(Page 3 of 3)
Later that morning I visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I almost missed the building, which was dwarfed by the B.M.I. building next door. The fascinating little museum ($10.75 admission) traces the history of country music from the Grand Ole Opry to the present, with an emphasis on the most commercially successful, of course. Among the tidbits I learned were that the early country players had been persuaded to trade in their formal attire for hillbilly costumes by George D. Hay, the founder of the Opry, who believed it would make them more accessible to their audience; that one of the early Opry stars was DeFord Bailey, a black harmonica player (the Opry also featured musicians in blackface); that Johnny Cash's hit ''A Boy Named Sue'' was written by Shel Silverstein; that when it came to outlandish customizing, Elvis Presley's gold Cadillac, with record player and cocktail cabinet, had nothing on Webb Pierce's 1962 Pontiac Bonneville, with its tooled leather upholstery, six-gun trim and silver-dollar decor.
I spent more than three hours at the museum, and could easily have dawdled longer, watching historic film clips of Roy Acuff and early Opry stars like Uncle Dave Macon. But I was eager to check into my room at the Union Station Hotel, which had been built in a beautifully refurbished Romanesque Gothic train station. I justified the $109 tab on two grounds. First, I was getting a good Sunday night deal; my room usually went for $175. Second, everything else had been a bargain in Nashville, so I had earned a treat.
The room seemed unadorned but not plain, with a king-size bed, comfortable armchairs and A-shaped struts that gave an unusual archlike feel to the room. A big picture window offered a view of a rail yard and a highway, and I could see that a rainstorm had begun. Tonight, I decided, I would look for music in the heart of Nash Vegas.
Maybe because of the rain, or maybe because it was Sunday, downtown Nashville seemed barren. Like a carnival barker, a woman in front of the empty Planet Hollywood tried to coax me in. But I was heading for the dives of old Nashville, like Robert's Western World, a venerable Western-wear shop turned nightclub that achieved local fame a few years back as home base to BR5-49, a retro country band that's gone on to recording-contract glory.
Onstage, the Lonnie Waters Band was playing to a dozen or so people, energetically picking its way through Hank Williams, Hank Snow and Elvis Presley. If the music wasn't original, it was played with verve and charm. As in all the older places along Broadway, the band played for tips, the people listened for the price of a beer.
At Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, which for decades served as the backstage bar for the Grand Ole Opry, Scott Wayne and the Boys were taking requests to the delight of the small crowd in an improbably bright, rundown room. I felt satisfied, as if I had finally found the music I was looking for. As the band finished its set, I left to get something to eat.
Easier said than done. After 9 on Sunday night, Nashville closes down. I stumbled on to Red, Hot and Blue, a shiny Memphis-style barbecue restaurant in the West End. There was one other person there, sitting at the bar. I sat down alongside.
''This is the only place I could find that was still open,'' I said.
''Viva Nash Vegas!'' he replied.
The bottom line for music fans
Getting There
I spent an average of about $140 a day in Nashville, not including transportation. My round-trip ticket between New York and Nashville was $135, with tax, through American Airlines' Net Saaver, a free weekly E-mail list of discount fares. To receive Net Saaver, visit American's Web site: www.americanair.com.
I rented an economy car for two days from Hertz through Net Saaver for a total of $54.44, with unlimited mileage, including a 5 percent discount as an American Aadvantage member and tax. A Rand McNally Easy Finder road map ($4.95) was a necessity.
Lodging
Shoney's Inn, 1521 Demonbreun Street, Nashville; (615) 255-9977, fax (615) 242-6127, charges $80.82, with tax, for a double.
A single room at the Union Station Hotel, 1001 Broadway, Nashville, (615) 726-1001, fax (615) 248-6143, was $131.35, with tax and $9 for valet parking. The double rate for the same room is $10 more.
Dining
Prices include tax and tip.
Pancake Pantry, 1796 21st Avenue South; (615) 383-9333. Breakfast: $7 to $12.
Rotier's Restaurant, 2413 Elliston Place; (615) 327-9892. Dinner with a beer: about $11.
Prince's Hot Chicken, 123 Ewing Drive, (615) 226-9442. A chicken sandwich is $3.
Loveless Motel and Cafe, 8400 Highway 100; (615) 646-9700. Breakfast: about $12.
Red, Hot and Blue, 2212 Elliston Place; (615) 321-0350. Dinner with beer: about $22.
Music
Cover charges vary with the performers.
Station Inn, 402 12th Avenue South, (615) 255-3307; $5 cover.
Twelfth and Porter, 114 12th Avenue North, (615) 254-7236; $5 cover.
Exit-In, 2208 Elliston Place, (615) 321-4400; $5 cover.
Robert's Western World, 416 Broadway, (615) 256-7937; no cover charge.
Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, 422 Broadway, (615) 726-0463; no cover charge.
Sightseeing
Carl Van Vechten Gallery of Fine Arts at Fisk University, corner of Jackson Street and D. B. Todd Boulevard; (615) 329-8720. Donation suggested.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 4 Music Square East; (615) 255-5333. Admission: $10.75; ages 6 to 11, $4.75. E. A.
Photos: Boots and the music to make them boogie at Robert's Western World. The Union Station Hotel is in a refurbished terminal. At 12th and Porter, which serves Nashville's version of spa cuisine. (Photographs by Dee Davis for The New York Times)(pg. 6); At Robert's Western World, one of the clubs on Broadway. The Kathy Chiavola Band's mandolinist at Station Inn. (Photographs by Dee Davis for The New York Times)(pg. 12)
