Ashley McBryde is about to flip Broadway on its bar-soaked head.
On August 28, the Grammy-winning, steel-strong singer-songwriter is opening the doors to Redemption Bar, a brand-new venue sitting five stories up inside Eric Church‘s honky-tonk, Chief’s. But this isn’t just another celebrity bar with overpriced whiskey and neon lights. This is personal. This is about purpose. This is Ashley making space for the people who, like her, decided to put the bottle down and still wanted a damn good time.
“When the opportunity to make my mark on Broadway came, I knew I wanted to create a space that champions what’s made a difference in my life,” she said. “A space that lifts up the brushed aside and makes sure everyone feels welcome.”
Welcome to Redemption, a place where the music matters more than the menu and where soda water isn’t the sad option. The bar features a full lineup of zero-proof cocktails, crafted, intentional, and named after lyrics, not pity. And yes, there will still be alcohol on the menu, because no one’s getting judged for what’s in their glass.
But make no mistake. This isn’t just a bar. It’s a statement.
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McBryde, who’s now three years sober, didn’t broadcast her journey early on. She did it quietly, in the shadows, without press releases or clickbait. “All people are gonna do is just wait for you to screw up,” she told People last year. “I did it for me. I didn’t do it for social media.”
It wasn’t about a brand or a rebrand. It was about survival. And now she’s putting that truth into a space where others don’t have to feel like outsiders for skipping the shot.
“Some of my favorite places to socialize became wildly unaccommodating when the only thing that changed was what was in my cup,” she said. “It was vital that I create a space where not drinking is the forethought, normalized.”
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Redemption Bar is also set to be a haven for live, original music. Forget the Broadway bars cranking out cover songs of cover songs. Ashley’s carving out a stage where the writers, the underdogs, and the ones grinding it out in Music Row basements get a place to be heard by the tourists and locals alike.
“Songwriters are the backbone of this community,” she said. “And it’s important to me to create a place for all the tourists on lower Broadway to experience original music from some of the people who are keeping dreams alive in this town.”
It’s a move that couldn’t be more McBryde. She’s always been the voice for the ones who didn’t fit the mold, whether she was writing about a “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” or singing with the gravel and grace that only comes from living it the hard way.
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She’s not preaching sobriety. She’s not shaming anyone for their choices. She’s just planting a flag on Broadway for people who want good drinks, great songs, and a hell of a lot of heart without the hangover.
So come August 28, Nashville gets something new. Something overdue. Something real.
Ashley McBryde didn’t just open a bar.
She opened a damn door.
