Saturday, June 11, 2022
This morning we once again boarded the free campground shuttle to downtown Nashville. After disembarking, we headed toward the Johnny Cash Museum. Our circuitous ramble led us through Public Square Park where we glimpsed the Davidson County Public Building and Courthouse and had views of Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans, across the Cumberland River. Due to CMA Fest, a large portion of town had been cordoned off from vehicular traffic. Some sections were also only accessible to those with CMA passes including an area along the riverfront. However, free music could be heard from many outdoor and indoor performances as we wound our way through the throngs of fans.
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| Davidson County Public Building and Courthouse |
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| Nissan Stadium, Home of the Tennessee Titans |
We spent a long time touring the Johnny Cash Museum including watching videos of some of his performances and movies. It was a good reminder of the depth and scope of Cash’s musical influences. I still remember playing his At San Quentin vinyl LP with hits like A Boy named Sue, I Walk the Line and Folsom Prison Blues, on my record player as a teen.
After exiting the Johnny Cash Museum, Jane hurried us across the street to the GooGoo Chocolate Company where she made a couple of purchases. We then crossed back over the street to Johnny Cash’s Bar & BBQ where we had a catfish lunch listening to a live band that occasionally featured Cash songs.
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| Humble Beginnings of a Legend |
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| Museum Displays of June & Johny’s Wardrobes |
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| Janie & Johnny |
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| GooGoo Chocolate in Overhead Conveyor Baskets |
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| We had a Catfish Lunch here with Live Music |
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| The Quiet Upstairs at Johnny Cash’s Bar & BBQ |
After lunch, we set out for the Gibson Garage. As we proceeded through the CMA Fest activities, we passed numerous notable Nashville edifices such as the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Bridgestone Arena where the Nashville Predators play, and the Music City Center.
Gibson Garage was full of guitars, mostly electric but also had a separate room of acoustic models. Charles Esten was performing on the store stage and was captivating a crowd of fans. Gibson stopped making their famous banjos a long time ago so I was surprised to see a banjo case. After inquiring about it, I learned that Gibson still contracts to have cases made to fit their discontinued Mastertone-style line of banjos. And, more importantly, Gibson may start making a limited amount of banjos (<100/year) in a year or two, specifically RB 3s, RB 250s and Granadas. Yay! Jane was soon herding me out the door before I could absorb all of the voluptuous Gibsonness.
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| Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum |
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| Bridgestone Arena, Home of the Nashville Predators |
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| Gibson Garage |
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| Lots of Guitars including hanging from an Overhead Conveyer |
From the Gibson Garage, we targeted another music store, Carter Vintage Guitars. There, we were inundated with more guitars and a short rack of banjos. There were also four rare 1920s era Gibson F-5 mandolins on display. They were offered at a cut-rate price, $120k, reduced from $175k. Next, we directed our rambling back toward our designated shuttle pickup site and after winding through a lot of CMA Fest celebration found a quiet air-conditioned downstairs room in the Wildhorse Saloon to enjoy a couple of Yee Haw IPAs brewed in Johnson City, TN. After venturing upstairs briefly to check out the music scene, we listened to Paige Rose performing a few tunes. From there, we rambled along the Cumberland River Greenway and observed boaters on the river positioned to take advantage of the festival music. We dropped by the coffee house for Jane to get an iced latte before catching the campground shuttle and returning to the RV.
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| Vintage Acoustic Guitars |
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| Paige Rose performing at the Wildhorse Saloon |
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| Cumberland River Greenway |
Back at the RV, we rehydrated and rested awhile. The campground was providing a couple of hours of free live music so I decided to check it out. A local talent, Leigh Pollari, was singing karaoke-style, no band. She was a good vocalist but it wasn’t the same without a band so I only listened to a few of her songs. For dinner, we dined on leftovers in our motorhome. The evening weather is nice so, I’m blogging outside on the picnic table while Jane is inside watching Indiana Jones reruns over the campground cable service.
Johnny Cash and Gibson guitars in one day. You might need to rest awhile after that much excitement! Lisa