I came to Nashville with a smile and an extended hand and she pulled me in for a big ol’ hug. Friendly is this city’s middle name…
A few weekends back I headed out to Nashville with a few of my closest girlfriends. We’re from a small town and have grown up together, now celebrating cresting our (cough) mid-forties. One was my best friend in Kindergarten (imagine an adorable photo of us frolicking as tots), the other a beautiful soul who is the bridesmaid, godmother and best friend to countless people, who I had the pleasure of becoming close to in our late twenties and now call a best.
This was actually our first time traveling together just the three of us and we weren’t sure what to expect. So we set out with no expectations…
No expectations often means the ability to be awed by the smallest things: a unexpected meal at your hotel, making friends with the manager, walking into a hole in the wall and chatting about the future of Nashville and beyond. The trip had a little bit of everything and I expected nothing. It was so great.
We stayed at the 1 Hotel Nashville and I cannot believe how much I loved it. It was the perfect reprieve from the city, an oasis hotel full of THOUSANDS of plants just a block off upper Broadway. We enjoyed coffee in the “lobby” each morning which just felt like hanging out in a posh friend’s living room, plus enjoyed our free (thanks Amex Platinum!) breakfast at their restaurant each morning… such a lovely place to enjoy slow mornings together chatting and waking… I highly recommend this spot.
The birthday girl and I arrived first and the others (yes, there was a fourth who joined for a few nights as well, a sweet lass who I’ve only left out as she was not part of the small-town charm of my other two companions)… both of us were the non-planners of this trip so we filled the first evening with a quiet meal and a bit of wandering. We watched as the cowboys from the rodeo being held just down the block walked their horses up and down the street in front of our hotel. Saw droves of bachelorettes and their entourages on trolleys, tractors, multi-cycles and everything in between drinking and singing and yelling along the way.
We realized we were a stone’s throw from the craziness that is Broadway. The neon signs and whole honky-tonk circus. We made our way there and walked the line of it, weaving in and out of a mix of twenty-somethings and grandparents (and not many in-betweeners). It was a lot, but just enough of an intro to that side of Nashville. We headed back to meet our third, have a nightcap at the rooftop bar and enjoy our first taste of a new place… so far so good.
Once we were assembled we ventured out. What’s a girls’ trip without shopping? We wanted to see, touch and experience everything. In a world of digital-ness, an IRL experience is unparalleled. Nashville had it covered. After a custom hat session for my friends (my 10-gallon head and mop of curls do not agree with hats unless solely for sun coverage and definitely not fashion) we got our fill of shops. So much to take in, high-end shops with something for everyone. Trying on all the things… check. Ear piercing… we had to. Chatting with every salesperson… love to. Coffee stop… yes please.
We ended up spending most of our time (and money) in 12 South (we may have accidentally mentioned being on 12th Ave to a local friend who almost disowned and disinvited us to the private club lunch… point made, 12 South it is…). It had a bit of it all. Many stores you can find elsewhere (but we live a couple hours outside LA and shopping there never sounds like a fun day to me, so those stores still saw our dollars) but a few absolute gems that say Nashville through and through.
More on my favorite gem in a bit… (quick detour — bear with me)
On our way back to our SoBro neighborhood (the nickname for South broadway) we visited the Gulch and had the pleasure of visiting a private club for lunch. Y’all (see how I used the local vernacular there) know I love a contrast so I just adore how wildly different the few parts of Nashville I experinced felt. Broadway loud and neon, all spectacle; 12 South a little elevated and dare-I-say gentrified (let’s lump the Gulch in here too); Germantown quieter, leafier, more like a neighborhood that actually lives here.
Different Nashvilles, all true/real. I’m no expert, just calling it like I see it!
Back in 12 South… (this is my favorite part…)
One shop in particular called to me, and it was no surprise it was a quirky vintage shop. From the street I knew immediately this was a store I had to see. I snapped a quick shot of the front and ventured inside. It did not disappoint. A teeny building filled to the gills, bursting with everything from taxidermy animals, rugs from the world over, random art and artifacts, frayed jeans, busted Buster Browns… and the prices were not messing around. On each item hung a small tag scrawled with way too much information.
In the back, behind a veil of silver necklaces, bolo ties and trinkets, sat the owner. An ornery woman in a vintage cowboy hat sitting on a pile of aloof attitude and vintage Hermès scarves. She smirked as we approached and asked the questions that by now we expected — “where y’all from?” — not waiting for an answer she remarked “California” and we laughed a little as she waxed poetic about the state of city and state government, politics etc… her time in fashion, companies she’s worked with, name-dropping people that love her shop. I found her extremely interesting and her shop a trip. I wonder what her whole story is and how often someone picks up a pair of stained Dockers and pays her $250 for them…
This store felt like a metaphor for Nashville itself: a little prickly as it welcomes newcomers, a huge mix of old awesomeness not quite knowing where it stands in all the newness surrounding it. Beverly, her shop, and the city all seem to be holding on fiercely while the world shifts around them.
This seems to be the story of Nashville everywhere you turn…
This place is what the term “salt of the earth” comes from. Every place we went we met not just the friendliest faces but truly kind people. It felt like we were making friends everywhere we went — store owners, locals, fellow travelers, the hotel manager (it is his job… but still). There was the guy walking by casually giving us recommendations to the best places with a genuine smile, the hostess that made my friend’s birthday dinner when we walked into a busy spot and got the premier table due to a cancellation (or some may say manifestation), our driver in his 80s who worked to earn a little extra to take care of his blind partner, and on and on. Every smile, every hello, every warm welcome. People in Nashville seem pretty content and not too proud to show a little heart and soul.
But I did notice that every conversation had an undercurrent. A point where we’d be introducing ourselves as Californians not trying to move to Nashville. (Nate Bargatze said it well in this skit — “Welcome to Nashville, now leave.”) It felt funny but also not. As someone watching my hometown change again and again, and not for the better of the families that I know (anyone else find Nashville's growing pains relatable to their own hometown?). It crushed me to watch people who obviously love where they live struggle to make sense of their changing city.
Nashville felt like a city in constant motion that, deep down, wished it could hit pause. Caught between who it was, and who it’s becoming, and not confident whether those two things can coexist. The locals seemed to love it and worry about it in equal measure, sometimes in the same breath.
It’s a familiar warmth that also feels heavy like a comfy winter coat in June.
A few highlights, for the skimmers:
Hot chicken at Hattie B’s, very late at night, no regrets
A rodeo + country concert… when in Rome
A hedonistic meal at Aba that I’m still thinking about…
This was a looooong weekend and I have Nashville’s sights, sounds and tastes seared into my memory. This was my first time visiting Music City and I have to say it was lovely. In our five days we tried to fit it all in — a rodeo complete with country concert, a classic bar on Broadway full of beer and country music, a day shopping with the girls, culinary delights including late-night hot chicken at Hattie B’s, a hedonistic meal at the gorgeous Aba Nashville, lunch at a private club (Soho House… I didn’t know what I was missing), a spa day, an art museum — I’m getting tired of mentioning it all 🤣
As we packed up to leave, I kept thinking about Beverly in her cluttered shop, holding court as she hides behind her things. I like to think Nashville will be just fine. That it will retain its character through this transition. It’s been through changes before and it has too much heart to lose itself entirely. But I hope it holds onto the uniqueness, its cowboy energy and people like her along the way.
So, that’s my take on Nashville, through my admittedly-no-expert eyes. Have you been? Did it match your experience, or am I missing the real story? I’d love to hear your take in the comments — especially if you’re a local and have thoughts on all this “growing pains” I’d love to hear it all but, be gentle with me 😉
And if you’ve got a favorite Beverly-style shop in your own city — the cranky, glorious, slightly-too-expensive kind — tell me about it. I want to hear about that too!
Stay tuned for more travels abroad this summer… Spain featuring Mallorca, San Sebastián, the Pyrenees, and a return to one of my favorite cities, Barcelona. Any info on any of those spots welcome!!!
xo Abby
P.S. — If you're wondering, Beverly never told us her name (thank you internet stalking) I actually thought she was another vintage fashionista in that Nashville book until I realized I was off. so, if you're ever in 12 South and a woman in a vintage cowboy hat is holding court in the back corner... and you really want to ruffle some feathers… tell her this Californian says hello (or should I use howdy?)
And because I can't visit anywhere without coming home with ideas... here's a little Nashville-inspired mood board:
Cheers to Nashville!
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As a semi-local (lived in Nashville now for over half my life) this is such an honest and beautiful depiction of the city (or town as the locals would call it). The growth is extraordinary but we have fallen short on preserving some of the areas charm and history. Your POV on 12 South is spot on lol. I read this with great pride and grief all at once.