They light up our world like nobody else.
If you haven’t heard, let it be known: One Direction is in town. Yes, the boy band of the 10’s (the teens? The 2010’s? Is there a specific name yet?) is rolling into the 615 with their British accents and angelic voices and hysteria-inducing hairstyles/charm. If you’ve been within earshot of any girl under the age of 18 for the last six months (or you heard your grumpy coworker talking about the inevitable traffic – they’re guarding some downtown areas for “drop-off zones” for parents), you’ve probably heard about the majesty that is 1D, live and in person. It’s at LP Field, it sold out super fast, and they’re expecting 50,000 people. Woah.

Wanna make a night of it? If you want to grab a pre-show bite (or anything else: browse all things Nashville HERE), here are a few suggestions for:

The moms & their teens: Burger Republic. The food is crazy good (locals love the TN burger), and the shakes are kid and adult-friendly (moms, ask for a little extra somethin’ somethin’ in your Nutella milkshake – they’ll spike it for ya!). Location is close to downtown, but not on the strip where people are going to be waiting for hours. Just know that you’ll probably have to pay for parking – it’s in The Gulch, which is a pretty densely populated part of town (or you could take a Lyft and save, of course)!

The dads & their teens: Another gem in The Gulch that is dad-approved: The Pub. Yes, this place can get raucous/festive, but if you come early for dinner it should be a great fit. You can grab a Guinness and some fish & chips AND get cool dad bonus points for taking the kids to a British-themed pub that would get the seal of approval from the across-the-pond lads.

The young at heart: If you’re looking for some grown up pre-concert fare (ahem…drinks), we vote East Nashville. You’ll avoid the insane crowds of downtown/West End and enjoy some seriously fabulous cuisine. Plus, East Nashville is right by LP Field, so if you’re down to do a little walking, you can try parking on the East side for free! Check out The Treehouse (fancy drinks/eats in a literal treehouse), The Pharmacy (insane burgers & old school soda), or Rosepepper Cantina (margaritas and Mexican). All great choices!

So there’s that (and for the record, the above categories are not all-encompassing – One Direction fandom knows no age or gender). To get you even more in the mood for the show tonight, we thought we’d point out the obvious: The boys may be Brits, but we think they’re gonna feel right at home in the 615. Why? Let us count the ways 1D is SO Nashville:

The hats.

And it’s not even just beanies. Wide-brimmed Pharrell-style hats (though not as high), classy porkpie hats, snapbacks – the dudes share the Nashvillian love for headwear. Half the time the group could be a hatWRKS ad from the neck up (if you haven’t visited them, check out their shop on 8th Ave.).

The tats.

A lot of people in the Nashville community sport some ink. Harry, Zayn, Louis, Niall, and Liam understand the incurable tattoo frenzy that comes after your get your first one – members of the band have multiple tattoos. Maybe they’ll make a night of it and head to Safehouse or Blackbird to get some Nashville ink!

The talent.

Music City houses some of the best talent in the whole world. From fiddler players to background singers to Dolly Parton, Nashville’s got pipes and talent to boot. If you’ve listened to One Direction live (or the super high part on the song “You And I”), you know that 1D has got talent in spades. They’re not on top for nothin’.

The coffee shop aspirations.

Finally, the ultimate Nashville aspiration: to open a coffee shop. In most cities, people’s token dream is to open a bar (which we love as well), but Nashville takes coffee seriously. Odds are, every other person you talked to has either worked in a coffee shop, opened one, or seriously considered it. One Direction shares your java passion, y’all – they allegedly have plans to open up coffee shops (though we’re guessing they’ll be serving some proper English tea too) with One Direction memorabilia galore for fans around the world. We’ll see if they get into the fair trade game.

There you have it, Nashville. Proof that we are gonna make One Direction feel wonderfully at home in our city tonight (because they’re practically locals already)! Grab a bite, enjoy the show, and grab Wannado for all your Nashville needs. We’ve got you covered.