Journal

GIFT GIVING WITH NASHVILLE STYLE

Even if you didn’t come to town specifically to shop, you may want to take home some Nashville-specific goodies as holiday gifts or a thank you for the dog sitter (or souvenirs for yourself, there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself).

NASHVILLE’S LETTERPRESS LEGACY  

Music City sure made letterpress its own. Much of the Nashville credit goes to Hatch Show Print, the letterpress printer that has been using vintage type to make iconic art and signage since 1879. Here are five places where you can learn more about Nashville’s signature printing style, try your hand at letterpress and buy some pieces to take home.

NASHVILLE SACRED PLACES 

No matter what holidays you observe, this time of year is one that makes us reflect. Nashville provides plenty of opportunity for that. Not that you need a special place to do it, but Nashville is replete with sacred spaces of different magnitude. Here are five top places for tapping into your inner zen.

WINTER CAMP VIBES HEATING UP AT BOBBY ROOFTOP 

Did you think that because summer has come and gone that camping season is over? Not at the Bobby Nashville. Igloos light up under the stars, bartenders serve campfire-inspired cocktails and a DJ spins tunes in the adult “mess hall.”

HALLOWEEN HITS IN MUSIC CITY

Nashville’s the kind of town where you can see people dressed in costumes every day of the year. You’ll see women dressed as brides along Broadway and musicians in stage costumes walking to their cars. Even with that propensity to dress up, Halloween is still something different to experience in Nashville. If you are in Music City at the end of October, check out these six themed activities for spooky season.

ARTIST PROFILE: GET TO KNOW JOSEPH

If you just saw the name scrolling across your screen as you were looking for new music to check out, you might make an assumption about an act called “Joseph.” For the last decade, sisters Allison, Natalie and Meegan Closer have been encouraging their audiences to think about things differently.

ARTIST PROFILE: GET TO KNOW BAILEY BRYAN

Like many musicians, Bailey Bryan got frustrated when people asked her what genre of music she plays. She was influenced by R&B and hip hop growing up. Living in Nashville helped her dial in her country music sensibilities. So, like any good songwriter, she decided to come up with a better way to say it herself.

ALAN L. MAYOR: A NASHVILLE RETROSPECTIVE: 1974 – 1999 COMES FIRST TO THE BOBBY HOTEL

Alan L. Mayor, who grew up in nearby Clarksville, was the go-to photojournalist for the music industry starting in the 1970s. He was the person who captured famous faces, including Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker and Garth Brooks, many of whom were not famous yet.

OLD SCHOOL PLAYLIST (PART 2)

The Bobby hotel takes its Music City roots seriously, making it easy to listen to up-and-coming musicians and hear the beat of the city. If you are visiting for the first time, you might want to get some perspective and how and why Nashville got its reputation. Instead of forcing you to download forever, here are 14 more essential songs to get you started.

ARTIST PROFILE: MELODIE PROVENZANO

BASH, in honor of the Bobby’s fifth birthday, was an exhibit of colorful, dynamic work, an exhibition as a birthday party. It is on view through September 3, 2023. “I think it is genius,” Provenzano says about, not just BASH, but The Collection, the ongoing Bobby visual art program. “Life is all about change. Nothing stays the same. Why not have artwork that keeps having the viewer coming back? The more art the better.”

ARTIST PROFILE: JILL ANDREWS 

Jill Andrews left the mountains of East Tennessee, where she grew up, for parts west, first to Knoxville, and then to Nashville. Andrews wasn’t new to music when she got to Nashville. She had been a part of the Everybodyfields, a popular Americana band that thrilled audiences, from 2004-2009. In 2009 she left the band to focus on her solo career.

OLD SCHOOL PLAYLIST (PART 1)

Nashville is Music City, and the Bobby hotel makes it easy to listen to up-and-coming musicians and hear the beat of the city. If you are visiting town for the first time, you might want to get some perspective and how and why Nashville got its reputation. You could download forever, but if you want to get up-to-speed quickly, here are 14 essential songs to get you started. Add these your playlist to cover Nashville from the 1870s to the 1970s.

GET OUT (OUTSIDE, THAT IS)

Just outside the doors of the Bobby hotel you can connect with the Greenway to get whatever kind of outdoor experience you crave. Nashville’s Greenway system is a connection of  largely paved trails—about 100 miles—which are basically a network of connected parks that wind their way along the riverbanks and through the city.

ROOFTOP LOUNGE 4TH OF JULY BBQ

The Bobby’s not setting the sparklers off, but its rooftop is the best vantage point for the red, white and blue explosions. Each year Music City synchronizes its mammoth fireworks display to music from the GRAMMY-winning Nashville Symphony and in 2023 is offering other performances, too, including sets by Brad Paisley, Langhorne Slim, The War & Treaty and others. You can see it and hear it all from Bobby’s Rooftop Lounge.

GARAGE SESSIONS BRING WRITERS IN THE ROUND TO GARAGE BAR

On the first Thursday of each month Brother Elsey hosts Garage Sessions at Bobby’s Garage Bar. Each night includes two rounds of three songwriters each, playing both popular songs and soon-to-be popular unreleased songs. Each songwriter is personally invited by Brother Elsey, a local band that plays a set in between each round.

ARTIST PROFILE: GET TO KNOW ARCY DRIVE

Arcy Drive is a four-person indie rock band that got its start in an attic and then progressed to a shed in Tuozzo’s yard that was, you guessed it, a street called Arcy Drive. Bassist Pat Helrigel describes their sound as “rough around the edges, scratchy alternative rock.”

IT’S OUR BIRTHDAY

We’re celebrating the hotel turning five years old by giving a tip of our conical birthday hat to the fun activities that got us to this point and offering a preview of what we’ve got in store for the next year.

NASHVILLE’S MUSIC MUSEUMS, AN INDOOR ADVENTURE

If you’re visiting Music City from December through March, you may be able to sit outside at Bobby’s Rooftop Lounge or stroll downtown streets. Or you might want some options that allow you to have some fun without bundling up.

ART IN BLOOM

TEMPTER, a group exhibition that sprouted a floral theme, includes works by Leah Guadagnoli, Sky Kim and Herb Williams.

BOBBY GOES TO THE DOGS

Sure, lots of other hotels allow you to bring your dog with you as a guest (often with some restrictions and extra fees). But how many hotels have a dog who lives on site?