Music Festivals. I think they’re the tasty icing on the travel cake. I recently got the chance to experience the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ll admit, it was different to other music festivals I’ve been to – but it was deliciously good!
Me and my Kiwi had been travelling through the southern states of the US and the plan was to road trip from Memphis to Nashville, before going on to New York City.
We hadn't planned to be in Nashville especially for the festival - it was a lucky coincidence - so most of the accommodation was already booked out. I trawled travel and hotel websites and eventually found a modest hotel, a Super 8, near Nashville Airport. It was too good to be true! And it turned out it actually was. The hotel was cheap and nasty - and that's a compliment! We were blessed with a blocked shower drain, stained towels, a bed cover peppered with cigarette burn holes, but really, they were merely first world problems. Thanks to Super 8, we saved around $200 a night on accommodation. Most of the two and three star hotels closer to the heart of CMA Festival activities in Downtown Nashville (like the Best Western) were going for no less than $300 per night. In stark contrast to our gross hotel room was the country music capital of the world, Nashville, Tennessee. An incredible city; rich with the sound of live country music floating our of every bar, populated by friendly locals and host to a pretty amazing music festival.
