USA

Whether it was Willie Nelson jotting notes as he scrounged for beer money in the 1960s, or Steve Earle scrawling on a napkin as he contemplated love, life and death, the singer-songwriters who payed their dues in Nashville have shaped country music into one of the most indelible musical forms.

Before the 20th century

Ancient mound-builders and the wandering Shawnee of Algonquin stock occupied modern Nashville's Cumberland River bluffs centuries ago. Europeans first settled the area in 1779 as Fort Nashborough (the Anglocentric name was Americanised five years later). The legendary Daniel Boone had a hand in the deal, and his Wilderness Road brought emigrants over the Appalachians from Virginia, the Carolinas, and the northeastern states. Nashville developed rapidly as a trade and manufacturing center; it was chartered in 1806 and named state capital in 1843.

Its vital position on the Cumberland River (linking to the Mississippi navigation system) and at the crossroads of important rail lines made it a strategic point during the Civil War. As federal troops advanced upriver, the legislature picked up and moved to Memphis, and within the week Nashville surrendered. Another legendary Tennesseean, Andrew Johnson (then a US Senator), was appointed military governor and installed Union loyalists to occupy and impose martial law on Nashville from 1862 to 1865, which left the city intact.

Confederates aimed their sights on Nashville to cut off the rail lines supplying Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's campaign against Atlanta, and the two armies fought the Battle of Nashville south of the city in 1864. Confederate General Thomas Hood's troops were destroyed.

The city's economic recovery after the Civil War was hampered by two major cholera epidemics, which killed about a thousand people and caused thousands more to flee. The Centennial Exposition in 1897, for which the still-standing reproduction of the Greek Parthenon was built, signaled the city's eventual recovery.

Modern history

Nashville's Maxwell family established the world-recognized Maxwell House Coffee business here. Teddy Roosevelt himself proclaimed it 'good to the last drop' at the Maxwell House Hotel downtown. The Maxwell estate is now a fine arts center and botanical garden open to the public.

But eventually, Nashville became best known around the globe for the rocketing popularity of its live broadcast Barn Dance - later sarcastically nicknamed the 'Grand Ole Opry' - which began in 1925. The city was quickly proclaimed the Country Music Capital of the World, and recording studios and production companies established themselves along Music Row just west of downtown.

In the 1960s, students from the all-black Fisk University led sit-in demonstrations at lunch counters downtown, encouraged an economic boycott and marched on city hall to demand desegregated facilities. Their successful non-violent protests served as a model and catalyst for civil rights demonstrations throughout the South.

In the 1970s, Nashville's patron Gaylord Enterprises invented the Oprylandia empire and shaped the city's country music tourist business by moving the Grand Ole Opry, renovating the Ryman Auditorium, sending boats up and down the river and contributing to the economic revitalization of the downtown riverfront.

Recent history

Today, Nashville draws a wide mix of friendly locals and talented transients who play small stages and hope their dreams will come true - that they'll sign multi-million-dollar recording contracts and be the next Shania Twain or Garth Brooks. The resulting glut of excellent musicians and songwriters has created an exciting, ever-evolving music scene. Though sprawling in many directions, both geographically and culturally, Nashville is still a small town at heart.

Top Accommodation

Top Restaurants

From May through September, daytime temperatures in Nashville hover around 30°C (86°F) and humidity can reach a claustrophobic 80%. It is wet in Nashville throughout the year, though August to October has less rain than average. The coolest months are October and November, when the humidity drops and the average temperature is around 20°C (70°F).

Average weather

• Temperature
• Humidity am/pm
• Rainfall
• Sunshine

Transport

Getting there and away

Nashville International Airport (BNA; tel:615-275-1662; www.flynashville.com), 12.9km (8mi) east of town, is not a major air hub. MTA bus 18 links the airport and downtown; the Gray Line Airport Express (tel:615-275-1180; 05:00-23:00) serves major downtown and West End hotels. Try Nashville Cab (tel:615-242-7070) or Music City Cab (tel:615-742-3030). Greyhound (tel:615-255-3556; 200 8th Ave S) has frequent buses to Memphis (4hr), Atlanta, GA (5hr), Birmingham, AL (4hr), and New Orleans, LA (13-16hr).

Getting around

Downtown is easily managed on foot, and a river taxi is the best way to get from there to Opryland. But for most other attractions and districts, it's easiest to get around by car. Cycling is an alternative - the streets are wide and flat enough and drivers are courteous - but bikes are a rare sight in town.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA; tel:615-862-5950; www.nashvillemta.org; transit mall, cnr Deaderick St and 4th Ave N) operates city bus services based downtown. Its express buses also go to Music Valley and back.

Health & Legal Requirements

Dangers and annoyances

Travelers should be aware East Nashville has a reputation for having a higher crime rate than others parts of the city.