What do London and Nashville have in common? This American tourist says it’s a booming music scene

Terence Howard has lived in 10 American states and travelled to three Canadian provinces over the years. 

This summer, the 71-year-old decided to take a trip to London, which he said was meant to be just another province checked off the map and a short escape from the humidity of his home in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Three weeks later, however, Howard said his time attending London’s festivals and music events inspired him to add an extra week to his stay – and even make plans to return next year.

“It seems to me that because of the shorter summer season, Canadians like to cram a whole lot in,” Howard said. “There’s been festivals going on every weekend since I’ve been here, and I don’t see any let up. I’m loving it because, for one thing, I love live music.” 

“You know, the ‘music city’ in the USA is Nashville. It’s got that part of the title,” Howard said, adding that he lived in the Tennessee city for nearly a decade. “It’s [the same] here.”

London became Canada’s first and only UNESCO City of Music in fall 2021, joining 74 other cities worldwide.

When applying for the designation, cities must detail the educational opportunities, major events and key communities that already contribute to the local scene, as well as outline music-focused goals they would like to complete in the future, according to the latest UNESCO Creative Cities Network application. 

American tourist Terence Howard dances at London’s Canada Day celebrations on July 1, 2025. (Submitted by Tourism London)

“I’ll confess that before I did my research on what this city had to offer as far as cultural things and entertainment, I just picked a medium-sized city that I could drive to,” Howard said, adding that he typically spends his summer at a condo in Wisconsin. 

“What I found out after I made my arrangements on Airbnb is that you have Sunfest, which I wasn’t aware of, and I gladly attended all four days. In fact, there were dancers like me.”

Dancing has been Howard’s most common pastime while visiting London; he danced on Dundas Street during Canada Day celebrations, checked out line dancing at the Cowboys Ranch and Westmount Presbyterian Church, and spent three days at the Colombian Gastronomy Festival. 

“I’ve had more than enough to do. You would think you were in [a city] to the scale of Montreal or Toronto to have this much going on,” he said. “I’ve been highly impressed, and this city should be rightfully proud.”

A smaller-scale Nashville

Howard has spent a fair share of his time in cities known for their music scenes. He lived in Nashville between 1994 and 2003, and frequently visits family members in Austin, Texas.

American Terence Howard says he drove his car up from Little Rock, Arkansas to London, Ont. as a way to escape the heat, but instead found a booming music scene. He says he plans to make the drive again next summer. (Kendra Seguin/CBC News)

He said he remembers when both cities had smaller, more concentrated music scenes that were centred in bars on just a few streets.

“Both of those cities are now metropolitan areas. I like something more of a London scale,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think London needs to grow its music scene beyond what it is now.

“[London] has proven itself the way it is…I don’t think you have anything to prove as far as live music goes.”

Howard’s agenda for the rest of his time in London includes trying Street Salsa at Dundas Place, listening to music at the Home County Music and Art Festival, and joining the line dance at Ribfest. 

That is, until he returns next summer. 

“I positively intend to make this my break from the USA and break from that central Arkansas summertime heat.”

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