<\/p>\n
You know what\u2019s not easy to do in a town known around the world as \u201cMusic City\u201d? Become one of its most respected live music destinations. Yet that\u2019s exactly what The Listening Room Cafe has done. Famous for putting the focus on songs and songwriters, it brings locals and tourists alike deep inside Nashville\u2019s songwriting scene, pulling back the curtain on our most iconic (yet least-understood) craft \u2014 and often hosting stars before they break. Early next month, the venue will celebrate a special milestone.<\/p>\n
Marking The Listening Room\u2019s 20th anniversary on March 3 at the Ryman Auditorium, the unique venue-bar-restaurant will recreate its twice-daily \u201cwriters\u2019 round\u201d on a historic stage, welcoming Listening Room alumni like HARDY, Mitchell Tenpenny, Jo Dee Messina, and more. Each will be there to pay tribute to an authentic (if unlikely) piece of Nashville\u2019s musical fabric that has played a role in countless careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I still have to pinch myself every now and then,\u201d founder Chris Blair says of the anniversary. \u201cJust thinking through everybody that\u2019s come across that stage in the last 20 years who are now household names on country radio, Hall of Fame songwriters, Grammy Award winners \u2014 all of that kind of thing. It\u2019s super special.\u201d<\/p>\n
A songwriter and former artist himself, Blair opened The Listening Room Cafe in 2006. He had \u201cfallen in love\u201d with songwriting after his artistic hopes dried up and began performing at writers\u2019 rounds all over the city. They were already a uniquely Nashville experience for fans.<\/p>\n
Sometimes called a \u201cguitar pull,\u201d these acoustic shows generally feature three or four professional songwriters who take turns performing tunes they\u2019ve written while also sharing the story behind the song. Often centered on hits for big-name stars, fans love the insight, and Blair loved the format.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were already a few venues famous for the style, which Blair still sings the praises of today. But with a family background in the restaurant business, he figured these events could be taken to another level.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be done differently \u2014 bigger,\u201d Blair explains. \u201cAnd really, at a lot of places I felt like the music was secondary. So, I just jumped all in, and that\u2019s where it started.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a great sound system, an off-Broadway location on Fourth Avenue, and a full menu that went far beyond standard deep-fried fare, fans would come for the music and stay for the hospitality. It took some time, but key to The Listening Room Cafe\u2019s ultimate success was Blair\u2019s philosophy: passionate advocacy for songwriters and emerging artists.<\/p>\n
Basically, it meant he committed to paying his performers while his competition stuck with a tip-based strategy. That helped young artists and writers pay their bills while they honed their onstage chops, and many became devoted to Blair\u2019s cause.<\/p>\n
Over the years, The Listening Room Cafe claims to have hosted fans from 53 countries and every U.S. state, with more than 1,500 shows and 2,000 songwriters taking the stage. They range from Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, and Garth Brooks to Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, HARDY, and countless professional songwriters whom fans would otherwise never see in action. Big stars would make a point of coming back after their careers took off, and slowly but surely, the venue took on a music-first identity, giving fans from around the world a different kind of experience from what they\u2019d find in a rowdy honky-tonk.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get stuff all the time from people who come to Nashville and say, \u2018We were in town for three days, and we had all these things planned, but we canceled everything and came to The Listening Room three nights in a row,\u2019\u201d Blair says with pride. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s a song you\u2019ve never heard, or maybe it\u2019s a huge hit on the radio, but when you hear it performed by the person who wrote it \u2014 and the emotion and the connection to that lyric \u2014 it\u2019s completely different. You never hear it the same way again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, one of Nashville\u2019s new favorites is teaming up with one of its oldest. The 20th anniversary celebration at the Ryman on March 3 will give fans the full Listening Room experience, plus a few can\u2019t-miss twists. Along with HARDY, Tenpenny, and Messina, a talented cast, including Blessing Offor, Phil Barton, Brian Davis, J.T. Harding, Matt Jenkins, Wendell Mobley, James Slater, and more are set to shed light on their biggest songs. More guests are expected to be announced before the show, and Blair hints at several secretive plans.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMaybe it\u2019s a song you\u2019ve never heard, or maybe it\u2019s a huge hit on the radio, but when you hear it performed by the person who wrote it \u2014 and the emotion and the connection to that lyric \u2014 it\u2019s completely different. You never hear it the same way again\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be such a special night,\u201d Blair says. \u201cWe\u2019ve got so many surprise guests popping in. There is zero chance I make it through that night without tears being shed on that stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to him, it\u2019s yet another pinch-me moment, and proof his instincts were right. There were no guarantees The Listening Room Cafe would take off and many tough moments to overcome. Blair even says he could have made more money by following conventional wisdom and focusing on bar sales. But it wasn\u2019t just about the bottom line for him.<\/p>\n
He knew what it was like to scrape by as an aspiring writer and artist in Nashville \u2014 and how lonely it can be. Creating something to help the dreamers was just as important.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about supporting live music, original music, songwriters, watching friends like Mitchell Tenpenny and HARDY, and everybody who\u2019s come across the stage playing songs and then watching them become these big artists,\u201d he says. \u201cGetting to hear them in interviews talk about The Listening Room, and that they are where they are because The Listening Room helped pay their rent because they actually got paid to play \u2014 that\u2019s why I do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It might have grown into something special, but looking forward, Blair says The Listening Room Cafe won\u2019t change. It will keep giving fans two shows each weeknight (and two on Saturday mornings) in one of Nashville\u2019s most authentically \u201cMusic City\u201d experiences. It will keep giving new talent a place to grow and call home, and keep giving back, as Blair continues the Sound Good Do Good charity series. The ultimate goal remains simple: to let music lovers hear great songs \u2014 loud and clear \u2014 like they\u2019ve never heard them before.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s always our goal,\u201d he says. \u201cWe want to provide this experience where people leave feeling moved, and it\u2019s not a matter of if, but when can we get back and do this again?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n