Eight Dollar Hot Dogs, Eight Dollar Cokes

If they are ever near you, go out and see the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band! They played as the warm-up act for the huge Nashville fireworks show July 4th. Been a fan since college in the '70s and they still sound so great! All the voices ... everything about their sound.

Watched the Dirt band on big video screens inside Nashville's new downtown amphitheatre, The Ascend. Very nice facility with a long list of acts, pop and country, playing there this year. I wasn't thrilled to pay $8 for a coke and $8 for a hot dog. At a 7/11, it would have been $2.50. They hold you hostage at concerts and ball games of all kinds.. Charge crazy prices because you are trapped. Beer, parking and concessions are how they make the money. I'm fine with making money, but wish there was another way to charge some fair prices. I get the price of security has skyrocketed. The profits pay for a lot of things...

Still you just hate paying $30-50 to park around the downtown Nashville attractions ... and $8 for a 7/11 $1 Coke just is painful. Does not make me want to return for any reason ... regardless of their reasoning.

Miranda Lambert on the cover of Cosmopolitan's first "Country" issue. She looks great and the interview was interesting. Cosmo asked her one of the oldest standard interview questions but it really caused me to think: Who is your dream dinner date? Miranda said Elvis!

They would eat chicken fried steak and drink a lot. Good answer!

Then I started thinking how I would answer ... the standard answer to that vintage question is Jesus. Of course, but let's take him off the table and bring in mortals.

I heard Johnny Cash, Roger Miller for two. Worked on TV shows with both multiple times. They were shy if they didn't know you. So was Waylon. Hmmm ... I finally decided your guaranteed great time and great evening would be Dolly Parton. Flew in a seat next to me to Los Angeles from Nashville years ago. She was so funny, so smart, so interesting. Dolly is the most professional star in the galaxy! A 1,000% pro in everything from being on time to polish. If the energy in the room is 60%, she takes it to 100. One of the most special folks on the planet!

Music people are not often the best interviews. The best express their feelings in song and performance. Interviews can be very challenging to get anything off the script. It's another reason why Dolly is so great.

Luke and Jason both working on new albums. Seen the stats on "My Girl" singer Dylan Scott? The streams?

The upcoming eclipse is already a loud buzz in Music City. The Opry is doing a very rare Sunday night Opry on Aug, 20th, eclipse eve. Little Big Town, Darius Rucker and Wynonna. Then they have a daytime day and time of eclipse party at the Opry Plaza. Nashville is inside the ribbon where the sun will go out for about 90 seconds. The eclipse line on a map goes from Charleston, SC to The Smoky Mountains, Nashville, St Louis, Kansas City, Jackson Hole and Salem, Oregon.

That sky show is free ... on the other hand, one of the greatest secrets in Nashville, the home of many secrets: How much do they pay to put on a fireworks show with more shells than Macy's NYC? We're talking 60,000 shells ... but no one's talking about the money...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm................