Welcome to Nashville-Classic Rock Capitol - Lower Broadway

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 11 Dec 2021 5:57 am

Haven't seen or heard a steeler or a real country song or beat yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEPyN-cfgw4

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 11 Dec 2021 6:19 am

Noticing all the young people meandering about, any explanation for the lack of country music is probably unnecessary. $:\$

Andy Gibson · Post by **Andy Gibson** » 11 Dec 2021 7:05 am

Lots of us play down there .....Mike Borouque, Eddie Lange, Tommy Hannum, Mike Sweeney, Lynn Owsley, me.....you just went on the wrong night....Friday. We try and stay the f**k away from lower broad on Friday and Saturday nights. No one in their right mind goes down there on weekends.

Andy Gibson · Post by **Andy Gibson** » 11 Dec 2021 7:14 am

Ron Hogan · Post by **Ron Hogan** » 11 Dec 2021 7:40 am

I was playing Broadway often, about 4 times a week. I stopped and told them I would sub now and then. I like other Steelers try and stay away from Broadway. I want to pick, but really don’t enjoy Broadway.

Yes there is a lot of rock down there. My Son in law is a guitar player down there full time. In a one to two day shift, he makes about $700.00. Versus about 200. For me. I notice the crowd that comes to hear us are older. The crowd that goes to
see him is always teenybopper.

I feel bad for the Steelers on Broadway having to rely on Broadway for a liven. It’s hand to mouth. They windup being the Steel Kings of the bar and grill.

video link

Ron

Ron Hogan · Post by **Ron Hogan** » 11 Dec 2021 7:47 am

A steeler we all know and is one of the best in town, subbed for me in the band I worked in regular. He went through the hassle of setting up, parking walking. 10 minutes later he packed up and said, “I’m not putting up with this bulls—t” and packed up and left. No steel player in the band that night.

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 11 Dec 2021 7:57 am

I'm sure there was some steelers playing there, probably on the Ernest Tubb Record Shop side of Broad.
That's a mighty fine list of steelers. The kind I say to myself, "I wish I could play like that".

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 11 Dec 2021 7:58 am

Where does one go in Nashville on the weekend to hear some trad country and steel guitar? Palace? That area?

We're about due for another ride down that way. We used to visit Legends, Roberts etc. along Broad and always heard some good steel driven bands.

Of course, all the young crowd was over there at the 2 level building I believe thay called Country Music Central or something like that. I was in there once just long enough to make my ears bleed.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 11 Dec 2021 9:05 am

I posted about no steel on Lower Broadway the day I visited (probably 7 or 8 years ago). and got "flamed" here on the forum.
I didn't say there was never any steel, just reporting on what I saw/heard the day I was there.

What I see now, it is all younger crowd, so they are primarily focusing the music for the clientele.

Lower Broadway has been many things. Early 70's when I worked at Little Roy Wiggins music store, it was
considered skid row along with the "bums" including City View that lived on the roof of Tootsie's. Friday and
Saturday with all the Opry visitors in town they would disappear, but Monday morning they would be back.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 11 Dec 2021 9:33 am

There is indeed still steel guitar on Broadway at times. I have found more during afternoon than night. But yes, lots of rock and more modern country type stuff.

But there's plenty of steel and traditional country music up around Music Valley - Nashville Palace and other places in that vicinity. Last I was there (just pre-covid), Mike Sweeney was there Wednesdays with Mel Tillis Jr. - shuffles and other straight country the entire time. Several other places packed in there too. I think most places started music back up some time ago.

I agree with Ron - the parking is crazy down on Broadway now. It's more hassle than I'd want to deal with on a steel guitar gig. I guess if I was faced with that and wanted to play on Broadway, I'd do a guitar, mid-sized Peavey guitar amp, and pedal board - one trip, bim, bam, boom, done.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 11 Dec 2021 12:36 pm

They couldn't have picked a more stupid location for the Arena if they tried. What a ridiculous monstrosity, almost within spitting distance of the Ryman and the lower Broadway clubs. This is what happens when a city forgets it's roots and goes for the dollar.

Been there several times, and early on, it was magic. But I have zero desire to go back there now.

Frank Freniere · Post by **Frank Freniere** » 11 Dec 2021 2:15 pm

Andy Gibson wrote:Lots of us play down there .....Mike Borouque, Eddie Lange, Tommy Hannum, Mike Sweeney, Lynn Owsley, me.....you just went on the wrong night....Friday. We try and stay the f**k away from lower broad on Friday and Saturday nights. No one in their right mind goes down there on weekends.

Not to forget Danny Muhammad who I watch at AJ’s Lounge regularly on FB.

I live in a tourist town too, Andy, and I second your opinion about staying away/in on weekends for any sort of entertainment.

Diane Diekman · Post by **Diane Diekman** » 12 Dec 2021 5:01 am

We were in Nashville last weekend. I chose a motel in Music Valley because I knew we'd have good country music within walking distance. Music City Bar & Grill, Nashville Palace, and Scoreboard are all across the parking lot from each other. Several bands to choose from every night at all three places. Rusty Danmyer was playing with both the Music City Playboys and the Nashville Palace House Band.

When we left the CMHOF after a Saturday afternoon event, we decided to check out Lower Broad. Turning the corner onto the street, we got hit with such a blast of noise it was unbearable. We made it to the ET Record Shop, which felt like a port in the storm. Then we headed back to our car. We didn't even go across the street to Robert's Western World.

Ron Hogan · Post by **Ron Hogan** » 12 Dec 2021 7:55 am

You can find steel on Broadway but it’s hit or miss. The bulk of bands there don’t use steel.

Tootsies doesn’t allow a steel on stage because he doesn’t like steel. Who would have thought.

Music Valley drive had 4 steel players Friday night from 6 to 10!

Roy Carroll · Post by **Roy Carroll** » 14 Dec 2021 9:08 am

That video looks just like 6th street in Austin, Texas on a Friday or Saturday night. ALL Rock'N Roll until 2am! They block off the streets just like that. We do not get close to there!

Andy Gibson · Post by **Andy Gibson** » 14 Dec 2021 10:11 am

It's.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 14 Dec 2021 1:19 pm

Andy Gibson wrote:It's a shame how gentrification is destroying our culture, communities and music. How do we stop the great California/New York migration? 150 people a day moving to Nashville all from NY and CA. It's madness at its full. You also have guys like Steve Smith (owner of the tootsies) who hates country music. Together with rubble sanders (legends etc)they started catering to the college crowd about 15 or so years ago hiring rock bands. It has exploded into what you see now on lower broad, utter crap! You can hear the worst versions of classic rock songs you can imagine coming out of the back of tootsies. Its one thing to play that crap, it's another making a train wreck out of little pink houses or don't stop believing haha. It's bad music being played by not so good players. Welcome to every town in the USA! Thanks California for exploding into our peaceful affordable communities buying up all our homes at twice the asking price. Me and my wife who was born and raised here can't buy a home because everytime we find a place, someone from CA steps in and offers the seller cash and way above the asking price for the home. They push black families out of there homes and then display blm signs in their yards. Its sick! These people are sick and need to go back and fix what they are running from instead of bringing it to the rest of the country. It's happening everywhere. How much longer can we take this?

Andy, Try Florida for mass influx of people from other parts of the USA (and Canada and even Europe) and all the Cuban refugees.
I'm included in the influx. I live in the northern Tampa suburbs. New Port Richey is also referred to as "New York Richey". Johnny Cash had a place here in New Port Richey.

BTW, early 70's I lived in an apartment complex about a block from Acuff Rose in Nashville.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 20 Dec 2021 10:57 am

Here is an old one from the Austin Lounge Lizards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFfM0oLgzwA

David DeLoach · Post by **David DeLoach** » 22 Jan 2022 4:24 am

I live in Nashville, but try to avoid Broadway. I've played a few gigs down there and it's just too much hassle - especially parking and loading in/out. I've played a few gigs at the Wildhorse Saloon, and while it's a big venue and they actually help with load in/out, our band had to be there at 1:00 p.m. to play a show that started at 7:00 p.m. and I didn't start driving home until 1:00 a.m. (NOTE: One memorable experience from playing the Wildhorse to a packed house was when I hit the opening riff to Sweet Home Alabama on my Strat. The place erupted and EVERYONE rushed to the dance floor. It was then that realized that tune is the national anthem to the redneck nation).

Lower Broadway reminds me of Hill Valley in Back To The Future II where Biff turned it into Hell on earth.

There is some great country music being played on Broadway, but for me I head to The Nashville Palace out by Opryland Hotel to hear great steel playing. Also, great burgers! I've played a bunch of gigs at the Palace and like the vibe and the staff there. All the gigs I've played there were in the big room in the back, but I like the vibe of the smaller room in the front and would actually prefer to play that room. That front room where the house band plays is where you can hear some great steel playing.

The Wildhorse has a great stage and sound system, but when you divide the number of hours by net pay, it's just not worth it for this old man.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 22 Jan 2022 9:49 am

Not to get too off topic, but there is an insinuation here that country music is only for old people. Is that really the case now? Even in Nashville? When I was 22, I lived thousands of miles from there, but it was very easy on a Friday night to find a club full of people roughly my age partying to a local country music band, with the full compliment of pedal steel, fiddles, and 3-part harmony vocals. Heck, it was people my age playing it.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 23 Jan 2022 10:04 am

Fred Treece wrote:Not to get too off topic, but there is an insinuation here that country music is only for old people. Is that really the case now?

If you're talking Classic or traditional country music, then the answer would be an emphatic "yes".

Any similarity between 20 year-olds now and 20 year-olds half a century ago is purely coincidental.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 23 Jan 2022 10:46 am

Donny Hinson wrote:Any similarity between 20 year-olds now and 20 year-olds half a century ago is purely coincidental.

LOL
True dat.

Samuel Phillippe · Post by **Samuel Phillippe** » 23 Jan 2022 5:10 pm

Fred Treece wrote:
Donny Hinson wrote:Any similarity between 20 year-olds now and 20 year-olds half a century ago is purely coincidental.
LOL
True dat.

Old? OLD? who the hell is old? I'm only 20, 4 times plus 3

Keep it up old timers even if it is playing in coffee shops only.......Sam