The Late Great
Bar · Music Row ·
Creative cocktails, intimate live music, and speakeasy vibes
Creative cocktails, intimate live music, and speakeasy vibes
"Tucked inside Virgin Nashville on Music Row, I found the speakeasy-style space named after the 1972 album “The Late Great Townes Van Zandt” to be richly curated: designed by Hannah Crowell (Johnny Cash’s granddaughter) and decorated with folk art paintings by Howard Finster, Carter and Cash family photos (including the last photograph ever taken of Johnny Cash), and eclectic country-music memorabilia scattered throughout. The cocktail menu emphasizes savory drinks — notably the White Lightenin’, made with vodka, cucumber, lemon, Greek yogurt, and dill — developed by Hope Rice (who formerly collaborated with the bar at Audrey). Instead of shots, they offer “pocket cocktails,” miniature versions ideal for sampling, and although regular food and snacks are absent, there is “The Late Great Cocktail Experience,” which pairs three curated cocktails with a charcuterie board. The space is open Wednesday through Saturday starting at 5 p.m., and reservations are highly recommended." - Jackie Gutierrez-Jones
"Modeled after the artist-haven “B-rooms” of old-school recording studios, I learned that a Music Row cocktail lounge opened in May 2021 inside Virgin Hotels Nashville as a private members-only speakeasy with an unmarked entry and private liquor lockers. Called The Late Great and named after the 1972 Townes Van Zandt album, it was designed by Hannah Crowell (Johnny Cash’s granddaughter and the daughter of Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell) to be “a sort of time capsule” for country music through 1979, paying homage to icons like Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. The lounge is outfitted with a Meyer sound system tuned to Led Zeppelin–level specifications and is strewn with musical instruments to encourage jam sessions, though these appear to be invite-only. As of early September, groups of up to four non-members can make reservations (Wednesdays and Thursdays only) that include a sampler of cocktails and bites; drinks with names such as the Coal Miner’s Daughter, Boy Named Sue, and Time of the Preacher are made with bourbon, rum, Amara, sage, and smoke and are theatrically served with a lit “joint,” a la Willie Nelson, and reservations run $82 per person." - Clair Lorell
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