Nashville is the heart of music. So many singers, songwriters, and musicians got their start playing bars on Lower Broadway. And it’s not just country music. It’s bluegrass and blues and soul and rock, among others. Like the song says about the “other” Broadway, “If I can make it there I’ll make it anywhere.”
Yesterday was my first visit to Broadway, and to Nashville in general. We were both excited as the shuttle bus took us from the campground, dropping us directly at the stairs to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We only had a few hours in town (needing to get back the Needy Bichon and cat), so we decided to skip the Hall and walk one block over to Broadway.
Even at 11:00 in the morning the few blocks at the lower end of Broadway were starting to fill with people. It was a much smaller area than I imagined, but was PACKED with bars. Live music was already filling the air, coming from nearly every level in every bar.
If you’ve followed our blog you know we are both big fans of Eric Church (naming our blog after one of his songs). Eric recently opened his own bar on Broadway so we made our way there first. His bar is named Chief’s, after his 2011 album named “Chief”, a moniker he’s adopted since then. The bar 6-story bar was so much fun! Filled with memorabilia, photos, and wonderful cartoon animations depicting song lyrics.
We immediately headed to the rooftop bar for a great look both of the river and Titans’ stadium as well as the length of Broadway. I decided it would be appropriate to try Eric’s Jypsi whiskey (neat, of course) while Karen opted for a screwdriver. With very few people on the roof at that time, it was wonderfully quiet (last time for the rest of the day!).
We left the rooftop and descended the stairs back to the first floor. This gave us the opportunity to see the BBQ restaurant on one floor and a dueling piano bar on another. Two floors are taken up by an intimate auditorium for performances. The space looks like a church, with wood chair and church pew seating, a choir loft, and stained glass windows depicting people important in Eric’s life and career (i.e. Merle, Dolly, Bruce, Michael Jordan). Too bad there was no show while we were there.
Back at the first floor we sat and watched an incredible local band named Booray, and had another drink of course. The bar was still fairly uncrowded so we very much enjoyed the time. I also enjoyed a “Beer in My Hand”, a brew made specially for Chief’s (yes, another song title). It wasn’t to my liking, although the bar certainly was.
We took a break from drinking, and from the increasingly building crowds, to walk the pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River, ending near the Tennessee Titans’ stadium. It was a very pretty view of downtown. It’s also when the rain, forecasted to start at 5:00pm, started early. Just a drizzle, but it had begun.
We ambled back up Broadway, thinking about grabbing Nashville Hot Chicken at Hattie B’s. The 1+ hour wait in line, with the rain starting, ended that plan quickly. At this point, the crowds had grown exponentially, and even walking on the sidewalk became a chore. People were getting drunker, the constant barrage of “party buses” with screeching bachelorette parties and cowboy-hatted and sleeveless t-shirt good ol’ boys singing loudly got more annoying, and our patience waned. Being hungry didn’t help.
As places were getting very full, we chose to grab a plate of nachos at Margaritaville. Yes, it’s corporate, but it was also uncrowded and had a great live singer. Nice to get out of the turmoil for a bit. I had certainly reached my limit of “peopling” for the day, and Karen was right there with me. We caught an earlier shuttle back to the campground, took a refresher nap, and relished the quiet the rest of the evening, giving us both time to needlepoint.
Overall, I feel sort of like I did after visiting Bourbon Street. I need to decompress and decide if Nashville is somewhere I’d like to visit again. As I sit here now I think, maybe, but under different constraints. Definitely on a weekday, and definitely during daytime hours. The music is too good to pass up. The crowds, I can do without.
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