Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey Shares His Nashville Favorites

It’s a very good time to be Old Dominion. Between touring with Kenny Chesney on his Trip Around the Sun Tour, heading out on their own Happy Endings Tour and planning a late 2018 European run, the boys are keeping very busy. Oh, and don’t forget their killer performance at Nissan Stadium at this year’s CMA Fest–which you can check out on ABC tomorrow, Wednesday, at 8 p.m. EST.

But amidst all of the craziness, the band does get an occasional day off. We checked in with lead singer Matthew Ramsey to find out his favorite Nashville haunts to help you party–and relax–like a country star next time you’re in town. Take notes: You just may bump into Ramsey on your next trip to Music City.

When you’re not on the road, what’s a day off in Nashville like?

A lot of us have kids, so we come home and just like to sit on the couch for the most part and be with our families. We just try to be as normal as possible and get into a normal life as much as we can, and that usually involves taking out the trash, going grocery shopping, all that stuff [laughs]. But I definitely like to hit up coffee shops – there’s a couple I like to go to. Right before I write, a lot of times I go to Edgehill Cafe, get some coffee or eat some breakfast. I like Frothy Monkey, and I love the coffee shop called Dose.

Favorite place to eat in Nashville?

There’s so many places! Nashville is growing so much and so fast, and we’ve been on tour for so much of the past three years, it’s like there’s something new every time I come home. There’s always a new restaurant that pops up on the corner. I don’t even know if I know any of these places anymore. But Rolf & Daughters, that’s one of our favorite restaurants in town. It’s really, really good.

Favorite spot to grab a drink in Nashville?

If I’m going for the honky-tonk thing, I’m going to go to Robert’s every time. But then there’s the other side of things, you can definitely find some unique cocktail bars. Brad [Tursi] pretty much always says Public House at Urban Cowboy. I recently went to the bar at Husk, which was really good.

Favorite place to shop in Nashville? Where do you get your clothes for touring?

Really, we just do all the shopping on the road [laughs]. I really don’t get out much when I’m in town, so really, I spend most of my time just sitting on my porch. But there’s always Green Hills Mall that has some great spots, and then I always like getting over to White’s Mercantile in 12 South. I think White’s is a cool spot, I always go in there and buy candles and stuff for the bus.

So many of us come from other places and end up making Nashville our home – what’s the best part about living here?

The best part is the people. That’s what made me love Nashville when I first moved here. I didn’t know anybody, and I was cold calling people looking for jobs, trying to have my songs heard, and everybody that I called, even if they couldn’t help me, they tried in some way to help me. They would say, “If you get lost, call me, I’ll tell you where to go.” I think because everyone comes from somewhere else, they can identify with you when you first move to town if you’re feeling like a little fish in a big pond. They can definitely relate to that, and I think just the overall friendliness of people is what makes Nashville so great.