Located in the heart of downtown Nashville, the Nashville Arcade is a historic landmark spanning nearly five acres and covering two city blocks. Constructed between 1902 and 1903, it was Nashville’s first enclosed shopping centre and has long been a hub for commerce and culture in Nashville. Over the years, the Arcade has housed a variety of tenants, including retail shops, restaurants, offices, and art galleries. As of 2025, over 30 food and beverage and retail concepts have been introduced, transforming the Arcade into a vibrant urban destination.
Urban Cowboy Bar is an anchor tenant of the Arcade and a distinctive addition to the city’s vibrant nightlife scene. Opened in April 2025, this multi-level, 8,000-square-foot venue offers a blend of immersive design and a dynamic atmosphere, making it a one-of-a-kind destination for both locals and visitors. Urban Cowboy Bar is intended as an elevated cowboy experience, offering a blend of quality food, creative cocktails, and a welcoming environment. The space features a mix of high-energy and laid-back areas, each with its own unique character. The upstairs boasts a high-design cocktail lounge with velvet details and mirror-backed bars, while the downstairs saloon offers a more rustic ambiance with wooden elements and eclectic decor, including taxidermy and vintage signage.
Before opening, venue staff contacted Joseph Hazelwood, founder of Hazelwood Laboratories, to design an audio system for their varied music zones. The bar wanted audio capabilities for DJs, Apple AirPlay, house music, and local zone control in each area. Out of the gate, Hazelwood knew amplifiers from LEA Professional were more than up to the task. “I try to use LEA amplifiers for every project because I’ve found them to be well-suited to my installations, and there are more than enough products in the Connect Series line, so I don’t need to look elsewhere,” said Hazelwood. “The addition of the half-rack amplifiers is exciting and made the decision even simpler for me.”
Hazelwood installed Connect Series 704 and Connect Series 354 amplifiers, plus new half-rack models including Connect Series 124 and Connect Series 64 in the expansive bar. The IoT-enabled 4-channel CS704 provides 700 watts per channel, while the 4-channel CS354 offers 350 watts per channel. The smaller but still mighty 4-channel CS124 delivers 120 watts per channel, and the 4-channel CS64 offers 60 watts per channel. All of LEA’s models support Hi-Z (70V or 100V) and Lo-Z selectable by channel and feature Smart Power Bridge technology. Additionally, the Connect Series delivers an industry-first professional amplifier family to feature cloud connectivity, a revolutionary advancement and a significant benefit for anyone maintaining the systems.
With LEA Cloud, AV teams can remotely control and monitor the amplifiers, including half-rack models, regardless of the location or time of day, and it’s completely free to use. Hazelwood utilized LEA’s free SharkWare software to configure a base profile and push it out to all the pre-staged LEA amplifiers. SharkWare includes amplifier grouping, offline design, granular user access control levels, locked speaker tunings, and a graphical EQ. The software lets users view and adjust channel settings, including input settings, signal generator, crossover, equalizer, limiter, and load monitoring, for all LEA Connect Series amplifiers.
Hazelwood also installed eight custom HazeX wall controllers, allowing staff to select zones, control the volume, and change sources separately. His unique audio controllers combine the tactile experience of analogue hardware with the capability of smart technology, providing users with simple, independent control of multiple zones and sources through API calls to the LEA amplifiers.
The grand opening event in May 2025 was a huge success, featuring live music, DJs, tattoo artists, stilt walkers, and interactive photo ops. Whether you are seeking a casual drink, a gourmet meal, or a night of entertainment, this venue provides a multifaceted experience in the heart of Nashville’s historic Arcade. “The Urban Cowboy Bar is a very unique and fun environment,” said Hazelwood. “The different vibes around the space – some more mellow, others high energy – cater to different moods and personalities. I think LEA amplifiers were the perfect choice for the venue, and I can’t wait to use them again on my next install.”
