Nashville’s downtown. Photo © Henryk Sadura/123rf.
When it comes to creative energy, nowhere compares to Music City. People come here to make their dreams come true. Even before Johnny Cash picked up a guitar or Elvis entered RCA Studio B, this was a city that attracted mavericks and iconoclasts. And whether you have a banjo in that overhead bin or you can’t tell a harmony from a melody, it doesn’t matter. Because Nashville isn’t just about the music. People here are willing to try new things and do things differently. You don’t have to be here more than a day or two to encounter truly talented musicians singing on the curb on Broadway or taste the creative genius emerging from the kitchens of the city’s restaurants—both upscale and down home.Creativity of all kinds flows in the veins of folks who call this place home. Nashville is filled with hyphenates like chef-singer-songwriters and artist-poet-hula-hoop-makers. It fosters an entrepreneurial energy that results in funky music clubs for jamming, quirky boutiques for shopping, and one-of-a-kind roadside eateries for… well, eating.But the “anything can happen” attitude isn’t limited just to residents. You don’t have to be here more than a day or two to encounter truly talented musicians singing on the curb on Broadway or taste the creative genius emerging from the kitchens of the city’s restaurants—both upscale and down home. Whether you’re in town for the weekend or for good, take advantage of that optimism, offered with a dash of Southern hospitality. Move to the offbeat and always interesting Nashville beat.
Downtown Nashville
The Cumberland River winds its way through Nashville, bending and turning through its neighborhoods and skyline. The river and its banks provide Music City with the water for its lush, green open spaces. It’s also responsible for some of the traffic congestion, as streets curve along its meanders. Often heading to the next neighborhood requires finding a bridge.That said, Nashville’s location in the Cumberland River basin is part of its appeal. The river gives even Music City’s most urban areas a bucolic quality. The neighborhoods are full of hustle and bustle, but it doesn’t take much effort to escape when you need some R&R.
Excerpted from the First Edition of Moon Nashville.
