Is Nashville the only city that is synonymous with music?

Memphis is pretty rooted in blues and county. Maybe not quite as much as Nashville, but still very much indeed.

Austin prides itself on being the “Live Music Capitol.” Probably of the world. And “The World” is essentially Texas because the rest of the geography doesn’t matter.

Branson brings to mind a place where old musicians go to perform.

I don’t think you can just dismiss New Orleans; it is to jazz what Nashville is to country.

@janbb I am not dismissing it. I think it is valid. But I would say we are more of a food, music, party town, than a strictly music town.

I dunno. I would think New Orleans would be synonymous with jazz and music. Beads and breasts is just a bonus.

Austin Texas is the live music capital of the world.

L.A. is the autotune capitol of the world…where even your neighbor can be a pop star!

Is Seattle still Grungeville?
NYC and LA both used to be Punk Centers for their respective coasts.

Chicago!

I would add Detroit. HitsVille, USA. Car plants, sure, but it’s also MoTown!

It is going to depend upon the type of music. Where did classical, rock, country, jazz, rap, blues, etc. start? Many of them did not start in the USA, much less Nashville, Tennessee, when it comes to the big picture. Sure, the US has their own dominant types of music, but if it is assessed from a bigger picture, I’d be willing to bet that Nashville is ranked fairly low.

But in name alone….the first thing I think of when I hear “Nashville” is music. I can’t think of any others (though Liverpool comes to mind, but that’s not really for music in general).

I agree with Detroit and Memphis. But, Nashville seems to get more air time. I think the whole nation knows Nashville is Country Music. A lot of people assume Memphis is country also, because it is in the south, they don’t realize it is the blues; although I think people who are really into music know. Probably you have to be 40 years old or older to remember Detroit is Motown.

What about Bristol, UK for the rise of the trip hop scene? That’s what immediately comes to mind after Nashville and New Orleans for me, being an electronic geek.

@SundayKittens the first thing I think of when I hear “Nashville” is music.

Me too

That is why Nashville is called Music City USA. I associate Memphis with the blues, New Orleans with Jazz, seattle with Grunge and LA with rock.

I’m going with Liverpool. All I know about Liverpool is that it’s industrial and the Beatles are from there.

What about Lubbock? Wasn’t Sam Phillips’ Sun Records in Lubbock for a while?

They call Bakersfield Nashville West. We gave you Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and KORN.

Nashville has done a lot from an economic development standpoint to attract the recording industry; it’s big business there, and not only for country. The universitities in that area offer a lot of programs that support the music industry.

Austin is probably a close second for being associated with music, with both Austin City Limits and SXSW.

It depends what type of music you’re talking about. Seattle was huge for grunge in the early-mid 90s; Chicago is where it’s at for three-chord punk; it’s all about Boston for Irish punk.

All of those places came to mind…but synonymous? Not for me,

*For music alone that is….

As you all know, i have lived in Nashville all of my life. i grew up by repeatedly having music going on somehwere , around my house.

Small, big and indepedent recording studios located themselves in Nashville, beginning in the mid-fifties. some interesting songs came out of Nashville that made really big hits, like STAY. Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs. Record producers and recording artists began to see a trend in music recorded in Nashville. The recording sessions were cheap and the final recording usually made it into the top ten record charts. this was appealing to all musicians. RCA, Columbia, Fred Fosters Studios, Monument records headed south to build their studios in Nashville. you would be amazed at the number of number one hit songs that were recorded in Nashville. I guess that Elvis was the main money-maker for RCA in Nashville. Roy Orbison was close behind at Monument. remember Pretty Woman?

It may have been the location, it may have been Elvis, it may have been the studios, it may have been the recording engineers ability to create “the sound” that people of America were seeking.

In any event, Nashville holds the number one ranking as Music City. every type music imagineable has been recorded in Nashville. the city is like a magnet drawing in new talent each day. the streets are constantly loaded with men and women hauling their guitars from other cities, in hopes of making it big by being in Music City, USA.

Maybe, it was just destiny.