My weekend trip to Music City U.S.A.
As Fisher MHRM students, we spend most of our time studying, meeting for group projects and going to class, but weekends give us an opportunity to get away and explore new places. Lucky for us, Columbus is close to many big cities and tourist attractions so traveling is pretty easy.
Ashley and I decided to make use of our long weekend for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and take an impromptu trip to Nashville, TN. My family is originally from Tennessee, so I have visited too many times to count. Ashley, on the other hand, had never visited. Ashley loves country music, southern cooking, and cowboy boots, so I knew she’d fit right in! My cousin, Matthew, was the only brave soul willing to join us on our last minute getaway.
We left Columbus at 5am Saturday morning. Six hours later we arrived at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I have been to the museum before, but the exhibits change on a regular basis. Although some of the articles and stories were familiar, I was able to see new pieces added to the collection in the last year. We also took a tour of RCA Studio B where legends, like Elvis Presley, and today’s artists, like Carrie Underwood, have recorded more than 1,000 American hits.
Saturday night we went downtown to experience all that Nashville has to offer. Broadway is the main street that features restaurants, shopping, bars and entertainment venues. We also went down Printers Alley, a famous alley that has been home to nightclubs since the 1940's. The live music was incredible! Even the artists busking on the streets deserve to be recognized. We heard everything from country to blues to pop and even gospel.
Sunday we hoped to get a seat at The Bluebird Café where singers like Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks were discovered. We wanted to catch the unique performances for Writer’s Night. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize how many other people had the same idea. The Bluebird was at maximum capacity and there was still a line of about 60 people curving around the side of the shopping center. Next time, we will have to go on a night when they take reservations!
We decided on dinner at Merchant’s on Broadway. This restaurant had a very different atmosphere from the usual “country” scene. Everything was in black and white. The service was quick, the food was delicious, and the hipster ambiance was executed perfectly in every detail. Of course, since we were already on Broadway we couldn’t help but check out the local bands again.
Sadly, we had to head back home on Monday. We stopped for one last meal at The Pancake Pantry. We waited an hour and a half for our table, and it was well worth the wait (and the calories!). I had their specialty, sweet potato pancakes with cinnamon cream syrup. Perfection.
I was very impressed by everything we did in Nashville, but there are still so many sights and sounds I want to share with Ashley and Matthew. We will just have to add it to our list of places to visit: Chicago, Pittsburgh, Memphis, Indianapolis ...