Sights and Sounds of Music City

We arrived to Nashville excited to seek out some great live music. After checking in to the Sheraton Downtown, (another great deal thanks to Priceline) we found we were in walking distance of all the famous hot spots! Broadway, Printer's Alley, and The Country Music Hall of Fame were just a short walk downhill. Tired as we were from our drive from St. Louis, we still could not pass up a night on the town. We ventured out to 2nd Avenue and Broadway to get a taste of the nightlife. Sara was a little concerned that it being a weekday we might miss the excitement that this famous city has to offer, but she was wrong! The streets were bustling with excitement and truly every saloon or restaurant you walked by was ringing with live music!

This was exactly what Sara and I were hoping for. We both agree that this is what our sleepy city of Naples is missing - the opportunity to hear live music - and having multiple venues to choose from was even better.  After a quick bite to eat at the Rock Bottom Brewery, we visited the famous Wildhorse Saloon, where we perched up on the second floor, listened to a few songs and watched a group of professional line dancers persuade audience members to join in on the fun!

We started to work our way home to the hotel down Broadway. We came across the world famous Tootsies Orchid Lounge and based on the crowd we thought we should pop in and see what was going on.  There was an amazing band with a girl on fiddle who got the whole place going crazy with "Callin' Baton Rouge."

Feeling confident that we had scoped out what we wanted to see and do the next day, we finally retired to the comfort of our hotel.

Tuesday was rainy, but we didn't let that stop us. The first thing on our list was check out the Country Music Hall of Fame. As many of you probably now, I am new to country music, so the history was interesting to learn about. They had memorabilia from Hank Williams and Elvis to Garth Brooks and Brad Paisley. We both agreed that it was very informative and aesthetically beautiful.
                    

Hundreds of Gold and Platinum selling Country Albums

Elvis' Cadillac

Dodging the rain, we hopped in and out of themed country gift shops and saloons making our way back to the hotel to prepare for dinner. Sara made reservations for us at The Listening Room, founded in 2008, as a way for owner Chris Blair to create an environment where you can experience quality food while hearing cutting edge music from aspiring song-writers. It was definitely a more intimate venue, each songwriter explaining the origins of their next hopeful hit.

We ventured back down Broadway and went to The Stage, where another great band brought the house down.

I think you all get the picture: I absolutely loved Nashville! It is definitely one of my top 3 cities we have experienced on this trip. One thing I have learned is that we live in a BIG country, and there are so many beautiful, unique and inspiring things to see. We are extremely blessed and fortunate to have been given such a small glimpse of it this summer!