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Singing the blues
Bluegrass Underground to leave Warren County
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The beauty of the Volcano Room of Cumberland Caverns served as part of the show, according to Bluegrass Underground creator Todd Mayo. Pictured is Drivin N Cryin performing at the cave in 2016.
James Clark
Updated: Aug 19, 2017, 7:01 PM
Published: Aug 19, 2017, 8:02 PM

Bluegrass Underground has turned into a country song for Warren County.
The popular TV and radio concert series will be leaving Cumberland Caverns at the end of this year, according to creator Todd Mayo.
The departure will end a nine-year relationship between Bluegrass Underground and Warren County. Mayo said Bluegrass Underground is moving to a permanent location called The Caverns in Grundy County near Pelham. It’s at the base of Monteagle Mountain 10 minutes off Exit 127 on Interstate 24.
“This is a dream come true to find a cave system that expands and improves the live and televised musical experiences of underground performances we have been curating since 2008,” Mayo said. “Our new home at The Caverns will enable us to add infrastructure with permanent power, professional audio and lighting with enhanced food and beverage concessions that have never before been possible, including a longtime request from our patrons: cold beer.”
The development isn’t much of a dream for McMinnville officials who have seen Bluegrass Underground serve as a launching pad for tourism development.
“Serious news is never welcomed, but today’s announcement has certainly caught the city of McMinnville off guard,” said Mayor Jimmy Haley. “During a meeting Friday morning, Bluegrass Underground organizers Todd Mayo and Todd Jarrell revealed that a deadlock in negotiations with Cumberland Caverns will result in the end of an extremely successful music run that has put McMinnville on the map. With tourism development a main focus by the state of Tennessee, the end of Bluegrass Underground presents more than a challenge for our local economy.”
Cumberland Caverns officials were also stunned by news of Bluegrass Underground’s departure.
“Friday’s surprise announcement by Todd Mayo, executive producer of Bluegrass Underground, was disheartening for Cumberland Caverns, but plans are already being made for exciting new opportunities that will keep Cumberland Caverns bringing tens of thousands of guests to Tennessee’s largest show cave,” Cumberland Caverns said in a statement.
Mayo says the new venue boasts natural acoustics and will accommodate many more subterranean music lovers in response to increasing demand for tickets to Bluegrass Underground and for other live concerts across expanding genres.
Mayo projects as many as 50 performances for 2018, expanding the underground experience to span more musical genres including symphonic music and comedy shows.
Bluegrass Underground got its start at Cumberland Caverns when Mayo noticed the possibility of turning the Volcano Room into a concert venue while visiting the cave on a family vacation. In 2008, his vision became a reality when Bluegrass Underground began recording radio concerts in the cave.
Two years later, Bluegrass Underground got its transformational break when the concerts were picked up by PBS. Being broadcast nationally on TV provided Warren County with a wealth of exposure.
The city of McMinnville has underwritten Bluegrass Underground productions since its inception. The city is currently in the second year of a three-year contract that pays Bluegrass Underground $62,500 annually.
Mayo expressed sadness in leaving the place where his concert series got its start.
“We have recently put into motion the execution of our alternative scenario, which is the move to a new and permanent home for Bluegrass Underground,” said Mayo. “While we are very pleased with the security and flexibility this move will afford Bluegrass Underground and our ability to continue to do what we love, we are deeply disappointed in what this means for McMinnville and Warren County.”
The move to The Caverns will greatly benefit the PBS series, according to TV producer Todd Jarrell.
“In the past, we taped the entire 12-episode season over one weekend due to the difficulty and expense of bringing literally tons of cabling and show gear a quarter mile into the cave,” said Jarrell. “But The Caverns’ permanent infrastructure presents us the flexibility to match calendars with some of the world’s greatest performers, enticing them underground to offer our fans a deep-down lifetime experience throughout the year.”
Bluegrass Underground airs on more than 300 PBS stations around the nation.
Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Published: Apr 2, 2025, 11:31 PM

Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community