by Rod Williams, Oct. 21, 2025- A Fox News Report article, The most iconic dive bars in America: Are any in your state?, lists Santa's Pub as one of them.
I know Santa's Pub. I make a point to walk most days and a trip from my house to Santa's Pub is only 2.8 miles round-trip, a perfect length for my walks. I end up going to Santa's about once a month or so. It is usually a Karaoke bar, but on Sundays, Santa's has a great band called The Ice Cold Pickers.
The band is a real country band that plays the old stuff and new stuff that sounds like the old stuff. A lot of bands you hear on Broadway are talented, but often play cover tunes and try to sound just like the original. The Ice Cold Pickers play familiar songs too, but they don't sound like they are mimicking the originals. The band makes old songs sound fresh and new. They may also play songs that were deep album cuts of artists you know, but songs that never got much airplay, or they may reinterpret a familiar rock song and make it sound like a country standard.
The band does not always sound the same. Some of the members are always the same; there is a drummer, steel guitar, fiddle and lead guitar, but some members switch out. One time the band may have a soulful keyboardist as part of the band, and the next time they may have a banjo player or an upright bass, or another guitarist. The band members have resumes of having toured with artists whose names you would recognize. For the first hour, it is just the band, then for the second hour, they bring up a guest vocalist. The guests are aspiring stars with their own style and usually people who have already had some success. Santa's Pub is a place where you see real artist honing their craft.
Recently, the owner passed away. I was pleased to see the bar has reopened, but I wonder how long it will last. It sits on valuable land across from the fairgrounds. While Nashville is a tourist mecca and music city, much of the music is packaged for tourists and does not have the old feel of artists creating music; Stanta's does.
Here is what the article had to say:
This holiday-themed bar is located in a double-wide trailer that was part of an old construction site. The family-owned spot reopens on Oct. 19 following beloved owner Elmer Denzel Irwin's death in September. Even celebrities including Kacey Musgraves and Ed Sheeran mourned him on social media, The Tennessean reported. Customers praise Santa's on Yelp for its cheap drinks and lively karaoke.
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