Today, the former town of Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton attracts hipsters and gastro tourists in equal numbers.
I spent two days in the exciting, pulsing Nashville where everyone wants to make a career in the music industry. By breathing in its unique atmosphere and exploding energy, I had an insight into country music’s past whilst also experiencing present day rock’n’roll.
In Nashville everything is about music and this became evident right after my arrival. As so called small talk – polite chatting to strangers – is very common in America, I quickly exchanged life stories with the young taxi driver during the short taxi drive from the airport. I found out that he had moved to the town especially because of the music and the famous record studios. Until his dream comes true, he wants to improve his guitar play, write songs and try to join a band. There is no other town in this country which would inspire me more to make my dreams come true said the taxi driver. His flat-mate, surprisingly, also wants to make a career in the music industry, but for the time being, he is working in a hotel.
Here stands the mother-church of country
When I decided to visit Nashville, I believed that the town was living on its past and that tourists came here to visit because of it past legends. But during the two days I spent there, it became clear that country music was still pulsing today and keeps magnetizing fledgling talents like my taxi driver.
The No. 1 sanctuary of music is the Ryman Auditorium, which here, is modestly called the mother-church of country music. The name is appropriate as the hall, which has great acoustics, was originally built as a church. Its indisputable fame is due to a lady who started booking performers, musicians and theatre productions for the place. Lula Clay Naff was the manager of the institution for 5 decades. During this period, increasingly famous artists performed in the Ryman Auditorium and Naff became the most important theatre organizer in the country.
From Elvis to Bob Dylan, all kinds of legendary figures – not just musicians – visited the place, including the legendary dancer-choreographer Martha Graham and the illusionist Harry Houdini. Boxing matches, political debates, animal auctions were held here, and America’s longest-running radio show, the Grand Ole Opry which launched in 1925, is also connected to the Ryman. The one-hour production turned into a live concert, which attracted larger and larger crowds and more and more famous artists. For example, Johnny Cash met his later wife June Carter during a Grand Ole Opry program. We could see their changing room when we were shown around the theatre.
The success of the radio show in turn attracted a range of record studios into Nashville. No wonder that they soon started to call the town ‘Music City’, which nickname can be still read today at highway exits.
Some stars are known only by insiders
Inside the nearby Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, countless relics can be found from a variety of musicians – cars, costumes, musical instruments. In this vast exhibition, one can get access to a huge amount of historical material (phonograms, documents) via touch-screen terminals, if the displayed items are not enough for you.
While I knew only a fraction of the singers on display, it was very clear from the reaction of the audience that for real country music fans this was paradise itself. The most striking and most photographed exhibition item was undoubtedly a car, namely a Pontiac Bonneville from 1962 which once belonged to Webb Pierce, the honky-tonk singer. And why is it so interesting? It’s enough to say that the external and internal handles of the car were made of Colt revolvers.
I had a similar experience while visiting an out-of-town attraction. The Fontanel Mansion was suggested by TripAdvisor and was praised by so many people that I had to visit it. Fontanel Mansion is a huge log house owned by Barbara Mandrell, a country singer and television personality, and it is the largest log house in the world functioning as a home.
It took more than an hour to tour the house, which probably would have been more interesting if I had known who the proprietor was. As I have never heard of Barbara Mandrell, I was rather bored by the stories told by our guide about unknown people – but all the other visitors had a great time. It was great, nevertheless, that people were not expected to act as if they were in a museum. Anyone could touch the highly valuable guitars, could play on the family’s billiard-table and could even shoot a selfie whilst lounging in the artist’s bed.
Brilliant lunch in a suburban house
TripAdvisor also proved useful when I was looking for a place to have lunch. At the top of their list was a restaurant named Monell’s, which is situated not along the main tourist route but in a hidden suburban street. In addition to the unusual venue, what got my attention was the fact there is no menu – the chef decides each day what to offer for lunch.
I rolled out to the villa district, parked my car in front of the lovely house with its lush garden and walked into the dining room. I felt pretty much as if I was an invited guest of the house. Three big tables were surrounded by guests and the host cordially showed me which company I could join. The table was loaded with delicious courses. Fried chicken – a basic meal in the southern states – was the favourite (I learned this plate is prepared each day, otherwise a rebellion would break out), but there were another two meat courses, plus lots of side dishes from baked beans to coleslaw salad. Everyone had as much food as they wanted, then we were offered a slice of cake and coffee.
When joining them, the guests around my table introduced themselves amiably and we discussed what made each of us visit Nashville. A kind, middle-aged couple came to see a musical production, whilst a few elderly women arrived for the annual meeting of their church.
Brides and pensioners partying together
I spent my only night in Nashville in the city centre, to taste the night life. I visited the bars of the main street one by one and found live music and a fantastic atmosphere everywhere I went. I loved how people from different age groups joined each other dancing on the floor. In one of the places, a young group of bachelorettes from Florida were partying with German pensioners and they clearly had a great time together.
I was also surprised that I did not have to pay entrance fee or consume any obligatory drinks in any of the bars – the musicians genuinely seemed to be playing for pleasure everywhere.
Even fashion is unique in this town. It is not rare to see people wearing cowboy hats and westerns boots, but pin-up dresses from the 1940s were not out of line either.
I loved my short but busy visit to Nashville. I had the chance to get to know a unique, vibrant American city which is proud of its traditions and does its best to pass them on to generations to follow.
