Honky Tonk Bars and Clubs: Off-Broadway and Beyond

Honky Tonk Bars and Clubs: Off-Broadway and Beyond

I’ve create a guide to all the honky tonks on Broadway but know this: the music doesn’t stop when you step off Broadway. Look beyond for smaller crowds, lower drink prices and happy hour specials.


North of Broadway

Big Jimmy’s

@109 2nd Ave. N. Actually Big Jimmy’s isn’t that big but it’s a place to enjoy live music while having a burger and beer. Concise menu of burgers, flatbreads and chicken sandwiches. A bucket of 4 beers will run you $20.

Famous Saloon

@110 2nd Ave. N. To be honest, I’d never heard of the Famous Saloon. I give them points for a cool lighting scheme in the main bar and a nice rooftop with a stage. If you walk straight to the back (unless a private party has it reserved), you’ll find the River Bar with nice views of the waterfront through a large window. The menu includes appetizers, salads, and entrees like chicken and waffles, steak sandwiches, and a BBQ pineapple burger; I haven’t tried it but I appreciate the hot chicken sandwich called Rascal Flattbread. (Pictured at top)

Doc Holliday’s Saloon

@112 2nd Ave. N. In contrast to the most places, this feels like a southern version of a cozy pub with a cool staircase leading to a small second level. It can still be loud there. There’s no stage per se but solo artists are tucked into a corner by the stairs.

Cerveza Jack’s

@135 2nd Ave. N. First and foremost, this is a Mexican restaurant touting tacos, tequila and tunes. Specials? Anytime a bucket of 5 Buena Cervezas is $25. Tequila Tuesday means 25% off any tequila. Friday and Saturday, 9pm-close, a Dulce Vida tequila shot is $6. Live music? Why, yes, two featured artists on the short days and four on the long ones; the early shift tends toward country and things get more adventurous as the night wears on. Hours: Sun-Thurs, 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat, 11am-1am.

Luke Combs’s Category 10 (formerly the Wildhorse Saloon)

@120 2nd Ave. N. Scheduled to reopen in phases starting mid-summer, the huge facility will feature five entertainment experiences: a ground floor honky tonk, the Main Stage which serves double-duty as a performance hall and carries on the Wildhorse tradition of having a large floor for line dancing, a sports bar, a bourbon club with an intimate performance area, and The Eye, its huge rooftop deck.

Coyote Ugly Saloon

@154 2nd Ave. N. I’m not big into the franchised bar vibe but I’ll tip you off that they have live music and (almost daily) drink specials.

Freebird

150 2nd Avenue, N. It’s a little weird to include a boot store yet that’s what you’ll find here–boots, a coffee and booze bar, and live music.

South of Broadway (aka SoBro)

Teddy’s Tavern

104 Rep. John Lewis Way (formerly 6th Ave. S.). Prefer to avoid the chaos of Lower Broadway but want live music and affordable beverages a one-minute walk from the main drag? Welcome to Teddy’s, housed in Nashville’s oldest residence (circa 1820). Smaller than the celebrity-driven honky tonks, this lil place offers live music on Level 1 (and during busier times on Level 2), and a great view of Bridgestone Arena from the rooftop called The Rose Garden. Unlike most places nearby, it boasts two happy hours: Sunday-Thursday: 4pm-6:30pm and 10pm-close with $5 drafts and $12 cheeseburgers. During the earlier happy hour, special cocktails are $9. Bonus: their Music City brand drafts are $6 all the time.

FGL House

@120 2nd Ave. S. I expected a roadhouse vibe based on Florida Georgia Line’s music. I was wrong. It’s downright artful with subdued lighting, nice seating and an upscale vibe. If you want live contemporary country music without the crush of the bar crowd, this may be your place. Or if you want to dance, maybe head up to the rooftop. To borrow from their website copy, “the world-class kitchen fuses unique Southern style cuisine with California flair.” There’s even a kids’ menu here. For ’90s dance music, head downstairs to Little Red Corvette, open Friday/Saturday, 9pm to close.

Johnny Cash Bar and BBQ

@121 3rd Ave. S. A bar and the band are up front; the back looks more like typical restaurant seating. Think southern dining with biscuits and pancakes for breakfast; fried chicken and the aforementioned barbecue for lunch and dinner. For late nights, head to Club One21 on the second floor for live music and DJs. A bucket of 6 domestic bottles will run you $30; imports bump it to $35. I’ve heard they get adventurous with tributes to various artists for late-night sets.

Big Machine Brewery and Distillery 

@122 2nd. Ave. S. Big Machine is not just the record label that launched Taylor Swift. It’s also a combo honky tonk/tasting room/distillery/souvenir store. Tours are available for $15 which includes tastings of several products. There’s another location sans live music in Berry Hill that operates as a tavern with a limited food menu and full bar.

6th and Peabody

SoBro. I think if you add Yee-Haw Brewing Co. and Ole Smoky Distillery with live music you come up with an approximation of a honky tonk. That’s exactly what you’ll find here–along with huge TV screen and an outdoor patio with games.

Green Light Bar

Just south of The Gulch. This former warehouse is a whirlwind of multi-tasking–there’s food and drink, live music daily, darts, a luggage drop-off, and it’s the hub for local transportation company Joyride. It hosts weekly songwriter rounds, karaoke, trivia nights, and open-mic comedy. Whew!

Station Inn 

The Gulch. It’s not exactly a honky tonk but definitely the well-worn feeling of a dive bar. Long respected, you never know what big-deal musician might show up. I love that this humble building is standing its ground against the uber-trendiness of the Gulch, the last bastion of what the area once was. Charges admission. Bluegrass jams every Sunday night.

Martin’s BBQ

SoBro. It’s a family-friendly barbecue joint but, in the upstairs beer garden, you’ll find live music Thursday-Sunday. (Check the website for hours.)

Beyond Downtown

If you take the greater Nashville area into consideration, the number of honky tonks mushrooms–although most would call themselves clubs, music venues, or beer joints. Most cater to locals but these are some of the more popular destinations only a short drive from downtown. TIP: You’re more likely to find happy hour specials at these places.

Bobby’s Idle Hour

Off Music Row. Sometimes it seems like a songwriter listening room. At others, it’s more of a honky tonk. Like the Little Engine that Could, Bobby’s has chugged forward following two relocations. Look hard and you’ll find it at 9 Music Square S., between 16th and 17th Avenue S. (also known at Music Square E. and W.) As the only longstanding tavern near Music Row, it’s collected a good bit of music folklore over the years.

The Local

Vanderbilt-West End. Definitely more low-key that the downtown ruckus, crowds tend be…well, locals. Mostly songwriters through the week at ’80s/’90s country on the weekends. The band Organic Country, comprised of musicians with serious credentials, has a standing gig on Saturday nights.

Santa’s Pub

@2225 Bransford Ave. Nashville, 37204 adjacent to GEODIS Stadium, home of the Nashville SC soccer team. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa and he’s the proprietor of a bar where locals vastly outnumber the tourists. Some would call this repurposed mobile home a dive; others might call it homey. A few heads up: it’s cash-only and also you don’t need a lot of money because beers start at $2 a bottle or can. (There’s an ATM outside for those who forget the house rules.) It’s karaoke every night starting at 7 except on Sundays when the live house band pushes karaoke back to 9 pm.

Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge

Madison. Wasn’t sure where to place Dee’s. It opened in 2016 but the decor really nails the look of a ’70s honky tonk. Appearances (and the name) are deceiving as their musical line-up varies greatly, embracing rock, blues, soul, and bluegrass. Even if you don’t like the band d’jour, the atmosphere is worth the trip. Buoyed by mentions in Esquire and Rolling Stone, hipsters frequent the place but please, keep the attitude in check. To view previous bands, visit Dee’s YouTube Channel.