Good news of Nashville - a city and state full of history, top food and warm hospitality.
By Adam Hunter, Arts Correspondent
I have been to Nashville many times over the last 35 years or so and it is a City I love.
It is the country music capital of the world but it is more than that. It is a city with history and much to see. It is a city with a warm and friendly welcome and is very hospitable. It is a city that feels safe.
My last visit was some 12 years ago, and it has changed quite dramatically since my last visit. It has grown. It has become one of the fastest developing cities in the USA. It has also become much more expensive to stay downtown. Perhaps with its growth, it has lost some of its charm.
It has become a very busy bustling city that has become a real party town.
One of the big changes is Lower Broadway (pictured below).
It used to be that there were a few bars or honky tonks and it was a fairly rundown area. It is now lined with bars both side of the road, all playing live music from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m seven days a week, non stop.
It is country music Disneyland.
It has bars by many of the stars of country music such as Garth Brooks, Eric Church, Alan Jackson, Morgan Wellens etc. It is busy during the day, it gets even busier at night, so busy, it is hard to move.
The Lower Broadway scene is busy, loud, exciting and somewhat overwhelming. The Garth Books bar is one of the newest, biggest and most modern and is on 3 floors. Bon Jovi has a bar.
The famous Tootsies, which is across the alley from the Ryman Auditorium is next to Legends and near to Roberts Western Wear. There is country music old and more traditional to see.
There is country music to match most tastes. If you want the more traditional sounds, Roberts Western Wear is a place to visit. It has not changed much.
It is traditional. It often features Joshua Hedley and Sarah Gayle Meech, both traditional artists who are well worth seeing and sing many of their own songs.
Many of the artists in the other bars play mostly covers.
There are many other musical venues across the City which are well worth checking out. Basement East, in East Nashville is an intimate and welcoming venue which puts on some great shows.
If you get the chance go to 3rd and Lindley to see the Time Jumpers, who perform on a Monday.
They put on a great show of western swing at a venue with a warm welcome and good food.
It truly is a show not to be missed. The Ryman Auditorium has a great history and is well worth a tour. It is the mother church of country music. It often puts on great shows.
Nashville is a great city for great music, big and small.
The Country Music Hall of Fame is a museum with lots of interesting exhibits tracing country music’s history from the stars to today. Jimmy Rogers,
The Carter Family, Johnny Cash to Taylor swift and Luke Combs.
It is well worth a few hours of your time. Exhibits include Elvis’s Cadillac.
Many costumes belonging to stars old and new. Gold and platinum discs and the plaques awarded to those who have been inducted into the hall of fame.
Another museum well worth a visit is the Johnny Cash Museum, which is charming. It is a smaller and more intimate museum than the Hall of Fame which is well set out with the story of Johnny Cash’s life.
Even if you know him well, you will find out things you did not know. I do and I did! It is well worth a visit.
Nashville is not only music. It is the heart to the bible belt and was a big producer of bibles. It is the state capital of Tennessee, and I do recommend visiting the capital building.
It is impressive. There is the Tennessee Museum and the military museum which was sadly closed when I was there for refurbishment.
There are many other historic sites to visit in and around Nashville.
Nashville is a lively place to visit and a great place to visit for music, but it has so much more.
It is busy and bustling, and the music is non-stop but it has so much more to offer than music.
