Editorial
East Nashville stopped being the city's anti-honky-tonk in about 2018 and became the bar district most non-tourists actually drink in. Less line-dancing, more cocktail technique, lower prices than Lower Broadway, and a music scene that runs parallel to the country-industrial complex. Below: the 10 rooms across the river.
Cross the John Seigenthaler Bridge and Nashville becomes a different city. The honky-tonks are behind you; the cocktail rooms, listening bars, and dive bars that the recording-studio engineers actually drink in are ahead. Five Points, Inglewood, Riverside Village — each has its own register. Here's how to read them.
It isn't Lower Broadway. No line-dancing bars, no neon honky-tonk signage, no $20 cover for Garth Brooks impersonators. The east-side music scene is parallel to the country-industrial complex — songwriter rounds, indie rock, occasional listening-room piano sets.
It isn't cheap anymore. Five Points cocktails run $14–$16, which is the same as Manhattan. The dive bars (Dino's, Mickey's) are still affordable; everything else has caught up to the rent.
Five Points is the dense node — eight bars within four blocks. Park once, walk the rest. Inglewood is a 5-minute drive north (or 20-minute walk via Eastland). Riverside Village requires a car.
Friday and Saturday nights, Five Points fills between 10pm and 1am. Sunday is calmer; Tuesday is the songwriter night to know about (The 5 Spot, $1 PBR).
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