Ascend Amphitheater at West Riverfront Park Case Study

Riverfront Sound, Built for Live Music

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Built Environment

Industry

Multi-Use Event Centers

Location

Tennessee

Design Architect | Landscape Architect | Theater Consultant

Hodgetts+Fung | Hawkins Partners | Schuler Shook

Ascend Amphitheater is a 6,500-capacity outdoor venue set within Nashville’s West Riverfront Park, where a former industrial riverfront site has become a major live music destination. With 2,200 fixed seats and 4,300 lawn seats, the amphitheater was planned for amplified concerts, special events, and occasional orchestral programming within a park setting that remains active beyond performance nights.

Jaffe Holden, a Trinity Consultants team, provided acoustics and audiovisual design for the amphitheater, helping shape a clear, consistent listening experience across both reserved seating and the lawn. The work paired robust production infrastructure with outdoor acoustic strategies tailored to the scale, energy, and pace of live performance.

Vision

Ascend was envisioned as a riverfront venue that could carry the presence of a major concert setting while still feeling connected to the park around it. Sound was central to that experience. Audiences needed clarity and impact from the stage, production teams needed infrastructure that could adapt to touring requirements, and performers needed an environment that supported confident onstage communication.

Our work helped establish a listening environment with definition across the full audience area, from the fixed seats closest to the stage to the lawn beyond. For occasional symphonic programming, the team also developed an acoustic enhancement system that adds onstage support for musicians, giving the venue another layer of performance capability while preserving its primary identity as an amplified outdoor music destination.

Partnership

The project brought together Hawkins Partners, Hodgetts+Fung, and Schuler Shook to create a venue where landscape, architecture, and performance infrastructure work as one experience. We coordinated closely with the team to integrate acoustic elements, AV pathways, show support systems, and technical infrastructure into the amphitheater’s overall design.

Because the venue serves touring acts, public events, and special programming, the systems needed to be practical for crews, reliable in daily use, and visually aligned with the park environment. Cabling pathways, patching locations, network connections, and backstage communication systems were planned to support efficient event operations from load-in through performance.

Services Performed

We provided architectural acoustics, sound isolation, sound and vibration control, and audio and video systems design.

Building Sound Isolation

Traditional Landscape Architecture

Noise & Vibration Analysis

Environmental Acoustics

AV Systems Strategy & Design

Value-Add

Our acoustic design supported amplified performance quality across the venue through weather-ready materials, sound-diffusive stone walls, and careful attention to how energy from the stage reaches the full audience area. These strategies help strengthen clarity and coverage while supporting the atmosphere of an open-air concert.

The electronic acoustic enhancement system provides additional support at the stage for occasional symphonic performances, giving musicians more acoustic response in a setting shaped primarily for amplified events. AV infrastructure—including audio, network, and fiber systems tied to central patch bays—gives production teams the flexibility to support different event formats with confidence.

For audiences, the result is a lively outdoor listening experience with sound that carries across the amphitheater. For operators and touring teams, the venue offers a technical backbone built for the rhythm of live production. For Nashville, Ascend adds a riverfront performance destination that feels both civic and unmistakably musical.

35,000

sq. ft. facility

6,500

total capacity

2,200

fixed seats

300

seat greenway pavilion

4,000

lawn seats

100x60

ft stage

$35.5

million construction cost

LEED

Gold

Thanks to Jaffe Holden’s exceptional design, the Institute of Contemporary Art’s Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater has consistently impressed both audiences and performing artists since opening in 2006. The discrete acoustical treatment above our hardwood ceiling, as well as the rippled design of the theater’s entire East wall, plays a crucial role in managing reflections and ensuring both clarity and warmth. Additionally, the team’s expert noise isolation design allows for seamless co-existence between the Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater, our lobby, and our galleries, even as significant development has transformed the surrounding Seaport District. Their expertise continues to be invaluable, and we deeply appreciate their ongoing support in maintaining the integrity of their original acoustical vision.

Ryan Arnett | Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

Director of Production