Sounds like the liquor was talking again last night…
Country music superstar Morgan Wallen is in trouble with the law once again after he reportedly threw a chair of the 6-story roof of Eric Church’s new Nashville bar, Chief’s.
According to News Channel 5, officers arrested Morgan, who was pointed out by the staff as the culprit, after the chair stuck the ground just a few feet from where they were standing. Metro Nashville Police reviewed security footage and it confirmed that he threw an object off the roof.
@micheal_phillips #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp ♬ original sound – micheal Phillips
Wallen was arrested on three counts of assault with a deadly weapon/reckless endangerment, two counts for the two officers who were in the vicinity and one for the danger to the public. Wallen was also charged with disorderly conduct with a bond was set at $15,250.
Wallen’s attorney released the following statement:
“At 10:53p Sunday evening Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities.”
Not good…
Michael Jordan & Peyton Manning Attend Chief’s Grand Opening
A lot of artists have their own bars on Broadway these days.
From Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean to Kid Rock, John Rich and Miranda Lambert, downtown Nashville is an endless stream of bars named after some of the biggest artists in country music.
But from the time Eric Church announced his bar, Chief’s, you knew it was going to be different.
Church has always been different. He’s never really followed the crowd, whether that’s in his music or just the way he does things in a music industry that rewards people who play the game. But Church doesn’t play the game. He never has. So it’s no surprise that he wasn’t going to start when it came to bringing his vision for Chief’s to life alongside his friend Ben Weprin, founder of boutique real estate management firm AJ Capital.
That vision finally became a reality earlier this week when Chief’s opened their doors for the first time for a star-studded grand opening.
And as soon as you walk in, it’s not hard to see that Church’s bar is different from the dozens of others that surround it – in the best possible way.
Eric Church has never really been one to half-ass anything. If you’ve seen him live, that’s obvious from the first note to the last. And there’s nothing about Chief’s that was half-assed.
The entire first floor is covered in tour posters from his 15+ year career. And when I say the floor, I mean the floor…and the ceiling, and the walls, and the bar top, and even the chairs at the bar. In a building that Church has said was built “brick by brick,” each step of his journey is on full display as soon as you walk in the bar.
The backdrop for the stage on the first floor is the sign from Cotton Eyed Joe, a tribute to the history of the building that now serves as home for Church and his fans.
And in the Neon Steeple music venue on the third and fourth floors, another sign hangs above the stage, this one from the Fiddle and Steel Guitar Bar. It’s a sign that holds special meaning for Church, who got his start playing at the since-closed bar in Printer’s Alley when, as he told the crowd at the opening, Broadway didn’t want him.
There are stories like that in every inch of Chief’s – little Easter eggs that come together to paint a picture of the man behind the aviators. On the second floor there’s the flag from his sold-out Nissan Stadium show here in Nashville, which at the time was the largest crowd in the stadium’s history. Even the pews in the music venue each have special meaning for Church, and they’re backlit by stained glass windows featuring some of his biggest inspirations.
Church himself will be playing at the bar with his 19-date To Beat the Devil residency, with performances that will be unlike anything his fans have ever seen before. But unlike the sounds of the cover bands that escape the windows of the surrounding bars and fill the streets of Broadway, Church is also bringing in singers and songwriters to play their own music inside the Neon Steeple.
This is an artist’s bar, built for artists by an artist.
So when Church took the stage to play at Chief’s for the first time, as he stepped onto the aviators that are laid into the center of the stage, it was clear that this was a home game in the tiny 350-seat venue for the man who’s used to packing out stadiums and amphitheaters.
But even in a room full of people who know him well, Church still managed to surprise everybody with what he had in store. I won’t give too much away about the performance so I don’t ruin it for the folks who are going to his residency, but let’s just say you never really know what Eric Church has up his sleeve – or standing right beside you in the crowd.
It was just that kind of night as Chief’s opened their doors for the first time. Full of surprises, yet entirely familiar. There were dueling pianos on the second floor, and downstairs a DJ hosted a star-studded dance party that at one point featured Michael Jordan dancing on stage alongside Weprin as Peyton Manning raised his glass from the crowd.
Cincoro tequila, which is Michael Jordan’s tequila brand, was on the menu for the opening night. But Church’s own Whiskey Jypsi was also behind the bar – just another personal touch in a bar that has them everywhere you turn.
And speaking of the menu, famed pitmaster Rodney Scott’s barbeque serves as a welcome change from the burgers and bar food that you’ll find up and down Broadway. (Try the brisket. Just trust me on this one).
Overall, Chief’s is as complex as the man whose name is on the front door, yet as simple as putting a drink in your hand on Friday at 5. It’s a place for his Church Choir fan club to “gather again.” A place where every corner holds a story, every wall a memory. A place that Eric put his “Heart & Soul” into. And a place that’s different from anything else in Nashville.
Eric Church Hops On The Mic On Opening Night
Only in Nashville.
Eric Church opened up his new Nashville bar, Chief’s, this week in what it’s fair to say was the most anticipated grand opening of any bar in Music City in quite a while.
Fans were lined up outside the door at 4 AM on Friday to get their first look at the new venue – and they weren’t disappointed.
Unlike other artists’ bars on Broadway (and there are plenty of them), Church built his place specifically for his fans. From giving his Church Choir fan club early entry into the bar to the Easter eggs from his career that cover every inch of the bar, it’s clear that Chief’s was built specifically with his fans in mind…which is a welcome change from the bars that were built for tourists and bachelorette parties who come to Nashville to black out on lemon drop shots.
And something else that makes Chief’s different from the other bars on Broadway is the Neon Steeple. The two-story music venue is almost like a mini Ryman Auditorium, featuring stained glass windows with some of Church’s heroes backlighting pews in the balcony and serving as a place for artists to come and play their own music – not the cover songs that you mostly hear on Broadway. (Oh, and there’s also a confessional upstairs for Sinners Like Me. No, seriously).
Church christened the Neon Steeple on Friday night with the first of 19 shows in his To Beat the Devil residency, an intimate show that features never-before-heard songs and stories from the man behind the Ray Bans.
But after the show, he decided to spend some time with the fans who came out to enjoy his new bar.
Church popped into the Friendly Shadows piano bar on the second floor (the only dueling piano bar on Broadway, by the way), and even hopped on the mic to sing a few songs alongside the piano players.
He gave fans not only his best version of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” but he also joined the piano player for what I’m sure was that guy’s most nerve-wracking performance of “Springsteen” ever: Singing an Eric Church song, in Eric Church’s bar, with Eric Church standing right beside you.
No pressure.
But of course Church wasn’t there to critique his performance. He was just there to connect a melody with a memory alongside his fans. And now they all have a place in Nashville to do just that.
@sammyc_007 when you can’t stop trying to relive Eric Church’s cover of Piano Man at the opening night of Chief’s, Nashville #ericchurchmusic #ericchurch #chiefs #broadwaynashville ♬ original sound – Sammy C
