Of course, any tour of Nashville
will include seeing a performance.
It’s unavoidable, really. On the short
walk down Broadway from the
Cash/Cline museums to Ryman
Auditorium, we passed no fewer
than five venues blaring live
music—at 11 a.m.
Broadway at night offers even
more opportunities to get an earful. The street holds 53
honky-tonks, with new venues under construction. It’s a loud
scene, crowded but safe, and if a tour operator doesn’t want
to turn a group loose to go honky-tonking, there are other
options for live music.
I absolutely loved my evening at Bluebird Café, an unas-
suming venue that seats four songwriters in the middle of the
room and surrounds them with 75 or so eager listeners. The
performers take turns playing and singing, while the others
strum along and even sing back-up. It’s intimate and intense.
Engaging and enthralling.
I heard Danny Flowers sing “Living on Tulsa Time,” a tune
I knew from decades ago. Gordon Kennedy performed his
Grammy-winning “Change the World,” and Brady Seals sang fun
and familiar songs. Karla Davis, the youngest of the four, slayed
me with her total honesty and her song “A Boy Like You.”
It sounds kind of crazy now, but being so close to those
songwriters inspired me to write yet another song as soon as
I had a chance: “Eatin’ into My Sleepin’ Time.” It, too, is hor-
rible, but I had to try.
The Bluebird is a tough ticket, but LouAnna Henton of the
Nashville CVC has a work-around for tour operators: “The
authentic Nashville experience is summarized no better than
a ‘writers in the round’ show, and if you’re not lucky enough
to score tickets at the Bluebird, I suggest going to the City
Winery or the Listening Room,” she says. “These are both
large venues that can accommodate groups and showcase the
same type of entertainment.”
Rounding out our live music showcase was a trip to the
Grand Ole Opry, the world’s longest-running radio show, now
performed in a modern theater. It’s a fast-moving event fea-
turing several acts. The night we were there, I not only got to
see a performance by John Conlee, a country music legend
who graduated from the same high school as me, but I also
heard Exile sing “Kiss You All Over,” a No. 1 song I had heard
them perform once before … in 1978. opry.com/groups
Don’t miss the live music
Bluebird Café
Houses of history
Nashville’s historical threads are not confined to music muse-
ums (and my personal timeline of tunes). Three NTA member
attractions paint profound pictures of the past—local, regional
and national. Some 20 minutes from Nashville is Andrew
Jackson’s Hermitage, the impressive home of the seventh U.S.
president. A visit to the 1,120-acre estate can include a guide-
led walk through 1837 mansion and self-guided tours of the
gardens, cemetery, slave quarters and the original farmhouse.
Groups can write their own ticket, according to Jason Nelson,
vice president of marketing and sales.
Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
“This place is like a blank canvas,” he says. “Tour operators
can tell us what they want, and we’ll make it happen—any-
thing from Instagram scavenger hunts to ghost tours.”
Groups we saw on-site included a family reunion, a school
group from North Dakota and a Corvette club doing volunteer
work in the gardens. thehermitage.com
Located in another part of town is Cheekwood Estate &
Gardens. Constructed during a time of rising aristocracy in
America and first occupied in 1932, Cheekwood represents the
Country Place Era. Estates from that time are rarely open to the
public. The property features exquisite gardens, but we spent
our time in the 36-room mansion, which has been meticulously
preserved and restored. Much of the furniture was bought by
Leslie and Mabel Cheek during a 1929 trip to Europe, where they
purchased antiques from failing estates. cheekwood.org
Our group did not visit Fontanel, an enormous log home
that was once occupied by Country Music Hall of Fame
member Barbara Mandrell. Open to groups and offering
family-style meals, the mansion (20 rooms and 13 bathrooms)
features an array of music memorabilia, and tour guides tell
stories about the stars who visited the home. The property
also has a winery, distillery, zip line adventure, hiking trails
and shops. fontanel.com
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