Nashville sure has changed a lot in last decade or so, and it’s almost unrecognizable from how Musi City U.S.A. looked back in the 1980s. Slowly but surely, the skyline of Nashville has expanded and risen up into the clouds. And it’s all because Music City is one of the premiere tourist destinations in the United States. 17.4 million people visited Nashville in 2025, and that annual visitor number is expected to gradually increase in the next couple of years (especially with the Super Bowl on its way). Talk to any local Nashvillians and they’ll tell you Tennessee’s state capitol has changed dramatically over the years. The phrase “Old Nashville” is thrown around a lot. A number of the staples and dives across the city have sadly gone away, and many have recently crumbled due to the city’s rising property taxes. So it’s always interesting to see pictures and videos of the Nashville of yesteryear. This latest example comes from WKRN’s Bob Mueller, who posted a photo of himself from 1984 reporting on what was then the future site the city’s first convention center. It’s a remarkable picture to see because the historic Ryman Auditorium is standing tall, all by itself, right in the heart of the city. If you’ve been to Nashville lately, you know that the “Mother Church” is now flanked on basically every side by skyscrapers and Broadway bars. As you’ll see, the Ryman used to stand tall as one of the landmarks of Downtown Nashville. It’s obviously still a landmark, but now it’s a bit hidden by all of the building surrounding the bustling Broadway area: “Throwback to 1984. With the Ryman alone in the background, I’m standing on the site for Nashville’s first Convention Center. A huge hole will be dug, fill with water and sit empty during Merton Council debates over funding. It won’t be competed until 1987. You can barely find The Ryman today hidden by huge skyscrapers.” What a wild throwback. Music City looks a whole lot different in 2026 (over 40 years after that picture was taken). And Nashville residents and those who used to call the city home chimed in on the rapid and somewhat overwhelming changes “Nashvegas” has gone through: “Nashville has been progressing at lightning speed.” “There was very little going on downtown and most businesses had moved out. It was hard to even find a place to eat lunch.” “Stepping into the wayback machine, Bob.” “Definitely sad to see it sit in the shadows nowadays. Love progress but respectful and responsible would be cool.” “Look at all that parking.” “Man have things changed downtown.” “Places aren’t even recognizable anymore around Nashville.” “It seems incredible that you could see it so clearly in the past.” It really is. Of course, you’d hope any metropolitan area would usher itself into the future with new buildings and modern updates. But as you can see, a lot of people believe Nashville has changed almost too much, and a little too fast. On that note, and before you go, check out how different the skyline looks in just the last 1o or so years: “It’s incredible to see how much the skyline has changed in a short amount of time. The top photo was taken around 2012, just before the big boom began.” **NASHVILLE SKYLINE CHANGE** It’s incredible to see how much the skyline has changed in a short amount of time. The top photo was taken around 2012, just before the big boom began. The second shot was shot by our drone a few days ago pic.twitter.com/3RoOlA0wNm — Katy Morgan (@katymorganwx) May 20, 2026 The post A Rare 1984 Photo Captures Nashville’s Iconic Ryman Auditorium Standing Completely Alone first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

New music from Zach Top is coming SOON. In an era filled with some of the most exciting voices we’ve heard in the genre lately, ranging from the likes of Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson to Turnpike Troubadours and Colter Wall, there’s no one doing it quite the way Zach Top is these days on a national scale. Though there are plenty of other stellar artists keeping the traditional scene alive, such as Jake Worthington, Charley Crockett and more, the Washington native has launched himself into the stratosphere as of late. Of course, this was highlighted on a national scale the past few months when he not only took home Best New Artist at the CMA Awards in November, which he accepted with a Coors Banquet in hand, but also when he scored his first-career Grammy earlier in the year. In turn, Top became the first-ever winner of the brand-new Best Traditional Country Album category, winning it with his sophomore album, Ain’t In It For My Health. Given the immense amount of buzz surrounding him over the past few years, the success of his last two albums and his newly-announced fall extension of the Cold Beer & Country Music Tour, the question on everyone’s mind lately has been “When is new music coming?” Last month, during an appearance on the Mostly Sports With Mark Titus and Brandon Walker podcast, Top would confirm that his junior album is coming next spring and that he’s planning to drop a “couple songs” at the end of the summer “I don’t know if I’m supposed to say it yet or not, but I think we’re gonna put out a couple songs at the end of the summer. Then [I’m] planning on next spring, putting out another record.” Since then, Top has been pretty quiet in terms of teasing new music. That all changed over the weekend at Under the Big Sky festival in Whitefish, Montana, however. During his headlining set, the Washington native would debut a brand new track, “Good Girls & Cowgirls,” to the sold-out crowd, and it looks like he has another big hit on his hands. Delivering his signature ’90s sound, here, Top compares the difference between good girls and cowgirls, noting “Good girls are made of sugar and spice. Cowgirls are made of whiskey and ice” in the chorus’ hook. “Good girls you can take home to mama Take ’em to church when they want you to They’re everything nice and not much drama Got your thing that’s good for you If you like them more on the wild side Kind of rodeo that goes all night Good girls are made of sugar and spice Cowgirls are made of whiskey and ice” Though “Good Girls & Cowgirls” does not have an official release date, before the performance, Top would tell the crowd the track is coming in “a couple of weeks.” Watch here: @zachtopfanclub I need this song on my playlist immediately… #zachtop #realcountrymusic #ineverlie #classiccountry #livecountrymusic ♬ original sound – Zach Top’s Top Fans Zach Top 2026 Tour Dates July 23—Minot, ND—North Dakota State Fair July 25—Cheyenne, WY—Cheyenne Frontier Days 2026 August 6—Toronto, ON—Rogers Stadium~ August 7—Ottawa, ON—Canadian Tire Centre« August 8—Canandaigua, NY—CMAC« August 13—Wantagh, NY—Northwell at Jones Beach Theater≈ August 14—Boston, MA—Fenway Park~ August 15—Boston, MA—Fenway Park~ August 20—Pittsburgh, PA—PPG Paints Arena∞ August 21—Allentown, PA—PPL Center August 22—Bangor, ME—Maine Savings Amphitheater∞ August 27—Dieppe, New Brunswick—YQM Countryfest 2026 August 28—Gilford, NH—BankNH Pavilion∞ September 1—Toronto, ON—Rogers Stadium~ September 11—Lake Tahoe, NV—Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre at Caesars Republic« September 17—San Diego, CA—Pechanga Arena« September 18—Anaheim, CA—Honda Center September 19—Fresno, CA—Boots In The Park September 25—Corpus Christi, TX—Hillard Center Arena« September 26—San Antonio, TX—Frost Bank Center« October 2—Jacksonville, FL—VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena October 3—West Palm Beach, FL—iTHINK FinancialAmphitheatre October 8—Des Moines, IA—Casey’s Center≈ October 9—Rosemont, IL—Allstate Arena≈ October 10—St. Paul, MN—Grand Casino Arena≈ October 15—Sioux Falls, SD—Denny Sanford PREMIER Center≈ October 16—Milwaukee, WI—Fiserv Forum≈ October 17—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena≈ October 23—Lafayette, LA—CAJUNDOME∆ October 29—Duluth, GA—Gas South Arena∆ October 30—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena∆ ≠with special guest Cole Goodwin «with special guest Wyatt McCubbin ∆with special guest Lukas Nelson ~with Chris Stapleton ≈with special guest Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives ∞with special guest Marcus King BandThe post Zach Top Debuts New Song, “Good Girls & Cowgirls,” Live In Montana first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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