New venue would bring a taste of Nashville's honky-tonk scene. Picture: Lil Nashville
July 14, 2024
A country and western themed bar and restaurant could be set to open in Chiswick with a licence being sought for vacant premises on Barley Mow Passage.
Lil Nashville, a company which up until now has organised pop-up events, wants to convert the former Sam’s Brasserie restaurant into a venue which would host live music and dancing events.
The hours of operation would be similar to the previous premises licence which was held by the short-lived Betty’s wine bar.
The unit at 11 Barley Mow Passage is 4,038 sq ft and was being advertised at a rent of £96,000 per annum having been vacant since January 2023.
The application states, “Given the unique theme of the premises which is proposed and the type of clientele it will seek to attract, with a strong emphasis on music and food, we hope that there will be no cause for any representations to be lodged. “
The licence sought would allow live music to be played up until 11:15pm Monday to Thursday, through to 12:15am on the nights of Friday and Saturday and 10:45pm on Sunday. The premises would close a quarter of an hour later.
The pop-ups run by Lil Nashville including one later this week at Dingwall’s in Camden promise a taste of Nashville's honky-tonk scene with back-to-back live country covers, line dancing, Southern BBQ and a DJ. Acts from the growing British-based country music scene have performed at its events which also include line dancing.
Lil Nashville was set up by a trio, Helen, Rob, Jeremy who say on the company’s web site, “With our love and knowledge of country music, we have a genuine desire to replicate the unique ambience of Nashville's honky-tonk bars right here in the UK. As an up-and-coming genre here in the UK, country music has seen a huge boost in popularity, which is why we want to create a space for old and new country music fans to feel welcome. As we wait for our perfect fixed venue to launch our bar and restaurant, in the meantime we will be bringing the Nashville vibe on the road with our pop-up events.”
We asked them for more details about their plans for the Chiswick site, but they were unwilling to comment further until the premises licence had been secured.
Betty Chiswick lasted less than two years at the same venue
Country music has been experiencing a resurgence in popularity in London due to the influence of social media and streaming services. Viral trends and playlists often feature country songs, increasing their exposure.
There has also been fusion with other genres opening up country to new audiences. Rapper Lil Nas X had a massive hit with his version of country classic Old Town Road.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |