Nothing exceeds like excess. But while I’ll be dead and buried before I ever buy three pairs of cowboy boots at once, I still love Nashville. It’s lost something to that rapid growth — all those TV shows and comparisons to Vegas — yet preserved, even nurtured, what it does best. Familiar yet different, modern Nashville’s outgrown its boots, so to speak, but tripled its volume, as it were.
Last time I was here was the month before COVID lockdown. This visit mattered.
I’d always visited Nashville midweek with automotive marketers hosting drive events. In February 2020 I learned it’s busier on weekends; on long weekends, exponentially! My wife and I had come for four days over that uniquely American holiday, Presidents’ Day, crazily the same weekend as a Predators match against their hated down-river rivals, the St. Louis Blues. Blessed with freakishly warm weather, the place was heaving with partiers. My fifth visit, her first.
Lower Broadway’s sidewalks and bars were crammed with cowboy-hatted hen parties. Central roads were impeded by hammered frat guys, pedal-powering those unsafe-looking beermobiles that would never make it to Toronto’s council for debate, never mind approval.
Rentable e-scooters, then a recent Nashville addition, littered the central streets, creating chaos for anyone not looking down (until suddenly they were experiencing it). Pleasant chaos, it was even pleasanter to escape nightly to our quiet hotel in East Nashville.
Vicarious Take One
“Familiar yet different, modern Nashville’s outgrown its boots, so to speak, but tripled its volume, as it were.”
Yes, visit the bars on Lower Broadway but go beyond, too.
Consider not driving near Lower Broadway. Traffic and parking are chaotic as a celluloid western bar fight. Even buses and ride-hailing services can get caught in the automo-mayhem. Solutions? 1) Walk a couple of blocks before pulling out your phone or bus pass. 2) Those rentable e-scooters and, more recently, e-bikes are sensiblish aids for transport. Just put down the beer. Now, ready to hear some music on this Honky-Tonk Highway?
These huge bars feature live music daily from well before noon till longer after midnight. Most acts play for tips, but the quality of players is sky-high. Many are studio musicians; the rest hope to become so. Got requests? Throw a few greenbacks in their tip jar (most accept digital payment apps). They know the hits.
Demographics ensure this strip’s constantly packed. Meaning? For country music fans, Nashville is Mecca with beer. The Tennessee capital, it’s also an education hub with over twenty universities, colleges and trade schools.
So, throughout the day, you’ll likely see an older crowd, calling out for Hank Williams (or HW Jr.) hits, but at night more college students noisily cluster amid welcome visitors like us.
This town gets good acts! See a concert at Grand Ole Opry’s erstwhile venue, Ryman Auditorium, just steps from the strip.
On our Saturday in 2020, we witnessed the budding hillbilly brilliance of Tyler Childers. Wow! The night still stands as one of the best concerts I’ve enjoyed this decade. But by Sunday, three days into our visit, we ventured off piste to a jazz bar (see above re quality of players: if you can play jazz, you can play anything) and more beyond the core and its repeating choruses.
Other worthy stops, in town and out.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s just a block from Broadway. It’s not cheap but de rigueurfor fans. Also a museum, it could take you hours to get through it all.
Don’t try.
Only slightly farther afield, check out Jack White’s vinyl kingdom, Third Man Records. Record yourself — guitars populate the walls — in its ancient ‘Voice-O-Graph’, a novelty record-producing box not much bigger than a phone booth. (Neil Young recorded his album A Letter Home in it.) It spits out your record after a few minutes. You won’t go Platinum but will possess an unforgettable souvenir that’s easier to transport home than three pairs of boots.
Just steps from there lies The Gulch. Though heaving with tourists, The Gulch is mostly a cowboy-bar-free zone with many hip (if expensive) restaurants, hotels and coffee shops. It’s a wonderful place to start or end your day, especially if your company’s paying. With such exciting nightlife, Nashville attracts many conventions these days.
Still walking? Cross the pedestrian bridge beyond Lower Broad, past the Nissan sports stadium and sprawling parking lot towards East Nashville. This up-and-coming neighbourhood boasts a confident urban quiet devoid of downtown.
Here longer than a couple of nights? Walk or do an early morning run through East Nashville’s late Victorian grid. The evolving alleys behind impressive century homes show off prettily designed granny flats, many of which would make superb recording studios.
Or venture out of town. The pristine exurb roads surrounding Nashville teem with scenic ranches in scratch-free photoshopped condition. The roads wind and roll, making for a fun ride. Posted speed limits are well calculated, so legal driving doesn’t feel slow.
Consider visiting the picturesque village of Leiper’s Fork 45 km out of town for endless IG likes and the best (aka least healthy) fried chicken you’ve ever eaten.
Feeling thirsty? There are several bourbon distilleries within 30 km of Nashville; three right in town.
Most offer tours with food pairings and even full meals. Sure, you’re far from the famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail but that route lacks a passel of honky-tonk bars with killer pickers and hammered hen parties.