Why You Should Visit Nashville

From THESTREET.COM: The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn., will on Friday open an exhibition celebrating the life of Hank Williams, the musician responsible for toe-tapping chart toppers like "Cold, Cold Heart," and "Hey, Good Lookin'." The exhibit will also focus on Williams' musical legacy through the careers of his children, singer-songwriter Hank Williams, Jr., who will open the exhibit with a performance and a live interview, and singer-songwriter Jett Williams, who will perform and be interviewed on April 12th.

If you're flying to Nashville to check out "Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy," why not make a weekend out of it? It's not called Music City for nothing -- the city where Elvis and Dolly Parton recorded their songs is still a place where music dominates.

In Nashville, real estate listings are likely to include a music studio. If you say you're a writer, you're assumed to be a songwriter. Waiters are said to attend carefully to your dinner conversation, in case you say something that's song-lyric worthy.

And there are lots of ways to scratch your country-music itch, even if you're not ready to change careers and give it all to the music gods.

Here's what not to miss:

Museums

Be sure to check out the rest of the Country Music Hall of Fame to get a grounding in the roots and history of country music, through a wide array of media: video interviews with the stars, panels where you can hear the songs that made them great, preserved costumes (don't miss the over-the-top designs of legend Nudie Cohen), and even a few of Elvis' famously tricked-out automobiles. On Saturdays, the museum offers songwriting demonstrations and performances.