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46 g o i n g p l a c e s | W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 O ver a dinner of roasted monk- fish in the Capitol Grille of Nashville's Hermitage Hotel, the convers ation quick ly turns to hockey – and the prospects of the Nashville Predators. " The NHL lockout really hurt us," says Janet Kurtz, director of sales and marketing for this five-star, five-diamond hotel, refer- ring to the 2012-13 labour dispute between players and owners that effectively killed half the season while hammering game-day eater- ies and watering holes across North America. You might not expect to hear hockey talk in a city better known for cheatin' hearts and honky-tonks, but there are a lot of moving parts that make up Nashville these days – not just country music. Butch Spyridon, president of the Nash- ville Convention and Visitors Corp., calls this "the Golden Age of the city." ere's a sense of ascendency within Nashville today, an inter- nal belief it has joined the ranks of the great American cities. Fine cuisine, high culture, two major league sports franchises (the Preds and the NFL Titans) and one of the world's most vibrant music scenes, along with a full- on commitment from the corporate sector to build, build, build, have combined to take Nashville into a new era. Some 11.8 million visitors now pump an annual $4.16 billion into the local economy. Even the city's taxi drivers are required to take annual hospital- ity training. Still, when all is said and done, Nashville will always be Music City. M usic has historically defined Nash- ville (pop. 650,000), which was first settled on the banks of the Cum- berland River on Christmas Day, 1779. By the time Davy Crockett unlimbered his bow here in the 1820s, it had grown into a riverboat town with a taste for fiddle music. Confeder- ate veterans of the American Civil War con- verged on Nashville as the site of a massive reunion in 1897, with the Ryman Auditorium chosen as their event venue. at was the first Nashville Now there's even more to love about Music City than those honky-tonk blues by John Campbell Rising Exclusive travel tips from CAA "Nashville's appeal goes far beyond country music. From the Lane Motor Museum, which features European collector cars, to a thriving dinner theatre scene, there truly is something here for everyone, no matter your taste in music." –Meeghan MacMillan, CAA Travel Consultant Visit Meeghan at our Brandon Service Centre or call 204-571-4100 for more travel tips.