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From Monday to Sunday, Nashville has the best venues for listening to country music, and now has a blossoming restaurant scene that's threatening to rival the pull of its songwriters
Late afternoon is the perfect time to arrive in Nashville, giving just enough time to settle into your hotel, grab a drink, and head out to hear live music. And Nashville's all about live music.
If it's a Monday, try 3rd and Lindsley (818 3rd Avenue South). The doors open at 5.30pm, the music starts at 9pm, and if the Time Jumpers are playing, as they do most Mondays, you're in for a world-class treat: western swing played by virtuoso pickers with country legends sitting in. Don't be put off by the strip-mall setting.
If it's a Tuesday, make for The Basement (1604 8th Avenue South) and catch the free New Faces show. The entrance is on a hard-to-find, dicey-looking alley. Find it. And if there's a concert at Grimey's, the vintage record store upstairs, do not miss it. Grimey's shows are life-changing events, for artists and audience alike.
On Wednesday or Thursday, get to the Bluebird Cafe (4104 Hillsboro Pike). It's become very popular since the TV show Nashville, and not what it was when owner Amy Kurland personally shushed anyone who dared speak while songwriters performed, but a lot of great songwriters grew up in the Bluebird and come back to it as if it were home.
If it's Friday or Saturday, head to the honky tonks on Lower Broad. My favourite is Robert's Western World (416 Broadway), where you can dance for free, buy cowboy boots, and listen to a stone country classic served up righteous.
When you tumble out of Robert's, go to Pub5 (104 5th Avenue South) for a nightcap, late dinner, or snack. Don't stop at the ground-floor dining room. This is all about the view. Climb three flights to the roof of one of Nashville's oldest buildings to take it in.
Next day, to put the music you've heard into context, head to the Country Music Hall of Fame (222 5th Avenue South); Studio B (1611 Roy Acuff Place) – where Elvis recorded; and Hatch Show Print (316 Broadway), an amazing letterpress shop that has reprinted posters for blues, country and rock icons (excellent souvenirs). Or go to the Ryman Auditorium (116 5th Avenue North), former home of the Grand Ole Opry, for a tour.
Have lunch at Burger Up (2901 12th Avenue South), where your server is likely to be a rising star, then stroll up the same street to Corner Music. This is a true pro-musician's neighbourhood music store, but they're nice to every customer, not just Bob Dylan. Once you've bought your harmonica, guitar strings or pick, walk up the road again to Imogene and Willie (2601 12th Avenue South) and try on artisan blue jeans. Or just find out they, and Nashville's burgeoning fashion design scene, do really exist.
But first you've got to settle into that hotel. If you want a hip vibe and cool star sightings, try the Huttonon West End (1808 West End Avenue. Doubles from $191) in a repurposed office building. If you want history and old-school luxury, and want to be able to walk to the honky tonks, stay at the Hermitage Hotel (231 Sixth Avenue North. Doubles from $279) and ask for a room with a view of the state capitol. Train buffs will enjoy the Union Station Hotel (+1 615 726 1001, doubles from $259).
Food is beginning to challenge music as the magnet that draws visitors to Nashville, so don't leave town without trying Prince's Hot Chicken Shack (123 Ewing Drive) – even if you like spicy food, order the mild – or one of the chef-owned establishments that mix southern staples into something contemporary. Tandy Wilson's City House (1222 4th Avenue North) is my favourite. This is austere southern food at its best. I love the Carolina trout, with peanuts, raisins, lemon and parsley ($22). Others adore his house-cured pork and the chicken roasted in an open fire while you wait. His side dishes are a revelation: I'd lived half a century in the south before I was served a corn salad with raw perfectly herbed corn.
For great food crafted by local artisans, go to Rolf and Daughters (700 Taylor Street). The sourdough, radish and seaweed butter starter ($5, perfect for sharing), accompanied by the mescal and tequila cocktail, followed by a bowl of chef-owner Phillip Krajec's gargenelli verdi with heritage pork ragout ($15) is a perfect quick-ish meal before a night out. On Sunday morning, join locals at Margot's (1017 Woodland Street) for a funky-elegant brunch. Her menus are short, perfect, and ever-changing, but if you see a savory crepe, get it. Margot's the queen of keeping the renovated classic relevant.
Don't leave town without going to the Fisk University and its Jubilee Hall. This 19th-century building houses a portrait commissioned by Queen Victoria of the original Jubilee Singers, an a cappella group of newly freed slaves who sang to raise funds for their university. It's because of them that Nashville earned the name Music City.
Alice Randall is an award-winning songwriter who married into a family who have been in Nashville for nine generations. She teaches at Vanderbilt University and is also the Jamie Oliver food ambassador for Nashville
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