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September 2010
Nashville, Tennessee
September 1, 2010: A 3-hour special on the 2010 CMA Music Festival airs tonight on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central.
The performance to watch for is Keith Urban's cover of Joe Cocker's arrangement of "With a Little Help from My Friends."
Urban dedicated the song to the people of Nashville who pulled together to help their neighbors during the terrible flooding in early May. With film footage of flood scenes playing on the stage screen behind him, Urban was joined by Tony Brown on the piano, Sarah Buxton, Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman. It was one of the most masterful and moving performances of the entire Festival.
August 18, 2010: BlueShoe's CMA Awards Show 2010 Platinum and Gold Level Packages go on sale today at 2 p.m. Central Time.
August 13, 2010: Are you ready, country music lovers? BlueShoe is about to launch its "Best of the Fest" packages for the 2011 CMA Music Festival.
August 7, 2010: Learn the tango tonight at the Big Band Dance at the Centennial Park Event Shelter. Lessons are free and dance music will be provided by The Usual Suspects. Lesson begins at 7 p.m. and the music runs from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m.
The evening is part of a Nashville summer tradition—free dance lessons and big band music are offered up each Saturday night through the end of August.
August 1, 2010: For our CMA Music Festival clients this year, we created an annotated list of some of our favorite restaurants in Nashville. We thought our recommendations might be of interest to other visitors so we're republishing them here on BlueShoe Café, our dining guide to Nashville. There are nine select restaurants on the list and we'll unveil them one at a time. We'll begin with a "destination" ice cream shop that's been in the same location on Charlotte Avenue for nearly 50 years.
July 29, 2010: Our Deluxe Gold Circle Grand Ole Opry Package is now on sale. These 2-night packages feature the splendid 5-star Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville and Gold Circle seats for your Night at the Opry. Summer performances of the Opry will be held at the Ryman Auditorium, located within walking distance of the Hermitage. This package is an exclusive offering through BlueShoe Nashville--you won't find it anywhere else.
July 22, 2010: The third Full Moon Pickin' Party of the season is Friday (July 23) at the Equestrian Barn near the steeplechase in Percy Warner Park. You can enjoy food, beverages, and splendid bluegrass music performed live under the stars. The proceeds go directly back to the parks to help mitigate flood damage and to insure preservation of the Percy and Edwin Warner Parks.
 July 12, 2010: It's the height of summer and a bounty of locally-grown produce is nowon sale at the Nashville Farmers' Market. You'll find peaches and blackberries, an array of vegetables like squash and corn and green beans, and what warrants a trip in their own right--heirloom tomatoes that are sweetly succulent and artistically colorful (arrange them on a platter to create a still life worthy
of Cézanne). The next food events on the Nashville calendar include the Soul Food Festival on July 17
and the Music City Brewers Fest on July 31.
July 7, 2010: Getting around downtown Nashville has become easier and greenerwith the advent of a new serviceproviding free transportation. The Music City Circuit runs 6 days a week on two separate loops (one goes to the Farmers' Market and Bicentennial Mall and the other serves key destinations between the Gulch and Riverfront Station).
Two of the new 40-foot buses and smaller vans utilized on the Circuit are powered by a diesel hybrid electic propulsion system that produces fewer harmful emissions and uses less fuel. A YouTube video has been produced by the Nashville MTA showing the ease of Riding the Music City Circuit.
July 1, 2010: The summer weather today could hardly be lovelier in Nashville or more tempting for an evening stroll at Cheekwood. Start off your long holiday weekend
with a visit to their outdoor exhibit featuring handblown glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly. The display in the botanical gardens will be illuminated for nighttime viewing (and naturally enhanced, we suspect, by the flickering of native fireflies). Read more about Chihuly Nights (offerered on certain Thursday and Friday nights through the summer) and the two current exhibits gracing Frist Center for the Visual Arts and Cheekwood.
June 30, 2010: We're not Paris yet, but Nashville is simulating the City of Light with a new bike sharing program. The original launch date for the free program was scheduled for early summer, but was pushed back because the entire fleet of bikes was submerged in the May flood. Repairs were needed to get the pretty yellow and blue models back in shape. The initial program will begin with a fleet of 30 bikes in two locations (Music City Star riverfront train station and Shelby Bottoms) and expand to thousands of bikes citywide by next spring.
June 29, 2010: Free music, fireworks, and a hot chicken festival are featured this weekend in Nashville as part of Music City's Fourth of July Celebration. Trace Adkins will be headlining the roster of musicians performing at Riverfront Stages on Sunday.
June 23, 2010: The second Full Moon Pickin' Party of the season is this Friday, June 25 at the Equestrian Barn, 2500 Old Hickory Blvd (next to the Steeplechase at Percy Warner Park). The Pickin' Parties are a Nashville summer tradition featuring live bluegrass music under the stars and food and drink.
June 19, 2010: Coming in July--our Best of Nashville Gold Circle Grand Ole Opry Package. Offered only by BlueShoe Nashville, this package features the 5-star Hermitage Hotel in Nashville and Gold Circle seats at the Opry. Summer performances of the Opry will be held at the Ryman Auditorium, located downtown and within walking distance of the Hermitage. Call 615-383-3012 for more details.
June 15, 2010: The 2010 CMA Music Festival wrapped up four days of extraordinary country music Sunday night, June 13. Performances by Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band, Trace Adkins, Reba, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, and Brad Paisley were among the highlights on the big stage at LP Field.
June 5, 2010: The CMA Music Festival is just days away. If you love country music, there is indeed only one place in the world to be June 10 to 13: Nashville!
May 27, 2010: The first Full Moon Pickin' Party of the season is tonight at the Equestrian Barn near the steeplechase in Percy Warner Park. You can enjoy food, beverages, and splendid bluegrass music performed live under the stars. The proceeds go directly back to the parks to help mitigate flood damage and to insure preservation of the Percy and Edwin Warner Parks.
May 7, 2010: We're coming back from the deluge and there's a raft of special events this weekend to raise flood relief funds. There's also a number of free entertainments being offer to help Nashvillians relax and rejuvenate. Tonight the Nashville Symphony is hosting a free performance in the public square at 8 p.m. Christopher Cross will be the special guest performer and parking is free at the Metro Courthouse/ Public Square Garage. See a list of events here.
May 6, 2010: The days are now lovely in sunshine and Nashville is mopping up. If you have time to lend a hand, volunteers are needed at the Farmers' Market tomorrow to help prepare for a reopening of the market on Saturday. In the wake of the flood, there are many, many places around Nashville in need of volunteers to pitch in and help clean. You can see a complete list of opportunities at Hands On Nashville.
May 5, 2010: Wet but not whipped! The Show will go on. The Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Country Music Association have released statements regarding the floods in middle Tennessee and the status of the Music Festival in June. The short version: the CMA Music Festival will happen! More details here: Nashville CVB issues statement and the CMA reassures Festival goers.
May 4, 2010: The sun is shining and we're coming up for air. But the last four days have been harrowing: between May 1st and May 2nd, 2010, Middle Tennessee received the greatest amount of rainfall in recorded history. The resulting floods have killed 10 people in Davidson County (this is the count as of 6 a.m. this morning and the fear is that more bodies will be found as the waters recede). Honky tonks on Lower Broadway, beloved Nashville landmarks like the Country Music Hall of Fame and LP Field, and other music venues in the historic district of downtown Nashville have taken on water. Countless private homes have been damaged or destroyed. This is a weather event that was epic in its intensity and indiscriminate in its range of destruction. Nashville is still reeling. We'll be posting photos soon.
April 1, 2010: Happy hoax day. Check out some of the memorable April Fool's pranks of recent vintage. Google, keeping with its tradition, is up to its own wry brand of folly.
March 24, 2010: Tennessee is coming into all its amazing botanical glory with the blooming of a wide variety of woodland wildflowers. We've updated our Wildflower Guide with lists of wildflower hikes and festivals across middle and east Tennessee. This weekend there are multiple hikes right here in Nashville at Percy Warner Park.
March 3, 2010: It's just a bit over three months until Nashville's biggest annual event -- the CMA Music Festival. The roster of performers announced thus far includes Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Martina McBride, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Zac Brown Band, and Carrie Underwood. More names will be revealed throughout the spring. Opening day for the Festival is June 10.
Feb. 28, 2010: Tin Pan South, sponsored by the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), is scheduled for March 30 to April 3 right here in Nashville at area music venues. Known as the world's largest all-songwriter festival, the gathering of songwriters and music fans will celebrate its 18th anniversary this year. According to NSAI, more than 9,000 people attended the event in 2009. Tickets will go sale on March 10.
Feb. 1, 2010: After Friday's snowfall (the biggest in Nashville since 2003), the bright sunshine on Sunday was welcomed. It was still cold (only reaching the low 30s), but the sun started the town to thawing. Let's see if the warming trend continues this week.
Jan. 12, 2010: Free WiFi is coming to downtown Nashville. The Nashville Technology Council has announced that it is spearheading a project to provide free public wireless Internet service. The initial network, running along Broadway from approximately the Hard Rock Cafe to the Sommet Center, will go live by early February.
Jan. 6, 2010: According to forecasts, snow is on the way to Nashville, along with high winds. If you prefer to view meteorological drama rather than be immersed in it, stay tune for the Nashville Shakespeare
Festival's production of The Tempest at Belmont's Troutt Theatre. Opening on Jan. 16, the play will run through the end of January and should offer a cosy, warm way of watching the elements rage.
 Jan. 1, 2010: We've turned the corner of the year and the countdown has begun for the new wildflower season in Tennessee. Last year we found Harbinger-of-Spring (Erigenia bulbosa) opening its tiny petals in the snow on March 1. So it's only a couple of months and counting before the wonderful botanical show begins. We're still processing photos from last year's wildflower hikes and have just put up a new series of images shot in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (with some pretty photos of Painted Trillium and Creeping Phlox).
Dec. 31, 2009: A lot of twang and sparkle will liven up New Year's Eve in downtown Nashville this evening. There'll be four to five hours of free live music performed at First and Broadway in front of the Hard Rock Cafe, with Rodney Atkins headlining the cast of musicians. There'll even be a midnight drop, but instead of the famous ball in Times Square moving inexorably to mark the start of a brand new year, Nashville will drop an 80-foot guitar. As an exclamation mark, there'll be fireworks. The street party starts ata 7:30 p.m. See schedule of performers here.
Dec. 19, 2009: We're pleased to announce the addition of a lovely new hotel in a splendid location for our CMA Music Festival 2010 Packages. The Hilton Garden Inn Hotel is located at 1713 Broadway Avenue in midtown Nashville. The 2010 CMA Music Festival will be the inaugural one for the hotel and to commemorate this milestone we're matching Gold Circle tickets with a limited number of our Hilton Garden packages. See more details on our CMA Music Festival 2010 page.
Dec. 7, 2009: BlueShoe's Grand Ole Opry Gold Circle packages for Christmas are now available. These gift packages are designed especially for the country music lover in your life and feature seats in our favorite Section 11 at the Ryman Auditorium for the Dec. 26 performance of the Grand Ole Opry. They also include one night at the Five-Star, Five-Diamond Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville. A beautiful, customized gift certificate is available for each package. Read about this package and other Christmas gifts for country music lovers at our Nashville Webstore.
Dec. 1, 2009: A cold front is predicted to move into town this weekend, as if ordered special for the kickoff to the holiday season in Nashville. Mayor Karl Dean will begin the festivities by lighting the Nashville Christmas tree in the public square this Friday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. The tree lighting will be followed by the 57th Annual Christmas Parade on Lower Broadway at 7 p.m. The parade will begin at 8th Avenue North (in front of the U.S. Courthouse) and Broadway.
Nov. 20, 2009: The Country Music Hall of Fame is hosting an early morning breakfast on Dec. 4 with WSM’s Bill Cody as he broadcasts live from the Curb Conservatory. Special guest performances feature Ricky Skaggs and The Whites, Richie McDonald, and the Skaggs Family. See details at Bill Cody Breakfast.
Nov. 17, 2009: Our exclusive Christmas Gold Circle Grand Ole Opry Packages at the 5-star Hermitage Hotel will go on sale here on Nov. 19. These wonderful hotel/ticket packages for the Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009 Opry performance at the Ryman Auditorium feature seats in BlueShoe's favorite Section 11 in rows B, C, and D (rows 2, 3, & 4).
Nov. 11, 2009: Tonight's the night! The CMA Awards Show will begin when Taylor Swift delivers the opening performance of the 43rd Annual CMA Awards. Hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, the sold-out show will air live from the Sommet Center in Nashville tonight (Nov. 11) (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.
Nov. 3, 2009: The CMA Awards Show is just a week away and the list of performers announced thus far include Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney and Dave Mathews, Billy Currington, Vince Gill and Daughtry, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band. It's shaping up to be a wonderful evening of great music.
 Oct. 12, 2009: The Frist Center for the Visual Arts has opened a new exhibition dedicated to American Modernism. Georgia O'Keeffe and Her Times, featuring 45 paintings and eight photographs from the Lane Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, includes works by some of the most important American artists of the early twentieth century.The exhibit will be on display at the Frist through January 31, 2010.
Oct. 2, 2009: It's the last Full Moon Pickin' Party of the season. Sponsored by Friends of Warner, this popular event featuring live bluegrass music takes place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Warner Equestrian Center at 2500 Old Hickory Boulevard. For more information, call 370-8053.
September 25, 2009: Tennessee Association of Craft Artists (TACA) is hosting its annual Fall Festival in Centennial Park today through Sunday. There's free parking, free admission, and rows and rows of tented booths with original artisans displaying their lovely and well-made works. One of our favorite exhibitors is Tim Hintz. He makes traditional ladderback chairs from local red oak and weaves the seats from hickory bark strips. What is particularly charming about his pieces is the finishing touch--a unique milk paint that results in an uncommon depth of color. The combination of masterful craftsmanship and self-conscious rural retrospection lend Hintz's work a sly Tennessee postmodern look. A resident of Smithville, Hintz will be participating in the Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour Oct. 23-25. This popular tour is celebrating its 10th year and features 11 stops with 10 studios and more than two dozen participating artists. But don't wait until October: go to Centennial Park this weekend and see Hintz's work up close, along with the exhibits of all the other diverse and talented artisans. TACA Fall Festival hours are Friday & Saturday, 10am-6pm and Sunday, 10am-5pm.
September 14, 2009: The roster of nominees for the 2009 CMA Awards is online here.
September 2, 2009: The Tennessee State Fair opens next Friday, Sept. 11 and will run through Sept. 20. Carnival rides, competitions, exhibitions, and, of course, classic Fair food like funnel cakes will be featured. Even if you can't make the Fair, check out their cool and colorful web site.
August 31, 2009: ABC's 3-hour special on the 2009 CMA Music Festival airs tonight at 8 p.m. Central. The show promises to be an engaging recap of the great fun and wonderful music Nashville serves up each June to country fans.
August 25, 2009: Eighty-nine years ago roses were in vogue in Nashville during the month of August. Yellow roses were the flower of choice worn by the Suffragists campaigning for passage of the 19th Amendment. Those opposed to granting women "the vote" wore red roses. Read about the dramatic final battle of the "War of the Roses" that took place in Nashville in August 1920.
August 14, 2009: It's a Full Moon Pickin' Party tonight, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Warner Equestrian Center at 2500 Old Hickory Boulevard. For more information, call 370-8053. Enjoy wonderful bluegrass music under the lantern of bright full moon. This popular summer event is sponsored by Friends of Warner Park as a fundraiser for preserving the parks. And speaking of Warner Park, tomorrow night the Sudekum Planetarium will host a free star party at Edwin Warner Park, 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.
August 3, 2009: BlueShoe Nashville's 2010 CMA Music Festival Packages are now online for viewing. You can see prices at our packages page. We're proud to once again be the exclusive provider of CMA Music Festival packages for the five-star Hermitage Hotel downtown and we're equally pleased to be able to offer our preferred Section 134 Lower Level seats. Section 134 is our favorite for a number of reasons, including the fact that you're in the shade in the early evening. For the first time in 2010 BlueShoe is featuring packages at the new Hampton Inn downtown on Fourth Avenue South. Lower level and floor level packages will be available for purchase online beginning August 6. If you're interested in a Gold Circle package, please call us directly at 615-383-3012.
 Featured
photo: The Bellsouth "Batman Building,"
one of the landmarks in downtown Nashville, overlooks the old brick
storefronts of Lower Broad--a row of cowboy apparel stores and honky-tonks
such as Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.
 BlueShoe:
What's in our name?
Editor: Cheryl Hiers
BlueShoe Nashville Travel Guide is located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Copyright ©2010, Cheryl Hiers.
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