Lucinda Williams, 72, Just Opened a Hip Honky Tonk Bar! Inside the Country Star’s Bold New Chapter
She's opening a trendy new New York bar, performing—and singing better than ever after her stroke
When it comes to country musicians and honky tonks, the two tend to go hand-in-hand, and you know you’ve made it big when you’ve got your name plastered in neon lights on the facade of a bar on Nashville’s Broadway. Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen and Miranda Lambert are just a small handful of the country stars to dip their toes into the bar and restaurant industry, but Lucinda Williams is doing things a little differently. You probably remember this Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter for hits like “Changed the Locks,” “Can’t Let Go,” “Drunken Angel” and countless others, but these days, she’s putting her energy into something different.
The 72-year-old musician, like many others, has just opened up a honky tonk bar—but you won’t find her spot sitting amongst her country music colleagues. Lucinda’s opened its doors in New York’s East Village, bringing country music and good times to the city that never sleeps. In a city where honky tonks are few and far between, now, you can get your country fix at 196 Avenue A. Earlier this week, Lucinda Williams herself celebrated her new spot with an intimate set of 10 songs performed live alongside her band. Patrons were lucky to catch performances of songs like “Drunken Angel” and “Let’s Get the Band Back Together,” as well as a few of her newer tracks.
At Lucinda’s, there’s a little something for everyone, with a playlist that’s sure to satisfy, as well as live band country karaoke and open mic nights. While Lucinda might not be the first to open a honky tonk, she knows what sets hers apart from the dozens of others that came before her. “It’s funny because somebody said last night how in Nashville all the big country stars have bars,” she said to New York Magazine. “Tim McGraw and whoever else. But I’ve got one in New York City.” Lucinda continued to the outlet, “I want it to feel like those kind of bars where you go in and it has local flavor. I mean that was kind of the reason for the southern folk art and the Delta blues music and that sort of thing.”
Lucinda Williams on life after her stroke: ‘I’m singing better than before’
From the time Lucinda Williams first began putting out music until now, she has been very involved in the industry. While it was in the ’90s that her career began booming, when her 1998 album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road earned mainstream success and the singer took home a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, she didn’t stop there.
The musician continued releasing music over the years, her most recent album being 2024’s Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles From Abbey Road, preceded by 2023’s Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart. Back in 2020, Williams suffered a stroke, leaving her with paralysis on the left side of her body and altering her ability to play guitar and walk as she previously could. However, she hasn’t let it slow her down. “I’m still doing shows with my band, just differently, and I can sing fine,” she told The Guardian back in 2023. “Some people tell me I’m singing better than before I had the stroke.” With her new honky tonk having its doors open and her positive spirit, it’s safe to say there’s more on the horizon for Lucinda Williams!
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