19 Years and Counting!
The Listening Room’s founder and visionary, Chris Blair, "set out to create a space that put the song and the songwriter first." As of 2024, The Listening Room has supported Nashville songwriters by selling over 130,000 tickets to fans from 40 countries across the globe and 48 U.S. states from coast to coast. The venue has hosted over 800 shows featuring over 1,000 songwriters on its stages, and its monthly "Sound Good, Do Good" shows raised over $100,000 for worthy causes throughout the year.
The History.
The Listening Room Cafe was founded in 2006 in historic downtown Franklin. Founder and owner, Chris Blair, a singer/songwriter himself, realized he couldn’t find a local venue that he felt had the sound and atmosphere that Nashville artists deserved. The Franklin location quickly became a local favorite, garnering the title of “the Bluebird Cafe outside of Nashville.” The venue changed locations two more times, once in 2008 and again in 2013 before finding its permanent home in 2017 at the historic International Harvester Tractor building at 618 4th Avenue South.
The stories. Oh the stories!
Guests experience the hits in a way they’ve never heard them before, as the songs are portrayed by the writers themselves. It's a great, intimate vibe between songwriter and guest, as guests learn how the writers came up with the ideas for the songs, why they they wrote it and sometimes even what artist it was originally intended for but didn't end up recording it. It's a behind-the-scenes peek at the business of songwriting.
Willingness To Interact With Guests
After their performances, the artists are around to take photos, share more stories or just say hello to fans and guests.
The Podcast.
Can't be in Nashville? Check out Stories Behind The Songs with Chris Blair. The weekly podcast features in-depth interviews with the true stories behind the songs and the struggles in the industry with some of the biggest names in music. You can find the latest episodes on Spotify, YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.