Music City

Nashville did not feature in my itinerary until my collegemate canceled her trip to Charlotte due to an unannounced viral infection. It had been years since we saw each other and both of us were looking forward to the meet. Hence, I decided to fly to her city and pay a visit instead. That’s what brought me to Nashville – the hottest housing market in the United States and one of the fastest growing economies in the country with an amusing list of sobriquets like the Music City, Athens of the South, Nash-Vegas, Little Kurdistan, Cashville and the It City. I spent three full days in Nashville, arriving on an unusually cold Saturday night and leaving on a vanilla Wednesday morning. I couldn’t cover it all but I had a ball of a time grooving to the country music in the honky-tonks and sauntering rather aimlessly to the beat of my own drum. Besides, filling in the details missed out in the last eight years of distance in a rare friendship was time-consuming. Love and laughter, music and drinks, fun and food – everything was on point that the three days whizzed away right before our eyes.

My guided tour commenced on Sunday with a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum that has a plethora of exhibits tracing the evolution of country music and the contributions of pathbreaking artists who carved a niche for themselves. From Loretta Lynn to Shania Twain, Don Mclean to Tim McGraw, the museum has many inspirational stories arising from its walls. I have always been drawn to the light-hearted and gleeful storytelling in country songs. Though I didn’t grow up listening to this genre, I have been an ardent fan from the time I got my first taste of it. The connect was almost instantaneous, the songs almost always hitting a chord with my perky, frivolous self. I was more than thrilled to be where I was, absorbing all that I possibly could in a short span of time. We even sat in on one of the live performances at Ford Theatre, the in-house auditorium at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Just a block away from the museum, on Lower Broadway, we found all those iconic bars swelling with live music, elated spirits and jolly folks who simply wanted to have a good time. That’s where the party begins and ends, all day, every day and we would join in too. But first, pizza – both of us agreed on that one. Luigi’s City Pizza, just off Broadway, served us some amazing chicken wings and the much-loved Nashville hot chicken pizza generously topped with the house specialty hot sauce, ranch dressing, mozzarella, bleu cheese, pickles and of course, the hot chicken. The portions were huge as usual and the homeless guy around the corner of the street got lucky. I loved the look of genuine happiness on his face when my friend handed over the box of pizza. The sheer number of people left to the streets made it evident that Nashville battles with the 'homelessness crisis'. From a plain “Need money to go home” to “Begging is better than stealing”, their placards got increasingly creative in its messaging. We spent the afternoon walking in and out of souvenir shops and cowboy boot barns, waving at revelers on pedal taverns, grabbing a cuppa coffee at the Johnny Cash Museum store and posing for an Instagram-worthy pic with Goo Goo Clusters, the renowned Southern confectionary. Now, you can’t get off Broadway without plunging headlong into its musical reverie. Tequila Cowboy and HonkyTonk Central were our picks for the day. We grabbed a bottle of beer and found a place close to the stage set aflame by jaunty musicians and their shiny paraphernalia. The crazy neon lights and riveting backdrops were accentuated by the clinking of glasses and dragging of chairs. We hailed an Uber back home around dinner time, jabbering along the way and late into the night.

I took it easy the following day, watching movies and soaking in the rustic vibes of the townhouse while my friend got on with her telecommuting. In the evening, we went around The Gulch - Nashville’s hip and happening neighborhood replete with boutique restaurants, fashion retailers, and chic office spaces. I knew I had fallen prey to the infectious American spirit when I bit into Burger 96, the highest rated burger at the World Food Championship crafted with pride by the crowd favorite Burger Republic. The meaty notes were balanced with the fluffiest strawberry and white chocolate milkshake swirled to perfection with chocolate crumbs and strawberry sauce. 

On the third day, I went back to Broadway for a bit of a solo adventure, exploring relics of ancient Rome and picking up gifts from the store at the Frist Art Museum, discovering graffiti hidden in the side-lanes, shopping for authentic Jack Daniel’s goodies, taking the pedestrian bridge across the Cumberland River, appreciating Nashville’s heritage architecture and bar-hopping to escape the afternoon sun. My friend and husband picked me up after work and showed me around Centennial Park which has a true replica of the Athenian Parthenon. Nashville is dubbed the Athens of the South due to the presence of prominent educational institutions and their strong emphasis on quality learning. We drove around the Vanderbilt University campus before hitting Pinewood Social, a classy restobar that attracts the trendiest people in town. I tried something new that evening – bucatini amatriciana – a traditional Italian pasta tossed in amatriciana sauce made from cured pork cheek called guanciale, pecorino cheese from Amatrice, fresh ripe tomatoes, and onion. Though I finished the entire bowl, it left me with a strong aftertaste that wasn’t too pleasant.

I flew back early the following morning with a new-found love for the Music City and a renewed connection with a long-time friend. No matter what life throws at you, some things don't change and some people stay on and trips like these serve as a reminder of such beautiful equations. What if I didn't have a bachelorette party before my D Day, I had double the fun in Nash-Vegas three years into my marriage!