My tips for Broadway in Nashville

Broadway in Nashville in June of 2021.

The street of neon lights and music pouring out of every single bar. This is the mecca for country music fans and young partiers across the country. Bachelor and bachelorette parties make up most of the clientele every single night; the alcohol pouring out of bottles constantly for the young people celebrating. 

This is Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee, and for some, it’s the place to be and for others, it’s their worst nightmare.

I love Nashville. Between being a 20-something-year-old woman and because of my general love of that city, I’m down there multiple times a year for bachelorette parties or just because my soul is calling out to go back.

When people think of Nashville, they usually think of the bustling city of bars and live music. Broadway has become the place to go when visiting Music City. But I won’t lie, it can be a lot to take in, so here are some of my tips to surviving Broadway.

Favorite stops

First, let’s discuss the basics. Broadway is a street in the middle of Downtown Nashville, consisting of multiple blocks of bars, restaurants, gift shops, museums, and more. It has an old history in the world of country music, with the Ryman Auditorium being a fixture in the middle of the street. Music has been the epicenter of this city and Broadway is in the heart of it all. 

When visiting Nashville you can tell this is where all the tourists flock to. You can go to any other neighborhood in the city and you will never see as many people as you do on Broadway on a given night. 

Which is why this place can be unbearable, but also a wild time. 

So when I’m o.n Broadway, I like to have a few rules I live by when there.

First rule: Go Up!

All the bars on Broadway have multiple floors, all with live bands and their own bars to get drinks at. Many of them also have rooftop bars. If you’re trying to ditch the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, find the stairs and start climbing. With each floor, you’ll usually find they’re not as busy, you can get a drink quicker, and the bands are just as good, if not better. So many people will stop on that first floor, but you’ll have a great time while being less packed on the other levels. 

I will say, most of the rooftop bars are usually busy in the summers, but in my experience, they’re still more tolerable than the first level of any bar. Plus you get to be in the open with the fresh air. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Second rule: Don’t Miss Tootsies

Stairwell at Tootsies in October of 2021.

I only have a few bars I will not miss when I go to Nashville, and Tootsies is one of them. This purple palace has a deep history and that’s one of the main reasons to go. It’s always busy, but if you go at off-times, hitting it up during the day and on weekdays, you might have a better time. 

Third rule: Take a Side Street Off Broadway

There’s this phenomenon I’ve noticed when it comes to Nashville: People come for Broadway and Broadway only. There are a lot of cool bars just blocks off of the main drag, again often less crowded and with better service. 

My favorite is Wildhorse Saloon. It’s not even a half-block off of Broadway and I’ve had some of the best times here. I’ve learned how to line dance and getting drinks is so easy here (plus there’s AC). Usually, if you’re looking for a place to relax for a bit, there are a lot of open chair and tables to take a quick break.

When it comes to Broadway, prepare for a mess down there, but just take it in stride and bring some patience. A lot of the time, it’s worth going out at least one night per trip.

Best times to go

It might be easier to list when not to go to Broadway. Summer nights are always busy. Weekdays, in my experience, have been a bit better, but it’s the luck of the draw. Most nights have crowds of young people partying on the strip. 

I haven’t been to Nashville in the winter, but I’ve heard from some friends that the crowds are less and it’s a bit more enjoyable. 

I can for sure tell you to avoid Nashville all together when a music festival or a country award show is going on. On my last trip for my cousin’s bachelorette party, we happened to go during CMA Fest. Not only did we wait in lines for nearly every bar, but every bar was just so busy that it was impossible to walk through a lot of them with a group so big. Prior to that trip, I’ve been to Nashville in the summer, but the crowds were the absolute worst I’ve ever seen.

This is where the get in and go to the upper-level bars comes in. 

I did enjoy going in October a lot. There were a lot of people still, but the crowds were manageable and the weather was still so nice. In the summer, some of the bars don’t have great AC, and they can be awful and hot with all of those people in there.

Music City, baby!

Broadway is all about the music, and there wouldn’t be the amazing live music without the bands who spend night after night performing for the hordes of tourists that come out to party. 

Many of these bands are trying to just make it in Nashville. If you think Nashville is an expensive place to visit, it’s an even more expensive place to live. So each night, these bands spend their time performing and getting their names out there as they try to live out their dreams.

If you’re going to do one thing when you’re visiting Broadway, it’s that you need to bring cash for the amazing bands. These bands deserve all the tips they can get. They don’t get paid loads of money to be performing for you all, so please show your support for these performers! And if you find a band you really like, make sure you follow them on social media and listen to their actual music, and not just the covers they’re playing to entertain you. 

The most important tip of all

My final tip for visiting Broadway is to not spend your entire trip on Broadway. I see so many Nashville trips done wrong when people only spend their time there. It may be wild to think, but Broadway is just a piece of Nashville, and there are so many better areas of Music City.

In fact, I would be totally okay skipping Broadway everytime I go to Nashville. Instead, I’d rather go to more of the residential areas surrounding downtown. If I’m going out, I’m heading to Midtown where you can still find great live music and a lively environment, but with a lot less tourists and better dining options. Or I’ll head over to Printer’s Alley; another great and historical part of the city with some awesome bars. 

I do believe if you’ve never been to Music City before, you should at least make one trip down to Broadway. This is why so many people come down to party, but it’s expensive and overwhelming.

Me on Broadway in October of 2021.

If you do go to Broadway, go during the day and take a tour of the Ryman Auditorium or visit the National Museum of African American Music. Go catch a Predators game. Even better, go to one of my favorites, The Johnny Cash Museum, which is just steps off Broadway. There’s a lot to do down there that doesn’t involve getting drinks spilled on you in packed bars. 

In conclusion: don’t miss Broadway, but don’t make it your entire trip. Venture out and see what else Nashville has to offer you.