Visiting Nashville, Tennessee

posted by Stacie on July 25, 2015 // 23 Comments »

Visiting Nashville Tennessee

Visiting Nashville Tennessee, the home to so many exciting places, starting with Music Row and the Mecca is definitely the center of all things musical. Nashville, as most people know, is home to country music, but within Nashville’s thriving music metropolis exists record labels, recording studios, and radio stations. If it has to do with music, you will find it here, and not just country music, but also gospel and contemporary Christian music are represented.

Music City

Other notable music attractions are the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. The distinctive nickname of Music City was earned back in the 1800s, so dubbed for the sheer numbers of songwriters and music publishers. The first world tour by a group of singers from Fisk University, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, was launched from Nashville, making the city officially a global music hub, but it was the Queen of England who first uttered the words “Music City” during a performance by the Jubilee Singers and the name stuck.

The historic Ryman Auditorium is the originator of the radio show on WSM called the Grand Ole Opry and now, 85 years later it is still going strong. Nashville is also known as the “Songwriting Capital of the World,” and songwriters around the world come here to pursue their music.

Once a niche market, country music has broken out of the mold and shown that country music can have a very wide appeal thanks, in part, to CMT and GAC, two cable channels that have spread country music, both to the lovers of traditional country music (aka country and western), and to new converts, far and wide. Country music put Nashville on the map and now attracts all manner of musical genres including pop, rock, bluegrass, and jazz, to name a few. Nashville is home to the music itself and 365 days a year you can hear that music being played in one of the city’s 130 music venues.

Events in Nashville

April in Nashville finds the Nashville Film Festival in full swing with hundreds of independent films being screened and also offers a screenplay competition. In June, there is the very popular CMA Music Festival bringing together fans and artists for a four-day opportunity to meet, greet, and an autograph sessions.

The Fourth of July is a big deal in Nashville. Let Freedom Sing is an event with music, and a street festival and a spectacular fireworks display to cap off the night. There’s Oktoberfest in Germantown, the Southern Festival of Books in October, and, of course, the CMA awards in November. There are museums and historical attractions, state parks, the Jack Daniels Distillery, the Nashville Famer’s Market, art galleries, and the Upper Room Chapel and Museum.

The First Saturday Art Crawl features free wine and lots of amazing art and periphery to The Rymer Gallery featuring some wonderful contemporary art pieces. The historic Grand Ole Opry is a must see for country music fans.

Dining in Nashville

Lazzaroli Pasta, a local Italian grocery, has the best pasta and tiramisu, and the Carl Van Vechten Gallery at Frisk University features works by the best-known European and American Artists like Pablo Picasso and Georgia O’Keeffe. Check out our post Dining Scene in Nashville, Tennessee for more great eats in music city.

Boots in Music City

Some out-of-the-way shopping can be found at Peter Nappi in Germantown, a manufacturer of Italian boots. The showroom also includes vintage furniture and purses. Antique Archaeology, which is the Nashville counterpart of American Pickers, has tons of cool stuff to see and is located near The Bang Candy Company and Corsair Distillery. Lucchese Boots is a must-see shop if you are in the market for custom cowboy boots.

Where to shop & what to do

Residents of Nashville enjoy a whole other world outside of tourist attractions and know where to find the best Nashville has to offer out of the limelight. Nashville residents love to shop for vintage items and frequent the likes of Two Old Hippies for vintage clothes, Grimey’s New & Preloved Music for vintage records, and dozens of vintage shops around the city.

Lockeland Table and Holland House are not on the tourist maps, but follow the hometown crowd over the 12South for some great eats. Another local hot spot is City House in Germantown with a relaxed atmosphere and locally sourced foods.

One great thing about vacationing in Nashville is being able to take advantage of discounted show and event tickets by purchasing a package at the hotel that will include lodging fees with tickets to local attractions for one price for a better bargain than they would be separately. Nashville is an exciting city right at the heart of music and great places to see and things to do. Make certain to that you plan in visiting Nashville Tennessee soon!

We were hosted on the Adventures by Disney Nashville Long Weekend trip. This is one post in a series of posts. For further details and more information on specific places we visited, please see: