If you’re a country music fan, chances are that you’ll be visiting Nashville. Nashville has a long history as a music center focusing on country music. Even Nashville’s first “celebrity”, Davy Crockett, was a colorful fiddle player and storyteller.
If you are a country music fan and are planning a trip to Nashville, you might spend too much time in your hotel room with Netflix films and Playcroco no deposit bonus codes online gambling if you don’t take the time to plan out your trip.
Before you travel to Nashville, prepare a list of the best Nashville sites so that you don’t miss anything!
Nashville
Nashville’s earliest settlers arrived in the new settlement in the late 1700s. Even then, many of the early residents were celebrated for their fiddle-playing and storytelling. By the mid-1800s Nashville was already a center of music publishing. The Fisk Jubilee Singers were an early Nashville-based musical act and their around-the-world tours, including before Queen Victoria of England, put Nashville on the map as a global music center.
Nashville’s Jefferson Street became a hub for city nightlife with supper clubs, dance halls, speakeasies, and nightclubs hosting some of the era’s top rhythm and blues musicians. Legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Billy Cox, Marian Anderson, Louis Armstrong, John Philip Sousa, Caruso, Sandra Bernhardt, Nat King Cole, Little Richard, Etta James, and Otis Redding frequented Nashville’s R&B scene.
The famous Grand Ole Opry opened in 1925, staging live performances every week and launching the broadcasts that would secure Nashville’s reputation as a center of country, pop, jazz, blues, soul, classical, Americana, and contemporary Christian/gospel music.
As you plan your Nashville visit, keep a list of some of the iconic sites that you don’t want to miss:
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is one of the largest museums and research centers in the world that is dedicated to the interpretation and preservation of American music. The goals of the Hall of Fame and Museum include collecting, preserving, and interpreting the evolving history and traditions of American country music.
Visitors have the chance to view exhibits, read publications and participate in educational programs that teach about the cultural importance and enduring beauty of country music. The museum opened in 1964 and since then it has amassed one of the world’s largest collections relating to a specific music genre.
The Country Hall of Fame and Museum is located on Rep. John Lewis Way S, in Nashville. Like Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the Nashville Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibits artifacts and memorabilia that showcase country music’s biggest superstars. There are instruments, stage costumes, microphones, automobiles and more. Collections include the Google Arts and Culture Collection, the Bob Pinson Recorded Sound Collection, the Moving Image Collection and the Digital Archive Collection.
Grand Ole Opry
Even people who are not country music fans have likely heard about the Grand Ole Opry where live country music stage concerts are held weekly and broadcast via radio from the Ryman Auditorium. Grand Ole Opry shows have been on the air since 1925 and the Saturday night show is the longest-running radio broadcast in US history.
The Grand Old Opry show features the top country music performers in America. Its location in Nashville is a major reason that Nashville is known as the “Country Music Capital of America.” For country music performers, a membership in the Opry is one of country music’s highest honors. Today the Grand Ole Opry broadcasts from the Grand Ole Opry House east of downtown Nashville but returns every winter for 3 months to the Ryman.
You can order tickets to a Saturday night show via the Opry Box Office (Opry.com ) or the Ryman Auditorium Box Office (ryman.com).
Music City Walk of Fame
The Music City Walk of Fame is located on Nashville’s Music Mile. It’s a walk of fame that honors individuals and groups who have contributed significantly to Nashville’s musical heritage and to the music industry, both in country music and in other musical genres. The landmark features dozens of exhibitions on artists including Faith Hill, Dolly Parton, Elvis, Charlie Daniels, Kris Kristofferson, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Bill Anderson, Johnny Cash, Clive Black, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Frampton, Wynonna Judd, Bob Babbit, Deford Bailey, Ben Folds, Fisk Jubilee Singers, Kid Rock and many more.
Bluebird Cafe
The Bluebird Café is a Nashville music club that features acoustic music performed by the original composers. Some of the performers perform songs written by other artists and other performers are already established as singer-songwriters. The 90-seat club hosts over 70,000 visitors annually. The club is located several miles south of Nashville’s famed Music Row in a suburban shopping center, away from the city’s traditional tourist destinations.
It features a restaurant and, although it was not originally envisioned that live music would be its focus, today, visitors who are looking for a live music experience in Nashville where both famous and not-so-famous composers/singers perform can take advantage of the opportunity for a good meal and good entertainment.
Wildhorse Saloon
The Wildhorse Saloon is a country/western-themed restaurant with live music and dancing. It’s located in downtown Nashville and offers a lively evening of good food and good entertainment. Many of country music’s best performers have performed at the Wildhorse Salon so it’s worth checking out their marquee when you come.
Johnny Cash Museum
The Johnny Cash Museum is located in the heart of downtown Nashville. It’s a new museum which provides a look into one of country music’s best-loved and most iconic stars.
Nashville Cowboy Church
The Nashville Cowboy Church is a church service that features country music and gospel as part of the worship service. Services are held on Sundays and take place at the Texas Troubadour Theatre. The service is non-denominational and many well-known country music and gospel stars appear to perform. The service is also broadcast live every Sunday on WWCR (World Wide Country Radio), WSM Radio and on MusicCityTelevision.com. All are invited regardless of religious affiliation. The Church’s Facebook Page posts about the upcoming performers.
