Jay Bragg -

Broadway looks like a dream from the sidewalk, but the reality is closer to a high-speed stress test. We sit down with Nashville performer and “View From Nashville” creator Jay Bragg to get honest about what’s happening on Lower Broadway right now, why tourism shifts are rattling working players, and how new entertainment districts could stretch an already thin scene even further. Jay breaks down why Broadway can be an elite boot camp for stagecraft while still becoming a trap that quietly rewires artists into tip-driven cover machines.

We also zoom out to the country music industry and the future of Music Row. Labels don’t break stars the way they used to, TikTok and social media momentum act like prerequisites, and signing a deal can feel less like validation and more like taking on a bank loan with strings attached. Jay shares why independence can be the smarter path when you know your definition of success, keep overhead low, and build skills that let you steer your own career instead of handing the wheel to someone else.

Then we tackle the hard topic: AI music. From Suno-assisted “work tapes” to producers replacing session parts, we talk about what gets disrupted, what still counts as ethical tool use, and why trust with fans is so fragile. Jay also explains how getting knocked off a long-running Broadway gig pushed him to create New Vaudeville, a modern reboot of a family lineage that AI can’t replicate.

Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review if it helps you see Nashville and the music business differently. What part of today’s industry feels most broken to you right now?

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