Sounds like Nashville: Tennessee's capital is a treasure chest of Southern heritage and American musical traditions

Travel America, May-June, 2004 by Rankin Harvey

Granted, Nashville is best known for its country music, so the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a popular first stop for visitors. Home to America's music since 1967, the museum opened in a new landmark building in May 2001. The building itself is a sight to see, with front windows that resemble piano keys and a replica of the distinctive 1932 diamond-shaped WSM radio tower. Viewed from above, the building forms a massive bass clef. Inside, the permanent exhibit "Sing Me Back Home" is a multi-layered journey through country music history. Artifacts such as Gene Autry's guitar and Webb Pierce's custom Pontiac, along with photographs, original recordings, videos, and interactive media, immerse visitors in the sounds and the lives of country, music's honored personalities.

A new exhibit, "Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues 1945-1970," currently is illuminating that virtually forgotten era in Nashville's music history, when cultural icons like Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix frequented local bandstands: Etta James recorded her scorching live album "Etta James Rocks the House" at the New Era club; and Cecil Gant cut that little "Nashville Jumps" tune. An affirmation of Nashville's "Music City" title, this exhibit runs through December 2005.

The nickname "Music City USA" is thanks to radio announcer David Cobb, who gave Nashville that moniker on Red Foley's NBC radio show back in 1950. That show is no longer, but the city's other famous radio program is still going strong. Broadcast live over WSM AM-650 since 1925, the "Grand Ole Opry" is time world's longest-running live radio show. Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday night shows are performed at the 4,400-seat Grand Ole Opry House located in Opry Plaza. In shows featuring as many as 20 artists, Opry members such as "Little" Jimmy Dickens. Porter Wagoner. Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, and Vince Gill take the stage with various guest performers. For folks wanting to catch a few live performances while in town, the Opry is one-stop shopping.

This coming January and February, the Opry will make a return engagement to its former home, the historic Ryman Auditorium. Host to the show from 1943 through 1974, the Ryman is revered as the "Mother Church of Country Music." The auditorium was actually built as a church in 1892 by Captain Thomas Ryman, steamboat captain and prominent businessman, for the Reverend Samuel P. Jones--the result of a rousing tent revival a few years earlier. Since then, the stage has seen revivals and ,jazz recitals, operas and Oprys, political debates and boxing matches, livestock sales, and much more.

In 1994, the Ryman saw an $8.5-million restoration that has re-established the venue as one of the premier performance halls in the world. The acoustics are said to rival the Mormon Tabernacle's and surpass even Carnegie Hall's. The 2004 concert schedule includes the likes of Keith Urban, Lucinda Williams, Erykah Badu, Vince Gill, Rhonda Vincent, and Ricky Skaggs.

Of course, performers don't become stars the minute they hit Nashville. Just around the corner from the Ryman, downtown's Honky Tonk Row provides stages for those up-and-comers who've set out to make it big in Music City. Take in a performance at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Second Fiddle, The Stage on Broadway, Legends Corner, or the Bluegrass Inn to possibly see the next Willie Nelson or a future Patsy Cline.

Speaking of newcomers, Wildhorse Saloon, BB Kings, and the Hard Rock Cafe anchor the downtown district's revitalized Second Avenue. Also known as Market Street, this trendy area is home to some of Nashville's newest nightlife.

A few blocks away from downtown, J.T. Gray's Station Inn is a must stop for fans of Bluegrass music. This is the kind of special place where, though the likes of an Allison Krause may not be on the marquee, she may be in the crowd--and if the mood is right, she might just get up and jam with the band. In fact, Sundays there are reserved for jam sessions for whomever decides to show up and, in a town chock full of superstars, more often than not that makes for a wonderful evening.

If you're in town June 10-13, you'll have a chance to meet the stars and get their autographs at CMA Music Festival/Fan Fair in downtown Nashville. "Country Music's Biggest Party" features more than 40 hours of concerts. The lineup includes Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Glen Campbell, Charlie Daniels, Diamond Rio, and LeAnn Rimes.

Nashville, though, is not all music and superstars. The city's history as a center of regional and national importance dates back to long before Mr. Gant made his jump there.

In late December of 1779, James Robertson led a group of men from East Tennessee to the French Lick on the Cumberland River. Another group led by John Donelson joined them a few months later, and together they established Fort Nashborough to protect white settlers from raiding braids of Cherokee Indians. Soon, a town sprang up and Nashville was on its way to becoming a sprawling city. A replica of that original fort is located in Riverfront Park just a few steps east of Second Avenue.