Thursday 12 to Thursday 19 September 2024 (Part Three)
The Highwaymen: Kris Kristofferson (centre), flanked by Waylon Jennings (left), Willie Nelson (right) and Johnny Cash – from a picture in Nashville’s Johnny Cash Museum
This Blog is the third and final account of my recent trip to Nashville with friends from Hertfordshire. Those who have followed my story of the first few days of our trip will have seen our group’s experiences in following some aspiring singer-songwriters at venues such as The Listening Room and the Bluebird Café, and of our trip with Amy Alexander and her husband Brandon around the publishing houses and studios of Music Row. Well, in our last two days in Nashville we got to see the other end of the artist’s journey, enjoying a trip to the Johnny Cash Museum and concerts from The Time Jumpers and from a host of other leading and established artists at the Grand Ole Opry. Here is the story of the remainder of our week in Music City.
At the Johnny Cash Museum are many mementos from his long career, that spanned country, rock & roll, rockabilly, blues, gospel and folk musicQuite some boots . . .. . . and the chair from where Cash sang his emotive 2002 cover of ‘Hurt’, during his final days of recordingThen we took a short walk around Downtown in the heat . . .. . . a backstage view from Broadway . . .. . . and a stroll along the Cumberland RiverOur evening entertainment today was on the south side of Downtown, at 3rd and Lindsley . . .. . . where the stage was set . . .. . . for another great evening of live music . . .. . . this time thanks to the renowned Time Jumpers – a collective of top Nashville session players who convene each Monday to jam as a western swing band: quite an array of talent, and another highlight of our tripNext morning, we took a short walk from our house in Germantown to the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, where the 50 columns contain a 95-bell carillon representing the 95 counties of Tennessee . . .. . . around the Court of Three Stars, a circular plaza depicting, in red, white and blue granite, the State’s logoThen to the Tennessee State Museum for some Downtown viewsThe interactive museum features a series of historical videos and some fascinating artefacts from the state’s colonial and frontierland past, through to the impact of the Civil War, the coming of industrialisation, and the hardships of the Depression . . .. . . right up to the advent of the music industry in NashvilleOur final day, and in the mid-afternoon we made our way to Opryland, where Mike had ventured before us to take a backstage tour of the Grand Ole OpryAfter dinner in the nearby mall we entered the auditorium . . .. . . and took our seats for the showWhat a line-up: eight acts, starting with Riders In The Sky . . .. . . then country artist Shelly FairchildVeteran Charlie McCoy could still hold a note, before wowing the audience with his powerful duetting harmonicas on ‘Orange Blossom Special’ – McCoy played on the 1965 Johnny Cash cover of this older song, replacing the traditional fiddle solo with his own ‘train whistle’ arrangement The first half of the show concluded with ‘neotraditional’ country band Midland performing two of their many hits and a first airing of a number from their soon-to-be-released albumThe Blind Boys of Alabama got the second half off to a rousing start with their rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ to the tune of ‘House of the Rising Sun’ . . .. . . before Tyler Hubbard and his band took the evening up-tempoNext up, Canadian-born New Zealand-based country and soul singer-songwriter Tami Neilson, making her debut at the Opry . . .. . . then headliner, country and bluegrass artist Ashley McBryde, recently made a ‘Member of the Grand Ole Opry’, closed the show to a standing ovationHome time!
So ended our week in Nashville – it seems in retrospect like a whistle-stop tour, although we fitted in an amazing schedule of venues and events. Luck, I think, was very much with us, in getting tickets for all of the principal venues that we sought (although there are many more clubs and honky-tonks besides, that might attract a return visit). We were fortunate too in getting premier acts, as in many cases the venues needed to be booked before the artist line-up was revealed: we struck gold in seeing Molly Tuttle, her band and her guests at the Ryman Auditorium, and also with the stellar line-up at the Grand Ole Opry – two totally unique shows that will live long in the memory. Good times indeed!
I will return presently to my walking Blogs, but thank you all for following this diversion into the world of Country Music and, for those who enjoy the experience as much as I do, for supporting live music. See again you soon!
Whilst putting this Blog together this morning I heard the very sad news of Kris Kristofferson’s passing; another Country Music icon departed. So, my Blog heading today ‘For The Good Times’ is in his memory, as well as serving as a thank you to Mark, Mike and Matt for a Nashville experience to remember, and to all of the two dozen or so artists who we saw playing on our trip to the Music City. The song ‘For The Good Times’ was written by Kristofferson, and it appeared on his 1970 eponymous debut album. Kristofferson led a varied and full life, breaking through in the music scene as one of the original ‘Country Outlaws’ who (somewhat ironically in the context of this piece) nurtured their creative freedoms outside of the Nashville establishment that largely dictated the country sound of the 1970s. His music career followed a spell as a helicopter pilot with the US Army, before he went on to become a popular singer-songwriter, and actor. Along with many other collaborations, in 1985 the singer teamed up with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings to form the supergroup The Highwaymen, and his career was capped by induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
Walking for Fun, Challenge and Charity! 