NASHTRASH TOURS NASHVILLE

The Jugg Sisters NashTrash Tours has been a Nashville institution since 1997. This is a comedy show on wheels and is hosted by Sheri Lynn & Brenda Kay Jugg, the original creators of NashTrash Tours. You will want to book well in advance as their tours fill up quickly. 

NashTrash Tours Big Pink Bus

Comedians Sheri Lynn and Brend Kay Jugg

You will find the Big Pink Bus located in the Nashville Farmers Market. For your GPS use 780 Harrison Street and enter the Farmers Market parking lot at that end. 

Map to Big Pink Bus

The bus will load on the 7th Avenue side of the Market, across the street from the Bicentennial Mall State Park. We arrived a bit early so took a quick stroll across the street to the Bicentennial Mall Park. 

In Bicentennial Mall Park

In Bicentennial Mall Park

 

In Bicentennial Mall Park

In Bicentennial Mall Park

Parking is limited, so you should plan to arrive about 30 minutes before your tour. Upon arrival, look for the signup sheets in the waiting area and remain there.  Sheri and Brenda will come and get you when it’s time to board the bus.

 

If you are planning to park at the Market, it’s free but be sure to print a parking pass from the link provided in your confirmation email first.

 

You will begin laughing the moment you board the bus.  Sheri Lynn and Brenda Kay Jugg are standup comedians who tell stories on their favorite polyester, double-knit, sequined country music legends. 

Sheri Lynn and Brenda Kay Jugg

You will ride past institutions like the Ryman Auditorium and Honky Tonk row and will make stops along the way for photo ops.  The bus does not have a bathroom on board but about half way through the tour you will make a bathroom/beverage pitstop at the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Be sure to ask for the special “NashTrash Margarita”.

 

The tour lasted just under two hours. There's lots of audience interaction and improv comedy, which means there's as much going on inside the bus as outside.  

 

WARNING:  This is what I would call a rowdy, very risqué, one-of-a-kind musical-comedy so if you're easily offended by blue humor (dirty jokes), I would recommend that you NOT take this tour.  NO children under 15, including infants.  These are very adult-oriented tours. 

 

Sheri and Brenda offer three completely different tours on the Big Pink Bus, each hosted by a different performer.  My choice was “The Jugg Sisters Tour” hosted by Sheri and Brenda. Each of these tours are completely different so make sure you read  each tour highlights before booking as your tickets are non-refundable. 

 

The Jugg Sisters Tour stars Sheri Lynn & Brenda Kay, standup comedians and the original creators of NashTrash Tours.  

 

The Music Row Confidential Tour stars Pip, a talented musical troubadour. 

 

The Ben Tour stars Ben, a hilarious young comedian who’ll show you the newer side of Music City. 

 

THE CARDINAL RULE: This is a show, not a party bus. Sheri and Brenda want everyone to have fun, but if other guests are unable to hear, you'll be warned that you're breaking The Cardinal Rule. After three warnings, they will escort you off the bus, and/or will charge your card an additional $20 per person fee. Before booking seats, you will have to confirm that you understand and accept this policy. 

 

One final reminder:  ALL guests must be fully vaccinated and must wear masks while on the bus. Also, be sure each person brings a photo ID and their vaccine card to board the bus.

 

For further information: 

NASHTRASH TOURS  
PO Box 60324
Nashville TN 37206

(615) 226-7300

 

SUN STUDIO MEMPHIS

Sun Studio is known worldwide as “The Birthplace of Rock’n’roll” and recognized as the discovery location of musical legends that included B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Sun Studio Building

Sun Label

Sun Studios is located .7 mile from the downtown Peabody hotel and is a 5 min drive or 20 min walk from downtown Beale Street.  No food is served onsite but they do offer, for sale, cold sodas and hot coffee.  

 

Recording everything from Blues and Gospel to Country and Rock’n'roll, the studio is open to the general public offering 45 minute guided tours every day from 10am to 6pm. The tour is $15 for adults, $13 for students and $10 for kids ages 5-11.  You will want to allow 1-1.5 hours for your tour.   

 

Your tour will start upstairs in the museum area.  Here you will see the priceless memorabilia from the musical legends that blended blues and country music. 

In upstairs museum

In upstairs museum

Your guide will relay inside stories of B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf and Ike Turner before Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, & Roy Orbison were drawn to the new Sun Sound.

 

As the tour moves downstairs you will enter the recording studio.  This is an active studio and should you be interested in making a recording, when daytime operations close down, nightly recording sessions start at $200 per hour. 

Original reception desk in recording studio

During your tour you will be allowed to stand in the very spot that Elvis first recorded.  Have your picture taken standing behind the very mic that Elvis used for recording. 

The Million Dollar Quartet

Piano played by Jerry Lee Lewis

friend Jon Garth Swim on drums

good friend Janice Loft taking the mic

 

You will listen to out takes from recording sessions and feel the energy of the music created.  

 

I especially enjoyed hearing the original recording of an impromptu jam session that features Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, now passionately referred to as the “Million Dollar Quartet”.   

 

Don't miss this opportunity when you are in Memphis. 

​

SUN STUDIO

706 UNION AVENUE

MEMPHIS, TN 38103

(901) 521-0664

 

GRAND OLE OPRY NASHVILLE

It all began on November 28, 1925 in the National Life Building when the announcer on Nashville radio station 650 AM WSM introduced fiddle player Uncle Jimmy Thompson as the first performer on a new show called “The WSM Barn Dance”.  

Current Grand Ole Opry House Nashville, Tennessee

Now, more than 96 years later, the show that George D. Hay started is still going strong and has launched countless country music careers and instrumental in leading the way for Nashville to become known as “Music City”.

WSM Radio announcer Eddie Stubbs

 

    The Opry said goodbye to the Ryman Auditorium on Friday, March 15, 1974 to take up residence at the newly built Grand Ole Opry House. 

 

    In 2020 the Grand Ole Opry celebrated it's 95th birthday.  The show has been witness to some of country music's biggest moments.  It was here that Johnny Cash met June Carter.    

  

    Bill Monroe and his band invented bluegrass on the Opry stage and unexpected guests such as Paul McCartney, Bill Murray and Pharrell Williams have made one-night-only shows truly unforgettable.

Other famous faces to take the Opry stage include:  

 

•      President Richard Nixon

Yes, President Nixon was the first U.S. President to visit the Opry when he attended the opening night of the Grand Ole Opry House in 1974. President Nixon, who sang and played piano at the Opry that night, is the only President to have performed on the Opry stage.

 

•  Kevin Costner 
  

Performed five songs from his 2012 album entitled “Killing Each Other”. 

 

• Jack Black

Who appeared with his father-in-law, legendary jazz bassist CharlieHaden

 

•  Kevin Bacon

Performing on September 1, 2009, Golden Globe-winning actor Kevin Bacon and his Emmy-winning brother Michael Bacon made their Grand Ole Opry debut as The Bacon Brothers. 

They performed on stage along with The Bellamy Brothers, singing “Guilty of the Crime”. 

 

Minnie Pearl stage wear

Dolly Parton stage wear

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE OPRY:

• For 4,600+ (and counting) consecutive Saturday nights, the Grand Ole Opry has rung out on the airwaves. It’s the world’s longest-running radio show and now also runs every Friday plus seasonal Tuesdays and Wednesdays in addition to traditional Saturdays.

• The Opry has had six homes throughout its 90-plus years. It moved to the Grand Ole Opry House in 1974 and has resided there longer than any previous home. The Grand Ole Opry House seats 4,400 fans. The Opry’s famous former home, the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, seats 2,200. The Opry returns to the Ryman each year for a wintertime run.

• Approximately 6,024 songs are performed during Opry shows each year.

• The Opry has welcomed more than 200 members throughout its history. The Opry has called the names of country music’s all-time greats, from Hank Williams and Patsy Cline to Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.
  

• Opry legend Loretta Lynn celebrated 50 years as an Opry member in 2012 on the same night country group Pistol Annies made its Opry debut.

• On Minnie Pearl’s 50th anniversary, she reacted to a videotape message from Dolly Parton by jesting “I wear a hat so folks can tell us apart.”

• Opry member Lorrie Morgan made her Opry debut when she was 13 years old. “I thought, 'this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life,’” she says.

• Loyal Opry fan Paul Eckhart bought a ticket for and attended an Opry performance for 2,184 straight weeks from 1972 until 2014. Yes, 2,184 uninterrupted.

• Five Opry members have been honored with their own U.S. postage stamps.

• 15.8 million feet of audio, video, and lighting cable on the Opry House complex help take country music to the world.

On my recent visit to the Grand Ole Opry I had the thrill of taking a backstage tour.  It’s a must-see for everyone who visits Nashville.  Walk in the footsteps of country music’s superstars and get an exclusive look at what happens behind the scenes of the show that made country music famous.

Photo opp before entering the building

Features included with your backstage tour:

• Take a seat in our custom-built theater as the entire room comes to life with music, state-of-the-art special effects, 3D film images, priceless archival footage, and superstar hosts Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.
• Your insider guide will share stories about the Opry, and country music greats, past and present, show you exclusive photos from the Opry’s biggest moments in history, and take you to the artist entrance where legends, superstars and new artists alike walk into the Opry House on the night of a show.
• You have the chance to step on stage and into the famed wooden circle as generations of artists have done.
• Tours also make a stop in Studio A, a live, active television studio and former home of Hee Haw.

  

  Looking down toward the stage
  

  
  

  

  Looking up from the stage

  
  

  

  "It All Begins with a Song" dressing room
  

  
  

  

  "Women of Country" dressing Room
  

  
  
  

  

  "Wagonmaster" dressing room
  

  
  

  

  "Bluegrass" dressing room
  

  
  

  

  "little Jimmy" dressing room
  

 

Ready to take the stage

Heading on stage

on stage

Walking up to the mic

 

Opry performers quotes:

“I’ve said it for the record a thousand times. I’ll state it again a thousand times. This is the pinnacle of what I do. Nothing has ever touched being a member of the Grand Ole Opry.”
—Garth Brooks

 

“Pilgrims travel to Jerusalem to see the Holy Land, and the foundations
of their faith. People go to Washington, D.C. to see the workings of government, and the foundation of our country. And fans flock to Nashville to see the foundation of country music, the Grand Ole Opry.”
—Brad Paisley

 

“That was the most exciting moment of my life. As I stepped into the circle, I told everyone that my greatest dream just came true.”
—Dustin Lynch

 

“When I was asked if I wanted to perform on the Grand Ole Opry, I yelled, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I’ve been waiting for that my whole life. To be invited where so many of the greatest country artists have performed is an honor, and I still can’t believe it has been bestowed on me. Just to stand in the circle where so many greats have stood—Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, I just couldn’t believe it.”
—Darius Rucker

 

“The Grand Ole Opry, to a country singer, is what Yankee Stadium is to a baseball player. Broadway to an actor. It’s the top of the ladder, the top of the mountain. You don’t just play the Opry; you live it.”
—Bill Anderson

 

BOX OFFICE:
Sun, Mon   9:30 AM—4 PM
Tues, Fri   9:30 AM—4 PM, 5:30 PM—7:30 PM
Wed, Thurs   9:30 AM—3 PM
Sat   9:00 AM—2:30 PM, 5:30 PM—7:30 PM

Local: (615) 871-6779
Toll Free: (800-733-6779)

Frequently asked questions  https://www.opry.com/faq/

 

DELTA RIVERBOATS AT OPRYLAND

To be sure, there are plenty of beautiful sights in Nashville Tennessee.  I found one of the more serene and relaxing to be that of the winding river and indoor water gardens at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. 

Delta river at Opryland Resort

Delta Riverboats / Opryland Resort Nashville

During your visit to the Delta atrium take time for the Delta Riverboat on the scenic indoor river.  A fleet of 5 Mississippi-style flatboats carry 25 passengers each on leisurely 15 minute trips through the lush indoor gardens. 

Buying tickets for the Delta Riverboats

Ticket booth for Delta Riverboats

Your guide will narrate the complete history of the Opryland Resort while, all the while, drawing your attention to a papaya tree, some pineapple guava trees and a table top olive tree. You will also pass under a giant overhanging banyan tree native to India. 

Papaya tree

Learn about Delta Island which features an 85-foot fountain along with numerous shops and restaurants.

Delta Island

Delta island fountain

All plants, trees and shrubs within the atrium were shipped in from Florida, requiring 32 tractor trailers. The temperature within the atrium is maintained between 68-72 degrees.

As you glide silently through the water you will spot catfish, carp, bluegill and 2 Japanese koi named Romeo and Juliet. If you're lucky, you may catch a glimpse of Danny, an 80 pound catfish. 

 

The peak of the atrium rises 15 stories above the water.  The ceiling consists of 6,200 panes of glass each weighing 250 pounds. Three large waterfalls along the route, the largest being 44 feet high, are used as the main filtration system for the river.  They provide enough oxygen in the water to sustain fish life.

Cost is $15 per person.  For more info contact Delta Riverboats or call the Gaylord Opryland Resort at 1-615-889-1000.