The Nashville nightlife scene has boomed right along with the city’s growth, offering plenty of options beyond the Broadway dives and line-dancing bars that made it famous decades ago. Scroll down to see more things to do in Nashville, from entertainment hubs to nightclubs to cocktail bars, both downtown and beyond.
As always, check for travel guidelines and closures before planning your trip.
Bars for Music Lovers
The city’s entertainment scene has long been anchored by the bright lights of Broadway (known as Honky Tonk Row, Honky Tonk Highway or Lower Broad to locals), one of the best streets for nightlife in Nashville. Longtime icons include The Stage, which pumps out live music almost around the clock, and Robert’s Western World, where the on-stage talent is as equally celebrated as the fried bologna sandwiches and cheap PBRs.
Of course, where there’s any great nightlife, the celebrities are going to follow. The action-packed downtown has big names by the dozens, like the star-studded Jon Bon Jovi’s Live Music Rooftop Bar & Restaurant and Garth Brooks’ Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk.
Other country artists like Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Eric Church have emblazoned live music joints along the glitzy strip with their own personal brands.
Want to see music in Nashville and not get caught up in the masses populating Broadway? The no-frills Station Inn in the Gulch still reigns supreme as the go-to spot for bluegrass, Americana and other live acts, particularly on Sunday nights during its weekly Bluegrass Jam.
Cannery Hall draws a cadre of trendy talent, from Trixie Mattel to Cold War Kids, while 3rd and Lindsley and the Basement are where the locals still go to see up-and-coming acts in a more intimate environment.
Fancy Bars Downtown
If you fancy well-balanced flavors and crowd-pleasing decor, you’ll find plenty of options in downtown Nashville.
One of the city’s most iconic buildings, The Union Station Nashville Yards, Autograph Collection leans into its Gilded Age vibes, maintaining unique features from its former days as a grand train station, including the barrel-vaulted, stained-glass lobby ceiling. Enjoy dine-and-drink options like Stationairy while you take in the historic surroundings.
Other non-honky-tonk concepts are dotted around the neighborhood, like the luxe Twelve Thirty Club and Pushing Daisies, a subterranean tequila bar shaking up some of the best margaritas in Nashville.
Just off Broadway in historic Printers Alley, swanky bars like Sinatra and Skull’s Rainbow Room serve a dose of nostalgia for the first half of the 20th century, when the neighborhood was in its heyday, alongside top-notch (and stout) cocktails.
For those looking for downtown Nashville nightlife in a posh hotel setting, the city delivers in spades. W Nashville not only boasts a state-of-the-art gym, yoga lawn and 14 stories of downtown views, but also the WET Deck, the largest pool deck in Nashville that is the place to be in summer months.
While many flock to The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nashville for the indulgent Italian fare of Yolan, equally worthy to visit is Denim, its seasonal rooftop bar, or Four Walls, an intimate and visceral cocktail experience.
Down the road at JW Marriott Nashville, the lofty Bourbon Sky — complete with outdoor terrace — mixes up some of Nashville’s best cocktails with juicy cuts of steak and incomparable views.
Bars and Breweries for Beer Lovers
Nashville’s brewery scene has grown up along with the rest of the city, and mainstays like Yazoo and Jackalope Brewing Company hold court alongside smaller, younger outfits like Marble Fox and Fait La Force.
For the ultimate scene, Yee-Haw Brewing Co. and Ole Smoky Moonshine have a downtown campus that doubles as a playground for adults with street tacos, lawn games and plenty of live music.
Just north of downtown in Germantown, Monday Night Preservation Co. offers a similarly expansive scene in a gutted former meatpacking facility along the waterfront.
And if you want your bars with a side of games, you’ll have no problem finding an entertainment spot in Nashville that caters to those who desire a little friendly competition. Pins Mechanical Company has pinball, duckpin bowling and a full-on arcade, in addition to a deep well of craft beers, cocktails and other libations.
While Topgolf’s Nashville location is perched right on the Cumberland River, there’s also miniature golf at both Puttshack — an indoor mini-golf wonderland with a bar — and the Band Box, the right-field entertainment hub at Nashville’s minor league baseball stadium.
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