No.

Nashville bars do not only play country music.

That misconception is understandable because Broadway is covered in cowboy hats, country-star names and buildings that occasionally seem capable of producing their own weather systems.

Country music is central to Nashville.

It is not the city’s only musical language.

Even Lower Broadway itself is more musically flexible than people assume.

And once you move into Printer’s Alley, SoBro, The Gulch and East Nashville, the genre map gets much broader.

Layla’s: Country, Rockabilly, Americana, Bluegrass and More

Layla’s Honky Tonk at 418 Broadway is one of the easiest places to make this point without leaving Broadway.

The venue itself describes its music in terms that include:

Country.

Hillbilly.

Rockabilly.

Western.

Americana.

Bluegrass.

Newgrass.

That is already considerably more complicated than “country bar.”

If you want traditional roots music and related genres rather than the polished modern-party side of Broadway, Layla’s is a good room to listen into.

Acme Feed & Seed: Broadway’s Multi-Genre Wild Card

Acme at 101 Broadway explicitly programs beyond country.

Rock.

Rap.

Latin music events.

Dance parties.

Special themed nights.

Other genres alongside country and Americana.

This makes Acme one of the most useful Broadway answers for a group whose musical interests are wider than country.

It also gives you the river-end rooftop and food, so you are not making a genre choice at the expense of the Broadway experience.

Tootsie’s and Whiskey Row Can Get Rockier Than People Expect

Tootsie’s is historically country, but current Nashville tourism listings also classify the venue with alternative/rock alongside country.

Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row similarly carries a rock-and-roll attitude in addition to country programming.

That does not mean either venue is a guaranteed rock show every time you walk in.

Broadway schedules rotate.

Bands change.

Floors can feel different.

The useful rule is:

listen before entering.

You can tell more about tonight’s music from thirty seconds on the sidewalk than from a permanent genre label on a website.

Broadway Rooftops Often Become DJ Spaces at Night

This is another reason the “all country” stereotype falls apart.

Some of the bigger, newer Broadway rooftops change dramatically at night, especially on weekends.

DJs.

Dance music.

Lighting.

Fog.

Club-style production.

A rooftop that felt like a country bar with a view at 2 p.m. can become something much closer to a nightclub at midnight.

Best Rooftop Bars on Broadway Nashville

Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar: Blues in Printer’s Alley

If you specifically want blues, go to Printer’s Alley.

Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar at 220 Printer’s Alley is not subtly named.

The club programs blues and boogie in a New Orleans-inspired room and publishes a live-music calendar.

This is a real genre destination.

You are not hoping a Broadway cover band happens to play one blues song before returning to radio country.

You went to the blues club.

Best Bars in Printer’s Alley Nashville: Where I’d Actually Go

Skull’s Rainbow Room: Jazz in Printer’s Alley

Skull’s Rainbow Room at 222 Printer’s Alley runs live jazz every night.

Current programming begins with earlier piano and moves into full-band performances.

Later-night burlesque programming runs on selected nights as a separate part of the experience.

If somebody tells you Nashville does not have jazz because they spent one evening on Broadway, take them approximately a few blocks north.

Problem solved.

Rudy’s Jazz Room: Dedicated Jazz in The Gulch

Rudy’s Jazz Room is in The Gulch and operates as a dedicated jazz club.

The calendar includes jazz quartets, trios, jams, swing, gypsy jazz, brass and other jazz-centered programming.

This is where I would go if jazz itself is the point of the night rather than one component of a downtown restaurant/bar experience.

It is not on Broadway.

That is useful.

You are seeing Nashville as a music city rather than Broadway as a music street.

The Basement East: Rock, Indie, Alternative and Touring Acts

The Basement East in East Nashville is one of the clearest answers for visitors looking beyond country.

Its calendar regularly moves through indie, rock, alternative, emo, Americana, metal-adjacent programming and touring acts.

This is a ticketed concert venue rather than a Broadway bar where you wander in and out.

Different model.

Different night.

If your priority is seeing a specific artist rather than bar-hopping around whatever band sounds good, that distinction matters.

3rd & Lindsley: A Wide Nashville Music Cross-Section

3rd & Lindsley sits south of downtown and has long been one of Nashville’s respected listening rooms.

Its calendar can move from songwriter shows to rock players, roots music, jazz events and touring artists.

This is another room where I would check the schedule rather than assigning one genre to the building.

That is really the broader Nashville lesson.

The city has a lot of rooms.

The room may be more important than the category you thought you were searching for.

What About Bluegrass?

Bluegrass has deep Nashville roots too.

Layla’s can cover some of that territory on Broadway.

Station Inn in The Gulch is the famous dedicated answer when bluegrass is specifically what you want.

Again, you do not have to travel fifty miles into Tennessee to escape mainstream country programming.

You may need to travel about one neighborhood.

What About Hip-Hop, Latin Music and Dance Nights?

These are more schedule-dependent.

Acme has hosted rap, Latin events and themed dance nights.

Broadway rooftops may run DJs.

Other Nashville clubs and event venues rotate programming constantly.

This is where current calendars matter more than evergreen “best bar” lists.

If a genre matters to you, search the actual date you will be in town.

Nashville’s music scene is too active to reduce to one permanent weekly schedule.

Country Is Still Everywhere

None of this changes the obvious truth.

Country is extremely easy to find.

Traditional country.

Modern country.

Americana.

Songwriters.

Bluegrass-adjacent sounds.

Country-rock.

Broadway alone can supply more country music than most visitors could physically hear in one trip.

The point is not that Nashville secretly stopped being Country Music USA.

The point is that Music City is bigger than one genre.

How I Would Plan a Multi-Genre Nashville Music Trip

Do one traditional Broadway honky-tonk.

Robert’s or Layla’s.

Do one large modern Broadway venue.

Do Printer’s Alley for blues or jazz.

Check Rudy’s if jazz matters.

Check The Basement East if rock/indie matters.

Check 3rd & Lindsley’s calendar.

Then let a current schedule surprise you somewhere.

That gives you a much more accurate picture of Nashville music than spending three nights walking into rooms that all happen to be playing the same familiar country cover.

The Practical Answer

Nashville bars do not only play country music.

You can hear:

  • traditional country
  • rockabilly
  • bluegrass
  • Americana
  • rock
  • alternative
  • blues
  • jazz
  • indie
  • DJs and dance music
  • rotating genre-specific events

often within a few miles of Lower Broadway.

Country is the easiest thing to find.

It is not the only thing worth hearing.

And the best move is still the simplest:

Check the current calendar.

Walk past the door.

Listen.

Then go where the music actually sounds good.