Thursday, 4 January 2007

What’s New in Nashville & Memphis

If you haven’t been to Nashville or Memphis in a few years, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Tennessee’s two largest cities continue to evolve into re-energized metropolitan communities that manage to pay loving homage to their storied musical pasts while offering an increasing array of new cultural attractions, professional sports, and dining and lodging options to please travelers with varied tastes and interests.

Nashville:

Nashville is basking in a resurgence of popularity unmatched since the mid 1940s, when singer/songwriters such as Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb first came to town and helped launch a country music boom that has become an American pop phenomenon. Times and tastes in country music have changed over the years, but like the local music industry’s anthem, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” today Nashville is booming with an array of cultural opportunities that tie the past with the present, and offer an optimistic not toward the future.

Memphis:

What’s new in Memphis? “What’s not?” might be the better question. This lazy Southern city that languished in the decades following the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., has slowly rebounded from a dark time in the city’s history. No longer blighted and largely abandoned, downtown is now the vibrant heartbeat of this newly energized city, which proudly touts its musical heritage as Home of the Blues and Birthplace of Rock ’n’ Roll.

Planning your trip to Nashville

It’s country music capital of the world, and Nashville is a major tourist destination. As the city’s popularity has grown, so too has the need for pre-visit planning. Before leaving home, you should try to make hotel and car reservations. Not only will these reservations save you money, but also you won’t have to struggle with trying to find accommodations after you arrive. If you are hoping to attend the Grand Ole Opry or are coming to town specifically for the International Country Music Fan Fair (the city’s biggest annual event), you should purchase your ticket well in advance.

Summer is the peak tourist season in Nashville, and from June though September downtown hotels are often fully booked for days or even weeks at a time. Consequently, reservations—for hotel rooms, for rental cars, for a table at a restaurant—are imperative.

When to go? How far in advance to plan? How to get there? These are the sorts of questions that this chapter addresses, and here you’ll find essentials you’ll need to plan a trip to Nashville.

Nashville, Music City USA, the Country Music Capital of the World. There’s no doubt why people visit Nashville. But you may be surprised to find that there’s more to see and do here than just chase country stars. Sure, you can attend the Grand Ole Opry, linger over displays at the Country Music Hall of Fame, take a tour past the home of the country stars, and hear the stars of the future at any number of clubs. However, the state capital of Tennessee also has plenty of museums and other attractions that have nothing to do with country music. Among the city’s most enriching cultural attractions are the Van Vechten Art Gallery at Fisk University, the impressive new Frist Center for Visual Arts, and Cheekwood Botanical Gardens—not to mention Nashville’s full-size reproduction of the Parthenon. So even if you’ve never heard of Marty Stuart or Martina McBride, you’ll find something to keep you busy while you’re in town. However, if you own every album ever released by George Jones or The Judds, you’ll be in hog heaven on a visit to Nashville.

You can also find information about Nashville at the following websites:

Planning your trip to Memphis

Whether you’re visiting Memphis combined with a trip to Nashville or heading specifically to this sprawling city on the Mississippi, you’re likely to have some questions before you arrive. This chapter puts all the planning information at your fingertips.

Just as in Nashville, music is the heart of Memphis, and many of the city’s main attractions are related to Memphis’s musical heritage. The blues first gained widespread recognition here on Beale Street, and rock ‘n’ roll was born at Sun Studio. W.C. handy, the father of the blues, lived here for many years, and Elvis Presley made his Memphis home –Graceland—a household word. You’ll find the history of the Memphis sound on exhibit at several museums around the city, including a couple devoted exclusively to music.

There’s more to Memphis than music, however. African-American heritage, the history of the civil rights movement, and cultural opportunities abound. For example, every few years Memphis puts on an exclusive show of international importance. Called Wonders: The Memphis International Cultural Series(http://www.wonders.org/) presents exclusive international exhibitions. Past shows have focused on Napoleon, Catherine the Great, the Ottoman Empire, and even the Titanic. When planning a trip to Memphis, check with the tourist information office to find out if any special exhibits will be scheduled during your visit.

Downtown Memphis has experienced a long-awaited renaissance over the last few years, with such renovation projects as Memphis central Station, a historic 1914 train depot. Also adding vitality is Peabody Place, at press time the nation’s largest mixed-use development and historic preservation project. In addition to housing the funky Center for Southern Folklore, it includes a 22-screen Cineplex and IMAX 3-D Theater as well as retail outlets ranging from Tower Records to Anne Taylor.

There’s more. The Gibson Guitar Plant, a 75,000-square-foot guitar manufacturing facility and showcase lounge, offers visitors the chance not only to hear these instruments performed but also to see them being made. On the second floor of this complex lies “Rock ‘N’ Soul: Social Crossroads” a Smithsonian Institution exhibition that traces the Memphis and Mississippi Delta’s rich musical heritage.

Finally, groundbreaking began in late 2001 on Soulsville, USA, which will include the new Stax Museum of American Soul Music and an arts academy for area youths.


You can also get information online at http://www.memphistravel.com/


Source: Frommer’s Nashville & Memphis 5th edition by Linda Romine

2 comments:

ginyin said...

Wow, you write so many details about Nashville and Memphis. I know Nashville that is one of my favorite place becase there are many country music artists there; as a big fan of country music, that's impossible not knowing it. I'll stay in Mid west few months later. When the weather becomes warmer, I'll ask my husband to have a family trip to Nashville.

♥ N i n g ♥ said...

Hi Ginyin,I hope my blog is good information to everybody but that information from my guide book. :-) Very good idea Ginyin, if you plan in summer time because right now some day rain and a little bit cold. Everywhere feel lonely because don’t have colorful and get dark very quickly.