Four blocks of neon, a band in every window, and music from mid-morning until close. Most of Lower Broadway is fun. A few bars on it are the real thing. These are the five we send friends to, starting with the one that started it all.
You won't pay a cover for the house bands at any of the five, and those bands play mostly for tips. Keep some cash on you.
Tootsie's Orchid Lounge
The purple one, and the one that matters most. Tootsie Bess bought a bar called Mom's in 1960, a painter showed up with orchid purple, and it's been Tootsie's ever since. That's more than 65 years of live country music in the same building, and somehow it still pulls locals and first-timers into the same room.
The back door opens onto the alley behind the Ryman. Back when the Opry played the Ryman, there were no real dressing rooms, so the stars waited at Tootsie's. Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson all drank here before most of the bars on this street existed, and Willie landed his first songwriting job after singing here.
- When to go
- It opens at 9:30 in the morning and runs until 3 AM, every day. A weekday afternoon is when you can get near the stage. Under-21s can come in with an adult until 6 PM.
- Local move
- Walk the alley behind the Ryman and come in the back door, the way the Opry stars did. Willie's line: it's 17 steps from the Ryman to Tootsie's and 34 steps back. Then keep climbing: there's music on more than one floor and a rooftop bar up top.
- Good to know
- No cover. No big backpacks or cameras, and men can't come in wearing tank tops or sleeveless shirts.
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Layla's Honky Tonk
Broadway's bluegrass bar, with steel guitar and upright bass on stage and old license plates nailed to the ceiling. Layla Vartanian opened it in 1997, and it calls itself the only bar on Lower Broadway that's owned independently by a woman. Of everything on the strip, it's the closest to what Broadway sounded like before the rooftops showed up.
- When to go
- Earlier in the day, while there's still room to dance in front of the stage. On many Sunday afternoons, Layla's own band, Yesterday's Makeup, is the one playing.
- Local move
- Bring an old license plate. They'll trade you a Budweiser for it and hang it in the rafters. If you want to talk, the long bar in back is quieter, and the little mezzanine is the best seat for watching the dance floor.
- What to get
- The fried bologna sandwich with tots.
Legends Corner
The corner bar across from the Ryman, with album covers on every wall and a mural of country legends painted on the outside. The bands here play classic country, not the 2000s radio hits you'll hear blasting a few doors down.
- When to go
- Music runs from 10 AM to close, with a new band every few hours. The afternoon sets are the calm ones. Late at night it's where a lot of good nights end, and a short line is worth it.
- Good to know
- It's 21 and up after 6 PM. The same family owns The Stage, three doors down.
The Stage on Broadway
The biggest dance floor on the strip, three stages counting the rooftop, and a mural of country stars across the back wall. It turned 25 this year, and it's still family-owned, not a celebrity's name on a sign. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert have both popped up on this stage.
- When to go
- At night, when the band is loud and the floor is full. If you have under-21s with you, come before 6 PM.
- Local move
- Look up when you walk in: the painting of the Highwaymen over the front door came from Waylon Jennings' home.
Acme Feed & Seed
Four floors in the old feed store at First and Broadway: a honky-tonk with live bands and a long tap list on the ground floor, and a rooftop up top looking over the Cumberland River and Nissan Stadium. Nashville Scene readers keep voting it the best rooftop in town.
- When to go
- Happy hour, Monday to Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30, for half-price drafts. Then head up for sunset, because the rooftop closes earlier than the bars on the strip.
- Local move
- Order food on the first floor and carry it up to the roof.
- What to get
- The Rule the Roost hot chicken sandwich, still one of the best things to eat on Broadway.
Broadway like a local
- Bring cash for the band. There's no cover, so the tip bucket is how the musicians get paid. If you request a song, put something in with it.
- Don't like the band? Wait a few hours. Most bars run three or four bands a day in rotating sets, from mid-morning to close.
- Go early for the real thing. Weekday afternoons are when you can sit, hear the players and talk to the bartender. Saturday night is a party, not a show.
- Mind the 6 PM rule. Most of the honky-tonks let under-21s in with an adult only until 6 PM, and some go 21 and up after that. If you have younger people with you, check the door.
Tip the band. On Broadway, the bucket on the stage is the paycheck.
Just off the list: Whiskey Bent Saloon, a tiny, no-frills room at 306 Broadway with Saturday line-dancing classes. Every bar on the strip is in Eat & Drink, with hours and what to order.
Hours and age rules change, so check with the bar before you go.
