The Bluebird Cafe

I promise that this will be the last post that I will write about our recent trip to Tennessee.  I know that most people only want to hear so much about other people's vacations.  However, if you really want to know and hear more, feel free to stop over and we will gladly regale you with more stories and subject you to offer to show you some of the 300 or so pictures that we took.  They all sit on our computer.

Anyway, when we knew that we would be going to Nashville, we contacted our friend David Cicotello, a Nashville area resident, and made arrangements to visit, and he said that he would take us to see some "authentic Nashville", The Bluebird Cafe.

The Bluebird has been featured  in the TV series, "Nashville", which I have never seen, but it has given the place a bit of cachet.  It is not on Nashville's Broadway, amidst the honky-tonk bars, the Ryman Auditorium, and the center of the tourist area.  Rather, it sits unobtrusively, in a tiny strip shopping area, right between a dry cleaner and an hair salon.

The place is tiny, seating no more than a hundred people, and if you aren't lucky enough to snag one of the reservations (we were not), you need to get in line early to be among the twenty or so people who will get in to see the show from the bar seats.  So, we arrived for the 7:00 show at about 3:30 and stood in line.  Not a problem since the weather was nice, and it afforded us ample time to chat and visit with David.  We did get in, and, believe it or not, we were lucky enough, thanks to a last minute cancellation,  to be able to get table seats right next to the stage.

The show consisted of four musicians/singer/songwriters: Madeleine Slate, Dennis Matkosky, Chris Galbuda, and Marc Beeson.  No, I had never heard of any of them, although some of them are responsible for songs that you have heard and know.  They did about five "rounds" consisting of each taking turns singing while the others accompanied them.  Their were also two occasions when one of them spotted someone they knew in thew audience and asked them to come on stage and perform.  Hey, this is Nashville - there are performers everywhere!

I also cannot say enough about how friendly and nice the staff of the Bluebird was.  When a facility is in such high demand, and there is no shortage of customers chomping at the bit to get into the place, it would not have been unexpected if they had copped a "hey, you're lucky to be here" attitude, but they did not.  They could not have been nicer or more accommodating.

It was terrific night of smooth and mellow entertainment, and mucho thanks to David for suggesting it and setting it up.  Like I said, it is not a part of the area of downtown Nashville where all the tourists go, but it was terrific night.  Our trip schedule allowed us to have only one free night in Nashville, and we couldn't have been happier that that night was spent at The Bluebird Cafe.