Buckle of the Bible Belt

There is something brewing in Nashville and I am not just talking about what is in the vats of Yazoo Brewing Company.  There are countless songs that reference the city, but the one that jumps out at me as I type this is the TragicallyHip’s “It Can’t Be Nashville Every Night”: "He said, 'Fuck this' and 'Fuck that' / And this guy's the diplomat / Stares into the blur of the tuner lights / It can't be Nashville every night".  But Nashville does seem to be on everyone's radar.

While my adopted city of Pittsburgh keeps landing on "Best Of" lists, "Music City U.S.A" is also experiencing a number of accolades.  Often labeled one of the 10 best cities in America for live music, too me it is the home of Ryman Auditorium (listed on Rolling Stone's 10 Best Live Music Venues in America) as well as The Basement East or Station Inn, and the hits just keep on coming.  Whether it be from current Nashville resident Taylor Swift (along with Brendan Urie) singing "ME!" or the songs that originated from native Nashvillian legends Gregg Allman and Duane Allman or the other Grammy Award winning family act: Kings of Leon - no can argue that the city is a hub for music action. 

However, sports in the city appear to be on the rise and I really like when my interests in music and sports collide.  The city's professional hockey team, the Predators competed in the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup and the 2019 NFL Draft was recently held on the streets of Nashville.  And on the collegiate level - Vanderbilt University sports are ascending to new heights.  New basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse has brought in NBA legacies:  Scotty Pippen, Jr. and Kenyon Martin, Jr., while their perennial contender baseball program recently landed next generation, Major League Baseball prospect Jack Leiter and already has the son of an NFL player, Kumar Rocker on their roster.  I know that when most people think of the SEC, they are thinking of top tier collegiate athletics, but I have also learned that SEC is a directive to perform a specific passage of a musical composition in a dry, cold manner – essentially the way a musician might perform a song after sitting for hours on a bus.

A solid 10 hour drive south and west from Pittsburgh, Nashville is on my short list of places to visit.  I know that I do not typically praise country music in this blog or reference Music Row, but as my musical tastes continue to evolve I certainly realize that the city and the artists hold a special place in the live music spectrum.  Jason Aldeansings in “Crazy Town”:  “Roll into town step off the bus / Shake off the where you came from dust / Grab your guitar walk down the street / Sign says Nashville Tennessee”.

  

Thanks for reading.