ROBERT’S WESTERN WORLD FAN FAIR BLOCK PARTY SET FOR AUGUST 4TH TO HONOR NASHVILLE OF YORE
ROBERT’S WESTERN WORLD FAN FAIR:
HONORING NASHVILLE OF YORE WITH BLOCK PARTY SET FOR AUGUST 4TH
“Step inside Robert’s Western World, and it’s the music that hooks you. Maybe you don’t know the words, maybe it’s the soundtrack your parents or grandparents loved. But there’s something about the rapid-fire twang of a guitar, the percussive pulse of a slap on a double bass that threatens to burst out of this old honky-tonk.” - The New York Times
NASHVILLE, TN - On August 4th, Robert’s Western World, known as Nashville’s Home of Traditional Country Music, will host Robert’s Western World Fan Fair, celebrating 26 years. In August 2024, Robert’s Western World celebrated its 25th year under the proprietorship of JesseLee Jones, the leader of its house band, Brazilbilly. After the rousing success of the event, Robert’s is once again taking over the stretch of Lower Broadway between Fourth and Fifth Avenues just outside of the venue for its anniversary celebration. The all-ages festivities are free and will begin at 10:00 am CT, with bands and special guests performing until midnight between two stages. The lineup will be announced shortly. Click HERE for more event information.
Robert’s has created special merchandise for purchase, and the bar and grill will be serving up their world-famous “Recession Special” - a fried bologna sandwich, Lay’s potato chips, a Moon Pie, and a cold PBR - still just $6.
Located in the famous historic district of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, Robert’s Western World stands in the shadow of the Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium – the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. Over the last century, the building that is now home to Robert’s has been used as a warehouse, an office space for river merchants, and for a variety of other purposes. From the late 1950s to the early 1980s – the heyday of country music – the building served as the home of the Sho-Bud Steel Guitar Company, but by the early 1980s, the Lower Broadway district had fallen on hard times. In the early 90s, honky tonk entrepreneur Robert Wayne Moore opened Rhinestone Western Wear, which evolved into internationally-renowned live entertainment venue, Robert’s Western World. On August 5, 1999, Moore decided to pass the torch and sold the business to musician JesseLee Jones.
Jones and his wife, Emily Ann, continue their mission to keep traditional country music alive. While Broadway is ever-changing, the family-owned and operated venue is the last of the true honky tonks, and remains a constant, protecting and celebrating the music that made Music City. Now, Robert’s Western World proudly serves almost one million customers a year.
From his humble, and at times troubled, beginnings in São Paulo, Brazil, Jones was influenced by an eclectic repertoire of musical styles. After discovering old-time gospel, traditional country, and rockabilly music, he set his sights on a music career in America. Jones immigrated to the U.S. in 1984 and, after a long and rocky journey, he found himself in Peoria, Illinois. Robbed of his belongings on a Greyhound bus on his first day in the country, and unable to speak the language, he was taken in by a family associated with his church. Jones worked hard babysitting, cooking, doing household chores, and delivering newspapers on a long driving route, in exchange for room and board.
Jones moved to Nashville in the early ’90s and set about the hard work of making a name for himself in Music City. It was Moore who first recognized Jones’ potential and booked him to play Robert’s Western World in the spring of 1995. Robert’s house band at the time, BR-549, called Jones the “Brazilian Hillbilly,” and he became known as Brazilbilly. Since then, the band has gained much popularity and recognition playing as the house band at Robert’s Western World for the past 29 years, performing sets on Fridays and Saturdays.
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