I went down to Nashville for a business trip. I’ve never been before and know just about as much about the music scene there as any other average joe.
The first thing I learned is Broadway is full of amazing musicians. The bittersweet thing about this is that most of them are feeding the entertainment machine driven by the popular and predictable demands of the hoards of folks looking to get messed up and sing to the top 40 covers. Finding original music on broadway was pretty hard in the few nights I was there. But I may just not be in the know.
Second, the Country Music Hall of Fame had an amazing exhibit on the days of Cash and Dylan. So cool. Dylan was the troubadour we think of for much less time than he has been everything else.
Lastly, it still is possible to stumble into something great and surprising in Nashville. I waltzed into Layla’s after some bluegrass caught my ear and Found myself staying till close. The musicians were amazing. Again, mostly playing covers and standards but still. Kenny Denny was lead vocals and apparently had some hits and was on CMT a few times. Jenny Lin is a rocking mandolin player who was in the group Della Mae who has a Grammy nomination in their pocket. So cool.
The trip definitely inspired a song and maybe more. We will see if this next album takes a slight southern turn.
David Nash 