786. The Memphis Music Scene

Where: Memphis, Tennessee
When: March 17 - 20, 2016
With: Ashley, Pam, Krista, Jenna, Loren, Rachel, Suzannah, Christine, Ryan, Gibbs

Memphis, Tennessee is considered the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and roll. It has been home to legends such as Elvis, BB King, Justin Timberlake, and countless others. So it's no wonder that music is a huge part of the culture here. From Graceland to Beale Street, music is basically oozing out of every bar and restaurant. What a perfect place to host my bachelorette party!

To quote the song "Walking in Memphis", Ashley, Loren, Jenna and I "boarded the plane, touched down in the land of the Delta Blues" for day one of the celebrations. We were wearing cowboy boots instead of blue suede shoes, and it was beautiful sunny day (not pouring rain), but we couldn't stop singing and we were all pretty excited. 

We met up with Pam and from there, we headed to the hotel room where preparations were made for the festivities. The decor was on point for a Memphis themed party.

Our resident flash tat artist, Pam. The flash tats were the big hit of the weekend. 

Boot game on point, and we're ready to go.  

After a bit of lunch, we headed over to Beale Street. It was lined with all kinds of bars and clubs, and the amount of music pulsing out of them was crazy. 

We saddled up to a nice dive bar where we could put our new koozies to work. 

I love the one glass of wine in this row of drinks. After chastising me for ordering a Bud-lite, my sister then ordered a Pinot Grigio in a dive bar. At least she made up for it by letting Pam flash tat her lower back right in the bar, just to take the class level down a notch. 

Even in this old dive bar, there was a stage set up for live music in the evening. We couldn't stick around for it, but the music really was pouring out of every bar now that night was falling on Beale Street. 

The next morning, the rest of my girls showed up. 

We had a day of exploring, including a river cruise, fried chicken, and the Peabody ducks.

That evening, we got a round of pizzas for the room so we could prep ourselves for my surprise night out. 

It started with a "nipyata", a piñata filled with little "nips" of alcohol. Hilarious beginning to the evening. That thing just would not bust open without some serious knocks.

Afterwards, we got in an uber for a very long drive out of the city, where we ended up in...a strip mall. I was very confused. We approached a giant storefront with no windows and I started to get nervous. This was, after all, a bachelorette party, and I didn't like the idea of what was in there.

However, my fear couldn't have been more displaced. It ended up being like a personal heaven behind those doors. It was a line dancing bar! A huge one! I love line dancing!!

The place was so cheesy and amazing. Test tube shots, dry ice, neon lights and locals in cowboy and trucker hats. And best of all, a huge dance floor and lots of really good line dancers to follow. 

Listening to country music and line dancing in Memphis couldn't have been a better way to spend the evening. It was amazing!!

My sister and I loved this little partner dance. 

Then this little high speed one.

And what line dancing experience would be complete without the old booty break? The wobble is my favorite!

After dancing ourselves sore into the wee hours of the evening, we headed back to Memphis for a well-earned night's sleep. We woke up the next day to spend some time at the home of a legend at Elvis Presley's Graceland, but a separate post to discuss that. Afterwards, we had a little hotel party to pregame before going out. My mom, aunt, and British friends Facetimed in for the party!

And we got to partake in more of those nips from the nipyata.

After a delicious dinner at Rendezvous, we headed to another legend of Memphis, the BB King's Blues Club, for some live music and more dancing. The club was huge, two floors, and the band was fantastic. And our koozies were on point. 

Live music in the club. 

On this last night of the party, Ashley was finally able to cut loose and enjoy. She did a fantastic job planning, my little Maid of Honor!

We stayed out until we closed the place down, dancing and having an absolute blast!

When we walked outside, Beale Street was pretty much closed for the night. But the lights were on, and we were still dancing in the street. If we could have been ten feet off of Beale, we would have been. 

This was such an amazing way to have a bachelorette party, with tons of food, dancing, music and laughing. Memphis provided the perfect soundtrack. Goodbye, for now, Memphis, but I have a feeling I will be back again.