In the last twenty years, Nashville's popularity has sky-rocketed. It's always been the heart of the country music scene, but in recent years it has become a mecca for music of all kinds, as well as for visual artists and film-makers. The city has also become a top choice for bachelor and bachelorette parties, "girls' weekends", romantic long weekends, foodie tours . . . the list goes on. So why is Nashville so hot now? Maybe it's because of that great first-date episode of Master of None. Or maybe it's just because Nashville is freakin' awesome.
I just spent a long weekend in Nashville with one of my besties from law school and we had an absolute blast. There is so much to see, do and hear. Here's how to spend a fabulous long weekend in the rockin-est town in Tennessee.
Friday
Ahhhh . . . Music City. Nashville is famous for its live music scene, particularly on the stretch of Broad(way) known as the "Honkey Tonk Highway." This stretch houses tons of bars, complete with tasty barfood and amazing live music. There are any number of places you can go to get your day-drinking and two-stepping on, but the four mainstays are Tootsie’s World Famous Orchid Lounge, Robert’s Western World, Legends Corner, or The Stage. There is no better way to introduce yourself to the city and the music scene for which it's famous than exploring the bars of Broadway. So I suggest you start your weekend there.
Tootsies can be a little bit of a tourist trap, but it's worth it. The music is top-notch, and some big name country acts are still known to drop in here (though that is kinda true for many of the Broadway bars). There are several floors, each with their own feel, and their own stage. Plus, Tootsies has a rooftop. Nothin' better than a rooftop with a Music City View.
Legends is very cool, too. It's got a more authentic, local-watering-hole type vibe, and the walls are plastered with album covers and music memorabilia. But not in a cheesy Houlihan's or Hard Rock type way. It's just a place proudly displaying its own, rich music history.
The Legends crowd was lively and the music was heart-felt and fun. Some of the tunes were pretty country-y, but much of the music was not. We spent several hours here -- it's a great place to while away an afternoon.
The Stage, though, was my favorite. It's a little bigger than Legends, and it has a big dance floor right up front. There's a raised area with high-tops looking out on the dance floor and the stage, where you can enjoy your drinks. It offers a pretty amazing people-watching spot. And the people on lower Broadway are worth watching.
The best part was how many different types of people were hanging out and dancing. First of all, the age range in all of these bars was pretty varied. At home in Philadelphia, a lot of bars seem to cater to one certain age of clientele. As a thirty-something, it is easy to feel like you are on the "getting too old" side for many places. Don't get me wrong - the 30+ crowds still have plenty of cool places to hang out in Philly, but you don't see many older people there. On the Honkey Tonk Highway, all ages party together.
At the Stage, there were Vanderbilt students (including the clearly underage ones with bad fake IDs getting turned away at the door), flirting 20-somethings looking for love, double-dating 30-something couples, herds of guys (of all ages) on bachelor party bar crawls, a group of post-brunch 50+ year old ladies doing shots in honor of a retirement, an older couple do-si-do-ing circles around everyone else on the dance floor . . . you get the picture. Some of the people were pure country - think big white stetsons and boots with spurs - but many of the barflys at the Stage would have looked more at home in a Brooklyn hipster coffee house, or a Manhattan lounge. But all these diverse people had something in common: They were having So. Much. Fun! I just really liked the vibe here. Nothing like an all-inclusive party to make me smile. Plus, they had funny cowboy drinking posters.
There are a ton of additional bars on Broadway, or nearby streets. We also liked Bootleggers, Second Fiddle, and Whiskey Bent Saloon.
I highly recommend snacking while drinking your way down the Honkey Tonk Highway. But, at the end, you will need a proper liquor-absorbing feast. I suggest you do your feasting at the Southern. Amazing food, delicious drinks, and great service and atmosphere. Try the oysters or the Fish n' Grits. Or anything, really -- you can't go wrong here. it's a popular spot, so reservations are definitely recommended.
Saturday
Now that you have spent a day enjoying the current music scene, it's time to learn about Nashville's music history. Start your second day at the Grand Ole Opry.
The Opry started in 1925 as a weekly music show called WSM Barn Dance. Over the years it evolved into a weekly concert, and worked its way through several increasingly larger accommodations, eventually becoming the legendary venue it is today.
The guided tours include a lesson on the Opry's colorful history as well as funny stories about those performances that went down as legend, or went fantastically wrong. You get to see the dressing rooms as well as the tech work that goes in to making the Opry work. Finally, you are taken on stage to see through the performer's eyes.
After you have finished up at the Opry, head across town to the funky Marathon Village shopping area. Do some shopping -- including a stop into Antique Archaeology, made famous on “American Pickers" -- and then stop into Corsair Distillery for a tour and tasting.
Corsair describes itself as "Hand Crafted Small Batch Ultra Premium Booze for Badasses." I can't say I disagree. I thoroughly enjoyed our tour, and I thought their liquors were really different and cool.
I LOVED their Triple Smoke Whiskey, and the Quinoa (yes, you read that right) Whiskey was so unusual and actually pretty tasty. You end the tour in the bar, where you can sample their wares straight, or order some creative craft cocktails. There's a taproom, too, with a rotating roster of craft beers from microbreweries nation-wide. The tour guide was also hilarious, which is always a plus.
After drinking your fill, finish up your country music education. Head on over to the Country Music Hall of fame and get to know the country legends who built Nashville into the city it is today.
Grab an early dinner at Husk Nashville - amazing eats! - and then head over to a Nashville classic, the Bluebird Cafe, for some fantastic live music. (For those of you that watch Nashville, you should recognize this famous name). Be forewarned though, getting into the Bluebird can take some effort. You need to make sure you get on the reservations list (unless you are coming on a Monday at 9:30 when it is first come, first served), which can be a little tricky. If you can't snag Bluebird tickets, hit up any other live music joint in Nashville. You really can't go wrong!
Sunday
On your final day in Nashville, head out of the city and into the surrounding areas for a bit. The Belle Meade Winery is a fun way to end your Nashville adventure.
Belle Meade was once a plantation, but of of an unusual kind. It functioned as a premier horse-breeding farm for American Thoroughbreds. In fact, most of the winners from the Triple Crown races (i.e. the Preakness, the Belmont and of course the Kentucky Derby) over the past few decades can trace their lineage back to the horses bred during Belle Meade's heyday.
You can tour the beautiful grounds...
explore the crumbling farm structures...
and finally take a tour of the main house, where they will teach you all about the horses and history of Belle Meade. Then, you get to taste all their yummy wines! I thought it was especially cute that many of the wines were named after famous Belle Meade horses. My favorite was their very unusual Red Muscadine wine. It's a sweet wine made from the special Muscadine grape, which is a really big, thick-skinned grape, native to the southeastern and south-central United States. It was just so unique.
We were going to try to hit up Andrew Jackson's Hermitage mansion (and if you have time, you definitely should!) but we were having such a nice time chilling at Belle Meade that we decided to save Hermitage for next time, and keep on chilling until we had to leave for our flight.
And that, my friends, is how you hit some major Nashville hotspots in three days flat.
Have you been to Nashville? What was your favorite part? What would you recommend if you have a longer time to spend there?
All referenced activities and accommodations were paid for by me. To the extent any specific hotels, restaurants or activities are recommended, I received no compensation for my recommendations. As always, my opinions are my own, and only my own.
All photos taken by, and property of, Curious Borders.
Comments