Outside the Grand Ballroom of Nashville’s Music City Center, a large crowd gathered in support of public education on Friday morning. The energy was rising and the enthusiasm was spreading when Nashville’s Hunters Lane High School marching band made its entrance playing an upbeat tune before taking the stage.

The school leaders attending the I Love Public Education rally showed their support by wearing their blue I Love Public Education shirts and waving signs, flags and towels carrying the same supportive message. The music’s booming beat raised the adrenaline level.

More than 1,500 people filled the room, where Kelly Sutton, host on “Today in Nashville” on NBC’s local affiliate WSMV, pumped up the audience for the music performances that followed by American singer-songwriter Lizzie Sider and the Essentials band. Both musical artists gave the educators a taste of Nashville’s Music City.

During the performances, attendees showed their excitement by tapping their feet or swaying to the steady beat of music.

When Sider took the stage, her high-energy personality and joyful smile set the mood and the audience began to shout and sing along to “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. On the floor, attendees clapped and danced with their neighbors. Others recorded the performance to remember and the enthusiastic experience – all focused on their love and support of vital public schooling across America.

(Victoria Leuang, a senior journalism major at Middle Tennessee State University, is an intern with Conference Daily Online.)