Music City VIP

Guide

Live music

Places in this guide.

Bars & nightlife Live music

Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge

The purple honky-tonk behind the Ryman. Famous, crowded, and still a required Broadway stop.

Lower Broadway · First-timers and groups $
Live music

The Station Inn

Nashville’s bluegrass living room — folding chairs, beer in a can, and pickers who can actually play.

The Gulch · First-timers $
Live music Restaurants

City Winery Nashville

Sit-down shows with dinner and wine. Easy for a group that does not want to stand.

The Gulch · First-timers and groups $$$
Bars & nightlife Live music

Legends Corner

Corner honky-tonk with a balcony and a jukebox’s worth of country. Classic Broadway.

Lower Broadway · First-timers and groups $
Bars & nightlife Live music

Lower Broadway

The honky-tonk strip — cover bands, neon, and a crawl from 1st to 5th. Do it once, preferably before 9 p.m. or with a plan.

Lower Broadway · First-timers and groups $$
Live music

Exit/In

Elliston Place rock club that has been here forever. Sweaty, loud, necessary.

Midtown · First-timers $$
Bars & nightlife Live music

Layla’s Bluegrass Inn

Smaller Broadway room that still leans bluegrass and country instead of pop-country covers.

Lower Broadway · First-timers $
Live music Tours

General Jackson Showboat

A paddlewheel showboat on the Cumberland with a sit-down show. Touristy, and that is the point.

Opryland / Music Valley · First-timers and groups $$$
Live music

The Franklin Theatre

Restored Main Street theater in Franklin. Films and concerts, a calmer night than downtown Nashville.

Franklin · First-timers $$
Bars & nightlife Live music

Honky Tonk Central

Three floors of live country on Broadway. Groups like the space. It is not subtle.

Lower Broadway · Groups $$