Nashville is now my favourite city. We spent 4 nights directly opposite Vanderbilt University (where one or both of my children will study). It was a jam packed few days that I’ll summarise below. Keeping up with this blog is turning out to be a lot more difficult than I anticipated!
We couldn’t decided which museum to go to. I’m a bit of a country fan but no means a die hard. I know much more about classic rock so we decided that the Musicians Hall of Fame would be a good compromise. What actually sealed the deal was finding a good deal on Groupon! It was a great museum that transcended genres and eras. It also had a lot of material about producers and the production of famous albums. There exhibits dedicated to Cash and Hendrix complete with some amazing outfits. All in all, I rate it.
Next we walked up and down Broadway with all the Honky Tonks. Seems like every country artist owns one. There was Kid Rock’s, Alan Jackson’s and Florida Georgia Line’s to name a few. The street is filled with music pouring out of the bars, all live of course. Even at 11am it’s pumping. Not at all dirty or seedy though. Thankfully the kids had a bit of nap so we were able to enjoy a cheeky roof top beer. I’m looking forward to comparing Broadway to Vegas, I feel Nashville will win.
The next day we went to the Johnny Cash museum. Despite Hanika’s impression I am not the world’s biggest Cash fan. I am, however, a big fan. The museum was great and featured a walk through of his life from his upbringing on the farm to his last music video “Hurt” and everything in between. There was lots of memorabilia and quite a lot about his collaborations including as part of “The Highwaymen”. At the end of the museum there was a man who seemed to be in his late 60’s shaking hands with everyone. Turns out it was Johnny’s youngest brother. I made a quick exit without shaking hands.
That night we went to a show at The Grand Ole Opry and left the kids at home with a babysitter. The Opry is one of the most famous music venues in the world. It continues a live radio show, syndicated all over the world. The show had 4 music groups each playing 3-4 songs and a comedian called Henry Cho. Before I talk about the music you have to check out Henry. He was absolutely hilarious. I would have considered the night a success if he was the only act. The venue was packed and we secured last minute nose bleed seats. I didn’t know any of the groups except for Charlie Daniels, of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” fame. All the music was great including a bluegrass band and a newer pop/country group from Scotland. We finished the night by having a drink at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. It’s absolutely massive! When you walk in there’s a tropical atrium complete with water features. We had an over priced beer and dessert and pretended like we belonged before heading back to the kids for a dose of reality.
We asked our Uber driver where we HAD to each and she suggested Hatty B’s. It’s a famous (apparently) fried chicken joint, and the original location was just down the road! We walked down and it was PACKED. We arrived with two prams and two hungry children. We finally found a place to sit but by then the order line was out the door and down the street. We settled for getting Uber Eats and eating a home. I’m not a fried chicken connoisseur but it was ok. Perhaps it would have been better without the 20 minutes sitting in someone’s car? It certainly wouldn’t have been worth putting the kids through waiting in the tiny restaurant.
Overall a very busy few days in a great city. I’m hoping that one of brothers/friends will consider having their bucks party here. If not, I’ll just wait till I send the boys here for university!
Our next main stop is NOLA with small break in Jackson and Birmingham.