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Heidi Ross Photography
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Heidi Ross Photography
If you can't find what you're looking for, build it yourselfthat's singer-songwriter Leigh Watson's approach. Post-engagement, when she couldn't find the ideal space to host her wedding, Watson created a venue called The Cordelle that catered to her own yin and yangs.
'My [husband] and I have traveled and lived in cities all over the world,” the newly married Nashvillian explains. 'We knew that 80 percent of our guests would be from out of town. We wanted a place that was indoors and outdoors, urban and contemporary, and easily accessible to the hotels downtown.”
So Leigh, her twin sister Chandra Watson, and actress-filmmaker Nealy Glenn invested in a 19th-century Victorian in Rutledge Hillthe revitalization of the historic downtown neighborhood aligned with their penchant for preserving the past. The Watsons met Glenn while at the University of Evansville in Indiana, and the three remained close as they navigated the entertainment scene in Los Angeles. For 15 years the sisters made a splash in the city's hip Silverlake area as the solo and backup singing act The Watson Twins. After touring and recording with the likes of The Shins, Jenny Lewis, and Death Cab for Cutie, the Watsons were ready to weave themselves into a new community. Glenn was game for a new industry as well and swiftly followed on their heels.
The self-described old souls were charmed by the rich merchant and steamboat culture of Rutledge Hill. After diving into the neighborhood's historical archives, they coined the event space The Cordelle, which pays homage to the ropes used to tow boats along the Cumberland River. Sentimentally, it symbolizes tying the knot, community, and the celebration of momentous occasions. And it was where Leigh would host her own wedding and myriad artistic, private, and corporate events.
The Watsons and Glenn instinctually knew their combined creativity, business savvy, and resilience made for a foolproof team. Nashville's Southern hospitality and enthusiasm only made their career transition all the more seamless. 'It's so refreshing how everyone wants to help out however they can,” enthuses Glenn.
For them, The Cordelle is all about the flow and feeling. The new focal point in their lives is purposefully sleek and minimalist, a vision that remained pure from the architectural drawings, by Powell Architecture & Building Studio, to opening day this past May. Upon arriving in Nashville last fall, they submerged themselves into the community, meeting vendors and local craftsmen and eventually employing Holler Design, Good Wood Nashville, and 5 String Furniture to elevate the flooring, barn doors, and furniture. To keep with the structure's sentimental nature, the original brick patina walls and floor-to-ceiling windows were preserved. Barnyard tables rendered from the original flooring and a Southern Gothic-style porch keep with the space's West Coast chic–meets–historical footprint.
Above all, The Cordelle's visionaries want guests to make the venue their own. It is meant to create a 'true Nashville experience,” embodied by love, laughter, and of course, plenty of music.
'Even though it was out of our creative wheelhouse, it was something we truly wanted to do,” Chandra says. 'We knew it would be the ultimate adventure if we remained focused, brought 110 percent of our hearts to it, and didn't allow small hurdles to stand in our way.”