Ryman Auditorium - Downtown Nashville

There I was again.........up in the balcony of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The Ryman is one of those places that you must see with your own eyes at least once in your life. Me?........well, I have had the pleasure to tred on that hallowed ground twice.........I had done it once before, back when they were all set up to film Neil Young's Prairie Wind concert. I didn't get to do the backstage tour back then because of all of the equipment, but this time I could do that backstage tour. Okay, so I had already done that must-see-once-in-your-life thing that I previously mentioned.............but........this time it was the "bonus round"...........the icing on the cake of life...........the creme de la creme..........this was a totally different experience. As it happened, my son, Dash Riprock had decided to take me to Tenessee to visit relatives. It was his Christmas gift to me. I was delighted to get such a gift. Because I like sharing good stuff with others, I convinced my buddy, Ted Springstone, to come along with us. He had never been to the Nashville area before and this would be a good thing for him to experience. While visiting the relatives in Tennessee, we decided to take a day out on the town in Downtown Nashville with my sister and her daughter. So there we were.........at the Ryman.........enjoying ourselves and having a memorable experience. Countless superstars of country music had been here performing. The Ryman is where the Grand Ole Opry was, and sometimes still is. The Opry now has a much larger venue of its own and the Ryman, while still being a venue today for all sorts of performances by artists from all genres of music, today is a monument.........a museum of history. Think Elvis.....Johnny Cash......Loretta Lynn....Minnie Pearl......Hank Williams.......just about everyone you can think of. This is indeed hallowed grounds.......and what better thing could there possibly be but to picture yourself on that very same stage where they all stood........is it possible?..............yes it is.............

.......even half of the legendary Uncle Murray Band could find themselves on stage there!........hehehe........Imagine that! I had never been too much of a country music fan. I liked Ronnie Milsap, Willie Nelson and a few others, but I have always leaned towards rock musicians that would also happen to include a bit of country flavor to their songs. Artists such as Neil Young and even the Bee Gees had many songs that could have been country hits. Let's face it.........country musicians have had alot of influence on the rest of the music world.

We roamed throughout the interior of the Ryman as we waited for the backstage tour. Took lots of pictures.......posed here and there......absorbed it all.

That's Dash Riprock on the left and my buddy Dean Martin on the right.

The Ryman was a church at one time. All of the seats are actually church pews. The acoustics here are probably the best there is. You could stand on stage and speak in almost a whisper and you could hear them clearly anywhere in the building.......without any microphones.........unless, of course, you have damaged ears from your days back in the late 70s working as a roadie for a local rock band.......hehehe.

Needless to say, neither of us ever had any notion that one day we would both be standing there.......yet there we were.

I can only wonder what Dean Martin was thinking as he sat all the way in the last pew at the back of the balcony.

Light came in through the stained glass windows at the back of the building. Soon we began the backstage tour. Our guide was a nice elderly lady who probably had quite a history herself. She was very nice and did her best to tell us stories about the place and show us around backstage........even though I had a bit of difficulty understanding her......she had a heavy accent and spoke fairly fast.
This is the view from backstage where folks like Johnny Cash would stand waiting to go on stage.

To be standing right there is worth the trip.

A few steps back and there is one of the dressing rooms. This particular one was Minnie Pearl's......and is also where most of the headliners got ready to perform. We roamed throughout the building addition to the Ryman where all of the other dressing rooms are. It was great.

After the tour, we roamed around some more. This is the back of the venue on the lower level. We headed toward the stage to get a closer look.

And there he was............my buddy Fred Nugent....hehehe...........imagine yourself sitting there and singing a song that you had made up at that moment............no need for imagination for Fred........this is exactly what he did.......he sat there and made up a song and sang it!

I am sure he will never forget that moment.....I know I won't. Now if I could just convince some other friends to..............well............maybe one day.

There are also some display cases located in the building. Clothing worn by various performers such as Hank Williams........

......and Loretta Lynn..............wow........it is really something to see.

I suppose not many people get their picture taken with the displays.........maybe this is why....hehehe.
We saw just about all we could see and headed to the gift shop and took bio-breaks.

My son, Dash Riprock bought himself a hat..........it fits him nicely. Did I ever mention how much I love my kids? I am proud of each and every one of them.

Just outside of the Ryman is the tall building that is called the "Batman Building".

We headed off down the street towards the Wildhorse Saloon. I looked back at the Ryman...........glad I had the opportunity to be here again.

There's the Country Music Television building across the street............maybe one day my buddy will sit inside there and treat them to a song or two............well...........you never know.

We walked through the streets of downtown Nashville...........not once did any of us ever feel threatened in any way.........we felt very safe........pretty good considering this is Titans Territory and we were wearing Ravens hats......hehehe.

If you ever go to Nashville......you have to stop by the Wildhorse Saloon.

There I was........sitting there in the Wildhorse Saloon with my sister waiting to order up some of that fantastic barbeque that they offer to the masses. It was not very busy the day that we were there. I wish there were places like this in Baltimore. We need this stuff at home.

A few years back, my son Dash Riprock, did this very same pose......so we just had to do it again.

Not only is the Wildhorse Saloon a huge bar.......it is a restaurant......and a dance hall........and a concert venue. They have an awesome stage........and not a bad seat in the house. We need one of these in Baltimore. Once upon a time in Baltimore there was a similar place called Hammerjack's. Hammerjack's was located where the parking lot for M&T Bank Stadium is today. I stood there looking at the Wildhorse stage knowing that my hero, Todd Rundgren, had performed here. Wished I could have been there for that one........and also when he performed at the Ryman as well..............and then my mind is taken off of that when I see the following......

.......Horses!.......upside down!......on the ceiling!

Dean Martin wanted a photo with the horse mural. You won't see this in Baltimore.

Once again........the Uncle Murray Band makes its presence known!

We ate our food....roamed around some more inside the place and then hit the streets again.

Around the corner from the Wildhorse Saloon is Broadway, where numerous small bars are located. We strolled past all of them.........and we could hear assorted performers doing their thing on the stages inside.

Nashville has a very nice "arena". Baltimore does not. Nashville has a NHL hockey team.........Baltimore does not. Baltimore has been slacking.

One of the many famous bars on Broadway is called Tootsie's. Tootsie's has quite a history and just about every famous and wanna-be famous country artist has been in there.

I don't think they go without live entertainment at any given part of the day.

You probably wonder what exactly it is that you see in this picture. This is a portion of their wall of fame. Actually...........there is not any place on any of the walls.....or ceiling....that does not have something written or carved by Tootsie's patrons over the years.

Naturally, the Uncle Murray Band now has its own mark on the wall of fame.

One thing about Nashville is.........I don't think you can find any performer that is terrible. Each and every one of them are extremely talented and make the folks you encounter back home in a Fells Point bar on a Friday night........well........let's just say.........Baltimore cannot hold a candle to them.

Have a look around.........there's the famous Ernest Tubb Record Shop..................we didn;t cross the street but records?.......really?......they still have records? I wonder how many young folks walk by and see that sign and ask "What is a record?"

Street art........every city has them..........Hendersonville NC had bears......Baltimore has crabs.........and Nashville has guitars.

We went inside another bar and heard this gal performing on guitar. She was darn good and I do not know her name. It was a surprise to hear her singing the old Cat Stevens tune "First Cut Is The Deepest"........it just so happens that it is one of my favorites.

She was quite a performer. Her partner was darned good too.

Notice how clean?

And every city has homeless people and beggars but you won't see anything like this in Baltimore. Imagine that.............you gotta like this. There were several people along Broadway doing this.

Oh well............the sun began to set and we headed back to the car. We stopped in yet another bar because we heard another gal belting out a song. It was a karaoke bar and my son decided that he was gonna sing two songs...............I had never ever heard him sing before.......this was special. My sister cried as he sang......I was surprised by how good he did........and it was all a glorious finish to our visit to downtown Nashville.

This Christmas present was turning out to be quite a memorable one.