Whether you travel for culture, food, the arts, or something more personal, it’s time you take a trip to Nashville.
Also known as Music City, Nashville is a vibrant hub of culture, creativity, and Southern hospitality right in the heart of Tennessee. My first time visiting the city was last year, and I was pleasantly surprised at how lively and full of character the city is. Renowned for its rich musical heritage, from country to blues, Nashville draws visitors with its lively nightlife, historic landmarks, and delicious culinary scene.
While the city is often labeled a bachelorette destination because it really is a lit place to host one, it offers so much more than just that.
Even just a weekend in the city is enough to experience a lot of what Nashville offers. Most people associate Nashville with traditional country music, but Nashville holds a deep connection to Black artists who also helped shape its music scene, contributing to genres like gospel, soul, and country. There are opportunities throughout the city to take a walk down memory lane and learn the history of how music expanded and changed the city. Nashville is also underrated for being a foodie city, even though it boasts some delicious local favorites like smoking BBQ and hot chicken.
Nashville is the type of city that can be great for a more chill solo trip or a turned-up girls' trip. This guide will showcase all the places to visit and things to do in Nashville that are Black girl-friendly. From museums to rooftops to must-eat restaurants, you’ll be able to plan the perfect trip to Music City.
Where to Stay in Nashville:
Hyatt Centric Downtown Nashville
Courtesy of the Hyatt Centric Downtown Nashville
The Hyatt Centric Downtown Nashville, newly opened in 2021, is a contemporary hotel that places you right in the heart of the action. I loved staying here because it was within walking distance of Broadway and a lot of other popular attractions, so I had less of a need for a car or taxis. The rooms were chic and modern, and the floor-to-ceiling windows offered views of the city skyline. Some of the larger suites are perfect for families or groups, and I loved that they include record players complete with a selection of music to fit your taste.
The hotel boasts a rooftop pool and bar, as well as an on-site restaurant called Ella’s, which emphasizes locally sourced ingredients. After a long day of exploring, it was nice to have a food option right in the hotel so that I could go from dinner to my pajamas in a matter of minutes. Plus, its prime location makes it easy to access major music venues, vibrant nightlife, and diverse dining options, ensuring a well-rounded Nashville experience. When you stay here, you have to try the housemade mozzarella sticks or salmon piccata at Ella’s. Absolutely delicious!
Hutton Hotel
The Hutton Hotel is another great option for anyone looking for a cozy stay that has a lot to offer. Located in the West End, the hotel was recently upgraded, and the interior gives off a blend of comfort and sophistication. The hotel has its own music venue, Analog, which hosted an R&B show while I was there and gave off sexy speakeasy vibes.
Throughout the year, they have a calendar full of other live performances and events available for both guests of the hotels and non-guests. This is a great option for anyone who doesn’t want to be directly in the mix of Broadway and Downtown, but still within a reasonable distance to the fun.
Where to Eat & Drink in Nashville
1. Hattie B’s Hot Chicken
No trip to Nashville is complete without a trip to Hattie B’s to indulge in a local staple, Hot Chicken. This popular eatery serves up crispy fried chicken in the form of wings, tenders, and sandwiches, with varying levels of heat, from mild to "shut the cluck up!" Hot Chicken’s origin in Nashville has a funny backstory that can be traced back to the 1930s when it was created as a way to spice up fried chicken for a jilted lover.
Today, Hattie B’s not only celebrates this local tradition but also highlights the contributions of Black women like Chef B, who helped put Hot Chicken on the map. Outside of chicken, Hattie B’s also serves up sides like mac n cheese, dirty fries, and fried pickles. No matter what else is on the agenda, it’s a must-try experience that encapsulates Nashville's culinary spirit.
2. Pancake Pantry
For the best start to your day, head to Pancake Pantry for a breakfast that will leave you full and satisfied. They have locations in both Downtown and Hillsboro Village, but the quality of food is consistent across locations. Famous for its fluffy pancakes that are made from scratch every morning, there’s no wonder a line wraps around the block every day.
During my visit, I tried their classic pancakes with some candied bacon on the side, and it was worth the wait. If pancakes aren’t your thing, they have a well-balanced menu with offerings for everyone, including kids.
3. The Cupcake Collection
There’s always room for dessert, which means a stop at The Cupcake Collection, a Black-owned bakery that specializes in gourmet cupcakes and other treats. Founded by a mother who turned her passion into a business, this shop features a rotating selection of flavors made with love and quality ingredients.
From classic vanilla to unique creations like sweet potato and peach cobbler, grab a couple of different ones to satisfy your sweet tooth. The sweet potato cupcake came highly recommended and was likely the best cupcake I’ve ever had in my life. You don’t want to skip this place!
4. Suite Twelve25
No trip of mine is complete without a stop for brunch and mimosas, and Suite Twelve25 brought not only good food but the vibes as well. This is definitely the kinda spot that you go to with the girls to start off Sunday Funday correctly. They have a menu that features brunch faves like chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, and breakfast tacos.
A DJ spins tunes throughout, and we heard everything from hip-hop to reggae to R&B throwbacks. The inside is Instagrammable so come dressed to impress for the content. And if you really want to get the party started, opt for one of their mimosa towers and get ready to turn up Nashville style!
5. White Limozeen
Nashville has the rooftop game on lock, and White Limozeen is an absolute must-visit for everyone. Located on top of The Graduate by Hilton Nashville, this Dolly Parton-themed rooftop is a whole vibe. The aesthetic and decor are largely pink, giving it a stylish and quirky feel. You can go to enjoy a meal or just pop up to the rooftop for drinks and a view. They have unique and girly cocktails to try out, and the champagne Jell-O shots are too cute to pass up.
There’s limited outdoor seating, so a reservation is a must. Before you leave, make sure that you get a picture with the large Dolly Parton head figurine.
Things to Do in Nashville
1. National Museum of African American Music
The National Museum of African American Music is a must-see for anyone interested in the rich musical legacy of African Americans. This museum showcases the profound impact of Black artists across various genres, including jazz, blues, R&B, and hip-hop. It was inspiring to see the trajectory of the relationship between Black people and music across time and genres. I learned a lot about prominent figures in music that I was unfamiliar with, as well as the history of some of the musical icons that we all know.
This is an interactive museum, so expect exhibits and engaging storytelling, but also opportunities to create your own music beats and even practice recording in a pretend studio. It’s an enlightening experience that highlights the cultural contributions of Black musicians and their influence on the music we love today.
Courtesy of Robin D. Thomas
2. Nearest Green Distillery
A visit to the Uncle Nearest Distillery is essential for whiskey enthusiasts. This is located outside of Nashville, in Shelbyville, but is 100% worth the drive. This historic distillery pays tribute to Nearest Green, the first known African-American master distiller, who taught Jack Daniel the art of whiskey-making. It was inspiring to learn about the legacy of Mr. Green, who was born into slavery, especially considering the barriers in an industry that was largely unwelcoming to Black individuals.
The distillery offers guided tours that delve into Green's life and contributions, educating guests about the historical significance of Black distillers in America and also curated tastings so that visitors can sample their award-winning spirits. If you get hungry, on-site is a BBQ spot that has the most amazing brisket grilled cheese and collard greens, plus some other BBQ favorites. Also on the property is the Humble Baron, a bar that currently holds the Guinness World Record for being the longest-continuous bar in the world. It boasts a 514-foot-long bar and also has live music at certain times.
3. Hit Up Broadway
No visit to Nashville is complete without experiencing the lively atmosphere of Broadway’s honky-tonk bars. This iconic strip is home to numerous bars featuring live music, dancing, and vibrant nightlife. This is where you’ll see all the bachelorette parties and even locals just looking to have a fun night out.
The street is typically closed to traffic, so at night, you can stroll down the strip, popping in and out of different bars and taking in the true Nashville music scene. With each bar offering a different vibe, it’s the perfect way to immerse yourself in Nashville's renowned music scene.
4. Live Music at Historic Venues
Nashville’s music scene is legendary, and experiencing live music at some of its historic venues really encapsulates the full Nashville experience. Some of the most well-known venues include Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry, but throughout the city, you can also catch shows at smaller spaces. No matter what genre is your favorite, you’re likely to be able to find a show that fits your interests. These venues not only offer great music but also rich histories that tell the story of Nashville’s musical evolution.
Nashville’s blend of rich history, culture, and culinary delights makes it a fantastic destination for those looking to explore somewhere new. Once known as mostly a party city, Nashville has been expanding and rebranding as a place that offers so much more. There’s so much you can do during a solo adventure or a curated girls' trip.
Whether you’re sipping whiskey at Uncle Nearest or indulging in delicious hot chicken, there’s something for everyone to enjoy in Music City.
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In a way, it makes me think of a quote by one of my favorite poets, Rumi: “Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.” Lamps shed light. Lifeboats save lives (and/or transition people from one spot to another). Ladders help to lift people up. And y’all, if it’s not our life’s mission to want to do one or more of these things for at least one individual on a daily basis — what the heck are we doing out here? Truly.
And yet, spend just one hour on social media and you will see more folks yapping about how to get something out of someone than to “be a shepherd” to someone else — and when all a person wants to do is take…how absolutely draining is that?
So yeah, let’s take a moment to more thoroughly explore the concept of what a human “charger” vs. a “drainer” is — not just as a gut check to make sure that you are where you should be when it comes to how you prioritize your interactions with others but also to confirm whether or not you are surrounding yourself with — pardon the pun — positive charges or…negative ones.
Energy Is a Very Real Thing
GiphyIt really is purely fascinating, the things that you can discover, if you choose to intentionally look for information. Take something that I recently learned: Did you know there are certain types of transmitters that, when they are placed on top of human skin, they send a frequency of 40 MHz into a person’s system? As a result, their body becomes conductors of energy that can actually be transferred to other devices (so long as they have the kind of receiver that can process human energy in this way).
My greatest takeaway from this? Human energy is a very real thing. Not only does it provide us with the ability and power to do various things, it’s also what can be exchanged between two individuals. In fact, many mental health experts believe that it is more than possible for people to exchange energy via things like their attraction to one either, sharing thoughts and emotions and even through one another’s body language.
And since that is indeed the case, this is just one more reason why I will forever stand 10 toes down that sex shouldn’t be handled flippantly or dismissively — because if someone has a body part of theirs inside of yours…how much energy is being exchanged from that? Geeze. And so, since you need energy in order to literally function (and to be mentally and emotionally functional) — let’s look at how a human battery charger moves and then how a human battery drainer does as well.
Ready?
5 Signs That You “Fuel” People
GiphyFuel your fueler. It’s something that I am known for saying to some of my clients whenever someone in the relationship feels like the other isn’t meeting their needs. Basically, what it means is, if an individual is giving you some of what you need in order to function and even thrive, why wouldn’t you want that same type of energy to be reciprocated to them in return? Fueling your fueler helps to equip them to keep providing what you need from them. Simple math.
And here are five ways you can do it:
1. Bring positive insights and/or wisdom. One of my favorite quotes is always going to be by the writer Jorge Luis Borges. He once said, “Don’t speak unless you can improve upon the silence” — and that is a solid gold resolve to have. In a world that is filled with so much…noise, a fueler/battery charger is someone who radiates positivity and/or offers up insights that help you to see things from another perspective and/or gives you the kind of wisdom that challenges you to grow. How often do people say that you do at least one of these things for them?
2. Create more calm than chaos. Confusion is chaos — by definition. You know some of the things that cause confusion? Unclear communication. Passive aggressiveness. Inconsistency. Gossip. Being unnecessarily dramatic. And all of this is just for starters. Meanwhile, a calm individual? They bring peace and tranquility with their words and even simply their presence — and a big cause of this is that they are at peace within themselves. This is why I think it’s a red flag whenever someone is triggered by hearing “Be my peace.”
It is actually HIGH PRAISE when someone can say that when you come around, they feel relaxed instead of…stressed out. Not wanting peace to be associated with your name? Problematic, my dear.
3. You allow “Shalom” to define you. I say often that Hebrew culture is totally my thing — and this includes the Hebrew language. And although most people know that shalom means peace, the word is far more vast than that. Shalom also means to be whole and complete. It’s also a word that speaks to things like health and prosperity. Keeping this in mind, if you are someone who “charges instead of drains,” this means that when you come to mind to other individuals, they think of how much of a blessing that you are in their lives — and you know this because they tell you so. You have a spirit of “shalom” on you and it doesn’t get much better than that.
4. You choose to be a spiritual light. Oh, please believe that when it comes to this one, I am not speaking of church folks — some of them can be the most draining (and I wrote an entire book about it!). At the end of the day, being spiritual is about knowing that there is something out here that is bigger than you (which means you act like you know that life isn’t all about you).
Being spiritual is about fulfilling purpose. Being spiritual is about focusing on the immaterial rather than the material. And when you are a fueler and charger, you do this by motivating others to become more spiritual too.
For me, I have a friend who calls me her “idea doula” and I adore everything about that. She is saying that I help her to come up with ways to grow her business and brand and that ultimately helps her to manifest her own purpose. When it comes to what people can say about what you bring into their world…how do you spiritually benefit them?
5. You are also a muse or inspiration. Pretty much, a muse is a source of inspiration for a creative (check out “10 Habits Of Successful Creatives”) and when you inspire someone, it means that you produce or arouse something within them. It could be to try something new. It could be to finish something they started. It could be to look at a person, place, thing or idea from a different perspective. Or it could be that you inspire them to be a better version of themselves — and it might just be simply by them watching how you move. Remember that a battery charge provides power. When you are around others, what do your words and actions empower them to do — and are those things for the better?
5 Signs That You Actually Wear People Out
GiphyOkay, so it would appear that singer-songwriter Peter Hammill once said that a violinist friend by the name of Graham Smith came up with the term “energy vampire” back in the 70s. Apparently it was in reference to some of Hammill’s over the top fans (the more you know). These days, energy vampires are quite simply individuals who are draining to be around because they require so much of your mental and emotional energy whenever they are in your space.
And what are five ways that these types of people can wear you all the way out?
1. They take more than they give. I’ve been known to say it often: “Where there is no reciprocity, someone is out here being a liability.” Listen, when you’re in a relationship with a person, because you both are individuals, you may not (always) need the same things (especially at the same time) and/or your requirements and expectations may be different. That’s fine. However, don’t find yourself out here being the only one who is proactive and intentional — because if you are important to someone, they should want to give and not just take. Drainers don’t care about this. Chargers absolutely do.
2. They speak in monologues more than dialogues. Something else that I have told clients before is that a lot of people don’t want a PARTNER; they want an AUDIENCE. What I mean by that is, they just want someone to give them attention, to be engrossed in what they have to say, to put them on some sort of pedestal. That’s why they don’t know how to clap for others, they suck at listening, and they may even seem more envious than excited when others win. Back in the day, I used to have relationships where I barely couldn’t get a word in edgewise; it’s because all they really wanted to do, consistently so, is wax poetic in the forms of endless streams of consciousness. LOL.
Sometimes folks need an ear to get things off of their chest; understood — yet if that is ALL that someone is doing…they aren’t wanting to connect with you…they just want some attention from you.
3. Their problems/issues are redundant and cyclic. One of my favorite people on the planet is the poster child for this point. She dates the same kinds of men, she never listens to the 50-11 folks who tell her that they are the same kind of men and then — surprise, surprise — things end up the same way…over and over…and over with these same kinds of men. We’re talking decades’ worth of this nonsense too. And as much as I love her, over the past couple of years, we’ve had to have some hard conversations about how it can be challenging dealing with her sometimes because she stays in the hamster wheel of bullshishery.
Listen, that “we listen and don’t judge” nonsense that was all over the internet several months back (or was that last year? Time is moving weird right through here)? That is some of the dumbest ish that I’ve ever heard! Discernment literally means “acute judgment” and, as my mom used to say, “Discernment prevents experience from being your teacher.” Use discernment when deciding how deeply you should get involved with people’s stuff. Also, use discernment to decide when it’s time to shift your energy. Before they drain it all.
4. They compete instead of congratulate. I don’t know about y’all but, over the course of my life, I’ve had some real doozies of narcissists in my world — and one way that they tend to show up is low-key competing with me whenever I accomplish certain things instead of rather than just sitting back and congratulating my efforts. I’ve had people look at me crazy about becoming a doula and life coach — only to become one later. When my first book came out, someone literally said, OUT LOUD, “If you can do it, I know I can then.” DRAIN.ING.
A part of the reason why science says that GOOD FRIENDSHIPS keep us healthy is because support and encouragement help to keep our stress and anxiety levels down. Competing is (typically) stressful. Being celebrated isn’t. ‘Nuf said.
5. They are full of negativity. Constantly complaining. Always looking at things through a dark/negative lens. Never seeming to be in a good mood (or expecting you to get them out of their moods). Acting apathetic instead of/more than empathetic. Being hypercritical. Playing the victim. These are just some examples of what it means to be a negative type of person. The reason why research says that these kinds of folks can drain us is, since we already are prone to act on our natural negativity bias, whenever we’re surrounded with someone who is already caught up in theirs…that energy can be quite contagious.
And since negativity is bad for your cognitive function, immune system, emotional stability and so much more — the less negativity, the better. Yep, spend as little time with this kind of “drainer” as you possibly can.
Giphy____
Like I said earlier, our batteries are basically our energy — and when it comes to wise words on energy:
“Energy is contagious: either you affect people or you infect people.” (T. Harv Eker)
“Energy speaks what you don’t.” (Drishti Bablani)
“When the energy in the room doesn't feel right, probably, it's not right. But sometimes it's also because of you.” (Mitta Xinindlu)
And when it comes to that last quote, specifically — umm, well, …see how I presented the chargers part of the article with a “you” and the drainers with a “they”? LOL. Yeah, that was so you would take the medicine down easier — oh, but definitely take in ALL of this piece, just to make sure that you don’t only have “wear me outs” in your world but that others aren’t actually thinking or saying this about you too.
Being a battery charger or a battery drainer. At least once a week, this is something that we should self-evaluate because energy is precious — and so is what we choose to do with it.
You can fuel or wear people out, y’all.
Please, for the sake of your energy levels as well as theirs…choose wisely.
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