Rolling Stone - USA (2020-02)

66 Rolling Stone February 2020

Forget about the touristy

Broadway district: See Vince Gill

play in a great Western swing

band every week for just $20,

watch Margo Price crash a dive-

bar stage, or eat meatloaf with

John Prine. A true music lover’s

guide to Music City

COUNTRY-MUSIC TIME MACHINE

The American Legion Post 82 in East Nashville

is ground zero for traditional country. Bren-

dan Malone and his well-dressed band, the

Cowpokes, play songs by Ernest Tubb, George

Jones, and other legends at Honky Tonk Tues-

day Night, a weekly showcase where Kacey

Musgraves, Jack White, and Emmylou Harris

have stopped by. “It’s like walking into a time

machine and you’re stepping straight back

into the 1950s,” says Malone, who books the

lineup. “[But] you have all walks of life. Punk

rockers, the hardcore country & western kids,

the hipsters, and even hip-hop kids.” One tip:

Show up early to take free dance lessons.

BEST OPEN SECRET

When he’s not on tour with the Eagles or as a

solo act, Vince Gill plays weekly with the West-

ern swing band the Time Jumpers. The group

— featuring a three-fiddle attack led by Kenny

Sears (who played with Faron Young, Mel

Tillis, and Ray Price) — works through classics

A

FTER MARGO PRICE wrapped her
three-night stand at the historic
Ryman Auditorium in Nashville,
she celebrated by making the
20-minute drive northeast to Dee’s Country
Cocktail Lounge, a kitschy spot behind an
adult bookstore in Madison. Price is a regular
at Dee’s, where she often jumps onstage with
her band the Price Tags, who recently played
a residency, or just tends the bar. “You can
order whatever you want, but I’m just going to
give you tequila,” Price says.
As Nashville’s population explodes (almost
100 new people move there every day),
under-the-radar spots like Dee’s have become
hidden hangouts for Nashville’s working
musicians and fans of old-school country, a
refuge from the drunken tourists and cover
bands in the city’s Broadway entertainment
district. [“They’re] the anti-Broadway,” says
Tyler Mahan Coe, host of the country-music
podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones. “If I lived
in another country and someone described
Nashville to me, and I went to Broadway, I
would be pissed.”

by Bob Wills and others, giving new life to a

mostly extinct genre. The show happens every

Monday at 3rd & Lindsley for just $20. It’s the

best deal in town: Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow,

and James Taylor, among others, have sat in.

“I bring a lot of attention to the band because

I’m in it, and I can’t help that,” Gill said. “But I

work really hard at helping people to grasp I’m

just one of the guitar players.”

WHERE PUNKS ARE BORN

The all-ages club Drkmttr in East Nashville

has become the center of the city’s growing

indie, punk, and hardcore scenes. Philly’s

Mannequin Pussy have played their ferocious-

ly catchy power punk in the tiny room, while

Nashville’s hometown favorites Shell of a Shell

push the boundaries of experimental rock.

“We don’t book things based on whether or

not it’s going to be financially

successful,” says Kathryn Ed-

wards, Drkmttr’s co-owner and

promoter. “We book it because

we like the music.”

LEGENDS & MEATLOAF

Arnold’s Country Kitchen is

a big, communal lunch spot

where construction workers,

politicians, and legendary

musicians all eat together. On

Tuesdays, meatloaf day, there’s

a good chance you’ll see John

Prine in line with his meal tray.

OUTLAW GHOSTS

The Country Music Hall of

Fame and Museum’s “Outlaws

& Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s” is

an exceptional exhibit tracing how hippies

and rednecks gave birth to one the genre’s

greatest revolutions (Kris Kristofferson’s Army

shirt and Willie Nelson’s sneakers are among

the highlights). But there are tons of legend-

ary spots hiding in plain sight, like Waylon

Jennings’ old office on 17th Avenue South,

where his flying “W” logo is still visible above

a stained-glass window. You can also drive out

to Hank Williams’ “Country Palace,” a house

he bought in 1949; Tammy Wynette also lived

there until her death in 1998.

THE ROCK & ROLL HOTEL

In less than a year, the Dive Motel and Swim

Club has become one of the hottest spots in

town to stay overnight or just dance at. A run-

down roadside motel dating back to 1956, it’s

been restored to its wood-paneled glory, with

a 60-foot pool and 23 rooms. All of them have

a “Party Switch” that toggles between music

and moods for “Sex,” “Drugs,” “Rock & Roll,”

and “Sleep.” JOSEPH HUDAK

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Nashville,

Tennessee

SIDE TRIP TO

MEMPHIS

If you visit the

state’s other

great city, go on

a Sunday and hit

Graceland and

the nearby Rev.

Al Green’s Full

Gospel Tabernacle

church, which

has raucous

gospel music

and freewheeling

sermons. “If God

gives me this

audience, I’ll

preach the Word,”

Green said.

Best Record Stores

GRIMEY’S NEW AND PRELOVED MUSIC

This all-time great shop is packed with

rare vinyl and hosts small free gigs by

Wilco, Kelsey Waldon, and others.

VINYL TAP

Key for music and beer nerds: Along

with LPs, there’s a great draft selection.

Honky

Tonk

Tuesday

Night

Crow with the

Time Jumpers

Price at

Dee’s Country

Cocktail Lounge

Arnold’s

Country

Kitchen