That's a wrap: Pilgrimage Festival showcases best of community in return

On the first weekend of fall, thousands across the country made the pilgrimage to The Park at Harlinsdale Farm for the music festival that has become a Franklin tradition.

With plenty of other Tennessee music events canceled this year, like CMA Fest and Bonnaroo, Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival founders were well-positioned for a good year after difficulties in the past. The 2020 festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2018 event was canceled halfway through the first day due to severe storms and the weather’s impact on the festival grounds.

The weather sure wasn't an issue for the festival's sixth run in 2021, with beautiful, rainless skies and temperatures as high as the mid 70s and lows in the 60s.

This year’s sold out show was a positive harbinger for the festival. Staff bridged the labor gap by relying heavily on volunteers, who received a free festival pass in exchange for working both days, and Franklin law enforcement and emergency service workers, who helped direct and manage the large crowds. 

Pilgrimage followed suit with many festivals returning to the circuit in 2021, requiring vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours for entry for everyone over the age of 2.

Inside the festival grounds, though, the mood felt like a respite from the world outside.

Friends embraced, raised their arms and swayed to music, some for the first time in a year and a half. Some took caution and wore a mask into the scrum of the more-crowded shows. 

The Americana Music Triangle Experience continued to be a popular tent, bringing together musicians and performers with sounds distinctive of the region stretching from Nashville to Memphis and New Orleans. Musicians like Valerie June and Robert Finley performed on the intimate stage where festivalgoers packed into church pews. 

Family options abounded, with kids partaking in workshops on drumming, martial arts and yoga. Franklin’s School of Rock and Rocky Top Revue square dancing also took over the Lil Pilgrims stage Saturday.

Saturday’s headliners were Maren Morris and the Black Keys, with Khruangbin, the Black Pumas, Cage the Elephant and Dave Matthews Band as Sunday's top-billed performers.

Morris saluted the crowd Saturday, noting her performance would be the last before a new album release. She was joined on stage by husband and fellow singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd for a performance of their song “Chasing After You.” Morris is also part of a group called The Highwomen, along with musicians Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires, and Morris sang a solo rendition of their song “Redesigning Women.”

Black Keys lead singer Dan Auerbach brought musicians Eric Deaton and Kenny Brown to the stage, with whom the band recorded their most-recent blues-inspired album “Delta Kream.”

Though originally formed in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Cage the Elephant relocated to London shortly after. During their set, vocalist Dan Schultz channeled the band’s glam rock inspirations in wearing a patterned full bodysuit, accessorizing with ski goggles and knee pads, which he eventually took off. 

Before taking the stage for his set, Dave Matthews joined the Grammy-nominated Black Pumas to perform their song “Dirty Dirty.”

For many, Matthews was the draw of the festival; with a quirky stage presence, lengthy live renditions and brassy big band sound, he didn’t disappoint Sunday.

“It’s a beautiful day to be outside, y’all,” the South African native said, taking on an affected Southern drawl as he took the stage around sundown.

With a 30-year career starting in Charlottesville, Virginia, Matthews is known for his modesty. He wasn’t particularly talkative Sunday, other than to quip about getting chilly once the sun went down after sweating through his shirt. 

The band played for nearly two hours, closing out with a rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower.”

While Saturday’s music ended at 10 p.m., the festival ended at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. The city’s governing board requested the earlier end time Sunday for those preparing for the work week ahead. 

Pilgrimage Festival was founded in 2015 by entertainment industry guru William Brandt Wood, Better than Ezra front man Kevin Griffin and Michael Whelan. Griffin had the idea for a festival one day while running through Franklin’s iconic Park at Harlinsdale Farm, a horse farm turned park.

Learn more at www.pilgrimagefestival.com.