A shuttle bus dropped us off on Broadway Avenue, where for a block on either side, twelve restaurants and bars feature continual live performances, rotating musicians every four hours. Strolling down the sidewalk, we heard singers and bands from every doorway, some better than others.
This most certainly is a vibrant music scene, and the place to be if you have any dreams of being discovered.
At the Ryman Auditorium, we took a self-guiding tour. Because Michael is a Garrison Keillor fan, I knew that some of the Saturday broadcasts have been performed here. What I didn't realize is that the inspiration for Garrison Keillor's live broadcast of Prairie Home Companion stems from his experience of the final Opry at the Ryman in 1974. Keillor came here to write a story for The New Yorker about the Grand Ole Opry's move to the new Grand Ole Opry House when the Ryman was closing. He was inspired by the simplicity of the show and so his Prairie Home Companion was born, then broadcast in St Paul for the first time in July 1974. Twenty years later, after the Ryman was renovated and re-opened, Keillor was among the first performers to appear here and continues to do so regularly.
Back home, Michael tunes in to Prairie Home Companion almost every weekend. Now I can visualize the shows at the Ryman auditorium after being here and actually sitting in one of the original oak pews.
Although Ryman initially intended to heckle the preacher, he was instead converted, and pledged to build a permanent location for Jones to be able to preach. It took seven years to complete the Union Gospel Tabernacle, in 1892. On Ryman's death in 1904, the building was renamed in his honor and memory.
Until 1943, when the Grand Ole Opry began using the Ryman on Saturday nights for its popular live radio shows, the building was a venue for a wide variety of events, ranging from religious revivals to operas, ballets, political debates and even boxing matches. My Polish friends may be interested to know that Paderewski, world-renowned Polish pianist and composer (and also Poland's prime minister in 1919), performed at the Ryman numerous times. Apparently at his first performance, when some members of the audience left during his encore, he was so offended that he simply walked off stage. He did however return to play on four more occasions.
During the Grand Ole Opry's residence from 1943-1974, the Ryman gained nationwide recognition as the "Mother Church of Country Music." Famous names with origins to the Ryman include Roy Acuff (the king of country music), as well as Minnie Pearl, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, James Brown, and Dolly Parton, amongst others. Today, the Ryman continues to be a venue for world-class artists from all genres of music. Just last night, Martina McBride performed to a sold-out audience.
So what actually is "Grand Ole Opry" and what does it mean? The connection to this term comes from the radio station, WSM, which began broadcasting a Saturday night program called WSM Barn Dance in 1925. When a year later, the program host referred to the programming as being "Grand Ole Opry", in contrast to the preceding grand opera program, the term stuck. The radio show is attributed with popularizing country music on the Grand Ole Opry shows, and because it had a far-reaching audience, featured musical acts from all across the eastern states. As its popularity grew, more acts and recording companies came to Nashville, which eventually became known as the center of the country music industry.
After it outgrew several local venues, Grand Ole Opry rented the Ryman from 1943 until 1974, when it moved to the new location at the Grand Ole Opry House.
One more bit of information I learned is that Bluegrass has its origins here at the Ryman as well. This plaque describes it best:
We continued on to the waterfront overlooking the Cumberland River, interested to learn that Nashville was founded on Christmas Eve 1779, by two teams of pioneers under the leadership of James Robertson and Cpt. John Donelson. Rachel Donelson, daughter of the captain, would later become the wife of President Andrew Jackson.
Nashville, which first began as Fort Nashborough, was a name chosen in honor of revolutionary war hero General Francis Nash.
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At the turn of the 20th Century, this hidden but quaint alley became home to an underground life of nightclubs, speakeasies, gambling halls and ladies of the night.
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| the business district further uptown |
I was struck by the modern buildings in the rest of the downtown area. Impressive glass skyscrapers loomed over the red brick historic district, contrasting starkly with the old architecture. A grand arena, modern museums and the symphony hall are located virtually around the corner from The District.
Nashville appears to be thriving and growing, just as it continues to entice tourists and country music fans.
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| the AT&T building with what look like to me as "peace sign" towers |
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| the towering Pinnacle building dwarfing the symphony hall |
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| the steel tower, in homage to Nashville's long broadcasting history, at the Bridgestone Arena |
We managed one last stop on our way back to the Two Rivers RV Park where we were staying. Our shuttle dropped us off at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, a hotel of massive proportions in which everything is on a larger than grand scale. The main feature of this hotel is the three massive interior gardens resplendent with tropical plants, waterfalls and a river. It is at once mind boggling and spectacular. We had a quick bite at one of the restaurants (nothing to write home about) and called for the shuttle to pick us up.
It had been a long day and we had only scratched the surface of what Nashville has to offer. I certainly will come away with a new understanding and appreciation for country music and its long tradition as a core part of the American tradition.