Nashville

[mandy200587]

Honestly the Westin or Omni both are great locations, Omni is closer to the main part of Broadway. I can honestly say winter here is unpredictable, we had some 70 degree weather in December oh and Tornadoes!

I highly recommend checking out Paradise Park for food, it's a little hole in the wall place connected to big bang but oh man so good. They will release songwriters at HOF closer to those dates usually. Bluebird Cafe tickets go on sale I think a month prior, I'm not 100% sure.

There is also the songwriter hall of fame right across from the Omni, in the Convention Center area.

This would be a good pass to look into if you're wanting to do multiple things, http://www.visitmusiccity.com/Visitors/discountsdeals/totalaccess

Tavern 96, that's on the back of the bridgestone arena usually has live music some nights. There's a bar in the Omni called Barlines, they tend to have live music every night too.

 

[asta]

We've decided we'll most likely stay at Omni regardless of when we go. We do really like Westin hotels too. Of it's open by the time we go, should we consider staying there instead?

I'm going to leave it up to DH to decide on the dates. He's concerned about the weather getting from the mtns. of NC to Nashville & back home that time of year. He said he may rather spend the extra money & go earlier. DS & I don't really care either way, so I told DH to give it some thought & let me know ASAP. The idea of seeing the Christmas festivities does appeal to me, but not enough to have to stress over the weather. Whatever he devices will be fine. Warning, if we do go at Christmas, I'll have twice as many questions for you all.



I love the long, informative posts. Feel free to write a travelogue, if you wish.

DS is 24 & will want to hit all the honkytonks with live music that we can fit in.

We'll definitely need to choose a time, when he can see Ryman & GOOH. It sounds like we need to choose dates in Nov or Dec.

The Country Music Hall of Fame is a must, as well as Studio B. Any idea how I can find out, when a songwriter will be at the HOF? DS is into all types of music, so we'll put JWTMR on the list too. How do I try for tickets to The Bluebird Cafe?

Thanks again for all your help. You guys are great.

The songwriter sessions at the Hall of Fame take place every Saturday at 11:30am. You can look thru their website: http://countrymusichalloffame.org/
It will detail any special performances, exhibit schedules and information on the Studio B tours.

This link tells you how to try for the Bluebird: http://bluebirdcafe.com/How-To-Make-Reservations The Bluebird is a very tough ticket since it has been featured on the show Nashville. It is not unusual for their website to lock up from too much demand every morning when tickets go on sale. There is standby but there seems to be a long line outside every evening.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Honestly the Westin or Omni both are great locations, Omni is closer to the main part of Broadway. I can honestly say winter here is unpredictable, we had some 70 degree weather in December oh and Tornadoes!

I highly recommend checking out Paradise Park for food, it's a little hole in the wall place connected to big bang but oh man so good. They will release songwriters at HOF closer to those dates usually. Bluebird Cafe tickets go on sale I think a month prior, I'm not 100% sure.

There is also the songwriter hall of fame right across from the Omni, in the Convention Center area.

This would be a good pass to look into if you're wanting to do multiple things, http://www.visitmusiccity.com/Visitors/discountsdeals/totalaccess

Tavern 96, that's on the back of the bridgestone arena usually has live music some nights. There's a bar in the Omni called Barlines, they tend to have live music every night too.

Tornadoes! The thought of that terrifies me. I'm sure it's like the fear people have of hurricanes, when they travel here. The fact that tornadoes come out of nowhere is so much scarier to me. When it comes down to it, I guess we're all afraid of the unknown. 70 degrees would be nice, but we'd be happy with no freezing precipitation.

I think I'll book Omni with a reservation that can be cancelled as soon as we have set dates, then keep an eye out for Westin info to see of we'd prefer to stay there. It sounds like Omni is perfect for us though.

Thanks for the restaurant, bar & tour info. I really appreciate the help.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

The songwriter sessions at the Hall of Fame take place every Saturday at 11:30am. You can look thru their website: http://countrymusichalloffame.org/
It will detail any special performances, exhibit schedules and information on the Studio B tours.

This link tells you how to try for the Bluebird: http://bluebirdcafe.com/How-To-Make-Reservations The Bluebird is a very tough ticket since it has been featured on the show Nashville. It is not unusual for their website to lock up from too much demand every morning when tickets go on sale. There is standby but there seems to be a long line outside every evening.

Thanks for the links. That saves a lot of searching. We probably won't be there on a Saturday, so he'll miss the songwriters. That's okay. There's so much he'll want to do that missing one thing won't be a big deals.

The Bluebird sounds great. I don't know of he's ever watched that show, so he may not know about it. I won't mention it in case I can't get tickets. I'll definitely try for them though.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Last question for now.... How many days should we plan for Nashville & how many for Memphis. Keep in mind that I'll want to see all the Christmas stuff, if we go in Dec.

 

[asta]

Last question for now.... How many days should we plan for Nashville & how many for Memphis. Keep in mind that I'll want to see all the Christmas stuff, if we go in Dec.

A lot depends on what you are exactly doing but I would at least spend three days in Nashville making sure to be there Friday and Saturday to see the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman and Country Music Hall of Fame writer's session. At Christmas you will want to spend an evening at the Opryland hotel to see the lights and decorations. You could feel in other days with a slower pace, more events like hockey but I think I would start with three days.

I am not an expert on Memphis but a day there would let you see Beale Street and Graceland.

 

[mandy200587]

I'd allow at least 3-4 days if you come in December because there is so much to do. Hall of fame takes a few hours, the Christmas stuff can take a day at least. There's also a Johnny cash museum, George jones museum and restaurant. We're getting a Patsy cline museum too but not sure of opening date

 

[tarheelmjfan]

A lot depends on what you are exactly doing but I would at least spend three days in Nashville making sure to be there Friday and Saturday to see the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman and Country Music Hall of Fame writer's session. At Christmas you will want to spend an evening at the Opryland hotel to see the lights and decorations. You could feel in other days with a slower pace, more events like hockey but I think I would start with three days.

I am not an expert on Memphis but a day there would let you see Beale Street and Graceland.

Just when I thought we had a solid plan, I'm back to the drawing board. We had pretty much decided on going to Nashville from NC on Dec. 26th, because the Omni was a much better price than it is in Oct. Unfortunately, DS's only request so far is to go to GOO, so that won't work. It looks like we'll have to be there on the weekend. That makes the hotel rates the same as October rates. I still really like the idea of a two week Christmas vacation. OTOH, DH may rather avoid the risky weather, since the hotel will be the same rate for either date. Now, when to go.

I'd allow at least 3-4 days if you come in December because there is so much to do. Hall of fame takes a few hours, the Christmas stuff can take a day at least. There's also a Johnny cash museum, George jones museum and restaurant. We're getting a Patsy cline museum too but not sure of opening date

That's what we were thinking. I'm glad to see we were on the right track. We were thinking 4 nights in Nashville & 3 in Memphis, but didn't know if we'd need more nights, if we add the Christmas attractions. He'll want to see all the museums, the shows, & as many live bands as possible. Basically, he's a music junkie & will want to do/see everything.

 

[mandy200587]

GOO shows run Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mostly year round...just in november-january it's at a different location

 

[Tink888]

We were just in Nashville and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express-Downtown Nashville. It was right on Broadway and we loved it for the location. It was sort of caddy-corner to the Union Station Hotel. We toured Ryman and the Country Music Hall of Fame and both were wonderful. If your son is a musician, the Ryman has something where you can record your own song (for fun). The honkytonks were a blast, every one we went into had live music. Fun, fun town! If you are coming from NC and any of you are car enthusiasts, you might enjoy a stop in Chattanooga. Coker Tire Museum has a fantastic collection of vintage and antique cars and the tour is free. Enjoy your trip!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

GOO shows run Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mostly year round...just in november-january it's at a different location

Thanks for the info. I looked at the calendar once, but didn't really know what I was looking for at that time. We hadn't narrowed down the dates at all then. I'll check it again for the dates we're now considering.

We were just in Nashville and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express-Downtown Nashville. It was right on Broadway and we loved it for the location. It was sort of caddy-corner to the Union Station Hotel. We toured Ryman and the Country Music Hall of Fame and both were wonderful. If your son is a musician, the Ryman has something where you can record your own song (for fun). The honkytonks were a blast, every one we went into had live music. Fun, fun town! If you are coming from NC and any of you are car enthusiasts, you might enjoy a stop in Chattanooga. Coker Tire Museum has a fantastic collection of vintage and antique cars and the tour is free. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for all the recommendations. We'd like to tour Ryman & GOOH, along with many other tours & shows. Chattanooga is on our list for possible stop overs. If we choose to stop there, I'll definitely tell the guys about the museum.

I'm glad you all had a fantastic trip.

 

[mandy200587]

Another thing to visit is the Goo Goo Cluster store, it's right downtown. Opry tickets aren't something you have to buy right then, you can buy them closer to your trip once you get an idea whose playing if you here are multiple nights during shows.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Another thing to visit is the Goo Goo Cluster store, it's right downtown. Opry tickets aren't something you have to buy right then, you can buy them closer to your trip once you get an idea whose playing if you here are multiple nights during shows.

Ooh, I'm all about chocolate. Thanks for mentioning that. I'll definitely drag my guys there.

When should I expect to see GOO singer's announced for Dec?

 

[mandy200587]

Ooh, I'm all about chocolate. Thanks for mentioning that. I'll definitely drag my guys there.

When should I expect to see GOO singer's announced for Dec?

Probably about October maybe you get a good idea...it's never though fully finalized

 

[dashofsunshine]

Definitely make a stop over in Chattanooga, if you have time. That's my hometown, my favorite place in the world no other town like it!

Edit: I guess it's a city, but I still call it a town it has grown so much!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Seeking honest opinions....

We've decided our dates in Nashville will be 12/29 - 1/2. What do you all think about a split stay of 2 nights at Gaylord & 2 nights at Omni? That would save us over $200, but I'm not sure it's worth it. If you would do a split stay, which hotel would you stay at first? If we went this route, we'd be at the second hotel on NYE. Should we just forget the idea completely & stay at Omni all 4 nights?

Speaking of NYE, the schedule shows performances at Ryman on the 30th & 31st. Will there definitely be a show those dates? It looks like we'll be too late for the Christmas show at GOOH. We'd go the week before Christmas, but DS's school doesn't start winter break until the 16th. Hopefully, we'll at least be able to take the tour.

 

[mandy200587]

Just stay all four nights at the Omni, traffic is crazy at that time. You'll be able to take in much more without stressing with the traffic and parking. There will be for sure shows at the Ryman...if a 1000 year flood doesn't stop the Opry then nothing will. I don't think you'll be able tour the Grand Ole Opry House during that time either because after the Christmas shows end the annual refurb begins.

During New Years Eve time frame, we have what's known as music city bowl...the day before the game there's a big battle of the bands down on broadway

 

[SMD]

Another thing to visit is the Goo Goo Cluster store, it's right downtown. Opry tickets aren't something you have to buy right then, you can buy them closer to your trip once you get an idea whose playing if you here are multiple nights during shows.

There's a Goo Goo store? Someone suggested one at a gas station once, and ever since I've bought a box to distribute as souvenirs, but I always just grab them at the airport on the way home.

Personally I found more to do in Memphis than Nashville, but I've been to Nashville more times, so maybe in the aggregate I've done more stuff. In Memphis there's Sun Studio and Stax. And Graceland, though I only went to the gate, it was definitely decorated for Christmas. For non-music related things there's the Civil Rights Museum and Pink Palace which has a Piggly Wiggly exhibit. I think you could easily do a lot in 2 days in Memphis. If you want to make it a little bit more a road trip you could detour to Shiloh battlefield on the drive there.

 

[mandy200587]

There's a Goo Goo store? Someone suggested one at a gas station once, and ever since I've bought a box to distribute as souvenirs, but I always just grab them at the airport on the way home.

Personally I found more to do in Memphis than Nashville, but I've been to Nashville more times, so maybe in the aggregate I've done more stuff. In Memphis there's Sun Studio and Stax. And Graceland, though I only went to the gate, it was definitely decorated for Christmas. For non-music related things there's the Civil Rights Museum and Pink Palace which has a Piggly Wiggly exhibit. I think you could easily do a lot in 2 days in Memphis. If you want to make it a little bit more a road trip you could detour to Shiloh battlefield on the drive there.

There is!!! It's right down on 3rd Avenue. They have a dessert bar too http://googoo.com/wp-content/uploads/GOO_GOO-Dessert-Bar-MENU_FINAL_2.pdf

http://googoo.com/find/downtown-nashville/

 

[dashofsunshine]

There is!!! It's right down on 3rd Avenue. They have a dessert bar too http://googoo.com/wp-content/uploads/GOO_GOO-Dessert-Bar-MENU_FINAL_2.pdf

http://googoo.com/find/downtown-nashville/

This is dangerous information...I didn't know they had a dessert bar!!