Honky Tonks & High Class

Story and Photos by David Monforton

If music be the food of love, play on.
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken and so die.
–William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

We cooked a pig in the ground, we got some beer on ice,
And all my rowdy friends are coming over tonight.
–Hank Williams Jr., All My Rowdy Friends (Are Coming Over Tonight)

At first glance, “The Bard” and “Bocifus” appear to be at opposite ends of the artistic spectrum. The truth, however, is that they’re not that far apart on the map…especially if it’s a Nashville map. Middle Tennessee offers visitors a wide variety of cultural experiences, from first-class museums and a world-class symphony orchestra to a bounty of historical sites, several wineries and vineyards, and yes, all the country music your achy breaky heart can handle.

Outside of Nashville, there is much history to explore in Middle Tennessee, especially if you are a Civil War buff. Among the local sites related to the War Between the States are Stones River National Battlefield; Rippavilla Plantation; The Carter House in Franklin; Carnton Plantation, setting of the best-selling novel The Widow of the South; Fort Donelson National Battlefield; and the Dover Hotel, the site of the Confederate surrender.

Unexpectedly, though, the historic site I found most fascinating was not directly related to the Civil War at all. The Ancestral Home of James K. Polk, our 11th president, in Columbia, TN, is compact and can be experienced in its entirety in one to two hours, but I walked away with deeper knowledge and appreciation of a president whom most historians rank among our nation’s finest. In a move unheard of today, Polk campaigned with the intent of serving just a single term, and in his four years in office he accomplished much, including the acquisition of much of the western half of the Continental U.S. An unrelenting workaholic, Polk was known to spend his summers at the White House (most people left town because of the heat), doing both his own work and his staff’s. Perhaps as a result of stressing his body during his four-year term, Polk died of cholera three months after leaving office in 1849 at the age of 53.

If wine is your passion, nestled throughout this region of Tennessee are several wineries and vineyards producing a wide variety of vintages. Most of the wineries include elaborately decorated showrooms where you can sample the selection, and several offer tours as well. Notable among these are Arrington Vineyards, which boasts Kix Brooks of the country music duo Brooks & Dunn as one of its partners, and Long Hollow Winery, owned by Grand Ole Opry legend Stu Phillips.

Nashville’s Parthenon is the only full-scale replica of the Greek Parthenon in existence. Its signature attraction is the 42-foot statue of Athena (below).

Fifteen miles and 100 years down the road from Nashville is historic Franklin, a 200-year-old town featuring a Victorian commercial district with brick sidewalks and beautifully renovated historic buildings housing elegant shops. Just a mile from downtown Franklin is The Factory, a shopping mall like no other. From its outside, it looks just like, well, a factory, complete with a water tower bearing its name overlooking one corner of the mall. The shops inside, however, are anything but industrial. Its collection of one-of-a-kind stores features an array of antiques, home décor, clothing, artwork, gifts and much more. Among the restaurants in the mall is Stoveworks, named in honor of the product built in this location during the majority of its years as a working factory.

And while the Middle Tennessee region features sites and activities that could easily fill a week’s vacation or more, you simply can’t come here without stopping in Nashville. From daytime excursions to a nightlife that won’t quit, you can always find something to feed your interests in Music City.

Although it seems out of place here (as it would anywhere outside of Greece) the Parthenon and its 42-foot statue of Athena is a must-see. Located in Centennial Park next to the Vanderbilt University campus, the Parthenon serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture, and is home to the city’s foremost art museum. But the real star here is Athena, the colossal replica of the original that was destroyed around A.D. 400. Gilded in gold leaf, the statue is believed to be a near-perfect representation of the original.

Another museum with its own (less ancient) history is the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Occupying what was once the city’s main post office, the museum officially took up residence in the building in 2001, keeping the post office’s familiar art-deco façade and only minimally changing the building’s interior. Originally built in 1934, the Frist Center maintains a link to its past with a branch of the post office housed on its first floor.

While on the subject of the past, you can’t ignore all of the music history waiting to be discovered in Nashville. And there is no better place to begin than the Country Music Hall of Fame.

From its architecture on the outside to the music represented inside, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum reflects country music in every inch of the building. On its outside—especially from a distance—the piano keys design is apparent. And what looks like a radio tower out front is actually a replica of the WSM tower located a few miles away atop four unmistakable symbols of recorded music, an LP record, 78 and 45 rpm records and a compact disc.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum honors legends such as Dolly Parton in an entertaining and interactive environment.

Inside are three levels of country music artifacts representing the history of the genre, as well the role it’s played in American society over the years. The three-story wall of gold records is impressive, and the Hall of Fame itself is simplistic, yet fair to all who have been enshrined. Plaques honoring the members of the hall are hung on a single circular wall, and no honoree is given a preferential location over another; all are equal in this hallowed room.

Two living country music museums that do double duty as performance halls are the Grand Ole Opry, which is a short drive from downtown in the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, and the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, previous home of the Opry. Both offer tours showcasing their history with fascinating stories.

For a peek at how music was recorded back in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, take a tour of Historic RCA Studio B on Music Row. You’ll be able to walk right into the studio, which features several instruments that were used on recordings made there, including Elvis Presley’s It’s Now or Never, Roy Orbison’s Only the Lonely, and the Everly Brothers’ All I Have to Do Is Dream. Admission must be purchased in conjunction with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and a shuttle bus will take you from the museum to the studio and back again.

A staple in Nashville for nearly 130 years, Hatch Show Print creates letterpress prints promoting concerts—as well as other products and events—the old-fashioned way, with wood blocks and photo plates. Located in the heart of Nashville amidst the honky tonks on Broadway, the Hatch shop is a sight to behold. Cramped, yet meticulously organized, and using equipment that’s 50 years old or more, every poster that comes out of the shop is handmade and every machine used to create it is hand-operated.

While your days in Nashville can be dedicated to the museums and history you can experience around town, your nights should be filled with hearing the music that forged the city’s reputation. And there’s no better way to experience music in Nashville than at the honky tonks along lower Broadway. In these, you’ll hear up-and-coming musicians not only in country music, but rock ‘n roll and blues as well. Among these venues is the legendary Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, the most storied honky tonk in town, where hundreds of singers have performed both before and after they became famous since it opened in 1960. The venues range from small to large, and most do not charge admission. You are welcome to come and go as you please. The best part about the honky tonks is the crowd they pull together. As you walk along Broadway most any night of the week, you’ll find it crowded with people young and old, dressed casually and professionally—and plenty in cowboy hats—everyone getting along as they share in the common goal of enjoying music.

Although at first glance it might seem out of place in the home of country music, one of the nation’s fastest-growing and most respected orchestras, the Nashville Symphony, offers a classical music alternative to the honky tonks right around the corner from its home in the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. With more than 200 performances a year, the 84-member orchestra has the privilege of playing in one of the most acoustically dynamic settings in the world. Architects of the center toured Europe, studying famous concert halls there, and brought the best of what they learned back to Nashville.

The symphony itself is highly respected, with four recent Grammy nominations, and the ability to draw top talent to perform with them. On the night I attended, violin virtuoso and one-time child prodigy Midori performed Tchaikovsky’s immensely challenging Concerto in D Major. And like the stars of country music in Nashville, the stars of classical music make themselves accessible to the public too, as I had the pleasure of meeting Midori in the lobby during intermission, following her dazzling performance.

I’m certain that I was not the only one in attendance that night who left the concert hall, awed by the symphony’s grand performance, and turned the corner down the street, heading up Broadway to hear some less-polished performers in a completely different genre put just as much care and emotion into their music as Midori and the symphony had moments earlier.

As I maneuvered my way down Broadway, trying to decide which honky tonk I should choose as my follow-up to a night at the symphony, I thought to myself

THIS is why Nashville is called Music City.

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