A honky-tonk is a bar that centers its identity around live music, specifically country and related American roots styles, with an atmosphere built for dancing, drinking, and communal noise. The term emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, likely from the slang word “honkatonk” used to describe a style of rowdy music played in bars and dance halls. By the time it attached itself to Nashville’s Broadway, it had come to mean something specific: a place where musicians play for tips, there is no cover charge, the drinks are affordable, and the door stays open to the street.
Nashville’s official visitors corporation defines a honky-tonk with deliberately loose criteria: “an establishment that contains at least one rockin’ stage, cold beverages, and a party that lasts all day, every day.” That is technically accurate but misses the context. The honky-tonk tradition in Nashville grew out of the Ryman Auditorium’s role as home of the Grand Ole Opry. Performers at the Opry would cross the alley between sets and slip into the bars along Broadway’s backstage corridor. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, which sits directly behind the Ryman, was the principal gathering spot. The alley between the two buildings became a conduit between the formal radio show and the informal music community.
What Makes a Nashville Honky-Tonk Different
The defining features are practical. Musicians work for tips, which means they will take requests, talk to the crowd, and maintain a connection with the audience that ticketed-concert venues do not require. No cover means people move freely in and out, which keeps the energy circulating. The style of music has traditionally been country and its variants, though modern Broadway bars now cover everything from pop hits to classic rock depending on the crowd.
The physical setup tends toward the simple: a stage that is small enough to feel intimate even when the room is large, a bar running the length of one wall, minimal seating for a space that expects people to stand and move. The walls are usually covered in photos, memorabilia, or advertising signage from the mid-20th century. Beer, bourbon, and whiskey are the standard orders.
Robert’s Western World is the model of what the original Broadway honky-tonk was built to be. Tootsie’s has the history. Layla’s preserves the independence. These three, within a two-block stretch, represent what the word meant before celebrity branding changed the scale of what a bar on Broadway could be.
The Celebrity Bar Question
The large multi-floor venues that opened from 2016 onward, like Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar and Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge, use the word honky-tonk to describe themselves and technically meet the definition. They have stages, live music, and no cover at the door. They also have six floors, eight bars, rooftop patios, sushi menus, gift shops, and corporate event spaces for groups of up to 1,500.
Whether those venues qualify as honky-tonks in the traditional sense is a matter of perspective. A musician who grew up driving to Nashville to play the circuit would not use that word for them. A first-time visitor from Ohio who has never been to Broadway would find both the old-school dives and the megabars equally novel. The word now covers a wide range of venues on the same street, and the distinction matters if you care about the music and the tradition rather than the spectacle.
Sources
- Notes on Nashville, Complete Broadway Honky Tonk Guide: https://notesonnashville.com/live-music/honky-tonks-broadway-nashville-guide/
- Trolley Tours Nashville, History of Honky Tonks: https://www.trolleytours.com/nashville/honky-tonks-complete-guide
- Wikipedia, Broadway (Nashville, Tennessee): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway(Nashville,Tennessee)
- National Trust for Historic Preservation, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge: https://savingplaces.org/stories/historic-bars-tootsies-world-famous-orchid-lounge