Tennessee’s most charming influencers

8:06 a.m. July 3, 2025

HALEY PAYNE ROBERTS
MCO Senior Staff Writer

Influencers are saturating social media and the greater internet these days. Everything from lifestyle to food to niche interests – you name it, and there has probably been a corner of the internet whittled out for the topic and the people talking about it.

Thanks to retirees Dan and Mary Peery, Southern Middle Tennessee has had its very own influencers for several years, who are making quite a splash among viewers interested in the region.

The Peerys, however, aren’t your standard duo, bringing a different and exciting addition to a realm dominated by younger generations. “We retired from our jobs back in 2019. We were going to travel around the world. Then, COVID hit. Everything was so gloom and doom during lockdown that we just started making goofy videos to lighten things up,” Dan said.

“It took off like wildfire and just kept running. It’s funny because you see people doing this kind of stuff and see young, attractive people. We break all of that! We’re 65-year-old influencers! We love what we’re doing.”

What started as a passion project quickly evolved into a full-fledged position, enabling the Peerys to apply their love of travel to local areas, bringing them much-needed attention. “Being content creators just happened. We didn’t set out to do that. We were making our goofy videos and traveled a lot, so we started doing something that we called ‘The Great American Roadshow,’” Dan said.

“Our son lives outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, so we would travel I-40 and would stop and see stuff like the World’s Greatest Ball of Twine or other goofy things. Then three years ago, Ryan French, the director for Southern Tennessee Tourism, picked up, and we’ve been Hey Y’all ever since!”

Now, Dan and Mary travel to various areas of Southern Middle Tennessee to draw attention to everything from events to local mom-and-pop shops. “We’re tourism ambassadors for the state of Tennessee. We work through the South Central Tennessee Tourism Association, and we do work for Nashville’s Big Backyard and Experience Tennessee,” Dan said.

“We cover 13 counties in Southern Middle Tennessee. We also cover Grundy County through Tennessee South Cumberland. We cover businesses, festivals, parades, concerts, and whatever else is going on. We love the old stuff that loses its touch. As life gets busier, we try to find the old outstanding stuff and bring it back to people’s attention.”

One of Hey Y’all’s more recent finds illustrates their passion for the region’s hidden gems, illustrating the importance and beauty of even the smallest things. “We recently did the bridges over in Wayne County. It’s a double natural arch, and that’s the only one in North America, I believe. It has a creek that runs through the middle of it, and it’s a beautiful area,” Dan said.

“For years, it was a health and wellness center. It recently sold, and the new owners opened it to the public. It’s magnificent,” Mary added. “They also have another thing that’s our favorite – a pulpit rock.

“Pulpit rocks are rare because there’s not much history on a lot of them. A pulpit rock is what a minister or a politician or someone who wants to have a gathering uses to stand up and get some elevation over an audience.

“They have Davy Crockett’s pulpit rock. It’s where he gave his first political speech, and it’s where he gave his last speech as he was leaving Tennessee to go to Texas,” she said.

“The only other one that we found in our area is over in Marshall County, outside of Lewisburg. It’s the pulpit rock that James K. Polk and Andrew Jackson gave their acceptance speeches for President of the United States.”

Lynchburg holds a special place in the Peerys’ hearts, as it offers some great opportunities for partnerships and historical coverage. “The group that we work with runs The Whiskey Trailhead across from Jack Daniel’s, and we love working with these groups down here,” Dan said.

“We’ve become friends with Chuck [Baker] down at Barrel House, and he’s a really neat guy. There’s just so much to do in areas around here. There’s a lot of old history. If we don’t have anything else to do, we love to come to Lynchburg and walk the Square. It’s a fun place to be.”

“We actually stopped at a historical marker coming into Lynchburg and learned that Davy Crockett lived
here before he moved to Franklin County from 1811 to 1813. We’ve driven by that sign no telling how many times and did not know that,” Mary said.

As their following grows, Dan and Mary continue to create new ways to drive engagement with everything that
the area has to offer. “All year last year, we did a segment called ‘Biscuits and Gravy.’ We found mom-and-pop restaurants that did breakfast,” Dan said.

“This year, we decided to expand that, so we’re doing ‘Jeet Chet?’ That’s really taken off well this year, and we’ve moved outside of breakfast. That’s gone over really well.

“Here lately, the goofy characters are popular. I did a thing for The Caverns in Pelham. During part of that, there was a goofy guy I’d do called ‘Studley Manhood.’” he said.

“Every time I turn around, people tell us we need to do more of that. We’ve already been told twice today that people like that character, so I guess Studley’s coming out of the trunk!”

Dan and Mary are game for characters like Studley and beyond, and enjoy the creative aspects of their work. “We’re always open to suggestions. We’ll try anything. [Dan] was a production supervisor at Nissan for over 30 years, and I was a nurse. So this is completely out of character, and it’s just fun,” Mary said. “We have a room at the house full of wigs, hats, costumes, instruments, and things like that, and are ready for anything!”

So why “Hey Y’all?” Like all good Southerners, the Peerys got their name from the classic greeting. “That’s how we started doing our videos before we got picked up by the state. We did our ‘Great American Roadshow,’ and I always started my videos with ‘Hey, y’all. How y’all doing?’” Dan said.

“Everybody just started calling us that, so we kind of got branded that way. We love it because we hear somebody holler ‘Hey, y’all!’ at us wherever we go.”

As for what’s next, the Peerys are simply soaking up their success. “We’re just kind of riding the wave. We didn’t start out to do anything that brought on fame or people knowing us. It’s just rolled into that, and we’re going to roll with it to see where it takes us,” Dan said. “If you get up every morning and get to have fun, then you’re doing something right.”

“Every day we get to do this, we pinch ourselves. We can’t believe it!” Mary said.

If you’re traveling through Tennessee anytime soon, Dan and Mary have some advice on how to make the best out of the state. “Don’t just drive through. ... The small towns in Tennessee are the backbone of the state, and we love to preach that message,” Dan said.

“Tennessee has so much to offer. The highest place in the state is Clingmans Dome, up in the mountains. We’re about 900 feet here in Middle Tennessee, and the lowest place is 178 feet on the banks of the Mississippi River. You got the mountains, the rivers, and all the little small towns in between. It’s just amazing what you see out there.”

“Get off the interstate! We like to take the two-lane roads. That’s where we find some really cool stuff,” Mary said. “Tennessee has about 96,000 miles of roads, and only 1,200 of that is interstate. If you want to find something to do, get out on the back roads and see what’s there. Don’t just travel Tennessee, experience Tennessee!”

• Follow Dan and Mary Peery’s Hey Y’all travels on Facebook.