While there is certainly more to Nashville than just the cowboy hats and rhinestones, there is a reason artists from across the country flock to Music City. This haven for creatives offers ample professional opportunity for artists and a more discrete celebrity culture than the likes of New York or Los Angeles. 

From international touring acts to athletes and actors, many notable public figures choose to call Nashville home, and many have even established businesses in the city.

Any Nashville native would be remiss not to mention that while the city is psyched to have so many popular citizens, we pride ourselves on leaving famous people alone.

This town is all about the art; unless it’s absolutely necessary to thank an artist for his or her work, the paparazzi and selfie frenzy is best left to other cities. If you want to scope out celebrities in Nashville from a respectful distance, check out these neighborhoods.

Downtown

Downtown Nashville neon signs
Downtown Nashville

If Music Row is where country music goes to work, there’s no question where it goes to play. Downtown, specifically Lower Broadway’s strip of neon-illuminated honky-tonks, is awash in the most potent and over-the-top forms of country music culture.

While it’s true that the stars are unlikely to walk the streets among some of their most ravenous fans, everyone knows that the stage door to The Ryman Auditorium (in the alley behind Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge) is a surefire place to spot some of music’s most notable names during load-in and after the show. Many a fan has snagged an autograph in this spot after a knockout performance, and it’s often worth the wait. 

While the country’s biggest stars might be scarce on lower Broadway, there is no shortage of celebrity-branded honky-tonk experiences. Among them are Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar, Ole Red from Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row, and A.J.’s Good Time Bar from Alan Jackson.

12 South 

12 south Nashville
12 South, Nashville

This popular shopping, food, and drink district has more to offer than just murals, scooters, and Instagramable latte art. While the transformation of this neighborhood owes much to likes of celebs like Reese Witherspoon moving in with her retail endeavor Draper James, many notable Nashvillians were on the scene long before 12 South became a scene unto itself.

Dolly Parton has famously maintained a presence in the neighborhood for years with her adobe hacienda-style compound on the corner of 12th Avenue South and Elmwood Avenue, Inca-Hoots. While the property is heavily guarded, it is certainly a sight to behold, and it’s not uncommon for fans to catch a glimpse of a grand tour bus coming and going from time to time.

Green Hills

Green Hills
Green Hills Nashville

Green Hills is well-known as one of Nashville’s most high-quality shopping districts. While the landscape of actual rolling green hills makes the neighborhood a beloved residential area, major attractions like The Mall at Green Hills and Whole Foods Market make it a popular place to spot celebrities.

Luxury shopping destinations like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry combine with high-end jewelry retailers like Tiffany & Company to make the mall a popular destination among the rich and famous.

In the nearby Hill Center Green Hills famed performer and entrepreneur Holly Williams (granddaughter of country legend Hank Williams and daughter of Hank Williams Jr.) owns two popular retail spots: H. Audrey and White’s Mercantile. 

Between the health food offerings and glamorous retail in this South Nashville neighborhood, famed interdisciplinary power-couples like Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, among others, have been known to browse the area.

Franklin

Franklin Nashville Downtown
Franklin, Nashville

A picturesque example of rolling Tennessee hills, this municipality just south of Nashville’s city limits is home to some of the area’s biggest stars. While this small city is not technically a Nashville neighborhood, any list of celebrity stomping grounds would be incomplete without it.

Stars who choose to shy away from the city lights almost exclusively choose the rural landscape, space, and seclusion that Franklin has to offer, just a 30-45 minute drive from the heart of the city. It also doesn’t hurt to mention that the popular indie rock band Paramore hails from the small town.

Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler famously listed their Forest Hills home and opted to move out to the Leiper’s Fork area of Franklin in 2018. The property will be well-known to fans of the couple’s reality show “Very Cavallari” as it was a prominent location on the production.