Come to Nashville for the music, stay to play

The Hermitage Hotel. Historic elegance downtown, a few blocks from the heart of the festival action. Rates start at $295. 231 Sixth Ave. North, Nashville. 615-244-3121, thehermitagehotel.com.

Hilton Nashville Downtown. Situated between Broadway and the Country Music Hall of Fame, within walking distance of festival events. Rates start at $279. 121 Fourth Ave. South, Nashville. 615-620-1000, hilton.com/search/hi/us/tn/nashville.

WHERE TO EAT

Jack's Bar-B-Que. Affordable Nashville institution situated among the honky tonks of lower Broadway. The back door in the alley faces the Ryman Auditorium's stage door, so you never know who you'll see. Sandwiches start at $4.99. 416 Broadway, Nashville. 615-254-5715, jacksbarbque.com.

Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant. The downtown location is more restaurant than grocery, serving meat-and-three fare and Southern comfort food along with live music. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dinner entrees start at $11.99. 500 Church St., Nashville. 615-770-2772, puckettsgrocery.com.

INFORMATION

Nashville Visitor Information Center. Located inside the glass tower connected to Bridgestone Arena at the corner of Fifth Avenue South and Broadway downtown. A stage at the center will provide free concerts during the CMA Music Festival. 1-800-657-6910, visitmusiccity.com.

In many respects, Nashville feels more like a small town than one of the largest cities in the South.

This has a lot to do with the community feeling surrounding the country music industry. Sure, the music business can be a cutthroat affair at every level, but Nashville has so many musicians that collaboration is as common as competition.

It’s the kind of place where you never know who you’re going to meet — a current Top 10 star in the express lane at the grocery store, a future star taking your food order, a session musician at a spa, or a published songwriter nursing his drink next to you at the bar.

Nashvillians are a close-knit lot who come together to support one another in times of crisis, as they did after the devastating flooding that occurred when the Cumberland River overflowed its banks in May 2010.

They also come together during fun times, like the CMA Music Festival each June.

Country fans from around the globe descend on Music City during the festival. Unlike at other big music festivals, where patrons only see the performers onstage, fans get the chance to interact one-on-one with their favorite artists at Fan Fair, which is part of the festival.

Fan Fair is like a trade show for country fans. A ticket gets you into Nashville’s new convention center, Music City Center, where there are meet-and-greets with recording artists. Bring an autograph book, because you’ll be able to fill it up with signatures. And have your camera ready for selfies with the stars.

Another aspect of the fest that’s unlike other major music festivals is that many events and concerts are free. Fan Fair requires a paid ticket, as do the nightly stadium concerts at LP Field across the river from downtown, but the free entertainment options during the day are abundant.

Multiple outdoor stages downtown, between Riverfront Park and Bridgestone Arena, feature established acts and rising stars playing free concerts.

And a stretch of Broadway is closed off to traffic during the festival to become “the Buckle.” This section of Broadway, lined with legendary honky tonks, is commonly referred to as “lower Broad” by locals. The Buckle is ground zero during the festival, filled with vendors and games galore in addition to live music. The buzz of activity is akin to that of a carnival midway.

Beyond the festival, you can’t come to Nashville — especially as a first-timer — and not visit the Ryman Auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Fortunately for festivalgoers, both attractions are located within walking distance of the Buckle — the Ryman is half a block north of lower Broadway, the hall of fame two blocks south.

Known as “the mother church” of country music, the Ryman originally was called the Union Gospel Tabernacle when it opened in 1892 and was renamed in honor of the man who conceived and built it, Thomas Ryman.

Country didn’t exist as a music genre in those days, but after hillbilly music came out of the hills, the Ryman became home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974, when the Opry moved to its current home a few miles east of downtown. It was while the Opry was at the Ryman that future country music legends like Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash gained a larger following by performing on the weekly nationwide radio broadcast.

The Ryman is open for tours daily. It’s worth paying a little extra for the guided backstage tour to see the dressing rooms and learn more about the red brick sanctuary that played such a seminal role in the rise of country music.

The Country Music Hall of Fame is the place that puts it all in perspective. It’s an enormous building taking up a couple of city blocks, with galleries covering all the eras of country music as well as its roots.

The exhibit “Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats” will be on display until the end of 2016. It chronicles the friendship and working relationship between rock music icon Bob Dylan and Cash, as well as the impact Dylan’s decision to record in Nashville in the 1960s had on the rock and country music worlds.

Nashville is known as Music City, but at one time a more common nickname was “Athens of the South.” The city was a beacon for arts and culture in the region long before country music staked its claim there.

That’s why you’ll see a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Centennial Park. It’s a surreal sight a few miles from downtown, and worth a visit if you need a break from the festival crowds and some room to roam. But don’t be surprised if you hear live music there, too, from people breaking out guitars and giving an impromptu performance on the rolling lawn.

It’s hard to escape music in Music City.