Nashville, Where Country is Only the Tip of the Iceberg.

So I thought my first “real” post would be about Nashville, the amazing new city I live in and what an incredible music scene there is here! By no means do I claim to be an expert about Nashville, or the rich music history that seems to reveal itself everywhere, or even the current music scene. Like I said, I just started discovering it myself, but there are some things that are obvious even for a transplant like myself.

You can bet on being able to experience great live music seven days a week, and if you think I’m talking about country music, you’re wrong. There is a huge range of genres spanning from folk, to bluegrass, to punk, to hard rock, to the huge umbrella of Americana and everything in between from both local and nationally known touring acts. Also adding to the credibility of Music City as a major music hub is the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, one of the most innovative chamber orchestras in the country, and the Nashville Symphony just opened their season by doing a show with pop icon Elvis Costello. See what I mean, country is only a fraction of the music in Nashville these days.

Of course there is country music here, and if that’s what you’re into you won’t have a problem finding it. One of my favorite things to do is to check out some of the “writer nights” where you can hear the songwriters who write the songs you hear on Top 40 radio play their songs in raw form, often with just a guitar or piano.

The other thing about Nashville that I’ve noticed as a newbie is that many people value and support the music community here. I’ve never lived in a place where as far as I can tell, people care so much about and promote their local artists/musicians.

There is a lot more to be said about Nashville and the city’s music. If you have some extra time, check out Nashville’s Band of Outsiders by Ann Patchett which appeared the New York Times this past weekend. The article does a great job portraying Nashville’s rich music scene.