Symphony in the South: Jamey Johnson to Join Nashville Symphony for Two-Night Pops Series

Photo Credit: David McClister

Tenfold Grammy-nominee Jamey Johnson will join the Nashville Symphony for two nights, October 17 and 18, for its initial collaboration as part of the Nashville Symphony’s 2025-26 Pops Series, at the Music City location, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.  

“The Schermerhorn shows are really a full circle moment for me,” Johnson says. “I started my journey in music with both a guitar and a French horn, so I have always played country music, gospel and classical. The Schermerhorn shows are my reconnection with the symphony and it’s going to be special. It’s going to show a different side of the songs I do every night.”

The upcoming performances, themed “Symphony in the South,” will draw material from Johnson’s extensive repertoire of well-loved originals, including “Lend Me Home,” “In Color,” and “Even the Skies are Blue,” as well as classic country covers and standards that serve the genre. 

“There will be a really good mix of songs, just like most of my shows,” he says. “I am doing songs that match with the theme of ‘Symphony in the South.’ There is a definite Southern theme to the songs. It’s kind of like a photo album with music: This is what the South sounds like. These are the songs of the South done with symphonic instruments.”

Johnson has previously lent his talents to the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2019 and at the US Capitol during the National Memorial Day Concert in 2024. 

“What draws me to symphonic music is the same thing that drew me to it when I was a child: It is the technical format of it,” he says. “Sometimes it’s the key, sometimes it’s the rhythm. It’s unique. Sometimes it follows a formula, sometimes it doesn’t follow any formula at all but sounds beautiful. Sometimes it’s symmetrical and sometimes it’s not. It’s never ‘always the same thing.’

“To me, it is always beautiful. It has a calming tone that lures me in. It’s what I listen to when I’m home and need to get focused on something. I can put on classical music and study for an aviation test or get my taxes sorted. It feeds my brain in a way that even country music doesn’t.”

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.jameyjohnson.com/tour.