The Truth Is Out: Meet Nashville’s Sally Williams

Sally Williams has spent her career bringing unforgettable live music experiences to life. Now, she’s celebrating the opening of The Truth, Nashville’s newest music venue, where every detail pays tribute to Music City’s musical roots. From opening night with Miranda Lambert to her dream concert lineup, Sally takes us behind the scenes. Plus, she dishes on her love for the YMCA, her favorite Nashville radio stations, and why she still takes notes in pencil.

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What drew you to the live music and entertainment industry?

I’ve always loved music and being immersed in it. I tried to play the saxophone. I played the piano. I even sang in the choir. Sadly, none of those things were particularly pretty. At some point, I realized I didn’t have to play music to be immersed in it. So, by the time I got to high school, I was going to concerts every chance I got.

One of the first I saw was U2 on the Joshua Tree tour, and I still remember the excitement of being with thousands of people in one place, completely connected by the music. That sense of unity — the way music can bring people together — has stayed with me ever since. What I didn’t know was that working in live music was actually a career that was available to me.

When I got to the University of Missouri, I discovered the college music committee, which introduced me to booking talent and promoting concerts. Suddenly, I realized there was an entire business behind creating the experiences I had always loved as a fan. Once I understood that, everything clicked.

Let’s talk about The Truth. What inspired the vision behind it?

The opportunity with The Truth was to create a room that could adapt to very different kinds of artists and shows — seated or standing, stripped-down or full-production — while still creating a strong sense of connection between the artist and audience.

Nashville has an extraordinary history of live music and some of the most iconic venues in the world, so if we were going to add another one, we wanted it to be worthy of this city and its music community. We wanted to create a venue that Nashville would be proud to call its own.

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When you first started imagining The Truth, what did you want it to bring to Nashville?

We wanted The Truth to feel unmistakably Nashville — not like a venue that could have been built
anywhere and simply dropped into this city. That meant thinking about Nashville in a deeper way than obvious symbols or nostalgia.

The name came from Harlan Howard’s famous phrase, “three chords and the truth,” and that idea became a kind of guiding principle for the building: authenticity, storytelling, craftsmanship, and respect for the people who have built this music community over generations. You see that in the lyric chandelier, Harlan’s, the Vinyl Room, and our work with United Record Pressing, the letterpress set lists, the art, and the contributions of local makers throughout the space.

You also see it in our partnerships with Nashville Songwriters Association International and W.O. Smith Music School, because we wanted The Truth not only to reflect Nashville’s music community, but to invest in its future. The goal was for someone to walk through the doors and know they were in Nashville without our ever having to tell them.

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Now that the venue has officially opened its doors, what has been your favorite part of watching that vision become a reality?

Opening night with Miranda Lambert was incredibly special. But I’ve also loved watching people discover all the smaller details we spent so much time thinking about. What has surprised me most is how intimate the room actually feels.

We talked about that constantly during the design process, but you don’t fully understand it until there are thousands of people inside and you still feel this remarkable connection between the stage and the audience.

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If you could book absolutely anyone, who’s your dream artist to see up there?

I could never choose just one. Reba McEntire would be incredibly special. One of her signature hits,
“Somebody Should Leave” was written by Harlan Howard and Chick Rains, so there would be something
beautifully full-circle about hearing her sing that song on the stage at The Truth.

But The Truth is also such a great rock room, and I’d love to see My Morning Jacket there someday. That would be a completely different kind of night, which is exactly what excites me about the room — it can hold both.

What are you listening to in the car on your way home?

I still listen to the radio in my car. I rotate between WPLN, WNXP, and WMOT — three great Nashville public media stations. Depending on the day, I might be listening to news, discovering a new artist, or hearing a song I haven’t heard in years. We’re incredibly lucky to have that kind of public media ecosystem in Nashville.

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What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?

I still do a surprising amount of my thinking and note-taking in pencil. I like that a pencil assumes you’re going to change your mind, revise something, or make it better. That probably says more about me than I realized until just now.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

My dad always encouraged me to try things. His philosophy was essentially: if it’s not going to hurt you or someone else, go ahead and give it a shot. Throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. I think that gave me permission not to be paralyzed by the possibility that something might not work. It also taught me to keep an open mind about how things can be done differently.

Years ago, I was asked how to innovate with institutions like the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium — places with extraordinary histories and traditions that people care deeply about. For me, innovation has never meant disregarding what came before. It means respecting what makes something special while staying curious about what it can become.

I think my dad’s advice gave me the freedom to do that — to try things, to ask “What if?” and to understand that not every idea has to work in order for it to be worth exploring.

LIGHTNING ROUND

What’s your most memorable recent meal in Nashville? Southern Hawaiian pizza at Lockeland Table
What self-care item can you not live without? My YMCA membership
What’s the best concert you’ve ever attended? Right now, I’d have to say Miranda Lambert opening The Truth. I’ve seen an extraordinary number of concerts over the years, and they’re almost impossible to compare or rank. Miranda gave an incredible one-night-only performance, and watching that room come to life for the first time was something I’ll never forget. That one is going to be very hard to top.

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