My First Night at The Ryman

This past Monday, I had the privilege of enjoying my first ever show at The Ryman in Nashville and y'all, it was absolutely magical. Earlier this year when The Ryman announced that Ryan Adams was coming, I decided that nothing was going to stop me from getting tickets to the show. He played two nights, Monday and Tuesday, and I was lucky enough to get two tickets to the Monday night show. I invited my friends Margaret Anne to come with me and we had such a fun night! 

I left work about 2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon and made a stop by the chiropractor before going home. MA, who is a high school teacher, made it to my house just a few minutes after me and we were soon on the road. While we drove to Nashville, I took the American history finals MA had written for her 11th grade students. Y'all, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I made a 55! Worst test score I've ever made I think. There is clearly a lot about the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis that I know nothing about. I've asked her to give me my terrible test paper so I can study up on what I don't know. 

We met MA's sister for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory (sorry Mother!). We were going somewhere else close by, but that place was closed and so the Cheesecake Factory was the second choice. We enjoyed the dinner and got coffee and cheesecake to go. The coffee to help keep us awake and the cheesecake to eat at a later time. 

After dinner we made our way to The Ryman. Natalie Press opened the show at 8:00 p.m. We had never heard of her, but she wasn't terrible. Apparently folks in Nashville are familiar with her because I heard a lot of people say they loved her. Rayn Adams came on stage at 9:00 p.m. and absolutely rocked the house. As it got closer to 10 p.m. he was playing more mellow music and I thought MA and I might fall asleep right there on the pew of The Ryman; but, then, one of my other favorites, Jason Isbell, made a surprise appearance and it woke me up quickly. I even got tears in my eyes I was so excited! Jason played a song with Ryan and then headed backstage only to appear later with his wife while the three of them played and sang and it was so, so wonderful. The night ended just a little before 11:00 p.m. It was a fantastic evening and made my heart so very happy. 

We hit the road back home and made it back to Huntsville around 1:30 a.m. in Tuesday. Thankfully I had made the very wise decision to go in late and so I slept until 7:00 a.m. and went in at 9:00. I was tired, but not as tired as I would have been had I gone in at my normal hour. 

I'm so glad I finally made it to a show at The Ryman and I'm glad MA got to experience it with me! I'm headed back in October as I got tickets last week to see Jason Isbell there - oh, the irony! I can't wait!