Local lists top restaurants with live music, events in the Great Smoky Mountains
Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar
Aldean’s is the newest addition to the Gatlinburg music and food scene. The food is quite good – I was surprisingly pleased with my BBQ sandwich – and the rooftop bar and great music line-up add to the experience. Live music is offered daily.
Ole Smoky’s The Holler
Here, you can listen to live bluegrass music while tasting the offerings of one of the region’s best distilleries. Try the moonshine or try the whiskey, but don’t visit on an empty stomach. No real food offerings are offered on the distillery tour and tasting.
Shamrock Pub
This place has food, drinks, live music and also karaoke. What more could you ask for? Nothing. I might ask for less, as the idea of working my way through a couple of cocktails while a stranger works his way through an off-key version of “Afternoon Delight” isn’t my idea of a good time. However, if you like pub food, beer and a nice outdoor patio, this might be the place for you.
Jimmy’s Smokehouse and Pizza Joint
Jimmy’s is a classic American eatery with delicious food of a wide variety from burgers, wings, sandwiches and more. Additionally, their live entertainment means tunes on Friday and Saturday. Call them for more information at 865-325-1210.
Tom & Earl’s Back Alley Grill
A back-alley grill should have a gravely voiced troubadour, right? Like Leonard Cohen singing “Hallelujah” with a throat full of glass. Well, the music at Tom & Earl’s is a little more traditional country than that, but it’s still pretty good. Live music is typically offered on Friday and Saturday nights. The restaurant offers the type of good food you’d find at a grill, back alley or otherwise, plus a variety of mixed drinks and beer.
Smoky Mountain Brewery
With locations in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, you can get what you want at Smoky Mountain Brewery. Specifically, a brewery and eatery with a thriving live music scene. The menu is burgers, pizza and apps all of which are excellent. The Ale Steak is also quite good. Handcrafted beers include the popular Cherokee Red Ale and the Appalachian Pale Ale.
Puckett’s Grocery
What started as a somewhat traditional small-town grocery store in Leiper’s Ferry in the 1950s is now a multi-location live music venue eatery. Certainly, Puckett’s has built a name on hosting live, local musical acts and serving Southern staples. Tennessee favorites include fried chicken, BBQ and meatloaf. Finish it off with a classic Southern dessert. It’s far from your cookie-cutter country music scene.
Junction 35
A distillery, restaurant and a great live music venue, Junction 35 is a triple threat on the Sevier County live entertainment scene. It’s also the perfect place for a fun night out with friends. The menu? Wings, BBQ, burgers, pasta and more. In addition, Junction 35 has its own brands of bourbon, rye whiskey, moonshine, vodka, gin and rum made under the supervision of a master distiller. And the music is typically offered on Tuesday nights. It’s popular styles of country and country pop.
Ole Red
Serving up heaping helpings of country music concerts every day and night, Ole Red certainly wins if volume – in both senses of the word – is taken into account. The menu is burgers and BBQ and the bar offers a wide array of choices. You are guaranteed a certain level of professionalism at Ole Red for sure and maybe once Blake has retired from “The Voice,” he might visit a little more often as well.
Do you have a favorite music venue in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge? If so, let me know in the comments!
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Also Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg has live music every Friday and Saturday night. And yes we’re open to the public.