#47 Rock Nashville | Inside Nashville’s New Touring Campus (and the People Building It)
Jan 13, 2026
If you’ve ever watched a tour roll into a city and thought, “How does all of this get built… and where does it even start?” This episode is your answer.
In #47 Rock Nashville, we step inside the construction of Rock Nashville, a purpose-built live entertainment campus designed to help tours move from rehearsal to road-ready with fewer headaches, fewer handoffs, and more of the right resources in one place.
This one’s a little different than a typical sit-down interview. It’s docuseries-style: Nikki Sanz gets a sneak preview of the build, explores what the campus is designed to solve for touring crews, and sits down with key people shaping the vision, the community experience, and the future of live production in Nashville.
What is Rock Nashville?
Rock Nashville is a live entertainment production campus being built near Nashville with the goal of bringing rehearsal space, vendors, and touring infrastructure together in one coordinated footprint.
A few details that matter for crews:
It’s a 55-acre campus (a scale that signals “full productions welcome,” not just small rehearsals).
The plan includes multiple rehearsal studios, including large-format spaces intended for arena- and amphitheater-sized production rehearsals.
It’s designed as a collaborative campus with on-site industry vendors and resources built around touring workflows.
If you’ve ever bounced between rehearsal, staging, cases, trucking, audio, lighting, and “where are we storing this?”—you already get the “why” here.
Why this matters for touring crews
Touring is a constant tradeoff between speed and precision. Most of the friction isn’t the show itself—it’s the handoffs: moving gear, moving people, coordinating vendors, adapting to last-minute changes, and doing all of it while the clock is screaming.
Rock Nashville is built to reduce that friction by making show prep more integrated. The campus is designed to support:
Purpose-built rehearsal facilities
A vendor ecosystem that includes major touring partners many crews already work with
A campus model meant to support everything from rehearsal to logistics to collaboration in one place
There’s also a bigger Nashville story underneath it: Rock Nashville reflects how the city is evolving from “music industry town” into an even more serious hub for the global touring economy.
Inside the episode: the build, the vision, and the people behind it
A project like this doesn’t come to life because someone drew a pretty rendering. It happens because operators, builders, and community leaders align on what touring professionals actually need—then sweat the details until it works.
In this episode, Nikki walks through what’s being built and why, then sits down with five people who each represent a different pillar of what Rock Nashville is trying to become: infrastructure, operations, initiatives, leadership, and storytelling.
Robert “Bull” — advisor, connector, and the “Mayor of Nashville”
Robert "Bull" has worked in the live event industry for over 30 years. He began his career as a Monitor Mixer and Live Sound Engineer, developing a reputation for technical skill and team collaboration. Over time, he transitioned into sales and business development, becoming known as a natural communicator and connector. Bull is a longtime leader at Clair Global and was selected as Rock Nashville’s official advisor, helping build the network and partnerships that are making the campus possible. His nickname in town? "The Mayor of Nashville."
Kindal Jumper — leading the day-to-day reality of “make it work”
Kindal Jumper was destined for live events because her parents, Ben and Katie Jumper, founded Crew One Productions, Mid-America Entertainment, and Catering to the Stars. Kindal grew up immersed in shows and tours, and after earning a rodeo scholarship to Troy University, she began her professional journey in hospitality management before joining Soundcheck Nashville in 2011. Now General Manager of Soundcheck, Kindal has led through tornadoes, floods, and pandemics — and is now playing a pivotal role in growing Rock Nashville.
Marisa Rinchiuso — building initiatives that support the humans behind the show
Marisa Rinchiuso is the Initiatives Program Manager for both Rock Lititz and Rock Nashville. A former touring stage manager and project manager at TAIT, she’s passionate about holistic support for live events professionals. With degrees in Technical Direction and Human Sexuality Education, Marisa brings a unique lens to crew wellness, collaboration, and sustainable career growth.
Scott Appleton — nearly four decades in, still focused on getting it done right
Scott Appleton brings nearly four decades of experience in the live event industry. He began touring with Clair in 1987, spending over a decade on the road with some of the biggest names in music. Since then, he’s held nearly every role possible within Clair—operations, account management, and data services—eventually becoming General Manager of Clair Nashville. In 2023, he was named Vice President of Rock Nashville, helping lead one of the most anticipated expansions in the industry. Known internally as “The Package,” Scott is respected for his well-rounded expertise, calm leadership style, and ability to get the job done under pressure.
Rachel Hales — telling the story of the industry, not just the spectacle
Rachel Hales is the Sr. Global Manager of Brand + Content for both Rock Lititz and Rock Nashville. Rachel spent the early years of her career touring with artists like the Black Eyed Peas and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Today, she leads storytelling, messaging, and content strategy across the Rock campuses. She is also the author of the Tour Book, a visual and narrative love letter to the people behind the scenes of live music. Rachel is passionate about building authentic narratives and helping the industry be seen—not just for what it produces, but for who it is.
The bigger takeaway: this is a “crew-first” kind of build
Rock Nashville is exciting because of what it represents: a physical space designed around the reality that touring is an ecosystem. Production doesn’t happen in isolation, and careers don’t sustain themselves without community, support, and places that respect the craft.
From the facilities side, the campus model is about scale, specialization, and efficiency. From the people side, it’s about relationships, leadership, and building a touring culture that takes care of its own.
That’s why this episode works as a docuseries: you don’t just hear what Rock Nashville is—you see the intention behind it.
