Far from it. With its award-winning chefs, art scene and gentrifying neighborhoods sprouting independent boutiques, craft breweries, and sophisticated nightspots, Nashville caters to even the most unflinching of country-cynics. And, if all else fails, there’s plenty of blues and bluegrass.
Nashville is home to over 130 music venues, and with its reputation for hosting some of the best musicians in the world (coupled with a large demographic of music industry bods), it should come as no surprise that Music City’s live scene is as rip-roaring and diverse as a city three times its size. Rock, jazz, soul, hip hop, blues, indie and electronica are all on tap in Nashville and the city is firmly on the route of major bands touring the United States. Lovers of rock and indie should check out The Basement (and newer venture The Basement East) (thebasementnashville.com), Exit/In (exitin.com) and sister venue The End (endnashville.com). The Mercy Lounge (mercylounge.com) is a central spot to catch large touring bands, while the Stone Fox (thestonefoxnashville.com) and 3rd & Lindsley (3rdandlindsley.com) offer a more intimate setting and local talent. For the full gamut of music listings, keep an eye on nashvillescene.com
Nashville’s restaurant scene has been the darling of the foodie press for a number of years. Leading the way are Rolf and Daughters (rolfanddaughters.com), The Catbird Seat (thecatbirdseatrestaurant.com) and Husk Nashville (husknashville.com) – all have been named as some of the country's finest new restaurants. After being nominated three times for a James Beard Award for his upscale amalgamation of Italian and Southern ingredients, Tandy Wilson of City House (cityhousenashville.com) finally took home the gong for Best Chef Southeast in 2015. Current excitement surrounds six-time Beard-nominated chef Daniel Lindley's new project, 5th & Taylor (5thandtaylor.com). The Chattanooga-based chef opened his expansive new space in the smart Germantown district in spring 2015 and is so far wowing Nashville's tastebuds with his American menu items such as beef tartar with capers and mustard seed, and trout with smoked trout, tomato butter and summer squash.
Like most cities in America right now, Nashvillians can’t get enough of crafty suds. In the last five years over a dozen new breweries have opened around town, not to mention an ever-increasing number of taprooms. Calibrate your palate at stalwarts Yazoo Brewing Co (yazoobrew.com) and Blackstone Restaurant & Brewery (blackstone-pub.com) – Nashville’s very first craft brewery – and then set off on an adventure in hops and grain that includes a huge range of Pilsners, pale ales, red ales and IPAs, as well as new experiments in sour beers. Read more about craft beer in Nashville.
Buildings scarred with bullet holes, former slave plantations and battlegrounds around Nashville pay witness to a dark period in Tennessee’s history, when the state found itself at the center of the western theater of the American Civil War. The Tennessee State Museum gives an excellent primer to the state’s role in the war and the era of reconstruction that followed. Exhibits include actual weapons and uniforms used in some of the 400-odd battles that ravaged the region. For a taste of pre-war Tennessee, the Belle Meade Plantation, southwest of town, is an extravagant example of an Antebellum plantation home. Read more about Civil War sights around Nashville.
Baby back or spare? Wet or dry? These are choices that will need deep consideration as you negotiate Nashville’s celebrated barbecue scene, and that’s before you’ve got to the menu of side dishes and sauces. The cooking method of smoking, slow-roasting, braising and otherwise coaxing all kinds of deliciousness out of pork ribs, brisket and chicken pieces is prevalent all over the American South and Nashville’s ‘cue joints are up there with the best of them. Worship the gods of slow and juicy at Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint (martinsbbqjoint.com), Edley’s (edleysbbq.com) and Jack’s Bar-B-Que (jacksbarbque.com) on Broadway (just be sure to close your ears to the honky-tonks surrounding it).
One of America’s most glorious and historic two-lane drives finds its starting line in Nashville. The Natchez Trace Parkway runs a total of 444 miles from the city to Natchez, Mississippi, and commemorates the old Natchez Trace, a trail originally trammeled by migrating bison and then used for centuries by Native Americans as a trade route. Today’s paved road winds alongside broad-leaved trees and open green farmland and is a great way to experience Tennessee’s landscape. Near the parkway entrance just off Hwy 100 is the Loveless Café (lovelesscafe.com), famous for its fluffy biscuits and Southern fare.
Music City is home to some superlative stores for finger pickers. Gruhn Guitars (guitars.com) claims to be the world’s largest purveyor of vintage and used instruments and boasts an inventory that reads like an archive of guitar history: try out a 1917 Gibson mandola, a limited edition 1970s Epiphone or your all-time favorite Fender. Eric Clapton, Robert Plant and Paul McCartney are all on the client list. For a perhaps less overwhelming experience, Corner Music (cornermusic.com) is a neighborhood guitar shop with international ambitions, while Rock Block Guitars (rockblockguitars.net), or the ‘little store that roars’, is frequented by band members heading to nearby rock venues The Basement and Exit/In.
The green and watery land of Middle Tennessee is criminally overlooked by visitors to the city, yet within just a 20-minute drive of the boozy bars of downtown, you can be drifting down a tree-lined stretch of water as happy as Ratty from Wind in the Willows. The Harpeth River is one of the prettiest and easiest areas to access for canoeing, and features slow-moving water interspersed with a few easy rapids and lots of sand banks where you can rest your boat and have a swim. Foggy Bottom Canoe (foggybottomcanoe.com), Canoe Music City (canoemusiccity.com) and Adventures on the Harpeth (adventuresontheharpeth.com) all offer canoe rental and guided trips.
Shopping in Nashville has been hitting the lifestyle headlines of late for its rich seam of local design talent and one-of-a-kind stores. Imogene + Willie (imogeneandwillie.com) is a favorite as much for its location in an old service station, as for its custom made denim and leather boots and belts. Blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Hey Rooster General Store (heyrooster.com) stocks a rotating selection of hand-made home ware, ceramics and gifts with its one common theme being that everything seems to be beautifully desirable.
Country and non-country fans alike will appreciate Hatch Show Print which has been turning out graphic-print posters for music stars from its hand-cut letterpress since the 19th century. It’s one of the oldest print shops in the US and runs workshops where you can create your very own poster.
Shopping fiends looking to indulge should head for the neighborhoods of 12 Avenue South, Hilsboro Village, Marathon Village, Five Points in East Nashville, and the Gulch.
The Frist Center for Visual Arts is not the only art museum in Nashville, but the quality of exhibitions here is unsurpassed elsewhere in town. Housed in the former US Post Office, the white marble-clad building has no permanent collection meaning its 24,000 sq ft of space is free to house the very best domestic and international traveling exhibitions. From a Kandinsky retrospective, to Goya, to a celebration of American animation, there is always something new at the Frist.
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