Country star John Rich is warning that Nashville’s Lower Broadway, the iconic entertainment district famous for its glowing neon signs, packed honky-tonks and live country music, could soon begin going dark.
In a video that Rich shared on Facebook last week, the 52-year-old Big & Rich member sounded the alarm, declaring that “the lights are going out on Broadway” as Nashville businesses struggle under mounting property tax bills.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Rich, who owns Redneck Riviera Bar & BBQ on Lower Broadway, argued that sharply higher property assessments along with increased taxes have pushed longtime Broadway establishments to a breaking point, which he said threatened not only the businesses themselves but the live music culture that earned Nashville its “Music City” nickname.
“It was a one-two punch,” Rich said. “So the first thing he did was they reappraised everybody’s property in the county, in the city, and as soon as they got that done, which was an extremely inflated appraisal rate, then they come in and raise the taxes aggressively on top of these extremely inflated appraisals.”
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“And with those two things, what you’ve done is you’ve now put a death nail in a vast majority of the businesses,” he continued. “It’s only a matter of time before you’re going to see large percentages of the businesses downtown turning out the lights.”
“We’ve already had three in the past two weeks have to shut down. I’m talking major, major, major places that have been there for decades,” Rich added.
Though Rich blamed Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell for the overall tax burden, the city’s regularly scheduled four-year reappraisal, which took place in 2025, was conducted by the independently elected Davidson County assessor of property.
WATCH: JOHN RICH WARNS TAX ‘ONE-TWO PUNCH’ THREATENS BROADWAY
The 2025 reappraisal resulted in a 45% median increase in property values countywide. Under Tennessee law, the reappraisal itself is revenue-neutral, meaning the tax rate is adjusted so higher property values don’t automatically generate additional revenue for local government.
However, O’Connell and the Metro Council subsequently set the Urban Services District tax rate at $2.814 per $100 of assessed value, 26% above the revenue-neutral certified rate, according to the assessor’s office.
The increases were particularly steep on Lower Broadway, where a 400% increase in real estate values was common, according to a report by Axios Nashville. The outlet also reported that many honky-tonk operators rent their buildings and are responsible for the property taxes under their leases, leaving them to shoulder rising tax bills without benefiting from the increased equity in the properties.
Rich pointed to several Lower Broadway establishments while describing what he sees as a broader threat to businesses in the district.
He cited Nashville Underground, which permanently closed in May after roughly eight years in business, and Acme Feed & Seed, whose owner, Tom Morales, has warned it could close amid a steep increase in its property tax bill. Rich also said he has heard Hard Rock Cafe Nashville, a Broadway fixture since 1994, is considering closing, though Fox News Digital has not independently confirmed that claim.
Acme Feed & Seed, in particular, has emerged as a flashpoint in the debate over the rising tax burden. In February, Morales said the popular four-story restaurant, bar and live music venue’s annual property tax bill had jumped from $129,000 to nearly $600,000.
Morales told Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 that Acme Feed & Seed ended 2025 about $500,000 “in the red,” while he and his daughter Lauren Morales later told the Nashville Scene that closure was “imminent” if they could not find a solution to the tax increase.
O’Connell addressed Morales’ warnings at the time during an interview with Nashville’s Fox 17.
“It’s not up to me whether he keeps that business open,” O’Connell told the outlet. “The market evolves. New businesses start even as beloved old businesses close.”
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The comments drew criticism, including from Metro Councilmember Jacob Kupin, who told Fox 17 he was “appalled” by the mayor’s response. O’Connell’s office later accused the station of selectively editing and misrepresenting his remarks and released a longer version of the exchange.
In the fuller answer, O’Connell said the state comptroller had reviewed downtown valuations and determined they reflected market value. He called Acme’s location “an incredibly valuable piece of property” and said it was up to the owner to determine how to capture that value.
Rich argued that Acme’s concerns are far from isolated, pointing to a recent meeting he attended with other Lower Broadway business owners.
“Then we had this meeting with all the business owners down there,” Rich told Fox News Digital. “And in that meeting, all the ownership of Broadway was represented down there, and every single person said it’s only a matter of time before we literally have to just close the doors because we’re running at a deficit.”
“We’d have to charge $50 a beer, which you can’t do that,” he continued. “I mean, there is no business model that exists that allows the businesses down there to stay open.”
WATCH: JOHN RICH SAYS NASHVILLE BARS WOULD NEED TO CHARGE ‘$50 A BEER’ TO SURVIVE
Rich emphasized that the bar and restaurant operators sounding the alarm include some of the most experienced in the city.
“You’re not talking about a bunch of amateurs here,” he said. “You’re looking at the best of the best, and they can’t survive it.”
For Rich, however, the bigger concern is what the financial pressure could ultimately mean for Nashville’s identity.
“The bigger story to me is live music in Nashville. I mean, it’s called Music City,” he said.
Rich described the unique concentration of live music along Broadway, where honky-tonks line both sides of the street and bands perform throughout the day and into the early morning hours.
“You walk down Broadway, the doors are all open to all the honky-tonks, you’re hearing music from the right side of your head and the left side of your head for five blocks in a row,” Rich said. “There’s 60, 70, 80 live music venues in that one concentration. It’s the only place like it in the world.”
“The French Quarter doesn’t have that. Las Vegas doesn’t have that. Times Square doesn’t have that,” he continued. “There’s nowhere in America that has what downtown Nashville has when it comes to live music. And it is absolutely under threat.”
Rich painted a dire picture of what he fears the entertainment district could eventually look like when Nashville hosts the 2030 Super Bowl.
“Can you imagine when the Super Bowl comes to Nashville here in a few years, and everybody’s packed in on Broadway and there’s only 30 or 40% of the neon signs that are even still lit up, if you’re lucky?” he said. “That’s what you’re looking at happening. I mean, what a travesty that would be.”
Rich, an outspoken conservative and longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, placed much of the blame for the situation on O’Connell, a Democrat, suggesting the mayor’s approach to the issue is driven by ideology. However, Rich maintained that concerns among Broadway business owners cross political lines.
“This is not just a bunch of conservatives yelling about it,” Rich said. “The group of business owners that I sat with were from both sides of the aisle.”
“There’s all kinds of things we don’t agree on amongst each other,” he continued. “But this right here brought unity amongst left and right and middle. It’s that bad.”
Rich also accused O’Connell of using tax policy to reshape the character of Nashville, offering his own view of the mayor’s motivations.
“It is a tactic to tax things out of existence that you don’t like and replace them with things that you’d rather have there,” Rich said. “Can you imagine the neon signs on Broadway replaced with government buildings and corporate offices? I think that’s what he wants.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to O’Connell’s office for comment.
The five-time Grammy Award nominee is now calling on Tennessee state leaders to intervene.
Rich said Broadway business owners have appealed to Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and urged Gov. Bill Lee to work with lawmakers on a solution. He told Fox News Digital that the governor has the opportunity to become a “honky-tonk hero.”
WATCH: JOHN RICH FEARS NASHVILLE’S NEON LIGHTS COULD GO DARK BEFORE SUPER BOWL COMES TO MUSIC CITY
“Governor Lee, who’s still here, has an opportunity to do a special session with the Senate, with the House, and come with some solution that, if nothing else, will buy us some time until we can go in and make the more permanent moves,” Rich said.
State leaders are considering taking action. Sexton’s office confirmed to Axios Nashville on Wednesday that the House speaker has spoken with Lee’s office about the issue and that they are “looking at all possible solutions,” including the possibility of a special legislative session.
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Despite his warnings, Rich said the culture that draws crowds to Broadway has not changed, at least not yet.
“The culture on Broadway hasn’t changed at all,” he said. “The crowds that come there, the bands that play there, the owners of those businesses, they’re the same as they’ve always been.”
“It is all about the music,” Rich continued. “It’s all about people coming to town to have a good time and look at what some of the most talented people you’ve ever seen in your life play on these tiny little stages.”