Tootsie's Orchid Lounge
The most famous honky tonk on Lower Broadway, and possibly the most storied bar in country music history. Willie Nelson used to slip out the back alley of the Ryman and drink here between sets. Live music on three floors, seven days a week.
Tootsie's opened in 1960 when Hattie Louise 'Tootsie' Bess bought a bar then called Mom's and painted the exterior a shade of purple that's remained the building's signature ever since. Its back door sat directly behind the Ryman Auditorium, then home of the Grand Ole Opry, and that alley became one of country music's most consequential shortcuts — Opry performers would duck out between sets for a drink, and the musicians who played Tootsie's front room for tips ended up shaping the genre. Willie Nelson lived above the bar for a stretch and reportedly sold 'Crazy' to Patsy Cline's husband from a front booth here; Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller, and Merle Kilgore all passed through in the same years.
Tootsie's Wall of Fame, the collection of photographs Tootsie herself started pinning up as those musicians came through, is still there and still worth a slow look — it's a genuine piece of Nashville music history rather than a manufactured photo-op. The bar now spans three floors with a stage on each and a rooftop bar on top, and live music runs seven days a week, meaning the room that launched careers on tips alone is now a full-scale entertainment building drawing thousands of visitors nightly.
It's the one Broadway honky-tonk visitors should treat as a historical stop as much as a bar crawl destination — worth ducking into for the Wall of Fame even if you don't stay for a full set. The ground floor gets packed shoulder-to-shoulder most nights, so the upper floors are the better bet if you actually want to sit, hear the band, and take in the room.
Highlights
- —Tootsie's Wall of Fame — original photos from the bar's 1960s-70s regulars, including Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson
- —Three floors, three stages, live music seven days a week
- —The back alley once connected directly to the Ryman Auditorium's stage door
- —Rooftop bar overlooks the Broadway strip
Insider tip
Skip the packed ground floor and head straight up — the second and third floor bars have their own stages and are far less crowded, especially earlier in the evening.