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The Garth Brooks Friends In Low Places Bar and Honky-Tonk recently had its grand opening. He had been feverishly promoting his new bar in Nashville, Tennessee as a true honky-tonk, the place for country music lovers to have a good time. Well, the reviews are in. To say those reviews are “shocking” is an understatement. It is hard to believe any fan of Garth Brooks and honky-tonks could predict such reviews.
What Garth Brooks Promised
Garth Brooks made his fans some very serious promises when he opened his Friends In Low Places Bar and Honky-Tonk. These promises seemed easy enough to fulfill, at least for the Country Music Entertainer of The Decade award winner.
“I want the Chick-fil-a of honky tonks. I want a place you go in where you feel good, you feel safe. Everybody’s got good manners,” Garth Brooks explained. “I’m hoping that there’s right when you walk in it’s a ‘Love Everybody’ stated right there. That’s what it’s about, right? So I want a place that’s just safe. That feels good.”
“I’d love it to be a classic honky tonk. Cause country music to me has been so good to me. And I want to hear, on lower Broadway in 2022, I want to hear King George coming out of that honky tonk,” Brooks continued as he described his idea of the perfect honky-tonk. “I want to hear Haggard coming out of that honky tonk. And I don’t think that’s impossible to ask.”
Those are the words that came directly out of the mouth of the “To Make You Feel My Love” singer. Those are the things Garth Brooks wanted in a honky-tonk. Those are also the things he promised to his fans.
What Garth Brooks Delivered
The reviews are in. According to those reviews, Garth Brooks did not keep his promise of opening a honky-tonk, dive bar establishment. The “Much Too Young” singer did not deliver on his promise.
“Very disappointing. My husband and I paid $37 for 2 drinks. Same drinks at Kid Rock’s bar were $23. They only accepted credit cards, no cash” one reviewer stated. “I ordered a light beer but they were all out because they were ‘closing for 2 weeks and didn’t have enough in stock.’ There is an entertainment surcharge on each drink. Not sure if you are still expected to tip the band or if they pay them well from that surcharge.”
That reviewer didn’t end there. “Didn’t stick around long enough to find out as they were playing ‘Apple Bottom Jeans.’ Not what I expected from the Garth Brooks name. Not like any ‘dive bar’ I’ve been to. I think Garth Brooks has done well enough to help out his ‘friends in low places!!?’ There are other venues with cheaper prices and country music if that is what you are looking for.”
Even More Bad Reviews
“Place didn’t have a country vibe at all. Doesn’t accept cash at the bar???” one reviewer complained. “Like we are in America and it’s a country bar no cash. Have to say didn’t have any country music playing either. Definitely many other places around that are much better.”
“I expected better from Garth…Saturday night in Nashville and there is not country music. (Not even great) covers of Whitney Houston and the Cranberries. I want to hear COUNTRY MUSIC at FLP!!” another reviewer commented.
“Not country at all, hipster music the whole time. Very disappointing.” The negative reviews continued. “Seriously? They didn’t play country music one time. Figures.”
“Was there last weekend. This is certainly no honky-tonk bar. Looks like a club in NYC. Definitely not Nashville,” a reviewer said. “Atmosphere was stale along with the menu. Hardly wasn’t anybody in there compared to the other bars.”
He Should Know About Real Honky-Tonks
If anyone should know about real honky-tonks and dive bars, it would be Garth Brooks. He spent his early days, long before he made it big in Nashville, kris crossing all over his home state of Oklahoma. He sang in all sorts of honky-tonks and dive bars back then. If there was joint that played country music and he missed it, it wasn’t due to his lack of trying.
Think about it. Garth Brooks met his first wife, Sandy, in a bar. He was a bouncer in that bar, The Tumbleweed Ballroom, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It appears the country music megastar and icon forgot all about his roots in honky-tonks and dive bars.
There are two stories as to how they met at The Tumbleweed Ballroom. The first story is how Sandy got into a fight in the ladies bathroom and got her hand stuck in a wall. Another story as to how the two met was they were dance partner. Whichever way the couple met, either story screams “honky-tonk.”
Tell us what you think. Were you expecting the Garth Brooks bar to be a true honky-tonk and dive bar? Will you still go and give it a try? Sound off in the comments below.