Bubble, Bubble, Double Boils? No Trouble! – Nashville Scene

Celebrate the imminent arrival of spring at two big crawfish boils around town

It’s a tough time to be a mudbug in Nashville as two major crawfish boils are planned for next month. The good news is that the 2020 crawfish season has gotten off to a hot start, according to people who track those sorts of things. Prices per pound are half what they were at this time last year, and supplies are two or three times larger than early in last season. Hopefully these conditions will continue, because Nashville will be ordering a lot of crawfish for these two upcoming events.

The first big boil is Tennessee Brew Works‘ annual kickoff to patio season on Saturday, March 7, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. If you’ve ever enjoyed an afternoon on TBW’s expansive upper and lower level patios, you know they’re serious about al fresco fun! For their party, they’ll be boiling up the crawdads in their own IPA along with Batey Farms andouille, corn and potatoes. Of course, they’ll be serving from their roster of inventive craft brews to accompany those plates of food, with pitcher specials available for volume drinkers.

Along with the food and fun, Tennessee Brew Works will showcase live country music all day and night with Taylor Alexander, Adrian+Meredith, Jon Byrd and Erin Hazelrig Music and her Dolly Parton Tribute Band taking the stage throughout the event. This will be a casual party, so no cover charge, no advance ticket requirements; just show up and buy your food and beer as you go. It’s a rain or shine event, so they’ll just move the party inside if the weather is inclement. However, if it is a nice day, remember that TBW’s patios are dog-friendly, so bring your friendly dog along if you’d like.

The second big crawfish boil event is the cleverly named “Crustaceans in The Nations” on Saturday, March 28, at Pennington Distilling Co. at 900 44th Ave. N. The party will run 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is organized by Pennington and Rhizome Productions Inc. They’re aiming for quite a shindig, with crawfish and all the fixin’s, a bouncy house for the kids plus other games. (And children under 10 eat free!)

Bars will be set up to sell local craft beer and cocktails featuring Pennington products such as Pickers Vodka and Davidson Reserve Whiskey. Entertainment will be courtesy of New Orleans-inspired Admiral Phunk Brass Band, which will take the stage at various times throughout the day to bring the funk.

The ticketing for Crustaceans in the Nations might seem a little complex if you check out the event website, but I’ll do my best to simplify it for you, and it should really speed things up on game day. If you buy your tickets in advance before the end of February, you can take advantage of special early-bird pricing with $30 getting you all-you-can-eat from the boiling cauldrons. You can also pick up drink tokens in advance until March 14 at the price of four for $20, and then trade them for beer, cocktails or soft drinks on the day of the event. If you miss the early-bird deadlines, both the dinner and the package of tokens will go up by $5, so get the jump on it.

You can also opt for the VIP package which costs $100 and entitles you to bottomless bowls of food, four drink tokens, a commemorative T-shirt and access to a special VIP lounge with a private bar and upgraded bathroom facilities. Whatever level you choose to participate at and whichever boil you attend (or both), get ready to suck the head and pinch the tail!