Let’s take a walk down memory lane…

1. CMA MusicFest- 4 nights of country acts including Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Reba, Lady A, ZBB, Thompson Square, Keith Urban, and T.Swift etc. 

2. The Script at The Ryman Auditorium

3. Margaret Durante at 12th & Porter

4. Zac Brown Band

5. Avett Brothers

6. The Civil Wars at The Ryman Auditorium w/ The Staves 

7. Mumford & Sons at The Ryman Auditorium* 

8. Lady Antebellum in Knoxville 

9. My So-Called Band: The 90’s Experience (twice) 

I have been in Nashville since June 2011. This means that I’ve been here for almost 9 months and in that time I have seen a ton of shows. I mean there are live shows in Nashville EVERY night—there is live singing in Kroger! The music that flows through this place has made my soul happier. Sitting in the Ryman and listening to The Civil Wars and then having T. Swift come on stage to sing ‘Safe & Sound’ was a sign that I was meant to live in Nashville, TN. Unbeknownst to me I have been yearning to call this place my home. 

The outpouring of emotion on every corner and the fact that the guy selling me my tights in Target actually plays shows on the weekend downtown is not overwhelming and it doesn’t feel “L.Aish” at all. Instead, it feels honest and admirable. I’ve met handfuls of songwriters and people in “the business”. With all of this I’ve never met anyone who was stuck up or pretentious, instead they want to talk about something else and that’s cool too. 

There are certainly people that are here “for the music” and others who could care less about “the music”. I tell you what, for now and probably for as long as I live here “the music” will be a reason I love calling this place home. 

Nashville folks are quite expressive and they share a whole lot about themselves. I dare you to ask a Nashvillian how he/she is doing…no, seriously you’ll get their entire life story and someone else’s. When I first moved here I thought that was unnecessary and a bit disconcerting but now I appreciate it quite a bit and I can’t blame a city that has been built on country music, which is all storytelling and emotion, for communicating in this way because to be honest it is who they are and who they always will be. 

It is true that “music is what feelings sound like”. I think that I have been looking for a place for a long time that would allow me to truly understand that quote. I don’t talk about my feelings a lot but I sure will sing about them at the top of my lungs in my car or even at my desk. What I really love to do is close my eyes at one of these concerts and just take it all in with my ears and my heart. Until the good Lord leads me away I have found my home—the place where I belong—in Nashville, TN. 

*Upcoming in March and I’m dying with anticipation!