(birds chirp) (gentle country music) - [Ben] Nashville, Tennessee.

The Athens of the South, buckle of the Bible Belt, and of course, the country music capital of America.

(music slows to halt) The bachelorette capital of America.

- The city isn't just known for country music, it's also apparently the bachelorette party capital of the country.

- [Newscaster] We are number one.

(TV static hisses) (suspenseful music) - Woo!

(cars honk) (revelers scream) (revelers scream) (revelers scream, laugh) (suspenseful music builds) (revelers scream) - [Reveler] Same cock forever, baby!

(bright, lively music) Hello, viewer.

That's me, Ben Oddo.

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood.

The sun is shining.

The city's looking... Good God!

(revelers scream) You can't escape them!

It's like wherever you go in this town, there the bachelorettes are.

And everyone who lives here has an opinion on them.

- Bachelorettes are like the people that go door to door selling magazine subscriptions.

It's like you didn't invite them, but once they're there, once you open the door, it's really hard to get them to leave.

- But what's crazy is that all of these women are different women.

They're all different people, they live in different states, they have different jobs.

But everybody has the same idea of fun.

- I guess it's good for Nashville and good for Nashville business.

- [Ben] Well, everyone has an opinion on them except for me.

I don't know.

I mean, sure, they can be a lot.

- "This bach party was brought to you by..." "My probation expiration."

- "My nip slip."

- "Tequila shots."

- [Ben] But they're also kinda fun.

Although sometimes, they're not so fun.

- [Philadelphia Newscaster] You may not want to invite this next woman to your bachelorette party, after she reportedly told police she, quote, "went psycho" and trashed an Airbnb after she says she drank two whole bottles of wine by herself.

- [Ben] Look, I don't know if bachelorettes are the worst thing to happen in Nashville or the best, but I intend to find out.

As a local journalist, I've covered the city's most important events.

(turkey gobbles) I've also interviewed some real scumbags.

I'm like Walter Cronkite, if he were unemployed.

But this?

This was my dream assignment.

My chance to venture into something that no man has been dumb enough to venture into before.

So I set out with a camera crew and a sport coat, hoping to answer the million-dollar question, "What in the holy matrimony is going on here?"

(revelers scream) (bluesy rock music) I began my investigation with the Jugg Sisters.

They run a comedy bus tour and have taken a very public stance against the bachelorettes.

- [Photographer] Two, three!

- Are bachelorettes too wild for Broadway?

Two different tour companies have banned bachelorette parties, and they say it's been for the best.

For the past 20 years, the NashTrash Tour has offered a unique perspective on Music City.

But seats for the show on the bright pink bus will not be filled with bachelorette parties.

The change was made after operators witnessed several incidents where brides-to-be and their friends got out of control.

- Well, we used to be okay with them.

- And we're still all right with them coming here, you know.

- All right with them being here, but not on our bus.

- Not on our bus.

- Thank you for spending your tourist dollars here, but you can take your penis straws and your penis hats- - Penis hats, and your penis gloves- - And your penis rings and your penis pacifiers.

- I mean, we love the penis, but... - [Sheri Lynn] But don't come on our tour no more.

- [Ben] Do you take (beep)?

- [Both] We take no (beep).

- [Brenda Kay] And they're just so (beep) loud.

- Yeah, and they're open-air buses, too.

- An open-air bus.

- And then the bachelorettes, they puke over the side.

So that's a safety issue right there.

- Could you ever see a world where you would... - [Both] With no bachelorettes?

From your mouth to God's ears.

(Sheri Lynn laughs) - So the Juggs are not fans.

(revelers scream) But what about other so-called transportainment companies, like Nashville Pedal Tavern?

- [Sarah] All right, here we go.

1, 2, 3 pedal!

- Wow, this is fun.

All righty, how often do bachelorettes come on these things?

- So we have about 60% of our business is bachelorette parties.

- 60%?

- 60%.

- And what do you think of the bachelorettes?

What do you think of 'em?

- So as a Pedal Tavern driver and a person who works with bachelorette parties all the time, I have to say, I generally enjoy them.

But as a citizen of Nashville, when I'm off-duty?

Yeah, no, I hate them.

- You put your foot down, yeah.

- I feel like everybody else!

I hate 'em.

- Okay.

I have a torrid relationship.

It's complicated.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- That's all right.

Love is complicated.

- Yeah!

Love is complicated.

- [Ben] And then there's Rebecca, general manager of popular brunch spot The Ainsworth.

- We do get a ton of my triple Bs, which is bachelorettes, birthdays, and brunch.

Have you ever seen "Field of Dreams," where they say, "If you build it, they will come"?

- Yeah, sure.

It's been built.

- We built it, and they are coming.

- And they are drunk.

Clearly, I had to dig deeper, get outside Nashville.

So I opened my laptop to see what I could find.

This is Beth Montemurro, professor of sociology at Penn State Abington.

She literally wrote the book on bridal showers and bachelorette parties.

- This is the book for my dissertation.

- Oh, look at that poor, poor girl.

Who is that?

- That's my sister!

(Beth laughs) - Oh, God.

And fortunately, it was a short interview.

She's a nice lady.

I then read on the bachelorette Wikipedia page that Eleanor Roosevelt hosted the first hen party in the White House.

So I reached out to Allida Black, the nation's leading expert on Eleanor Roosevelt, to see if there was any truth to the story.

- Well, that's incorrect.

And I would like to point out two things.

First of all, in the 1940s, as it is today, "hen party" is the most offensive term you can use for women getting together to enjoy each other's company.

It's men (beep), if I can say that on your documentary- - It's encouraged.

- About women getting together and enjoying each other's company.

- Why was the term "hen party" so offensive?

There was also the term "stag party" for the flip.

- What's the difference between a stag and a hen?

- Power?

- [Allida] Yeah.

(sad synthesizer music) What's the difference between a stag and a hen?

- Ask your sister.

- Power?

Maybe this was a mistake.

God, I look so stupid in this sport coat.

My feet hurt.

But I had come too far to quit now.

It was time to enter the lions' den.

- My one eye is not even opening, 'cause my frickin' strip eyelashes are glued shut.

- I can remember this.

(reveler laughs) - I went up to pull my eye open- (needle scratches record) - [Ben] Let's rewind a bit.

(video rewind whirs, squeaks) Over the course of my research, I tried to get answers from some local brides-to-be.

Bachelorettes?

Bachelorettes?

Does anyone know where I can find any bachelorettes?

But, turns out it's not easy to crash a girls' weekend.

Anyone know where I can find bachelorettes?

So I reached out to a company called Bach to Basic and asked if they'd help us find a group to follow around.

- We do all-inclusive bachelor and bachelorette party planning.

- [Ben] Bach to Basic set us up with bachelorettes from all over the country before landing on our perfect match.

- Hi, I'm Kathryn.

I'm the bride.

I'm 27 years old.

- [Ben] Self-described Vegas party queens.

- I feel that just going to school at UNLV, we were already a part of our own reality TV show without the camera, (party laughs) so I think that we're gonna do just fine.

- Hey, Kathryn.

- Hey!

How are you?

I just wanted to chat with you today, because we do have some bad news... - Mm, okay.

- For the other groups.

- Stop!

(champagne bottle pops) - They had won the bachelorette sweepstakes.

♪ The girls are emerging ♪ ♪ We are outside ♪ ♪ We're going to go in and say hi ♪ - [Rachel] Do you have any nervous energy, walking into a room full of women that you've never met before?

- No.

I mean, yeah, it's weird.

It's weird, so there's nothing to lose, right?

I don't know.

There's nothing... Yeah, a little nervous.

Do I seem nervous?

- [Rachel] You've never been on a girls' trip.

You've never been a part of a bachelorette party.

♪ Yeah, but I have a mom ♪ So I get it.

- To Camp Kitty!

- Oh, is that what this is called?

- Camp Kitty.

- Cheers!

- Cheers.

(Ben imitates cat yowl) - What are you guys wearing?

What are these?

- Jammies!

They're pajamas!

- Do you keep this after this weekend?

And did you guys buy outfits for this weekend?

- We bought outfits for this weekend.

And yeah, we keep these after we ordered these.

- I just didn't know if people got rid of 'em.

- Okay.

Oh, no!

Well, you can also... - Holy (beep)!

You got me one?

(party giggles and claps) Oh my God!

- It's all pink.

- [Rachel] Not to, like, not to, like... - Not to exploit me?

- Ben!

- How you doing?

- I didn't undo it yet.

- [Guest] I ate a lime.

I'm sorry, not you.

(guests laugh) - This is great.

- You're gonna keep your shirt on underneath?

- I am.

(guest giggles) Hey, big one for the group.

- Okay.

- Know the Bride?

Where and how did the proposal happen?

- Miami?

- Yeah.

Yeah.

It was all recorded.

- [Kathryn] Yeah, 'cause he had a drone following me, and then I saw violins in the back, and then Justin comes out of the golf shop, and then suddenly, I realized it was for me.

Then photographers and videographers come out, and there was a big rose heart and petals and everything.

It was cute.

(Pachelbel's "Canon in D") - So you have to take a sip.

- Cheers.

(party giggles) - Cheers.

- I have never had "friends with benefits."

Done it?

Take a sip.

- God!

- What?

(party giggles) I'm sorry.

- Why are you not sipping?

- I, I- - Don't lie!

- No, these are- - Did you not sip?

- This is where I don't understand these games.

- Did you just not sip?

- What does that mean?

What does that mean?

- Friends with benefits?

- Have you had friends with benefits?

- You've had a friend with benefits?

- Yeah, all of us.

- Oh my God!

I should be so lucky!

You guys have had friends with benefits?

- We all took a sip.

- We all have.

- Literally everyone here took a sip.

- Oh my God!

Wow!

What a rush!

Look at this whole operation!

They had salmon, monogrammed cups, protective gloves.

This ain't your mom's bachelorette party.

In fact, your mom probably didn't even have a bachelorette party.

Now it's an $11 billion industry with private chefs and take-home pajamas.

Thanks for having me here.

Goodbye.

- Goodbye!

- [Ben] Goodbye, goodbye.

Suffice to say, night one of Camp Kitty was a success.

Even though they didn't offer me dinner.

Or a bunk.

But some people think these weekends have gone too far.

- I understand partying, and we all wanna be goofy and stuff, and have fun.

But I think it's the whole destination thing, which was not around in my time, when I got married.

- No, this destination stuff is insane.

- And my theory is that everybody's vying for the bride's attention, see?

- 'Cause the dynamics.

You got the bride and then you got the bride's best friend from grade school- - Your best friend from college.

- Then you got high school, and now she's in college.

- You got her hairdresser.

- And then you got the in-laws.

Oh, this is your future sister-in-law.

- Her cousin, first cousin.

- Nobody knows anybody, everybody's pissed about spending the money, and they all are behaving badly for the bride's attention.

- They don't know each other, they're all vying- - "No, I'm her best friend."

"No, I'm her best friend."

- "I'm her best friend."

- And then they're pissed that they- - "You don't know."

- Then they're pissed that they had to spend so much money on a plane, and a hotel- - So the whole dynamic of it is wrong.

(Brenda Kay chuckles) - I think this is wrong.

(Jugg Sisters laugh) So, why Nashville?

What's making the bachelorettes come here?

The city's on a roll, and there are a couple theories as to why.

A hit TV show, some good press, and, well... - Woo!

- [Ben] It's fun!

Where else can you put on boots and pretend to be a cowgirl?

(revelers scream) The word was out.

Nashville is a good time, and groups like Camp Kitty were coming here in droves.

- Nashville is a great mix of Texan, where I went to high school, and then Vegas also.

'Cause they call it "Nash Vegas," all my college girls.

- I mean, the party scene is crazy here.

- It's just like Vegas, honestly.

That Broadway?

Put a couple casinos, we're in Vegas.

- I'm actually from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

It's called "Osh Vegas."

It's really random, but- - That one doesn't resonate as much.

Are you buying what Nashville's selling?

- I am picking up what it's putting down, that's for sure.

- [Ben] As I spoke with the rest of Kat's Bride Squad, one thing became clear, however.

These weekends are not easy to plan.

- The amount of planning that goes into it versus the reality, it's stupid, I have to say.

It's like you put so much effort into the balloons, the decor, and then you get here and it's like, "Screw it, I don't even care what it looks like."

- I feel like I am one of the brides that gets really involved, and wanted to be part of the planning and kinda take the reins on some things, so it was stressful.

- [Ben] Fortunately, there's a solution.

Enter Big Tech.

- Bach is the world's first group travel marketplace platform.

We created this to just make it really easy to plan a party in five minutes or less.

So we have 20,000 parties in our app right now.

About 20% are going to Nashville.

So if you just look at that on a monthly basis, we're sending 4,000 to 5,000 parties to Nashville any given month.

- Nashville is the number one bachelorette destination in the country.

- It's the travel logistics plus the Honky Tonk Highway.

- The tourism board has some type of stat about it being within an eight-hour drive of a giant percentage of the country.

- It's a really nice branded experience.

You know exactly what you're gonna get if you go to Nashville.

- Do you want a city, though, to be brandable?

Like, I get it, it's the country music capital, but don't you want a city to be dynamic, and its people to be dynamic, and its nightlife options to be dynamic?

- Well, I would add that brandable is a good thing, because that means it's repeatable, right?

So therefore, the city is seeing a consistent revenue stream from what occurs on Broadway.

- Anything that is Instagrammable sells, whether it's your home rental with a flower wall, a mural tour.

If you can take pictures, bachelorette parties wanna be there.

- [Ben] And that's when I discovered Nashville has mural tours.

- We're having fun!

Hey, ladies!

- [Group] Hello!

- I'm Christy Hunter.

I will be your host and photographer today.

- How many Photowalk Tours would you say you give a week in the high season?

- High season, about 20.

So we've had about 3,000 people come through over the last four years.

And I would say about 50% to 60% is bachelorette parties.

- They are just a juggernaut.

- Yeah.

There we go!

Uh-huh, uh-huh!

That's it!

Yes, Ann!

(laughs) - My perception of Photowalk Nashville, your business, is that you have benefited immensely, immensely from the bachelorette culture here in Nashville.

- I'm grateful for them, for sure.

I'm very grateful.

(Christy laughs) - (laughs) That was "I'm... - Great!

- Grateful."

(beep) mermaids.

Think mermaid.

Yes.

Project mermaid.

That's it, ladies!

- "I just washed up on the ocean."

- Yes, honeys!

(laughs) My concerns and worries are that the influx is too much and too soon, and that there's not a little bit of a steady rate of it, that there's just this huge influx, they're all coming in at once on the same dates, they're picking the same weekends, and that the city, just the infrastructure of the city won't be able to handle it.

- Can't sustain it.

- Can't sustain it, yeah.

- I knew there was only one man I could speak to about all this, and his name was Butch Spyridon.

(air whooshes) In my mind, you are the guy who sells Nashville to tourists.

Accurate?

Not accurate?

- Mm-hm.

That's accurate.

- Okay.

So, I mean, Nashville, Butch, there's no debating it.

Nashville is the bachelorette capital of America.

- You know, we- - Acknowledge it!

- We don't market to bachelorette parties, but we've built a pretty good product.

If I guessed that we had 100 groups a week, and the average size is 10, which, the average size is about 10, that would be 52,000 girls a year, out of 16 million visitors.

So let's double it.

I'm gonna say I'm wrong.

So it's 100,000, even if it's 200,000, it's a very small percentage, but very visible, very loud, and not everybody likes visible and loud.

- Right.

- But they pay some of our bills, so I'm not gonna dog 'em.

And I might add, to the point, 'cause it's one of those things I hear all the time, "Well, we don't like the new," or, "We miss the old Nashville."

When I moved here, half of Lower Broad was boarded up.

In the Nashville Scene, our weekly alternative, the best seafood, voted, was Red Lobster, and the best pizza was Pizza Hut.

So we had adult peep shows, boarded-up buildings, no retail, and people were scared to go.

So when they say, "I miss the old Nashville," I go, "Well, what part?

What do you miss?

The peep shows?"

- [Ben] Butch had a point.

It's funny how we tend to romanticize things from our past.

But Tom Morales is a romantic.

He's the owner of Acme Feed & Seed, a honky-tonk down on Broadway that has tried to stay true to its roots.

- I remember going with my dad and seeing Willie Nelson play at the Merchants Motel.

I mean, it was seedy back then, you know, but it was a creative seediness.

This is an iconic building.

It represents history.

Self-rising flour was invented in this building.

- Holy (beep)!

- Yeah, I mean think about it.

We wouldn't have a lot of, we wouldn't have biscuits!

(Ben and Tom laugh) - This is the Station Inn, Nashville's premier bluegrass venue.

So it's great, you go in there, it's old-school, you can get a pitcher of beer, it's a lot of fun.

But it's the last standing building surrounded by development.

So again, The Gulch is ground zero for the, hey there, bachelorettes.

Small percentage or not, maybe these girls were to blame for this changing landscape.

But I have to admit, standing there on that rooftop, seeing what a good time all of us were having, I began to think, "This is nice.

They are nice."

Say something nice about the bachelorettes.

- They usually have nice skin and beautiful nails.

- Yeah.

We're more jealous than anything else.

- Yeah.

- [Kathryn] Can you explain to us how this works?

- [Lemon Laine Host] Absolutely.

What you're gonna be doing today is you're making a custom-blend facial oil, do a little consultation, talk about y'all's skin, and then from there, we're gonna put together oils that really target whatever it is in particular that's going on.

- I know my skin allergies, but I don't know, like... - [Guest] Your routine?

- Yeah, I don't know my routine, or my- - You don't have one.

- Right.

Routine.

- None.

I don't have one either.

- [Ben] None.

- [Woman] Got the fluids.

- Check this out.

Women's Pleasure Serum.

- Yeah.

Where have you been?

(Ben laughs) - The '60s, you have the sexual revolution, you have the FDA approval of the birth control pill.

You have these things that really change the way we think about women's sexuality and the way that women can behave sexually, and so that also creates the climate that makes it so that the bachelorette party is born.

(Austin knocks at door) - [Guest] Somebody's here!

- Oh, did someone knock?

- No, no, it's definitely your turn.

Girl, get the door.

Fine.

(door squeaks) - Hello!

- Hello!

How are you?

- Good, how are you?

- Nice to meet you.

- [Kathryn] Nice to meet you.

(upbeat, funky music) - So are you a... Forgive me, I'm trying to... - Sure.

- Are you a Chippendale, or are you a male dancer?

- No, so... (laughs) No, so no male dancer, no Chippendale, no stripper.

Just strictly a Butler in the Buff.

So we're a good happy medium.

So we're revealing, but not in-your-face.

(upbeat, funky music) It is.

- What does one have to maintain as part of this job?

- Oh, definitely a good chest, a good bum, for sure.

- How'd you get the job?

- I actually saw it advertised on Facebook.

- Did this show up on your feed, or were you looking for it?

- Oh, it actually showed up on my feed.

Surprisingly, yes.

- It showed up your feed?

You were looking for it?

- Not what I was looking for.

I was not.

(upbeat, funky music) - In your words, what is the bachelorette ritual about?

- Coming to have a good time.

Oh, coming to have one last hurrah.

- Here, come over here just a minute.

- Oh, thank you.

(Ben murmurs) Thank you.

Thank you.

Coming to have one last hurrah before she becomes a Mrs., with an R. - Wow.

- Mm-hm.

- What do you do for fun?

- Oh, gosh!

Work out, write screenplays.

- You're a screenwriter?

- I am, yes.

- Pitch me some ideas.

- Sure.

A man and his fiancee receive a visit from his supposedly dead ex-wife and find themselves involved in murder and blackmail, like... - [Ben] As Austin and I workshopped his next film pitch, I began to think, "Where's the harm in all this?"

It seemed innocent enough.

So, what's the real issue here?

- The bachelorettes, they're integral to what Nashville has become.

And I don't mind.

- So bachelorettes are innocent this whole time.

- Yeah, bachelorettes, man, they just came and kept us alive.

- But you have a problem with who?

- I have a problem with things that are not authentic.

Kid Rock is not from Nashville.

- But you're really talking about the rise of the celebrity-backed bars.

- Yeah, there are not even celebrities.

People think Jason Aldean's in there?

You're crazy.

You know, he's gotten this contract, he's probably gotta show up twice a year.

It's all license deals.

- How does this keep happening, though?

I don't understand how every time I- - Money.

- Money, oh.

Yeah.

- There's some times I'm down here and I'm like, "Man, this is gettin' really cheesy."

'Cause it's not just Pedal Taverns now, it's party buses, it's tractors.

There was a giant rideable dick that was- - Yeah.

- Did you see that?

- No, but I heard it was veiny.

- It was very veiny.

(spring boings) - It can be offensive to locals, building a city for tourists when you're losing some real gems, when it's about profit and short-term greed, and I think that's where my problem is with this.

It's not about the girls, it's not about the bachelorettes, but it's about building a city for others without a long-term perspective of how it affects the culture of a place.

- There's a whole history here that this is what Nashville should be banking on.

- Yeah.

And I love that the bachelorettes, when they come here, they know this history.

They- (Tom laughs) So what I like about this, what I'm just now realizing, 'cause I'm slow, Tom, and I'm not actually a real journalist, (Tom laughs) is, so many people, locals, they point the finger at the bachelorette and they say, "Look at them," and your approach is kinda saying, you point the finger at yourself and say, "Let's give them an authentic experience.

They're coming here, no matter what.

It is what it is.

So we can either give them this sort of fabricated idea of Nashville, or we can show them the real thing, and kinda let the chips fall where they may."

Right?

- That's absolutely true.

- [Ben] So, Nashville is clearly evolving, and not always in the most appetizing ways.

Recently, a guy was arrested at Kid Rock's bar for swinging his colostomy bag in the air, (air whooshes) which I do regret.

Hanging out with Kat and her friends, I got the sense they have no idea they are in the cross hairs of this local culture war.

And it doesn't matter.

What matters to them is that they were here for one another.

- For me personally, I think that being able to spend time with girls is really big for me, 'cause I moved to where I don't know anybody.

And so, I think having friendships that last a lifetime is really something that I want in my life, and I think that that's something that every girl would love.

- Each of these girls has their addition to what Kat's doing in her life and what they've meant to her, and I've seen that when she was growing up.

So to put that together and be like, "I knew you could do it" type thing, like, "You picked the right ones."

(laughs) - It just made me feel really happy, and excited, and honestly, blessed to have all these girls come together.

And I knew they were super busy and I knew everyone had different things going on in their lives.

It's just lovely that they all came together.

- [Ben] Perhaps Allida put it best by expressing Eleanor's sentiments from the grave.

- What I generally can say that I really believe is she would love the fact that women enjoyed each other's company.

It's glorious that women get together and share their joy with one another.

It's glorious that women can go out and have a great time.

They're women of all races, they're different ages, they're different shapes.

They're rejoicing in each other's independence.

They're celebrating their friend's love.

That's glorious!

(bright electronic music) - [Ben] As the weekend drew to a close, I began to reflect on what I had learned from this whole experience.

I guess it's a little bit like a summer cookout.

We're all just trying to find an excuse to celebrate with our friends.

Sometimes the neighbors tell us to keep it down.

Sometimes the neighbors blame us for the decline of the neighborhood, or for saving it.

Often, a male dancer shows up.

So if I were asked, "Are the bachelorettes the worst thing to happen to Nashville, or the best?"

I think my answer would be "Yes, both."

The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

But next time I see a group posing in front of a mural, or get stuck behind the wienermobile on Broadway, I'll reminisce about my weekend at Camp Kitty and think, "I know those girls.

I was one of those girls.

And it was glorious."

(guests laugh) - I think those are some good final thoughts.

I think the wings are done.

I think the doc's done.

- Thanks.

(upbeat, brassy synthesizer music)