Nashville

So... Confession. We haven't always held a fondness for Nashville... We'd had some truly beautiful experiences there, but we'd also had a couple rough encounters back in the day that left us thinking that maybe Nashville wasn't the kindest place for musicians.
(Will I lose my musician license for saying this?)
But I'm happy to say that our minds are changing -- :)

In recent trips it's certainly growing on us... Such a wonderful songwriter community and so many great venues... And the city itself feels small and tight-knit in a way that makes you want to stop back by again soon.

After running errands, we encountered one of the best things that can happen when we're in the Nashville area: We went to Barbara's Home Cookin' (in Franklin) for a late lunch. Oh the goodness... Rolls that weigh like 10lbs each, incredible vegetables, true southern home cooking, right in Barbara's house... The kind of meal you eat and then wait a couple days before eating again. :)

From Barbara's we made our way to rehearsal with Kyler; she played a showcase tonight at 12th and Porter as part of Next Big Nashville, which is going on this week in town. (We're a little disappointed that we don't have more time here; so many great folks to see this week -- so much great music!)

(Our enormous thanks to Kathy and Mary for your kindness and rehearsal space... (Tell Theo we said hey)) :)

When we arrived at 12th and Porter, we were entirely surprised to see artists Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken on stage; their showcase was directly before Kyler's, and it was definitely a unexpected treat. They were fabulous as always; such great songs --

Once we left the venue, we did that definitively on-the-road thing, where we found free wifi and got directions and sent our newsletter from the inside of our van in a gas station parking lot. Oh the glamour.
It's 11:30pm and we're off now to see family in the Knoxville area... It's a clear dark night, and we'll lose an hour heading back east...
Here's to late-night safe travels.