In Nashville I felt like we had the luxury of time, lots and lots of time.  We explored all kinds of off-the-beaten-track places.  Berry Hill was one of the places.  Berry Hill shows up repeatedly in Nashville tourism websites, so we went one still day to see what the fuss was about.  

It’s hyped online as a neighborhood full of stores and shops and recording studios.  Mostly though what it is is very small; a triangular wedge of a neighborhood squeezed in between highways and a huge, and I mean huge railroad yard.  Nicely sheltered by surrounding trees, it does present itself as a little funky neighborhood, with a few businesses, coffee shops and restaurants.  But the real draw here for me was the murals and decorative painting on the studios’ buildings and fences.  Someone had drawn on the mural craze in Nashville (One of Nashville’s biggest draws by my standards) and taken it to an entirely new level.  

I spent nearly 45 minutes walking around and trying to capture it with my camera.  I don’t think I even came close to capturing its pure beauty and creativity.  Four entire houses, now music studios, had been painted with designs.  The designs utilize folk-like design elements.  The result resembled striped and circular quilts.  The artists used the folk-art colors and elements, in a contemporary way.  It is the ultimate expression and symbol of the kind of music that is produced in Nashville, a melding of new and old.  The fences surrounding the studios had been brightly painted with murals of artists who had recorded in Nashville, both historic and contemporary, with the same contemporary folk art designs utilized on the houses.  It was absolutely splendid!  Colorful, informative, and symbolic of the entire Nashville scene.  I wanted to rush inside the studios and thank the owners for their vision and creativity.  I didn’t, but I wanted to.  

If you have a moment to visit I highly recommend it.  Go to the end of the main street and turn right to see the splendor!  You will be glad you did.