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Nashville, TN: Broadway Nightlife

It used to be that folks came to Nashville, TN in hopes of hitting it big on their future music careers. Today, most folks come here to listen to music, party with friends, and buy cowboy boots.

While would-be country music stars are still coming here to make a name for themselves, somehow they become swallowed up into minutiae from the crowds of tourists, the flashing neon, and the ever-present corporate chains.

Broadway in Nashville is perhaps similar to Beale Street in Memphis in that it's where everyone wants to go. It's where all the landmark joints are and where all the pretty people go. But that's about where the similarities end.

Otherwise, downtown Nashville looks much more alive, more vibrant, more modern, more affluent. Downtown Memphis, on the other hand, looked chaotic, low rent, and in bad need of redevelopment. On Broadway you can't drink liquor outside, on Beale Street you can. Nashville is Country while Memphis is Blues. Nashville is white while Memphis is black.

Nearly every bar and restaurant on Broadway was packed to the gills, with people waiting in line to get in. And every establishment had live music playing, from rock, to blues, to good ole country. Every other store was a boot outlet, and every other person you saw looked like they were from out of town.

At night, motorcycles come out and slowly take over the city. Rows of Harleys and customs line up along both sides of Broadway to form a spontaneous bike night. And Sash was right there giving high-fives to the female riders and making new friends.

After having visited the Johnny Cash Museum on 3rd Street, Sash and I walked up and down Broadway including the side streets, looking for a great deal on a pair of cowgirl boots. We finally found it in a basement cellar called, "French's Shoes & Boots", where everything they sold were last year's models slashed to 1/3 of the price. Sash picked up a pair for $70.00, haggling the guy down from $80.00.

Tennessee is not a state known for craft beer, but there were some places that served brands other than the fizzy-yellow staples. Broadway Brewhouse and Mojo had the best selection of taps. But Sash and I really enjoyed The National Underground, a small, urban eclectic setting that felt more local and less corporate.

And if you want live music, you don't have to pay cover and go into a bar. There's actually some really good talent on the street, just wait until after the sun sets, and the better musicians come out.