Madi Marie × Molly Green · Nashville

Where Madi line dances.

Nashville Palace is one of Madi’s favorite places to dance. Here’s a little history, what to know before your first night, and what to wear.

If you read Madi’s interview, you know line dancing changed the way she gets dressed. It’s where her “just wear the outfit” mindset started. One of her favorite places to dance in Nashville is Nashville Palace.

It’s not on Broadway. It’s out on McGavock Pike, and it’s been a Nashville honky-tonk since 1977.

A little history.

Before Randy Travis was Randy Travis, he worked in the Nashville Palace kitchen. In the early 1980s, he’d take a break from frying catfish, take off his apron, and get up on stage with the house band, according to The Tennessean. Alan Jackson, Lorrie Morgan and Ricky Van Shelton were starting out there around the same time.

This June, the Palace named its front bar The Randy Travis Room, for the 40th anniversary of his first album, Storms of Life.

The dance floor.

The Palace calls it the best honky-tonk dance floor in Nashville. It’s a big hardwood floor with live music, and beginners and serious dancers are out there together. It’s also home base for Standard Western, a country dance group that teaches there, and for Nashville Dance Fest.

Your first night.

• Take the lesson. Standard Western teaches three easy line dances on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30, and those were $10 when we checked. There are Tuesday and Wednesday classes too.
• Bring your ID. Line dance nights are 21+
• Check the calendar first. The schedule changes, so look at the Palace calendar or their Facebook before you go.

What to wear.

Madi’s whole point is that you don’t need a reason to wear the fun thing. A night at the Palace is a pretty good reason anyway. Here’s what we’d pull from her collection.

“Now, I really just try to wear whatever makes me happy, regardless of the occasion!”

• Boots you can dance in. The Hollywood Fringe Boots if you want the fringe to move with you, or the Carry On Knee High Boots.
• Something that spins. The Vivian Denim Skort or the Leona Polka Dot Skort. It’s a skirt with shorts underneath, so you can turn without thinking about it.
• A tee and a good belt. The Butterfly Flame Tee with the Oakland Belt, tucked into jeans.

Photography by Sarah Keisling. Read more: Meet the Girl Behind the Collection