Thursday, January 07, 2010
Free Admission to The Hermitage on January 8th!
Visit The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson, on Friday, January 8, 2010 at 10am to celebrate the 195th anniversary of the American victory at the Battle of New Orleans, which ended the War of 1812. Join us for this patriotic celebration that was once rivaled in national importance only by the Fourth of July.
The traditional wreath-laying ceremony will begin at 10:00am at Jackson's tomb with the Tennessee Army National Guard Color Guard along with U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper, 5th Congressional District of Tennessee, as the keynote speaker. In addition, our special “Eighth of January” event includes costumed interpreter-led tours of Jackson’s home, children activities, and more.
FREE admission all day!
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
The “Elvis in Music City” Package at Loews Vanderbilt Commemorates the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s” 75th Birthday
Avid Elvis Presley fans the world over will be “All Shook Up.” So much so that some diehards will break out their old “Blue Suede Shoes.” Other aficionados will ponder the purchase of a “Hound Dog” to howl at a “Blue Moon.” And who would blame them if they booked a room at “Heartbreak Hotel?”
The shake, rattle and roll crowd will want to hit all the high notes to commemorate what would have been the 75 birthday of the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” on January 8, 2010. And what better place to celebrate than at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, Music City, USA, where Elvis recorded some of his greatest hits?
Loews Vanderbilt is offering a few enticements for Elvis fans, January 8 -10:
- Any guest who checks into the hotel dressed as either Elvis or Priscilla will receive $75 off their total hotel bill.
- On January 8, the hotel will have a birthday party for Elvis from 3:30 – 6 p.m. A hound dog will greet guests upon check in and there will be peanut butter and banana cupcakes and balloons.
- Anyone who comes to the hotel’s bar, “drink”, in blue suede shoes will receive a cocktail of their choice for 75 cents.
- The hotel’s lobby jukebox will play Elvis songs
In detail, the $3,975 “Elvis in Music City” package includes:
- Two nights at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in accommodations fit for a ‘King’
- A private recording session at Studio B of one of Elvis’ songs with roundtrip limousine transport to and from the hotel and studio
- An iPod preloaded with the top 50 Elvis songs
- Set of 10 keepsake DVD’s of various Elvis movies: Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, Blue Hawaii and Viva Las Vegas to name a few.
- Private cooking lesson with one of the hotel’s chefs to learn to make Elvis’s favorites foods including fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, meatloaf, and banana pudding, followed by lunch.
- Copy of “The Presley Family Cookbook” by Vester Presley and Nancy Rooks
- An exclusive guided tour at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum focusing on Elvis Presley’s life and musical impact. Artifacts related to Presley on display include his 1960 “Solid Gold” Cadillac limousine with 24-karat gold plate highlights and 40 painted coats of a translucent mixture of crushed diamonds and fish scales; 1928 Kimball grand piano finished in 24-karat gold leaf; black and white, two-tone shoes worn during the early years of his career; and more.
- A special one-year Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum membership
- Daily breakfast for two
- Because Elvis was a fan of barbeque, guests will enjoy dinner at Jacks Bar-B-Que
- Either complimentary valet parking or roundtrip transportation to and from the airport
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Cheekwood Offers 50 Cents Admission Charge for January
To mark the beginning of Cheekwood’s 50th year as a Nashville treasure, Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art will offer a special $.50 cent admission charge for the entire month of January. Cheekwood opened to the public on May 22, 1960 and shortly thereafter started charging adults $.50 cents for admission.
“Cheekwood is thrilled to be able to celebrate our golden anniversary with the public at our original admission price and we hope everyone will enjoy visiting our Botanical Garden & Museum of Art,” said Jack Becker, Ph.D., Cheekwood’s President & CEO. “We have many things to experience both indoors and out and have an exciting year planned to celebrate our 50th with the community.”
During the winter, there's more happening in Cheekwood's gardens than you might think: evergreens, flowering apricots in the Japanese Garden, birds and other wildlife enjoying abundant berries, pansies, violas, and the brilliant reds and yellows of twig dogwoods. During this special month guests will have many choices for exploring all of the wonderful offerings at Cheekwood.
• Ongoing – The Matilda Geddings Gray Collection of Fabergé
Among the world’s most significant compilations of Fabergé pieces, the Collection includes 57 rare pieces highlighted by three Russian Imperial Easter eggs, and a number of important functional items, fantasy items and floral works.
• Through January 17, 2010 – Dichos: Words to Live, Love and Laugh By in Latin America
Truck and bus drivers across Latin America delight in inscribing dichos—sayings or amusing expressions—on their vehicles. Hand painted in an endless variety of graphic styles and colors, dichos address subjects ranging from religion and love to puns and earthy humor. In this exhibition, the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) offers an engaging look at this endangered tradition through photographs, miniature vehicles, and full size metal bumpers.
• Through February 21, 2010 – Temporary Contemporary, Nashville Memoir: Photographs by Greg Miller
After living in New York for 20 years, photographer Greg Miller returned to his hometown of Nashville to reexamine the city where he grew up. Recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008, Miller attempted to reconstruct memories by photographing in and around areas of Nashville where he grew up, often photographing complete strangers playing a part in scenes drawn from the lasting emotional remnants of his past.
• Through February 21, 2010 – Video Installation, New Direction: Video Artists Explore Southern Identity
This juried exhibition brings together the work of six artists who are recent graduates from universities and colleges located in Tennessee and surrounding states. These artists investigate topics ranging from consumer culture to the process of becoming an adult, and they use varied approaches to making video art, including animation, experimental, narrative, new-narrative, and performance.
• Through January 2, 2011 – William Edmondson: The Hand and the Spirit
This outstanding exhibition features selections from Cheekwood's collection, the largest public collection of William Edmondson's work. Born to former slaves on a plantation south of Nashville, Edmondson (1874-1951) taught himself to carve tombstones and became one of the most celebrated African-American sculptors of the 20th Century.
• January 31 – February 21 – The Scholastic Art Competition
The competition is the oldest and one of the most prestigious student art competitions in the country. Past winners include noted artists such as Red Grooms and Andy Warhol. Cheekwood and The Tennessee Credit Union have been regional sponsors of the art portion of the competition for sixteen years.
• Decorative Arts
Many of Cheekwood’s most precious works are not hanging on our wall. The Museum of Art has several decorative arts collections on permanent display: Worcester Porcelain, Asian Snuff bottles, and American & English Silver.
• Carell Woodland Sculpture Trail
The Carrell Woodland Sculpture Trail is a unique attraction among American art museums – a place where contemporary sculpture by internationally recognized artists is integrated into reclaimed woodland. As you walk the trail, experience the synthesis of art and nature.
• Saturday AM
Attendees can also participate in the Saturday AM program, dedicated to interactive family art activities, from 10:00 am-Noon every Saturday in the Frist Learning Center.
• Tuesdays for Tots
Attendees can also participate in the Tuesdays for Tots program, dedicated to interactive art activities for pre-schoolers, from 10:00 am-Noon every Tuesday in the Frist Learning Center.
Stabbing at 12th and Porter, Suspect Arrested
Police arrested a man in an overnight stabbing at a popular downtown nightclub.
The stabbing happened shortly after 12 a.m., midnight Tuesday morning at the nightclub 12th and Porter.
Officers said a man entered the club with a knife in one hand and a beer in the other hand.
The drummer in the band performing at the time tried to stop the man and was cut in the hand.
He was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover.
The suspect ran off and was caught by police a few blocks away.
Thanks to WKRN.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Charlie Daniels Band Museum Burglarized
In Nashville, a burglar kicked in the door to the Charlie Daniels Band Museum, located downtown between the Hard Rock Café and the Wildhorse Saloon. The culprit ignored thousands of dollars in memorabilia and went straight for the $200 in the cash register. Left untouched were many valuable guitars, tour merchandise, awards and thousands of photographs. The break-in occurred at 12:30 am on Tuesday, December 29. No suspects have been arrested though police are reviewing surveillance video.
Country Music Under Attack from Within
THE spot atop the final country music singles chart of the 2000s was held by a woman who shoehorned her way into Nashville with personal subject matter, a plucky, can-do attitude and a refusal to fail.
Taylor Swift? Nope. Try Reba McEntire.
“Consider Me Gone” was Ms. McEntire’s 34th trip to the top of the chart in 26 years, proof of not just her appeal and resilience, but also of Nashville’s enduring pension plan for its cherished acts.
The story of country music in the last 10 years, one of its most turbulent and provocative periods, was of a genre under attack from within. Early in the decade came the fear that country would go irretrievably pop, courtesy of Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Lee Ann Womack. A few years later the rabble-rousing Muzik Mafia, with acts like Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich, arrived as a rejoinder to the music’s increasing sheen. And finally came a youth flank attack: via “American Idol” there was Carrie Underwood, and via the Internet generation, Taylor Swift. And yet what these outsiders really demonstrated was the resilience of Nashville. Organized, successful, lumbering, stubborn: Music Row is the last vestige of the record industry as it used to be. To each of these border threats, the city has stood up — remained seated, really — and held its ground, either stymieing or assimilating. The genre’s top female stars retreated from blatant pop crossover, the Muzik Mafia was a team of classicists in outlaw clothing, and Ms. Underwood was a country star in the old mold, after all. And so the city’s oligarchy remained more or less intact.
There’s been little turnover in its star pool; many of the genre’s top-selling acts — George Strait, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw — have been releasing albums for 15 years or more.
According to Nielsen BDS, which measures radio play, the most-played artist this decade, in any format, was Mr. McGraw; 8 of the top 10 are country singers, all men or all-male groups. According to Billboard the top country act of the decade was Mr. Keith, who has evolved from angry fire starter to lumpy jingoist to entrenched outlaw to unexpectedly smooth lover man, but never left the limelight. Until Sugarland unseated them in 2007, Brooks & Dunn won Vocal Duo of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards for 15 years running, save one.
As a result country has been the most commercially significant genre with the smallest amount of stylistic innovation. In addition it’s been particularly slow on the uptake with digital and social media, making it less accessible to younger audiences, and more deaf to their desires.
Ms. Swift may be the biggest country star of the moment, and one of the most significant pop acts of recent years, but her Nashville success is always marked with an asterisk. She’s been accepted, even winning Entertainer of the Year at last year’s CMAs, but brute force helped: numbers talk.
Still, even they’re no guarantee. No situation has revealed Nashville’s self-preservation instinct more than the case of the Dixie Chicks, once the town’s favored daughters: one of the few country acts with two diamond-certified albums, for 10 million copies shipped, and winners of the 2000 Entertainer of the Year award. But following some lippy remarks about President George W. Bush, followed by a tug-of-dogmas with Mr. Keith, then country music’s center of moral and political gravity, the Chicks were all but excommunicated. By 2006, when they released “Taking the Long Way,” they’d become, in essence, an extremely famous alt-country act; country radio largely ignored them, and their sales dropped by about two-thirds. It felt like a warning shot to upstarts of any kind: Thank you for coming, Nashville will neutralize you now.
Thanks to Jon Caramanica
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Friday, January 01, 2010
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