The Gulch is good for a specific kind of nightlife: rooftop bars, listening rooms, cocktail-forward spots, and dinner that bleeds into drinking. It is not good for the same kind of nightlife as Broadway, which means if you want live music pouring out of every door and cheap beers in plastic cups, go to Broadway.
The nightlife options in the Gulch break down clearly.
Best rooftop drinking is L.A. Jackson at the Thompson Hotel. Six consecutive wins at Nashville Scene’s Best Rooftop Bar. Indoor-outdoor, views of downtown, DJs on Friday and Saturday nights. Walk-in only, 21+. Expect crowds and some waiting on weekends. Come at 5pm on a weekday if you want the view without the scene.
Best live music is the Station Inn at 402 12th Avenue South. Bluegrass and roots music seven nights a week in an intimate room that has hosted Alison Krauss, Bill Monroe, Dolly Parton, and Ricky Skaggs. Cover charges apply. The Sunday night jam is a neighborhood institution that has been running for decades. This is a listening room, not a background-music bar.
Best jazz is Rudy’s Jazz Room on McGavock Street. New Orleans cocktails, Cajun and Creole food, live jazz performances. If you want an actual jazz club rather than jazz as ambiance, this is the place.
Best casual drinking is Pins Mechanical, with duckpin bowling, pinball, foosball, and bocce. No pretension, no dress code, entirely approachable.
For late-night options after 11pm, the Gulch thins out faster than Broadway. Broadway has venues operating until 3am. The Gulch tends to wind down earlier. Residents who want to extend the night typically migrate to East Nashville or back to the Broadway corridor.
The Gulch nightlife makes the most sense as an early evening to 11pm sequence: dinner at a serious restaurant, post-dinner drinks at L.A. Jackson or Rudy’s Jazz Room, optional music at the Station Inn. It is a night you plan around restaurants and a specific music experience, not a night you plan around wandering until 2am.
Sources
- L.A. Jackson, lajacksonbar.com
- Station Inn, stationinn.com
- The Infatuation, Pins Mechanical review, theinfatuation.com
- StyleBlueprint, “Your Guide to The Gulch Nashville,” styleblueprint.com
- mcsquaredluxury.com, “The Gulch and Downtown Nashville Neighborhood Guide”