This book explores the formation and continuance of Nashville, Tennessee
as a music place, the importance of the fans (tourists) in creating
Nashville's multifaceted musical identity, and the music and city's
influence on the formation and performance of the individual and
collective identities of the country-music fan. More importantly, the
author discusses the larger issue of country music as a signifier of
tradition suggesting that for many visitors, the music serves as a
soundtrack, while Nashville serves as a performative space that permits
the creation, performance, and remembrance of not only the country-music
tradition, but also various individual and collective traditions and an
idealized American identity. Through the theatrics of tourism, Nashville
and its connection to country music are performed daily, reinforced
through the sound and landscape of country music.
Performing Nashville will be of interest to students and scholars
across a range of disciplines, including tourism studies, leisure
studies, ethnomusicology, sociology, folklore and anthropology.