A CHANGING BROADWAY
ON A RECENT Monday afternoon on Nashville’s Lower Broadway, a string of bars where country singers go to get discovered, two different bands could be heard performing that old country staple … “Crazy Train.” Ozzy Osbourne, it seems, has become part of the Broadway soundtrack. While country music still constitutes the bulk of covers played downtown by working musicians, popular party songs from Bon
Jovi to Journey are becoming more common, all to keep tourists drinking and spending. Meanwhile, space for original songs on Broadway, with the exception of a few artist-forward rooms like Acme Feed & Seed, is becoming increasingly rare.
That shift underscores an issue that’s front and center as Nashville prepares to elect a new mayor: the fostering and preservation of the city’s creative class.
“The maxim has been that Nashville is a 10-year town. You have to grind and hustle to break through. And it’s increasingly difficult to even do that,” says Jill McMillan Palm, executive director of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville. “Because of the cost of living, you can’t spend 10 years here. Artists can’t put in the effort to hone their craft.”
In fact, some report they’re already leaving. In a 2021 survey conducted by the Arts & Business Council, a quarter of Nashville artists said they likely would not remain in the city past the next two to three years. Among the reasons given: lack of creative infrastructure and cost of living.
As it relates to live music, Lower Broadway can be seen as a microcosm of a changing city. Downtown musicians have to search for affordable parking and navigate streets clogged by party wagons before they can play their four-hour sets and pass the tip jar.
“When I moved to Nashville 10 years ago, playing downtown was a thrill: You’d park nearby, set up your gear, and jam through Merle Haggard and Buck Owens requests,” says Adam Kurtz, a pedal steel player who performs for tips when not on the road.
“It’s a shame the city let the soul of a downtown music scene that supported original songs slip away for a price tag.”
Palm, whose council is trying to change the revenue model for Broadway musicians from tips to a living wage, is more diplomatic. “Covers are great,” she says. “But you’re not getting that authentic experience. We’ve created kind of a facsimile of country music.”