Bluebird in Nashville

Nashville seems a city of bits and pieces to me: not at all coherent. At one end there is a full replica of the Parthenon in Centennial Park. At another there is the 32-storied 'Batman Building' (AT&T) finished with distinctive spiky spires. Odd. Both. There is a reconstruction of a small log fort, and a glass atrium resort hotel as big as some small towns. There is glossy Music Row where major players in the country music recording industry nowadays make their pennies; then there is Ernest Tubb's tired little shop down on Broadway, which was once where all musoes were heard, played and sold. 

Broadway is a street for Honky Tonks. Bars blare out live music from wannabe musicians and songwriters, purely for tips. When we were there it was so quiet as to be almost deserted. Broadway, and behind it the old Speakeasy joints and brothels of Printer's Alley, all looked more than a little tired, in fact a whole lot weary, as though the effort made to keep their doors open was all too hard, these days. 

Thank god, then, for Bluebird Cafe -- an unprepossessing little spot we'd tracked down way out in some very ordinary suburb where we found four excellent singers presenting their work 'in the round'. To those lucky few of us able to scramble for seats in time. An excellent evening in what seemed a rather tired, lacklustre, and characterless city. 

Upcoming stars of Nashville  

State Capitol, Nashville

Replica Parthenon, Nashville

Replica of Fort where settlers drove off Indians in 1781

Old brothels down Printer's Alley are mooted to be demolished

Still there are shoe shine joints

Bluebird musicians at twilight