An Insiders Guide to Nashville

Music Venues In Music City

There are only a few cities in the world where seven nights a week you can find a great live set of original music. The music can be found in lots of venues around Nashville, but three have a worldwide reputation as music hall icons.

The first and oldest is the Ryman Auditorium. It was built as a church and still has hard wood pews, soft wood floors and stained glass windows. It became the "Mother Church" of country music in 1925 when it started broadcasting a one hour barn dance show, and in 1930 the Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting a four hour show on the 50,000 watt WSM tower which spread country music to all corners of the USA. Today the Grand Ole Opry is still at times broadcasting from the Ryman, but since a complete renovation in 1994 the stage of the Ryman has been an intimate location for music icons of all genres like Aretha Franklin, Neal Young and Van Morrison.

The second best known club in Nashville is the Blue Bird Cafe. Nashville has always been a publishing powerhouse and that is especially true of song writing and music publishing. The Blue Bird usually features singer/songwriters in the round playing their own songs and telling stories behind their songs. The 100 seat venue was where great artists from Garth Brooks to Taylor Swift were discovered. This is one of the few venues with a "shh" sign to tell the audience to shut up and listen, except on Monday nights when Mike Henderson comes to play a blues set.

The third most famous venue is the Station Inn. This funky old stone building in the gleaming new urban Gulch is the best known Bluegrass music venue in the country. They also host some of the best Americana artists, and on Tuesday you can't miss the Doyle and Debbie Show.

3rd and Lindsey is another excellent club that recently expanded to 400 seats and attracks an excellent schedule of national and local heavy weights. Artists like Sheryl Crow and Steve Earl will sell out but the Time Jumpers on Monday and the Wooten Brothers on Wednesday may be even more entertaining.

The Exit Inn has hosted some of the biggest names in music since the 70's, and it is alive and kicking today. These days it hosts a lot of young college radio bands. A venue owned by the same group is Marathon  Music Works, a large industrial space with a 2,000 standing capacity. This hall books mostly young groups, but you can also catch the likes of  Emmy Lou Harris, Warren Hayes, or the Carolina Chocolate Drops on occasion.

Tootsies' Orchid Lounge and Roberts Western World on lower Broadway represents the best in live traditional country music seven nights a week. There are lots of other honky tonks in the area, but none better then Tootsies' and Roberts.

There are two great blues bars in downtown Nashville; the Burbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar and B B Kings. Both host national acts and great local talents like Stacy Mitchhart. These venues are located in funky old buildings loaded with charm.

Some of the favorite showes that I have attended were at the Cannery. There are two separate venues, the Mercy Lounge and the larger Cannery Ballroom. These venues book a wide eclectic mix of music from National and local artists.

While I have mentioned the better known clubs, on any given night great music can be found in the smaller clubs like Douglas Corner where once a month Pat McLaughlin plays the best $10 show in Nashville. You also never know who you will find in places like Spring Water, Family Wash, The Baesment, Belcourt, Franklin Theater, Loveless Barn and many other bars. Nashville music talent runs deep and the place to get those one of a kind shows is in the local clubs and bars.