(I wrote this blog right after I’d visited Dollywood, but for some reason I didn’t publish it. In honor of Dolly, I’m publishing it now -followed by a few words about what she meant to me.)
Nashville is just a hop, skip, and a four-hour drive down the road from Dollywood.
Why not?
My daughter and I checked into the Graduate Hotel and continued the Ode To Dolly Tour.
Check out our room key. It’s a Dolly Parton ID card! I kept that.
And I used it whenever I was carded at the honky tonks on Broadway. I thought my joke was pretty funny. You know what else is funny? Carding a middle-aged woman.
The Graduate is a darling boutique hotel -from its front desk.
to its rooftop bar, White Limozeen.
Incidentally, we ran into a SkyWest crew. This is their layover hotel. Lucky them!
With just one day to explore, my daughter and I set off for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which is currently showing an exhibit titled Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker. Here, we were treated to even more Dolly.
Like her first record: “Puppy Love,” released when she was 13 and written when she was only 11.
Her handwritten lyrics to Jolene.
This outfit from the movie 9 to 5
Somehow, this exhibit was even more personal than the one at Dollywood.
But there’s more to see than this stellar exhibit (running through Oct 4, 2026). In the museum’s permanent collection, we saw artifacts from every country music star you can think of, past and present.
Their collection includes gems like Maybelle Carter’s Gibson.
Elvis Presley’s gold-plated Cadillac (even the antenna is 24-karat gold)
The King’s car features a gold-plated television, a record player, a refrigerator, a fur carpet, as well as 40 coats of “diamond dust pearl” paint -a custom mixture containing crushed diamonds and fish scales to give the car a shiny sparkle.
On the other end of the spectrum are touchingly humble artifacts like home-made stage clothes.
Loretta Lynn sewed this when she was 14 years old. Later, Sissy Spacek wore it in the movie Coal Miner’s Daughter.
Patsy Cline’s mother made this costume.
And this is the first black suit Johnny Cash wore -likewise sewn by his mama.
For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, there are plenty of artifacts by contemporary artists as well, like this bustier worn by Miranda Lambert. Can you spot the Dolly?
And Swifties will no doubt recognize this “Fate of Ophelia” outfit.
The museum is well worth a visit. But since this is the town that country music built, we decided it was time to head to the honky tonks.
Nowadays, country music stars own many of the bars that line Broadway. We chose to start our crawl at Post Malone’s. Zoom in on his framed suit.
I knew I liked this kid.
We sat under the Bud Light chandelier and ordered a Bud Light?
Next, we headed to Luke Bryan’s rooftop bar with a pretty view. He’s not the only one with a rooftop bar. They pretty much all have one, but the most infamous one is at Chief’s -Eric Church’s bar. You may remember hearing the news that country’s bad boy, Morgan Wallen, threw a chair off the roof? That roof.
Six stories high! I can’t believe he didn’t kill anyone.
We had to climb all those stairs and see it for ourselves. Because he didn’t kill anyone, they’ve turned the event into a marketing opportunity. You know what they say about publicity.
In that same building (about 4 stories up), we stumbled upon Ashley McBryde’s bar.
She’s another one of my favorite singers. I hear she occasionally plays on its tiny stage.
Redemption Bar has an extensive mocktail menu. Thank you, Ashley.
Not to mention, some pretty delicious snacks- like brisket-smothered potato chip nachos. Potato chips!
Is this a thing in Arkansas? Or a McBryde family recipe?
But this isn’t the only lady-owned bar in town. Miranda Lambert owns Casa Rosa. We really wanted to eat at her Tex-Mex restaurant there, but we just couldn’t resist those Arkansas nachos. So instead, we danced off lunch at Casa Rosa before heading over to my personal favorite honky tonk in Nashville. It’s an old institution called Nudies, where I had a very fun and memorable layover back in 2017.
Nudies was opened in 1947 by Nudie Cohn. Nudie was a tailor, and I think he’s responsible for the rhinestone cowboy. He made blinged-out custom suits for performers like Porter Wagoner, Gene Autry, George Jones, and all of the Johns -John Wayne, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, and Elton John. A picture of him and another famous customer hangs on the wall.
His suits are still coveted and worn by a new generation of performers like Lil Nas X, Post Malone, and Harry Styles. Even Taylor Swift owns a vintage Nudie suit.
But Nudie didn’t just customize suits; he also customized cars. We saw one in the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum that features 150 inlaid silver dollars, hand-tooled leather upholstery, revolver door handles, and a hood ornament made from a pair of Texas longhorns.
Another one hangs above the stage in his bar. I wonder if it makes the performers a little bit uncomfortable?
You know who never makes anyone feel uncomfortable? Dolly Parton
Seen here in a custom Nudie suit.
A few words:
We’ve all been watching and reading tributes to Dolly for weeks now. My favorite was a very generous letter she wrote to Eminem. You can read it on his Instagram, if you’re so inclined.
There’s not much more I can add, and yet, here I go.
Someone once said that there are really only two emotions… fear and love.
Dolly didn’t feel fear. If she did, she chose love over it every time. It came from her deep faith in God. And whether you believe in God or not, it was beautiful to see. I can’t think of another human being on this planet who lives like that.
Do you remember that childhood song, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine…?” It takes immense courage to live like that. To be yourself. To share your gifts. To choose love.
She was a bright light. And we were moths to her flame. I’m lucky I was alive to witness it, but I’m going to miss seeing it.
Rest in Paradise, beautiful Aunt Dolly