Stratford will be a city of cowboy boots and country music this weekend as part of and event called The Nashville Takeover. “We takeover towns all across Canada and turn them into Nashville, basically. We takeover multiple intimate venues all across town,” Scotty James, founder and CEO of The Nashville Takeover, explained. Stratford is one of 13 areas throughout Canada chosen for the three-day transformation. “We launched a nationwide Facebook campaign. So people got to nominate their town,” Scotty James said. The event promises to bring some of the top songwriters from Nashville to each community. Once there, they will be performing in breweries, on patios and at secret spaces. Grayson Mills Wedding and Events is one of eight venues hosting shows during the Stratford stop. “We’re doing some fun food like taco bars and some street meat and different things as well just to play up that whole Nashville vibe and theme,” said Grayson Mills venue manager, Rebecca Wilson-McCracken. The Stratford takeovers start on Friday and run through the weekend. But country music fans are out of luck if they don’t already have a ticket - the events are sold out. There is a twist though: ticketholders don’t know who they’ll be seeing until the performances start. “All the lineups are secret. [It’s] as if you were in Nashville walking into a random songwriter’s bar and you’re just discovering artists that you’ve never seen before or never heard before,” James said. Some Canadian talent will also be hitting the impromptu stages. One of the performers gearing up for the weekend is Timothy Myles. The singer/songwriter is originally from Chicago, but now lives in Nashville. He said he’s excited to be back in Canada after he took part in The Nashville Takeover’s inaugural year in 2025. “The thing about Nashville is that it’s a collaborative spirit when you’re down there, and you get to see that here in this festival, especially at the late night jams where everybody’s coming together and collaborating as one unit,” he said. While he enjoys playing big arenas, Myles said The Nashville Takeover really highlights the benefits of performing in front of smaller crowds. “The more you can be down to earth with people, the more you can look them in the eyes and apply the stories that you’re singing about to them. Better connections to have,” he said. The Nashville Takeover will also be happening in Burlington, Kawartha Lakes, Chatham-Kent and Collingwood before it all wraps up on Oct. 4.
