Music Row is an area just to the southwest of downtown Nashville, an area that houses hundreds of establishments related to country music. There are many businesses directly related to the music industry such as offices of numerous record labels, publishing houses, music licensing firms, recording studios, video production houses, along with other business who serve the music industry, as well as radio networks, and radio stations.
Music Row has come to be to country music the same as Wall Street is to banking, as Hollywood is to the movie industry or Madison Avenue is to the ad industry. Saying the term puts into your mind exactly what it’s referring to. There are many streets named in memory of famous country stars such as Chet Atkins and Roy Acuff.
Restaurants galore on Music Row!
But there’s even more to Music Row than music. Like any such area there are many restaurants, stores and other tourist attractions, such as the Ernest Tubb Record Store or the Johnny Cash Museum to name just a couple. And of course, there’s the site that brought all this about, Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.
The famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. You can see where its name came from.
One of the main features of Music Row, though, is all the honky-tonk bars lining the street, one of the most famous being Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. During our stroll up and down the main thoroughfare of Music Row, Broadway, we passed dozens of bars that my husband informed me were called honky-tonks. And he explained that back in the early years of country music, one of the main subjects of songs was hanging out in bars, drinking while mourning the loss of a love or just hanging out in the bar drinking while trying to find a new love. Also some of the main tragic themes dealt with adultery, loneliness, alcoholism, and self-pity.
An interesting way to take a tour of Music Row.
There’s even honky-tonks on the street. Pedal and get your exercise while having a cold brewski.
One of the many honky-tonks on Music Row.
But what was so great was all the live music we heard coming from all these bars. And we learned that was how so many famous country stars got their start, such as Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline and Ernest Tubb, playing as amateurs in these very places. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge was just steps away from the back of Ryman Auditorium, and on nights when they were to appear, many of the performers would step over to the bar to have a drink and even perform for the customers before going on stage.
What a bargain! Three pair for the price of one. But we didn’t bother to check what the cost of that one pair was.
It was an interesting experience to tour the footsteps of many famous stars. Unfortunately, such things as main performers going into bars and doing free performance no longer occur, but it’s so much fun to imagine what it would have been like back in the day.
More of our Nashville trip here:
“Walking the Floor…” of the Ernest Tubb Record Shop
Music Row is amazing. If you ever go to Nashville, it’s a must see destination. I could spend all day there just tooling around and taking it all in. Nashville is the heart of country music, and Music Row is the heart of Nashville.
I am dying to go to Nashville. It looks like so much fun. And I would love to try the Pedal Tavern!!
Nashville has always been on my list of places I want to go but I’ve never been, even though it’s only a few hours away. It looks like a place that has so much to offer and I’m going to bump it back up on my list of things to do this summer!
What a fun place to explore and see things at!! I know my kids would have a blast exploring this part of Nashville!
I can’t even explain how badly I want to visit Nashville! The country music scene is beyond amazing and I just crave the ability to see all the history!
I’ve always wanted to visit Nashville. We drove through in the spring on our way to St Louis and you can tell it is a really hustling and bustling place.
I’ve always wanted to take a trip to Nashville and see the places where many legendary singers performed. Hopefully we’ll schedule a little getaway there soon.
Music Row seems like it would be so much fun to go down for sure. I would love to do a tour one day and find the tour with the wagon and tractor interesting. Thanks for sharing your awesome experience and I love the boot sale.
That looks like so much fun. I’ve never been to Nashville before. I’ve always wanted to go there though. I hear it’s really nice!
I want to visit Nashville even more now. It has been at the top of my bucket list for way too long, it’s time to make it happen
Music Row is on our bucket list! So much charm, love your pictures!
I have always wanted to visit Nashville. We have gone to Pigeon Forge but never made it up to Nashville. I would love to visit Music Row!
Ooooooo looks like y’all had a great time!! Nashville is such a fun city! I need to get back there with the fam!
I wish I could pull off a surprise trip to Nashville, TN for my husband. He loves us in and plays the guitar. I bet he would enjoy visiting us in row and sampling good food.
I can’t wait to visit Nashville! It looks like there’s so much to do!! Love your pictures!
Never been to Nashville yet but it is on my bucket list of places to visit. I love the USA – so many awesome places to see.
I hope to visit one day. Nashville is a great scene for live music and country especially. And, of course, I love the show Nashville
Sounds like a very interesting and fun city! I’ve always wanted to go to Nashville.
We are having the Scentsy reunion in Nashville this year. I couldn’t go though and I can see that I’m going to be missing at on a lot. Would have been so nice to visit Music Row while there.
Not even one of those pictures are Music Row. All of those are lower Broadway in the district. Music Row is 16th South 17th South and 18th South about a 1.5 miles from Downtown.
Sorry for the misunderstanding, but according to my research and all folks that I spoke with, Broadway is considered a “part” of what is considered the Music Row area. Case in point, I found a map of the area called Music Row which showed Broadway as a part of it. Granted, the Row is “centered” on 16th, 17th and 18th, but throw in several side streets and you have what is considered the Music Row area, Music Row having become a generic term, not specifically about a literal “row”, but a term to describe country music as a whole. Bottom line, my post described it as an area, not a literal row and I wasn’t trying to mislead any one.