Nashville Photographer | Downtown
My parents were always huge music fans, so music was a ginormous part of my childhood.
We grew up with a fully-loaded juke box in our basement (which was our source of *jamming* for all family events), we blasted music in the car throughout every drive, and I often went to shows with my parents (I vividly remember one of my first crushes being John Hiatt after a particularly awesome Boston show). Willy & Johnny were staples on our cassette mixes, and as I got old (big) enough to inherit my dad’s old ‘cool’ t-shirt collection, you’d find me sporting retro Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Ernest Tubb Records logos across my chest. We went to folk festivals (i.e., Kerrville) and towns written about by singer-songwriters (i.e., Luchenbach) during family vacations, and I applied to the University of Texas, Austin, solely for the chance to rock that music scene in the 90s. My brother even grew up to be a professional musician, and my passion is photographing live music.
All of that said, it’s hard for me to believe I’d never been to Nashville. I actually was accepted into a PhD program at Vanderbilt University about ten years ago, which would have put me in Nashville for a substantial period of time but, instead I headed off to Chicago for graduate school, so I never ended up setting foot in the Country Music Capital of the World… until recently!
V & I hit up Nashville on our latest jaunt back east, and we had a great afternoon strolling through the city streets. It was more touristy than I expected (but, then again, isn’t everything?!) (and btw I was there as a tourist, so I have no right to complain), but there was no denying that it is, indeed, a music scene. There were street musicians on every corner doing their best Carrie Underwood or Cash impression, and every restaurant blasted country tunes throughout their outdoor gardens. The energy was palpable, and I didn’t really want to leave. OH, and there was a bar on wheels — not entirely sure how it works, but there are seats, pedals, and beer taps under a roving roof. Amazing (see photo below).
I also kept thinking how much I wished we had the chance to shoot a Nashville wedding photography or an engagement shoot [amendment to the post: we did get to shoot a Nashville Engagement a year later!!]. There were endless sources of texture, architecture, locations, and colors that would make for KILLER photos, and the weather was simply ideal all.day.long for pretty light. One day, one day.
Before we hit the road, I just had to check out Hatch Show Print, which I’d been SO excited to see after reading about it online. Ummm, are you kidding me?? From their site:
If you follow music, art, and culture of the American South, sooner or later you’re bound to run into the letters, images, and unmistakable “look” of Hatch Show Print. We’re one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America, and over the years our posters have featured a host of country music performers, ranging from Country Music Hall of Famers Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, and Johnny Cash to contemporary stars such as Garth Brooks and Wynonna.
As a designer and someone that has a huge appreciation for branding, this shop is, like, my mecca. The graphic artists work in a large open, glass space so we were able to peep in and, well, basically drool while admiring their old-school presses, machines, and general genius at work. Epic. Iconic.
Anyhoo, Nashville gets a big thumbs up from this music lover.
