weekend in nashville for a country music fan
May 27, 2011 1:05 PM Subscribe
[NashvilleCountryMusicFilter] I will be attending a wedding in Nashville on the weekend of July 9th. I also love country music. Clearly, I need to take advantage of this.
It's a daytime wedding, so I'll have Fri/Sat/(maybe)Sun nights to myself.
So - where should I go? Any shows that I can't miss? I'm a 25 year old female traveling solo, and have no problem showing up to a bar or concert alone. I'm most interested in seeing groups I may not have heard of in a venue with a great atmosphere ... I'm not so keen on shelling out tons of money for a big-name stadium show.
More details about my taste in music:
* I love some of the older classics - Clint Black / Garth Brooks / etc.
* I usually have Pandora set to Chris LeDoux, and tend to like most of the songs that come up.
* I can't stand some of the more modern/pop-y artists. No Taylor Swift, please. I love twang and rock influences.
Also - is there a dance hall similar to Austin's Broken Spoke? Somewhere where people go and actually dance the 2-step to a live band, rather than look sexy and grind to a pop/country mix?
It's a daytime wedding, so I'll have Fri/Sat/(maybe)Sun nights to myself.
So - where should I go? Any shows that I can't miss? I'm a 25 year old female traveling solo, and have no problem showing up to a bar or concert alone. I'm most interested in seeing groups I may not have heard of in a venue with a great atmosphere ... I'm not so keen on shelling out tons of money for a big-name stadium show.
More details about my taste in music:
* I love some of the older classics - Clint Black / Garth Brooks / etc.
* I usually have Pandora set to Chris LeDoux, and tend to like most of the songs that come up.
* I can't stand some of the more modern/pop-y artists. No Taylor Swift, please. I love twang and rock influences.
Also - is there a dance hall similar to Austin's Broken Spoke? Somewhere where people go and actually dance the 2-step to a live band, rather than look sexy and grind to a pop/country mix?
Check out the Ryman Auditorium. It's a historic concert hall (the Opry's original venue), they tend towards "real" country music, Americana, and alt-country, and the Opry has performances there. We were there on New Year's Eve for an Old Crow Medicine Show concert one year, and it was fantastic.
posted by tully_monster at 1:29 PM on May 27, 2011
posted by tully_monster at 1:29 PM on May 27, 2011
Check out the Nashville Scene for goings on, though it seems like their calendar doesn't cover quite that far in advance.
Also consider checking out the Bluebird Cafe. They have a lot of "writer in the round" nights where a bunch of songwriters take turns performing and it's pretty common that a big star or two will drop in.
There's a whole stretch of honkeytonk bars downtown on Lower Broadway that all have no cover and have bands playing from open to close and these bands (a lot of them are studio musicians gigging on the side) skew strongly to the old-timey/rockabilly styles rather than pop country. You can definitely do some dancing there but most of them are pretty cramped. The Stage, one of the biggest, probably has more dancing but unfortunately seems to have the most poppy bands.
posted by ghharr at 1:49 PM on May 27, 2011
Also consider checking out the Bluebird Cafe. They have a lot of "writer in the round" nights where a bunch of songwriters take turns performing and it's pretty common that a big star or two will drop in.
There's a whole stretch of honkeytonk bars downtown on Lower Broadway that all have no cover and have bands playing from open to close and these bands (a lot of them are studio musicians gigging on the side) skew strongly to the old-timey/rockabilly styles rather than pop country. You can definitely do some dancing there but most of them are pretty cramped. The Stage, one of the biggest, probably has more dancing but unfortunately seems to have the most poppy bands.
posted by ghharr at 1:49 PM on May 27, 2011
Just got back from Nashville and second a visit to the Ryman Auditorium; it's a beautiful building with a fascinating history that goes back to the 1800s (including hosting the Grand Ole Opry for decades). There are lots of easily-absorbed exhibits around (loved the posters on the upper floor). The shows I checked there tended to be pricey ($30+); I couldn't fit one in but salivated at the thought of hearing music in one of the best (and most important) theaters in the country.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was great, too. If you like the more recent stuff, the lower floors are where you'll want to be but I loved starting at the beginning on the third floor. If you like country it's totally worth the time.
I thought the Lower Broadway scene sounded kind of generic, but I was there in the afternoon and bet the music gets better at night.
posted by mediareport at 4:32 PM on May 27, 2011
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was great, too. If you like the more recent stuff, the lower floors are where you'll want to be but I loved starting at the beginning on the third floor. If you like country it's totally worth the time.
I thought the Lower Broadway scene sounded kind of generic, but I was there in the afternoon and bet the music gets better at night.
posted by mediareport at 4:32 PM on May 27, 2011
Well, I think the Grand Ole Opry is a must for one of your nights. In fact, it looks like The Oak Ridge Boys will be there on that Friday night. It's a fun show and a great way to see a lot of acts in one night.
Now Playing Nashville (http://www.nowplayingnashville.com/) has good listings for music as well.
Have a great trip!
posted by dawkins_7 at 8:17 PM on May 27, 2011
Now Playing Nashville (http://www.nowplayingnashville.com/) has good listings for music as well.
Have a great trip!
posted by dawkins_7 at 8:17 PM on May 27, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks guys!
Grand Ole Opry it is for Friday night ... I can get great seats for not too much money. Saturday is tentatively the Bluebird Cafe. I'm still stuck on what to do Sunday morning/early afternoon. (I'm not a museum person ...)
Entropicamericana - sorry! I plead ignorance and youth, and admit that my music knowledge comes from the radio and pandora.
posted by Metasyntactic at 9:16 PM on May 27, 2011
Grand Ole Opry it is for Friday night ... I can get great seats for not too much money. Saturday is tentatively the Bluebird Cafe. I'm still stuck on what to do Sunday morning/early afternoon. (I'm not a museum person ...)
Entropicamericana - sorry! I plead ignorance and youth, and admit that my music knowledge comes from the radio and pandora.
posted by Metasyntactic at 9:16 PM on May 27, 2011
YEs, definitely go to the Opry at the Ryman. It was the original home, and since the new place flooded out last year, it's wonderful to have it back there.
Sunday morning/afternoon, if the weather is nice, go to the Country Music Hall of Fame. They've renovated it and it's terrific. Or laze around Centennial Park. If you have a car, you could go to Radnor Lake for some hiking.
If you're around Sunday evening and have a car, McNamara's Irish Pub in the Donelson neighborhood (not far from the airport, for reference) has pretty authentic Irish music and good food. As all such places are, it's in an old house behind a car dealership and next to a nearly defunct strip mall, but don't be intimidated. :)
posted by thinkingwoman at 10:19 PM on May 27, 2011
Sunday morning/afternoon, if the weather is nice, go to the Country Music Hall of Fame. They've renovated it and it's terrific. Or laze around Centennial Park. If you have a car, you could go to Radnor Lake for some hiking.
If you're around Sunday evening and have a car, McNamara's Irish Pub in the Donelson neighborhood (not far from the airport, for reference) has pretty authentic Irish music and good food. As all such places are, it's in an old house behind a car dealership and next to a nearly defunct strip mall, but don't be intimidated. :)
posted by thinkingwoman at 10:19 PM on May 27, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Presumably you've ruled out the Opry?
posted by entropicamericana at 1:20 PM on May 27, 2011 [2 favorites]