Join the City Cast Nashville team every weekday morning as we bring you the day's can't-miss conversation about life in Music City. With the help of local journalists, artists, activists, experts, and everyday residents, we explore this promising, frustrating, still-sorta-small town, where old bumps up against new, natives adapt to transplants, and everybody struggles to navigate the Binge Drinking Tourism Industrial Complex that threatens to consume us all. Alongside our daily newsletter, Hey Nashville, City Cast Nashville covers the news and culture of our endlessly growing city from every perspective we can find — including yours. It’s like a backyard barbecue and the whole town’s invited, so whether you’ve lived here for a blink or a lifetime, we hope you’ll pull up a lawn chair and sit a while. Get in touch with us at nashville@citycast.fm.
Meet the City Cast Nashville Team
A Nashville hidden gem:
Beaman Park is my favorite place to scream into the void. Please don't ruin that for me.
A Nashvillian you should know:
Cornelia Fort was the first female aviator to earn an instructor's license in Tennessee. She was teaching flying lessons in Hawaii when she and her student were the first pilots to encounter the Japanese air fleet on its way to bomb Pearl Harbor. After joining the Women Airforce Service Pilots to support the war effort, she also became the first female pilot in American history to die while on active duty. We honor her memory by walking, running, skating, biking, and otherwise enjoying the decommissioned airstrip-turned-park in East Nashville that bears her name.
A tourist trap that's actually great:
It could be argued that the entire city of Nashville is a tourist trap that's actually great. If you're looking for something more specific, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will surprise you.
A Nashville hidden gem:
Don't tell anyone, but Bell's Bend Park, right outside of Nashville, is my favorite spot to hike. On Sundays, I grab a "pub sub" from Publix and head there for a picnic and hike. It's the best way to spend the weekend!
A Nashvillian you should know:
Alex Wong, an extraordinary musician based in Nashville, hosts "The Permission Parties" at his home and various venues across the US. At these gatherings, he invites guests to immerse themselves in his cultural heritage through music, food, and storytelling. As a second-generation Chinese American, Alex believes that everyone has permission to take up space in this world. His beautiful message should be shared with all Nashvillians (and the world)!
A tourist trap that's actually great:
The tour of the historic RCA Studio B offered by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will blow your mind!
A Nashvillian you should know:
The amazing Katie Sue Buchholtz, children’s librarian extraordinaire at the Bellevue branch of the Nashville Public Library. She was one of my daughter’s first encounters with a librarian as an infant, and her exuberance and passion for kids and literacy have been such a bright light in not just my daughter’s life but to the thousands of children she’s read to over the years. She frequently attends festivals to read to kids, and it’s so special to spot her at events around town. She is an unsung hero.
The tourist trap that's actually great:
I cannot visit Centennial Park without being absolutely gobsmacked by the Parthenon. I mean, how cool does it get! Maybe it’s because I’m a mythology nerd, but no matter how many times I see it, I’m awed.
Where I'd take you to eat:
I’d take you to The Café at Thistle Farms in West Nashville, a volunteer-built eatery that’s part of a nonprofit dedicated to helping women survivors recover from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction. It’s a magical place to grab lunch and has plenty of gluten-free options. I love their harvest bowl, though if I’m feeling fancy, I might take a friend there for their tea service.