The likes of Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentlely and Kenny Chesney played at The Bluebird Cafe before they were discovered, making it one of the most famous Nashville bars. Opening in 1982 as "a casual gourmet restaurant," The Bluebird Cafe has since become known as a home for songwriters to network and perform their new songs. The bar features a songwriter's club and a popular open mic and writer's night every week, as well as traditional performances. Other notable Bluebird performers include Patty Loveless, Indigo Girls, Kris Kristofferson, Jeffrey Steele and John Prine. Nashville Songwriters Association International recently purchased The Bluebird Cafe, further cementing the bar as a songwriters' mecca.
The Bluebird Cafe
4104 Hillsboro Pike
Nashville, TN 37215
615-383-1461
bluebirdcafe.com
Tootsie Bess, a singer with Big Jeff & The Radio Playboys who recorded the song "My Little Red Wagon," purchased a bar named Mom's in 1960 and changed the name to Tootsie's Orchid Lounge due to the bar's purple paint job. According to the bar's Web site, "Willie Nelson got his first songwriting job after singing at Tootsie's." Other notable performers to grace the stage at Tootsie's World Famous Orchid Lounge include Waylon Jennings, Patsy Cline, Hank Cochran and Webb Pierce. The bar, which has been spotlighted by The Nashville Network and Esquire magazine, features nightly performances from Nashville entertainers.
Tootsie's World Famous Orchid Lounge
422 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37219
615-726-0463
tootsies.net
Whether you think modern country music has too much pop influence or you simply want to enjoy some old-fashioned country, take a visit to Robert's Western World. This famous Nashville bar, located in the Lower Broadway District, features "music from the Golden Era of Country and Hillbilly Music" at no cover charge. The former site of the Sho-Bud Steel Guitar Company, Robert Wayne Moore originally opened the bar as a western apparel store, but seeing that this wasn't enough, added a grill and live entertainment. Jesse Lee Jones, a country musician and the bar's proprietor, also leads its house band, Brazilbilly.
Robert's Western World
416B Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
615-244-9552
robertswesternworld.com
