> CD #112: One-note

Jun 05, 2024

Hey, all y’all! I’m in Nashville for work, which mainly involves sitting around in overly air-conditioned conference ballrooms, waiting for important people to tell me what to do. But last night, I extricated myself from my corporate trappings to catch a show at the Ryman Auditorium.

I didn’t know what to expect—I’m not into the country music scene—but I figured any concert in such a storied building would be ok. It was a variety show to benefit a local children’s hospital, hosted by Darius Rucker (formerly of Hootie & The Blowfish and now a country star).

Before this trip, I’d never visited the American South, and to be honest, I had some reservations about what I might experience as a small Asian woman travelling here alone. The audience at the Ryman was overwhelmingly white and a bit raucous. Lots of beer and whiskey, backwards baseball caps, and cowboy hats. During one act, the singer got the crowd chanting “USA! USA! USA!” and I felt deeply uncomfortable. Canadians just aren’t that overtly patriotic, except maybe at hockey games (and I don’t fit in with the sports crowd either).

At least I packed my denim shirt?

But then, after a bunch of songs from various artists about trucks and drinking and mamas and the simple life, Darius Rucker told us he was switching up the mood and launched into a rendition of TLC’s “Waterfalls.” To my surprise, everyone sang along just as they had with the country stuff. AND THEN he went straight into Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison,” which blew my mind with its absolute randomness. The crowd loved it too.

My time in Nashville has been full of unexpected moments. I mean, yes, I’ve seen my fair share of giant American flags, denim cutoffs, and good ‘ol boys, but I have also encountered many people who don’t fit that image of this place at all.

The first night here, I went for pizza and drinks with a group of local AAPI writers who were probably the most gracious and welcoming strangers I have ever met. They were at various stages in their writing careers, and their backgrounds sounded a lot like mine, even though they were mostly of Filipino, Cambodian, Japanese, and northern Chinese descent. They all swore Nashville was a great place to live.

Yesterday, on the way to the Ryman, I also made a genuine connection with my rideshare driver, Daniel. He was a bank manager in Venezuela until the government fell apart there, and now he’s seeking asylum in the U.S. He talked about the dangerous journey he took to leave his country, and I told him about my parents’ escape stories. What’s funny is that he was super interested in where they came from. Most people just accept “China” as an answer, but he wanted to know the name of the city. It turns out that he had many Cantonese clients when he was managing the bank and knew a lot about Guangzhou. He also told me he had lived in Chicago when he first arrived in the States, but found Tennessee more welcoming.

My coworkers and I also had dinner at Monell’s, where we sat in an historic house at a communal table with a bunch of locals and had a delicious family-style southern meal, including skillet fried chicken, collard greens, pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits & gravy, and banana pudding. You don’t order a thing. They just bring food out, and you pass everything to the left and eat until you’re full—all for $18.95. I’ve never been anywhere quite like it.

I should’ve known better than to paint Nashville with a broad brush, especially when I live in Calgary, a city renowned for cowboy cosplay and conservatism. There will always be pockets of people who don’t lean into the stereotypes, who don’t fit the branding. And no city is ever one-note.

While I get that class plays hugely into how positive my trip here has been, I hope my main takeaway can apply to anyone going anywhere: Keep your mind, heart, and eyes open. Try to see a place for what it really is, rather than how it sells itself.

I usually hate business travel, but I am glad I got to come to Nashville. My time here is gonna stay with me. Plus, I can finally strike another place off my “I’ve Been Everywhere” list, lol.

I don’t have my ukulele handy, but I did find this recording of me singing the song (rather breathlessly) many years ago, along with some chatter from my little guy who is not so little anymore.

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