Riley Strain Update: Nashville Bars Cleared of Wrongdoing

Riley Strain was very drunk before he fell into the Cumberland River and drowned last winter, but the bars that served him did nothing wrong according to the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission.

The 22-year-old visited four downtown Nashville bars before exiting Luke Bryan's Luke's 32 Bridge bar and heading northeast toward the river. An investigation concluded that none of them served him alcohol while he was visibly intoxicated.

• Strain and his fraternity friends went to bars named after Miranda Lambert, Garth Brooks, Kid Rock and Luke Bryan, in that order.
• The owners of Luke's 32 Bridge Bar said they only served him one drink. He was asked to leave the establishment after some unreported incident.
• He left alone and walked north, then east toward the river. His hotel was west of Lower Broadway.

Related: Riley Strain's Official Autopsy Answers Key Questions

A statement from the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission details the investigation. The agency conducted interviews, looked at receipts and poured over video footage from each of the four bars.

"While the circumstances of Mr. Strain's death are tragic, the TABC investigation into whether he was served alcohol while visibly intoxicated on the night of March 8, 2024, did not result in any concrete evidence in the form of eyewitness testimony or video proof of a violation."

The autopsy found that Strain's blood alcohol level was .228, nearly three times the legal limit to drive. He also had an amount of THC in his system.

Strain family investigator Steve Fischer shared the note from TABC:

While these bars didn't violate TABC guidelines, it remains to be seen if they'll face further scrutiny from Strain family lawyers. His parents hired Morgan & Morgan to investigate the death but so far no lawsuit has been acknowledged.

Billy Dukes is a Senior Editor and Executive Producer of Video Content at Taste of Country. He specializes in country music interviews, trend analysis and the Secret History of Country Music. Additionally, Billy covers Yellowstone, 1923 and related television shows through the Dutton Rules podcast. To date, he's written more than 13,000 articles for Taste of Country and produced over 3,000 videos for the Taste of Country YouTube channel.