Shake off the where you came from dust
Grab you guitar, walk down the street
Sign says Nashville, Tennessee
But I have found
It's a crazy town, full of neon dreams
Everybody plays, everybody sings
Hollywood with a touch of twang
To be a star you gotta bang, bang, bang
Bend those strings 'til the Hank comes out
Make all the drunk girls scream and shout
We love it, we hate it, we're all just trying to make it
In this crazy town -- Jason Aldean, "Crazy Town."
Last week I finally made it to Nashville! Now, unlike Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and Dierks Bentley, I wasn't there looking to be a star. Kristen and I went down I-65S looking to have some fun on a Friday night down on Broadway. And we did!
I loved Nashville instantly, as we rounded the corner of 3rd Ave to Broadway. There, on both sides of the street were bars with a band playing in each one. I had reached bliss. As Kristen and I tried to decide which one to go into first, I couldn't help but wonder if these were bars that some of my favorite country singers had performed at on a Friday night.
The street was alive and the bars were alive. They weren't terribly crowded, where you turned caustraphobic, but they weren't dead either. The bars we went into were a perfect blend of people. There were older people but also younger people. And what was blissfully pleasant was the absence of girls who were auditioning for the Jersey Shore.
And I felt alive with the combination of some amazing bands playing live and the chance to dance! I've felt alive when it came to inimate live bands performing since my 15th birthday when I saw Seven Day Faith at the Hard Rock Cafe. I love how loud it is. I love how you feel as though you are part of a performer's experience and memory in those settings. Not only are they helping you to have a great time, but you're helping them have a great night as well.
I could move to that crazy town and be a bartender at one of those places on Broadway and just be happy with life. Broadway would be my islands, without a doubt.
Becky McCloud at The Stage |