Picture this: a double-wide trailer nestled amidst the new builds in a Nashville neighborhood, with a parking lot that is always completely full. A mural of Santa (yes, Santa) in his festive garb is painted on the side, and Christmas lights are strung all around the porch. This décor may be standard for December, but Santa’s Pub is decorated like this all year round.
There’s a crowd packed onto the front porch and music floating through the door each time it swings open. Rideshares idle in the parking lot for both pick-ups and drop offs, and a line is forming at the ATM to take out cash—because naturally, this establishment is cash only. Santa himself leans on the porch rail, surveying his guests and smoking his cigarette.
When you step inside, you’re transported into a Christmas-themed dive bar, but not in a cheesy way. There are lights and Christmas trees and photos of regulars hung everywhere. You make your way to the bar and smile at the menu: the most expensive item is five dollars—unheard of in Nashville. You select a three-dollar beer and tip the bartenders before trying to nudge your way back through the crowd.
A few tables are scattered throughout the trailer, but it is either early on a Tuesday or a miracle if you snag one. It’s paneled wall to paneled wall people, but you’re all focused on one thing: karaoke at Santa’s.
The iconic names who have sung a song or two at Santa’s are plenty: Ed Sheeran, Kelsea Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves, and Mumford & Sons to name a few. But it’s a place for stars and locals alike. The magic of Santa’s is that anyone can submit a song on a small sheet of white paper and for a moment be a star in Nashville. There are some attendees you can tell are regulars—they take hold of the microphone and sing an old country song with flair. The crowd always goes wild. But a man who looks like he’s just walked off the corporate office Hallmark movie set can also shock everyone and steal the show (complete with an attempted high kick—a performance I will never forget). Santa’s is full of surprises.
On the karaoke screen in between songs, the house rules flash across the bottom: no cussing on the microphone and no drinks on stage. If you disobey, they will kick you out. Santa does not mess around. It might seem strict for a dive bar, but the environment they’ve created as a result is something special.
In an interview about the success of their bar, Santa’s partner Angelina reflects that “this bar completely restored my faith in humanity.”
As someone who prefers to be cozy in bed at 8 p.m. and avoid any and all bar scenes, I completely agree with Angelina. Of all the destinations for a night on the town, this is one of the few I feel completely safe venturing with girlfriends. Everyone is happy to be there, encouraging one another as they sing their hearts out. At almost every song choice, someone is yelling “THIS IS A GREAT SONG!!!” and is ready to support the stranger on stage, no questions asked. And it is all undoubtedly genuine. Santa’s is one of the few remaining (albeit unlikely) places where kindness still feels like the rule, rather than the exception. Who would’ve thought that could be true of a place that regularly plays Nickelback?
Olivia graduated from Calvin in May 2018 with a double major in business and writing. She now works as an editor in Nashville, Tennessee and is eating her way through the restaurants of her new town. She enjoys weekend trips with friends, petting other people’s dogs, and drinking coffee like a Gilmore Girl.
