Only in Nashville.
Eric Church opened up his new Nashville bar, Chief’s, this week in what it’s fair to say was the most anticipated grand opening of any bar in Music City in quite a while.
Fans were lined up outside the door at 4 AM on Friday to get their first look at the new venue – and they weren’t disappointed.
Unlike other artists’ bars on Broadway (and there are plenty of them), Church built his place specifically for his fans. From giving his Church Choir fan club early entry into the bar to the Easter eggs from his career that cover every inch of the bar, it’s clear that Chief’s was built specifically with his fans in mind…which is a welcome change from the bars that were built for tourists and bachelorette parties who come to Nashville to black out on lemon drop shots.
And something else that makes Chief’s different from the other bars on Broadway is the Neon Steeple. The two-story music venue is almost like a mini Ryman Auditorium, featuring stained glass windows with some of Church’s heroes backlighting pews in the balcony and serving as a place for artists to come and play their own music – not the cover songs that you mostly hear on Broadway. (Oh, and there’s also a confessional upstairs for Sinners Like Me. No, seriously).
Church christened the Neon Steeple on Friday night with the first of 19 shows in his To Beat the Devil residency, an intimate show that features never-before-heard songs and stories from the man behind the Ray Bans.
But after the show, he decided to spend some time with the fans who came out to enjoy his new bar.
Church popped into the Friendly Shadows piano bar on the second floor (the only dueling piano bar on Broadway, by the way), and even hopped on the mic to sing a few songs alongside the piano players.
He gave fans not only his best version of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” but he also joined the piano player for what I’m sure was that guy’s most nerve-wracking performance of “Springsteen” ever: Singing an Eric Church song, in Eric Church’s bar, with Eric Church standing right beside you.
No pressure.
But of course Church wasn’t there to critique his performance. He was just there to connect a melody with a memory alongside his fans. And now they all have a place in Nashville to do just that.
@sammyc_007 when you can’t stop trying to relive Eric Church’s cover of Piano Man at the opening night of Chief’s, Nashville #ericchurchmusic #ericchurch #chiefs #broadwaynashville ♬ original sound – Sammy C
