I found the best honky tonk bars in Nashville

A first-person guide to tackling Music City’s iconic Broadway Street.

The biggest mistake I made in Nashville was miscalculating how epic this city really is. While you can see a lot in four days, the dynamic, soulful capital of Tennessee is a slow jam, best approached with ease. A week would have been perfect. 

 

And that’s especially true if you plan on visiting Music City’s rowdy and always thrumming Broadway Street more than once. Better known as ‘Honky Tonk Highway’, this pulsating throng is home to numerous bars and live music venues offering quality live tunes seven days a week. Here’s what I learned on a near nine-hour crawl.

Warm up

The honky tonks in Broadway St open at 11am. Nobody wants to be that guy who gets there before lunch (except maybe the stag on his buck’s). Don’t peak too soon. Take it easy the night before and keep the first half of your morning for a museum or something as equally civilised, such as the National Museum of African American Music, which takes you on a journey from gospel, blues and jazz to R&B and hip hop. It’s absolutely incredible. 

What time to go

I’d first recommend eating a hearty lunch somewhere nearby so you’re that well-fuelled. Aim to get to your first honky tonk at around 3pm. Weekdays are less busy than weekends, although even when I visited on a Thursday, the bars were still pumping. That’s what so exciting about this place. 

Lose yourself in music at NMAAM. Picture: 353Media Group

Best bars to try in Nashville

Freebird, in Downtown Nashville is a short walk from Broadway Street and a good place to ease into this onslaught of the senses. Part boutique, part bar, they sell both cowboy boots and booze in a stylish, low-key setting with live acoustic tunes.

By far my favourite honky tonks of the ones that we visited on Broadway Street is Redneck Riviera, . The band was bringing the vibes with bangers from 90s icons such as Sublime and The Violent Femmes, and the bathrooms are redneck-inspired with tyres for sinks and petrol bowsers as taps.

The washbasins at Redneck Riviera are on brand.

Chief’s is owned by country-and-music singer Eric Church and is covered in comic-style prints with his name not-so-discreetly emblazoned throughout. The Stage, was recommended to us by our Airbnb. It was empty and obviously too early when we visited, but the lead singer was hitting some serious high notes.

The female-led band at Rippy’s, were taking requests and did a mean rendition of AC/DC’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’. The moment you start throwing out AC/DC requests is also about the same time you start strongly believing in your mechanical bull skills. So save the best for last and go out with a bang on the bull at The Wild Beaver Saloon.  I don’t think it matters too much where you go, as long as you’re feeling the music and the company, you’ll have fun.

Pull up a pew at Chiefs.

What to wear

Whatever you want. (No one is dressed in cowboy boots or hats, but if that’s your thing, go for it). Wear something comfortable that will take you from day to night and a light layer you can take on or off. Some places can be crowded, so closed toe shoes are recommended, but not necessary. I wore shorts and a bodysuit with Teva-style sandals and a light short-sleeve shirt tied onto to my cross-body bag and was fine.

What to know

Don’t go anywhere without your ID in Nashville. Even my Dad was ID’ed at the supermarket. Every venue on Broadway Street will ask to see your ID. And bring cash. The artists don’t get paid and depend on tips, so if you like what you hear, be generous. You’ll also want to be strategic about what you’re drinking. Seltzers are not a bad idea as they’re somewhat hydrating.

Counter the booze with some Q.

Cool down

The sensible move would be to call it quits at 7pm or 8pm and soak up the booze at one of Nashville’s local BBQ joints for dinner, such as Edley’s Bar-B-Que. (Unless of course, you’re enjoying yourself a little too much and stay out until 11pm like us). Whatever you do, don’t miss the opportunity to dine out at some of Nashville’s finest eats, such as Byron-feel Folk for share plates and wine from the Canary Islands, and Bastion for an modern American tasting menu in a speakeasy-style setting. But maybe save them for the next night.

The writer travelled at her own expense with some assistance from Visit Nashville.  

Originally published as I found the best honky tonk bars in Nashville