Nashville/Franklin, TN...
First off, before you begin reading this, I will just let you know that this is my experience from my point of view. Everyone has difference views on life, and has different opinions and emotions. Iâve had a lot of feelings and emotions about this experience over the past two months, and this is my specific outlet of choice for displaying all of it.
It is Sunday, May the 17th of the year 2015, and I woke up that morning around 10:30 in a two room suite (one bedroom and one living room) about a half a mile away from the Grand Ole Ory, in Nashville, TN. The name of the hotel is not important, because, quite honestly, I found it on hotels.com, because I work a retail job and go to college, and have a car payment⊠you get it, it was cheap. But, might I add, a very roomy room for the price. Anyways. That day I was going to see Paramore with my boyfriend at there sold out show at the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, TN, WHERE PARAMORE IS FROM. HOMETOWN SHOW. If youâre a Paramore fan, I think you can imagine how much excitement and anticipation I woke up to.Â
Before I continue, let me give a little bit of a back story. Iâve been a Paramore fan since about late 2006. I was in high school at the time and I was very involved in after school activities and I didnât have a job or money to go to Paramore shows. My first time ever seeing Paramore was at Edgefest in 2013, because the two years prior to that, Paramore was writing the greatness that is the Self Titled record, and that was when I started gaining some money to actually afford my interests in seeing them live. Fast forward to the Self-Titled tour where I (MAGICALLY BY THE GRACE OF GOD) won a meet and greet with Paramore where I showed Hayley my bars tattoo (That I got the summer of that year because seeing them for the first time was an awakening of my soul(Iâm a ginger, I have no soul)) and I got my self titled record signed, and Jeremy and Taylor were like the coolest dudes ever. After that, I waited 7 hours in line ( with my still current boyfriend) at MONUMENTOUR in Dallas, because I had pit tickets. I know, I should have bought meet and greet, but when tickets went on sale I had just met them the Fall before, and my boyfriend (now ex) didnât have enough money to afford meet and greet tickets with me, so I just got pit tickets. Turns out, Hayley was sick, and Paramore cancelled their set. I met some cool people, got a nice sunburn, and I had no show to look forward to, because that was the only date I bought tickets for. Now, fast forward to 2015. I decided that the Dallas Writing The Future show was PRIORITY and I would buy tickets to one other show. Me and my boyfriend debated on New Orleans, El Paso, and of course, Nashville. I thought about it, and noticed a couple other people on Twitter said they were going to Nashville, so I went for it and bought tickets to the Nashville show. About a week before, I did end up caving and buying tickets that were closer to the stage, but thatâs not important, except for the fact that I now had four tickets to the show, and only me and my boyfriend were going.
Saturday, May 16th, 2015, The night before the show, I made the 10 hour drive from Mckinney, TX (30 minutes north of Dallas) to Nashville, TN, with my boyfriend in the car, of course. I drove my little blue 2009 Scion TC all the way to Nashville. Quite honestly, I was so shocked that my tank of gas made it all the way from Little Rock, AK to Nashville without stopping. I love my car, I really do, but itâs small and cramped, and I was extremely tired from driving 10 hours. Not to mention that the roads in Arkansas are terrible when itâs raining. Weâre talking, myself, and everyone driving around me had to put hazards on to see other cars because the rain was pouring so hard and the car tires just flicked the water right back up into the air.
Back to Sunday morning, the 17th. By the mid-afternoon, me and my boyfriend, Andrew (he will now go by Andrew from now on) were getting a little stir crazy in the hotel room, and I wanted to go out an explore Nashville (Franklin, specifically). ***These next series of events and decisions are very important and life-changing*** Me and Andrew chatted about it a little bit, and argued some, (because heâs stubborn and this was MY trip) and I finally decided we were going to Franklin, even though he wanted to go to downtown Nashville. On the way there, I had to stop to get gas, because as mentioned above, I drove from Little Rock to Nashville without stopping for gas. After that, I had to make another stop at another gas station that had free air for my tire, because my front passenger tire has a slow leak. Finally, we were on our way to Franklin! Let me tell you, I am very glad that me and him took the scenic route down Highway 31, because the houses and landscape are just GORGEOUS there compared to Texas. by the time we finally make it to the Franklin city limits itâs about 1:00pm. I, of course, wanted to stop by the city limits sign and take a picture. After that, we got back in the car and headed to downtown Franklin. In the car, me and Andrew were talking about what we wanted to do when we got downtown. I wanted to stop and eat, or get ice cream, but I also had the idea of driving by Hayleyâs house.
rant/ First off, I did not plan on creeping on her. Second, I wasnât going to break into her house like those two stupid girls did. Third, I wanted to explore Franklin regardless. Fourth, Iâm pretty sure Hayley doesnât live there anymore, and for good reason, everyone who is a die-hard Paramore fan, and has been to Franklin knows where it is. Itâs like when people go to Elvisâ house, they go because itâs a place that their idol once stood, once lived. /rant
So, we end up not stopping to get ice cream, or food, we end up driving towards the end of downtown and towards Hayleyâs house. I swear, this next moment that Iâm about to type, I relive in my memories over and over again, especially when Andrew likes to talk about it. So me and Andrew (me driving) get to the last stop light in downtown Franklin and itâs a red light. There on the North West corner, across from Starbucks, is a female with bright orange hair. Andrew looks at her and points (I had seen her too) and say âLook, itâs Hayley Williams!â jokingly. He was joking because, if you havenât seen, most Paramore fans have some bright, non-natural hair color and I knew that Franklin would be swarming with Paramore fans. I laughed all nervously and was like âNooo, stop joking, thatâs not funny.â and I probably jokingly hit him. He then said âYeah, youâre right, she doesnât even have tattoos.â At the point, she swept her hair across her face to fix her bangs, and within a split second Andrew says âHoly Shit! Thatâs Hayley Williamsâ (he saw her tattoos, and so did I) and HE. JUMPS. OUT. OF. MY. CAR. I am left thereâŠ. driving⊠stopped at a red light while he runs to the corner to meet my idol. I donât remember how, but I got to a parking spot as soon as the light went green, and I ran to the corner. By that time she had crossed the street to where my boyfriend was (at the Starbucks) and they were talking and he got a picture with her. There were also other fans running up to her, and I was stuck on the other side of the road waiting for the cross walk, because the street was so busy. By the time the crosswalk finally came on, Medhi (her manager) had come out of Starbucks and started leading her away. My idol, that my boyfriend just met, was being led away from me! I was as relaxed as I could possibly be, but also so excited that my boyfriend met her! Hayley and Medhi ended up going into the Franklin theatre and ducking out the back (I learned at the show that night), probably because there were too many fans there. Luckily, I snapped a picture of her in front of the Franklin Theatre. Itâs now one of my favorite pictures, and hanging up on my wall. Then I had a mini-heart attack because I was so overwhelmed but devastated, but happy for Andrew, all at the same time.Â
After that adventure, we ended up exploring downtown Franklin, we did end up walking by Hayleyâs house, snapping pictures of different things, went into some shops, ran into a couple people I follow on Twitter, and we ended up eating at Mellow Mushroom. All in all, Franklin was gorgeous. The houses are so cute, the town is so homey. I can see the appeal and why Hayley loves it and calls it home.
Then we got back into the car and drove back to the hotel to get ready for he show. After all of that, it was so surreal that we were going to a Paramore show. We showed up at the Grand Ole Opry about an hour before the doors opened, because I knew there would be a ton of people there, and of course, the EPIC sign project! Also, the Grand Ole Opry, or Paramore (I donât know whoâs choice it was) had the mercy table set up outside of the doors, so we could buy mercy before going into the show! While waiting for the doors, I finally met Alexi (weareparamooooooore) after months of tweeting back and forth, and I was just soaking up all the great things happening around me. There were so many people from different states, and different countries. I was there, just soaking up all of the ParaFamily around me. Not to mention, I was seeing so many familiar faces of people that I follow on twitter, or have seen on videos for being picked for Miz Biz.Â
So now Iâm sitting in my seat and Copeland is playing. They also had a killer speech about when Paramore first played with them in Nashville, and it meant that much more because this is where it all started. I noticed that there were fans trying to stand and jam out with Copeland, and other fans trying to rush the stage. Security started sending them back and telling them to sit down. That was my instant wake up call saying âSarah, youâve got to get down there for Paramore!â I knew that this group of people in the building were all Paramore fans, some more than others (Yes, thatâs possible, even in Nashville) and security would not be able to send us all back! So, as soon as Copeland was done playing, I went down to the front row where Alexi was sitting and just chatted with her. Paramoreâs crew was setting the stage, and THE BOX was brought out, so I, of course got a picture of it, and next to it. Then I saw Chad walking though the crowd. Me and the group I was talking in all debated on getting a picture with him but we wanted to play it cool and just say hi. He passed right by us and I said âHi Chad!â with a big grin on my face. He was so nice. Chad is so cool. Then, 5 minutes later, the intro to Daydreaming comes on, and everyone rushes the stage! Security, of course, tries to send people back, but I WAS NOT going back to my seat. This is my favorite band, in their hometown. Iâm staying right next to this stage!
The show was epic. I love so many songs even more after hearing them live. Paramore is literally a band that has changed my life. I also ended up belly flopping on stage to get the setlist! The whole experience of being in Nashville was surreal enough, and then there was the idea that we were going to the show in Dallas two days after. In fact, that was the best part. Because me and Andrew were going to see them again in Dallas in two days, I really didnât take a whole lot of pictures, and I didnât take a single video with my phone. I did take a full video of Future with my point and shoot. Iâm still at the point where I donât know if I regret it or not, because my place at the Nashville show was much closer, because there was no barricade, and in Dallas the stage is tall and there is a barricade. But the experience was PRICELESS, and I regret NOTHING. Now I have Parahoy to look forward to, because Iâm already booked with Andrew and two other Paramore fans in a Mini-Suite.
No matter if I live to be only 40, or I live to be 100 like my Great-Grandma who is still alive and kicking, I will ALWAYS remember driving to Nashville for my absolute favorite band. The memories are unforgettable. Paramore is rad. Paramore has changed my life. The ParaFamily is my family. See you on Parahoy! Letâs make more memories!
-Sarah
@PuncturedW1ngs on twitter
yelyahwilliams
