Nashville honky tonks are the bars along Lower Broadway where live country bands play from mid-morning into the small hours, with no cover charge and a tip bucket by the stage. For the music, start at Robert’s Western World, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Legends Corner. The celebrity-named bars are bigger, louder and pricier, and mostly play covers.

This guide ranks the honky-tonks worth your time, explains how the no-cover, tip-the-band economy works, what happens at 6pm when the classic rooms go 21 and up, and where to go when Broadway wears thin: Printers Alley, Midtown, East Nashville and the rooftops. One caveat before you plan a crawl from an old list: bars here open, close and change names fast. Second Fiddle closed on January 1, 2026, and some directories still list it.

Last updated September 25, 2026. Prices, rules and details checked September 2026.

The Short Version

If you want	Go to	Why
Traditional country, done right	Robert’s Western World, 416B Broadway	No cover, a real honky-tonk band, all ages until 6pm
The history	Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, 422 Broadway	The purple bar across the alley from the Ryman’s back door
A small, old-school room	Legends Corner, 428 Broadway	The top of the strip at Fifth Avenue
Room to dance	The Stage on Broadway, 412 Broadway	A big stage and an actual dance floor
A view with lunch	Acme Feed & Seed, 101 Broadway	A rooftop over the river end of Broadway
Free line-dance lessons	Category 10, 120 Second Avenue North	Lessons Thursday to Sunday
One celebrity bar	Friends in Low Places, 411 Broadway	Garth Brooks’ bar and its rooftop, The Oasis
Blues or jazz for a change	Printers Alley	Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar, Skull’s Rainbow Room
Where locals two-step	American Legion Post 82, East Nashville	Honky Tonk Tuesday Nights
Late night off Broadway	Midtown’s Division Street	Losers stays open until 3am

What Is a Honky-Tonk, and Why Is Broadway Full of Them?

A honky-tonk, in the Nashville sense, is a bar with a live country band, a small stage, cold beer and no pretensions. The word is older than the Grand Ole Opry, but lower Broadway earned its “Honky Tonk Highway” nickname because of the building around the corner. The Opry broadcast from the Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974, and the bars on Broadway, Tootsie’s above all, were where performers and fans drank before, between and after the show.

When the Opry moved out to its new home at Opryland in 1974, the strip slid into a long stretch of pawnshops, adult theaters and empty upper floors. What brought it back was a string of big bets: the restored Ryman reopening in 1994, the downtown arena, now Bridgestone Arena, opening in 1996, and eventually the discovery that visitors would come downtown for live music every day of the week, from late morning on. They did, in numbers that turned a few surviving bars into a district.

Today the Nashville Downtown Partnership’s directory lists 31 honky-tonks and music bars on and around Lower Broadway, Second Avenue and Printers Alley, although even that list still carried Second Fiddle months after it closed. Since 2024 the story has been celebrity bars. Garth Brooks’ Friends in Low Places opened in March 2024, Morgan Wallen’s This Bar in June 2024, Luke Combs’ Category 10 in November 2024 in the old Wildhorse Saloon building, Jelly Roll’s Goodnight Nashville in January 2025, Post Malone’s Posty’s in July 2025 and Kane Brown’s in May 2026. A famous name on the sign now matters as much as the band on the stage.

Where exactly is Lower Broadway?

Lower Broadway means the five blocks from the Cumberland River at First Avenue up to Fifth Avenue, where Legends Corner and Bridgestone Arena sit on opposite corners. Broadway itself keeps going west for miles, so a Broadway address in the 1800s or 2000s is in Midtown, not on the strip. Many honky-tonks run three or four stories tall, with a different band on each level and a rooftop bar on top, which is why the street sounds like six radios playing at once.

How the Money Works: No Cover, Tip the Band

The single most important thing to understand about Broadway is that the music is free to you and not free to make. Robert’s Western World, like most of the traditional rooms, charges no cover. The bands play whatever the room wants, mostly covers, and between songs someone walks the tip bucket past your table or the singer points at it, politely and then less politely.

How much do the musicians earn otherwise? The best public numbers come from the Nashville Scene in August 2023. On the so-called Tootsie’s circuit, which covers Tootsie’s, Kid Rock’s, Rippy’s and Honky Tonk Central, a band’s base pay ran $200 to $400 per shift depending on the time of day and the stage. That base was split among the members and paid nightly by check, and the tips were split the same way. Other Broadway rooms paid $100 to $200 or more per musician for a four-hour shift, but musicians told the paper that tips there ran lower because the bucket goes around less.

Do the arithmetic for a four-piece band on a $200 afternoon slot and each player earns $50 before tips for hours of singing “Wagon Wheel” on request. The figures are from 2023, and pay varies by room, but the principle hasn’t changed: on Broadway, you are part of the payroll.

Why every band seems to play the same songs

Spend an afternoon on Broadway and you’ll hear “Wagon Wheel,” “Friends in Low Places,” “Tennessee Whiskey” and “Chicken Fried” more than once, sometimes from two bars at the same time. That isn’t a lack of imagination. A band paid mostly in tips plays what makes a room of strangers sing along and reach for their wallets, and a singalong pays better than a deep cut. Many of these players write their own songs and play them elsewhere in town; on Broadway, they’re working the jukebox shift.

If you want original music, you’re in the wrong five blocks, and that’s fine. Songwriter rounds in listening rooms, East Nashville clubs, Tuesday nights at American Legion Post 82 and the Ryman’s concert calendar are where Nashville’s own songs get played. Broadway is where the whole world’s favorite country songs get played, very loudly, by people who are better at it than the cover-band reputation suggests.

How much to tip

• The band: a fair floor is $5 to $10 per person if you stay for a set, and more if you make a request or the band makes your night. Cash still works everywhere, and many bands also post a QR code for app tips on the stage or the bucket.
• Requests: put the money in with the request, not after. A request with a tip gets played; a request shouted from the back usually doesn’t.
• The bartender: $1 to $2 a drink, or about 20 percent on a tab.
• Table service: 18 to 20 percent, as anywhere in the US. Check whether a service charge was already added for a large group.

What a drink really costs

Tennessee taxes cocktails, wine and spirits sold by the drink at 15 percent on top of the 9.75 percent sales tax, 24.75 percent in all, while beer pays only the sales tax. So where a menu price excludes tax, a $14 cocktail rings up at $17.47 before the tip and a $7 beer at $7.68. Over a long afternoon that gap adds up, which is one reason Broadway regulars drink beer.

Doing Broadway on a budget

Broadway can be one of the cheaper nights out in a big American city, because the music costs nothing at the door. The budget version: eat a proper lunch first, drink beer rather than cocktails (9.75 percent tax instead of 24.75), put $5 to $10 in the bucket at each bar where you stay for a set, and leave before the late-night rideshare surge. Two people doing that across four bars can spend well under what a single concert ticket costs elsewhere. The expensive version involves rooftop cocktails, bottle packages and a ride home at 2am, and it adds up at a speed that surprises people.

Hour by Hour on Lower Broadway

Broadway is a different place at 11am, 5pm and midnight, and matching your plans to the hour matters more than picking the right bar.

Time	What it’s like	Who’s there	Your move
Late morning to 2pm	Bands warm up, seats are easy, you can hear the playing	Families, convention-goers, day visitors	The best time to actually listen, at Robert’s or Tootsie’s
2pm to 6pm	Groups arrive and the rooftops fill	Bachelorette parties, sports fans	Eat something; party vehicles are banned downtown 4pm to 6pm on weekdays
6pm	The classic rooms switch to 21 and up	Families leave, ID lines form	Have your ID in hand
6pm to 10pm	Prime time; standing room only on weekends	Everyone	Pick two or three bars, not ten
10pm to closing	Loudest and most crowded; singalong sets	Night owls	Agree a meeting point; closing varies, often 2am to 3am

Weeknights are noticeably calmer than Friday and Saturday, and a Tuesday at 4pm can feel like a different street from a Saturday at 10pm. Event nights change everything: when Bridgestone Arena has a hockey game or a concert, or the Titans play across the river, the crowd spills onto Broadway before and after. If you want to hear the bands rather than be part of a crowd scene, go early in the day and early in the week.

A Good Broadway Day, Step by Step

If you have one day for Broadway, this order gets the best of it and dodges the worst. Every stop is within the five blocks, so the whole plan is on foot.

• 1pm, lunch with a view: Acme Feed & Seed at 101 Broadway, where the rooftop opens at noon (11am on Saturdays) and looks over the river.
• 2:30pm, the real thing: walk uphill to Robert’s Western World at 416B Broadway while there are still seats and the crowd is listening. Stay for a set and tip.
• 4pm, the landmark: Tootsie’s is a few doors up at 422 Broadway. Head to the rooftop deck before the evening rush.
• 5pm, the corner: Legends Corner at 428 Broadway, the last door before Fifth Avenue. If anyone in your group is under 21, this is the last round together: the classic rooms go 21 and up at 6pm.
• 6:30pm, dinner: eat off the strip, or at Ole Red if the group would rather not move.
• 8pm, dancing: The Stage on Broadway at 412 Broadway, or one celebrity bar for a drink and a rooftop photo.
• 10pm, choose your ending: stay for the late singalong sets, walk two blocks north to Printers Alley for blues, or take a 10-minute ride to Midtown’s Division Street.

That’s six or seven stops in nine hours, which is plenty. The groups who try to hit every honky-tonk in one night mostly remember the first four.

When Is Broadway Busiest?

Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights are the peak every week of the year, and Saturday afternoon has become nearly as crowded as the evening. On top of that pattern, anything big across the street or across the river fills the strip: concerts and hockey at Bridgestone Arena, Titans home games (the 2026 season is played in the existing Nissan Stadium), Tennessee State home football at Nissan Stadium on October 10, 17 and 24 and November 7 and 14, 2026, and CMA Fest in June, when the whole of downtown turns into a country music festival. If you want to hear the bands without shouting, go Sunday to Wednesday, before 6pm.

Ages, ID and What to Wear

The 6pm rule

The traditional honky-tonks let in all ages during the day and turn 21 and up in the evening. Robert’s Western World is all ages until 6pm and 21 and up after. Tootsie’s is family friendly until 6pm and 21 and up after. Legends Corner and The Stage on Broadway both go 21 and up at 6pm. Honky Tonk Central didn’t state an age policy on the pages we checked, and the celebrity bars with full restaurants handle it their own way, so check the venue before you bring teenagers. In Midtown, Losers is 21 and up after 3pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Broadway with kids

Broadway before 6pm is more family-friendly than its reputation. Robert’s Western World and Tootsie’s welcome all ages until 6pm, as do Legends Corner and The Stage until their evening switch, and several of the bigger bars run full kitchens, so a lunchtime set can double as a meal. The Country Music Hall of Fame and the Ryman are a few minutes’ walk away, which makes an early-afternoon band a natural add-on to a museum morning. For a skyline view with children, L27 on the Westin’s 27th floor is all ages, with 21 and up to drink. Plan to be off the strip by 6pm; after that, even the sidewalks get rowdy on weekends, and a stroller on Broadway at 9pm on a Saturday is an act of courage.

ID and door rules

Bring an unexpired photo ID even if you look 40; Tootsie’s requires one, and bouncers across the strip check. Visitors from abroad should carry a passport rather than a foreign driver’s license. Tootsie’s also takes no reservations and turns away large backpacks, cameras and men in tank tops, and similar bag rules are common, so travel light.

What to wear

Wear what you like. Boots are optional, and nobody checks for a hat. The practical advice is about feet and weather: floors are sticky, stairs are steep, rooftops get windy after dark, and July’s average high is about 91°F, so closed shoes and a light layer beat new boots you haven’t broken in. If you do want boots, buy them on the first day and wear them in.

Honky-Tonk Etiquette: How Not to Be That Group

The bands, bartenders and door staff on Broadway deal with thousands of visitors a day, and a little courtesy goes a long way. None of this is written on a sign, but all of it is noticed.

• Tip when you request, and pick something they didn’t just play. The band has heard “Wagon Wheel” already today. Probably twice.
• Don’t film the whole set from the front of the stage. A short clip is fine; a phone held up for 40 minutes blocks everyone behind you. Tootsie’s bans cameras outright.
• Share tables and don’t camp. Seats turn over all day. If you’re holding a table, keep ordering, and give it up when your group thins out.
• Dance where there’s room. The Stage has a floor; most rooms don’t, and a line dance through a crowded bar ends in spilled beer.
• Leave the stage alone. The band’s microphones, cables and tip bucket are their workplace, not a photo prop.
• Be patient at the door. ID checks and capacity limits are the law, not the bouncer’s mood.

The Nashville Honky Tonks, Ranked

This ranking puts the music first, the room second and value third. It favors the traditional honky-tonks over the celebrity bars, not out of snobbery but because the old rooms are where Broadway’s reputation came from. Addresses and policies were checked with each operator in September 2026.

1. Robert’s Western World

416B Broadway · no cover · all ages until 6pm, then 21 and up

If you go into only one bar on Broadway, make it this narrow room with cowboy boots shelved along the walls, a reminder that it started life as a boot store. Robert’s built its reputation on traditional country and honky-tonk standards rather than whatever is on the radio this month, and it charges no cover. Verdict: the best music on the strip and the least like a theme park. Go before 6pm if you want a seat.

2. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge

422 Broadway · no reservations · family friendly until 6pm, then 21 and up

The purple building is the most famous bar in Nashville, and its back door opens onto the alley behind the Ryman, which is how Opry-era performers ended up drinking here between shows. Beyond the famous front room there’s a rooftop deck, and the whole place gets packed. House rules: unexpired photo ID, no large backpacks or cameras, no men in tank tops, and its own pages disagree on whether it closes at 2:30am or 3am. Verdict: go once, go early, and don’t expect a seat after dark.

3. Legends Corner

428 Broadway · 21 and up after 6pm

Legends Corner sits at the top of the strip where Broadway meets Fifth Avenue, a two-minute walk from the Ryman. It has the reputation of an old-school room: a small stage, a bar and a band working hard for the bucket. Verdict: the best small room on Broadway after Robert’s, and a good first stop because it’s the natural end of the block.

4. The Stage on Broadway

412 Broadway · 21 and up after 6pm

The Stage gives you something Broadway rarely does: a big stage and enough floor to two-step on. The room suits a group that wants to move rather than stand at a rail and shout. Verdict: the pick for dancing, and the best of the middle-block rooms.

5. Acme Feed & Seed

101 Broadway · rooftop Sunday to Friday noon to 8pm, Saturday 11am to 10pm

At the river end of Broadway, in a former farm-supply building, Acme is more restaurant and rooftop than honky-tonk. Walk-ins work for groups of two to nine; bigger groups book the second floor with a minimum spend. Note the rooftop hours: this is a daytime and sunset stop, not a midnight one. Verdict: the best daytime view on the strip. Come for lunch and the river, then walk uphill to the bands.

6. Category 10

120 Second Avenue North · free line-dance lessons Thursday to Sunday

Luke Combs took over the old Wildhorse Saloon building, which closed in January 2024 after 30 years, and opened Category 10 on November 2, 2024. It has a rooftop called The Eye and runs free line-dance lessons Thursday to Sunday in Hurricane Hall. Verdict: the best place to learn the dances everyone else on Broadway seems to know already, and a solid alternative when the main strip is shoulder to shoulder.

7. Friends in Low Places

411 Broadway · rooftop: The Oasis

Garth Brooks’ bar opened on March 7, 2024, with a rooftop called The Oasis and packages for bachelorette groups. It is the celebrity bar with the most recognizable name attached, and it trades on it. Verdict: if you want exactly one celebrity bar, make it this one, and treat it as an hour’s stop rather than the night.

8. Ole Red

300 Broadway

Blake Shelton’s bar is a large, polished venue with a full kitchen, and its namesake still turns up: Shelton played a show there on April 29, 2026. Verdict: comfortable and predictable, good for a mixed group that wants dinner and a band in one place.

9. Honky Tonk Central

329 Broadway · three floors

Honky Tonk Central calls itself the largest honky-tonk on Lower Broadway, with live music on each of its three stories. It’s part of the Tootsie’s circuit and sells a ladies-only bachelorette package at $79 a person. Verdict: three bands under one roof and maximum volume, which is either exactly what you came for or exactly what you’re trying to escape.

10. Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk

221 Broadway · fifth-floor rooftop

Exactly as subtle as the name. Kid Rock’s is also on the Tootsie’s circuit and tops out with a fifth-floor rooftop above Broadway. Verdict: a spectacle worth one drink and one photo from the roof.

Also on the strip

Plenty of other rooms are worth a look through the door, and a band playing well is reason enough to walk in. Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge is at 301 Broadway. Jason Aldean’s, now called Kitchen + Bar, is at 307 Broadway with a rooftop. Post Malone’s Posty’s is at 305 Broadway. Kane Brown’s opened at 312 Broadway on May 22, 2026, with a rooftop called Dusk. Jelly Roll’s Goodnight Nashville is at 209 Broadway; its building was listed for sale at $100 million in November 2025, but the bar says it will keep operating. Morgan Wallen’s This Bar is around the corner at 107 Fourth Avenue North. The downtown directory also lists Nudie’s Honky Tonk at 409 Broadway, Layla’s at 418, Alan Jackson’s AJ’s Good Time Bar at 421, Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row at 400, Eric Church’s Chief’s at 200 and Lainey Wilson’s Bell Bottoms Up at 120 Third Avenue South.

Closed or renamed: don’t go looking for these

• Second Fiddle closed on January 1, 2026.
• The Wildhorse Saloon closed in January 2024; its building on Second Avenue is now Category 10.
• Winners Bar & Grill in Midtown is now Riley Green’s Duck Blind.

Printers Alley: Blues, Jazz and Burlesque Two Blocks North

Two blocks north of Broadway, between Third and Fourth Avenues North from Church Street to Union Street, Printers Alley is a narrow brick lane named for the printers and publishers who once filled it. It has its own neon and its own sound: blues, jazz and burlesque rather than country covers.

• Skull’s Rainbow Room opened in 1948 and, per its own site, runs live jazz nightly and a late-night burlesque show on weekends. It’s closer to a supper club than a bar, so book dinner if you want a table.
• Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar has live blues seven nights a week, usually two acts a night.

Verdict: worth an hour between Broadway sets, especially once you’ve heard “Tennessee Whiskey” covered for the fourth time. The alley’s bars keep their own hours, and a room facing it is not the quiet choice for a hotel night.

Beyond Broadway: Where Else to Drink in Nashville

Broadway is the headline, not the whole city. These are the other nightlife areas worth a ride, each with a different crowd.

Midtown’s Division Street

Midtown’s bar strip, about 2 miles west of the river, is where Nashville’s college crowd and music-business regulars go. Losers, at 1911 Division Street, bills itself as a music-business dive, is 21 and up after 3pm on weekdays and all day on weekends, and stays open until 3am. Next door at 1913 Division, Riley Green’s Duck Blind took over the old Winners Bar & Grill in September 2024. For a drink with a view nearby, White Limozeen is the pink, Dolly Parton-themed rooftop on the 12th floor of the Graduate, and Eddie Ate Dynamite is on the roof at Hotel Fraye. Rides from Lower Broadway take about 10 minutes outside rush hour.

East Nashville

Across the river, East Nashville’s bars and small clubs are where a lot of working musicians play for a local crowd. The Basement East, The East Room, The 5 Spot and Skinny Dennis were all AmericanaFest venues in September 2026, and Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge and Eastside Bowl sit farther up Gallatin Pike. The best honky-tonk night that isn’t on Broadway may be Honky Tonk Tuesday Nights at American Legion Post 82, 3204 Gallatin Pike, where classic country bands play for dancers; Wednesdays are bluegrass and Thursdays singer-songwriters. Check the organizer’s page for the cover and start time before you go.

The Gulch and Germantown

The Gulch, a short walk west of downtown, does rooftops and cocktail bars rather than honky-tonks. UP, Rooftop Table & Tavern sits at 901 Division Street; W Nashville’s pool deck added Glowbird, a José Andrés pool bar, in April 2026 and sells day passes to non-guests through ResortPass; and lou/na, on the 25th floor of the Grand Hyatt at 1000 Broadway, is first come, first served. Germantown, a mile north of downtown, is better for a long dinner and a cocktail than for a crawl. Pair it with a Nashville Sounds game at First Horizon Park and you have a night that feels nothing like Broadway.

Rooftop bars with a view

Nashville builds up now, and the hotel rooftops are where the skyline photos come from. Several welcome non-guests, but policies differ.

Rooftop	Where	Floor	Good to know
L27	The Westin, 807 Clark Place	27th	All ages, 21 and up to drink; groups of 25 or more email ahead
lou/na	Grand Hyatt, 1000 Broadway	25th	First come, first served; two hours of free valet
Denim	The Joseph, 401 Korean Veterans Boulevard	21st	Open spring through fall
Harriet’s Rooftop	1 Hotel Nashville	19th	21 and up; groups of 15 or more book through sales
White Limozeen	Graduate by Hilton, 101 20th Avenue North	12th	Pink and Dolly-themed; private bookings for 10 to 250
Kid Rock’s rooftop	221 Broadway	5th	A honky-tonk rooftop; the rest of this table are hotel bars

Downtown hotels add more: Ellington’s at the Fairlane, Elevate at The Nash with its 1956 bus, and Heirloom beside the pool at Holston House. In the Gulch, UP, Rooftop Table & Tavern at 901 Division Street has renamed itself from UP, A Rooftop Lounge, a sign it now wants you to eat as well as drink.

Getting Home, Staying Safe and the Rules

Rides home

There are no designated rideshare pickup zones on Broadway; Metro’s only rideshare-zone pilot ran outside TPAC on Deaderick Street for a few weeks in early 2025. At closing time, the curb along the honky-tonk blocks is chaos. Walk a block or two north or south, onto a quieter cross street, before you request a car, and confirm the plate before you get in.

Drinks on the street

Nashville has no go-cup district. Metro’s ordinance bans open glass, aluminum and metal containers in public; the Metro Council Office has said plastic and paper cups fall outside it, but that is a gap in the law, not an invitation. A 2026 state law lets Nashville approve labeled special-event cups, but only inside approved temporary event zones. Finish your drink before you leave the bar.

Party vehicles and pedal taverns

The party buses and tractors you’ll see are licensed by Metro. Motorized party vehicles must be enclosed (roll-down vinyl windows count), may run from 9am until 11pm, are banned from the downtown core from 4pm to 6pm on weekdays, and everyone aboard must be 21 or older if alcohol is present. Bring-your-own is beer only, at 8 percent alcohol or less. Pedal taverns are licensed separately and stay open-air. If you’re planning a group weekend, our bachelorette party planning guide covers the operators, prices and permit rules.

Common sense on a crowded street

• Pick a fixed meeting point, such as the corner of Fifth and Broadway by Legends Corner, before anyone’s phone dies.
• Eat before 6pm. Kitchens get slammed in the evening, and a day of beer on an empty stomach in July heat ends badly.
• Drink water between rounds. July’s average high is about 91°F, and the rooftops have no shade after the umbrellas fold.
• Keep your phone and wallet in a front pocket or a zipped bag; crowds are crowds everywhere.
• Sleep somewhere you can get back to easily. Our guide to where to stay in Nashville covers which hotels are a short walk from Broadway and which rooms face the noise.

Is Broadway Worth It? The Honest Verdict

Yes, once, and done well. A Broadway afternoon that starts at Robert’s around 2pm, drifts down to Tootsie’s and Legends Corner, catches the sunset from a rooftop and ends with dinner off the strip is one of the best days a first-time visitor can have in Nashville. Four straight nights of it, shouting over cover bands and paying 24.75 percent tax on every cocktail, is how people leave saying Nashville is overrated.

The trick is to treat Broadway as the loud front door rather than the whole house. See it early in the day, when the bands are playing to people who are listening. Pick two or three rooms instead of ten. Tip the band. Then spend a night where the locals go: Printers Alley for blues, East Nashville for songwriters and Tuesday two-stepping, or Midtown if you want the party without the bachelorette sashes. Nashville’s music scene is far bigger than five blocks, and the city is at its best when you see both halves.

Nashville Honky Tonks FAQ

Do Nashville honky tonks charge a cover?

Most of the Lower Broadway honky-tonks don’t charge a cover. Robert’s Western World, for example, is free to enter, and bands earn a base from the bar plus tips from the crowd. Special ticketed events, private rooftops and some celebrity-bar shows can charge, so check the venue’s calendar if a named artist is billed.

What time do the honky tonks on Broadway close?

Closing times vary by bar and night, but many Broadway honky-tonks run until 2am or later. Tootsie’s own pages list both 2:30am and 3am, and Losers in Midtown stays open until 3am. Bands start late in the morning, so live music runs for most of the day. Check each bar’s hours before planning a late crawl.

Can you go to Nashville honky tonks if you’re under 21?

Yes, during the day. Robert’s Western World and Tootsie’s are all ages until 6pm, and Legends Corner and The Stage on Broadway go 21 and up at 6pm. Families should plan honky-tonk time for lunch and the afternoon. Policies at the celebrity bars and restaurants vary, so check each venue before bringing anyone under 21.

How much should you tip the band on Broadway?

A fair floor is $5 to $10 per person if you stay for a set, plus more when you make a request. Bands on Broadway are paid a modest base split among the players, reported at $200 to $400 per band per shift on the Tootsie’s circuit in 2023, so tips make up much of their income.

What is the best honky-tonk in Nashville?

For the music, Robert’s Western World at 416B Broadway is the best honky-tonk on the strip, with traditional country, no cover and all ages until 6pm. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge is the essential one for history, Legends Corner is the best small room, and The Stage on Broadway is the pick for dancing.

Do you need cowboy boots for a Nashville honky-tonk?

No. There’s no boot or hat requirement anywhere on Broadway, and comfortable closed shoes are smarter for sticky floors, steep stairs and summer heat. Dress codes are about safety and bags rather than style: Tootsie’s, for example, turns away large backpacks, cameras and men in tank tops. Bring an unexpired photo ID.

Where do locals go instead of Broadway?

Locals head to East Nashville for small clubs and Honky Tonk Tuesday Nights at American Legion Post 82 on Gallatin Pike, to Midtown’s Division Street for late bars like Losers, and to Printers Alley for blues and jazz. Many also still drop into Robert’s Western World, the Broadway bar with the most local credibility.

Related Nashville Guides

• Nashville Bachelorette Party: The Honest Planning Guide: party vehicles, group bookings and a realistic weekend budget
• Where to Stay in Nashville: Best Areas & Hotels: which neighborhoods are a walk from Broadway, and which are a quiet ride away

Sources and verification

Details in this guide were checked on September 23, 2026 against the venues, agencies and publications listed below; the guide does not claim first-hand visits, and the ranking is an editorial judgment built from that research.

• Robert’s Western World: FAQ
• Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge: FAQ
• Legends Corner
• The Stage on Broadway
• Acme Feed & Seed: reservations and hours
• Category 10: line dancing
• Honky Tonk Central
• Nashville Downtown Partnership: honky-tonk directory
• Nashville Scene: Lower Broad musicians and the Tootsie’s circuit contract (August 2023)
• Skull’s Rainbow Room
• Losers Midtown
• Honky Tonk Tuesday Nights at American Legion Post 82
• Tennessee Department of Revenue: alcohol tax manual (June 2026)
• Metro Council: open container legislation (BL2020-404)
• Metro Transportation Licensing Commission rules (August 2026)

Photo credits

• Lower Broadway, afternoon: photo by An Errant Knight, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Robert's Western World interior: photo by Mx. Granger, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
• Tootsie's Orchid Lounge: photo by Ttotallytexan, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• The Stage on Broadway: photo by Fallaner, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Acme Feed & Seed: photo by Michael Rivera, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Printers Alley: photo by Chris Connelly, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
• Legends Corner at night (featured image): photo by dconvertini, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and have been resized for the web. The chart is our own, drawn from the figures in this guide.