A Brian Kaplan Concept • Confidential
THE LOST HIGHWAY
Nashville's First Immersive Outlaw Country Experience
Printer's Alley • Nashville, Tennessee
$4.5M Equity Round • $10M Post-Money Valuation
"Every building on this block has a story.
This one has an unfinished song - and it's been waiting seventy years for someone to finish it."
- CORA, BARTENDER, THE LOST HIGHWAY OUTLAW BAR
An outlaw country bar where the ghosts are real,
the whiskey is old, and the music never stopped playing.
$11.2B TOURISM MARKET • ZERO IMMERSIVE VENUES • UNTIL NOW
The Gap
$11.2 Billion in Tourism.
Zero Immersive Venues.
16.9 million people visited Nashville in 2024. They spent $11.2 billion - both all-time records, up 42% since the pandemic. $30.7 million a day. Zero of it going to immersive entertainment. There is none.
The #1 bachelorette destination. The #1 country music city. The fastest-growing tourism market in America. And zero immersive theater.
The Market
Nashville's Unseen Problem
Broadway Is Saturated
Property taxes up 300%+. Locals don't go anymore. Every bar sounds the same - cover bands playing the same 40 songs on repeat. Broadway makes money on volume, not value. Nobody remembers which bar they were in.
The Bachelorette Industrial Complex: Nashville is the #1 bachelorette destination in America. 13,000+ trips a year. 30% of weekend tourists. They spend $450-$850 per person. All of them are tired of pedal taverns.
The Experience Economy
GLOBAL IMMERSIVE MARKET: $144B AND ACCELERATING
TAM
Nashville annual tourism spend
SAM
Nashville nightlife + entertainment
SOM
Year 2 capture (1% of SAM)
The White Space
The Throne Is Empty
Sleep No More shut down in January 2025 after 14 years and 2 million tickets sold. The king is dead. Nashville has no Meow Wolf. No immersive theater. No premium hidden venue of any kind. The market is wide open.
| Venue | City | Status | Attendees | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep No More | NYC | CLOSED Jan 2025 | 2M+ (14 yrs) | $36M/yr peak |
| Sleep No More | Shanghai | Active | 500K+ | $86M cumulative |
| Meow Wolf | Santa Fe / Denver / Houston / LV | Active | 5M+ total | $28M/yr per location |
| Then She Fell | NYC | Closed 2023 | 15 guests/night | Boutique |
| The Last Ballad | Nashville | 2027 Launch | 30K+/yr capacity | $6.7M Year 2 |
No Meow Wolf
Nashville is not on the expansion list. The market is wide open for immersive entertainment.
No Immersive Theater
Zero narrative-driven immersive experiences in Nashville.
No Hidden Venue
No speakeasy-quality premium discovery experience anywhere in Nashville.
WHY NOW
The Location
209 Printers Alley, Nashville
Not another bar on Broadway. The building that built Nashville nightlife.
The Building
Built in 1888 on the 41st deeded plot in the Original Town of Nashville. Six-story masonry building that has stood for 138 years. Boots Randolph ran his legendary club here from 1973 through the mid-1990s. During Prohibition, tunnel access connected the building to speakeasy networks across Printer's Alley.
| Address | 209 Printers Alley |
| Built | 1888 • 6-Story Masonry |
| Ground Floor | 4,000 SF • Turn-Key Bar |
| Upper Floors | ~5,000 SF each • Vacant since 1950s |
| Total Available | ~9,000+ SF (2 floors) |
| Renovation | Full ADA • 2017-2022 |
| Infrastructure | New Kone Elevator • 1,600A Electrical |
| Prohibition Tunnels | Confirmed Access |
| Documented Hauntings | Yes • Staff Reports |
| Historic Tax Credits | 20% Federal |
The Story Writes Itself: Boots Randolph's ghost. Prohibition tunnels. A building that hasn't had anyone above the ground floor since the 1950s. This isn't set dressing — this is the real thing. The immersive experience starts before you even walk in.
The Lease
| Lease Structure | NNN + Option to Buy |
| Modeled Rent | $80/SF NNN |
| Annual Rent (~7,000 SF) | $560K/yr |
| Distance from Broadway | 1 Block |
| Rent vs. Broadway | 40-60% Lower |
| Listing Status | Active on LoopNet |
Broadway Lease Benchmarks
| Venue | Size | Lease | $/SF |
|---|---|---|---|
| JBJ's Nashville | 37,000 SF | $6.4M/yr NNN | $173/SF |
| Broadway Average | Varies | NNN | $120-200/SF |
| Printer's Alley Est. | ~9,000 SF | NNN | $70-105/SF |
Broadway bar sale prices: $2,870-$4,206/SF. Printer's Alley offers the same tourist corridor at a fraction of the cost — with real history Broadway can't manufacture.
Property Tax Advantage: Broadway bars saw 300-400% property tax hikes in 2025 (Acme: $129K→$589K). Printer's Alley carries lower assessed values — significantly reducing NNN exposure vs. Broadway.
Option to Buy Upside: Nashville downtown commercial real estate has appreciated 35%+ since 2020. Lock in current pricing with option to purchase — converting rent into equity.
FLOOR-BY-FLOOR: HOW IT COMES TO LIFE
The Lost Highway bar. Acts I & III. 4,000 SF turn-key. Hidden door behind jukebox leads up.
The Haunting. 4 immersive rooms. Act II. ~5,000 SF vacant since 1950s. Purpose-built.
Back-of-house. Tech control. Rain system mechanical. Cast staging.
Expansion. Currently STR revenue. Phase 2: new rooms, VIP, studio. Option to buy = equity.
Going up = going back in time. The stairwell IS the time travel. The building does the work.
The Concept
One Venue. Four Audiences.
Seven Days a Week.
Two brands. One roof. The Lost Highway is the bar — Nashville's only outlaw country bar, open 7 days a week. The Last Ballad is the show — a 2.5-hour immersive ghost story that runs Thursday through Sunday inside the same walls. The bar IS the set. You don't know you're in a show until it's too late. The bar keeps the lights on while the show fills seats. They feed each other.
The Lost Highway - Every Day
The Outlaw Country Bar
Nashville's only bar dedicated to the outlaws: Waylon, Willie, Merle, Hank, Cash, Kristofferson. No pop country. No cover bands. No "Wagon Wheel." Tennessee whiskey wall. Outlaw-curated vinyl spinning on turntables. Live outlaw acts 7 nights a week. A bar that feels like a time machine — and secretly, it is one.
F&B REVENUE • $6K/DAY AVG
The Last Ballad - Thu-Sun
The Immersive Show
The first immersive production where the bar IS the first act. You don't know you're in a show until the temperature drops and the ghosts appear. 2.5 hours. 40 guests per wave, 2 waves per night. Yondr pouches lock your phone. Poker chips determine your fate. 4 rooms. 7 characters. 2 endings. You make choices that change the story.
TICKETS + VIP + F&B + MERCH
Extended Revenue
15 Revenue Streams
Family matinees. Bachelorette packages. Corporate buyouts. Late-night bar. 52 vinyl releases/year. Whiskey club membership. Seasonal overlays. Photography packages. Tourism partnerships.
$6.7M YEAR 2 REVENUE
The Story
The Ghost Isn't a Person.
The Ghost Is an Unfinished Song.
January 1, 1953. Hank Williams dies in the back seat of a powder-blue Cadillac on a dark highway between Knoxville and Oak Hill. His driver, Charles Carr, drove for hours with a dead man behind him. The car kept moving. The song Hank was writing never got finished.
Years later, Waylon Jennings gave up his seat on the plane that killed Buddy Holly. He carried that guilt like a stone. Somewhere in a building on Printer's Alley, Waylon made a different deal — not with the devil, but with the Music itself. The building gave him his legend. And the building never let go.
The building on Printer's Alley has been collecting artists for 70 years. It gives them their sound. And it takes something in return. An unfinished song lives in the walls — waiting for someone to play the last chord.
The Universal Truth: Everyone in the audience has their own unfinished song — a call they never made, a thing they never said, a version of themselves they left behind. The show doesn't just scare you. It makes you feel something you buried. That's why people cry at the end. That's why they come back.
Seven Characters. Three Layers. Two Endings.
| Cora | The Bartender. Bound to the building since 1953. Guards the unfinished song. She is not what she appears to be. |
| Jesse | The Mystery Singer. Hank's granddaughter. Carries the melody that finishes it. The audience doesn't know who she is until Act III. |
| The Driver | Charles Carr. Soaking wet. Still driving. Needs someone to tell him the ride is over. Based on real history. |
| Audrey | Hank's first wife. Burned the last verse out of spite. Trapped in the mirror. Needs one guest to read aloud what she destroyed. |
| Midnight Mike | The DJ. Still broadcasting from 1953. The rotary phone rings — it's for you. Your confession changes the show. |
| Waylon's Shadow | The part of Waylon the building kept. Haunts the tour bus. If you play the missing note, he appears. |
| Hank's Ghost | The Regular. Same seat. Same drink. Hums a melody no one can place. Never speaks. Holographic — not an actor. |
LAYER 1: The ghost story — who haunts this building and why
LAYER 2: 47 hidden lyric fragments — piece together Hank's final verse
LAYER 3: The truth about Cora — she isn't the bartender. She's the song.
The Experience
2.5 Hours. Four Rooms. Two Endings.
You Don't Watch This Show. You're In It.
ACT I — THE OUTLAW BAR (45 min)
EMOTIONAL ARC: COMFORT → CURIOSITY → UNEASE
ACT II — THE HAUNTING (60 min)
EMOTIONAL ARC: FEAR → WONDER → INTIMACY
ACT III — THE FINAL SONG (30 min)
EMOTIONAL ARC: AWE → GRIEF → CATHARSIS
Act II — Floor 2: The Haunting
Four Doors. Four Ghosts.
Your Poker Chip Determines Your Fate.
The hidden door behind the jukebox opens. You climb the stairwell — walls shift from brick to wood to concrete, temperature drops 10°F, sound dies. By the time you reach Floor 2, you've left the present. Each room is a 15-minute scene. Each has its own ghost, its own secret. Groups of 10 rotate clockwise. No two visits are identical.
The Green Room
600 SF • Backstage Dressing Room
Audrey's dressing room, frozen since 1953. A record player spins on its own. She appears in the LG Transparent OLED mirror — in your reflection, but not in the room. She burned the last verse of Hank's final song out of spite. She needs one guest to step forward and read aloud what she destroyed. Lyric fragments are hidden in the walls, the vanity, the record sleeves.
TECH: LG Transparent OLED • ScentAir (old perfume) • Self-playing record player
YOU: Search the room. Find fragments. Read them aloud. She reacts to every word.
"He wrote that song for me. And then he wrote me out of the story."
The Midnight Opry
700 SF • 1953 Radio Station
Midnight Mike is still broadcasting. Holosonics directional audio whispers your name — only you can hear it. The person next to you hears nothing. The rotary phone rings. When you answer, a voice asks about a regret you carry. Your confession determines which song Mike dedicates to you — and which clue you receive about the unfinished song.
TECH: Holosonics Audio Spotlight • Practical rotary phone • Medialon show control
YOU: Answer the phone. Confess a regret. The show responds to what you say.
"You're listening to WGST, the Ghost Signal. And tonight's dedication goes out to... you."
The Lost Highway
800 SF • Rain System + 1952 Cadillac
Rain falls inside a room that shouldn't have weather. Cryo CO2 jets drop the temperature 15°F — you can see your breath. You smell wet asphalt and old leather. The Driver opens the Cadillac's back door and confesses what happened on that last drive — what Hank whispered before he went silent. You must decide: tell him his passenger is dead, or let him keep driving forever. Your choice changes the ending of the show.
TECH: HYDRA-TECH rain curtain • Cryo CO2 jets • ScentAir (rain, leather) • Floor transducers
YOU: Make a moral choice. Tell the truth or protect the lie. It changes Act III.
"I drove all night with a dead man in my backseat. And I swear... he was humming."
The Rolling Curse
500 SF • Tour Bus + Haptic Seats
Waylon's tour bus interior. The D-BOX seats vibrate with engine rumble — you feel the highway in your bones. The Yamaha Disklavier guitar plays an unfinished song and stops on the last chord. A guitar pick appears on the seat next to you. If you play the missing note, the bus shakes, ScentAir shifts from diesel to rain, and Waylon's Shadow materializes with the final clue.
TECH: D-BOX haptic seats • Yamaha Disklavier • ScentAir (diesel → rain) • HYPERVSN hologram
YOU: Pick up the guitar pick. Play the missing chord. Or don't — and live with it.
"The road doesn't take you somewhere. The road takes something from you."
The Technology
The Ghosts Don't Perform.
They Materialize.
Every technology serves one purpose: making you believe the ghosts are real. You never see the technology — you only feel the result. Audrey materializes because she needs to tell you something. The floor vibrates because someone walked past who shouldn't be there. The temperature drops because Hank's ghost just sat down next to you. If you can see the tech, we failed. $1.2M package — same systems Disney Imagineering selected.
| Technology Layer | Sleep No More (2011) | The Last Ballad (2027) |
|---|---|---|
| Holograms | Masked actors, stage lighting | Pepper's Ghost + Proto Hologram + HYPERVSN - ghosts materialize mid-air |
| Volumetric Display | None | Looking Glass + LIMINAL Spirit Tile (Disney Imagineering-selected) |
| Directional Audio | Ambient speakers | Holosonics Audio Spotlight - whispers only YOU hear |
| Haptics | Incidental vibration | D-BOX + floor transducers - feel the ghost walk past you |
| Scent + Temp | Fog machines, ambient temp | ScentAir programmable scent + cryo jets (15-20°F cold spots) |
| Self-Playing Piano | None | Yamaha Disklavier - plays itself. No wires. No explanation. |
| Smart Mirrors | Standard mirrors | LG Transparent OLED - ghost appears in your reflection |
| Indoor Weather | None | Digital rain curtain + atmospheric effects per scene |
| Show Control | Manual stage mgmt | Medialon/7thSense automation - triggered by guest position |
The World
Step Inside the Haunting
None of this looks new. None of it looks built. It looks like it's been here for 70 years and someone just turned the lights on. The design philosophy: if it looks like a set, it's wrong. If it looks like a place ghosts actually live, it's right.
Viral Design
Designed to Go Viral
We don't buy ads. We build moments people can't stop talking about.
Hidden Entrance
A door behind the jukebox. The discovery IS the TikTok. "You won't believe what's behind this bar."
Yondr Pouches
Phones locked away. Post-show unlock. The first thing you do is post. 80 people posting simultaneously.
1-on-1 Encounters
Every guest gets at least one private moment with a character. The stories people tell for YEARS.
Poker Chip Fate
"Your chip determines your fate." Instant content. Instant debate. "I got the red chip - what did you see?"
Physical Takeaways
A ring. A guitar pick. A lyric fragment. Objects people will photograph, post, and keep forever.
3-Layer Mystery
Visit 1: the ghost story - who haunts the building and why. Visit 2: the hidden lyrics - 47 fragments across 4 rooms that piece together Hank's final verse. Visit 3: the truth about Cora - she isn't the bartender. She's the song.
The "Cora Moment"
"The music came here for you." The line everyone quotes. The moment the bar stops being a bar.
52 Vinyl Variants
One new limited pressing per week. Collect them all. Online trading communities. Scarcity engine that drives repeat visits.
Ghost silhouettes in neon. A rain-soaked Cadillac. A piano playing itself. A face in the mirror that isn't yours. Every frame is a photo. The "I-can't-tell-you-what-happened" factor does the rest.
BUILT-IN NETWORK EFFECTS
3-layer mystery drives 3x repeat visits. 52 vinyl variants build collector communities. Yondr unlock creates 80 simultaneous posts per show. Every visitor becomes a marketer.
The Bar Program
Spirits of the Lost Highway
Tennessee Whiskey Wall
60-80 bottles of Tennessee and Kentucky whiskey. Curated flights. Rare pours. A whiskey shrine wall with rotating selections from micro-distilleries. The wall itself becomes a destination.
Whiskey Club Membership
170 members at $59/month. Exclusive pours, priority show tickets, members-only events, engraved glass, monthly allocation. $120K annual recurring revenue.
Beverage Economics
DAILY BAR F&B: $6,000/DAY AVG • $2.19M/YEAR
Seasonality
12-Month Revenue Calendar
Nashville tourism has peaks and dead zones. We built programming for every one of them.
| Month | Mod | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.85x | "The Lost Sessions" - intimate acoustic shows |
| Feb | 0.95x | "Haunted Love Letter" couples experience |
| Mar | 1.00x | Spring break tourism ramp |
| Apr | 1.15x | NFL Draft (if Nashville), wedding season |
| May | 1.20x | Bachelorette season peak begins |
| Jun | 1.50x | CMA Fest - premium pricing, special edition |
| Jul | 1.20x | Summer tourism, 4th of July outlaw celebration |
| Aug | 1.05x | Shoulder season, Bonnaroo spillover |
| Sep | 1.15x | "Dark September" - Halloween season begins early |
| Oct | 1.45x | "Haunted Highway" 6-week Halloween overlay |
| Nov | 1.15x | Thanksgiving tourism, holiday kickoff |
| Dec | 1.55x | Holiday show + NYE ($75K-$150K single night) |
PEAK MONTHS (JUN + OCT + DEC) GENERATE 32% OF ANNUAL REVENUE • NO MONTH BELOW $350K
Who Comes
Six Audiences. One Venue.
Every Hour Monetized.
Immersive Show Guests
"The Haunted Bachelorette"
Family Matinees
Corporate Events
Late Night Bar
Daily Outlaw Bar Guests
The Revenue Engine
15 Revenue Streams. $6.7M Year 2.
The bar pays the rent. The show sells the tickets. The bachelorettes do the marketing for free. No single stream exceeds 33% of total revenue.
Revenue Breakdown - Year 2
| Daily Bar F&B (7 days/week) | $2,190,000 |
| Immersive Show Tickets (160 shows) | $1,664,000 |
| Show Night F&B Uplift | $576,000 |
| Bachelorette Packages | $315,000 |
| Merchandise (on-site + online) | $300,000 |
| Vinyl Record Program (52/yr) | $280,000 |
| Late Night Bar (Fri-Sat) | $260,000 |
| Seasonal Premium Events | $220,000 |
| Corporate Buyouts (25/yr) | $200,000 |
| Live Music Cover & Tips | $180,000 |
| Private Events | $150,000 |
| Family Matinees (70 shows) | $140,000 |
| Whiskey Club (170 members) | $120,000 |
| Photography/Content Packages | $65,000 |
| Tourism Partnership Commissions | $55,000 |
| Total Revenue | $6,715,000 |
F&B ALONE COVERS
Bar F&B + show night uplift covers rent, labor, and operating costs
REVENUE STREAMS
No single stream exceeds 33% of total
SHOW NIGHT MULTIPLIER
Show nights generate 2.8x regular bar nights
Ticket Economics
Four Tiers. Premium Positioning.
1 welcome cocktail
Poker chip assignment
Physical takeaways (ring, pick, lyric)
Whiskey flight included
Extended 1-on-1 encounter
Exclusive vinyl variant
Cast dinner pre-show
Signed merch & lyric sheet
Secret 4th-wall scene
Custom narrative overlay
Dedicated Cora & cast
Premium bar package
Per-Show-Night Economics
| GA Tickets (40 × $85) | $3,400 |
| VIP Tickets (30 × $150) | $4,500 |
| Inner Circle (10 × $250) | $2,500 |
| Show Night F&B Uplift | $3,600 |
| Merch & Add-ons | $1,800 |
| Revenue Per Show Night | $15,800 |
160 shows/year × 80 guests × $130 avg ticket = $1.664M in ticket revenue alone. F&B uplift and merch add another $864K on show nights.
Show nights generate 2.8x the revenue of a standard bar night. Show nights don't just add ticket money - people drink more, buy more, stay longer.
Financial Projections
Five-Year P&L - Three Scenarios
| Year 1 (Partial) | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Case | |||||
| Revenue | $2.2M | $6.7M | $7.8M | $8.7M | $9.5M |
| EBITDA | ($250K) | $1.47M | $2.11M | $2.52M | $2.95M |
| EBITDA Margin | - | 22% | 27% | 29% | 31% |
| Upside Case (+15%) | |||||
| Revenue | $2.5M | $7.7M | $9.0M | $10.0M | $10.9M |
| EBITDA | ($100K) | $1.85M | $2.7M | $3.2M | $3.7M |
| Downside Case (−20%) | |||||
| Revenue | $1.8M | $5.4M | $6.2M | $7.0M | $7.6M |
| EBITDA | ($450K) | $750K | $1.2M | $1.6M | $1.9M |
Cost Structure - Year 2
| COGS (22-28% blended) | 25% | $1,679,000 |
| Labor (actors + bar + ops) | 32% | $2,149,000 |
| Rent (7,000 SF @ $80/SF) | - | $560,000 |
| Insurance | - | $48,000 |
| Marketing (5%) | 5% | $336,000 |
| Tech Maintenance | - | $140,000 |
| Utilities / Supplies | 3% | $201,000 |
| Licensing / Legal / Admin | 2% | $134,000 |
| Total Expenses | $5,247,000 | |
| EBITDA | 22% | $1,468,000 |
Downside Protection: Even in the downside case, the daily outlaw bar generates $1.75M+ in F&B alone - enough to cover rent, labor, and all operating costs. The bar is the floor. The show is the ceiling.
Marketing at 5%: Higher in Y2 to build awareness. Yondr pouch unlocks create 80 simultaneous social posts per show. Bachelorette parties are the highest-ROI content creators in tourism. Marketing drops to 3% by Y4 as virality compounds.
Comparable Exits
Where Entertainment Venues
Trade Today
Entertainment venues with IP, recurring audiences, and strong unit economics command premium multiples. The Lost Highway combines hospitality cash flow with entertainment IP upside.
| Comparable | Valuation | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryman Hospitality (RYMAN) | $6.47B Market Cap | 2.73x | 14.2x | Nashville entertainment + venues |
| Meow Wolf | $500M+ Valuation | 5-6x | - | Immersive art, multi-city expansion |
| Live Nation (LYV) | $31B Market Cap | 1.5x | 14.9x | Live entertainment at scale |
| Sleep No More (Shanghai) | $86M cumulative rev | - | - | Single-venue immersive theater |
| Punch Bowl Social | Acquired by Cracker Barrel | 2.5x | 8-10x | Entertainment + F&B venues |
| Topgolf | $2B (Callaway acquisition) | 3.3x | 12x+ | Entertainment + F&B + IP |
| The Lost Highway (Year 5) | $21-$27M implied | 2.2-2.8x | 7-9x | Immersive + hospitality + IP |
At Year 5 EBITDA of $2.95M and a 7-9x entertainment venue multiple, implied enterprise value is $21M-$27M. Multi-city expansion doubles it.
The Raise
$4.5M Equity Round
Deal Structure
| Pre-Money Valuation | $5,500,000 |
| Raise Amount | $4,500,000 |
| Post-Money Valuation | $10,000,000 |
| Investor Ownership | 45% |
| Founder Ownership | 55% |
Founder Contribution: Complete creative IP (show bible, brand, venue concept), Tim McGraw partnership, and Scott Siman's Nashville network. All intellectual property developed pre-raise.
Investor Terms: 8% preferred return. Pro-rata rights on future rounds. Board observer seat. Quarterly reporting. Revenue participation after preferred return.
IP & Licensing Strategy: Bar music covered by standard ASCAP/BMI blanket licenses. Immersive show requires right of publicity licenses from artist estates (Williams, Jennings, Cline) under Tennessee's Personal Rights Protection Act. Tim McGraw and Scott Siman have direct relationships with every estate involved. Exclusive estate partnerships become an unbreakable competitive moat — once locked, no competitor can tell these stories.
Uses of Capital
Distribution Waterfall
The Platform
One Venue. Infinite Stories.
Five Cities.
The Lost Highway is the permanent venue - Nashville's outlaw country bar, open every night. Inside it, a new immersive show premieres each season. Same walls, new ghosts. The format travels to any city with music in its bones.
Season 1 - 2027
The Last Ballad
Waylon & Hank. The ghost of outlaw country. A deal with the Music. An unfinished song. Two legends. One jukebox. Two possible endings.
Season 2 - 2028
Patsy's Last Flight
March 5, 1963. The plane never landed. But inside The Lost Highway, Patsy Cline still sings every night. New rooms. New mystery. Same haunted walls.
Season 3 - 2029
The Man in Black
Johnny Cash walks the line between heaven and hell. The fire ring burns. Folsom Prison comes to Printer's Alley.
5-City Expansion Roadmap
The Estate Moat: Each season requires exclusive right of publicity licenses from artist estates. Once we lock Williams, Jennings, Cline, and Cash — no competitor can tell these stories. Every new season deepens the moat. The IP isn't just the show. It's the only legal right to bring these legends back to life.
Timeline
From Vision to Venue - 40 Weeks
Phase 1 - Weeks 1-6
Creative Development
Full show bible. Script locked. Sound design. Scenic blueprints. Character arcs. All 4 room designs approved.
Phase 2 - Weeks 4-8
Legal & Entity Formation
LLC formation. Trademark filings. Music licensing. Investor documents. Operating agreement.
Phase 3 - Weeks 6-12
Brand & Identity
Visual identity system. Website launch. Social presence. PR strategy. Concept art photography.
Phase 4 - Weeks 8-16
Capital Raise
Investor pitch circuit. Term sheets. Close $4.5M equity round. Funds in escrow. Identify operations partner.
Phase 5 - Weeks 16-28
Build-Out & Construction
Lease signed. Demolition and build. Immersive tech install. Acoustic engineering. Rain system. Cadillac placement. Haptic bus build.
Phase 6 - Weeks 28-32
Soft Launch (Bar Only)
Open The Lost Highway outlaw bar. Live outlaw country programming begins. Build word of mouth. Test F&B. Train staff on dual-mode transitions.
Phase 7 - Weeks 32-36
Preview Performances
Invite-only shows. Press previews. Influencer nights. Cast rehearsals with live audiences. Iterate on pacing and scares.
Phase 8 - Week 40
Grand Opening
The Last Ballad: Season 1 premieres. Full show schedule. Thu-Sun evenings. Nashville knows. The jukebox plays.
Founders
The People Behind the Curtain
Nashville doesn't let outsiders build here. Good thing we're not outsiders.
Brian Kaplan
FOUNDER / CREATOR
Wrote the show bible. Built the brand. Developed the full creative IP before raising a dollar. Entertainment, tech, and storytelling background.
Tim McGraw
FOUNDER
90M+ records sold. 3x Grammy winner. Actor (Friday Night Lights, 1883). Nashville royalty with 30+ years of cultural authority.
Scott Siman
FOUNDER
President, EM.co. Manager of Tim McGraw. 30+ years managing Nashville's biggest careers. Knows every handshake, every deal, every door worth walking through.
Operations Partner (Active Search): Seeking a hospitality/entertainment operator with immersive venue experience to join as managing partner. Conversations active with Nashville and NYC operators.
Key Hires Post-Funding: Technical Director (immersive tech) • Lead Actor/Director (show) • Marketing Director • Head of F&B
Traction
What's Already Done
This isn't an idea. The IP is written. The team is locked. The venue is identified. The tech is spec'd. We're raising to build - not to figure it out.
COMPLETED PRE-FUNDING
Complete Creative IP
Full show bible: 7 characters, 4 rooms, 3 acts, 2 endings, 47 hidden lyric fragments. Every scene scripted.
Tim McGraw - Founder
90M records. 3x Grammy winner. Committed as founding partner, not just a name on the door.
Scott Siman - Founder
President of EM.co. 30+ years managing Nashville's biggest careers. Every door is open.
Venue Identified
209 Printers Alley. 1888 building, 6 floors. Turn-key bar + upper floors for immersive rooms. Active LoopNet listing. Lease with option to buy.
$1.2M Tech Package Spec'd
Vendor quotes in hand. Pepper's Ghost, Holosonics, D-BOX, ScentAir, Yamaha Disklavier. All priced.
Brand Identity Complete
Full brand system, bar program designed, 52-week vinyl release calendar built.
Music Licensing (ASCAP/BMI)
Standard blanket licenses for bar performance. Covers all outlaw country catalog for live and recorded play.
POST-FUNDING MILESTONES
Q3 2026
Lease Signed + Permits Filed
Finalize venue, begin permitting process
Q3 2026
Estate Licensing Secured
Right of publicity licenses from Williams, Jennings, and Cline estates. TN Personal Rights Protection Act requires authorization. Tim McGraw + Scott Siman open every door.
Q3-Q4 2026
Key Hires + Ops Partner
Technical Director, Lead Director, Head of F&B, Marketing Director
Q4 2026
Construction + Tech Install
Build-out begins. 4-room layout, tech integration, bar fit-out
Q1 2027
Rehearsals + Marketing Launch
Cast rehearsals, tech testing, pre-sale campaign, VIP preview events
Q2 2027
Soft Launch + Grand Opening
Soft launch with VIP/press. Grand opening leveraging Tim McGraw media pull
Q4 2027
Profitability Milestone
Target: monthly EBITDA positive by month 6 of operations
Financial Deep Dive
The Numbers Behind the Numbers
UNIT ECONOMICS — PER SHOW NIGHT
| Ticket Revenue (80 guests × $130 avg) | $10,400 |
| Show Night F&B Uplift | $3,600 |
| Merch + Add-ons | $1,800 |
| Gross Revenue / Show Night | $15,800 |
| COGS (25%) | ($3,950) |
| Show Night Labor (actors + crew + bar) | ($4,200) |
| Contribution Margin / Show Night | $7,650 (48%) |
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS — YEAR 2 EBITDA
| Scenario | Revenue | EBITDA | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Case | $6.7M | $1.47M | 22% |
| Revenue -10% | $6.0M | $1.07M | 18% |
| Revenue -20% | $5.4M | $750K | 14% |
| Revenue -30% | $4.7M | $310K | 7% |
| Bar-Only Floor | $2.19M | ($180K) | - |
Even at -30%, the venue is EBITDA positive. Bar-only scenario covers rent + utilities; show revenue is pure upside.
CASH FLOW WATERFALL — MONTHS 1-24
| Phase | Months | Cash Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Build-Out + Pre-Opening | 1-9 | ($3.9M) burn |
| Soft Launch / Ramp | 10-12 | ($120K/mo) avg |
| Break-Even Month | 13-14 | $0 |
| Steady State (Year 2) | 15-24 | +$122K/mo avg |
$600K working capital reserve covers 9 months of pre-opening burn + 3-month operating cushion post-launch.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
| Bar Revenue | $6K/day avg (3,500 SF, 3 turns/night) |
| Show Capacity | 80 guests/night (2 waves × 40) |
| Shows/Year | 160 (Thu-Sun, 40 weeks) |
| Avg Ticket | $130 (40 GA + 30 VIP + 10 IC) |
| Occupancy Ramp | 60% M1-3, 80% M4-6, 95%+ M7+ |
| COGS | 25% (whiskey-heavy, high margin) |
| Labor | 32% (15-25 staff, show + bar crews) |
| Seasonality | Peak 32% above avg (Jun-Aug, Oct, Dec) |
| CAC | <$15 (organic viral + bachelorette WOM) |
| LTV | $390+ (3-layer mystery = 3x visits) |
The Ask
$4.5M
EQUITY ROUND - $10M POST-MONEY VALUATION
Investor Ownership
$4.5M for 45% equity. 8% preferred return. Pro-rata rights. Board observer seat.
Post-Money Valuation
$5.5M pre-money based on IP, founding team, Tim McGraw partnership, and Nashville venue pipeline.
Investor Protections
1x liquidation preference. Pro-rata rights. Board observer seat. Tag-along/drag-along. Quarterly reporting.
NEXT STEPS
THE LOST HIGHWAY
The song was never finished. Until now.
$4.5M EQUITY ROUND • $10M POST-MONEY • 45% OWNERSHIP
Brian Kaplan • Tim McGraw • Scott Siman
Printer's Alley, Nashville • CONFIDENTIAL