There’s more to Nashville than boot scootin’ and country music
The Tennessee capital has hosted some of the biggest names in the industry but this is not a one-note town.
Fried chicken. Hot sauce. Honky tonks. History. Ice hockey. Whiskey. Boot-scootin’. Neon. Blue jeans. In the right hands, such as those of Australian-born singer-songwriter Phil Barton, this jumble of words that sums up a week in Nashville might have the makings of a great country song. As a list of first impressions, it shows that music is not the only lure to the capital of Tennessee but it will always be part of the mix.
“It’s a Nashville thing to find yourself connected to a song, or to an artist, which in turn can evoke strong memories of a place,” says Barton, who packed up his belongings 17 years ago to find his fortune in Nashville. Since that time, Barton has established himself as something of a hitmaker after penning A Woman Like You, which became a No.1 hit for country music singer Lee Brice in 2012.
“Nashville used to be known just for country music. But it’s got the tag ‘Music City’ for a reason: it’s known as a songwriting mecca around the world. You can go out on any night in Nashville and hear great music being played by great musicians. As a musician, that makes me feel very optimistic,” he says.
While the cosmopolitan capital is certainly best known for its country music, every genre from pop to rock ’n’ roll and punk is now woven through its personality. Consider the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as a great place to start learning about the city’s evolution. The museum, which opened in 1967 and moved to its current location in 2001, underwent a $US100m ($153.2m) expansion in 2014 that doubled its footprint. Wander around and you’ll find one-of-a-kind artefacts such as a red leather and rhinestone jumpsuit worn by Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley’s vintage “Solid Gold” Cadillac and several of Taylor Swift’s costumes that track her journey from Nashville hopeful to a country-pop superstar. The museum is also home to the Hall of Fame Rotunda, where Presley and Johnny Cash are among the inductees, and features exhibitions such as the annual American Currents: State of the Music, which is on show until February 2025 and looks at the country scene’s main developments from the past year.
A museum tour includes a visit to RCA Studio B on Music Row where more than 35,000 country and early rock songs were recorded between 1957 and 1977. As guide Evan Dunne explains, 1000 of the songs recorded here made it into the Top 10 in the US. “Nashville is known as ‘Smashville’ for a reason. RCA Studio B is a must-visit when it comes to telling the story of Nashville’s country music scene and its place in popular culture. Everyone from Charley Pride to Chet Atkins, Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton are part of the studio’s story,” says Dunne, who first visited the institution as a fifth-grader on a field excursion.
“I wasn’t a fan of country music when I was growing up,” he says, before playing a Studio B recording of Elvis Presley’s first Nashville album, Heartbreak Hotel, “but I sure as hell am now. Country music has gone from [being] perceived as lowbrow hillbilly-style music to a very popular genre in our country.”
The influence of African-Americans is a major part of the Nashville story and one shared at the National Museum of African American Music, which opened in 2021. The exhibitions within the five interactive galleries trace the 400-year timeline of this musical niche and its impact on the evolution of more than 50 genres, including country. It’s a legacy worth celebrating.
The Jack Daniel’s Distillery has also pressed rewind on an African-American story about Nathan “Nearest” Green, whose legacy is now being recognised. “It has become a very well-documented fact that an enslaved black man named Nearest Green taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey,” says brand ambassador Jed Lirette, who grew up in the nearby town of Lynchburg.
“After the Civil War, when emancipation happened, Jack Daniel hired Nearest to be his first master distiller. That’s a story that has been here forever but was buried over time. It took a story by The New York Times in 2016 for it to be brought back into the public realm.”
The story is now front and centre at nearby distillery Nearest Green, founded by African-American entrepreneur Fawn Weaver in 2019. The establishment offers full scholarships to every descendant of the original Green as part of an eponymous not-for-profit foundation. Weaver is making waves in the world of whiskey after engaging descendant Victoria Eady Butler as master distiller. Butler was the first person to be named master blender of the year for two consecutive years by Whisky Magazine in 2021 and 2022.
“Nearest Green Distillery is about faithfully honouring the legacy of Uncle Nearest and the African-American community and having Victoria here represents the next chapter in his story,” says guide Tyler Plumley.
As my week in #Smashville progresses, my soundtrack expands to include Something to Dance To by African-American country star Willie Jones, which I Shazam at Barrelhouse BBQ at Nearest Green Distillery; Down at the Honky Tonk, a toe-tapping number I hear at Robert’s Western World on Broadway; and a tune called Set ’em up Joe that troubadour Jamey Johnson performs at institution 3rd & Lindsley Bar & Grill. It also includes a track called Don’t Talk About It by Australian singer Ruby Boots (aka Bex Chilcott). When Bex is not performing, she runs backyard music parties at Imogene + Willie, a super-cool custom jeans shop in an old service station in the hip 12 South strip.
“There’s something really special about Nashville,” says Chilcott, who moved to the city seven years ago. “It’s not just country music. There’s indie, rock, punk … there’s all kinds of cool stuff that happens here. And with that, comes an incredible culture of creativity that you will see on display in the 12 South district.”
The walkable neighbourhood is lined with independent shops such as Christie Cookie Co, Judith Bright’s jewellery studio, and White’s Mercantile homewares, owned by the granddaughter of superstar Hank Williams.
Finding your rhythm in Nashville might also include treading in the footsteps of Cash at the historic Ryman Auditorium; ogling a Stratocaster at Carter Vintage Guitars; cheering on the Nashville Predators at an ice hockey game; flapping your wings after braving the Shut the Cluck Up hot chicken at Hattie B’s; or frocking up for dinner at Sperry’s, which has been going strong for 50 years.
It’s also a rite of passage to close a night out at The Late Great, modelled after the B-rooms of old-school recording studios. The cocktail lounge in the Virgin Hotels Nashville is dedicated to the late, great Cash and was designed by his granddaughter, so its walls are adorned with tightly arranged family photos and music memorabilia.
The only time silence is acceptable in Nashville is when you’re sleeping. And even then it’s likely, after the hubbub of the honky tonk from the evening before or a late night at The Late Great, you’ll wake up humming a new song to add to your city soundtrack. These days, that could be anything from bluegrass to Beyonce.
In the know
Jack Daniel’s Distillery is open daily 9am to 4.30pm. A Flight of Jack Daniels tour costs $US30 ($46).
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum tickets can be reserved online; adults from $US29.95.
Tickets for National Museum of African American Music with timed admission are available online; adults $US26.95.
nmaam.org
Tempo by Hilton, 127 Rosa L Parks Blvd, has rooms from $US442 a night. Virgin Hotels Nashville, 1 Music Square, has rooms from $US350 a night.
More to the story
The best dining options in and around Nashville include Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, at Fifth and Broadway; Dicey’s Pizza & Tavern, 425 Chestnut St; Poppy & Peep, 374-6 Harron Drive; The Farm House, 210 Almond St; Barrel House BBQ, Nearest Green Distillery, Shelbyville; Sperry’s, 5109 Harding Pike; Noko Nashville, 701 Porter Rd.
Carla Grossetti was a guest of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.
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