☀️ The best summer activities in Nashville

🌪️ Something We Can All Agree on: Follow Nashville Severe Weather

Ask any local the best way to keep track of our often tumultuous weather, and they’ll tell you the same thing: Follow @NashSevereWX. We got the guys behind the essential weather resource on the City Cast Nashville podcast to chat about how they keep track of our weather. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

🍩 Don’t Mind My Drool

Michelin-caliber pastry chef Michael Werrell brings gluten-free pastries to Nashville with his pop-up bakery Glootn, which he launched last summer after COVID-19 left him unable to eat gluten. While business has exploded, he’s not quite ready to expand into a brick-and-mortar store. [Nashville Scene]

• Follow Glootn on Instagram to keep track of the bakery’s next pop-up event. [Instagram]

🎶 Music City Is More Than Just Country

Nashville is home to the largest Kurdish population in the United States. The Kurdish Culture and Music Association is a new group dedicated to adding their unique sound to Music City. [WPLN]

Whether you want to escape the heat or soak in the rays, Nashville has tons of summer activities for everyone at every age. Here are the City Cast Nashville team’s 18 favorites, from getting soaked at splash pads to finding some yummy food at the Farmers’ Market. And don’t forget to check out our July guide for even more ideas this month.

✅ Try Something New

Spend a First Friday at the Nashville Black Market

On the first Friday of every month, the Nashville Black Market takes over the Farmers’ Market on Rosa Parks, bringing dozens of Black-owned vendors, food trucks, DJs, and performers to the space for an event that founder Carlos “Cashville” Partee describes as a “block party meets outdoor mall meets family reunion.”

— Whitney Pastorek

Learn How to Roll Ice Cream with the Roll Academy

You’ve seen rolled ice cream on the internet, and now it’s time to make it yourself: The Roll Academy hosts classes for around $38 per person. It would make a great date night, or you can bring the family — but participants must be at least 7.

— Grace Fuisz

Stage a Bow-Wow Breakout

Metro Animal Care and Control is perpetually full of adorable dogs waiting for their furever homes. If you don’t have space to adopt, or time to foster, you’re sure to have a free weekend afternoon where you could bust a pup out of their cage and take them on a little adventure. Your Insta-worthy photos in the real world could help them find a family!

— Whitney Pastorek

Nashville Public Library

I confess: I’m at my local library branch weekly regardless of the month. But it’s a great place to visit to cool off in the summer months. If you’ve never visited before, every branch has constant events, and most branches have excellent play areas for kids. You can also win prizes by participating in their all-ages summer reading challenge, like tickets to Wave Country and the Parthenon.

— Margaret Kingsbury

Boogie to Some Bourbon Street Blues

The best downtown haunt that everyone forgets about is Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar, tucked away in Printer’s Alley. No mainstream country covers here: the bands play some of the best blues, gospel, and soul north of NOLA. Grab a table in the moody main room — it’s always festooned for Mardi Gras — order an Abita and some etoufee ($15 for a bowl), and laissez les bons temps rouler.

— Whitney Pastorek