Nashville Superspeedway and Speedway Motorsports are providing rising artists and bands with an opportunity to showcase themselves in front of thousands of avid fans.
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The track located in Lebanon, Tennessee, introduced a new program this season called Nashville's Next Rising Star. Musicians and bands can submit their original music on the Nashville Superspeedway website to have a chance to perform the pre-race concert before the NASCAR Cup Series night race on June 1.
Interested performers must submit a link to a video showcasing their musical abilities — only original music allowed — by March 6, 2025. Five finalists will be selected by March 17.
They will then have one final test — they must perform at a bar on the world-famous Broadway Street in Nashville. A group of celebrities and VIP judges will watch all of the performances and then make their selection.
Well, this is cool. @NashvilleSuperS is holding a contest with the winner getting to perform before the June 1 Cup race.
Musicians must submit their info before March 6. The 5 finalists will perform at a Broadway bar.
Celebrities and VIP judges pick the winner. pic.twitter.com/5FTVhQSHcr— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) February 7, 2025
The pre-race concert is a time-honored tradition in NASCAR. The top stock car racing series has entertained fans throughout the years while highlighting performers from a wide variety of genres.
Some examples are Lit (Daytona), Sugar Ray (Las Vegas), Nelly (Phoenix), Luke Combs (Daytona), Eli Young Band (Charlotte Roval), Matchbox Twenty (Coca-Cola 600), Daughtry (Texas), Sammy Hagar (All-Star Race), and Bush (Fontana).
There are dozens of other performers who have taken the stage before the biggest names in NASCAR have competed for wins and playoff spots.
Since returning to the NASCAR schedule, Nashville Superspeedway has highlighted some of the biggest names in music while hosting Cup Series races. Platinum-selling artist Chris Janson performed before the inaugural Ally 400 in 2021 and then country music duo Brothers Osborne performed in 2022.
Parker McCollum performed ahead of the 2023 Ally 400, which moved to a primetime slot as a night race. Tim Dugger, a country performer with deep ties to NASCAR, performed ahead of the 2024 Ally 400 as part of a larger deal with Speedway Motorsports.
"As the home for NASCAR Cup Series racing here in Music City, we always want to make sure we provide an amazing music performance before America's best drivers hit the track for the Ally 400," said Matt Greci, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Nashville Superspeedway, ahead of the 2023 race.
