Nashville : The Home of Country Music

With the thoughts of Benton's on our brain and the smell of smoked meat permeating our clothes, we left the small towns of Eastern Tennessee and headed for the big city... Nashville.



We were hesitant at first to even go there. For those of you who recall, Nashville took the brunt of record rainfall at the beginning of May. It dumped over 13 inches in two days, cresting the Cumberland river at almost 52 feet. The historic section of downtown was 6 to 12 feet underwater. In Asheville, we had heard that the Country Music Festival was still a go in Nashville the weekend before we were contemplating going. We figured if the city could accommodate 200,000 country music fans, they could accommodate 2 yankees.





We decided to stay at the KOA. The place was a disaster when we got there. The main reservation building - closed. In fact, all permanent buildings - closed. The pool - closed. And the kicker, the bathrooms - closed. Time to use the RV shower... We decided to show our support for the struggling campground and stayed anyway.





The one amenity they did offer was a round-trip shuttle to the downtown area for only $10 a piece - cheap! After we got acclimated at the site, we hopped on that shuttle only to meet our driver Jerry - a total character. He dropped the name of every bar, restaurant, and store manager encouraging us to "Let 'em know Jerry sent ya. You'll get 20% off." Even though he was a bit of a quack, he was super informative and gave us the scoop on the Broadway area of downtown. Seeing as it was almost 4:00, we decided to limit the night's visit to a few key things.





Since leaving New Jersey (after that, it is the South right?), CP has been dying to look the part and buy a pair of cowboy boots. Before doing anything else, we hit every western store in downtown - maybe 8 stores. At store #2, SM went way out of his comfort zone and purchased his very first shirt with SNAPS instead of buttons. He tore off the tags and immediately wore it. A snap shirt and Crocs - tourist anyone? At the 8th (?) store, CP hit the jackpot... buy one pair, get two free!!! She walked out with two pairs in a bag and one pair on her feet. (CP would like to mention that all three pairs are not for her- a girl can only have so many pairs of boots, regardless of what they tell you in Nashville) We were both ready to hit the western and honky tonk bars of Nashville.





Wait a minute - fuel was needed. Since we still hadn't had the chance to tear into any of Bentons ham or bacon and that we hadn't quite satisfied the BBQ craving from North Carolina BBQ, we decided to hit Jack's BBQ on Broadway. The brisket was out of this world! With that behind us, it was time to listen to music.





7 days a week, 365 days a year there are 6 main bars on broadway that have live music from 10 am to 2 am. The musicians are only paid in tips from patrons of the bar. The venues are a HUGE draw for tourists and locals trying to see some great music cheap AND for musicians trying to be the next big Nashville find. The most famous of the bars is Tootsie's. As they say, it's 37 steps from the back of the Ryman theater (the "Mother Church of Country Music" and home of the Grand Ole Opry for 31 years) and 74 stumbling steps back. With 1 show on Tuesday and Thursday and 2 on Friday and Saturday nights, the performers at the Ryman often used Tootsie's as their watering hole. In it's day, it was not uncommon to see the world's most famous country singers in Tootsie's drinking at the bar. It was also known if you plied them with a few, they would get on the small stage and perform.





We were not lucky enough to see anyone famous (at least not famous yet) at Tootsie's. But by far, it was the best music we heard of the 6 bars that we visited. Well unfortunately, Nashville isn't well known for it's craft beer. In fact, the variety of beers at several of the bars ranged from one American lager to the a lite beer of the same ilk. We did, however, get lucky and duck into a brewpub on Broadway. We sampled each of the beers on tap - which was actually a shortened version of their usual offerings. Come to find out that they took on 12 feet of water in their basement during the flood and it ruined 3,800 gallons of beer. :( Due to the lead time to brew and ferment the beer, they still were not to capacity after 6 weeks. We wrapped up the evening listening to Jerry pump up Nashville even more on the way back to KOA.





We got up early ready to tackle another schedule-filled day. We were starting to run pretty low on any fruit or veggie alternative in the RV. So, CP located a promising farmers market. It turned out to be a bust. The floods had not only damaged many crops, it also had shut down the structure holding the market. We got only a few local tomatoes (important for dinner) and then headed further from downtown to a bakery that CP had looked in to. It turned out to be a local shop with about 4 locations, similar to Flour Bakery - just a notch or two below. So, morning breakfast and shopping was not a complete bust.



Our bellies filled with two yummy muffins and a macaron, we turned the RV back toward downtown. After just barely scratching the surface of Nashville the day before, it became clear to both of us that there were a few definites left to visit. First, we set our sites on the Ryman Auditorium. Built at the turn of the century as a tabernacle - called the Union Gospel Tabernacle - for a "churchless" preacher, the 2,300 seat auditorium is said to have the second best acoustics of any facility in the US only surpassed by the Mormon Tabernacle. After 50 years as a place of worship and a renaming to the Ryman, the auditorium came into financial problems. In order to keep it afloat, the space was rented out for local shows including the Grand Ole Opry that was exponentially gaining in popularity. From 1943 to 1974, the Opry called the Ryman home until it's popularity again outgrew the space. In addition to being the Mother Church of Country Music, it is widely considered the birthplace of bluegrass music (woohoo!) For the next 20 years, the Ryman was left unoccupied and in disrepair. In 1994, the Ryman was completely restored and is now an intimate show auditorium and a museum.



We bought the backstage tour and museum pass and walked the backstage halls and dressing rooms haunted by the famous pioneers of country music. Johnny and June Carter Cash share a dressing room in their honor - June finally accepted John's proposal for marriage on-stage at the Ryman. Pictures of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Minnie Pearl, George Jones, and Elvis Presley (only performed at the Ryman once) adorned the wall. In the course of the tour, it became VERY clear that neither of us knew much of the history of country music. After the tour, we again got lucky. It was a Tuesday night and the Opry was going to be aired that evening. Since leaving in 1974, the Ryman now only holds the Opry on special occasions. The flood had completely destroyed the usual, current day Opry auditorium and stage. That night, the show was to be held at a local college - Lipscomb University. Score!



We were inspired by the Ryman and really looking forward to seeing and hearing the Opry. We had several hours in between, so we decided to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was a neat tour, but nothing as historically important or interesting as the Ryman. If you ever have the choice between them, go to the Ryman.



We headed back to the KOA for dinner. Normally, we haven't mentioned meals we've eaten at the campsites. This one was very different. We had been chomping at the bit to tear into our Bentons since visiting their outfit. Carolynn skilleted up some of that bacon, cut up some local tomatoes, and we made ourselves some BLTs. Holy crap!! SM - Most of you have seen my figure. It's not built on staying away from my share of bacon. Hands down - not even close! - Bentons bacon is the best I've ever eaten. I can't wait to try the ham - stay tuned!



The tickets we purchased for the Opry included a shuttle to and from the show. Not bad, huh? We thought so... We were the first campsite and/or hotel location that our shuttle picked up passengers. After stopping 7 or 8 more times, we and 20 of our newest bus friends headed on down the road escorted by Pat. We wish we had hot searing pokers to burn out our ears before listening to even one Country note. Pat was a Nashville transplant from, you guessed it, Boston. In life, you come across people who really have the gift of gab and an innate ability to entertain with the most mundane of topics and conversations. Some people just don't. Even worse are those who think they have the gift, don't, and embarrassingly just ramble on. And the worst - including our driver Pat - are those that think they are gifted, clearly are not, and ramble incessantly OVER A MICROPHONE TO AN IMPRISONED BUSLOAD OF COMPLETE STRANGERS. It was 25 minutes of pure hell. We're not exaggerating. CP had several bouts of her nervous laughter she gets when things seem so weird that it can not be possible it's not a dream.



Howdeeeeee! We were greeted by the "new" Minnie Pearl as we hurriedly exited the bus at the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry is THE longest continuously running radio show in the world - broadcasting on WSM - AM since 1925. It consists of eight or so country and bluegrass performers, each singing three to four songs each. The artists themselves sprinkle in their own brand of humor throughout the show. In between each act, a live announcer reads commercials for the shows listeners. It has stayed true to the radio shows of old. The performers we got to see and hear were a mixture of Country legends and some newer acts.



The show started with a couple groups we hadn't heard of before: Justin Moore and Terri Clark. Next, we were very much looking forward to hearing the bluegrass sounds of the Del McCoury Band, whom we had seen previously at a taping of A Prairie Home Companion. We weren't disappointed. Then came the legendary and 89 year old Little Jimmy Dickens. We had heard of him on our tour at the Ryman. The 4' 11" singer from West Virginia has been performing for 75 years and a member of the Opry for 60. His most famous song is "Hey Good Lookin" written for him by Hank Williams. You may know him from a recent series of commercials and music videos he has done with Brad Paisley.



The show finished out with Lady Antebellum. SM - Aside from listening to Country when it's CP's turn to deejay, I really know nothing about Country music. I was picturing Lady Antebellum as Country's version of like an Aretha Franklin - a large white woman with a soulful, piercing voice, ready to bring down the house and close out the show. The BAND Lady Antebellum at it's core consists of a trio. My perception was blown. However, my expectation that the house would be brought down to close out the show wasn't far off. I actually recognized 2 of their 4 songs! They ended the evening with a piano and one guitar acoustic performance of their hit "Need You Now." Awesome!



On our way out, we were still revelling in our enjoyment of the show. Then we remembered that Pat would be our "entertainment" for the long ride home. In her eyes, she did not fail to deliver a great performance. Thank God the KOA was the first stop!