Nashvillest

Let this be a lesson to all the musicians among us. Von Johin is just a regular guy from Nashville who likes to sing the blues. He’s toured the country a bit, but recently found his biggest success in an unexpected place: Second Life. Recording studio owner by day and Second Life blues star by night, Johin just became the first person to snag a real-life recording contract through Second Life. We’re not sure if we should laugh or cry at this video of his performance (bonus points if you can identify the dancing hat-shaped creature with red tennis shoes), but we’ve gotta admit he’s pretty good. Oh, and he plays a Gibson.

If you’re headed downtown tonight, be sure to plan around the road closures happening near LP Field for tonight’s preseason match-up against the Oakland Raiders. Things will start closing down around 4:30pm and much of it will remain closed late into the evening. You guys know the drill, but we figure a reminder can’t hurt. You may also want to watch out for the 6,000 people expected to flock to Riverfront Park for tonight’s concert.

The following roads will be closed at 4:30 p.m.:

• Woodland Street from 5th Avenue North to the 1-65 northbound on-ramp
• Unnamed alley connecting Interstate Drive and North 1st Street, running South of James Robertson Parkway
• South 4th Street at Shelby Street
• South 2nd Street between Russell Street and James Robertson Parkway
• Oldham Street at North 1st Street
• North 2nd Street at Woodland Street
• I-65 southbound on-ramp from Spring Street eastbound
• Left-turn lane from Westbound James Robertson Parkway to southbound Interstate Drive
• Interstate Drive Northbound at Shelby Street
• Entrance into Lot B from Shelby Avenue
• Entrance/Exit ramps into gas station on Shelby Avenue
• 1st Avenue North from Church Street to Union Street
• 2nd Avenue North from Church Street to Union Street
• I-24 West Exit ramp onto James Robertson Parkway

After the game the following will be closed and remain closed for 1 1/2 hours:

• Woodland Street from 5th Avenue North to the 1-65 northbound on-ramp
• Unnamed alley connecting Interstate Drive and North 1st Street, running South of James Robertson Parkway
• South 4th Street at Shelby Street
• South 2nd Street between Russell Street and James Robertson Parkway
• I-65 South off-ramp to Shelby Street
• Shelby Street Westbound lanes between South 5th and Street
• Oldham Street at North 1st Street
• North 2nd Street at Woodland Street
• North 1st Street southbound at Spring Street
• Interstate Drive southbound at Jefferson Street
• Entrance/Exit ramps into gas station on Shelby Street
• Shelby Street westbound at I-65 northbound entrance ramp
• 1st Avenue North from Church Street to Union Street
• 2nd Avenue North from Church Street to Union Street
• I-24 West Exit ramp onto James Robertson Parkway
• Gateway Bridge will be closed on the west side from half time until 1 1/2 hours after game

More info over at WKRN.

Photo by victorjames615.

Flickr user sharonitis captures the gorgeous colors of a Nashville sunset.

Photo Of The Day will be a recurring feature for Nashvillest as long you keep giving us stuff to post. Don’t worry- We’ll give you props. Just add them to the pool or tag them with “Nashvillest” if you’re feeling lazy.

Good morning, Nashville. We hear the folks in Franklin are running out of water. Turns out that while Georgia was down there distracting us with horrific tales of Bigfoot sightings, they were also making mad dashes across the border and carting our water out by the bucket. Okay, maybe not. Officials are actually saying that the current drought and leaks are to blame for their dried-up reservoir. Residents are starting to notice decreased water pressure and sinkholes as a result of the shortage, but the city plans to start pumping water from the neighboring Harpeth Valley district until rain comes. Which probably won’t be happening today.

• Planning Commission steps up. The Bells Bend Project was “set aside indefinitely” after a meeting with the Metro Planning Commission, who said they didn’t have enough information about the project to get behind it. Though it’s not off the table forever, it won’t be happening anytime soon.
• Bad religion. The Wilson County Fair is extending its $2 “God and Country Day” discount to atheists after people complained that the promotion unfairly and illegally favored Christians. Originally they were planning on giving the discount to those who brought a church bulletin with them to the fair on Sunday.
• Bits & pieces. Gannett, which owns several local newspapers including the Tennessean, is cutting 1,000 jobs … After a few days of downtime, Netflix has fixed the glitch and everyone’s movies should be mailed out today … You may want to avoid downtown like the plague unless gridlock and $20 parking are your thing … The crazy dog-cloning woman who made national news earlier this week apparently a wanted woman in Tennessee for planning a burglary in 2004.

Photo by rumielf.

A few weeks ago we told you about John Rich’s new song Raisin’ McCain, which has since become sort of an anthem for John McCain’s campaign trail. In this clip, Rich does his best to explain what it took to coin the phrase, how he came up with the song, and what it means to him. And if you look really closely, you can see Two Foot Fred rocking out behind him during the concert clips. Happy Friday!

• The folks in Dyersburg are facing an interesting challenge as they try to contain the stray donkeys that are wandering around town. [Tennessean]
• You know, we didn’t believe it when we heard that Tennessee was one of the biggest weed-growing states second only to California. But with all of these pot busts, we’re starting to see why. [WKRN]
• Tennessee’s unemployment rate was up to almost 7% in July, which is the highest in 21 years. [Tennessean]
• David “Big Country” Stewart, starting right tackle for the Titans, is down and out for the next two or three weeks due to some surgery for an injury that’s been nagging him since last season. [WKRN]

Photo by sheeshoo.

Shakespeare In The Park 2008 kicks off tonight with this year’s performance of Coriolanus. A summer staple for the past 20 years, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival & Naked Stages once again bring us free, quality weekend entertainment from tonight through September 7. Shows are at 7:30pm Thursday through Sunday, but pre-show entertainment starts at 6:30pm. We suggest getting there early, because we all know that parking at Centennial Park on a nice summer evening is tough enough as it is. 

We seem to be on a roll with the music-themed POTDs, but they don’t call us Music City for nothing. Taken by Jon Erickson during last weekened’s Big Band Dance at Centennial Park, we have to smile at the expression captured on the faces of this couple enjoying a beautiful summer evening.

Photo Of The Day will be a recurring feature for Nashvillest as long you keep giving us stuff to post. Don’t worry- We’ll give you props. Just add them to the pool or tag them with “Nashvillest” if you’re feeling lazy.

Just-over-the-border Kentucky is full of more adventures than we thought. We’re going back soon, because we can’t let more time pass by without checking out some of these places. Expect a full report at some time in the near future, and let us know in the comments if you have suggestions for additions to our agenda. 

KENTUCKY DOWN UNDER
Australian-themed animal park, with an abundance of kangaroos! How could we pass this up? $22 admission stings, but we’ll do anything for the kangaroos. 

GUNTOWN MOUNTAIN
We spent some time at Guntown Mountain, poking around. It’s right across the street from Dinosaur World and there’s a rickety old mountain lift that they’ll let you ride for $5. It’s $15 for the whole Wild Wild West show, and we’re not really sure what it entails, but we’re sure that it’ll be hilarious. There’s also a Haunted House that looks amazing. 

ALPINE SLIDE
The only part of the Kentucky Action Park we can’t find elsewhere is the Alpine Slide. You take another rickety old chair lift up a mountain and get on a sled and slide back down. For $5, we’re willing to give it a try. 

NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM
Checking this out because it’s there, really. There are museum tours and assembly plant tours available, although you have to pay separately for both. The museum is $8/person or $20/family, and the assembly plant is $5/person. 

Good morning, Nashville. When we threw in our bid to host one of the NCAA women’s basketball Final Four many moons ago, we had no idea we actually had a shot at it. This morning, the NCAA announced that Nashville is one of the eight finalists for hosting the tournament from 2012 through 2016 and we’re way excited about the possibility of bringing some women’s basketball to town. If we’re chosen, the event would be held in the Sommet Center, which can hold up to 20,000 people. The host cities will be announced in mid-November.

• Golden boy. The deputy director of the US Mint is in town today rolling out the new Jackson $1 coin at the Hermitage. Though it’s mostly just a collectible–one in a growing series of $1 coins featuring former presidents–a few of them may trickle down through local businesses for actual use
• Drawing the line. Women wanting to get their tubes tied won’t be able to do it at the Baptist Women’s Treatment Center for much longer. Both the Baptist Hospital and the Middle Tennessee Medical Center were bought out by Catholic health ministry St. Thomas six years ago and stopped performing the procedure, but the Women’s Treatment Center won’t be phasing it out until the end of the year.
• Bits & pieces. 500 Whirlpool employees were laid off yesterday and left their shoes in the parking lot for the company to remember them by … Congrats to Alan Jackson who celebrated the sale of more than 50 million albums in his 20 years of making music … Just in case you somehow missed it yesterday, someone says they found Bigfoot in Georgia, probably to distract us while they drain every body of water we have … Cumberland County school kids are still on vacation and probably will be for quite some time.

Photo by bro_and_sis.