Our own intrepid correspondent, Richard Thompson [bluegrassmercury], spent a week in Nashville in early October, having traveled from the UK to attend the IBMA convention, accompanied by his wife, Karen. It was their first trip to IBMA in 20 years, and we thought that his post-IBMA impressions and reflections would be of interest both to others who were likewise in attendance, and our many readers who would love to have been there.

Here, Karen adds her thoughts to those Richard shared in his previous Travelogue entries. Read them all here.

bluegrassmercury Travelogue #14
By Karen Thompson
Nashville, Tenn.  Karen’s Travelogue

We flew into Nashville late Thursday afternoon (9/25), stepping from the airport into the outside after being 2 in two airplanes in pressurised conditions for several hours was short-lived bliss, I hadn’t expected it to be so hot at 5 o’clock. But we were soon on an air-conditioned bus heading towards downtown Nashville. After checking at the Holiday Express Inn on Broadway, unpacking etc, etc we (hubby and I) took to the street to explore. It was still very hot and as we walked down Broadway towards Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge familiar and not so familiar sights greeted me.

The last time I was in Nashville was 1981, and for a short time I was transported back to the early 1980s as so much seemed to be the same as it was back then, I was only a mere slip of a girl, had not been married long, and everywhere looked big and new. But now Nashville in the dark (8 at night) looked as though it hadn’t changed much. The sights, sounds and smells all came flooding back to me.

It was only the next morning in the clear light of day when walking the same streets I realized that some things were very much the same and some things had changed significantly. Now we have the Sommett Center and the AT&M (Batman Building), and the Country Music Hall of Fame is now located downtown and the Nashville Convention Center (where I spent most of my time while in Nashville). It is comforting to know we still have the Ryman, Tootsies and Ernest Tubb’s record store still where they were 27 years ago.

When I first came here it was for a the 1981 Country Music Fan Fair, having a week of country music from dawn to dusk. Now older and slightly wiser, bluegrass music is more to my liking (although I still have a love of what I would call more traditional country music – Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Statler Brothers – but hey, didn’t they probably all grow up listening to bluegrass/old time music????) (more…)

Our own intrepid correspondent, Richard Thompson [bluegrassmercury], spent a week in Nashville in early October, having traveled from the UK to attend the IBMA convention. It was his first trip to IBMA in 20 years, and we thought that his post-IBMA impressions and reflections would be of interest both to others who were likewise in attendance, and our many readers who would love to have been there.

bluegrassmercury Travelogue #13
By Richard F Thompson
Nashville, Tenn.  Reflections

Our holiday ended with a delayed flight from Charlotte to London, meaning that we were travelling for almost 23 hours. Jet-lag took a four days to overcome.

However, I enjoyed every minute of our stay in Nashville. The atmosphere at both the IBMA business conference and Fan Fest was as Peter Wernick described; all “hustle and bustle,” I think is what he said.

The programme for the conference was packed and there wasn’t a moment when activity slackened, it seemed. I was able to meet many people that I hadn’t seen in 20 years and spend time with some new friends; put a face to a name, in some instances, as well as meet some who were completely new to me. Networking was a significant element and I am content that in the time available I did as much as I could to make myself known and to promote myself to others.

I wasn’t as tired as I expected I might be. Mind over matter and a good breakfast daily kept stamina up. That said, there was a point on Saturday, maybe very late Friday night, when recovery from lack of sleep began to diminish markedly. On Saturday perhaps I should have just sat and listened to the music, instead of looking for any photographic opportunity and going for it, so to speak. Our investment included expenditure on photographic equipment and taking photographs was one of the reasons for attending. Karen and I have a reasonable catalogue of pictures. I hope that some of them may even find their way into a magazine at some time in future.

I took advantage of as many learning opportunities as were relevant to me as journalist. Another year there may have been more seminars etc. that could have been useful to me, but you can only grasp the opportunities that present themselves.

Where there were choices to be made was in sampling the music during the showcases and at FanFest. Here personal taste won over education, ie watching and listening to a band with whom I had very limited acquaintance. Some may recall that I had spent a bit of time assessing bands before leaving home. Armed with a mental note of the bands that I wanted to see, I attempted to plan my week by making references in the programme. I must say the pocket version of the programme is an exceptionally good idea. Kudos to whoever thought of the format and arranged for it to be printed. Despite the careful planning, I still missed bands that I wanted to see. Offsetting that are the many wonderful surprises that I enjoyed by just making random choices or sitting where I was to see what the next band was like. Ultimately, an attendee has to make the best of what is on offer. (more…)

Our own intrepid correspondent, Richard Thompson [bluegrassmercury], spent a week in Nashville in early October, having traveled from the UK to attend the IBMA convention. It was his first trip to IBMA in 20 years, and we thought that his post-IBMA impressions and reflections would be of interest both to others who were likewise in attendance, and our many readers who would love to have been there.

bluegrassmercury Travelogue # 12
By Richard F Thompson
Nashville, Tenn. Sunday, October 6

Karen and I spent the day relaxing and sightseeing, starting by the Cumberland River and working our way back up Broadway via First Avenue and Second Avenue.

I was disappointed to find that Fort Nashborough – the name of the first settlement – had been moved from its original site. I guess that it was part of the price of progress.

Although, it was largely a day free from music and, therefore, possibly of little interest to those who want to know about my bluegrass experiences, I found a lot of interest in down-town Nashville, if you look beyond the tackiness of NashVegas.

Viewed from the river, First Avenue looked as though the buildings were used as warehousing for goods landed from staging on the river bank. Viewed from Second Avenue, those same buildings appeared to extend through to the depth of the whole of the block. This prompted me to look closely at the buildings along the way.

The three storey Watkins Block along leafy Second Avenue was built in 1875, the two storey premises now occupied by Hatch Show Print was built in 1880, or thereabouts, and the oldest property in down-town Nashville – 102 Fifth Avenue South – was built about 1816. The Ryman Auditorium was built in 1892 and further out, but within our walking range, the Union Station building, an example of late-Victorian Romanesque Revival architecture, was opened n 1900 and the Hume-Fogg High School, a Tudor Revival building, has parts that date from 1855. (more…)

Our own intrepid correspondent, Richard Thompson [bluegrassmercury], spent a week in Nashville in early October, having traveled from the UK to attend the IBMA convention. It was his first trip to IBMA in 20 years, and we thought that his post-IBMA impressions and reflections would be of interest both to others who were likewise in attendance, and our many readers who would love to have been there.

bluegrassmercury Travelogue # 11
By Richard F Thompson
Nashville, Tenn. Sunday, October 5

Earlier in the week, I had been invited by Bob Webster, WAMU’s Bluegrass Country, to join him while he did his Stained Glass Bluegrass show.

Unlike the schedule for other WAMU transmissions from Nashville that week, Bob’s programme was broadcast at its regular Washington DC time. This caused me some problems with my mental arithmetic. What time was that Nashville time? To cut a long story short – I will say it involved trying to think of the time that the show aired London time – I arrived at the studio on the fourth floor of the Renaissance Hotel an hour early. I knew where my body was, but where my tired mind was I don’t know. In an attempt to wake up, I went to have some breakfast and an essential cup of coffee. I can laugh about it now!

Bob and I chatted about the English man John Newton, who wrote the lyrics to Amazing Grace, the bluegrass scene in the UK and played a couple of appropriate recordings, including the Isaacs’ version of the Newton song.

A little while later, I sat in while Larry Stephenson was interviewed by Bob That was a thrilling experience.

Sunday morning at Fan Fest is devoted to bluegrass Gospel with all but one of the bands scheduled having bluegrass Gospel as their forte or their last album featured sacred music (and sometimes that is one and the same thing).

Unfortunately, we missed seeing Paul Williams & Victory Trio; it was one of the few disappointments of the week. However, David Parmley & Continental Divide; Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Band; The Larry Stephenson Band, with Kristin Scott Benson making one of her last, if not the last, appearance with Larry Stephenson before joining The Grascals; and Don Rigsby & Midnight Call all beautifully sang His praises, just as many do on a Sunday.

With the close of Fan Fest, Karen and I expressed our gratitude to Dan Hays for the way in which the week had passed smoothly and to bid farewell to those who we would not see again, before finding a restaurant in which we could have a relaxed lunch.

We didn’t have very far to go! We can recommend Demo’s at the corner of Third Avenue North and Commerce Street. It served good food, the staff were attentive without being overbearing and the atmosphere was restful, despite the restaurant appearing to be busy.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine, doing some packing and planning for our last full day in Nashville.