Music City - Nashville Tennessee

Stepping off onto Broadway, the old, worn brick buildings towered overhead. Like a well-loved, vintage Beatles t-shirt, the uneven red walls are adorned by weathered paintings of old music venues and record shops. Other newer billboards advertise upcoming concerts of country stars. Crossing the busy streets, musicians and their instruments dart in and out of buildings trying to find a venue to play for the night. Others lucky enough to have a venue, sit on bar stools or on a stage with their band playing songs to an eager crowd.

Broadway Street

Aptly named Music City, it seems like every other building has live music in Nashville, Tennessee. Walking by the music clubs, cymbal crashes, snare hits, and the steady beat of a kick drum can be heard from the depths of the club. The rhythm section may be accompanied by a bluesy guitar lick, or the vocals of a country singer.

The venues of Nashville are not like normal venues where an unknown musician may be decent or mediocre. But instead, each venue is home to incredibly talented musicians. While they might be doing it for fun or for the hopes of a future profession, each one of them has the ability to entertain.

Nashville has been the most Eastern goal of our US road trip. For the last few days we have been exploring the city life, studios, and the famous music venues such as The Grand Ole Opry and the Bluebird Café. These are a few photos from the past few days.

 Elvis' Studio

The show that made country famous

The Bluebird Café is a world renown music venue for up and coming artists. Musicians such as Faith Hill and Taylor Swift got their start here.

Knoxville Tennessee

To read about the beginning of our US Road Trip.

Traveling to Music City - Nashville Tennessee

Climbing up the old metal fire escape, I find what I think is my cousin's window on the second story. Leaning over the railing, I give a couple of knocks on his dorm's window. Not waking up, I knock a little louder. Finally stirring, he rolls out of bed at a snail's pace. He must of had a late night, after all I woke up to texts he was sending at 3am.

Half asleep my cousin says goodbye and I head back to our van parked down the road. Driving out of town, my grandma and I leave the old brick buildings of Grinnell College. Cruising the back roads of Iowa, the roads are eerily empty like in a post apocalypse movie. The landscape surrounding us is made up of barren corn fields. A lonely John Deere tractor tills the fields for this season's planting. Grain silos sit in pairs like old rockets waiting to take off. A giant red barn sits like it's control center nearby.

Horse drawn carriages. It's a real thing in the Mid West

Making our way out of Iowa into Missouri, the corn fields start to turn into deciduous forests. Unlike the trees in Iowa, Spring has reached the Southern trees of Missouri first. The green leaves have already unfurled and are prepared for the sunlight of the new season.

As of now, my grandma and I have made it to our new destination - Nashville Tennessee. Here in the Music City of USA is where we will spend the next few days.

Below are some photos from the Dutch town, Pella located in Iowa.