I had never been to the Frist Center in Nashville. A private cultural center started by the famous Nashville family the Frist's. After being snowed in for almost a week I needed to get out of the house to see something or do something. God anything, it has been a long winter. 
So I get on the internet to google museums in Nashville the first thing that pops up is the First Center for the Visual Arts. By chance there having a tribute to Billie Holiday and it's at my favorite price, free. Man I have to go. If you have listen to a Country Western or Rock & Roll song you are listening to Billie Holiday. Lady Day as she is known lived a very hard short life; but her contribution to the Jazz vocal tradition was tremendous. She broke racial barriers by being the the first black singer to sing with the all white Benny Goodman Band.
The concert at the Frist was wonderful; with a wide range of songs with stories of her life in between. The stories beg me to ask the question why some Artist live such tumultuous lives? Could it be that in some strange way there art consumes them to a point that there really is nothing left. That a void exist that sometimes can only be filled with drugs and Alcohol. She definitely earned the right to sing the blues.
After the Concert we also were allowed to enter the gallery for free, where there was a exhibition on Houghton Hall a english country house built by the first Prime Minister of England. Also a photo exhibition on modern European Royalty call The Europeans. It was a great day, all I can say is why haven't I been here before what a tremendous place.
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