5 Super Cool Music things to do in Nashville

Nashville has many open mic nights every night all over town for aspiring songwriters to introduce their music to the public.
Most of these venues are free to the public. The venue is hoping you will have some drinks and possibly food while you listen to the songwriters.Take your spouse out for an evening of original music in Music City.The quality of music will be varied from really good to WTF?

Go to the Bluebird Cafe and hear outstanding musical talent. This venue has been made Super Famous by the TV show Nashville.
At the bluebird there is NO TALKING at all! You will be asked to leave if you do not refrain for talking to the person next to you.
There is always a long line of songwriters trying to get into the Bluebird Cafe. You can count on great talent and excellent lyrics to all the songs you will hear. The food is good and not expensive along with excellent service. The downside is you will have to wait outside the venue for at least three hours just to get in.It is well worth the wait to experience the true flavor of Nashville.

Go to Centennial Park and catch the Musicians Corner in May and June every Saturday afternoon from 12 noon to 5pm. This event is put on by the city so it is a free event.There are pre-show festivities from 12 to 1:30pm where you can get wine & beer to go with your lunch from the excellent food trucks who show up and feed the masses. There is also a kidsville activities area to keep the little guys busy.Take the whole family including the dog to Centennial Park and enjoy live music in the shade of the Parthenon.

Take the whole family to lower Broadway in downtown Nashville. This city has many clubs that have live music all day and all night.
The Hard Rock Cafe is the largest venue that caters to the entire family however there are 15 to 20 other clubs that all keep their doors open to our tourists as well as to the locals. The kids can line dance while the grownups have an adult beverage at many of these venues. Downtown businesses in Nashville are created to take care of families on vacation. There is music on the Riverfront park stages most every weekend evening from May to August. Nashville is a family friendly city as you will see when you visit us.


Get the family together and go to the longest live radio show in America, The Grand Ole Opry. Classic country music is played by the best musicians in the world on the Ryman Stage. Everyone who likes country music should go here at least once in their lives. You never know who will show up at the Grand Ole Opry. Depending who is in town making a recording will determine who will be on stage. Then there are the regulars like Little Jimmie Dickens and other favorites who seem to always be around the world famous stage. Take this one off your bucket list and enjoy the real reason Nashville is called Music City.

NashvilleLife.com
2014

What do you need to know to play an open mic night in Nashville.

1. Be ready to play your set , be in tune and DO NOT tune or talk on stage while another performer is singing.Do this in a place away from the stage, do not sit at a table while another group of performers are playing and tune your guitar. This shows a disrespect for your fellow artist
2.Stay here and support the other performers whenever possible. Nashville is a community of writers and artists and we need to show total support for each other. Leaving after you set is finished shows that you do not support the other writers on your night
3. Listen to the other writers and performers because you will learn something from every performer , it might be a new chord, the way they phrase a song, the way they talk to an audience or a myriad of other things that may help you become a better performer and writer. Keep in mind that a lot the writers have cuts, hit songs and have performed in front of thousands of people.
4. Remember there may be someone in the audience that can help your career. Publishers do come to writers nights but they will usually not attract attention to themselves sitting at the bar or a corner table so they can listen to the songs. i know of 4 friends of mine who are now hit songwriters with pub deals that resulted from playing at a writers night
5. Keep in mind that you are performing in Nashville where songwriting is held in the highest esteem. If you came here it is assumed your goal is to be a hit writer a megastar or both and the way you conduct yourself while networking, performing etc will have an impact on your career.
6. Know your songs. Be sure you have rehearsed and know the songs that you are playing backwards and forwards. While some of us old guys have senior moments it is still not professional to forget a song on stage.
7. Be aware that other artists and songwriters are waiting to perform. Keep your preamble short and your songs within five minutes so everyone gets to perform
You will of course ask what qualifies me to post this. I was a songwriter night host at three different venues in Nashville over the years and hosted a open mike at a large venue in Colorado fro many years. I hope this helps everyone better understand the etiquette behind a professional writers night and I wish all my fellow songwriters and artists the very best!!

Written By Gary Cavanauagh 2014

I have recently had the pleasure of video taping a wonderful vocal talent. Kensi Moore is one talented lady. You will be hearing big things from her in the future.

Here is her video from the Pavilion Coffee House in March 2014
http://youtu.be/e5_qDUNgqkM

Here are some groups of songwriters/performers you should look for while in Nashville. Winfields Lockett, EverAfter, Janet Hattabaugh and AJ Schubert. All excellent performers who play in local clubs all the time. They are all playing at the Pavilion Coffee House Sat Feb 8th at 7:00pm

Joel Shewmake has been chosen as the "Best of the Best" for the year 2013 on NashvilleEar.com. Joel played on several songwriter stage events and every time Joel brought excellent songs along with a great well rehearsed performance of his original songs. Several of which have been recorded by noted stars in the Country music world. http://www.nashvilleear.com/html/best.html This annual honor is given to the songwriter we believe has shown us an outstanding quality in their approach to songwriting. Our Best of the Best is a recognition of lyrical strength and the perseverance necessary toward becoming a great songwriter. We are happy to honor this excellent songwriter with our "Best of the Best" award for the year 2013.

NashvilleEar is branching out into new territory

The NashvilleEar has started to do a few different things. I am working with 6Minor Films to build a movie about Nashville songwriters. These are songwriters who are not native to the area. Each songwriter left their homes and towns and family to move to Nashville to become a professional songwriter. Each has a story of success and getting beat down. The different conceptions on the songwriter community were unreal good. If you ever wanted to be a songwriter in Nashville this is a movie you need to see. It is titled "Road to Music City". It will be released in the spring of 2014. Another fun thing I have been doing is working with a bluegrass band. Reno & Harrell are one of the best bluegrass bands in the country. Their first CD "Reno Bound" came out at #15 on the "Bluegrass Today" charts. I am managing and booking them for bluegrass festivals in 2014. You can see their music and videos here: www.RenoandHarrell.com

This is Bex Marshall, the finest blues guitarist and singer I have ever run across. I had the pleasure of meeting her at a bonfire one evening in Nashville.She is a very nice lady and very charismatic in her personal interactions. Here is an interview with her for Elwood BluesMobile radio show. She plays a few songs and talks a bit about herself. Very interesting. Here is the interview..