Nashville, Tennessee
The Gran Ole Opry is Just the Beginning
Nashville, as the capital of Country music is home to not just the Gran Ole Opry, but also is home to the County Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium (longtime home to the Gran Ole Opry, CMA Auditorium, Nashville Symphony Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and dozens of additional concert venues as well as being home to dozens of recording studios. It is also home to several major music labels such as RCA, MCA, and Sony Music Nashville. There are also several museums honoring individual music artists such as Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and Glen Campbell. In short, if you are a Country music fan, this is your mecca.
Opryland & Music Valley
The Home of the Grand Ole Opry
For years the Grand Ole Opry was recorded and broadcast from the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, but in 1974 the show moved to its own dedicated building in Music Valley in northeast Nashville. Opryland originally was an amusement park developed along with the new auditorium, but is now a complex dominated to the north of the Grand Ole Opry by the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center (it has 2,888 rooms and 9 acres of indoor gardens, making it the largest non-casino hotel in the continental U.S.) and to the south by the Opry Mills Mall. The complex also features a showboat that navigates the Cumberland River featuring a show and dinner.
The Grand Ole Opry House
Where the Tradition Lives On
If you are anything like me, you grew up listening to and watching the live Saturday night broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry. There is a bit of a misconception that the Grand Ole Opry was a place. It actually is a show that has been broadcasting live (initially only on radio) since October 5, 1925. It was originally broadcast from a studio in downtown and various auditoriums until 1943 when it began broadcasting from the Ryman Auditorium where it remained until 1974 when the show moved to its own auditorium, The Grand Ole Opryhouse.
Even though it is a more modern auditorium, it has several significant nods to the Ryman. Center stage has a circle of wood which was cut from the stage of the Ryman. This circle represents the enduring legacy of the Opry and its place in the history and promotion of Country music. It's stage still sports the frame of the barn as the show originally broadcast as the show originally was broadcast as the WSM Barn Dance. The entry way to the auditorium imitates much of interior decor of the Ryman. It also maintains the pew seating from the Ryman (the Ryman was originally built as the Union Gospel Tabernacle church).
If you are planning a trip to Nashville, you should plan to attend a live broadcast while you are there. Also book a tour of both the Opryhouse and the Ryman.
Downtown Nashville
Where Country Music Rose and the Honkytonk Parties on
This is where Nashville gets its moniker "Music City". Here you will find the Ryman Auditorium (which served as the home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974), the Country Music Hall of Fame, as well as dozens of music halls and venues. And just a couple of blocks from the Hall of Fame is Broadway which is a historical district that is home to over 50 bars each featuring their own distinct style and live music. No matter what your musical taste you can find a honkytonk that will appeal to you. Although it does remind me of the line from the movie the Blues Brothers, "We play both kinds of music here, Country and Western".