Why is ‘Nashville’ better than Nashville?
Music from hit TV show has sound that strikes chord with country fans
“Nashville,” the countrymusic soap opera now in its fourth season on ABC, has dealt with abusive exhusbands and alcoholics, crooked politicians and conflicted gay heartthrobs.
It’s a supremely guilty pleasure led by Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere. But those TV tropes are subverted by the show’s music.
Yes, there are songs about lying and cheating, dying and drinking. It wouldn’t be country music without those well-worn building blocks. But over the course of seven soundtracks and various ancillary releases, “Nashville” has far outclassed the ball-capped country-pop that currently rules its namesake city.
Credit show creator and San Antonio native Callie Khouri, who ensures that the music is as much a character as shy songstress Scarlett O’Connor (played by Clare Bowen) or tortured producer Avery Barkley ( Jonathan Jackson). The inaugural season’s music was produced by Khouri’s husband, Oscar- and Grammywinning producer T-Bone Burnett (“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”), followed by Americana icon Buddy Miller.
The current “Nashville” concert tour, which includes a Monday stop at Revention Music Center, boasts 17 dates featuring the show’s stars singing their popular songs and has extended into England, Scotland and Ireland. That’s up from just four dates in 2014 and 10 shows in 2015. Stars Bowen and Charles Estes also performed in Houston during the city’s Fourth of July celebration.
Holly Gleason, a Nashvillebased music critic who has written extensively about the show and its music, says the music works “because they’re good songs, not just hits.” The list of “Nashville” songwriters includes John Paul White of The Civil Wars, Hillary Lindsey (who has written songs for Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and many more) and the iconic Elvis Costello.
“T-Bone Burnett believed there was a way to supercede country radio proper and deliver music to music lovers. He tapped Buddy Miller to create songs that reflect current trends and sought out songwriters who aren’t just Xeroxing the Xeroxes of what’s happening (on the radio),” says Gleason, who also co-wrote Kenny Chesney’s No. 1 single “Better as a Memory.”
“The songs also work because they bolster and reflect the lives of the characters — something much of today’s country, versus Tammy and Loretta’s country, doesn’t do.”
At its peak in 2014, five “Nasvhille” albums were on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart at the same time. The most recent soundtrack, “Season 4, Volume 1,” was released in December and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard album charts.
Britton and Panettiere are by no means vocal powerhouses, but they’re never less than believable as A-list divas.
Much of the show’s initial heat was generated by Bowen and Sam Palladio as star-crossed lovers Scarlett O’Connor and Gunnar Scott. Their haunting duets outshine any number of girl crushes or late-night need-you-nows. To wit, Bowen and Palladio’s “If I Didn’t Know Better” is the show’s best-selling track, and their songs still show up on the charts.
At no point during its run has “Nashville” bowed down to the country industry’s bro-country or hick-hop radio trends. In fact, the heartthrobiest singer on the show, Will Lexington (Chris Carmack), is a gay man struggling with success.
The show and its music is also revolutionary in that it respects women, giving them some of the series’ best musical moments. By contrast, Billboard’s current top 25 country songs include only two female singers.
“It’s just a very creative environment,” says Aubrey Peeples, who plays singer Layla Grant. “A lot us didn’t have the opportunity to pursue music until this show. I’ve learned so much about the history of country music. That,
in turn, has helped me learn a lot about what I wanna say as an artist and the kind of music that I wanna write.
“It’s very meta. Reality and the music of my character kind of weaves in and out.”
The show’s ratings have increased slightly each year, and a Season 5 renewal seems likely. The current season finale airs next month.
The show has also proven a boon for the city. A 2013 survey from the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. reported that 55 percent of leisure travelers had seen the show, and 43 percent said it made them more inclined to visit Nashville. Visitors familiar with the show also spent more money, stayed longer and brought more people with them.
“Every time you’re introduced to one of these songs, they’ve got the emotional weight of the story carrying them along, as well as very powerful images. You can’t underestimate the value of all those elements working together to sell a song,” says Brian Mansfield, a former USA Today music journalist who covered country and rock. He now works for PR firm Shore Fire Media as its senior content director.
“I’ve always operated under the theory that the music of ‘Nashville’ presents an alternate-history version of contemporary country music. Imagine a modern country-music scene where LeAnn Womack, Patty Loveless, Dwight Yoakam and The Mavericks were the industry’s icons, the artists newcomers used as musical models. Where Lee Roy Parnell, George Ducas, James House and the O’Kanes — who made some great records back in the day — had become arena headliners. Move that world forward 20 years, and you’ve got the scene in ‘Nashville.’ That’s a scenario many reallife Nashville longtimers would find appealing.”