Dierks Bentley at the Country Music Hall of Fame

It. was. awesome.

The Country Music Hall of Fame has a an exhibit showcasing his life and career, and as part of the exhibit they have him do an interview and acoustic performance.  The is the second one we've seen - they're done really well, and because they are in a small concert hall specifically built for music -- the sound is phenomenal.

We were lucky enough to get meet and greet passes as well as passes to the show.  The official photographer took pictures with Dierks, so I don't have those yet, but I did get a few good ones.

 The interviewer is Peter Cooper, who is a locally well-known music journalist and musician.  He's really good at getting the subject to open up about themselves and he allows them to tell the story in their own words.  I always enjoy the interviews that he does.

 Above the stage is a large screen and the entire time they were talking there were photos on the screen.  Some were from concerts, some were childhood photos (one of which he found slightly embarrassing), and some were album covers.  This cover is from 2003.  His dog Jake is still alive.  He's deaf, and sleeps a lot, but he'll still around.

Before the show, Jim said  - If you could ask him one question, what would it be?  I said, I think I'd ask him what his favorite guitar was named and how long he's had it.  Of course he told me that was two questions.  Well, I kind of got my question answered.  This guitar was part of the exhibit, and they had it on the stage for him to play during this show.  He has had it autographed by many country and bluegrass stars (unfortunately this picture didn't pick up the signatures).

 When he started playing, you could see the wear up near the neck, and the hole where his fingers have worn through the wood.  It still sounds good, though!

 He had a bunch of songwriters join him on stage.  All great songwriters and musicians.

 He sang What Was I Thinking, I Hold On, Drunk On a Plane, Somewhere on a Beach, Free and Easy,  Am I the Only One, Every Mile a Memory, Up on the Ridge, and a new song called Freedom.  (I might be forgetting some, it seemed like he played for quite a while). 

In this picture, his fingers are actually in that hole in the face of the guitar.

It was an awesome show, and it was really great to meet him.

My favorite Dierks song?  I Hold On.  For some reason it resonates with me.  It was great to hear it live and even though I like a lot of his songs, that remains my favorite.

2016 NHL All Star Game

or The Day We Got To Meet The Stanley Cup.

The NHL All Star Game is in Nashville this year.  I tried (and tried) to get tickets to either the game or the skills competition - but no luck.  We did go to Fan Fair today.  And it was fun!!

The highlight of the day was getting our picture taken with the Stanley Cup

There were events both inside and outside of the convention center.  They shut down a few blocks to auto traffic, and set up an ice rink, stages and tents in Hall of Fame Park.

Inside the convention center were all sorts of activities and booths set up.  There were places where you could try on the players' gear and take your picture, there were places where you could try your luck at shooting the puck, there were virtual reality games.  Something for everyone!

Or you could just stick your head through the hole in the cutout ;)

There was a really cool table hockey game.  Jim and I played a game of this.  I won, thanks for asking!  It's so different from the little tabletop games we used to have where you had to unbend the players, or move the puck out of the corners with your hand because the players couldn't reach it sometimes, or the puck would come shooting up at your face once in a while.  Does anyone else remember reaching in and grabbing the other guys player right off the peg because he was winning?  Me neither.......

They had pictures and banners all over the place.  They had some really cool player pictures and autographed items for sale, and also had lots of old photos made into wall size banners.  The one on the top right is Boston's 'Sugar' Jim Henry and Montreal's Maurice Richard shaking hands after Game 7 in the 1952 Semifinal. 

I think you know who this is

 They also had a bunch of the hockey trophies there.  Here are the Lady Byng

 and the Vezina

And of course all the team mascots were there.  Some of them are pretty scary looking!  Here's Blades, as they're about to begin the 'Dance off'.  Unfortunately we couldn't see it.  There wasn't nearly enough room for everyone who wanted to watch, so we finally gave up and decided to go check out everything else in the hall while the majority of folks were at one end!

Then we went outside.  It was really warm this afternoon - in the mid 60's - so outside was a sea of humanity.  This is standing in front of the convention center, looking toward the riverfront.  You can see the arena on your left, the Pinnacle building and the Symphony Center in the middle, and to the right you can see a stage.  They had some big name performers, none of whom we saw.... 

We walked over to the park and the first thing we encountered was the Jack Daniels truck (Nashville knows how to throw a party!).  

There were a few other vendors outside, but not as many as I expected.  There is an ice rink.  Although it was a little soupy being so warm out!  The building in the background is the Country Music Hall of Fame.

 As we were walking through the park, a man stopped Jim and asked him if he'd be willing to answer a few questions.  He said sure, and the man proceeded to ask him questions about Jaromir Jagr.  So Jim will get his 15 minutes of fame!  Be sure to tune in to your local station if you're in the Czech Republic.....

 They also built these really cool hockey pucks around the area.  They had players pictures on them and were all over the park and along 5th Avenue.

It was a lot of fun, the weather was great for walking outside, and we got out of the house for a while.

Luke Bryan's Acoustic Show

What a treat.  A conversation and acoustic show by Luke Bryan.  We already know he puts on a great show, but seeing him in a smaller venue, with an interviewer - 

and then just him and his guitar telling stories and singing songs was awesome.

The Country Music Hall of Fame has begun doing these conversations and atypical shows with the country music stars whom they are showcasing in their exhibits.  They are always fun.  In addition to Luke Bryan, we've seen Kenny Rogers and Crystal Gale.

One thing very different about today's show is that he was wandering through the crowd before the show and taking selfies with some of the fans.  Unfortunately he was on the stage level and we were in the balcony.  It was still a fun show to watch.

A Dew-Covered Bearded Iris

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature, one photograph at a time.

During last weeks' staycation, one of the places we went to was Cheekwood Botanical Gardens.  It's a local place and we go there frequently.  They have some awesome exhibits.  Right now there's an exhibit of 'stickwork', which you can read about here.  Unfortunately we were too late to see all the tulips in bloom, but we have seen that before.  It's fabulous, and you can see that here.  

What we did see last week were some bearded iris' covered in dew.

The day was pretty overcast, so the drops stayed on the foliage and created picture perfect conditions!

So pretty and delicate.

Staycation - Day 9

A Night at the Opry

I would show you pictures, but they're pretty blurry.  We were in the nosebleed seats - there were only three rows of seats above ours.  Scary up there.

We saw:

John Conlee

Ray Scott

The Whites

Connie Smith

Mike Snider

Lauren Alaina

Larry Gatlin (it was his birthday today!!)

Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top Express

Canaan Smith

and

Reba.

Reba sang a couple of songs off her new CD, and then some old favorites - Fancy, Is There Life Out There and The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.  I hadn't heard that song in a long time.  It really is great.  Just in case I've convinced you to give it a listen.....

That song was written by Vicki Lawrence's husband.  Vicki actually recorded it, and it went to number one on the charts for her, and 20 years later Reba recorded it also.  It is a classic.

And, not surprisingly, she got a standing ovation at the end of the night.

Another great Opry show.

Staycation - Day 8

Domesticity  Food Friday

The guys went golfing, and the girls stayed home a baked.  Good, healthy snacks.

We made chia oatmeal breakfast cookies

bananadoodles

and peanut butter cranberry granola bites

The chia breakfast cookies were - well, let's just say - not a fan favorite.  The banana doodles were

and I've made the peanut butter cranberry bites before so we knew those would be good.

We had a delicious dinner of steak, baked potatoes, salad and green beans, and then some ooey-gooey smores.  Some with Hersey Bars, some with Reeses.    

Yum!

Staycation - Day 7

Downtown Nashville

The guys went golfing, the girls went..... nowhere.  Nice restful day.  We did go to downtown and to the Wildhorse Saloon for dinner.  Sad to say, they've changed their menu.  The fried pickles are still on the menu, but a lot has been removed.  I had the brisket sandwich, which I've had before - but last night was not nearly as good as it has been in the past.  I'd give it a 4 out of 10.  And won't hurry back....

We also wandered around and did some window-shopping.  And of course made a stop in Savannah's Candy Kitchen.  They have the coolest taffy machine.  Watch this - and be sure to watch the train at the end.

Then a stop at Mike's Ice Cream.  Because......ice cream.

  

Staycation - Day 6

Better late than never, right.....

Today we went to Marathon Village and checked out Antique Archeology, Bang Candy Company, Garage Coffee Company and a tour of Corsair Distillery.  

Marathon Village is a cool old building which was once an automobile production facility - you can read about the history and transformation here.  It's a pretty cool building - with a  pretty cool story.  Here are some pictures of the outside.  The original logo:

 The oil can sits atop the building - it's become a landmark.

 this is what the oil can looks like from the back of Corsair distillery.

Antique Archeology is the Nashville location of Mike Rowe - American Pickers.

Corsair Distillery is the polar opposite of Jack Daniels.  Corsair is a small brew company who experiments with different grains and flavorings, both spirits and beer.  They do a Quinoa Whiskey, a Triple Smoke - which is definitely a fan favorite! - and many other seasonal flavors.  The tour takes you through the processing area, the bottling area and the barrel room, most of which are in the same large room.

Included in the tour is a stop in the tasting room so you can try out some of their unique flavors.

Then last night we went to City Winery (no photos or videos allowed, so these are not actually from last night) to see Holly Williams.  She is the granddaughter of the great Hank Williams, daughter of Hank Jr., or Bocephus, as he is commonly referred to.  The opening act was a 10 year old powerhouse of a little girl from East Tennessee name Emi Sunshine.  Her website is here.  Definitely check her out.  And Holly Williams with her band.

She played a variety of music from her albums, and a couple of extra songs.  She is a true storytelling songwriter.  My favorite, favorite, favorite Holly Williams song is Waiting on June.   It's a song about her mothers' parents, who she was close to while growing up.  Every word is true, and it is full of emotion for her.   She did play it last night - and it was wonderful.  Here's the YouTube version.

Enjoy!!