Nashville

This book reminds me, in the sweetest way possible, that I probably should have never left Nashville." — Chris Thile

Introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Jon Meacham

A dynamic, experiential, and intimate portrait that explores the many sides of the legendary Southern city and country music capital, from award-winning writers Ann Patchett, Jon Meacham, and acclaimed photographer Heidi Ross.

Nashville is a creative collaboration that awakens the senses, providing a virtual immersion in this unique American city hailed as the Athens of the South. Patchett, Ross, and Meacham in his introduction, at once capture both the city’s iconic historical side—its deep, rich Southern roots, from its food and festivals to its famous venues, recording studios, and style—and its edgier, highly vibrant creative side, which has made it a modern cultural mecca increasingly populated by established and upcoming artists in art, film, and music.

Nashville celebrates Nashvillians’ beloved locales and events, both established and new, that are the heart of the city’s character including:

• Bobbie’s Dairy Dip
• Buchanan Arts District
• Bolton’s Chicken and Fish
• East Nashville Tomato Arts Festival
• Germantown
• The Gulch
• Grand Ole Opry
• Pie Town (SoBro)
• Pride Festival
• Prince’s Hot Chicken
• Schermerhorn Symphony Center
• Stanley Cup Playoffs
• Tennessee Performing Arts Center
• Tennessee State Fair
• Third Man Records

Here, too, are engaging vignettes spotlighting the diverse talent that makes the Tennessee city a significant cultural incubator and influencer, including singer-songwriters Marty Stuart, Gillian Welch, and Dave Rawlings; film director Harmony Korine, textile designer Andra Eggleston, country music fashion designer to the stars Manuel, chef Margot McCormack, acclaimed pastry chef Lisa Donovan, and model and musician Karen Elson.

Blending exceptional narrative, evocative photography—including 175 black-and-white and color photographs—and a bold graphic design, Nashville is an intimate, textured panorama that brilliantly illuminates one of America’s most remarkable treasures.

Ann Patchett is the author of novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, works of nonfiction, and children's books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women's Prize in the UK, and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.

HEIDI ROSS is a creative director and photographer whose work has been featured in group shows alongside William Klein, Richard Avedon, and Vivian Maier, as well as on album covers, book jackets, and in branding campaigns. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Vanity Fair Italia, Town & Country, Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Business, NYLON, The Guardian, L'Officiel, FOCUS, Entrepreneur, and Interview. Her first solo exhibition, Ilk: Similars 2004-2016, opened at Third Man Records in Nashville in April 2016. She lives in Nashville. Heidiross.com.

JON MEACHAM received the Pulitzer Prize for his 2008 biography of Andrew Jackson, American Lion. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George H.W. Bush, American Gospel, and Franklin and Winston. Meacham, who teaches at Vanderbilt University, is a fellow of the Society of American Historians. He lives in Nashville with his wife and children.

Nashville: Scenes from the New American South beautifully captures my home city of Nashville in this exciting moment of change and growth. — Al Gore

This book is excruciatingly gorgeous. Every page makes me homesick. — Connie Britton

A great book about a great city. — John Prine

This has been a time of such great change for Nashville that I think we are all very curious to see who we are now. — Gillian Welch

This book reminds me, in the sweetest way possible, that I probably should have never left Nashville. — Chris Thile

-