Backyard Music Co. Reviews 

We had a great experience at the Stratford Nashville Takeover! Each venue that we went to had superb singer/songwriters that held the space so well. We liked that the venues we went to had artists on more than one floor that we could enjoy during the same timeframe. We loved that it was in April when restaurants don't have lineups & everyone is happy to have an influx of people into their shops & businesses. Well done!

The best songwriter, live music experience I’ve had in a long time. Backyard Music Co truly created a unique, intimate experience with Nashville songwriters like none other.

This weekend was amazing !! I was at concerts from Friday night to Sunday afternoon 😀
The performers were amazing & I Loved the meet and greet ... The singers were real, and would
Talk to you, during there off times 😀
Everything was so close to walk too, and the weather was great as well 😀
The volunteers really seemed to know what they were doing - & took concerns seriously .....
I am really looking forward to this happening, in Stratford, Ontario - next year 😀

So many amazing up and coming singer/songwriters. The venues allowed for intimate performances and connections with the artists and fans! It is a great concept to not know who I was going to hear and see next and it allowed for an in-the-moment experience. The artists I met were so down to earth and talented, the energy from the fans each day, made for an added fantastic vibe and the event was well put together by the production crew, Backyard Music Co. and the wonderful volunteers that helped the event run as smoothly as possible!

We’ve had the pleasure of working with Backyard Music Co. at our venue, and they consistently deliver.

Professional, organized, and easy to work with, their team makes event days seamless. They bring great energy, read the room perfectly, and keep guests engaged all night.

From a venue standpoint, they’re reliable, respectful, and elevate the overall experience every time. Highly recommend.

I attended the Stratford Nashville takeover this past weekend with some girlfriends and my husband. We all had an absolute blast! This event was amazing. I really hope they come back to Stratford next year and use more venues. My only complaint is that there was no Nashville takeover merch to purchase. I would have loved to buy their merch at the event. Other than that, we had the best weekend bar hoping and listening to amazingly talented artists at multiple venues.

The musicians were awesome
The weekend was a complete success
Can't wait to do it all over again next year

Just got the chance to experience The Nashville Takeover this past weekend in Stratford, and it was terrific! Well run, great artists and music, and overall a lot of fun! Would definitely attend another event like this in the future!!

The Stratford Nashville Takeover was a fun new experience billed exactly what it is - small sessions, venue hopping, experimental. The musicians were great and we were able to get in every venue we wanted. I’d love to see this expanded to more venues in the future.

Attended the Nashville Takeover event in Stratford. Really enjoyed the music and the venues. Great curation of different artists, including many great Canadian talents. It was well organized and was a great thing for the downtown core. Only saw smiling faces all day long.

The music was great and energy even better. Such a great team! Had a blast and would highly recommend to anyone working with them or attending.

So. Much. Fun! And so wonderful to see locals and visitors out and about the streets of Stratford in this shoulder season. Would go again in a heartbeat. Little blip with liquor license at Copperlight but it was fixed. Thank you, Scotty and team!

What an amazing weekend in Stratford that was. Thanks to everyone involved please come back next year. Everything was incredible there is no other place I would have rather been

The festival itself in principle is great, the entertainment was wonderful. There seemed to be lack of parking at venues which added to having to pay for parking. As well, as Copperlight in Stratford is beautiful, there is no signage on the church to say it is Copperlight. As well there was no signage to say outside to indicate it was part of Nashville Take Over and no signage where to enter. If you parked behind and walked up between the buildings, there was a sign saying to enter off of Waterloo St, but the caterers were BBQ ing at that entrance and people had to circle back to find an enterance. Friday evening at Grayson Mills, again wonderful venue with limited paid parking, too crowded in top floor and ceiling fans there but not turned on. As well, couldn't even purchase a cup or bottle of water, the bar staff said they didn't have any. Not everyone is there to drink, diabetics, nursing mom's, minor's and people who just don't drink should always have an option.
There was also a lady walking around with a cut on her nose , apparently a sign fell and hit her in the nose and no first aid was offered, volunteers were directed to take her to the caterers in hopes they would have a bandaid.
I think that even a well planned event needs professional organization, designated people for specific aspects of the event.
And limit ticket sales to be realistic about what each venue can hold.

Staff and artists were absolutely amazing! Shoutout to Brittany, Scotty, and their team for making the experience so fun and special! Brittany really made sure we had a VIP experience!
Such a great opportunity to meet and hear new artists and meet the ones we already know and love!

Would’ve been 5 stars if the venues that hosted were bigger, served alcohol for full event, and had staffed better so that staff didn’t have such an unfair and hard time keeping up!
Also would’ve been great to be able to purchase Nashville takeover gear to wear!

Overall great job! Would definately attend again!

Amazing experience in Stratford as always there is room for improving, however was amazing to feel the Nashville vibes in Stratford!

We had a great time, the artists were amazing. I received emails throughout the weekend keeping the events front and centre. We had no problem getting into any of the venues, the crowds were well behaved and just having a good time. People were dancing out front of Chucks. I really hope Stratford is lucky enough to get chosen next year.

Went to Stratford Nashville take over. This was BY FAR the worst experience I have had. Coming from someone who frequents Nashville 1-2 x a year and has attended songwriter bars as well as Bluebird I was disgusted with how the songwriters were treated here. The crowd was so loud you couldn't enjoy the music. The writers themselves had asked for the crowd to stop talking. Unless you were close you couldn't enjoy the point of the event. On top of that, any time you left to go to another venue good luck getting in. All were at full capacity. It was clear that tickets were over sold. This was more about money than experience. When I spoke to the staff at the event one was clearly intoxicated. On top of that she had a drink in her hand as well. She didn't care about what I had to say. Rolled her eyes at me. Smirked as though I was being unrealistic. Tried to argue with me saying everyone is having fun. It was disgusting. My husband and I left after 30 minutes. My girlfriend and her husband went earlier and left as well. We all spent money on the Saturday shows as well as the after party. $216 later. We were driving longer than we were physically there.

I had an amazing time attending the Collingwood festival is October 2025. The VIP pass was amazing and you got a private bus to a secret location for a private show. Will be getting 2026 tickets