Honky Tonk Highway

About this audio guide

This guide to Honky Tonk Highway on Lower Broadway in Nashville centers on Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, the purple bar Hattie Louise Bess opened behind the Ryman Auditorium in nineteen sixty. It follows the musicians, from Willie Nelson to Patsy Cline, who used the alley behind it as an unofficial green room during Grand Ole Opry shows. Tootsie kept a tab open for broke pickers and stashed their guitars so they would not be pawned. Look for the narrow alley running from the street toward the Ryman's old stage door.