The Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTAC) is an annual event – dedicated to anime, gaming, music, and Japanese popular arts and culture – providing enthusiasts and the public at large with a forum to share knowledge and passion in their collective interests. 2026’s Convention: “MTAC Super,” the 24th MTAC, styles this year’s convention around superheroes and super action in anime and related media.
MTAC returns to the fan-favorite Sheraton Music City & Embassy Suites Nashville for 3 Days of Anime, gaming, cosplay, celebrating and educating about Japanese animation, media & relevant popular arts. Established in 1999, overseen by the Southeast Pop Arts & Culture board (SEPOP), MTAC has been an annual mainstay in the Middle Tennessee community, with thousands of attendees and guests coming from the region and beyond.
MTAC also lives up to being Music City’s Anime Con by hosting top-notch musical shows with talent both local and foreign. MTAC also gives back to the community which hosts it by assisting local charities in drives at the convention, as well as donation drives during the year. MTAC began in 1999 and operates entirely on a volunteer basis.
Throughout the years, MTAC has featured several special guests covering a variety of aspects of anime and media, many of them African Americans. John Bentley has been working at his trade in the business since 1996. He has several on-camera, commercial and voice over credits, which include Barret in the Final Fantasy VII remake, King Bulgher in CannonBusters, Mr. Kapusinski In 12 Forever, Varys Truss in Promare, Sonada in Baki, Tiger’s Claw in Sailor Moon, Whiplash in Turbo Netflix, and Fire Emblem in Tiger and Bunny. Several other projects he’s worked on include Digimon, LA Noire, anything Nick Fury or Frozone, Red Dead Redemption, Call of Duty, Mecard, Carole and Tuesday, MFKZ and several other genres including film and television.
John Eric Bentley is an African-American actor known for voicing Nick Fury in various Marvel video games and animated series whenever Samuel L. Jackson isn’t available. He also acted and voiced in several works including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, MultiVersus as LeBron James, Barrett Wallace from Final Fantasy VII Remake and Whiplash from Turbo F.A.S.T. Born August 31, 1969, John attended Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago, Illinois, after which he played Wide Receiver for the University of Minnesota, where he also attended the University of Minnesota’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in the mid-90s. The 6’3” actor has over 250 credits on his IMDB page, and lives with his family in Los Angeles. – courtesy Wikipedia (blame them if any of this is wrong)
Other voice actor guests include Megan Hollingshead, best known as the original English voice of Nurse Joy and Cassidy in the first six seasons of the Pokémon anime.; Molly Zhang, a bilingual voice actress fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese, known for voicing over 70 characters across anime and video games ; and Dawn M. Bennett, a prominent American voice actress and singer known for her extensive work in anime dubbing and video games who has gained particular acclaim for her role as Aigis in Persona 3 Reload, for which she received a Golden Joystick Award nomination.
Programming includes Cosplay Contest, AMV Contest, Nerdlesque Revue, Otaku Anime Prom, J-Fashion Tea Party, and a Lip Sync Contest. There are vendors galore for shopping, and room parties all over the hotels. Get your tickets now at: https://mtac.net.
