Nashville Yards is getting a cocktail bar you have to solve your way into. Soundproof, an intimate, music-driven speakeasy hidden inside Hooky at Nashville Yards, will officially open Thursday, Oct. 29, behind an unmarked door beneath an illuminated "Recording in Progress" sign in the cinema concourse, and getting in means working through a series of clues built around hanging microphones and a mixing board: pull the correct microphone and a code projects onto the wall, then enter it into a PIN pad set into the board. On the other side is a room built to feel like a legendary recording session from Music City's golden age.
Hidden behind the arcade lights of Hooky Nashville, Soundproof will trade the energy of the larger entertainment venue for moody interiors, curated live performances, and an elevated cocktail program, with the whole setting designed for lingering evenings. The entertainment lineup will lean on intimate acoustic sets, DJs, and laid-back music. Rather than a traditional live music venue, the bar will operate as a listening room, a place where guests settle in and let the set play out, and the space will also be available for private events and gatherings. "Hooky is an entertainment destination for people to ditch the everyday, and Soundproof adds another dimension to that," said CEO Charlie Tiantawach. "Soundproof gives a more intimate option for guests who want to settle in with a cocktail, listen to great music and enjoy a different side of Hooky."
The signature cocktails will include Fool's Gold, a tribute to Elvis's favorite sandwich, made with peanut butter tequila, Combier Liqueur de Banane, and a graham cracker rim. Slow Fade is a trapped-smoke Manhattan built on Nelson Brothers Rye, Luxardo cherry liqueur, and chocolate bitters. White Noise, a delicate drink, pairs Cazadores Blanco Tequila with Kōloa Pandan Liqueur and Bitter Bianco. A curated selection of wines, bubbles, and Belgian-style beers will round out the bar.
The food menu will be a run of small plates designed for sharing and pairing with the drinks and the music. Expect champagne-whipped deviled eggs, French onion meatballs, cremini and Gruyère tarts, beef Wellington bouchées, burrata, and a plateau de charcuterie. Desserts will include beignets and tableside campfire s'mores.
Soundproof sits inside Hooky Nashville in the CAA Creative Office Building on Church Street, part of Southwest Value Partners' 19-acre Nashville Yards, the downtown development that also holds The Pinnacle, AEG Presents' 4,500-seat venue. Hooky itself, which opened at Nashville Yards this spring, is a cinema with IMAX projection, Dolby Atmos sound, and luxury recliners layered with bowling, arcade games, and multiplayer gaming, one of 18 Hooky locations across six states under the Es Vedra Cinemas portfolio alongside Violet Crown, ShowBiz, and Time Square Grand Slam. Nashville's recent openings have run big: The Truth, Live Nation's 4,400-capacity hall, is now open in Wedgewood-Houston, and Dolly Parton's SongTeller Hotel is now open downtown with two live-music venues of its own. A listening room reached through a puzzle door is a deliberately small answer to that scale.
Soundproof will be open from 4 to 11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 to 11 p.m. Sunday, and closed Monday and Tuesday. The bar is 21-and-over, reservations run through Resy, and walk-ins are welcome based on availability. Hooky Entertainment is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., with extended hours on weekends, and offers up to four hours of complimentary parking with validation at the on-site help desk, so the night can start at the lanes and end at the mixing board.