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We pulled into Nashville after a 19 hour drive from Townsend, Massachusetts. At around 3:00am we arrived weary eyed and ready to sleep at Hope's friends house for the night. Hope worked with Eric doing volunteer work at City Year in New Hampshire. He turned out to be a great tour guide and really was able showed us the essence of Nashville in a very short time. I learned right away that this is a country music town. Every bar, convenience store, and street musician contributes to the scene. Country's top record studios are located downtown at the heart of the city. Strars and muisc execuatives walk the street side by side with the dedicated fans in Nashville. The Grand Old Opry and the Ryman Auditorium is here where legends like Johnny Cash and Bill Monroe have played for decades.
Hope and I went to the Blue Bird Cafe our first day in Nashville. We arrived and were greeted by a large southern woman from Georgia with a heavy twang in her voice. She bragged that she had driven four hours to get to the show and assured us it was worth it. I kept it to myself that we had just driven 19 so as not to deflate her moment in the spot light. The doors opened a few minutes later and we took our seat around the circle of musicians. Eric ordered a plate of fried green tomatoes for us while we waited for the music to start. I didn't know it standing in line, but playing that night were some of the top country songwriters in Nashville. They are the creative talent behind much of the country music on the radio. Faith Hill had actually used some of their songs. I mentioned her because she was the only one I recognized, but the woman from Georgia assured us that the other names were important as well. As we watched, I began to get the impression that everyone in this town is looking to make it with music one way or another. It seems pretty hard though, as the musicians here only really make money off of album sales and passing the tip jug during gigs. I was told that none of them get paid by bars directly, no matter who you are. You could see an act at a dive bar passing around a jug who was on the radio about to play the Ryman the next night. The perk in all this really is for the listeners. There are what seems like countless venues with great music every night of the week. And as good as the music here is, you have an equally dedicated audience. People here are actively searching for good music and good lyrics. It was the most refreshing thing about the city in my opinion being that I come from a city that seems to only care about the Red Sox.
If you look past the country cliches like cold beer, baked beans, unfaithful women, and pick up trucks, what you find are really dedicated musicians with a lot of talent. If you can't look past all that, then that is something we have in common. They almost did convert me for a second though.
Anyway, I am having a blast down here in Nashville. I hope y'all are well. (Damn, this accent is starting to stick.) Look for another post from New Orleans.
Hassan
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