As Jack Neely writes in “Knoxville: A Music History Guide,” the Old City “constitutes all that remains of the old Jackson Avenue railroad warehouse district and the lively Central Street “Bowery,” once known for saloons, pool halls, and brothels. Reborn as a renovated nightclub district around 1985, it had some interesting associations with music and musicians even before that time.”

<<Old City Music Venue Shows Gallery>>

Annie’s & Lucille’s at 106 N. Central. Named after and run by Annie Delisle, the English ex-wife of author Cormac McCarthy, Annies opened in 1983 as a restaurant and later expanded into an adjacent courtyard. Annie’s was mostly known as a jazz club, and from 1989-2004 was known as Lucille’s.  

Ella Guru’s at 111 N. Central was an unusual restaurant/club in the basement where the Melting Pot is today. Named for a Captain Beefheart song with an unusual spelling, Ashley Capps booked some legendary shows during the club’s two-year run from 1988 to 1990. One of the first shows proved to be a two-night appearance by blues guitarist John Lee Hooker. In 1989, Garth Brooks played a show here early in his career—years later he’d play to a capacity crowd at Neyland Stadium.  Scottish band The Blue Nile (“Tinsel Town in the Rain”) played here in the summer of 1990 and Ella Guru’s is featured briefly toward the end of a short documentary about the band’s 1990 U.S tour, Flags & Fences, that’s on YouTube. Watch out for a brief cameo with local journalist Betsy Pickle! Jump to: Ella Guru’s Music Shows Gallery

Stonewall’s / Planet Earth ran on the third floor at 121 W. Jackson Ave from 1988-1992. Promoter Chuck Burnley said he only booked bands that he liked, which apparently included the Black Crowes, which played here several times.

Ace of Clubs / Blue Cats at 125 E. Jackson Avenue were two clubs that existed across from where Barley’s is today though the actual building is now gone. Ace of Clubs began in the early 1990s and Blue Cats followed in the early 2000s. Norah Jones played Blue Cats in the club’s early days when she was touring with her first album. 

Read “Blue Cat Blues: A sudden disappearance in the Old City,” a story by Jack Neely.

Manhattan’s / Now Boyd’s Jig & Reel at 101 S. Central has a deep history in that Granville “Stick” McGhee worked as a porter here at the Manhattan Cafe in the early 1940s. He later adapted an Army song and called it “Drinkin’ Wine, Spo-dee-o-dee,” which is considered one of the earliest rock’n’roll recordings, later recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis and others. The building became the music venue Manhattan’s in 1987 and thanks to the Boyd family, it became reborn in 2011 as Boyd’s Jig & Reel, Scottish pub dedicated to live Celtic and folk music.

Barley’s at 200 E. Jackson Avenue dates to 1999 when it became a popular pizza and beer joint hosting folk and alt-country acts, including some of the early performances of Old Crow Medicine Show, Justin Townes Earle, and Malcolm Holcomb, and others. It hosts an eclectic roster of bands and also regular Blue Plate Special lunchtime shows for WDVX radio.

The Pilot Light at 106 E. Jackson Avenue has been around since the early 2000s and has hosted many intimate shows over the years. It’s run as a nonprofit. The venue celebrated 25 years in September 2025 with a special festival featuring different bands every 15-20 minutes on two alternate stages out on the street, along with an exhibition of show posters inside.

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