Bluebird Cafe Sale Official

11/9/2007 Stephen L. Betts Nothing will change when Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Café changes hands on January 1, 2008. That’s the promise from the club’s new owners, the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Amy Kurland, who opened The Bluebird in 1982 as a gourmet restaurant, says, “I wanted to retire, but I didn't want The Bluebird to go away.” The careers of countless songwriters and artists, including Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, and Trisha Yearwood, were launched at the tiny club. Garth discovered his 1990 smash “The Dance” while visiting the Bluebird one night. And club dishwasher/bartender Mark Irwin wrote the Alan Jackson hit “Here in the Real World.” “Something special happens in these walls that happens nowhere else in the world, and we would be fools to tamper with that,” NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison tells The Tennessean. The sale, which was announced at a Thursday night (11/8) performance by Country Music Hall of Famer Kris Kristofferson, takes effect Jan. 1. “They didn't have a place like this when I was here” writing songs, says Kris. “When I came, songwriters were at the bottom of the food chain. We were bugs. This Bluebird Café is a place where songwriters can show their stuff. When I was here, you had to go to somebody's house.” Amy Kurland will retain ownership of the real estate and lease it to NSAI. She say the NSAI eventually may move to a larger location, but not in the short-term. According to Bart Herbison the Bluebird will stay where it is for at least five years.