Nashville

A couple of weeks before beginning this trip, I saw a post in my instagram feed from a long-time friend. It said she was “home again”, in Nashville!

Not realizing previously that she lived there, I reached out to see if she was going to be around during the few days I’d be in Nashville. She said she would be and would love to get together.

I drove out of Memphis after having spent several hours at the National Civil Rights Museum. The drive proved a welcome time to process so much of what I saw there.

It was another rainy and overcast day. I made it to Nashville in good time and checked into the Bobby Hotel at about 4:00 PM.

*Lobby chandelier at Bobby Hotel is hub caps and steering wheels and fenders…oh my!*

*The Bobby is pet-friendly and offers room services for pets. Say hello to Sasha, who lives here.*

*Mad for this plaid carpeting and leather headboard*…

*Love that the bathroom walls are treated with different panes of textured gla*ss.

After checking-in, I took a brief-ish nap. Driving in rain is exhausting.

I showered and dressed for a casual night out. Bobby Hotel is two blocks from Broadway, the main music thoroughfare.

Streets leading to Broadway were busy with cars and people. Broadway sidewalks extend into the street (with those fence thingys above) to give people more room to walk from one venue to another.

Still, all of the cross streets lead to wonderful bars and clubs.

My cousin Lee, a musician and audio technician, recommended I be sure to check out Robert’s Western World and Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, saying they’re solidly country music venues.

I checked out both of them (they’re on Broadway) and found them quite lively and entertaining, meaning, there were several floors of live music this night, packed with people, dancing on the bar, and truly talented MCs!

No cover charge and getting a beer at the bar didn’t take very long, surprisingly, despite the crowds.

Inside, it wasn’t hard to miss the several groups of (mostly) women in matching tees and veils, or hats and tees, or matching tees and no head gear, in the house, celebrating a milestone birthday, or bridal party night out, or some other girls night out event.

There were some mixed groups, too, but I mostly noticed the women groups.

I had been out for a couple hours, then decided to head back to the hotel.

I checked out Bobby’s roof deck.

Not a lot of people up there.

I ordered a Manhattan and took in the view.

May 10, 2019

That afternoon my friend met me at the Bobby. Even though she lives in Nashville, she said she hadn’t been to the hotel to check it out since it had opened (about a year prior).

I showed her my cool room then we went to the roof deck for drinks and to catch up.

*How awesome it is to connect with a high school friend you haven’t seen in years!*

We said our good-byes and I headed to the hotel restaurant for a quick bite.

While there, I got a text from Michael, who is a musician in Richmond VA (and happens to be my uncle) and whom I would be seeing in a couple of days.

He’d been in touch with his former drummer, Trey, who was now in a band playing one of the clubs here in Nashville.

Michael suggested that I meet Trey. In fact, Michael had already told Trey about my being in Nashville.

Trey was enthusiastic about meeting me and told Michael to tell me to stop by at the club where he’d be playing from about 8-10 PM.

I took the scenic route to Loser’s Club, where Trey was playing.

*Live music always satisfies, especially when you’ve been introduced to a member of the band!*

I got there toward the end of their first set. During their break, Trey came over and invited me outside while he grabbed a smoke.

He was most pleasant and genuinely interested in how I happened to be in Nashville.

We talked for about 10 minutes — about Michael, his band, and music generally. Trey had come to Nashville about 10 years before. He was filling in with this band of dudes tonight.

I stayed for part of the second set then headed back out into the night.

It was drizzling.