NASHVILLE, Tenn- More
than 600 bikers came out on April 21 for the fourth annual biking and music
festival “Tour de Fun” to watch 30 bands play at 13 venues across East
Nashville.
The
day-long festival was started by party planner Tyler Walker while he was an
undergraduate at Middle Tennessee State University. The idea came to Tyler at a
late night bon-fire after a day of bike riding and show going.
“Me and my friends would all ride our bikes to
shows together, so I just decided to combine the two and turn it into something
bigger,” said Walker.
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This
was the first year the festival was held in Nashville after three years in
Murfreesboro. The festival was started in 2009 but took a brief hiatus last
year due to friends moving out of town, increasing skepticism from The
Murfreesboro Police Department and the ever-present possibility of
overcrowding.
“I just felt that it had outgrown the city,”
said Walker, who relocated to Nashville two years ago. “I could feel the time
was right for a change.”
However,
this year’s festival was not as large as its predecessors due to competing
weekend events going on in Nashville and former tour-goers not willing to make
the commute to the city. In addition, Walker was faced with acquiring permits,
increased security, port-a-potties, and police officers to direct traffic as a
result of the move.
“We
had to be much more legit,” said Walker. “I only got to plan for about six
months, and I also plan for “South by Southwest” in Austin, so I probably
should have given myself more time, but everything went pretty well
regardless.”
Bikers
rode through Nashville’s East Side, starting off in Inglewood and stopping
along the way at different venues as they progressed south towards the Five
Points District. Bands played about 15 minute each, and there were typically
about three performances at two or three different venues simultaneously. Festivities
started at 11 a.m with a cookout at the Riverside Village Green, 1400 McGavock
Pike., and lasted until midnight with performances at The Crying Wolf, 823
Woodland St., and Foobar, 2511 Gallatin Ave., making stops along the way at art
spaces, record stores, and parking lots.
As
the temperature hit the mid ‘80s, bikers kept themselves cool by having super
soaker fights and drinking large quantities of alcohol. Only a couple of bikes
were stolen, and there were only a handful of minor injuries
Next
year, Tyler plans to put on another “Tour de Fun” in Nashville, as well as one
in Austin, Texas. He says he’s happy
with the way things went this year but that his proudest achievement with this
year’s tour was “proving that me and my friends could work together to pull
something incredible off.”
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