'Sittin’ and sweltering.' Nashville sees one of the hottest Fourth of Julys on record

The annual "Let Freedom Sing!" Music City event kicked off on Thursday as thousands of attendees braved sweltering heat and humidity to celebrate Independence Day.

As of 2:30 p.m., Nashville temperatures hit a scorching 99 degrees (with a 106-degree heat index) for the third hottest Fourth of July on record, according to the National Weather Service. Only the years 2012, with a high of 103 degrees, and 1948, at 101 degrees, were warmer.

The city’s free Fourth of July music concert and renowned fireworks display typically draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Lower Broadway and the riverfront.

Last year, an estimated 250,000 attendees generated $11.6 million in direct spending, according to the Convention and Visitors Corp. So far, 2021 holds the highest record for attendance with 350,000 people.

Thursday afternoon, however, saw fewer crowds along Lower Broadway as people waited out the heat.

Patty Parsons was staying cool with ice chips as she leaned on her cart of frosty drinks for sale in Riverfront Park.

“I ain’t playin’ I got my shady umbrella and my water,” she said.

Parsons has been selling drinks on the Fourth of July for the past five years. This year is by far the hottest, she said.

“You can see it on everyone's faces,” she said. “It’s wearing people down. Everyone is just exhausted.”

Despite the heat, many attendees came hours early to stake out a prime spot for viewing fireworks on the grassy banks of Riverfront Park across from Nissan Stadium.

Jennifer Stafford and her mother Gloria Welsh took the train from Lebanon to see the fireworks display. The pair sat on a picnic blanket and cooled off with frozen lemonade as they prepared to wait for several hours in the heat.

“It’s a great spot, but you gotta be willing to pay for it by sittin’ and sweltering,” Welsh said.

Nashville boasts one of the largest fireworks displays in the country.

For the first time this year, the event was set to feature drone light elements with 400 drones and 40,000 pounds of explosives skyrocketing 800 feet in the air.