A visit to Nashville's hallowed Lower Broad area is an enlightening experience for any country music fan, whether you love the contemporary sound, still listen to purist classics on AM radio or fit snugly somewhere in between.

Because this small stretch of dim, yet thunderous honky tonks, where performer after performer flock to play for tips and sing their hearts out is just as much of a piece of the genre as any rural tradition or cowboy song.

This is (and has been) the proving ground for many of country music's best. Places like the world famous Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Robert's Western World or the Ernest Tubb Record Store have showcased some of country's greatest talent.

Yet they have done so in a fashion that is intimate and wholly real: for the most part a microphone, a song and a tip jar. No lights, makeup or studio pros help out these countless artists as they strive to fulfill their dreams of country music stardom.

On the outside, a city block full of loud bars, pawn shops and record or collectible stores, the section of historic buildings along Broadway in downtown Nashville represent much more than idle watering holes or tourist checkpoints.

They represent the bare knuckles soul of the country tradition.

From Hank Williams, Sr. to Willie Nelson to BR5-49, Lower Broad holds the stories of country music in its aging landscape.

And while the practically non-stop performance hours of the neon driven bars have turned away more country dreamers than they have created careers, plenty of artists have moved from these small stages to become legends of country music.

The reason?

Lower Broad represents a great equalizer for incoming talent. It is a testament to the strength of a dream. It's a place where you might find yourself performing on a hot Tuesday afternoon to five unappreciative people. Or the brunt of direct criticism from a drunkard in the bar. Or, if things go right, a solid tip jar and hearty applause. In any case, it is real and far removed from the often jaded or shallow antics of Music Row politics.

Chuck Mead of the latest Lower Broad heroes BR5-49 echoes this sentiment as he reflects on every day hopefuls who parade just off 16th Avenue in hopes of catching a random industry nod.

"Every day, I drive by Music Row and see these guys out there in front of that big jukebox in about 102 degree weather singing to a tape, and I think 'Man, I'm glad I went down to Lower Broadway."

This type of integrity, in its own rustic form seems to be an underlying yet prevalent theme, which comes across to locals, visitors and business fixtures of Lower Broad.

Robert Moore, owner of Robert's Western World (the "Home of BR5-49") has been in and around the scene there for 32 years. Prior to opening Robert's in 1989, he also owned world famous Tootsie's Orchid Lounge for a few years.

In his time, Moore has seen several superficial changes on the busy street: from the Opry-dominated era prior to 1974 (when the Grand Ole Opry relocated from the Ryman Auditorium downtown) to the neglect which encroached on the area in the early '80's, and finally to the tourist friendly yet humble feel of the present day.

But his admiration for the music and lifestyle of the area hasn't changed. "It's always been a great place to be, no matter what."

More than just a great place to see music, Lower Broad also represents a key factor in the system of checks and balances which is necessary to keep country music so rooted in tradition.

The area offers a glimpse of yesterday, which continues to make itself known in contemporary country. One of Nashville's most respected and long-standing critics (and author of Grand Ole Opry), Jack Hurst has reported on country music for over 35 years.

"It's good that along with the glitter and sheen of the new arena and the refurbished Ryman Auditorium there still remains some of not only the spirit but the grit of the old: the Ernest Tubb Record Shop and Tootsie's along with Roberts, Jack's Barbeque and the like. This way Lower Broad can still serve it's historic function as a reminder that country music goes astray when it gets too far above its raising."

When asked about the unchanged attitude of Lower Broad, Robert Moore echoes the same sentiment by simply saying, "You just can't go too fast."

Though places like Robert's Western World have become the most sought out night spots in recent years, the historic crown jewel of Lower Broad has to be Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.

A comforting haven for many of country's icons, such as Hank Williams, Sr., Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Tom T. Hall and Kris Kristofferson, Tootsie's is an ever-thriving history book of country lore.

Hank Williams, Sr. and others used to duck in the back door when they were performing on the Grand Ole Opry, to get a few drinks in between sets at the then "dry" Ryman Auditorium. (In fact, the alley separating the so-called "Mother Church of Country Music" the Ryman, and the honky tonks of Lower Broad has to be one of the most musically metaphorical places in the city - the marriage of rural wholesomeness and country heartbreak.)

Roger Miller, while staring out the front window onto Broadway wrote the classic "King Of The Road" on a Tootsie's napkin.

More recently, John Michael Montgomery boasted he would pay $25 for every Hank Williams, Sr. song BR5-49 could play. $600 later, after Montgomery was out of money, the band decided to let him get out of it.

Probably the most famous Tootsie's story however has to be about Willie Nelson selling his first song to Faron Young. Just as he was contemplating quitting music and moving back to Texas, Willie successfully pitched "Hello Walls" to Young inside Tootsie's.

Apparently Willie, (who around this time was so broke that he not only had an unpaid bar tab at Tootsie's, but at some point even slept in the upstairs room) was so excited when he received his first royalty check for the number one song ($3,000), he rushed down to Tootsie's, found Faron, and in his words kissed him "flush on the mouth."

Lower Broad has seen some very striking changes throughout the years. After it's initial heyday prior to 1974, many thought the area was on the skids. Many of the 13 honky tonks closed down, as adult theaters and the like began to crop up along the once fan- and musician-oriented stretch.

But what has always kept things going are the artists, as Robert Moore can tell you. "It hasn't changed. It is and always has been just good country music."

This is probably why Lower Broad was able to rebound so successfully over the last decade, and re-establish itself as one of the liveliest parts of the city. In fact, having hit a low point in the '80's when only four music venues were open, the block has since re-established itself with nine full fledged honky tonks. (Two - The Turf and Music City Lounge - are currently under repair from the 1997 tornado which struck downtown Nashville.)

So in addition to scanning the autograph-covered walls of Tootsie's or hunting down your favorite classics at the Ernest Tubb Record Store, you can also visit small joints like Maggie Maggee's, where legends like Billy Joe Shaver have begun to make intimate appearances, or Wolfy's, which has been the surprise beneficiary of legends like Merle Haggard and the temporary home of visitors like new artist Mike Ireland & Holler.

In fact, the turnaround from the '80's has been so thorough, that now the antiquated stretch is bookended by the new Nashville Arena and a Planet Hollywood.

But the true grit and spirit of the people and musicians of Lower Broad promise to maintain against too much modernization just as they have against too little.

"I've fought many a person in the name of country music," says Moore.

Jack Hurst sees the sustenance of such a historic area as more metaphorical to the genre as a whole: "Lower Broad's current configuration shows that country music's spirit and grit can hopefully live and prosper in a world that keeps getting newer."