Things to do / Travel Guide
Whether you opt for the Opry, hail the honky tonk, or would rather the theater, Central Kentucky and Tennessee nightlife always has something to fit the bill.
Louisville and Lexington Entertainment, Central Kentucky
Even after the sun goes down in the dead of winter, Louisville's downtown heats up after dark. For saloons, party bars, and some of Louisville's best nightclubs, head to the $70-million entertainment district, Fourth Street Live!, near Liberty Street in the city's downtown. The complex was built in hopes of rivaling other famous streets in the south like New Orleans' Bourbon Street or Beale Street in Memphis. The verdict is still out on whether they hit the mark but the entertainment center has attracted the likes of the Hard Rock Café. While you're in there, stop by the one and only Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge to take a swig of some smooth spirits. You'll have trouble keeping your eye on the 8-ball in Felt, an upscale, trendily-decorated billiard club and lounge, with a thousand-gallon jellyfish aquarium. Even if it's not a full moon we recommend you head to Howl at the Moon where a popular pair of peppy piano players duel out sing-alongs on their baby grands to wild hooting, hurrah-ing, stomping, singing, and clapping crowds.
Lining Market Street and Main Street you'll also find live music blues bars and jazz venues, as well as a number of nightclubs, pubs, and lounges.
People say that Louisville built a theater before it had a church. The Kentucky Center for Performing Arts, on West Main, is Louisville's largest performing arts complex. The Kentucky Center houses the Louisville Ballet, Louisville Orchestra, Louisville Opera, Stage One (“Professional Theater for Young Audiences), and the Martin Boyd Experimental Theater. Broadway shows such as “Riverdance” and “The Lion King” come to the Kentucky Center, as do Grammy-winning singers such as Tony Bennett and Rosanne Cash.
If you suddenly find yourself in Lexington after hours, don't despair - you don't have to be holed up in the hotel all evening. Live jazz and blues hotspots abound in downtown Lexington and on a Monday evening make it a point to be at Kentucky Theatre - you'll sit in the live audience for WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour, featuring some of the best acoustic and folk music in the United States. Lexington, like Louisville, also prides itself on providing fine performing arts. The Lexington Ballet on Mill Street and Kentucky Ballet Theatre on National Avenue, central Kentucky's only professional ballet company, have full dockets every season. The Lexington Philharmonic, a professional orchestra, plays on North Mill Street and brings in a wide variety of nationally-acclaimed guest artists, and the historic Lexington Opera House regularly presents popular Broadway shows.
Nashville Nightlife, Central Tennessee
If it's honky-tonk you're hoping for, Nashville, Tennessee, is your town. Yes, indeed, this is country music country or, better said, country Music City. You'll likely get caught up in the culture - if only for the experience. Nashville's grandiose Grand Ole Opry radio program (running from the days of the Great Depression until today) is a little like a bird that somehow migrates without leaving the South - it winters at the old Ryman Auditorium (the Mother Church of Country Music on Fifth Avenue) and spends its summers in a snazzy $15-million Grand Ole Opry House on Opryland Drive that seats about 4,400 people. But the new Ole Opry retains something sentimental and sweet from its previous venue: a six-foot circle of worn, old wood from the Ryman Auditorium has been inlayed in the new stage. The country's best old and new superstars and up-and-coming hopefuls, bluegrass, comedy, gospel, and country performers walk out into the spotlight and stand in that circle aware that their boots scuff the very same wood as those of Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, and Uncle Dave Macon. That circle of initiation, the epicenter of the Opry's legacy, also symbolizes its continuity - even after 80 years, the Grand Ole Opry is still going strong. You can buy tickets (do so well in advance) to sit in on the Opry's live broadcast on Friday and Saturday nights and enjoy the crisp crooning of country contemporaries such as Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Travis Tritt, or Billy Ray Cyrus. But to hear some of the up-and-comings, the famous Bluebird Café on Hillsboro Road features a Sunday songwriters' night and a Monday open-mike.
If you'd rather fancy-foot it like a cowboy, head to The District. Second Avenue and Lower Broadway's lineup of country music lounges and saloons (no cover charged) are ideal for boot-stomping and bar-hopping. Country celebrities such as Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings made the Tootsies Orchid Lounge one of the world's most famous country venues (you can rent the V.I.P. booth where they once sat), and the early evening line dance lessons at Wild Horse Saloon, one of Nashville's most famous dance venues, will have your two left feet stepping in line in no time.
Folks who think Nashville's cultural scene is solely small-town and country have another thing coming. Nashville is also about as refined and high-class as they come. The Nashville Symphony, with its world-renowned musical advisor Leonard Slatkin, is considered the “cornerstone of the performing arts” in Tennessee. Performing at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Symphony Place, their busy calendar features a full concert series and more than 200 performances annually, including collaborations with well-known musical talents such as Aaron Neville, Dionne Warwick, and groups like the Phillip Glass Ensemble. The Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Deaderick Street has a mega-marquee loaded with Broadway dramas and musicals as well as the Nashville Opera, featuring large-scale productions like Aida, Madame Butterfly, and Romeo and Juliet.
Chattanooga Nightlife, Central Tennessee
Chattanooga stays in step with Nashville with its own tradition of performing arts. Truly a diamond in the rough, make a planned stop on Broad Street, to see a Broadway blockbuster at the historic Tivoli Theatre, often called the “Jewel of the South.” Combining ornate, early-20th-century architecture with state-of-the-art sound and lighting, the Tivoli stage is frequented by the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association (offering creative series such as Big Band Fever, Beatlemania! Classical Mystery Tour, and others) as well as headliner bluegrass and country music road shows, and top-notch dance companies. You can also see the best national, regional, and local blues and jazz artists at the cozy 264-seat Bessie Smith Hall on Martin Luther King Boulevard, named for the Chattanooga-born blues belle, Bessie Smith. Entertainment options aren't as rich as in nearby Nashville, but there are a few places to get a beer, hear some jazz, or enjoy a stand-up comic.
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