Seventh Story Studio, a Nashville-based film production company, has reopened the doors of a legendary music space—restored, reimagined, and ready for a new era of storytellers. The original studio, built out by renowned producer Chips Moman in 1977, hosted some of country music’s most iconic voices: Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, and Tammy Wynette. Songs like “Highwayman,” “Pancho and Lefty,” and “Always on My Mind” were recorded there — etched into music history within the very walls now reopened as creative workspaces.
After decades of use by the music industry—including a decade as Legends Studio—the space has been fully renovated by director and Seventh Story founder Hoy Steven Charles Bussell. What began in a spare bedroom in 1998 evolved into a long-term home at The Factory in Franklin in 2007, and now into a studio of his own, built with care, texture, and storytelling in mind.
“This building holds a lot of stories, from the country records made here over the past 50 years, to the escapades that happened here, to the old family photos resting on the piano,” said Bussell. “My family’s from East Tennessee, where artists like Johnny and Dolly were talked about like kin. Really, they showed us just how far Southerners could go. Now we’ve created a space where that spirit lives on—and where today’s creatives can step in and add their own chapter to this building.”
The new studio includes two distinct spaces:
- The Outlaw House – a textured, writer’s-room-turned-refuge where ideas are meant to wander
- The Legends Stage – the original tracking room, now redesigned for film, photography, and performance
Additional amenities include themed dressing rooms (Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton), a shared kitchenette, and curated vintage props, including a fire-scarred church pew, an 80-year-old banjo, and a broken guitar affectionately named Buttermilk—each piece chosen to keep the space full of soul, history, and character.
Seventh Story Studio is now open for film production, photography, events, and creative work of all kinds. The third and largest studio space is currently in development and coming soon, also to serve film and content creators.