Big Bang Brings Dueling Piano Concept to Murfreesboro Square

Downtown now has a few more pianos, another place to imbibe and a Music City-tested venue for the ’Boro.

The Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar opened its doors in the heart of Murfreesboro last month with hopes of making a big impression. Just a month later, the music inside is beautiful.

The name of the bar may sound familiar, and that’s because The Big Bang originally set roots on Broadway in 2007. After success in Nashville, the owners (who also have a location in Columbus, Ohio) decided to make the not-so-obvious choice of bringing their pianos to Murfreesboro as well.

“It’s something that Murfreesboro doesn’t have,” said Jayde Taylor, a server at the bar.

That was a factor in the owners’ final decision to come to town. They knew they had one thing surrounding bars couldn’t compete with: live music.

From the outside, the location on North Church Street appears to be a worn-out building that’s been home to several different ventures throughout the decades (most recently Social and 3 Brothers); however, the atmosphere changes upon entering the venue.

In the main room, a bar runs along the back wall, new lighting fixtures hang down above tables scattered across the room, and a huge stage sits right in front with two digital keyboards in faux-grand piano housings.

The room is packed with people who have their eyes intently trained on two dueling pianists who sit facing one another onstage.

The pianists’ mission is to get the crowd having a good time, and they have no biases when it comes to music genre.

“The show that they do is based completely on audience requests,” said General Manager Jaime Schneider. “Because of that, people can expect to hear literally any kind of music from The Beatles to Elton John to Michael Jackson.”

One pianist leads the crowd into Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” He leans away from his mic and a grin spreads across his face as the crowd sings the lyrics back to him. As he wraps up, the other pianist immediately bursts into Tim McGraw’s hit “Something Like That.”

At one point, the players playfully coerce a group of cloggers in the audience to show off their skills to “Rocky Top.”

“It’s really fast-paced and high-energy,” said Schneider. “It’s really all about the audience participation.”

The piano players aren’t the only performers. Ben George, a server at the bar, took a break from his tables to take the stage. A theater major at Middle Tennessee State University, he’s no stranger to the spotlight. The entire room erupted with screams and hollers as he belted out Wilson Pickett’s soul-packed “Mustang Sally.”

The employees might just enjoy The Big Bang just as much as the audience.

“When you walk in, you know you’re going to have a good time,” George said. “There’s no way you could walk in and be in a [bad] mood.”

For more on the Big Bang, find Big Bang Boro on Facebook and Twitter.