Robert's Western World, the original honky-tonk on Lower Broadway near the Ryman, plays traditional country music and says it never charges an entry fee. It's open 10am–3am every day; everyone, including kids, is welcome until 6pm, then it's 21 and up. House band Kelley's Heroes plays Wednesday–Saturday 6:30–10pm. Food and drinks are sold separately, and the bar asks you to tip the band and servers if you're enjoying yourself.
Nashville Public Library Main Library, Civil Rights Room
Overlooking the downtown corner where the 1960 lunch-counter sit-ins took place, the Main Library's Civil Rights Room lets you sit at a symbolic lunch counter, read the protesters' Ten Rules of Conduct, follow a timeline of local and national events and see photographs of Nashville's school desegregation and student movement. Main Library hours: Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 2–5pm.
Admission to the Tennessee State Library & Archives is free. The exhibit lobby is open to everyone Monday through Saturday, 8am–4:30pm, and the reading room (Tuesday–Saturday) lets you dig into Tennessee records and family history; email ahead to set up a research appointment and staff can pull items in advance. Closed on state and federal holidays and on Saturday, November 28.
Vanderbilt University Museum of Art, Cohen Memorial Hall · Nashville
The Vanderbilt University Museum of Art is dedicated to making art freely available to the community. Its galleries are on the second floor of Cohen Memorial Hall on the Peabody campus, open Tuesday to Friday 11am–4pm and weekends noon–5pm during the fall and spring semesters. It's closed for Thanksgiving break (November 22–29). A few visitor spots are in the Zone 10 lot on 21st Avenue; other unmarked spots are permit-only.
Metro Parks' Centennial Art Center runs six gallery shows a year of local and regional professional and emerging artists. The gallery is free and open Monday–Thursday 9am–5pm and Friday 10am–4pm. From November 20 to December 10 it hosts the students' and staff's holiday show and sale.
The Station Inn, the Gulch's bluegrass listening room, hosts a free Bluegrass Jam on Sunday evenings at 7pm: a classic picking circle where anyone with a bluegrass instrument can join and anyone can sit outside the circle and listen. No skill requirements, and you may end up picking with living legends. Bluegrass instruments only. The bar is open (food and drinks are sold separately). Minors are welcome with an adult chaperone.
Metro Parks' Centennial Art Center opens its Student and Staff Holiday Show and Sale with a reception on Friday, November 20, 2026, 5–7:30pm: live music, refreshments and new work by the art center's students and staff. The show stays up through December 10.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (pass from Nashville Public Library)
Nashville Public Library cardholders can check out a Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum passport that admits two adults free. Place a hold with your card; passports go out for 7 days with no renewals, and you show it at the museum's information desk.
Verified Oct 28 · library.nashville.gov
Catch: Nashville Public Library card required · Place a hold; limited passes, 7-day checkout
Nashville Public Library's Library of Things lends musical instruments (guitars, keyboards, ukuleles), tool kits and radon detectors, cake pans and ice cream makers, weights and blood pressure kits, bocce and pickleball sets, binoculars and sewing machines, free for up to 3 weeks. Borrow two at a time; return them inside at a desk, not the book drop.
Verified Oct 28 · library.nashville.gov
Catch: Adults 18+ with an NPL card in good standing · Sign a usage agreement; lost items are billed
Nashville Public Library staff give free one-on-one appointments for computer and phone questions, job searching and resumes, homework help and small-business research. Free test proctoring is available at select branches too. Services are free and open to anyone; no library card needed. Book online with as much detail as you can.
Check out a BCycle fob from Nashville Public Library and get unlimited two-hour rides on BCycle's electric pedal-assist bikes for a week, from any Nashville BCycle station. Place a hold to have it sent to any branch. Riders must be 18+ and sign a waiver; a lost fob costs $5.
Verified Oct 28 · library.nashville.gov
Catch: NPL card in good standing; riders 18+ · Sign a waiver; $5 fee if you lose the fob
Metro Nashville convenience centers (East, Ezell Pike, Omohundro)
Davidson County residents can drop off household hazardous waste (up to 15 gallons or 100 pounds) for free at Metro's East and Ezell Pike convenience centers, and old electronics (up to 100 pounds) for free at the East, Ezell Pike and Omohundro centers. Recycling, compost drop-off and tires without rims (4 a month) are free too. Bring a Tennessee driver's license showing a Davidson County address. One visit per day; no commercial vehicles or commercial waste.
Verified Oct 28 · nashville.gov
Catch: Davidson County residents only: show a TN driver's license with your county address · Limits: 15 gal/100 lb hazardous waste, 100 lb electronics per visit
Nashville Public Library's Pathway for New Americans offers free information on learning English, immigration, naturalization and citizenship at New Americans Corner booths in every library and at Coleman Park, East Park, Madison Park, Southeast and Smith Springs community centers. The library and Metro Parks also host English and citizenship classes with local nonprofits, and free English Conversation Clubs meet at branches such as Hermitage and Thompson Lane.
Nashville Public Library notarizes simple documents for free at select branches by appointment: sworn statements, powers of attorney, rental agreements, bills of sale, wills, promissory notes and more. Bring a valid government photo ID, have documents filled out but unsigned, and bring your own witnesses if you need them. It doesn't do real estate closings, vital records, I-9s, non-English documents or remote notarization.
Verified Oct 28 · library.nashville.gov
Catch: Appointment required · Bring a valid government photo ID · Simple documents only; no real estate or vital records
Borrow vegetable, herb and flower seeds free with a Nashville Public Library card at the Main Library and 19 branches, from Bellevue to Thompson Lane. Librarians help you get growing, and the library runs free gardening workshops through the year. At season's end you can return seeds you've saved.
Verified Oct 28 · library.nashville.gov
Catch: Nashville Public Library card required
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