Inside Country Music’s Most Important Building
Vince Gill will never forget the first time he took the stage of Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium in the Eighties, when he sang and played his beloved 1942 Martin D-28 guitar alongside Chet Atkins. “I talk about the spirit of this place and I felt it flowing through my body,” Gill tells Rolling Stone Country. “My body flushed with so much heat and it was palpable and a little eerie, but I wasn’t scared. I have only felt that two other times in my life. One was at a funeral for a friend and the other was at JFK’s grave.”
Larry Gatlin, who has played the coveted stage as both a solo act and with the legendary Gatlin Brothers, is equally haunted by the venue’s unparalleled significance. “When I sing out into that audience, I think the ghosts of Hank Williams and Roy Acuff and Kitty Wells are all singing back to me,” he admits.
The Ryman’s spirit has remained a constant presence throughout its various incarnations, the latest of which begins today when $14 million in much-needed renovations are unveiled. While the venue’s sound is among the nation’s best, its small lobby was often too cramped and its lines were too long — a downside of the venue’s tremendous success. A new café has been added, as well as improved food and beverage service, a new box office and larger lobbies. New exhibits and an upstairs theater featuring the film, The Soul of Nashville are further additions. But the historic auditorium, which was restored in 1994, remains unchanged.
“The Ryman is living history,” says Shovels & Rope‘s Cary Ann Hearst. “It’s unique to be able to stand and sing where your heroes sang. Until the early Nineties, it was practically untouched. As a kid, I remember taking field trips there. We were taught in school to cherish our musical history and the Ryman was central to that legacy.
“It’s scary to watch so many physical changes happening to the building, though I realize it’s perhaps financially savvy,” she continues. “Nashvillians and music lovers in general are very sentimental about the Mother Church and hope it’s forever preserved in a recognizable way.”
Few revere the Ryman’s history more than Gill, and he welcomes the changes with open arms. “They haven’t done anything to the original structure, but they have made the experience even better. They righted all the wrongs that happened when they did the first redo. To spend that kind of money to make it right, everybody is grateful.”
The downtown building was named after Capt. Thomas Ryman, who made his money in riverboat shipping during the rowdy post-Civil War period, when the city had more than 75 saloons. A fiery traveling preacher named Samuel Porter Jones came to town and began drawing 2,000 a night to his tent revivals, which wasn’t good for the good-timin’ businesses. Ryman decided to pay Jones a visit. Instead of a confrontation, he had a conversion after hearing Jones out and vowed to build a tabernacle where all would be welcome. In 1890, the Union Gospel Tabernacle — the city’s largest gathering place — was established. (It was renamed the Ryman Auditorium after his death.)