A Rebel’s Guide to Fun in the Music City

According to visitmusiccity.com, “Nashville is a drinking town with a music problem,” and that should make Ole Miss fans headed to the Rebels bowl game against Georgia Tech feel right at home.

Best Bar Bets

If you plan on spending the weekend in Nashville, here are some of the best options: Hops and Crafts offers more beers on tap than Baskin-Robbins has flavors of ice cream. If hard liquor is more your style, Holland House is the place to be. Or to stay classy, check out Rumours Wine Bar. For those on a budget, nashvilleguru.com tracks drink specials and other deals; while the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation offers a list of even more drinking and dining spots.

Music Marks the Spot

While Ole Miss fans are venturing out of Oxford on a four and a half hour drive to the Music City, they’ll want to make time for some tunes.  The Opry House boasts The Grand Ole Opry, which the website says made country music famous. Each show features a line-up of eight or more newcomers, superstars and legends of the country music industry. The Bluebird Cafe, another Nashville-must, is a listening room and venue where mainly songwriters come to showcase their works, stripped down to acoustics only. In the heart of downtown is Broadway, a strip of neon lights, bars and live music, which has places like The Stage, another venue for live bands.

Food Finds

Also according to the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation, tourists might find the flavors they’re looking for at Rolf & Daughters, ranked as Bon Appetit’s 3rd best restaurant in America for 2013, or try Taylor Swift’s favorite all-day breakfast spot, Fido.  Pharmacy Burger Parlor and Beer Garden, Mas Tacos and many other specialty restaurants are scattered around town.

Shopping Savvy

A trip to Nashville, wouldn’t be complete without a dash into some of the city’s unique shops. Great American Country (gactv.com) lists Nashville’s Top 10 Places to Shop, including Katy K’s Designs and Hip Zipper.

According to gactv.com, “Whether you’re looking for a vintage pair of cowboy boots, a cocktail dress inspired by the ’50s, snazzy pearl snap shirts for the man in your life, or even a Johnny Cash-inspired onesie for the newborn in the family, Katy K Designs is the place to go.”

The website describes Hip Zipper as a vintage boutique which “has pieces from the 1950s-1970s, but a few stragglers from other decades make their way onto the racks.”

If a road-trip like this is music to your ears, you’re going to like Nashville.

This story was contributed by Ole Miss Journalism students Natalie Moore nemoore@go.olemiss.edu, Ashley Mallett anmallet@go.olemiss.edu, and Kristen Stephens kmstephe@go.olemiss.edu.