Morgan Wallen Gets Bad News About His New Bar From The Nashville Metro Council

The country music star Morgan Wallen got bad news this week when a request to install a sign for his future bar was rejected by the Nashville Metro Council.

Wallen Hit With Crushing Blow

Wallen’s bar is set to be called This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen, according to People Magazine. 4th Avenue Property LLC, which is developing the bar with him, had applied for permission to construct an “aerial encroachment” at the venue’s location of 107 4th Ave North. 

Unfortunately for them, however, 30 Metro Nashville councilmembers voted “no” on this on Tuesday.

“We want to make sure that Nashville was a supportive place for everyone, so I don’t want to see a billboard with the name of a person who’s throwing chairs off of balconies and who is saying racial slurs, using the n-word, so I’m voting no,” said Councilwoman At Large Delishia Porterfield.

This was a reference to Wallen being caught dropping the n-word in 2021. Video footage showed him saying the racial slur as he returned home from a drunken night out with friends.

Related: Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll Lead Nominees For 2024 Academy Of Country Music Awards

Other Council Members Speak Out

Council member Jordan Huffman agreed with Porterfield.

“Number 1 – Mr. Wallen is an East Tennessean – he gives all of us a bad name,” Huffman said. “His comments are hateful, his comments are harmful, and you don’t belong in this town, as far as I’m concerned.”

“I’m tired of this city bending over to just, make anybody happy that makes a comment that they want to,” he added. “We continue to go down this road. I encourage my colleagues to vote against this.”

Contrarily, the council member Jacob Kupin, who had brought the resolution to the council, voted to approve it. Afterwards, however, he admitted to feeling conflicted about it.

“It struck me that we’re putting up a sign with someone’s name on it that hasn’t been a good actor downtown,” he said. “I decided to move approval for this because I do support the efforts to move this bar forward…the restaurant group that’s managing this facility, TC Restaurant Group, has been really a good partner in everything going on downtown.”

Meanwhile, Nashville law states that “Any aerial, underground, or building (including awning, sign, canopy, fiber optic cable, etc.) that encroaches on Metro right-of-way (ROW)” must be approved by this council.

Find out more about this in the video below.

Related: Morgan Wallen Teams Up With Make-A-Wish To Make Fan’s Dream Come True

Wallen’s History

Born in Sneedville, Tennessee in 1993 to a preacher, Wallen grew up playing the violin. Later, in 2014, Wallen competed on The Voice. He made it to the playoff portion of the competition before being eliminated.

After The Voice, Wallen moved to Nashville and quickly found great success in country music. He won the New Artist of the Year at the 2020 CMA Awards. This cemented him as one of the biggest stars in the genre.

Last month, Wallen was arrested on three felony charges in Nashville after he allegedly threw a chair off the roof of a bar.  He has since taken “responsibility” for this, and his next court date is scheduled for August.

This is clearly a very difficult time for Wallen. Here’s hoping that he is able to overcome these setbacks and turn his life around.