Council rejects Morgan Wallen's bar sign

Morgan Wallen's new Nashville bar will not have one of the large neon signs that jut out over the sidewalk at many other honky-tonks on Lower Broadway.

Driving the news: The Metro Council this week denied a request to install a 20-foot sign bearing Wallen's name on the edge of the Fourth Avenue North building where the bar is located.

• Some council members said they were casting no votes because of Wallen's recent arrest on Lower Broadway and his use of a racial slur in 2021.

Flashback: Police arrested Wallen last month and accused him of throwing a chair off the roof of another downtown bar. The chair allegedly fell on the sidewalk near officers.

• Days later, Wallen said "I'm not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility."

What they're saying: "I don't want to see a billboard up with the name of a person who's throwing chairs off of balconies and who is saying racial slurs," Councilmember Delishia Porterfield said during the Tuesday council meeting.

• Porterfield was one of 30 council members who voted against a resolution that would have allowed the sign. Three voted yes.

Zoom out: Councilmember Jacob Kupin, who represents the downtown area and was one of the yes votes, acknowledged his colleagues' concerns.

• "It struck me that we're putting up a sign with someone's name on it who has not been a good actor downtown," he said while introducing the measure.
• But he said he voted to approve the sign because the company that will run the bar has been a good partner downtown and because Wallen has sought to make amends.

What's next: Morgan Wallen's This Bar is set to open this weekend.