Carnival Music Building and Mural, 2019. Image courtesy of MHCF.
Stop 5 of 25
Carnival Music and Mural
Carnival Music and Recording Company is an independent publishing company and record label. Established in 1997 by industry veterans Frank Liddell and Travis Hill, Liddell is perhaps best known as a hit-making record producer for artists including Miranda Lambert and Lee Ann Womack. He has referred to Carnival as a “land of misfit toys,” reflecting the company’s commitment to signing and supporting unconventional songwriters. Over the last two decades, Carnival’s artists have won numerous awards and scored multiple No. 1 singles. Some of the artists they represent include Adam Wright, Adam Smith, Aubrie Sellers, and David Nail. Their goal is to support lasting careers for their artists, although they don’t mind a hit song every now and then.
Look no further than the south wall of Carnival Music to understand the owners’ love for artistic inspiration. On the side of Carnival’s building that faces RCA Studio B, visit the unique mural completed by San Francisco artist Mike Shine in 2016. The painting depicts two singing cowboys with one riding a crawfish and the other riding a turtle. These figures depict Hank Williams and Chuck Berry, pioneers of country and rock ’n’ roll. The mural was commissioned and funded by the Nashville Walls Project, a collective of artists led by Brian Greif and Eva Boros. The Nashville Walls Project seeks to elevate the city’s identity in the visual art world and to transform public spaces into art galleries for all to enjoy.
The next stop is just next door on Music Square West. Cross Roy Acuff Place to arrive at historic RCA Studio B and RCA Studio A.
Tour Stops
Owen Bradley Park, Musica Statue, Buddy Killen Circle
1 Music Square East at Division Street
ASCAP and Sony Music
2 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203
Tree Publishing, Former Fire Hall No. 7
16 Music Square West, Nashville, TN
RCA Studio B
1611 Roy Acuff Place, Nashville, TN 37203
Carnival Music and Mural
24 Music Square West, Number 2, Nashville TN
RCA Studio A
30 Music Square West, Number 100, Nashville, TN 37203
Word Entertainment
25 Music Square West, Nashville, TN
Starstruck Studios
40 Music Square West, Nashville TN
iHeartMedia
55 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203
Quadrafonic or Quad Studios, Round Hill Music
1802 Grand Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212
Scarritt Bennett Center
1027 Eighteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212
Ocean Way Nashville Studios
1200 Seventeenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212
Little Sisters of the Poor, now Vanderbilt University
1400 Eighteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203
Allentown Studios, formerly Jack’s Tracks
1308 Sixteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212
PLA Media
1303 Sixteenth Avenue South A, Nashville, TN 37212
Big Machine Records
1219 Sixteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212
House of David
1205 Sixteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212
Landmark Community Bank, formerly CBS Songs and Sony Music
1013 Sixteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212
Belmont Church
68 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203
Curb College, Quonset Hut, and Columbia Records
34 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203
SESAC and Country Music Association (CMA)
35 Music Square East, Nashville TN
Decca Records
27 Music Square East, Nashville, Tennessee 37203
Warner Music and Warner Production
21 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203
BMI and Frances Preston
10 Music Square East Nashville, TN 37203
Spence Manor Motor Hotel and Webb Pierce Guitar Swimming Pool
11 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203