Former human resources pro Kathleen Cotter started selling cheese at the Nashville Farmers’ Market in 2010 and remembers a customer who was surprised to learn that there was a local dairy scene. “Happily, I don’t hear that anymore,” says Cotter.

With market experience and courses at Murray’s Cheese Boot Camp and various conferences under her belt, Cotter opened The Bloomy Rind, a store-within-a-store at Nashville’s Porter Road Butcher East, in 2011. Today she stocks her counter with up to 50 wheels and wedges, mostly American-made with an ever-growing Southern contingent. We asked Cotter to select five cheeses fit for an outdoor music festival—Bonnaroo descends on Manchester, Tenn. every June, after all—and her crowd-pleasing picks are versatile and ready to travel. While Cotter has never been to the four-day free-for-all, she says the energy in Nashville that weekend is palpable, with “some of the finest people watching, ever!” So whether your bags are packed for Bonnaroo or you just plan to spend plenty of time al fresco this summer, grab these curds.

• Origin: Walland, Tenn.
• Milk: Pasteurized sheep’s milk

“Fresh cheeses—like brebis—have a bright acidity that I find refreshing in the heat,” Cotter says. Though Blackberry Farm’s version is great in savory preparations, try it with local, small-batch jam for a sweet treat that tastes like blackberry cheesecake.

• Origin: Sequatchie, Tenn.
• Milk: Raw cow’s milk

At this Sequatchie Valley creamery—just an hour or
so from Bonnaroo—semi-soft Nickajack is washed in hard apple cider as it ages, resulting in a “rich, slightly meaty profile with grassy notes,” Cotter says. Balance out the fatty, savory cheese with the zesty crunch of Somewhere Place Else Farm pickled green beans.

• Origin: Shullsburg, Wis.
• Milk: Pasteurized cow’s milk

The Midwest meets the South when these squeaky, buttery gems crafted by fourth-generation cheddarmaker Chris Roelli are skewered with slices of spicy Welsummer Brand salami, made in East Tennessee from all grass-fed beef, and refreshing grapes. It’s the “ultimate portable snack,” Cotter says.

• Origin: Champaign, Ill.
• Milk: Pasteurized goat’s milk

The edible flowers and herbs adorning Fleur de la Prarie’s geotrichum rind are not to impart flavor, but to tie the cheese back to the rich fertile farmland in Illinois where the goats graze. The resulting wheel has a delicate and distinct flavor. Only available April-October, this is a perfect cheese to enjoy during the summer months. 

• Origin: Austin, Ky.
• Milk: Raw cow’s milk

“This medium-intensity cheese is smoked, then waxed, making a fairly forgiving travel companion,” Cotter says. Something sweet is always welcome with blue, of course, and TruBee’s raw honey aged in whiskey-soaked oak barrels kicks the classic pairing up a notch.

photographed by Bruce Peterson; styled by Molly Shuster

* A previous version of this story featured Prodigal Farms Field of Creams instead of Fleur de la Prairie.

Kathleen Cotter

Kathleen Cotter started selling cheese at the Nashville Farmers’ Market in 2010 and has since founded the Southern Artisan Cheese Festival and a cheese shop, The Bloomy Rind.