The Nashville magic showgirls are a group of talented performers who specialize in the art of magic and illusion. Based in the vibrant city of Nashville, these showgirls captivate audiences with their fantastical acts and dazzling tricks. These showgirls have perfected the art of magic, incorporating elements of dance, music, and storytelling to create a mesmerizing experience for viewers. Each performance is carefully choreographed to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting the next mind-bending illusion. The Nashville magic showgirls are known for their showmanship and charisma. They engage the audience with their dynamic personalities and interactive performances, creating a sense of wonder and excitement that is unparalleled.
That’s followed by the most intricately choreographed pregame ceremonies in all of sports where a knight in golden armor fights off an attacker from the opposing team.
It s all in fun and games, and Vegas which set a new standard for pregame presentations during last year s playoff run will surely have an equally entertaining answer when the Predators visit on Jan. Both Bridgestone and T-Mobile arenas are blessed with perfect locations that not only encourage pregame and postgame celebration, but almost require it.
They engage the audience with their dynamic personalities and interactive performances, creating a sense of wonder and excitement that is unparalleled. Whether they are performing large-scale illusions or close-up magic tricks, these showgirls leave a lasting impression on everyone who watches them. What sets the Nashville magic showgirls apart is their dedication to pushing the boundaries of magic.
Vegas following Nashville's blueprint for creating magic in non-traditional hockey markets
NASHVILLE — Walk out of Bridgestone Arena and you’re immediately enveloped in country music. The twangy tunes creep through the cracked windows at every bar on Broadway, from the brick double-decker bar at Rippy’s to the rustic, purple rooftop lounge at Tootsies.
The Honky Tonk Highway is home to dozens of bars, taverns and lounges — each complete with a live band playing on a miniature stage just inside the door.
That’s where the Predators’ fans party starts. It slowly creeps west and inside the doors of Bridgestone Arena, where Smashville rocks the house for their hockey club. Inside they dance and sing for two and a half hours, playing “I like it I love it” on repeat after Predators goals.
The hockey party is often referred to as “NashVegas,” appropriate since it’s strikingly similar to another show about 1,700 miles west.
Only, in Las Vegas, the guitars and twang are substituted with nightclub flare and bass.
T-Mobile Arena has quickly become one of the most raucous arenas in all of the NHL, and it’s party-themed atmosphere is very similar to Nashville’s, right down to the temperate weather and stretch of alcohol-selling establishments that lead to the arena’s doorstep.
Elvis Presley is popular in both, the only difference is in Las Vegas the in-arena impersonators are joined by scantily clad showgirls as they bang on the glass during pregame warmups.
Like Nashville, Las Vegas isn’t a traditional hockey market, but the organizations have identified what their fans want, and are providing a product that encourages them to create a home ice advantage that rivals even the most hockey-crazed cities in North America.
Hockey fans along Broadway before Game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup final at Bridgestone Arena. (Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports)
Outside the arena
Both Bridgestone and T-Mobile arenas are blessed with perfect locations that not only encourage pregame and postgame celebration, but almost require it.
In Nashville it’s Broadway, where up and coming country artists cut their teeth in bars, pumping live music into the streets 365 days a year from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. In Las Vegas it’s The Park, which is a stretch of entertainment sandwiched between the New York New York Casino, Park MGM and the Las Vegas Strip. There, Golden Knights fans can drink at the slew of bars that line the walkway, enjoy the futuristic water fountains or play cornhole in Toshiba Plaza to the house DJ’s soundtrack.
“It all matches (owner) Bill Foley’s vision, which is party before the game, party during the game and party after the game,” Golden Knights president Kerry Bubolz said. “And what better location than Las Vegas?”
Nashville supports the same notion.
“We knew from the very beginning back in 1998 that if people are going to spend $100 per ticket they are going (to) want another reason to be here,” said Brian Campbell, Nashville’s director of event presentation. “A lot of the people in the market weren’t real hockey savvy, and we’ve come a long way in that, but we built things on entertainment.”
Both organizations smartly coerce their fans into the arena well before game time. In Nashville it’s in the form of yet another country music concert, held on a stage just outside the arena doors. In Las Vegas it’s a march to the match where mascots and cheerleaders lead a team drumline past the bars and into the arena, collecting screaming fans along the way.
In-game entertainment
Nashville crashed through the standard of previously-accepted intermission entertainment when they built a stage in the middle of their lower bowl in 1998. The stage has been graced by music legends like Tim McGraw, Alice Cooper and Charlie Daniels, who ignited the crowd with “Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
More regularly, it’s the home of up and coming artists like Small Time Rock Stars, who played Michael Jackson’s Thriller during Tuesday’s game in the spirit of Halloween.
The bands play 10 minutes during the first and second intermissions, turning Bridgestone Arena into a temporary concert while the players rehydrate and break down film in the locker rooms.
“With Nashville it was really how they took a strength of their city and made it the spectacle of the hockey game,” Golden Knights chief marketing officer Brian Killingsworth said. “Whether it’s Faith Hill or the pregame concerts, they tied the music and entertainment scene into the game.”
Before the Golden Knights ever had a team name, they looked around the NHL — and really all sports — to gather ideas. They obviously noticed Nashville’s in-game concerts and personalized it for Sin City.
During the first intermission of Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lighting, the ice at T-Mobile Arena became a stage for Cirque du Soleil. The world-famous acrobatic theater shows are prevalent in Las Vegas casinos, and hockey fans were treated to one of the more popular ones — The Beatles Love — at the game.
“Love Is All You Need” resonated through the arena while vibrant, technicolored flowers were projected on the ice. Clowns drove Volkswagen Beetles across the ice while some dancers performed on the roofs, and others swung from bungee cords suspended 50-feet above the ice.
Before the game the arena is transformed into a Las Vegas nightclub, with flashing strobe lights beaming from the ceiling, fog machines pumping smoke into the air and a sound system with a bass so strong it literally rattles my popcorn out of the paper bag when it’s resting on the press box table.
That’s followed by the most intricately choreographed pregame ceremonies in all of sports where a knight in golden armor fights off an attacker from the opposing team.
“Both sides do a really good job of taking what they have, their locations, and what they have to offer, and bringing them inside the arena,” Campbell said. “Yeah we started off as a non-traditional hockey market but now some of our traditions have become traditional in other markets. We’re proud to live on an island and be the first to try things and maybe bend a traditional rule here or there to see if this works.”
A golden knight performs during a pregame ceremony at T-Mobile Arena. (Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports)
Getting the fans involved
Yet another thing both cities have similarly excelled at is getting the fans to engage in the entertainment from start to finish.
They certainly aren’t the only fans in the NHL that do this, but they’re certainly two of the most unique. Nashville has built a reputation with its long, creative chants that sound like a mix between a college football and European soccer crowd.
“Suuuuuuuubban! Suuuuuuuubban! Suuuuuuuubban! You suck!” the masses yelled at poor Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban on Tuesday. “It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!”
The unison is impressive, and it all started in the nosebleeds. “Cellblock 303” is what the season ticket holders in the upper bowl call themselves. They started many of the chants that are heard regularly at Bridgestone Arena.
Some traditions began with a small nudge from the entertainment crew. Like when fans all simultaneously pull their cell phones out, turn the flashlight on and wave them to The Beatles song “Let it be” whenever a Predators goal is being reviewed.
“You can’t force things,” Campbell said. “You give people the tools to work with and see what they do. Here’s what I think is going to happen, or hope it’s going to happen, but you don’t force it.”
Las Vegas certainly took note when devising a scheme for their own in-arena prompts.
“Nashville has fun, but their fans drive so much of that fun,” said Golden Knights vice president of events and entertainment Jonny Greco. “They have incredible cheering sections, and they play the non-traditional music and have crazy lights. We appropriated a lot from Nashville for sure, but a lot of other teams.”
Vegas’ best example comes before the game ever starts, during the National Anthem.
Vegas’ most-prevalent tradition also started in the upper bowl, where a group of fans began yelling “Knight” during the line in the national anthem that goes “gave proof through the night.”
Greco and his team picked up on it and began slightly prompting the fans by coloring the word “night” gold in the lyrics displayed in the arena. Fans quickly got the hint, and now there are 18,000 fans belting out the team name right on cue.
“I think one of the most important things you can do in the sports entertainment world is just connect with your fans,” Greco said. “If you learn who your fans are first, it’s a lot easier to connect with them and find what they enjoy, what they support and what they want to dance to and cheer for.”
It would be cretinous to point out neither of these arenas would be the party scene they’ve become without the winning on the ice. It’s not lost on either entertainment crew that playoff and Stanley Cup final appearances drive the train.
“Right now Vegas and Nashville are the non-traditional markets that are getting a lot of attention, but that often happens because hockey leads No. 1,” Greco said. “If our team won 10 games last year I don’t know if we would’ve gotten half the accolades that we did last year because it’s hockey first always. Nashville was doing a great job for years but didn’t receive the national exposure until a few years ago when they started winning.”
Winning certainly helps, but these two organizations have laid a blueprint for other teams — especially in non-traditional hockey markets — to build a rabid fanbase off the ice, while the hockey operations side handles the rest.
“When we came to Las Vegas we didn’t know if we would win or not, so we wanted to create an entertaining atmosphere that would allow fans to come and have a great time regardless of if they won or not,” Greco said.
Tuesday night, when the teams met, Nashville claimed victories both on and off the ice.
The Predators scored four unanswered goals, led by two by Ryan Hartman, to win 4-1. In the pregame ceremony, Nashville made a spoof of the Golden Knights’ famous pregame skit, where a knight pulls the Excalibur sword from the stone.
Only Tuesday night Predators mascot Gnash repelled from the ceiling, snuck up on the knight and bashed him over the head with an acoustic guitar.
It’s all in fun and games, and Vegas — which set a new standard for pregame presentations during last year’s playoff run — will surely have an equally entertaining answer when the Predators visit on Jan. 23.
Let’s all hope the rest of the NHL joins in on the fun.
Both Bridgestone and T-Mobile arenas are blessed with perfect locations that not only encourage pregame and postgame celebration, but almost require it.
They constantly strive to bring new and innovative acts to the stage, incorporating modern technology and cutting-edge techniques. This commitment to innovation ensures that each show is a unique and unforgettable experience. In addition to their live performances, the Nashville magic showgirls also participate in various community outreach programs. They visit local schools and libraries, sharing their love for magic and inspiring the next generation of performers. They believe in the transformative power of magic and aim to spread joy and wonder wherever they go. Overall, the Nashville magic showgirls are a talented and dynamic group of performers who bring the art of magic to life. With their captivating performances and commitment to innovation, they continue to leave a lasting impression on audiences..
Reviews for "Beauty and Illusion: Nashville's Magic Showgirls in Action"
1. John Smith - 1 out of 5 stars - The "Nashville magic showgirls" was a complete disappointment. The entire show was lackluster and unoriginal. It felt like a cheap imitation of better magic shows I've seen before. The magic tricks were predictable and poorly executed, leaving no sense of wonder or amazement. The showgirls themselves were more focused on their appearance than their talent, and their dance routines were unimpressive. Overall, I would not recommend wasting your time and money on this show.
2. Sarah Johnson - 2 out of 5 stars - I had high hopes for the "Nashville magic showgirls," but unfortunately, it fell flat for me. The magic tricks were nothing out of the ordinary and didn't offer any surprises or thrills. The showgirls' performances were average at best, and the choreography seemed repetitive and uninspired. The whole show lacked the wow factor I expected from a magic show. It just felt like a hodgepodge of different elements put together without much thought or creativity. I wouldn't necessarily call it terrible, but it definitely didn't live up to the hype.
3. Mark Thompson - 2 out of 5 stars - I wasn't impressed with the "Nashville magic showgirls" at all. The magic tricks were mediocre and didn't leave me in awe. I felt like I had seen similar tricks done better in other shows. The showgirls' performances were also underwhelming. The choreography felt disjointed and the dancers lacked energy. Overall, it felt like a half-hearted attempt at entertaining the audience. I wouldn't recommend this show to anyone looking for a truly magical experience.