Rett and I love going to free shows! Right now, there are two, free, musical events that take place on a weekly basis. Thursday nights are Live on the Green. This show takes place downtown on the courthouse lawn from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Los Lonely Boys headlined last week and next week the headliner is Robert Randolph and the Family Band. (Although I am MUCH more excited for the opening act, MOON TAXI!!) The other show is Musician’s Corner, which features up and coming local bands in Centennial Park from 3-6 p.m. on Saturdays. Both are outdoor events and are 100% free. Rett and I usually pack a picnic lunch (or dinner) and have some pretty awesome free dates every week!
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| Live on the Green on the Courthouse Lawn |
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| Musician's Corner-Centennial Park |
Now, I am stereotyping here, but it seems that the same types of people come to all of these shows. There are, of course, exceptions to the rules, but here are the categories of people that stick out to me.
*Hipsters—You know who I’m talking about. The horn-rimmed glasses, skinny jeans, boots, scarves, and slouchy-hat-wearing trend-setters trend-followers we all know and love so much. They walk around like they’re on the runway at these events. Sometimes I’m not sure if they come to see or to BE seen.
*Dog-lovers—Since both of these shows are outside, dogs are welcomed…even encouraged! At times it almost feels a bit like a dog show. Nashville-ians take any excuse they can to show off their canine friends (or in the case of this picture, their miniature ponies!)
*The Babysitter’s Club—This group involves parents who bring their children to the show in hopes that the crowd and the music will act as a babysitter for their energetic children. These would be the kids who run (or crawl) around, yelling and tripping most people within a five foot radius. The parents are the ones with their eyes glued to the show who obviously believe that kidnapping could never take place in a crowd. (Note: There are also many functional families with responsible parents who attend the shows. Of course!)
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| Super cute little boy at the last Musician's Corner, under the watch of a friendly, orange balloon. |
*Smokers- I’m not even sure if the people in this category like music…I think they’re just excited to be able to go out somewhere with their friends where they can pollute the air in peace.
*The “Too-Old-For-This” Crew—I suppose you’re never too old to enjoy free music. I know I’ll still be doing it years from now. However, this miscellaneous category involves 50-year-old women wearing spaghetti strap and/or see-through shirts and men still in their hippie garb from the 70s.
*The “I-Just-Wanna-Dance” bunch—Or maybe it should be “I-Just-Wanna-Move,” because I’m not entirely convinced that dancing is exactly what they are doing. This category is oftentimes closely linked to the abovementioned crew. Just the people you want to see dancing, right?
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Meet Rico. This guy (who, if I'm not mistaken, is homeless) dances at EVERY Musician's Corner for the full 3 hours, taking NO breaks. This is one dancer that everyone can't help but love. Up until this past weekend, Rett and I always reverently referred to him as Beavertail because we didn't know his name.  |
*Cheapskates—These are the people who don’t get out of the house or do anything unless it’s FREE.
So that's the general breakdown. If you want to check out the Live on the Green schedule, you can find it at http://www.liveonthegreen.net/schedule and the Musician's Corner schedule is at http://www.musicianscornernashville.com/#/calendar
Oh, and lastly as well as randomly, Rett and I went to the Parthenon (since we were in Centennial Park anyways) last Saturday. I just love that building. In some ways, it's almost more majestic than the real Parthenon because we get to see it in all it's glory, as they might have seen it years and years ago.
