“There isn’t nothing wrong with Nashville…” – Todd Snider

May 12, 2019

 

“There isn’t nothing wrong with Nashville…” – Todd Snider

Since my visit to the Johnny Cash museum found me literally in the heart of Nashville, I decided to spend the afternoon checking out a few spots located in the area, which has become somewhat to my dismay something of a Disney or Las Vegas version of what was once a quaint, hip locale. Now the entire downtown area is some sort of huge tourist mecca, with the Broadway Street corridor as the central artery where literally thousands upon thousands of tourists roam about in packs.

I recently watched portions of the NFL draft coverage which was broadcast from downtown Nashville so I had an idea of what the city had become, but until I experienced it for myself it was really something of a shock to see what has happened. I guess I should have had a suspicion since one of the commentators announced that Nashville has become the top destination for bridal parties overtaking Las Vegas and New Orleans.

I am sure many people are cashing in on the crazy growth of the place, but it has completely destroyed the character of the city, or perhaps has become more reflective of what has happened to country music in general. Should it be a surprise that the country music capital of the world has become a fantasy land of excess and commercialization as this is what has been happening to country music for years. 

The downtown area is littered with huge monstrosity bars including many owned by music stars such as Luke Bryan and Kid Rock. There is even a huge Margaritaville. These places feature multiple levels of cheap beer, mostly bad music on multiple stages and crowds of drunken tourists who must imagine that they are experiencing a true Nashville experience.

The old-time authentic places are still there and I took time to visit a couple of them including Earnest Tubb’s record store and the nearby famous night club, Tootsie’s which thankfully has remained pretty much the same and seemed the most authentic to the true spirit of country music than most of the newer places combined.

 

I have a feeling that the true authentic spirit of the city has simply relocated to East Nashville, though I did not have the time to check and see if that was true on this visit, but trust me- the next time I am in Nashville that is where my visit will begin. I did have the good fortune to visit Martin’s BBQ, one of the top rated BBQ joints in the city for a wonderful meal. I also spent time visiting a couple of downtown breweries.

My first stop was the Jackaloupe Brewing Company, where I had a couple of delightful brews before walking the short distance over to Yazoo Brewing where I sampled even more tasty offerings. Both of these locations were pretty cool, full of good beer, nice people and great atmospheres. Both located downtown and only about a block apart, they were worthy stops and I would suggest checking either or both if you happen to be in the area.