Nashville's Most Atmospheric Jazz Club
Printer's Alley runs between Third and Fourth Avenues in downtown Nashville, a narrow cobblestone passage that has hosted bars, clubs, and entertainment venues since Prohibition-era printing houses first drew workers who needed somewhere to drink at the end of their shifts. Skull's Rainbow Room occupies the alley's most storied address, open in one form or another since 1948, and the room still radiates that mid-century energy: low light, red velvet, a stage at the far end, and cocktails served in proper glassware.
The programming combines live jazz with burlesque performances several nights a week, a combination that sounds more theatrical than it is in practice. The jazz is played by accomplished Nashville musicians, the burlesque performers are professionals, and the combination produces an evening that feels genuinely distinctive rather than gimmicky. Nashville has produced country music for the world for over 70 years, but Skull's reminds visitors that the city has always had a parallel and equally accomplished jazz tradition.
The cocktail list is serious and priced to reflect it. Classic preparations predominate: Old Fashioneds built with Tennessee whiskey, Sidecar variations using aged Cognac, Negronis made with quality vermouth, and a rotating selection of house signatures. This is Nashville's best answer to the question of where to take someone impressive for a date night that goes beyond Broadway.
Classic Cocktails Built for a Room Like This
Order the house Old Fashioned, made with local Tennessee whiskey and served over a single large ice cube in a rocks glass that you will feel immediately comfortable holding. It is one of the better Old Fashioneds in the city. The Sidecar using quality Cognac is excellent. The Negroni is properly bitter and beautifully balanced. If the menu includes a champagne cocktail, order it for the occasion.
The food menu is limited but includes well-executed bar snacks and small plates designed to accompany cocktails rather than constitute a meal. The room is not the right place for a long dinner. It is precisely the right place for two or three cocktails over the course of an evening while the jazz builds and the atmosphere deepens around you.
Reservations are recommended for weekends, particularly when there is a specific performer scheduled. Check the calendar before you visit and book early. The room seats around 80 people at capacity and the better tables go first. Walk-in is possible midweek, but Saturday without a reservation is a gamble.
Printer's Alley and Nashville's Long Night Life
Printer's Alley derives its name from the printing and publishing businesses that once lined Second Avenue North. By the early 20th century, the alley had become Nashville's entertainment corridor, hosting clubs that operated under varying degrees of legality through Prohibition and beyond. The strip reached its peak energy in the 1960s and 70s, when country music stars and their entourages moved between venues most nights of the week.
The names above the doors changed regularly, but the tradition of underground or semi-underground entertainment in a narrow alley off the main streets persisted. Skull's Rainbow Room carries that tradition forward under its current ownership with genuine respect for what the room represents. The name references the bar's original ownership and the rainbow-painted ceiling that distinguished it from competitors in the alley's heyday.
For Nashville's full historical bar geography, the Nashville bar guide traces the city's drinking culture from Printer's Alley through the Broadway strip to East Nashville's creative neighborhood. The Station Inn in the Gulch offers another window into Nashville's authentic music history, focused on bluegrass rather than jazz but equally serious about the tradition. Both bars deserve a visit on any extended Nashville trip.
Wednesday Through Sunday, From 6pm
Skull's Rainbow Room is closed Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday through Sunday from 6pm is the operating window, with shows typically starting at 8pm or 9pm. Dinner service at the bar works best from 6pm to 8pm before the main entertainment begins. If you want dinner, arrive early. If you want cocktails with the show, arrive at showtime.
Dress is smart casual trending toward dressy. The room rewards the effort. This is not a jeans and sneakers bar, though the dress code is not enforced. The experience of a well-dressed evening at Skull's Rainbow Room is considerably better than arriving in whatever you wore hiking that afternoon.
Pair Skull's with the nearby Pinewood Social for a pre-dinner drink in a more casual setting, or walk the length of Printer's Alley before settling in to understand the block's atmosphere. The full Nashville cocktail bar guide identifies the other serious cocktail destinations across the city that complement a visit to Skull's.