Wanna Bro Out?
Hey fellas. Let’s play a game. Look into the eyes of your favorite bro, and let those feelings flow:
Freeing, isn’t it? Sometimes, you just gotta take time to appreciate the dudes in your life. And, if you haven’t noticed, bromance is super in right now. Timberlake & Fallon. Rudd & Segel. Colbert, Stewart, & Carrell (skip to the 4:00 mark). John Rich & Lil’ Jon (yeah, that’s actually a thing). These days, you can’t look anywhere without seeing some unabashed bromance, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Yeah, yeah…Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, but we like to point out that you can spread the love with your pals, not just your special friends (*wink*) – though if you have a paramour and have no idea what to get them as a Valentine’s Day present, you should check out our gift guide. We’ve already covered a girls night out in Nashville, so this one’s for the bros, bro. We’ve got 5 different kinds of Nashville bros given you the lowdown on guys night in the ‘ville. Let’s do this!
The Traveling Musician Bro:
Whiskey, Laughs, & Bro-BQ
The Goose Squad (from L to R): Colton. Riley, Matt, Alex, Scott
Ahh, the traveling musician bro. Surely you’ve seen them strolling across the wood floors of your favorite coffee shop or loading their gear into an unmarked van outside Mercy Lounge. Their boot game is always on point, and if they don’t have beards they’ve seriously considered it at least once. Because they travel, their bro hangs usually turn into a whole bro day. Here’s what they had to say about their perfect mini bro-cation:
Alex: Bro day- Baja BRO-rito or Edley’s BRO-B-Q for lunch. Then head over to Crema for some iced americanBROS. Then maybe go to someone’s house and hang for a few hours and talk about music and life. Then go eat dinner (DesanBROS, Silly Goose, or Burger Up,) and get drinks somewhere after like Pinewood Social or Holland House or 12 South Taproom. Then maybe go back to someone’s house and wind down with a whiskey drink. Also LOTS of laughing throughout the day.
Riley: I think if it’s an actual bro night, I’d want to make some old fashioneds (check out this killer recipe from Bulleit, men). Dudes and whiskey go together like PB&J. However, if you’re not into making drinks and you just want to go grab the best around town, I’d recommend the Lee52 from Josephine, the Winter Old Fashioned at Patterson House, or the Baseburner at Holland House – it’s 4 roses with ginger ice cubes. The only drink around where you actually WANT your ice to melt.
The YoPro Bro:
Sports, Pool Time, & Demon-BRO-eun Bar Crawls
Work hard, play hard.
If there’s anything we know about the YoPro bro, it’s that he can get down with some organized fun. The young bro-fessionals are a special breed, rockin’ suits by day and tanks by night (even if it’s freezing outside). These dudes know how to cut loose, and their idea of a good time has to include at least one planned activity. We talked to Jared and Ryan from the EC about their choice bro-tivities.
“I like friends, I like to go out, and I like to have a good time. I have been asked about the social life and social times of a young professional here in Nashville. I just moved here and have tried to carry over my previous social life to my new life, and have found a decent balance. Here’s me and my young professional friends acting like a young professional should: half young, and half professional. The day/professional portion of our lives is not as well represented:
– Buy Big cardboards heads of yourselves and take them to a Titans game. People will not understand, but that’s not the point.
– Celebrate St. Practice Day, where you party like its St. Patrick’s Day the week before St. Patrick’s Day. I would suggest starting at Tin Roof on Demonbreun and ending at Dan McGuinness.
– Buy onesies and have an adult lock-in at a rented mansion in Belle Meade. Include kids game and if funds allow, rent a magician.
– Participate in organized fun runs. The Undie Run is the best. Hands down. Anything down Broadway works too.
– Have excessively large and long brunch’s at Tavern. Play Big Container where you just chant Big Container while people drink out of a big container.
– Make Christmas Cards and send them to everyone you know. Santa’s Pub would serve as a great backdrop.
– Have a neon bar crawl day through East Nashville. And don’t forget to get weird. Real weird.
– Have a Golf Bar crawl day through Broadway. Make sure and make a scorecard that includes par for each bar.
– Go to Steeplechase and party hard.
– Find a pool at an apartment complex on 8th Ave. Pool hopping is fun, but includes a lot of getting kicked out of pools and looking for the next pool.
The College Bro:
Cigars, Nature, & Bro Talk
Young and wild and free, y’all.
Oh, the college bro. Nashville’s such a city of exploration, it helps when you have time in between classes to explore. Take it from our fave college bro, super Wannado-er & Belmont sophomore Brett Wise…he’s about to break it down, college style.
Brett: I mean, there is nothing wrong with relaxing on the futon with your bros, putting on Conan, and having some good belly laughs. But you can only take so many of those nights. Eventually, you’ve got to get out and do something. Most bro nights start without any direction, the first step is just getting in the car and turning the music up loud. From there, let the night take you. Somehow we always end up at Burger Up, ordering from the bar. Can’t go wrong with a good burger, and make sure you get the honey dijon aioli sauce. I think we use an entire bottle each time. Now that your mouth is free to actually talk, you have to find a spot to do just that. But first, head to Belle Meade Premium Cigars on Harding Pike. It’s bro night, and you’re automatically more manly with a cigar in hand. The vibe there is so classic. A bunch of (slightly older) bros hanging in the lounge with some football on, and they’re all really friendly. Once you’ve picked your premium Cuban, take a night drive down toward Natchez Trace Parkway. Head on down the parkway a few miles before getting out to walk over the bridge. (If you want to get a little adventurous, head underneath and climb the arches to find your perfect smoking spot.) From there it’s just bro talk, and we all know there’s nothing better than that. Get into whatever shenanigans you can; make fun of your friend for spending 45 minutes straight trying to light his pipe, or explore the woods around you. By this point, that cigar taste in your mouth is probably getting to you. (unless you’re just that much more hip than us) Make a final stop at Jeni’s for some delicious ice cream, then you can all unite over your anguish from your matching food bellies back in the dorm room. Yes, we’re in college, and dorm life is our life. #bunkbeds Every night is a sleepover. That’s about it, as long as you’re with your bros, the options are endless.
The Married Bro:
Extensive Planning, Pub Food, & Drinkin’ on the Pati-bro
Your moment in the sun.
You liked it, so you put a ring on it. Then maybe had a couple of kids. Does that mean you can’t have a fairly tame, honorable, super-fun bro night? Nope. Gather the troops, husbands/fathers, our buddy Mike has outlined his favorite bro dalliances in the 615:
Mike: The night generally takes a few days or even weeks of planning. Do we need to find a babysitter? Will this coincide with a girl’s night out? Who’s in and who’s out? These are all questions that are discussed in the emails back and forth prior to nailing down plans. When Saturday night rolls around there’s generally one soldier left behind. He’s been called to daddy duty cause his wife has come down with some sort of cough. Only later to find out that they wound up posting a photo from Marche with the wife. The evening begins pretty tame. Maybe a bite to eat at Slider House and doing a sampling of the delicious bite-sized burgers or something a bit more substantial like The Pub in The Gulch. Downing some shepherd’s pie before a night out drinking is always a good idea. (pro-tip). The starchy goodness acts as a sponge. After a few drinks to stretch out the old liver, it’s time to get a bit more rowdy. The night might take you to The Villager in Hillsboro Village. Last time I was there, I found a photo of me on their wall from my 21st birthday. I still remember trying not to get sick drinking out of the dog bowl. Or maybe we might hit up the East Side and sit out on the patio at 308. As the clock strikes midnight, the group begins to dwindle. We realize that we’re no longer in our 20’s and the torn between going home and donning some PJ’s and watching Modern Family on DVR or guzzling a few redbull/vodkas to keep the party going. At this point, it’s a choose your own adventure.
The Go Pro Bro (AKA The Active Bro):
Hitting The Trails & Grabbin’ Some Bro Burgers
Did you catch that on your GoPro, bro?
You’ve seen em’ around town, wearing some form of dark colored spandex. You can find them jogging through Sylvan Park, prepping for a big run coming up OR biking the trails in one of our lovely Nashville parks. Adrenaline enthusiasts flock together, so bro night is bound to be an active adventure. Sam gives us an idea of the Active Bro’s perfect guy’s night out:
Sam: My friends and I usually start off a bro night with a trip to Percy Warner Park. The new mountain bike trails are epic and ripping through the smooth single track is the perfect way to to clear the mind. If we don’t feel like riding, running the Red and White trails with its steep climbs and technical descents provide both a physical and mental challenge. I never forget to attach my GoPro because you never know when you might catch someone eating dirt. The vistas, wildlife and vegetation that the park exposes you to distracts the mind from the on-setting fatigue which only become prevalent as the activity ends. The by product of adventure is extreme hunger so the next stop is a race to one of our local restaurants. Beer and food pairs nicely with exercise induced fatigue and 12th South Taproom is always on the favorites list. Those times where we feel like only a burger can cure such cravings, we venture off to The Pharmacy on the east side.
So there you go, bro. Spend some time with your Valentine, but don’t forget to hang with your fave dudes every once in awhile. Nashville has a lot of brotastic fun to offer, and you can find it all on Wannado! Happy Thursday, Bro/Broseph/Brofasa/Bro Dimaggibro/Bro Bronas/Broda (we could go on forever, but we won’t). Whether your weekend is filled with whiskey & cigars or golf & brunch, make it a good one!
– Your local guide.
