Opened in 1982 as a casual gourmet restaurant with some live music, the Bluebird Cafe has become a music club first and a restaurant second. In 1985, Sunday writer's nights were added as a chance for new writers to audition and perform before a special guest writer. This became an immediate success. In 1987, dinner shows were added. The concept was to have the audience come earlier than 9:30, eat dinner and watch some lesser known musicians play. Although it took a while for the idea to catch on, these shows have also become very popular.

The Bluebird has been featured in many newspapers, on TV, and is also the setting for the movie "The Thing Called Love," starring River Phoenix, K.T. Oslin, Samantha &Sandra Bullock. Our founder, Amy Kurland, is quoted several times by Oslin's character.

Kathy Mattea was the first star to be identified with The Bluebird, she is still a friend and a regular guest today. Garth Brooks, Dierks Bentlely and Kenny Chesney played on our Open Mic and Sunday Songwriters Shows before they were discovered, as did Taylor Swift.
 
These days, the Bluebird reaches beyond Nashville - we take shows to other venues around the world including festivals in the Southeast and Robert Redford's Sundance Resort.

In 2008, Kurland donated The Bluebird Cafe to The Nashville Songwriters Association International (www.nashvillesongwriters.com).
***For a more detailed history, please visit The Bluebird Cafe's Wikipedia page or check out a copy of The Bluebird Cafe Scrapbook (available at The Bluebird or through out online store).