They say you can never step twice into the same river: Both the river and you are continuously changing. After spending consecutive weekends in Nashville, Tennessee, I’m willing to make the same statement about stepping twice into the same city. I journeyed to Music City two times in March with my family, first for a musical theater performance and a second time for a certain type of string music: a basketball tournament.
Living in Central Kentucky, only a three-ish hour drive from Nashville, I was not unfamiliar with the place. I wrote here about a remarkable press trip I took there in 2017. My two trips this year, though, enabled me to see different sides of the city.
One of my goals was to find a hotel that could anchor my visits on both weekends. LouAnna Henton of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation introduced me to Tempo by Hilton, now a new NTA member. The property is perfectly positioned—about four blocks from both the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and Bridgestone Arena. It was an easy walk to both venues.
Tempo offers comfortable rooms with big, bold views of the city and a bustling fifth floor that holds the registration desk, a bar, seating areas for small and larger groups, plus an outdoor pool. The hotel is a recent build—opening only a year ago—but it has a stylish, art deco vibe. And music.
“Hey, it’s Nashville,” says Claire Fuqua, sales manager for Tempo. “We’ve got live music in the lobby bar starting at 3 or 4 in the afternoon.”
My groups were small—five of us on the first weekend and three a week later—but the hotel staff is accustomed to handling larger groups that come to Nashville not only for its iconic music venues and attractions, but also for the city’s history and culture, art and architecture, and sports. Tempo is also well located for faith travelers, too; the Southern Baptist Convention is just around the corner from the hotel.
Claire is attending her first Travel Exchange in November. “I’m looking forward to talking with operators,” she says. “We know that hotel costs have been challenging, and we’ve got flexible terms and special group rates, plus we can bundle in discounts for local attractions.”
Tempo is one of dozens of new hotels in Nashville, and LouAnna says more rooms mean more options—and better rates—for tour groups.
“Since 2020, Nashville has added over 8,000 new hotel rooms, with 48 new properties opening in just five years,” she says. “For a while, the city’s high demand outpaced its hotel supply, making it challenging for tour operators to offer reasonably priced packages. However, with the influx of new hotel inventory, rates are becoming more accessible.”
LouAnna encourages tour operators to reach out to the Nashville team before finalizing their plans, though. “Room rates can fluctuate significantly depending on timing, and shifting a tour by even a day can make a big difference,” she says.
Nashville is also experiencing significant growth in high-end accommodations. “We’re seeing the luxury travel market thrive,” LouAnna says. “New additions like the 1 Hotel Nashville, Four Seasons Nashville, and The Joseph Luxury Collection have elevated the city’s hospitality scene.”
My experiences in Nashville were rich, and the highlight of my first weekend was a fantastic show at TPAC. My wife treated me to a Friday evening performance of “Hadestown,” and we were accompanied by her sister, one of our sons, and his wife. We had plenty of dining choices and opted for a restaurant specializing in Spanish tapas.
At the theater, motorcoaches were dropping off show-goers as we walked into a busy lobby, and we found our seats quickly. “Hadestown,” winner of eight Tony Awards plus a Grammy, is a remarkable, raucous musical, and I left the theater determined to fetch my high school trombone from the attic and start playing again—loudly.
The next day, before driving home, we ventured to Broadway to get a look at the bars and honky-tonks that come alive each night. We found out that nobody is waiting for nighttime in Nashville. The sidewalks were filled with pedestrians, and the street itself was loaded with day-drinking groups—bachelorettes, fraternity brothers, birthday groups, etc.—aboard all types of transportation: open-air buses, party barges, converted military vehicles, and an array of pedal taverns.
It was 11 a.m., and every bar was already belting live music through open windows. We were floored … and we were hungry, so we dove into a restaurant just off Broadway and watched the world pass by as we ate lunch, including some hot chicken. We were seeing, hearing, and tasting what Nashville is all about.
“With over 180 live music venues and three professional sports teams, Nashville is a top destination for groups,” LouAnna says. “Visitors also flock to Music City for its dynamic food scene. From Nashville Hot Chicken to classic Southern meat-n-three meals and mouthwatering whole hog pork barbecue, there’s something to satisfy every craving.”
Watching the bustle of Broadway that first weekend, I told myself I should steer clear of the craziness during my second weekend in Nashville.
I did not follow my advice.
The next weekend, I returned to Nashville with my two sons, Steele and Clay, to watch the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team compete in the Southeastern Conference tournament. I’m a lifelong fan of U.K., as are my sons. And while I had heard about Big Blue Nation at the SEC tournament, I had never attended. It’s a lot to manage, you know—meals, lodging, game tickets, and other activities.
But just like a group tour participant, I let someone else do all the planning. Claire and LouAnna guided me in my Nashville accommodations and attractions, Clay handled ticket purchases (and the resale of non-U.K.-game tickets), and Steele found the food: great spots that specialized in German, Mexican, and breakfast fare, plus of course, pizza.
In 45 iterations of the SEC tournament following its renewal in 1979, Nashville has served as host 14 times, and all three Rouse men at the 2025 event agreed that Music City should be the permanent home of the tournament. It’s so easy to have fun. No matter where you park (not everybody had the luxury of walking from their hotel), you’re set for the day. With so many restaurants, stores, and bars surrounding the arena, you can happily spend the whole day on Broadway.
You can even extend your time on Broadway into the wee hours of the next day, as we did the two evenings that U.K. played. With this article in mind, I believed it was my journalistic duty to visit as many nightspots as I could. Only one bar doorman insisted on stamping my hand; if they all wanted to stamp me, I would have finished Thursday and Friday nights with a full sleeve.
Most bars on Broadway have several floors, often with a different band on each floor, allowing you to pick the music—and crowd intensity—you prefer. On the warm March evenings of our visit, we spent a lot of time on rooftop perches. It’s an amazing site to look down on the river of people and cars and party buses flowing down Broadway. And the rhythm on the roof was amazing. At one point, I could discern four distinct beats coming from bands’ booming speakers in nearby establishments—plus more thump-thumps pulsing from passing cars.
We were active during the day, too. I’m a big believer in hop-on/hop-off tours, and we took a spin around town on NTA-member Old Town Trolley Tours. The narrated ride gave us good insights, and while I saw many familiar sites, we hopped off at a stop new to me, the Nashville Farmers’ Market. With diverse food and drink offerings plus local makers selling their products and crafts, the indoor/outdoor market makes a great place for groups to explore. We also hopped off in Midtown, knowing we could find excellent pizza near the Vanderbilt University campus.
What was most memorable from my weekends in Nashville was, oddly enough, a part of home. After Kentucky’s thrilling win on a buzzer-beater, Big Blue Nation flat-out roared. A sea of Kentucky fans that had engulfed the arena spilled out onto Broadway, where we were welcomed—and high-fived—by even more U.K. fans walking on Broadway and leaning out of bars. I will always remember that intense, shared experience of community … so many miles from home.
I don’t know if I’ll go back to Nashville for the SEC tournament; I think I got what I needed from those crazy March days and nights. Yet the city has so much to offer; I’m certain I’ll return.
Nashville won’t be exactly the same … but neither will I. And that’s as it should be.
Top photo: Nashville CVC
