This is, after all, Music City USA

by Ed Gregory
Middle Tennessee Chapter, STC

If all you want is good times and good music of any kind, just follow the crowds. But if you want to seek out a particular genre or rising star or ambiance, get ready to do some research before you hit town.

At last count there were more than 150 venues in the Nashville area where you can hear live music ranging from Appalachian to Zydeco.

The venues vary in size from the giant Gaylord Entertainment Center (Nashville's downtown arena) to Guido's, a tiny pizzeria in the Vanderbilt University area where there is very little elbow room but - on good nights - some unforgettable original music.

There are clubs where you are expected to get rowdy and have a rollicking time, like the famous Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Lower Broadway and the Mecca for the line dancing TNN crowd: The Wildhorse Saloon.

Relaxed reverence might be in order if attending one of the many performances at the Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ole Opry. This mother church of country music still packs them in, although the Opry itself is now at the Opryland Hotel campus.

It's worth the time to stand in line outside the renowned Bluebird Cafe for a chance to get inside and join visitors, locals, music row execs, and music aficionados in hushed (and sometimes shushed) admiration of performers unknown and well-known.

If your tastes run more to bluegrass, there are many venues to choose from. At the top of many lists is The Station Inn, home of some of the best acoustic music on the planet and where recording stars or local sessions musicians are likely to drop in and join the featured act.

For blues and R&B accompanied by Cajun food to spice up your visit, there are clubs like the Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar and The French Quarter.

Is jazz your bag? F. Scotts Restaurant & Jazz Bar is among the best in town and will give you something worth writing home about.

And it's always Writer's Night or Open Mic Night somewhere in Nashville, with clubs throughout the city offering stage time to poets and songwriters who hope to spread their message in a song, or find a publisher with cash and a contract. The really lucky ones find both. The Nashville Songwriters Association International does a good job of keeping track of this Nashville tradition.

And shucks, if you think you can sing as good as anybody in Nashville (especially after a beverage or two), then jump on stage and grab a mic. Just visit any of the local karaoke clubs in town where you can be the star of your own show.