Any music fan who has visited Nashville will have spent at least one evening at Robert’s Western World on Lower Broadway. In 2024, the venue, known as Nashville’s Home of Traditional Country Music, is celebrating its 25th year under the proprietorship of Jesse
Lee Jones, the leader of its house band, Brazilbilly.
To celebrate, they are taking over the stretch of Lower Broadway between Fourth and Fifth Avenues just outside of the venue for a block party. The festivities are free, family-friendly, and will begin at 10:00 am CT (BST 16:00), with bands and special guests performing until 11:00 pm CT between two stages. And for those who are won’t be making the trip, they will be live streaming the proceedings via Robert’s Western World Facebook and from time to time Instagram pages.
The programme boasts guests like roots icons The Del McCoury Band, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, and Asleep At The Wheel’s Ray Benson. The lineup also features house band The Cowpokes, with special guests David Ball, Ruby Leigh, and Logan Ledger; outlaw country artist Sarah Gayle Meech and The Meech Boys, with special guests Chuck Mead and Nikki Lane; the Wendy Newcomer Band with special guests Carlene Carter with Chris Casello, Jimmy Fortune, and the French Family Band; John England & the Western Swingers with special guests Brennen Leigh and Ranger Doug (Riders In The Sky), and Pork McElhinney and Dave Cox. . Of course, the celebration would not be complete without a performance from the man of honour, JesseLee Jones, and his band, Brazilbilly, closing out the evening. And, Nashville being Nashville, you never know who just might show up on the day.
Located on Lower Broadway in the famous historic district of downtown Nashville, Robert’s Western World stands in the shadow of the Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium – the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. In the early 90s, honky tonk entrepreneur Robert Wayne Moore opened Rhinestone Western Wear in the former Sho-Bud Steel Guitar Company building, which evolved into Robert’s Western World. On 5th August 1999, Moore decided to pass the torch and sold the business to musician JesseLee Jones.
By purchasing Robert’s Western World, Jones, together with his wife, Emily Ann, fulfilled his life-long dream of being a business owner and musical performer in America, on a mission to keep traditional country music alive. Broadway is ever-changing, but Robert’s Western World, family-owned and operated and the last of the true honky tonks, remains a constant.
