It’s no longer just country superstars calling Nashville home. Music City is unofficially the new Los Angeles, with influencers flocking there in their droves to take advantage of the state’s low taxes.
Paul Whitten, the founder of local tour company Nashville Adventures, told the Daily Mail that he’s ‘watched Nashville’s influencer culture grow’ in a way that makes him ‘a tad uncomfortable’ as wannabe creators flock to town.
‘What makes it different here is that influencers aren’t just selling products, they’re selling a version of “authentic Nashville” that arguably isn’t real,’ Whitten said, calling it ‘a cartoon version.’
But who is topping the influencer A-list in Nashville, with a bevy of devoted followers to boot?
And who are the most controversial content creators?
From the reality TV stars who left LA behind to country music WAGs, here are the Nashville influencers that everyone’s loving… and loathing.
Kristin Cavallari, 38, has amassed whopping 5 million Instagram followers since her days on the MTV reality show Laguna Beach
The Bachelorette alum Hannah Brown and her new husband are settling into married life in Nashville after honeymooning in Croatia
Kaitlyn Bristowe, 40, who won Dancing With the Stars in 2020 following her stint on The Bachelorette, is famous for opening up on social media
Undoubtedly, at the very top of Music City’s influencer A-list sits former reality star KRISTIN CAVALLARI, with her whopping 5 million Instagram followers. It’s a number which is only set to grow when she reunites with her Laguna Beach castmates during the much-anticipated 2026 TV reunion of the early 2000s show.
While Cavallari, now 38, has enjoyed huge success following her years as a teen reality star, founding jewelry brand Uncommon James and making sponsored content deals aplenty, her post-Laguna life has not been without controversy.
After a contentious 2020 divorce from former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, her ex-hubby found himself in jail for a DUI in October.
The mom-of-three moved on to date TikTok star Mark Estes – who, at age 26, is almost 13 years her junior. They split after just 7 months, with a source saying ‘the age difference played a factor’.
Host of the Let’s Be Honest podcast, Cavallari likes to drop juicy details about past hookups, including Morgan Wallen and Jason Statham.
Other former reality stars who join Cavallari on the Nashville influencer A-list include The Bachelorette alum HANNAH BROWN and KAITLYN BRISTOWE.
A former Miss Alabama, Brown, 31, has some 3 million Instagram followers and proudly boasts that she is an ‘NYT Bestselling Author x 2’. She writes romance novels including one this year about a runaway bride.
In June, she enjoyed a lavish French Riviera wedding to model Adam Woolard. The couple bought their ‘dream’ house in Nashville last year.
Meanwhile Bristowe, 40, follows closely behind Brown with almost 2 million Instagram followers, making a name for herself as being vulnerable and raw on social media.
The 2020 Dancing With the Stars winner even went so far as to confess that she got ‘a little addicted’ to painkillers while recovering from her breast augmentation surgery back in August.
Country singer Jason Aldean’s wife Brittany has been in the spotlight regularly because of her social media presence, amassing a whopping 3 million Instagram followers
Jelly Roll’s wife Bunnie Xo, 45, recently reflected on her tumultuous past and shared seven of her mugshots; Pictured above at the CMA awards in 2023
Slipping down into the B-list, however, is country music singer Jason Aldean’s wife BRITTANY ALDEAN (3 million followers).
Publicist Jane Owen has branded Aldean, 37, ‘polarizing but incredibly powerful.’
While many followers flock to her page for style advice and behind-the-scenes music moments, there’s no escaping the fact that they’re also there for the drama.
Back in 2022, the mom-of-two went viral when she shared a ‘getting ready’ video in which she said: ‘I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life.’
In later posts she referenced the ‘genital mutilation of children’.
A University of Alabama graduate, Aldean ended up publicly feuding with country singer Maren Morris, who nicknamed her ‘Insurrection Barbie.’
It’s those frequent feuds, say those in the know, that have landed her firmly on the B-list, despite being one of country music’s best-known WAGs. She’s joined by other controversial country wives including BUNNIE XO.
Bunnie, born Alisa DeFord, is 45 and married to country singer Jelly Roll, who she met in 2015 when she was working as a high-end escort. She has quickly made waves in the Nashville scene with her Dumb Blonde Podcast, which has hosted big stars including Machine Gun Kelly, Miranda Lambert and Wiz Khalifa.
Now, the B-lister has 12 million TikTok followers who enjoy her frank discussions about her past struggles, including with addiction.
She sells her own ‘Dumb Blonde’ merchandise and is currently on her ‘Stripped Down’ tour promoting her new memoir.
‘Bunnie XO is hugely effective for the right brands because of her authenticity, though she’s not a fit for everyone,’ publicist Jane Owen told the Daily Mail.
Kramer was married three times before tying the knot with her current husband, Scottish former football player Allan Russell
Briley King married country singer Marcus King in 2023 in a lavish ceremony in Nashville. Pictured at the 2024 CMA Awards
Former One Tree Hill star JANA KRAMER might have 2 million Instagram followers, but she finds herself cemented on the C-list.
The Whine Down Podcast host has become something of a fixture in low-rent holiday romance movies in recent years, struggling to land any memorable roles.
The 42-year-old recently said that she regrets getting plastic surgery in what she described as a bid to make her cheating ex Mike Caussin stay faithful.
While she was married to the NFL player from 2015 to 2021, she often spoke about his sex addiction.
Now married to former Scottish soccer player Allan Russell, she drew ire when she told followers he had forbidden her from doing intimate scenes in movies, although she later claimed it was a joke.
She has also laughed off unfounded rumors that Russell was caught using the dating app Bumble.
Joining Kramer on the C-list is BRILEY HUSSEY KING, who married country singer Marcus King in 2023.
King, 34, has a meagre 300,000 Instagram followers, with a much more successful TikTok account, thanks to viral covers of songs such as The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia.
But the North Carolina wannabe singer has divided critics. Some have accused her of faking her accent in a bid to seem ‘more country’.
Others have suggested, without evidence, that she is only with her Grammy-nominated husband for his industry connections.
