If Mindy and I didn't have close friends or family to keep us on the North Shore of Massachusetts, we'd move to Nashville in a heartbeat.
We decided to go to Nashville, kind of on a whim. We were looking for an inexpensive, short weekend trip somewhere and after hearing everyone rave about Nashville we decided to give it a shot.
I'll be honest...I didn't anticipate loving it as much as I did. In fact, Mindy and I loved it so much, we went twice in one year. This post is from our second trip, but we approached the two trips with very similar approaches: Eat food, drink drinks, and listen to live music.
During our first trip we stayed at an AirBnb in the 12South area (about a 10 minute drive from Broadway). 12South was really nice, and we enjoyed our time there, but we found ourselves taking Uber/Lyft to and from Broadway everyday we were there. So on our second trip we knew that we wanted to stay close to "Honky Tonk Highway". After looking at a few different AirBnb and hotel options, we settled on Holston House. It was a pretty swanky, new, clean hotel and one block away from where the photo above was taken. My only (very minor) gripes were that they charged for the water bottles in the room, and the water in the shower didn't get as hot as I preferred. Weighing the pros and cons, I would definitely stay there again and recommend anyone else do the same.
If you're in a bar in Nashville it's impossible to not see band posters promoting concerts at the Grand Ole Opry, or at the Ryman Auditorium. Chances are, the poster you're looking at was made at Hatch Show Print. They have an immediately recognizable appearance: Bold colors, sans-serif fonts, and simple imagery. I saw these types of posters before I went to Nashville and fell in love with them on our first trip, so when I found out that Hatch Show Print offered tours, I couldn't resist.
After the tour we actually got to make our own Hatch Show Print. The tour was $18, which included the souvenir print. Totally worth it.
Our first Uber driver during our first trip gave us the best advice for deciding on which bars to go to: "Walk down Broadway and when you hear a song that you like, go in that bar." It's obvious, simple, and worked out really well for us. After Hatch Show Print, we took this approach and found ourselves at Rippy's Bar & Grill.
That night, we went to Kayne Steakhouse and had an incredible dinner. We walked from our hotel, so I didn't bring my camera, but trust me, it was worth it. I highly recommend the Cotton Candy Bacon appetizer. We slept in a bit later the next day, which set us up perfectly to kick off our day with lunch at Martin's BBQ. The food is amazing, and the outdoor seating area is one of my favorite places. It's covered by a clear roof, there is a constant breeze and hum from industrial fans, and the aroma of slow cooked meat is all around you. It really is one of my favorite places in Nashville.
During our first trip we stopped into Honky Tonk Central and really enjoyed the band...so much so that we stayed for their entire set. We enjoyed them so much that we looked up when they'd be playing during this trip and stayed for their entire set again. The lead singer, Samantha Stroh, has an incredible voice, the band is always super tight, and they're extremely entertaining. Samantha goes around the bar every hour or so to collect tips and take requests., so when she came around to us, we explained that they were the only band we actively chose to see again during our second trip and she was nothing but kind and appreciative. Definitely look up Samantha's schedule if you're ever in Nashville.
We closed out the trip by watching the Patriots win the Super Bowl and then making our last stop for some live music at Nudie's Honky Tonk. We headed back to Boston the next morning.
It might be some time before we go back to Nashville due to Mindy and I expecting a little human, but hopefully we'll find ourselves eating at Martin's and listening to Samantha in the future.