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Nashville, TN
Travel Article 11/07/2010
Tootsie's 50th Celebration
 We took the nine and a half hour trip to
Nashville, TN a city we both love so much. Tootsie’s Orchid
Lounge was celebrating their 50th anniversary a well-known Honky
Tonk to many songwriters and visitors over the years. Tootsie’s
is world famous according to the lettering on the Lower Broadway
bar street-level windows. We were attending the VIP anniversary
celebration on November 7, 2010, which just happened to be my
fiftieth birthday. Kris Kristofferson, a fine country writer,
actor and performer was going to be playing at the Ryman
Auditorium, Historically Cool since 1892. One of the sites of
the Grand Ole Opry for a time and now an incredible venue and
museum.
You can tour the Ryman daily located at
116 Fifth Avenue North. It is located right behind Tootsies and
it is said many the poor songwriter performer would go out the
backdoor to Tootsies for some warm and cold refreshments in
between performances. Many were so poor Tootsie would give them
money or food. Nashville’s Premier Performance Hall the Ryman
was named venue of the year at the 44th annual academy of
country music awards. It has attracted the likes of Elvis
Presley, Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong, Eddie Arnold, and so many,
many more. The Ryman has attracted world class entertainment to
its stage for more than a century. The beautiful curved pews,
famous stained glass windows and world-renowned acoustics
combine to create a magical experience for performers and fans
alike.
Tootsies in really in every sense of the
word a Honky Tonk. When you walk in the door the band is cramped
into a stage in the window. The bar runs the entire length of
the room and the bartenders and musicians work for tips only. It
is dark and crowded and smoking is allowed. There is another bar
set up in the very back of Tootsies and it has another band
cramped into a corner. It has an outdoor deck offering a quieter
place for conversation. It was nice that Tootsies was
celebrating its 50th anniversary, but I drove all that way to
see Kris Kristofferson and I did.
 In the
afternoon after lunch at Rippy’s we walked to the Music City
Center where six performers were going to be inducted into the
Country Music Walk of Fame. Nashville is in the process of
building a huge convention and music center behind where we
watched the induction. The construction site is HUGE. The
performers who were inducted we Little Jimmy Dickens, who sure
was little, Mel Tillis, Kris Kristofferson (who was so handsome
by the way—at 74), Bobby Hebb, Posthumously Eddy Arnold, and
Rascal Flatts. Little Jimmy, Mel and Kris all played at the
Ryman that night.
If you have not been to
Nashville yet you need to plan a trip. It’s an unforgettable
city for many reasons. I just love it and cannot wait to go
back.
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