Good morning, Nashville! It's time to start another week.

🌫️ Today's weather: Areas of fog then sunny, with a high of 69.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Kent Underwood!

Today’s newsletter is 848 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Over the last three years, Metro Council members Rollin Horton and Brenda Gadd have proved to be two of the city's more consequential leaders.

• Yes, but: It's realistic that Horton and Gadd, whose West Nashville districts border each other, could be forced to run against each other in 2027.

Driving the news: The Supreme Court's ruling last week affirmed a state law that reduces the size of the council from 40 to no more than 20 members.

• Now it falls to Metro Council, Vice Mayor Angie Henderson and other city officials to implement the law.

Friction point: There are already murmurs out of the Metro Courthouse that there isn't enough time to have the reduced council in place for the August 2027 election.

• The line of logic is partly political. Incumbents probably preserve their jobs if council remains at 40 members until the election in 2031.
• In the example of Horton and Gadd, their districts could remain the same if the count stays at 40, and they could collaborate on issues instead of becoming opponents for a hypothetical new district that spans the Nations, Sylvan Park and White Bridge Road.
• On the other hand, legitimately complicated legal and logistical questions have to be answered because the way Nashville's legislative branch functions will be completely overhauled.

What she's saying: "We've long understood there would be a wide variety of questions that would need to be addressed if we had to resize the council," Henderson tells Axios. "But at this juncture, we're in an analytical holding pattern."

Here are the issues that must be addressed before council is slashed and why some say there isn't enough time to pull it off before next year:

How many at-large

Council currently consists of 35 district members representing smaller parts of town and five at-large members who represent the entire county.

• It has to be determined whether to keep five at-large members or reduce to three, two or, perhaps, zero.

Go deeper to read the full story including the other key questions facing Metro leaders

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Four Nashville eateries made OpenTable's list of the top 100 restaurants in America this year — including two that are next-door neighbors.

Between the lines: OpenTable uses diner reviews, reservations and other metrics to construct the nationwide list.

State of plate: Noko and its neighboring sushi concept Kase x Noko were among the local inclusions.

• The list is rounded out by two of Nashville's Michelin-starred restaurants: Locust in 12 South and Bastion in Wedgewood-Houston.

💭 My thought bubble: Noko, which opened in March 2023, is my favorite restaurant in town. I've been there for my birthday, and I took our Axios boss there when he came to visit last year.

• The Asian-inspired menu features a bevy of sumptuous family-style dishes served in generous quantities. My favorites include the toasty, caramelized beef dumplings, the smoked Wagyu brisket and the mouth-watering "burnt ends" lettuce wraps.
• But the bite I can't stop talking about is their elevated take on Dole Whip — pineapple soft serve that is a Disneyland staple.

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🏛️ State lawmakers filed a bill to erect a statue of Dolly Parton on Capitol grounds. (Tennessean)

💲 Ryman Hospitality is still exploring the sale of its music division Opry Entertainment Group. (Nashville Business Journal, subscription)

✅ Metro Council approved Mayor Freddie O'Connell's $545 million capital spending plan last week. (Nashville Banner)

A slate of Nashville pros has been nominated to join Taylor Swift in the national Songwriters Hall of Fame next year.

Zoom in: Vince Gill is nominated in the performing songwriter category alongside Jack White. (Other nominees in that category include Lady Gaga, Pink and Shakira.)

Zoom out: Music Row stalwarts Bob McDill and Tom Douglas are nominated in the non-performer category.

• McDill, a 2023 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, helped define modern country's sound with generational megahits like "Song of the South" and "Gone Country."
• Douglas was behind modern classics including "House That Built Me" and "Grown Men Don't Cry."

What's next: Voting members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame will submit ballots with up to three selections in each category. The final list of inductees will be announced next year.

See the full list

State of play: This week's Music Monday playlist includes selections from this year's crop of nominees.

Follow our playlist on Spotify

👏 Bravo to our Friday News Quiz winners from last week: Justin W., Jacob K., David B., Jeffrey E., Elizabeth S., Jeffrey S., Todd Z., Baird D., Ann Marie O., Robbie J., Debbie D. and Juan Jose R.

• 🥃 And a special cheers to readers Katie L., Megan O. and Ben P. who also got the bonus question correct.

Our picks:

Nate and his fam saw "Shrek the Musical" at Lipscomb over the weekend.

🍁 Adam is taking the week off to wander around in sweaters.

This newsletter was edited by Jen Burkett.