Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is looking south for a music-industry blueprint, pointing to Nashville as a model for how Calgary could grow into a much larger entertainment hub.
Following a recent trip to Nashville, Smith said she met with Tennessee chamber of commerce and tourism industry leaders to better understand how Music City developed into a major music center. Her takeaway: Calgary already has some of the building blocks in place, and the province is interested in exploring how partnerships with the music industry could help expand that foundation.
“There are a number of changes that they made 25 years ago in order to become what they are today,” Smith said at a recent news conference. “I want to find out a little bit about what that is and see if we can develop some excellent partnerships with the music industry so that we can do a transfer of talent and transfer of expertise.”
The pitch arrives as Calgary continues to build on a live-event base that already includes the Calgary Stampede and Cowboys Music Festival. According to the source material, those events draw around 1.4 million and 165,000 fans, respectively, underscoring why Smith sees room for the city’s music economy to scale further.
Calgary’s music industry is estimated at $2.3 billion in value. Smith has pointed to Nashville’s $28.3 billion impact as the kind of benchmark Calgary could aspire to reach if the right steps are taken. The comparison frames her ambition clearly: not simply adding more concerts, but building a broader music ecosystem capable of producing a larger economic footprint.
A Nashville-Inspired Growth Plan
Smith’s Nashville visit appears to have been centered on learning how the city’s music-sector growth was supported over time. While no detailed policy package was outlined in the supplied material, the premier specifically emphasized partnerships, talent exchange and expertise exchange as areas of interest.
That matters because Smith is not presenting Calgary’s music ambitions as starting from scratch. Instead, she is arguing that the city already has assets that could be developed further. The Calgary Stampede and Cowboys Music Festival provide large-scale audience proof points, while current and planned infrastructure adds another layer to the province’s case.
One of the most significant projects is Scotia Place, a new arena that is currently being built. The venue will be home to the Calgary Flames and is set to open in fall 2027. It will also host concerts, giving Calgary another major room for touring acts and live entertainment programming.
Beyond the arena, Stampede Park is also part of the larger picture. The site is aiming to become a year-round entertainment destination through a 20-year plan, a goal that aligns with Smith’s stated vision for the province’s music-industry growth.
What Happens Next?
For now, Smith’s “Nashville North” ambition remains a broad vision built around industry partnerships, infrastructure and Calgary’s existing event strength. The next steps, based on the available information, center on whether Alberta can turn lessons from Nashville into concrete music-industry collaborations at home.
With Scotia Place scheduled to open in fall 2027 and Stampede Park pursuing its long-range entertainment strategy, Calgary’s bid to become a bigger Canadian music hub will be shaped by how those assets connect with the premier’s push for talent, expertise and industry partnerships.