LOWER BROADWAY · NASHVILLE
416B Broadway, Nashville, TN
Traditional country and rockabilly, 7 days a week.
Robert’s Western World was established in 1992 and is, by wide agreement, the most authentic honky-tonk left on Broadway. It started as a Western-wear store called Rhinestone Western Wear and gradually turned into a honky-tonk, which is why you will still find boots on display inside. It sits at 416 Broadway, near the Ryman.
The room itself is the opposite of the mega-bar model: a single ground-floor space with one stage, no rooftop, no upstairs. JesseLee Jones, a Brazilian-born musician known as Brazilbilly, bought the bar from founder Robert Moore in 1999, and his band has been the house act ever since, the longest-running house band on Lower Broadway. The bar also launched BR549, the group that drew national attention in the 1990s playing four-hour nightly sets here. The signature order is the Recession Special, a fried bologna sandwich, chips, a MoonPie and a PBR for six dollars, a price the bar has held since 2008.
Robert’s is a walk-in, no reservations, and it is the clear pick for anyone who wants the real, old-school Nashville honky-tonk rather than a party building. If you only see one traditional room on Broadway, this is the one country-music people will tell you to make it.
The live-music lineup for Robert’s Western World is part of the Bars on Broadway schedule, refreshed every morning and night. Check tonight’s Broadway lineup →
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