Nashville, Tennessee to Alabama

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Nashville known as the music city, is the capital of the State Tennessee, located in the middle of Tennessee around 400 kilometres East of Memphis.

In the late 1950’s, Nashville became known for the Nashville Sound. The new sound broadened country music’s appeal and solidified Nashville’s status as a music recording and production centre.

In the early 1960s, Tennessee still had racial segregation of public facilities including Hotels and Restaurants.  In 1960 the Nashville student movement and the Nashville Christian leadership council organized sit inns in downtown Nashville as part of an effort to end racial segregation of public facilities.

Congress passed civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965, but tensions continued as society was slow to change. On April 8, 1967, a riot broke out on the college campuses of Fisk University and Tennessee State University. As late as 1979 the Ku Klux Klan burnt crosses outside two African American sites in Nashville.

The music scene kept diversifying into rock and pop and other genres. Artists like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash started to record in Nashville in the 60’s.

Rising housing prices and the economic crisis have resulted in more people being out on the streets: It has been estimated that up to 20000 Nashville people are homeless.

 

Like most parts of southern USA and Tornado alley natural disasters are a yearly occurrence and in March 2020 a tornado crossed the city killing at least 25 people and leaving tens of thousands without electricity. This was followed by another tornado the following year leaving 3 dead.

Reason we came to Nashville was to visit the area around Broadway where there is a huge range of Restaurants, Bars and Night clubs, all with live music and entertainment. Even the MacDonald around the corner where we parked our truck had live music.

The main reason we and millions of others visit Nashville year-round is its association with country music.

Downtown Nashville around Broadway offers five blocks of bars with live music and no cover charge.  Nashville together with Memphis and New Orleans are the 3 hottest destinations for the honky-tonk bars with live music. Nashville promotes the towns atmosphere with live music, restaurants, bars, many with roof top bars and entertainment to attract more residents because temporary visitors may become permanent residents.

Nashville offers 17 yearly festivals to ensure that the tourist can book ahead attending their favourite festival.

As the “home of country music”, Nashville has become a major music recording and production centre. The big three record labels, as well as numerous independent labels, have offices in Nashville. Nashville’s music industry is estimated to have a total economic impact of about $10 billion per year and to contribute about 56,000 jobs to the Nashville area. For those curious to know where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton recorded their biggest hits there are many attractions around Broadway to visit and learn about the city’s musical past and present.

The Johnny Cash Museum showing his humble beginnings in Arkansas to his groundbreaking Folsom Prison performance to his love affair with June Carter is a fully encompassing journey of Cash and his legacy.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is huge and located in the middle of Downtown Nashville. Thousands of artifacts, two performance theatres, and countless rotating special exhibitions. The museum’s permanent installation, Sing Me Back Home, is the evolution of country music from its roots in the nineteenth century to today’s biggest hitmakers.

The National Museum of African Music. The museum showcases more than fifty musical genres that were inspired, created, or influenced by African American culture, ranging from early American religious music to hip-hop and Rhythm and Blues.

At the grand Ole Opry you can witness the world’s longest running live radio show.  it’s the only place where country music stars of past, present, and future have shared the same stage.

Broadway Honky-Tonks

Most have a hard time staying away from Nashville’s glittering main strip lined with perennial honky-tonks bars, restaurants and rooftop bars.

We had a great time in Nashville the music city with all its Alfresco dining and great little cosy patios all with live music.

 

After 4 days it was time for some R &R, and we left Nashville for the drive to the Gulf Shores leaving the state of Tennessee to cross Alabama.

4. ALABAMA

Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer state after the bird Yellowhammer. The state has diverse geography, from the mountains in the Tennessee Valley to the beaches near Mobile.

Montgomery is the capital city of Alabama.

Nearly 60% of the state is part of the Gulf Coastal plain, sloping towards the Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mexico.

In the last 15 years a few natural disasters have occurred in the state. In 2004 Hurricane Ivan caused over 18 billion dollars of damage and in 2011 62 tornadoes killed 238 people, wiping out many communities.

Unlike Cyclones (Hurricanes in the Northern Atmosphere) Tornadoes happen without any notice mostly during violent thunderstorms. South Alabama reports many thunderstorms. The Gulf Coast, around Mobile Bay, averages between 70 and 80 days per year with thunder reported. Alabama also has the most F5 tornadoes of any state. Alabama was devastated by the 2011 Super Outbreak which produced a record number of 62 tornadoes.

Unfortunately the weather was poor and with the chance of tornadoes we continued south and spent a few days at Bluff Springs before we entered the State of Florida.