Reno, NV
Music connected to Reno
Ever heard a song that name-drops a city and makes you instantly curious? Reno, Nevada, might just be that place. From Johnny Cash's classic "Folsom Prison Blues" to Zach Bryan's "Cannonball", and even Orville Peck's "Outta Time", this "Biggest Little City in the World" keeps popping up in unexpected corners of the music world. Ashley Ryan even has a song called "Reno" and Girls Guns & Glory have a song called "Reno; NV." With mentions from artists as diverse as Atmosphere and Counting Crows, Reno's sonic footprint stretches far beyond its high desert location.
But Reno is more than just a lyric. Nestled at 4,500 feet with the Sierra Nevada as its backdrop, this city pulses with a unique blend of grit and adventure. The Truckee River carves its way through downtown, a constant reminder of the ancient landscape shaped by the Washoe people for millennia. While tourism and gaming are mainstays, a growing tech scene adds to the city's dynamic energy. Perhaps it's this sense of possibility, combined with the echoes of its Wild West past, that continues to inspire musicians and songwriters to this day.
About Reno
- • Singer-songwriter Jolie Holland was born in Reno, Nevada, in 1975.
- • Reno is the birthplace of the "Biggest Little City in the World" slogan.
- • The transcontinental railroad fueled Reno's initial growth in the late 19th century.
- • Divorce laws made Reno a destination for quick dissolutions of marriage.
- • The Great Fire of 1879 destroyed much of downtown, prompting rebuilding.
- • It's named for Civil War General Jesse Reno and founded in 1868.
- • With about 270,000 residents, it's Nevada's third-most populous city.
- • Reno sits at 4,500 feet, offering stunning views of the Sierra Nevada.
- • Tourism and gaming are major employers, but technology is growing.
- • There's a blend of grit and adventure, a place where anything feels possible.
- • The Truckee River carved its path through the region, shaping the landscape over millennia.
- • Pyramid Lake, a remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan, lies northeast of the city.
- • The Truckee River flows directly through downtown.
- • Lahontan cutthroat trout, once thought extinct, are native to the Truckee River basin.
- • Sagebrush scrub dominates the surrounding landscape.
- • The Truckee Meadows were inhabited by the Washoe people for thousands of years.
- • On November 5, 1926, heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey lost to Gene Tunney in a controversial fight in Reno.
- • The Nevada Historical Society building was constructed in 1904.
- • The Lincoln Highway, America's first transcontinental highway, passed through Reno.