Perched near the intersection of Gallatin and Litton avenues sits East Nashville's latest fixation.
On a billboard, three bros are huddled arm-in-arm, grinning toothily.
"Friendship Never Goes Out of Style," it says, directing passersby to the website "NashvilleFriends.org."
For those who visit the site? You're greeted by the same trio of friends: Josh, Eric and Keith. "Our message to Nashville is simple: We want more platonic male friends!" it says.
"If you would like to be our platonic male friend, send us a message below!" There, you can submit your name, email and phone number.
As more Nashvillians have noticed the billboard over recent weeks, it's become the subject of debate.
"What are the chances this doesn’t involve religion or a timeshare?"
one person wrote on the billboard's dedicated Reddit page.
"I think it's a marketing tactic used by a Nashville branch of Quakers?" someone guessed.
"Wouldn't it be cheaper to just use Grindr?" another joked.
Many referenced the now-notorious "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episode where characters circulate a bizarre flyer to make male friends:
"What up!!! We are three cool guys looking for other cool guys who want to hang out in our party mansion. Nothing sexual."
One person simply wrote: "I’m bi(llboard)-curious."
For this week's "Audrey Off Broadway," a column where we dive into the people, places and trends shaping Nashville's culture right now, I decided to get to the bottom of this mystery.
But the quest led me to an even bigger question: Is it actually hard to make platonic male friends in Nashville?
Is NashvilleFriends.org a real thing?
As a natural first step, I submitted a request through the website to interview Josh, Eric and Keith.
Somewhat quickly, I received a call from someone who was not any of them: A lawyer named Jimmy Meeks.
Meeks told me the billboard was his handiwork, and the three men smiling on it are actually some of his closest friends. Far from a grassroots campaign for new buddies, the billboard was actually the latest volley in an escalating prank war.
"So, this is how it started," Meeks said.
Each year, Meeks hosts a block party in East Nashville. At this year's gathering on Sept. 13, his friends surprised him by planting a series of fake personal-injury attorney banners throughout his front yard.
"It was completely unsolicited," he said. "They started this."
(And no, Josh, Eric and Keith did not want to be interviewed for this article, despite "starting this.")
One banner read, "Just because you did it doesn't mean you're guilty. Call Jimmy Law," complete with a big photo of Meeks and his actual cellphone number.
"As an attorney, there are ethical rules. I can't be advertising services that I don't offer," Meeks said. "I was like, 'All right, well, they just wrote a check they don't want to cash.'"
Within 24 hours, Meeks had already secured the billboard, had AI design it and built the website.
The result? A close-up of his friends cheesing alongside the ridiculous slogan.
And yes, Meeks actually was thinking of the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episode when he constructed this plan.
Though Meeks thought nobody would notice the billboard, one of his friends' wives spotted it immediately.
From there, the joke took on a life of its own. Social media speculated the billboard was a cult, crypto scheme or marketing campaign. His friends were mortified.
"It was the best $1,300 I've ever spent," Meeks said, beaming.
"When I die, this will be the one thing that I'm most proud of," he said. "Even if I get married and have a kid, it's not going to be my wedding day or the birth of my first child. It'll be this."
So ... did anyone take NashvilleFriends.org seriously?
What Meeks didn't expect was for dozens of people to take the billboard at face value.
Some 30 to 50 responses came in from people genuinely interested in finding platonic male friends.
"I've been in Nashville for three years and haven't made a friend yet," Meeks recalled some respondents saying.
"The biggest source of joy in my life is having such a solid, world-class group of friends," Meeks said. "Part of this whole process has taught me there are folks out there who don't have that in Nashville."
As it turns out, data from the U.S. Census Bureau actually reflects what Meeks discovered. Loneliness among Tennesseans has risen above the national average.
I put out a call on social media, asking whether Nashville men felt as if they were experiencing some version of the male loneliness epidemic, a trend marked by shrinking social circles and fewer close friendships among men.
Some men said they've had no trouble making friends at all. Others said the town's status as Music City can complicate things.
"Coming from someone in music: It's really easy to know a lot of people and consider them friends, but I've found that I don't make any deep connections unless I take the extra step to invite them to real-life stuff," singer Jackson Dreyer said.
"Hanging out with the boys without playing music usually feels like an arranged-marriage type of bad date," musician Izaac Short said. "I can't find any boys that wanna play with power tools with me."
Some respondents said friendships in Nashville can feel transactional or overly centered around alcohol.
Still, many men said they found lasting friendships through hobby groups, volunteer organizations and community activities that exist beyond concert venues and bars — it just took a few years.
So, when social media personality Stuart Deming, known online as Nashville Reviews, posted a video about the billboard and documented some tongue-in-cheek back-and-forth with Meeks, the pair realized they had an opportunity to turn the joke into something real.
They decided to plan a meetup for people who had submitted on the website's form.
Meeks sent out a message, inviting everyone to Roy's Tavern on Thursday, Oct. 22.
That evening, about a dozen people showed up to the bar, including the billboard bros. Together, they drank beer on the patio, watched the Chicago Bears play the New England Patriots and enjoyed the brisk fall night.
Meeks said he made some new friends, from a guy who moved to Nashville recently to one who has lived in town for 30 years.
"Cheers to those who were brave enough to pop over and say hey," he said, adding the group already has their next hang in the works.
And while Meeks may have won this round of the prank war, he suspects the victory won't last.
If his friends strike back, he promises them one thing: "I'm always going to escalate."
No matter how much he loves his bros, they're going down.
Contributing: Mark Zaleski
Audrey Gibbs is a 26-year-old music and culture journalist at The Tennessean. This is her brand new column, Audrey Off Broadway, about culture in Nashville.
Have an idea for a piece? Reach her at agibbs@tennessean.com or on Instagram at @audreyraegibbs.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NashvilleFriends.org: How a bromance prank led to IRL connections
