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.
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
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.
The Location
Printer's Alley, Nashville
Not another bar on Broadway. The original speakeasy district.
Printer's Alley is where Nashville's real history lives. During Prohibition, this was the city's speakeasy row. In the 1950s and '60s, the Rainbow Room hosted everyone from Waylon Jennings to Jimi Hendrix. The buildings here have real ghost stories - documented sightings, unexplained sounds, cold spots that the staff talk about in whispers.
One block from Broadway but a different world. Walkable. Discoverable. Hidden in plain sight. Lease with option to buy - capturing long-term real estate upside in Nashville's fastest-appreciating corridor.
Why Printer's Alley
| Distance from Broadway | 1 Block |
| Historic District Status | Yes - 20% Federal Tax Credits |
| Documented Hauntings | 3+ Buildings |
| Waylon Jennings Played | Confirmed |
| Speakeasy Heritage | Prohibition Era |
| Daily Foot Traffic | High - Tourist Corridor |
| Rent vs. Broadway | 40-60% Lower |
| Venue Size | ~7,000 SF • $80/SF |
| Lease Structure | Lease with Option to Buy |
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 nights. 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 exclusively to the outlaws: Waylon, Willie, Merle, Hank, Cash, Kristofferson. No pop country. No bro-country. No "Wagon Wheel." Tennessee whiskey wall. Outlaw-curated vinyl. Live music 7 nights a week.
F&B REVENUE • $6K/DAY AVG
The Last Ballad - Thu-Sun
The Immersive Show
The first immersive production that plays in and around the bar. 2.5 hours. 40 guests per wave, 2 waves per night. Yondr pouches. Poker chips. 4 rooms. 7 characters. 2 endings. Holographic ghosts that materialize.
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 Mythology
January 1, 1953. Hank Williams dies in the back seat of a powder-blue Cadillac somewhere 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 almost took that same ride. He gave up his seat on the plane that killed Buddy Holly. He carried that guilt like a stone. And 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.
This is a ghost story. But the ghost isn't a person. The ghost is an unfinished song. And the building keeps pulling artists in, trying to finish it.
Seven Characters
| Cora | The Bartender. Bound to the building since 1953. She guards the unfinished song - and decides who gets close enough to hear it. |
| Jesse | The Mystery Singer. Hank's granddaughter. Doesn't know she carries the melody that finishes the song. She'll reveal her secret to one guest only. |
| The Driver | Charles Carr. Soaking wet. Still driving. Needs a guest to tell him the ride is over - or he loops forever. |
| Audrey | The Woman in Black. Hank's first wife. She burned the only copy of the last verse. Now she's trapped in the mirror, trying to remember it. |
| Midnight Mike | The DJ. Broadcasts from 1953. Plays the same setlist every night, waiting for someone to request the song that isn't on his list. |
| Waylon's Shadow | The part of Waylon the building kept when he made the deal. Haunts the tour bus. Wants someone to play the chord he never played. |
| Hank's Ghost | The Regular. Sits at the same seat. Orders the same drink. Hums a melody no one can quite remember. Never speaks. |
2 ENDINGS • LAYER 1: THE GHOST STORY • LAYER 2: THE HIDDEN LYRICS • LAYER 3: WHO CORA REALLY IS
The Experience
2.5 Hours. Minute by Minute.
ACT I - THE OUTLAW BAR (45 min)
ACT II - THE HAUNTING (60 min)
ACT III - THE FINAL SONG (30 min)
Act II - The Rooms
Four Doors. Four Decades.
Your Chip Determines Your Fate.
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 the reflection, but not in the room. She burned the last verse of Hank's final song. She needs one guest to help her remember. Lyric fragments are hidden in the walls, the vanity, and the record sleeves.
"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 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.
"You're listening to WGST, the Ghost Signal. And tonight's dedication goes out to... you."
The Lost Highway
800 SF - Rain System + Real 1952 Cadillac
HYDRA-TECH digital rain falls in a room that shouldn't have weather. Cryo CO2 jets drop the temperature 15°F. The Driver opens the Cadillac's back door and confesses the story of 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.
"I drove all night with a dead man in my backseat. And I swear... he was humming."
The Rolling Curse
500 SF - Tour Bus with Haptic Seats
Waylon's tour bus interior. D-BOX seats vibrate with engine rumble. The Yamaha Disklavier guitar plays an unfinished song and stops on the last chord. A guitar pick appears. If a guest plays the missing note, the bus shakes, ScentAir shifts from diesel to rain, and Waylon's Shadow materializes with the final clue.
"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. 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. $1.2M tech package - same systems Disney Imagineering selected.
| Technology Layer | Sleep No More (2011) | The Last Ballad (2027) |
|---|---|---|
| Visual FX | Masked actors, tungsten lights, choreography | Pepper's Ghost (Musion Eyeliner), Proto Hologram Luma ($30K), HYPERVSN Holographic Human ($27-30K) |
| Volumetric Display | None | Looking Glass Factory + LIMINAL Space Spirit Tile (same tech Disney Imagineering selected) |
| Audio | Ambient speakers, live orchestra | Holosonics Audio Spotlight - directional whispers only one person hears |
| Haptic/Physical | Dance floor vibration (incidental) | D-BOX motion seats + floor transducers - you FEEL the ghost walk by |
| Scent | Fixed fog machines | ScentAir programmable - bourbon shifts to gunpowder, rain, perfume per scene |
| Temperature | Ambient building temp | Cryo CO2 jets - temperature drops 15-20°F instantly when ghosts appear. Real cold spots. |
| Self-Playing Instruments | None | Yamaha Disklavier piano ($40-70K) - the piano plays itself. No wires. No explanation. |
| Smart Mirrors | Standard mirrors | LG Transparent OLED ($60K) - ghost appears in your reflection |
| Weather | None | HYDRA-TECH digital rain curtain + waterproofing - indoor rain |
| Show Control | Manual stage management | Medialon / 7thSense - everything orchestrated automatically, 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.
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. And the "I-can't-tell-you-what-happened" factor does the rest.
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 |
| 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.
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
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
Multi-platinum country artist. Actor. Nashville royalty.
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.
Key Hires Post-Funding: General Manager (bar operations) • Technical Director (immersive tech) • Lead Actor/Director (show) • Marketing Director • Head of F&B
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.
Clean Cap Table
No loans. No liens. All equity goes straight into building the venue. Operations partner TBD.
THE LOST HIGHWAY
The song was never finished. Until now.
Brian Kaplan / A Brian Kaplan Concept / Printer's Alley, Nashville
CONFIDENTIAL - FOR QUALIFIED INVESTORS ONLY