‘Monster’ loose in Nashville
Rolling parties that rage at every stoplight show no sign of stopping or even slowing
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As Nashville has cemented its reputation as a destination for getaways and bachelorette trips, party vehicles have proliferated, promising a rollicking good time and quite a stage to see and be seen while exploring the city. But there’s a growing sense — among residents, local officials, even some in the so-called transportainment industry — that it has all gotten out of hand.
“We made the monster, and now we can’t control the monster,” said Steve Haruch, a journalist and the editor of the book “Greetings From New Nashville.” “It’s the plot of every monster movie.”
The menagerie on Nashville streets includes — but is by no means limited to — a truck with a hot tub, a bus packed with electric massage chairs, a Ford pickup retrofitted into a “party barge” with waves painted on the side and “Ship Faced” stamped on the tailgate, retired military vehicles, a purple bus with drag performers, an old school bus named Bev adorned with antlers, and yet another old bus, with antlers, named Bertha.
City officials estimate as many as 40 companies operate vehicles on weekends. About 20 were launched in the past six months alone.
The expanding multitude of vehicles has stirred concerns about safety, noise and traffic, given the parade of fuming drivers often trailing them. But the consternation also reflects something deeper: To critics, the vehicles are a rowdy side effect of Nashville’s soaring popularity in recent years that threatens to dilute the soul that made the city so alluring to begin with.
“That is my fear, that we are losing our sense of who we are, what built our success,” said Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., describing a version of Nashville — for generations known as the capital of country music — with an easygoing vibe and access to exceptional live music any day of the year that now must coexist with something much more decadent.
“You can have a fun, entertaining, unique experience here,” he said. “There’s nothing unique about downing 12 White Claws at 3 in the afternoon in 95-degree heat.”
Scrutiny of the transportainment industry sharpened this summer after a 22-yearold man fell off a party bus that then ran over his legs, an episode that underscored the virtual absence of safety regulations for the vehicles.
A petition circulated blaming the vehicles for “causing a bigger hangover than they’re worth.” Nashville’s Metropolitan Council is now considering a proposal to rein in the industry, barring alcohol, requiring training, permits and inspections, and delineating limited areas where vehicles are authorized to operate.
Some in the industry contend that unruly outliers overshadow responsible businesses with passengers safely enjoying themselves at no one else’s expense.
Hell on Wheels, a company that deploys converted military cargo trucks, has strict rules: No music with explicit lyrics. No inflatable penises, an item that is popular with bachelorette parties. The last ride is done by 10:30 p.m.
“It’s not always about being loud and ridiculous on Broadway,” said Nicholas Lyon, an owner of the company, which is named after an armored tank division of the U.S. Army.