Tennessee Homesick Blues

Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry brought Dolly Parton to town, and fans like WAHEEDA HARRIS have made pilgrimages there ever since

An interactive Taylor Swift Studio.

Dolly herself.

Standing on the rooftop of the Kimpton Aertson Hotel, I’m treated to a sweeping view of Nashville’s Midtown neighbourhood and surrounding skyline: groups of students are walking and cycling to their classes at nearby Vanderbilt University, while traffic pulses through Music Row, ground zero of country music head offices, recording studios and radio stations. As the newest kid on the block, this boutique hotel’s existence is a result of a growing city and its modern attributes: the au courant destination for bachelor and bachelorette parties, passionate fans coming to watch the President Trophy–winning NHL Predators and the endless stream of music lovers wanting to indulge in multitude of music options: the honky-tonk clubs of Lower Broadway, singer-songwriters jams at The Bluebird Café and in-store concerts at beloved Grimey’s New & Preloved Music in South Nashville. For its grand opening, the Kimpton Aertson treated its guests to the sweet sounds of country music A-listers Little Big Town. The band’s lead singer, Kimberly Schlapman, with her distinctive blonde tresses, conjures up my first country-star girl-crush: Dolly Parton. No offence to Schlapman herself, but I’m suddenly transported into my own private Dollyland.

By age seven, Parton had learned to play a homemade guitar, sang in church and was soon performing on local radio and television programs in East Tennessee. Parton came to Nashville for the first time to sing on the Grand Ole Opry at age 13, and met Johnny Cash, who encouraged her to pursue a career in music. After Parton graduated from high school in 1964, she moved to the Music City, establishing herself as a songwriter and singer, then actress and businesswoman, and has been a perennial guest on the Grand Ole Opry stage.

As Parton’s fame grew, achieving 25 number one Billboard hits over the decades, so did Nashville cement its reputation as the centre of all things country music. Both Parton and the city share classic Tennessee traits of being friendly and fun, and although I’ve never met Dolly, I know she would be as welcoming as Music City, which these days welcomes 14 million visitors a year.

Nashville likes to celebrates its own and did so last spring when Parton was honoured with a mural at the Opry Plaza by Nashville artist Scott Guion, showcasing her signature blonde hair and strumming a guitar alongside other well-known country music faces such as Blake Shelton and Little Jimmy Dickens.

There are several Dolly’s-been-there must-sees. The Grand Ole Opry, based at Opry Plaza since 1974, has been nicknamed the “Mother Church of Country Music,” though its stage hosts everything from contemporary pop bands to weekly bluegrass nights. Backstage tours provide an opportunity to see the VIP-only areas, where local art, rare memorabilia and vintage photographs grace the walls. The Music City Walk of Fame, established in 2006, inducted Dolly in 2009, though, of course, there are also other music giants, like Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams Sr., commemorated there.

Also downtown, the collection at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is more than just audio clips of cowboy songs and photos of big-haired singers. Through original recordings, videos of television and concert performances, posters, handbills, photographs, instruments, clothing and cars, the museum details the history of country music and its pop culture impact. Linger over the costumes and dresses worn by performers—like the infamous marijuana leaf-embroidered suit worn by folk rocker Gram Parsons, made by infamous rodeo tailor Nudie Cohn, or the slinky (and very small) sequin dresses worn by Carrie Underwood, Shania Twain and, of course, Dolly.

Stars in the Music City Walk of Fame.

The collection at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is more than just audio clips of cowboy songs and photos of big-haired singers. Through original recordings, videos of television and concert performances, posters, handbills, photographs, instruments, clothing and cars, the museum details the history of country music and its pop culture impact

Visitors remember charts past at the Wall of Gold Records.

But Ms. Parton isn’t just a glitzy inclusion in a museum display: she is also a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, inducted in 1999. Parton is credited with being one of the women who helped revolutionize the country music industry for female performers. Parton recorded many of her hallmark songs at Historic RCA Studio B, which also offers a tour. She left her mark on the studio in another way: in 1967, rushing to be on time for her first recording at the studio, she crashed her car into the sidewall of the studio, an incident revealed in her 1994 memoir My Life and Other Unfinished Business.

A few days later, I’m with my friend Cindy at Centennial Park, sipping a cold cider from MC Pub before finding our spot on the grass to enjoy Musician’s Corner. Cindy’s a recent transplant to Nashville, lured by city’s lack of pretension and abundant affability. The park is one of many places throughout the city for new residents to find their community.

I see a young girl by the stage, dancing in the sunshine and playing her own air guitar as the performer on stage belts out a tune. Maybe one day she’ll be on that stage herself, her dreams of making music come true in Music City, just like Dolly’s.