Exclusive: Inside Riverside Revival, One of Music City's Finest Hidden Gems

Nashville has long been known lovingly as Music City.

Filled with creators of all kinds and from across all genres, the city's music industry – especially when it comes to country music – is a thriving ecosystem that sees songwriters, producers, artists, musicians and everything in between all making up the fabric of Nashville's rich tapestry of talent.

In a city with a symphony of sounds seeping out of it every day, it's no surprise that Middle Tennessee is also well stocked with a bevy of places for these hopeful hitmakers to perform. From iconic and historic stages like that of the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry, the biggest venues in the vicinity in Bridgestone Arena and Nissan Stadium or beloved rooms like Exit/In, Basement East and the Bluebird Cafe, there's something around every corner in Music City, as well as a vast collection of hidden gems sprinkled around, too.

You can find one of those very treasures tucked away in the growing East Nashville neighborhood at Riverside Revival, a 73-year-old church that has been given a second life thanks to a man named George Boedecker.

"Our founder, Mr. Boedecker, fell in love with East Nashville in early 2010," explains Brianna Healy, the Executive Vice President of the Boedecker Foundation. "He had retired and came to Tennessee to pursue his own hobby: music. He just fell in love with the local restaurants and the artist community that existed in East Nashville, so he made that his home."

She continues on, "During that time, he’d take long walks around the different neighborhoods to get to know things, and he stumbled upon 1600 Riverside. We knew that it was a great space that just needed a little bit of love, so with some TLC – and a lot more than TLC when it comes to our sound and food – we were able to establish this incredible space for the community to use, just in a different facet."

Though appearing on the outside like your typical southern chapel, what lies inside is nothing of the sort.

A 400-person capacity space, surrounded by gorgeous, floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows, Riverside Revival has hosted album release parties for the likes of Midland, Margo Price, Ian Munsick and others, backed up by state-of-the-art production that can adapt to nearly any event needs.

Earlier this fall, Holler had the pleasure of recording an exciting collection of live sessions at Riverside Revival, as well as host our first ever Holler Live event, celebrating the release of Midland's 2024 record, Barely Blue.

"We knew that we wanted to be able to cater to our nonprofit partners, as well as host beautiful weddings and incredible concerts. We picked details that would help that come together in a sort of one stop shop," Healy explains. "I've been trying to come up with something different than saying 'we're a one stop shop,' but I think that’s exactly what we are".

"We have incredible audio visual packages and production manager who can make that room sound any way you want it to," she adds, drawing attention to their impressive offerings beyond the lights and sound, too. "We have tables, chairs, linens and all of that, as well as a giant kitchen where you can cook anything".

With a giving spirit that funnels revenue back into the surrounding community and an intimate space ready to fulfill any and every need, Riverside Revival has become a key hub in and around East Nashville. Since opening its doors in, of all years, 2020, it's seen countless faces and events pass under its steeple, and they're just getting started.

"Both personally and professionally, it's been such a gift to be able to see the doors open to so many different types of people," Healy offers. "We really can do all of it, which is incredible and it provides a unique access point for Nashvillians that you really can’t find anywhere else."

Additionally, Healy dives in to some of the behind the scenes aspects of Riverside Revival that often go unnoticed, including their unique revenue model, being a part of the East Nashville community and more.

"Riverside Revival is owned and operated by the Boedecker Foundation, which is a private family foundation established almost 20 years ago. Basically, by doing business at Riverside Revival, the money doesn't go into someone's pocket for profit. It's funneled back into the Boedecker Foundation and helps us fulfill our charitable purpose. The Boedecker Foundation gives to 27 grantees every year and we've given almost $50 million away in the last 20 years, which we plan to continue in perpetuity."

"We have a lot of local nonprofit partners that utilize office space on our campus. There's 20,000 square feet of leasable space that we offer exclusively to nonprofits at almost a third of market rent. WMOT, Nurses for Newborns, The Theater Bug and the Nikki Mitchell Foundation all use our space, in addition to the financial grants that we make every year. It really is regenerative and continues to go back out into the community."

Music, the arts and public access to both of those things are very important to the Boedecker Foundation, as well as they’re the heartbeat of WMOT. That partnership felt really natural.

To know that students are getting the opportunity to do these incredible interviews, have access to high quality artists and this beautiful high-end studio on our campus is a miracle and a dream come true. As a foundation, we've always supported the arts and education, and obviously, with Riverside Revival, we love the music aspect of it.

It means the world to us that they’ve trusted us in this process and partnership. We feel humbled and honored that they would choose us as their home space.

I'm not a native Nashvillian, by any means, but what works in East Nashville is when places are inclusive and the doors are open to everyone. That is what's unique about East Nashville and that’s at the heart of Riverside, too.

We don’t turn away any events for any reason to make sure that people feel welcome and accepted. That's where Riverside Revival can really put its mark on East Nashville, while also being super elegant and elevated with amazing production and incredible food. We don't need to sacrifice that quality.

Riverside Revival is run by locals, for locals. Our doors are open and we’re a creative group of folks that want to make any event come to life. If you have a crazy idea, come talk to us. We are ready and open to hear what people have in store."

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For more on the Holler Live Sessions Presented by Montucky Cold Snacks, see below: