Reggie & Amy Wahab: 7thJune2008 Music never stops in Nashville Tn

A carnival-like atmosphere for the four-day musicfest known as the CMA Festival

The famous Cadillac Ranch - Rock n Country Bar and Grill - on Broadway

Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville is a 'hot' place

People sat around waiting for the music sponsored by the Hard Rock Cafe to start; the restaurant was right next to the stage

These two kids weren't bad

Music is a way of life - there was a fluid market in pre-owned instruments. The crowds were getting ready to walk over the bridge to LP Field for the orgy of country music

Playing for the Hillybilly Colege(yes one L) Fund. Every group had their own style and many played their own music

Playing for college fees, ticket for a trip, whatever; so long as you are good, people will pay.

It paid to have your own CD's ready. Many people bought - bypassing the retailer -when they liked the music

Comely lady on Broadway, I forgot what she was selling, it ain't music as she wasn't singing.

It sure was busy - even standing room was hard to find inside Tootsie's Orchid Lounge

All the walls - known as the Wall of Fame - were similarly plastered with memorabilia. I think that was Tootsie's picture up there. She started as a singer and later bought the lounge which she named the Orchid Lounge after somebody painted the place orchid. Many famous singers and musicians frequented the place. Many also got their start there - legend has it that Willie Nelson got his first songwriting job after singing at Tootsie's. Tootsie was known to have slipped money into the pockets of poor musicians waiting for breaks. She had big a IOU box from having given sustenance to countless in the music business. It was rumoured that at the end of the year, Opry performers (musicians that have made good) pitched in to square things away so that Tootsie would not be out of pocket. She departed in 1978, aged sixtyish, in an orchid gown, with orchid flowers in an orchid casket.