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Nashville, Tennessee In the course of 30 years as a reporter and many a travel story in far-flung paradises – Tahiti, Fiji and a dozen tropical heavens included – no place on earth can touch Nashville. For starters, the city speaks America's three native languages as its triple mother tongues: Country, gospel and bluegrass. And when those are not heard, the blues and jazz are around every corner. For German, Italian and French – Beethoven to Verdi to Berlioz – the Nashville Symphony has but a few national rivals. Last month I threw a dart at the calendar and picked five days and six nights in Music City, Nashville's adopted moniker. Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price just happened to be in town. World-renowned pianist Peter Serkin came to perform with the Nashville Symphony. Loretta Lynn played the Grand Ole Opry. On a Sunday night, I had to make tough choice between George Jones at the Ryman Auditorium or Roseanne Cash at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. And Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra played there too mid week. Throw the dart a little to the left or right on the calendar, and the Van Cliburn winner, Billy Joel, Martina McBride, Vince Gill or "Whispering" Bill Anderson headlined some poster some night somewhere in Nashville. And that's simply the Hall of Fame A-list.  While music is the lifeblood of Nashville, visitors will also find a city of culture, history, academics, wondrous cuisine and Southern charm. Dozens of clubs and small songwriter venues from the very smoky Tootsies on Broadway to the smokeless Station Inn in "The Gulch" section of town go seven days a week around the calendar. Even the street singers who perform for change will drop jaws. No city in the country has bowls of guitar picks at just about every cash register in every store. Little wonder why the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the new Musicians Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame make Nashville their homes. The city is at the heart of America's soundtrack. On my first night in Nashville – just when I thought the evening could not get any better – while I waited outside my hotel for a taxi to the symphony, I spied a tall, blonde, ravishing and young twentysomething staring at me. She was clad in a demure, black evening dress with heels and pearls, and took a decisive step toward me, her perfume a pace ahead of her. "Want to share a cab to the concert?" she asked. My faith in my son's generation now renewed, I imagined us chatting away in the taxi about the future of choral music, the difficulties of staging big requiems and anticipated whether she would want champagne or a mixed drink at the pre-concert reception. I was writing this script way too fast. "A cab to the Brahms Concerto?" I asked, certain she would confirm, my hope leading my head. "God no! Justin Timberlake!" she said. Music is music no matter who's on stage or in the audience. We took separate cabs. Yet while music is the lifeblood of Nashville, visitors will also find a city of culture and history, wondrous cuisine from haute to down-home, of professional sports, outstanding academics, natural beauty and pure Southern charm. Nashville is a place where the past and the future peacefully coexist to create a destination that appeals to every variety of taste and visitor. Nashville is alive. You feel its pulse when you walk down its sidewalks and hear a soundtrack almost anywhere you go. Beginning today in HOFMAG.com – and culminating on Friday with a special section devoted to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum – we unfold the first of five features to help our readers make their next – or first – trip to Nashville a destination to the sound of music and more. Monday, April 2:
Nashville: Music City is the Hall of Fame City Tuesday, April 3:
Awesome April in Nashville Wednesday, April 4:
Nashville: Where Great Music Is Good Business Thursday, April 5:
The Stars Shine in Nashville
Vince Gill: The Session Guys' Songwriter
Porter Wagoner: Not Ready to Retire the Rhinestones
Bill Anderson: A Half Century on the Charts Friday, April 6:
The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum Hall of Fame Magazine editor John Budris reported for the nation's most prestigious publications. You can contact him at
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