I’m the #1 fan of the man from Tennessee…

Nashville Neon

You may not be able to go home again but you can certainly visit. That’s what I recently did, when I returned to Nashville for the first time since moving out of state. It was a very art-centric 3 days, which had me seeing art, buying art, celebrating art, and spending time with some of my favorite people whom I’ve made art with. 

Is visiting Nashvegas on your travel bucket list? Maybe you’ve thought of rocking out at Bonnaroo or the CMA’s? Or maybe you’ve dreamed of a giant weekend bar hop, centered around Lower Broad where cowboy boot wearing about-to-be brides and grooms drunkenly celebrate their last days of being single. Take it from a long-time resident, there’s a lot more to do in Nashville than that. Here’s an alternative itinerary for exploring the city at large, in case you’d like to experience Music City like a local…

Day 1 – Thursday

Fly into Nashville International Airport. The airport, just like the city, is experiencing tremendous growth, so be prepared for some construction wherever you go. On your way to pick up your bags or your car rental check out the Arts at the Airport. There’s a ton of sculpture, paintings, and posters located in every terminal, including an awesome mobile hanging in the departures lobby.  Tip #1 – Nashville is NOT public transportation friendly, so renting a car is the way to go.

Next, make your way to your hotel. There are hundreds of local options to choose from but I always stay at Provenance Hotel Preston. Its close to the airport, with easy I40, 440, 24, 55, and 65 access – basically every main road needed to get around the city. The staff are friendly, the rooms have a mid-century design vibe, and the outdoor lounge area has a pool that goes up to 9 ft! Another reason I like Preston? Original art is featured prominently throughout the hotel, including rarely seen black and white photographs of country-western stars in each guest room. This time around, I stayed with young Dolly and Ernst.

Max Ferguson – Michael with Guitar (2013) oil on canvas

After you’ve settled in, it’s time to get the party started! Start your tour of Twangtown by heading down to check out the Lower Broad area. Park in The Frist Museum parking lot off Demonbruen (pronounced Dee-MUN-bree-yun and NOT demon-brewin). Thursdays at the Frist are often free, and the museum stays open until 8 pm.  I’ve enjoyed every show I’ve ever seen at the Frist, including the current exhibit, ‘Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art’.  It’s perfect for a town full of pickers and the tourists who come to see them play. Tip #2 – The Frist offers the cheapest parking rates in town – but only when you have a stamped ticket museum receipt.

Next up, dinner.  Walk over to 4th & Korean Vets Boulevard and grab some Martin’s BBQ .  Many think Nashville is synonymous with hot chicken, but old timers know its all about the Q! Martin’s offers tasty meats with all the fixin’s (like cornbread, beans, mac-n-cheese, and slaw) which you can enjoy at one of their rooftop beer garden tables while listening to whatever band happens to be playing that night. Tip #3 – When walking around the downtown area, remember the streets follow a grid system, with named streets, like Church and West End, running north-south and numbered streets running east-west. 

Once you’ve finished dinner, head down to Riverfront Park and check out the mighty Cumberland before heading over to Broadway.  Lower Broad at night its a thing of beauty, with some of the coolest neon around. It’s also full of tourists, con artists, tacky souvenirs, and more bars than one person can drink in. Its fun to walk past all the choices, most of which offer open windows allowing you to hear the music and see the backsides of whatever band is playing. If you’d rather see the band’s faces and hear their music from inside the bar you cannot go wrong with the OG’s: Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Robert’s Western World. Both feature some of the best players and singers in town and each bar plays a storied role in country western history. Tip #4 – No band, anywhere in Nashville, is getting rich playing the bars. If you like what you hear consider dropping a dollar or two in the tip jar!

Day 2 – Friday
Nashville’s been around since 1689 but much of its history is centered around slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Today’s plan takes you out to the burbs to check it out for yourself. 

Start your day off with breakfast at Nadine’s Hermitage Haven.  Its a local treasure in an old Pizza Hut with eclectic rock-themed art, serving chicken and waffles and THE best cheesesteak outside of Philly. The fries are pretty good too. Then its a short drive down Lebanon Road to The Hermitage, to see where Rachel and Andrew Jackson lived.  He was a complicated man full of contradictions, some of which you can learn about at any number of featured tours. If you are more of a free-range tourist stroll around on your own and don’t miss wandering among the gravestones of confederate and union soldiers buried in the church cemetery.  Tip #5 – History, especially related to the slave diaspora, can be difficult for museums and historical sites to address.  The places I am recommending, in my opinion, do a fair job of juxtaposing the past with the present.

Next up, Momento Specialty Coffee for some caffeine and sugar – they make the best drinks and pastries outside of Nashville proper. If the shop isn’t too crowded chat with the owners, who have an inspiring immigrant story they are happy to share.  With your latte in hand, set your radio to WVCP (88.5 FM), WMOT (89.5 FM), WXNA (101.5 FM), WVOL (1470 AM), or WSM (650 AM) and turn up the volume on alternative roots, rock, soul, and country, while you cruise the 40 and 65 to Franklin.

Franklin saw some of the worst fighting of the Civil War with Carnton House at the heart of it all.  Because of its proximity to the battle, the house became the war’s largest field hospital and its homeowners and slaves became the de-facto hospital staff.  After the war Carrie McGavock, the mistress of Carnton, devoted her life to identifying every dead soldier she could, sending letters to each family about their loved one’s final resting place in the McGavock Confederate Cemetery which holds the remains of nearly 1,500 Southern soldiers.

McGavock Confederate Cemetery Graves

To round out your day of history, take the 65 back to the city to tour Fort Negley, the largest fortification built by the occupying Union Army in Nashville, and the largest inland stone fort built during the Civil War. It took more than 2700 conscript laborers, both slaves and free blacks, to make the fort.  In 2019, Fort Negley was designated a UNESCO ‘Site of Memory’ and part of the Slave Route Project, and recognized as an international registry of places significant for their association with slavery. Today, its caretakers are working to update history to include the builders contributions. The Fort Negley Descendant’s Project is dedicated to building an oral history digital archive preserving the voices and stories of the descendants of the African-American laborers and soldiers who built and defended the fort. You can also stroll over to the Bass Street Neighborhood archeological dig, at the foot of the Adventure Science Center, to see where the builders established the first free black neighborhood which stood until construction on I65 was driven through its heart in the late 50s.

That’s a LOT of history to absorb in one day, so head back to the hotel to relax a bit before heading out for some more Q and the blues at Papa Turney’s BBQ and Miss Zeke’s Juke Joint on the banks of Percy Priest Lake. Papa’s Q is no frills and all the better for it, and some type of music is played every night of the week, with Papa himself playing every Wednesday and Saturday during the open Blues Jam. The place has an informal, friendly vibe, features – you guessed it – music-themed art on its walls, and never fails to deliver tasty food and even tastier tunes.

Day 3 – Saturday
Nashville has a lot of nicknames, including Athens of the South, Powder City, Buckle of the Bible Belt, and Music City USA. Day 3’s focus is all about the music with a little making thrown in for fun.  Start with breakfast at a Nashville tradition: Monell’s in Germantown. Skip the coffee and opt for sweet tea instead. It’s the drink that drives the South and pairs nicely with the fried chicken, pancakes, bacon, eggs, and biscuits and gravy served family style, which means you’ll share the meal with folks from around the city and the globe. You never know who you will find yourself sitting next to, so say ‘hi y’all’ and not ‘bless your heart’ to make yourself some new friends by meal’s end.

After breakfast, head over to 5th & Broadway and spend some time at the National Museum of African American Music.  You can spend hours here exploring the connections between gospel, blues, rap, country and rock and the African American community. Opt for the RFID bracelet when you purchase your tickets as this technology allows you to save the playlists, videos, songs and art you create during your visit once you get home.

Omari Booker – Bessie (2021) Acrylic on Canvas. Made during Juneteenth with the Black on Buchanan Festival attendees and hanging in the NMAAM.

Next up, it’s a tour of Hatch Show Print, where you will be able to make a ‘Hatch Show’ poster of your own. You’ve probably seen their work, even if you didn’t know that’s what you were looking at. It’s one of the oldest operating letterpress print shops in the US, making posters the same way since 1879. They print over 600 jobs every year, many for country acts, using an extensive archive of vintage wood type and carved wood and linoleum blocks. Maybe the past two days of exploring the city will inspire your unique design!

After you’ve made your poster, head a few blocks south for some Nashville style ‘hot’ tacos, green rice, and Mexican Coke at Pie Town Tacos, followed by a stop at Third Man Records. Founded by musician Jack White, Third Man is equal parts record store, lounge, office, distribution center, photo studio, and live venue. More importantly, Third Man’s Blue Room is home to the world’s only live-to-acetate recording process, which happens when a live music is mixed in real time with no editing, with vinyls created immediately afterward. 

In addition to music, Nashville is home to a chocolate delicacy called the Goo Goo Cluster.  Originating In 1912, the Cluster was America’s first combination candy bar ever invented, combining caramel, marshmallow nougat, fresh roasted peanuts and real milk chocolate in what was considered a ‘renegade’ shape. During the Taste of Goo Goo tour  you’ll learn about the process and make your very own cluster to take home (if you last that long before eating it).

After a cool off dip in the hotel pool it’s time to head out for your last night on the town, starting in 5 Points, an area in hipster haven East Nashville named for the 5-point intersection where Woodland Street, Clearview Avenue, and 11th Street meet. Grab some pizza and beer at local fave 5 Points Pizza and then check out The 5 Spot for it’s cold beer selection and live music offerings.  If you’re game, take Gallatin out to Eastside Bowl. They offer hyper-bowling, pinball, a lounge and live music until midnight on the weekends.  Finally, end the night at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, where the music will keep you tapping your toes until closing time at 3am.

Day 4 – Sunday
It’s time to head home. If you have time for one last meal before heading out, grab some coffee and breakfast sandwiches and pastries at Calibar Coffee Company or PhatBites.  Both are close to the hotel and the airport , offering much better fare than anything you’ll find in BNA.

Safe travels. Hope y’all had a good time and come back soon!

*Please Come Back to Denver – Dave Loggins