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5 Healthy Reasons To Visit Nashville Now

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This summer, I visited Nashville, and wanted to do plenty of walking. And what better way to do it than follow in the footsteps of the stars, producers, and location scouts for ABC's hit TV show Nashville?

Sure enough, it turned out that getting out into some of the neighborhoods where the people who make Music City hum (and sing) live, eat and play was a great way to do that. Looking for the locations of key scenes, it quickly became clear that Music City itself is the true star of the show. Here are a few key highlights:

  • East Nashville: This small, close-knit community just across the river from downtown offers some of Nashville's nicest strolls along its leafy, shaded streets. (It's no accident that East Nashville is the home of Nashville Running Company, which sponsors a running club and local race events as well as selling running gear.)  I discovered the area because two of its many picturesque craftsman bungalows are featured prominently in ABC's Nashville as "Deacon's house" and "Scarlett's house." Other East Nashville landmarks that have made it into the show so far include the homey Sky Blue Cafe and Fanny's House of Music, where you can pick up a vintage guitar and a retro shirt to wear when you play it. Riffs Food Truck Jam takes place every Friday night in a parking lot on Main Street, where you can find veggie-friendly food options as well as plenty of pork barbecue. (My favorite: Music City Pie Company's savory pies.)

  • The Shelby Street Bridge: An iconic landmark, this airy pedestrian overpass offers the best photo ops of the Nashville skyline and the river as well as easy access to the Titans stadium on the other side of the river. (And don't get lazy and turn around at the top of the arch; there's a gorgeous exercise path along the riverfront on the other side.)  In a pivotal scene early on, Rayna and Deacon have a poignant heart-to-heart while walking across this bridge.
  • The Bluebird: Yes, it's a long way from downtown. Yes, you have to stand in line for hours. Yes, it's tiny, crowded, and sometimes loud. Yes, the music you'll hear is hit or miss, with misses outnumbering hits on most nights. None of that matters. This tiny room is where careers are made or broken, where undiscovered gems are found, where deals are inked on the backs of napkins. (Or jotted on the postcards for shows around town, which litter the tables and floor.) And of course the Bluebird features prominently in Nashville the show, though scenes are now filmed in a soundstage where a Bluebird set was built that, according to regulars, is accurate down to every signed photo, carpet stain, and table gouge.

  • The Ryman: What's there to say other than that a tour of the historic Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ole Opry, is the one thing you must do in Nashville even if you only have a day? (Well, maybe the Country Music Hall of Fame is equally un-missable.) Stand on the stage, take the backstage tour and learn the tales only these dressing rooms can tell.
  • The Hermitage Hotel: If you can, stay here to experience the turn-of-the-century grandeur that led four presidents to dine, dance, and sleep under the Hermitage Hotel's painted glass art deco ceiling. If not, at least eat a meal in the Capitol Grill, where all Nashville's key backroom deals go down, including the political shenanigans between Rayna's father and husband.

5 More Nashville Must-Sees

1. The Brand New Johnny Cash Museum

Chances are, your Nashville guidebook won't mention this hidden gem, and that's because the Johnny Cash Museum only just opened a few months ago. But it feels like it's been here forever, with the kind of authenticity that has to be earned. And it was - founder Bill Miller collected and exhaustively cataloged Cash memorabilia for decades, ever since he first crashed the Man in Black's dressing room as a star-struck kid.

The result of Miller's grit was a lifelong friendship and Cash's deep involvement in his own archives - Miller has Cash's childhood report cards, military gear, guitars, and handwritten song lyrics - even June's gowns. Most moving of all are Cash's heartfelt love letters to first wife Vivian and later to June.

2. The 12South Neighborhood

Another great area to log some miles is this formerly edgy strip along one of the main southern routes out of town. The draw here might be Katy K's Ranch Wear, iconic purveyor of all things western, or you might stumble on this up-and-coming neighborhood on your way to run or bicycle the green oasis of Sevier Park. But chances are, whether you're in search of a vintage guitar (Corner Music) or the city's best cup of coffee and vegan pastries (Frothy Monkey), you'll find your way to 12th Avenue South, the new hub of Nashville's young trendy set. And since this is one of the "groovier" parts of town, 12South is where you'll find restaurants with farm-to-table flair (Urban Grub). There's neighborhood spirit galore here, with a summer concert series, a farmer's market, and Sevier Park Fest, all of them colorful occasions to see and be seen - and heard.

3. Music Row

Approach Music Row the same way you'd approach Beverly Hills with a map of the stars. Practically every single building on the 12-block stretch known as Music Square East and Music Square West houses a recording studio, a songwriting den, a radio station, a rehearsal space, a mixing room, or the headquarters of a label, large or small. That means that pretty much anyone you see smoking on a stoop, hunched over a cell phone on the sidewalk, checking email in a cafe, or huddled together on a corner could be your favorite singer, songwriter, player, actor, or some combination thereof.

4. Lower Broadway

From legendary Tootsies, where players from the Grand Ole Opry used to jam after hours to Legends Corner, where the first albums of many country legends adorn the walls, the honky tonks of lower Broadway deserve their storied reputation. But they're also undeniably touristy - you're unlikely to see "name" musicians here, except when they sit in unexpectedly, like Keith Urban did at Tootsie's last week. What you will see, though, is the working musicians of Music City honing their chops on their way up the ladder.

5. The Real Clubs

Nashville's top talent can be seen and savored any night of the week, but you have to know where to go, and it's not necessarily downtown. Of course the Bluebird tops the list, particularly if you can get into the curated open mike night on Sundays or catch a scheduled appearance by one of Nashville's most respected songwriters. The underground Station Inn, with it's red-checked tablecloths and family style meals has been home-away-from-home for old-style country music for decades. In one week you might hear the bluegrass of Rhonda Vincent, the traditional country of Jim Lauderdale, and a raucous stomp courtesy of Old Crow Medicine Show or Justin Townes Earle. Third and Lindsley is where the hottest session musicians come to jam, while the hipster hangout the 5 Spot in East Nashville hosts rock, jazz, punk, and hip-hop musicians. (No, Nashville's music scene isn't all about country.)

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