Travel Challenge Month 8: Nashville, Tennessee

The 8th month of my travel challenge was in some ways, the destination I was most anticipating. For a music nerd like me, being able to visit Nashville, TN was a major goal. Accompanied by our friends Josh and Erin, Matt and I jumped on a Delta flight on February 6th, 2022: destination Music City. After a small hotel mishap (meaning I didn’t check the address and Ubered us to the wrong hotel), we arrived at our home for the next three nights, a Hilton near Music Row. From there, we allowed our hangriness to lead the way, walking a few blocks to The Row where I enjoyed some delicious brisket. When we got back to the hotel, we jumped on the free shuttle service that would take us anywhere within a two-mile radius. The shuttle driver was SO funny. I was beginning to see between him and our Uber driver though that Nashville drivers are crazy! More to come on that. He did give us one recommendation though and that was to try the infamous Nashville hot chicken, but to be sure to try it at Prince’s because they make it the best. Spoiler alert, I have been to Nashville twice more since my travel challenge and I have yet to try THAT hot chicken! It’s on the list though. We had the shuttle drop us off at Broadway Street, which is like the Vegas Strip or if you’ve been keeping up with this blog, like The Flats in Cleveland. It’s where a lot of the action’s at. Erin had been wanting to check out a bar, Tootsies, so we made that our first stop. Tootsies houses three floors with three bars and three stages. And I was surprised to see that at noon on a Sunday, a different band was playing on each stage. It was at Tootsies that I tried my first Ranch Water, a tequila-based seltzer that I didn’t much care for. The four of us, like so many before us, carved our names into the bar. I checked last time I was there, unfortunately the bar has since been refinished. Then we proceeded down the street, swinging into Layla’s HonkyTonk next.

By our second stop I was quickly learning two things about Broadway Street: a) drinks are spendy! I would later make peace with this, justifying it because very few bars have cover charges and you are basically getting a “free” show at every venue and 2) there is at least one musician in every bar and they. are. all. AMAZING! Seriously, the talent on Broadway Street alone is mind blowing. It wasn’t warm per say in February in Nashville, but compared to the weather back home, we’d take it. So we enjoyed a table (that I had to play rock, paper, scissors to earn) on the rooftop at The Stage and then again at Dirk Bentley’s Whiskey Row. Sitting on that roof top, we booked tickets to a comedy club, Zanies for the evening. The show was an array of comedians, each doing a short set about fifteen minutes long. It wasn’t advertised when we booked, but the headliner happened to be John Crist. For me, this was a big, jaw-dropping surprise. While working during the peak of Covid, there was one video on YouTube that I would frequent when I needed a laugh or a pick-me-up… and it was John Crist’s Brands That Need to be Cancelled IMMEDIATELY. It was ironic that my experience during Covid prompted this travel challenge, and here I was, accidentally in the same room with someone who had unknowingly helped me so much through that time. In that moment, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

As much of an early bird as I am in general, in Nashville, I think I was up even earlier. It didn’t matter how late we stayed up; I was up early itching to get on the move to do alllll the things. As soon as Matt opened one eye, I hit play on the song Woke Up in Nashville by Seth Ennis. This was something I’d been doing all week leading up to the trip. It wasn’t annoying at all. I was dying to see the Grand Ole Opry House so after grabbing a quick hotel breakfast that’s where we all headed. We booked the Backstage Tour which I’d highly recommend and learned so many things from the hologram that greeted us in the beginning of the tour and then the guide that led us the rest of the way. We got to see many famous artist’s Opry mailboxes and toured the multiple dressing rooms they can choose to use prior to a performance. Standing on the stage where so many iconic performances occurred was surreal. We learned that the Grand Ole Opry is the longest running radio broadcast in United States history and that it’s had several homes prior to the building we were standing in. In an attempt to preserve some of the charm and legacy from its most recent location, Ryman Auditorium, an eight-foot square of wood was removed from the stage and carved into a six-foot circle carefully placed into the stage at Opry house.

We went from a history lesson about music to a history lesson on motors at Lane Motor Museum. The first vehicle we saw on display was a Delorean. Being a huge fan of the movie series Back to the Future, I think that may have been Matt’s favorite part of the entire trip. We had lunch at Tacos & Tequila, a delicious restaurant near Music Row (unfortunately no longer there). Now being within two miles of our hotel, we called the shuttle for a ride and asked the driver if he happened to know of a liquor store nearby. He said that he actually needed to stock up himself and took us right to one! Somewhere in that afternoon we learned that ironically Josh’s cousin would also be in Nashville with her girlfriend that evening. So we met the two of them downtown at Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk & Steakhouse. I’ve since learned that Kid Rock’s is where most people will tell you to go on Broadway Street if you want the biggest party. There are four floors of music known for getting the crown bumpin’. We hit up Jason Aldean’s next, which was significantly less busy at that time. The band that was playing, Flatland Revival, was just finishing up and the lead singer let me pluck on his unplugged guitar on stage while they tore down. We wandered into a bar on a side road off Broadway, Doc Holliday’s Saloon, which would become a favorite. It gives dive bar vibes, typically houses one lone musician with a guitar, and has a neat spiral staircase in the center of it. Making one last stop at Redneck Riviera, we headed back to the hotel to order pizza and get some rest.

I “Woke Up in Nashville” quite early again and this time it didn’t look like Matt wanted to hear my theme song any time soon. So I set out on a solo mission to find some coffee and walk around Music Row. I went to a coffee shop called Just Love and noted there was also a stage for a musician there (though there was not one playing on it at that hour). I enjoyed my coffee taking in the art and recording studios where so many amazing songs had been recorded. When I got back, Matt was awake, so we decided to take a walk to the State Capitol. We passed a public library on the way and decided to check it out. It was huge and beautiful and did not contain enough books if you ask me. The Tennessee State Museum was nearby so we went there next. It wasn’t really my cup of tea but hey, it was free entry. It was around then that Josh and Erin met us, and we all walked to the Musician’s Hall of Fame. Many people think of Nashville as being a scene for country music lovers only. It was obvious though between this museum housing history from all kinds of music genres to hearing covers of Maroon 5 and Lincoln Park on Broadway Street that Nashville really is a city of all music. We went back to Music Row and shared four small pizzas at Tailgate Brewery. We needed four so we could sample their unique flavor combos like lasagna, mac n cheese, hot chicken, and beerfest. All went well dipped in their excellent ranch. That evening, we had tickets to The Listening Room Cafe. The Listening Room (TLR) would become a must stop for me on subsequent trips to Nashville. A showcase for songwriters, TLR was like nothing we’d seen experienced yet. In contrast to the constant stimulation of Broadway Street, TLR provided a quiet, intimate atmosphere to really take in the talent of the performers. We witnessed what they call a “writer’s round” during which four songwriters passed the mic, performing four or five of their own written songs. Before we left, I had begun listening to the music of one of the performers, Drew Green and was lucky enough to meet him after the show. In addition to the unique environment of TLR, they also make some fantastic apps. I have a bottle of their dry rub on my counter as we speak. Though we’d be leaving at the crack of dawn the next day, we figured we’d better hit up Broadway one last time. Somehow we ended up in a boot store and those salespeople saw us buzzed tourists coming from a mile away. They had what we were told was a great deal going and we all left Tennessee with one more pair of cowboy boots than when we’d came. We checked out Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa which had a chill feminine vibe, swung into our dive bar Doc Holliday’s, and ended the night at Crossroads where Josh got to hear some much-desired rock music. Our trip to Music City was coming to an end and I was pretty sad to be leaving such an inspiring place. Little did I know, I’d be right back on Broadway Street less than a year later.