Nashville Trip | Con of Thrones Programming

We attended the Con of Thrones (CoT) convention in Nashville from July 12-14 this year.  The trip was part of our all-year 25th anniversary celebration.  As the time for CoT drew near, we downloaded the Con of Thrones app onto our phones to plan out which sessions we wanted to attend.  There were a full seven hours of sessions per day, from 10am-5pm, plus night time fun such as cosplay contest, karaoke, game night, etc.  Each hour of programming had several choices in different ballrooms, with the Ice Main Stage auditorium serving as the biggest draw each hour.  Each breakout room was named after a sword in Game of Thrones!

An example of some of the sessions available in just one hour of programming.  How did we even pick??!

If you’ve ever been to the San Diego Comic Con, you would know that trying to get into one of the main big panels in Hall H is impossible.  That was not the case at CoT.  While the convention was pretty full, we didn’t have any trouble getting into the sessions we wanted to see.  That part was really awesome!  Early on, Todd and I picked our own sessions that we wanted to attend.  He picked mostly book discussion sessions.  I picked the TV show sessions, since I hadn’t read the books.  Some of our sessions overlapped.  We felt fine going to our own favorite things and then re-convening for lunch or sessions that we both picked to attend.

Friday 7/12/2019 – here are the sessions I attended (links to YouTube videos where available)

• 10:00am - Visions and Clues:  Foreshadowing on Game of Thrones
• 11:05am - Endgame:  Breaking Down Game of Thrones’ Big Finish
• 12:10pm - Spotlight:  Hannah Murray (she played Gilly, Samwell’s “wife”)
• 1:15pm - Becoming the Zeitgeist:   The Evolution of Game of Thrones Media Coverage
• 2:20pm - The Wolf and the Crows Q&A:  Life on Set
• 3:25pm - Spotlight: Jerome Flynn (he played Ser Bronn of the Blackwater)
• 4:30pm – History of Westeros: Live Recording

The highlight of Day 1 was the panel discussion on how media coverage changed as the show became more and more popular.  Some of these journalists and podcasters worked insane schedules in order to publish content out on Monday mornings after the show aired.

Another highlight was the Q&A with The Wolf and the Crows, the three extras that were on GoT for almost the entire eight seasons.  They talked about life on the set and what it was like filming the biggest show ever.  With their own R-rated humor added in.

The Jerome Flynn spotlight was also awesome.  He talked about what it was like to play Sir Bronn, what his favorite lines were, and favorite episodes and scenes.  You can actually watch the entire session here on YouTube.

Saturday 7/13/2019 – here are the sessions I attended (links to YouTube videos where available)

• 10:00am – The Ringer – Binge Mode: Live Recording
• 11:05am – At Journey’s End:  Brienne of Tarth
• 12:10pm - Spotlight: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Hannah Murray (Gilly), and Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel)
• 1:15pm – At Journey’s End:  Arya Stark
• 2:20pm – A Storm of Spoilers:  Live Recording
• 3:25pm – Spotlight:  Kieran Belshaw (concept artist for GoT)
• 4:30pm – Name Day Morning Quarterback: Why ___ lost the Game of Thrones?

Day 2 was definitely packed with so many highlights!  Where do I even start?? 

I got to see one of my favorite Podcasts live!  Binge Mode:  Game of Thrones with Mallory Ruben and Dave Concepcion!

The spotlight with four of the actors from GoT, interviewed by the Binge Mode podcasters was SO GOOD.  This was THE SESSION to attend during the 3-day CoT.  The huge auditorium was PACKED.  You can watch the entire session here on YouTube!

Getting to see a live recording of one of my other favorite Game of Thrones podcasts, A Storm of Spoilers with Dave Gonzales, Joanna Robinson, and Neil Miller! 

And the Spotlight session with Kieran Belshaw, the concept artist on GoT, and now also Star Wars The Mandalorian! 

The concept art he created was SO AMAZING!  He basically drew out each scene and then the set designers and FX artists went to work based on the concept art!

Cersei escaping the Red Keep with The Mountain and Qyburn.

Jon Snow approaching the throne room with Drogon emerging from the dust & snow.

One tidbit that Kieran shared was that the showrunners originally wanted the circle of council in the very last episode to occur at the destroyed throne room.  But the scene got moved to the Dragon Pit.

Kieran Belshaw was humble, informative, and so talented.  It was a joy to see his concept art.  You can actually watch his entire session along with ALL the art he brought here on YouTube!  I commented on his Instagram that night and he commented back! 

Sunday 7/14/2019 – here are the sessions I attended (links to YouTube videos where available)

• 10:00am – Making Sense of the Magic
• 11:05am – Spotlight:  Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel)
• 12:10pm – Spotlight:  Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister)
• 1:15pm – The Game of Thrones Effect:  How GoT Changed TV Forever
• 2:20pm – Learn to Love Season 8 with the Wolf and the Crows
• 3:25pm – Game of Thrones:  Right and Wrong
• 4:30pm – At Journey’s End:  Jaime Lannister

The highlights of Day 3 were the Spotlight sessions with Miltos Yerolemou and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, interviewed by my favorite GoT podcaster Joanna Robinson!

Miltos was such a personable person with a great personality.  He loves the GoT community and has made friends with many regular con attendees.  He has taught the “water dancing” stick fighting to many GoT fans.  He love to take photos with fans and is appreciative of his involvement in GoT. 

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was also gracious, funny, and articulate.  His wife called him while he was on stage and he answered it!  Also, his whole family was there (wife, 2 daughters) and they even went to the marketplace and talked to the vendors and looked at the merchandise.  Just a regular guy!  You can watch the entire session here on YouTube!

The programming the entire three days at CoT was amazing.  We had such a good experience attending our first Con of Thrones!  If you ever get a chance to participate in something you love with other people who also love it as much as you do, I highly recommend it.  There’s nothing like obsessing over something you love with other obsessives!

Here is a YouTube playlist with more videos available of other sessions.

Stay tuned for the cosplay post next!