When I'm driving people around Nashville, they always ask me: do the musicians get paid? I can see why, since a lot of the bands announce that they work for tips. This isn't far from the truth — many bands work for a very low base pay and rely heavily on tips, but they do get paid, just like your bartenders and servers who make next to nothing hourly, or your rideshare (Uber and Lyft) drivers who don't even make minimum wage without tips.

The rate bands get paid varies a lot from venue to venue, just like drink prices do. In general, the places with higher prices pay their musicians better and tend to have better bands. Miranda Lambert's is one of the higher-paying bars, along with others owned by TC Restaurant Group such as Luke Bryan's, Jason Aldean's, and Posty's.

Tootsie's and their circuit — which includes Rippy's, Honky Tonk Central, and Kid Rock's — are known to be among the worst-paying bars for musicians. That said, Kid Rock's has some of the best rock bands on Broadway, and they make up for the low base pay with the tips they earn.

So regardless of what the musicians are paid per set, they work for tips just like your bartenders, servers, and Uber drivers — and your generosity is always appreciated.