Rocketown in Nashville, TN: A Fun, Safe Night Out for Teens

Where in Nashville is it safe and fun for your social butterfly of a teenager to hang out? That would be a little joint called Rocketown. Rocketown Music Venue is located at 401 6th Avenue South which is slightly south of the Gaylord Entertainment Center and Historic 2nd Avenue. It was established by well known Christian music artist Michael W. Smith to give teenagers a safe, wholesome place to hang out and listen to solid music. Tickets at the door depend upon the show that is presented that night. They range from $3-15 with anything over $7 being a rarity.

Music is not the only attraction at Rocketown, however. Inside, you will find a coffee bar equipped with juice, water, and softdrinks for the non-coffee teen, and a great variety of snacks at a fairly decent price. Many computers are set up around this room with access to the internet so your teen can sit, sip, and surf (the web that is) with plenty of adult supervision.

Don't worry, your teen will not even realize he/she is being chaperoned by the seemingly "cool" adults around although you as a parent might wonder how these oddly clad, pierced and tattooed people call themselves supervision. Another perk to the coffee area is a small open mic stage that allows students to show their creative and musical sides. This stage is often open with special karoke events on the weekends.

Directly below the coffee bar is the stages where bands come to play. Many nights there are local bands that play for several hours. One thing about these bands, though, is that Rocketown is a hot music venue and getting a gig or show there is important to local bands. Therefore, it is easy for them to call themselves "Christian music" to get to play. Do not be surprised if the music your teen hear would not be the same as Sunday morning church.

The larger or famous bands, if you will, that are booked at Rocketown, however, almost always have upstanding values, music, and lyrics. These bands do draw a crowd and sometimes this crowd may be a little older than that of your teenager, but the supervision Rocketown offers is always strict and well placed.

If music, coffee, and socializing do not grab your teen's attention, then maybe the last part of this venue will. The last room at Rocketown is a skate park. It is equipped with many different areas to skate on skates as well as skate boards. There is not a place to rent equipment so you must bring your own (don't forget helmets and pads).