Moon 52 Things to Do in Nashville

THIS IS MY NASHVILLE

Music City is a transplant’s town. We call Nashville natives “unicorns” because so many people who live here came here from somewhere else. They come for the music—to play it, to work in the industry, or just to listen to it—but they also come here because this is a city of people who listen to their own rhythm, people who like to do things differently. That iconoclastic beat is what makes it a fun place to live. There’s always something to do that is unusual and creative; and it is often miles away (literally and figuratively) from Lower Broadway’s tourist sights and crowds.

When I moved to Nashville more than a decade ago, I started a refrain: “People in Nashville do weird things for a living.” And I’ve spent the years since getting to experience those weird things, be it eating “hot chicken cheese,” a gooey vegetarian alternative to the city’s iconic dish created by a local chef; or watching a display of entirely indoor fireworks (set to music, of course).

Sometimes Nashville is depicted as a one-note (pun intended) town of beer, bachelorettes, and boots. The real Nashville is more diverse and complex. It boasts the largest Kurdish population in the United States and is home to the National Museum of African American Music. It even owes its nickname, Music City, to one of its historically Black colleges.

We’re not just “Music City” or “Nash Vegas.” We’re “the Athens of the South” and the “buckle of the Bible Belt.” Explore all of the nuances of Nashville with these experiences, one for each week of the year. But, yes, of course, you can still wear your cowboy boots.

TO DO LISTS

Live Music

1 Try your hand at songwriting

3 Hear sweet music on Jubilee Day

7 Kick up your heels at a honky-tonk

14 Learn to two-step or line dance

17 Hear up-and-coming musicians first

18 Celebrate Latin America at Plaza Mariachi

24 Strum and pick your way through local guitar shops

Food

2 Savor Southern cuisine at a meat-and-three

9 Take a fork to some tender barbecue

11 Snack, shop, and swim on Dickerson Pike

18 Celebrate Latin America at Plaza Mariachi

21 Play with your food at family-friendly restaurants

25 Feed your mind in North Nashville

27 Feast on Kurdish food

31 Make your eyes water sampling hot chicken

33 Lunch at an old-timer restaurant

36 Taste the international flavors of Nolensville Pike

38 Taste Tennessee’s bounty at U-Pick-Em farms

Black Heritage

3 Hear sweet music on Jubilee Day

6 Celebrate Black culture and history on Jefferson Street

13 Relive the Nashville sit-ins

25 Feed your mind in North Nashville

51 Follow in the footsteps of Civil Rights activists in Memphis

Art and Culture

15 Create a masterpiece at a makerspace

16 Get collegiate in the Athens of the South

26 Rhapsodize about your favorites at music museums

32 Get hands-on at kid-friendly museums

35 Wander the Buchanan Arts District

47 Meet makers and mules in Columbia

48 Trace the origins of country music to Bristol

Only in Nashville

1 Try your hand at songwriting

2 Savor Southern cuisine at a meat-and-three

7 Kick up your heels at a honky-tonk

12 Go backstage at the Ryman Auditorium

13 Relive the Nashville sit-ins

14 Learn to two-step or line dance

16 Get collegiate in the Athens of the South

26 Rhapsodize about your favorites at music museums

28 Treat yourself to custom-made boots

30 Get deep into country music at the Hall of Fame

31 Make your eyes water sampling hot chicken

Be a Tourist in Your City

7 Kick up your heels at a honky-tonk

10 Widen your perspective at historic Fort Negley

12 Go backstage at the Ryman Auditorium

20 Embrace the kitsch at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

22 Get the best views of the city from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge

23 Toast the legacy of Printers Alley

30 Get deep into country music at the Hall of Fame

32 Get hands-on at kid-friendly museums

Shopping

4 Shop local in East Nashville

8 Scope out vintage gems on Gallatin Pike

11 Snack, shop, and swim on Dickerson Pike

19 Shop and sip in The Nations

24 Strum and pick your way through local guitar shops

28 Treat yourself to custom-made boots

34 Go to Nashville Fashion Week in style

35 Wander the Buchanan Arts District

Families and Kids

5 Pedal the Music City Bikeway

18 Celebrate Latin America at Plaza Mariachi

20 Embrace the kitsch at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

21 Play with your food at family-friendly restaurants

32 Get hands-on at kid-friendly museums

37 Lace up your boots for an urban hike

38 Taste Tennessee’s bounty at U-Pick-Em farms

43 Escape to Monteagle and Sewanee

45 Go underground at Mammoth Cave

Neighborhoods and City Streets

4 Shop local in East Nashville

6 Celebrate Black culture and history on Jefferson Street

8 Scope out vintage gems on Gallatin Pike

11 Snack, shop, and swim on Dickerson Pike

19 Shop and sip in The Nations

23 Toast the legacy of Printers Alley

25 Feed your mind in North Nashville

27 Feast on Kurdish food

29 Bask in the beauty of Belle Meade Boulevard

35 Wander the Buchanan Arts District

36 Taste the international flavors of Nolensville Pike

Outdoor Adventures

5 Pedal the Music City Bikeway

10 Widen your perspective at historic Fort Negley

37 Lace up your boots for an urban hike

39 Kayak and paddleboard on Percy Priest Lake

41 Go chasing waterfalls

42 Dig deep in a Tennessee cave

44 Climb, bike, and paddle in Chattanooga

45 Go underground at Mammoth Cave

50 Witness the mountain magic of the Smokies

52 Get soaked whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River

Day Trips

39 Kayak and paddleboard on Percy Priest Lake

40 Sip your way down the Tennessee Whiskey Trail

41 Go chasing waterfalls

42 Dig deep in a Tennessee cave

45 Go underground at Mammoth Cave

46 Drive the Natchez Trace Parkway

47 Meet makers and mules in Columbia

Weekend Getaways

43 Escape to Monteagle and Sewanee

44 Climb, bike, and paddle in Chattanooga

48 Trace the origins of country music to Bristol

49 Better understand the Civil War in Corinth, Mississippi

50 Witness the mountain magic of the Smokies

51 Follow in the footsteps of Civil Rights activists in Memphis

52 Get soaked whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River

1 Try your hand at songwriting

Live Music • Only in Nashville

Telling stories in song is at the core of country music, and Nashville has turned it into an art form. Countless people come to Nashville to turn their stories into music. If you’re among that group, or just want to know what goes into crafting a good song, you can take a songwriting class or attend a performance at a listening room.

Many songwriters offer one-on-one instruction on how to put a song together. Come prepared with ideas about what you want to write; your instructor will help you move the “plot” of your story forward. Here are some options to help you find a class.

From its headquarters on Music Row, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (1710 Roy Acuff Pl., 615/236-3354, www.nashvillesongwriters.com) offers weekly songwriting workshops. You’ll need to pay to join NSAI, which will give you unlimited access to their workshops. You can also book sessions in writing rooms that have all the gear you need to collaborate with others. The Tennessee Songwriters Association International (2416 Music Valley Dr., 615/582-0176, www.tennsongwriters.com) near Opryland has similar offerings for its members.

From its shop in East Nashville, Fanny’s House of Music (1101 Holly St., 615/750-5746, www.fannyshouseofmusic.com) has offered classes taught by local songwriters and musicians for years. In 2020, the owners started a nonprofit organization called Fanny’s School of Music. Both the shop and the school focus on opportunities for female and nonbinary students and teachers. Fanny’s offers one-on-one classes as well as the chance to build your own group class with a few friends.

The best way to learn songwriting is to do it, of course. But the second-best way is to head to a listening room and hear for yourself what other songwriters are doing. A listening room is a place where songwriters perform acoustically and share the stories behind their lyrics. In some cases, they’ll tell you how they sold the song that became a hit—and it will sound different from the writer’s mouth than it does on the radio. Many listening rooms are set up “in the round,” meaning several songwriters will be on stage together and take turns playing a tune and bantering with one another. Listening rooms are quiet spots; please don’t talk during performances. You also won’t find any fancy stage design: The emphasis is on the singer and the song. Here are some of the best listening rooms in the city:

The Bluebird Café (4104 Hillsboro Pike, 615/383-1461, http://bluebirdcafe.com) is Nashville’s most famous listening room. The Bluebird is famous for its songwriters’ nights, open mics, and performances in the round. Musicians aren’t up on a stage—they are on the floor with you. Since it’s a small room, reservations are required—and they are tough to come by. Get on the website in the morning a few weeks before you want to see a show and be ready to nab your ticket. The Bluebird is all ages, except for its 10 bar seats, which are only for patrons 21 and older. Note: You will be shushed if you talk here.

The Listening Room Cafe (618 4th Ave. S., 615/259-3600, http://listeningroomcafe.com) in SoBro has become a destination for both locals and tourists. The space here is bigger than some other listening rooms, with large communal tables, but it’s still small enough that you can hear the writers’ stories and witness them rib and praise each other onstage. The food here, particularly the biscuits, is a draw all on its own.

Commodore Grille (2613 West End Ave., 615/327-4707) is nestled in the lobby of the Holiday Inn near the Vanderbilt campus. While its location may seem odd, it has become a favorite listening room for Nashville singer-songwriters who want to perform in a quiet place with a positive vibe. You can call ahead to get the lineup of performers, but it’s a reliable rotation of talented locals, so you can just as easily show up and be impressed. The happy hour specials are a nice incentive to get there early.

Bobby’s Idle Hour (9 Music Square S., 615/649-8530, www.bobbysidlehour.com) has been at different locations around Music Row over the decades. All the while, it has remained a dependable, low-key place to have a cheap beer and hear songwriters share their stories. The small stage has just enough room for a few guitarists and microphones.

Connect with…

12 Go backstage at the Ryman Auditorium

17 Hear up-and-coming musicians first

24 Strum and pick your way through local guitar shops

2 Savor Southern cuisine at a meat-and-three

Food • Only in Nashville

There’s a hilarious scene in the first season of the Netflix show Master of None where Aziz Ansari’s character, Dev, takes a woman on a whirlwind date from New York to Nashville. They’re standing in line ordering dinner, but Rachel, Dev’s date, can’t find any vegetarian-friendly options. The restaurant manager assures Rachel he can build her something to eat from sides. He brings her a tray with a meager offering: a square of cornbread, a cup of pickles, and a banana. The scene is funny because it’s true. (I admit: I saved a screenshot of those sad pickles to look at when I need a laugh.)

Nashville has long been known for its lack of vegetarian food (though it is becoming more common). Contributing to that legacy is the meat-and-three, a cafeteria-style restaurant that serves one meat dish and three vegetables on the side. (Sometimes the restaurant serves an entrée and two sides; this is still called a meat-and-three.) Such eateries are dotted all over the South, but have a particular concentration in Nashville, where they have become their own category of local cuisine, second only to hot chicken.

A meat-and-three is the great equalizer. There’s nothing fancy: The decor will be low-key, and you’ll carry your own tray. A meat-and-three is where you will see folks from every segment of Nashville life—politicians, academics, tourists, construction workers, and celebrities—stand in the same line. No one, not even the celebrities, can reserve a table in advance during a lunch rush. You have to go through the line, pay, and then wait for an open table, no matter how many gold records you have. (And no matter how many gold records you have, you may end up with squash casserole on your sleeve.)

Most meat-and-threes are predictable, but also change their menus regularly. For example, fried chicken may only be available on Fridays; meatloaf only on Thursdays. Once a meat-and-three is sold out, that’s probably it for the day. Don’t expect anyone to make more creamed corn just because the person in front of you took the last in the pan. Oh, and at a classic meat-and-three, mac and cheese counts as a vegetable…even if it has bacon in it. No matter what’s on the menu, the options will be delicious and filling—and probably not cardiologist approved.

Arnold’s Country Kitchen (605 8th Ave. S., 615/256-4455, www.arnoldscountrykitchen.com) is the gold-standard. Chef Kahili Arnold has taken the helm at the restaurant his parents started, and he brings a creative sensibility to the classics (there’s even a James Beard award in the restaurant’s past). Celebrity chef Sean Brock has said that Arnold’s is the first place he takes out-of-towners. There are several dozen other time-honored meat-and-threes throughout the city. Among the best is Swett’s Restaurant (2725 Clifton Ave., 615/329-4418, www.swettsrestaurant.com) in Midtown, which has great beef tips and a good amount of elbow room at its tables. Sophia Vaughn’s family has been serving soul food to locals for almost 70 years near Germantown at Silver Sands Café (937 Locklayer St., 615/780-9900, www.silversandsnashville.com). In addition to Southern classics, Silver Sands also has tilapia and salmon croquette on the menu.

Like on Master of None, at many meat-and-threes, the vegetarian option is to load up on sides. Hopefully, you’ll get more than a banana and pickles, but it is worth asking how vegetables are prepared, as many greens are cooked in bacon fat. JamaicaWay Restaurant in the Farmers Market (900 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., 615/255-5920, http://jamaicawayrestaurant.com) makes all its dishes without pork. Berry Hill’s Sunflower Café (2834 Azalea Pl., 615/457-2568, www.sunflowercafenashville.com) is an entirely vegetarian restaurant with many nods to traditional meat-and-three dishes.

Connect with…

25 Feed your mind in North Nashville

3 Hear sweet music on Jubilee Day

Fisk University

Live Music • Black Heritage

Jubilee Day is my favorite day of the year in Nashville, a day when I feel connected to those who were here before me, and a day when I feel hopeful for the connections we will make going forward.