Howdy Nash
Howdy Nash
The bars that built Lower Broadway, explained.
A honky tonk is a bar built around live country music, with no cover charge and a band playing for tips. In Nashville, the honky tonks line Lower Broadway downtown, and the music runs from late morning until the early hours.
You walk in off the street, no ticket and no cover. A band is already playing on a small stage. You order a drink, you listen, you can stay for a song or all afternoon. When you are done, you walk out and into the next one. Lower Broadway is packed with them side by side, which is why locals call the strip a bar crawl with a soundtrack.
The bands are often early-career musicians working the room. A honky tonk gig is a real part of how country artists build a following in Nashville.
The music is free to you, but it is not free. The bands play for tips, dropped in a bucket or jar passed around or set by the stage. The local custom is a few dollars if you stay for a few songs, more if you request one. If you enjoyed the set, tip.
The names locals send first-timers to are the older, music-first rooms: Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Robert's Western World, and a handful of others with real history. Newer celebrity-owned bars now stack the strip too. For the full breakdown of which is which, see the honky tonks guide.
Guided honky tonk and pub crawls on Lower Broadway. Free cancellation on most bookings.
Howdy Nash is the free Nashville travel app. Map the honky tonks, get walking distances, and ask the AI concierge what is good nearby.
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