Jen, Stu and the boys, a year in the States 2013, 2014 6 months, 2015 4 months: Tennessee....Nashville

I've always wanted to go to Nashville....I'm not sure why.....I don't mind a little bit of country music, and there's nothing wrong with keeping an eye on the cowboys...so we made that the place to meet Joshuah when he flew in from Denver. We gave ourselves one night there on our own before picking him up from the airport.
I had heard of the Grand Ole Opry years ago, but actually thought it was a venue and funnily enough I was listening to the radio in Denver one day and there was this show on that was a country music show, with a live audience, sending shout outs to the audience and doing live advertisements. I didn't know what it was, but was enjoying listening to it.

When we knew we were going to Nashville the Grand Ole Opry was one place I really wanted to visit. I didn't know what it was, but thought there might be a concert on when we were there and in all the organising of the trip we didn't book any tickets. When we arrived at Nashville late on Friday afternoon, the traffic was the worst we had encountered the whole trip (so far). I decided to give the Grand Ole Opry a ring to see if there were any shows on and were there any tickets. Fortunately there were 2 cancellations so we bought the tickets and drove straight there rather than checking into the hotel first. It is right next to a large shopping mall and there is plenty of parking. It is another of those places that everyone is happy to be at. I still didn't know what we were seeing, even after we picked up our tickets.

We bought some delicious.....

because apparently that's what you do, and off we went, inside the Grand Ole Opry to find out what it was all about. "What began as a simple radio broadcast in 1925 is today a live-entertainment phenomenon. Dedicated to honoring country music’s rich history and dynamic present, the Grand Ole Opry showcases a mix of country legends and the contemporary chart-toppers who have followed in their footsteps. The Opry, an American icon and Nashville, Tennessee’s number-one attraction, is world-famous for creating one-of-a-kind entertainment experiences for audiences of all ages." So that's what is was!
It turned out to be one of the best experiences I have had....it finally clicked that it was the show I had been listening to on the radio, in Denver. There are the very dulcet tones of the announcer, Eddie Stubbs, who reads the shout outs and the ads, 3 different guest presenters and the performers, including some country and western dancers who were fantastic.

They talked about the Opry family, and the camaraderie between the live band, the announcer, presenters and performers created a great humorous atmosphere. It was fantastic. We weren't supposed to video, but managed to sneak a couple in...

These blokes were my favourites......

Vince Gill was one of the presenters. Here he is sitting on the stage listening to another performer.....with the announcer Eddie Stubbs getting ready to read some ads!

I can't say enough about this night.....it was good, old fashioned entertainment...typically American and I would absolutely recommend it if you are heading Nashville way.
The next morning we got up early to go into Downtown Nashville, before picking Joshuah up. It was really warm and really quiet, so we got to have a good look around at some of the State capital's buildings. We only found out that morning that Nashville is the capital of Tennessee....we are well informed.