A day in Nashville’s touristy hotspots

It’s 95 degrees and humid. We cannot stop sweating. I’m in shorts, a tank top and flip flops, and looking around at legs swallowed by cowboy boots just makes me sweat harder. I’m sure they’re just more accustomed to this Nashville, Tennessee weather than we are.

If you’re someone who enjoys an alcoholic beverage with a side of country music, you’ll probably have a good chance of enjoying downtown Nashville. Of course, sober non-country music fans can still enjoy the city’s live music scene, shops, and restaurants – which graciously welcomed visitors of all ages along Lower Broadway, a lively four-block part of town. The prices of food and entertainment are mostly reasonable, but the city involves a bit of spending cash to get into the “touristy” hotspots.

Most bars keep their doors open, likely to entice live music and alcohol lovers such as ourselves inside to join the party. The voices of an elderly man and young woman singing Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel” first sucked us into a bar called “Whiskey Bent Saloon.” We had been on our way to take pictures of the river, but found it nearly impossible to pass a crowd that made a concert hall out of a cozy bar at 4:00pm.

Later, we made our way to Tootsies, a famous bar on Broadway where well-known country stars often make unexpected visits. The bar sits just behind Ryman Auditorium, a popular performance venue and original home to the Grand Ole Opry. Between sets at the Ryman, artists used to walk through a connecting alley to grab a few drinks and “wet their whistles” at Tootsies. We found a quote by Willie Nelson, while visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, that described artists as taking “17 steps to Tootsies and 34 steps back” to the Ryman.

I can best compare Lower Broadway in Nashville to summertime in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood. People sit and enjoy mid-afternoon drinks, while others wander the streets drinking from brunch until bar close. That’s just what people do in Wrigleyville, and it seems this is just what people do in this part of Nashville.

Nashville holds a deeper history than I realized before visiting. When standing among the visibly older buildings along Lower Broadway, the modern developments of the city’s surrounding high rises becomes apparent. Nashville continues to develop, but history shines from the heart of it. Music Row also holds established significance to the city, as it’s considered the core of Nashville’s entertainment industry. Various record labels, publishing houses, recording studios and other music industry businesses fill the Row’s numerous side streets just southwest of downtown.

We’re almost ready to hit to road again, this time heading west toward Memphis. We northerners have our flip flops ready for another day of driving the countryside while counting how many more confederate flags we pass along I-40 West. Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and other country legends have been riding along with us – their tunes overtaking many of Tennessee’s radio stations picked up throughout our journey.

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This post is part of on On the Road Series , a road trip with my brother, Dan, and cat, Logan, from Chicago, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Photo by Cullen Jones on Unsplash