot traffic or trapped cars, making the days leading up to the festival all feel a little Bonnaroo 2021, which was canceled in the wake of Hurricane Ida. As rain still fell on Saturday morning, the first day of the two-day event, the organizers confirmed things were, in fact, proceeding. After some quick set list shuffling to accommodate a few more hours of setup, gates opened.
This year, Pilgrimage Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary, and one of the defining traits of the gathering remains that massive headliner names can be seen at a small town event. This was further reflected in the demographics streaming onto the farm on the first day (the only slightly rainier of the two), which offered a mix of poncho-clad teens, families tossing frisbees, dudes in t-shirts there to see Dave Matthews, and committed Hozier fans who wore their flowing festival skirts to tromp through the muck and mud. Many festivals say they have something for everyone, but Pilgrimage lives up to that promise.
Nashville’s The Brook & The Bluff describe themselves as a “vibes band,” and they successfully captured a sizable Saturday afternoon crowd ready to groove through the dreary atmosphere on the Midnight Sun stage, which would soon welcome New Orleans’ Trombone Shorty and, later, the Dave Matthews Band. For the two largest stages at Pilgrimage, Midnight Sun and Gold Record Road, Pilgrimage designates sections of the lawn for blankets and folding chairs, underscoring the easygoing, picnic-type atmosphere.
Pilgrimage veterans know that some of the best gems of the festival are often found in the Americana Music Triangle, which also boasts a covered pavilion, essential for stormy iterations and blazing hot days like those of the 2023 festival alike. On Saturday, Rob Robinson used this stage to deliver an energetic heaping of blues with his nine-piece band, HeavyDrunk. Sunday, though, rising vocalist Cassandra Lewis had the crowd in the tent in the palm of her hand; with every appearance, including a recent standing ovation during her Ryman debut, Lewis continues to solidify herself as one of the most exciting emerging talents in Music City.
On Saturday, as the sun went down and the weather picked up, Hozier started his set a bit earlier than scheduled, confirming that the moody gloom made him, at least, feel entirely energized. “I feel like I’m at home,” the Irishman shared, stepping to the edge of the stage to lean out from the covered proscenium and and embrace the rainfall. To his point, there is no better environment for songs like “Cherry Wine,” “Like Real People Do,” or “Movement” than what Pilgrimage was offering on Saturday. While he’s made a point to distance himself from internet memes painting him as a mythic figure spending time in fabled glens and dramatic cliff sides, his music does often conjure that otherworldly feeling.