Nashville Flood Relief Efforts

7:02
The Tennessean has a more in-depth article on instrument damage. The account of a disintegrating 1931 dobro is heart-wrenching.

4:34 An update on the status of the Opry House, via Opry historian Byron Fay.

7:44
The New York Times is finally on the story, assessing some of the losses at the SoundCheck facility.

12:26
Power was restored to the Country Music Hall of Fame yesterday at 3:22 p.m. and, according to a bulletin we received via email, should be open for business today.

9:18 PM

During the aforementioned local telethon on WSMV, Taylor Swift donated a whopping $500,000 to Nashville Flood Relief efforts. Amy Grant and Vince Gill pitched in $100,000.

8:31 PM

Check out this song that Victoria Banks wrote about Nashville:

7:25 PM
The CMA Fest announced today that a portion of their proceeds will be going towards flood relief.

2:50 PM

- Despite losing a portion of his guitar collection, Vince Gill will be hosting a flood relief telethon on WSMV Channel 4 in Nashville with special guests Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, Naomi Judd, Phil Vassar, and Alison Krauss.

- In similar news, the Infamous Stringdusters will be playing two shows at the 5 Spot in East Nashville to help raise funds for flood victims. Tickets are $10 with all proceeds going to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

- Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, and Lady Antebellum will be taping a nationally-televised telethon called Music City Keep Playin’ On on May 16 at the Ryman Auditorium, reports the Rolling Stone.

- Inspired by a hockey blogger’s post, “We Are Nashville” T-Shirts and bumper stickers are now available for purchase, with all proceeds going to the Community Foundations Flood Relief Fund.

May 5, 2010, NASHVILLE

8:24 PM

- Country singer Kenny Chesney talked about the Nashville flood damage on Anderson Cooper 360 on Wednesday night. Cooper will be hosting his show live from Nashville tomorrow evening. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will be guests on his show.

- The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum announced via press release today that it will be back up and running by Saturday, at the latest. Here are pictures of the damage there.

- In one of the more unusual stories of the whole flood, WKRN reported that flesh-eating piranhas from Opry Mills’ Aquarium Restaurant were on the loose in the mall’s flood waters. The report was later refuted.

- The Tennessean’s Peter Cooper provided an excellent run-down of the “musical” damage that has been done.

May 4, 2010, NASHVILLE

4:53 PM

CMA Board Chairman Steve Moore says that CMA Fest in early June will happen despite flooding.

2:52 PM

The Tennessean has an excellent slideshow of Nashville landmarks/concert venues that are flooded.

11:20 AM

Due to the flooding at the Grand Ole Opry, this week’s Opry performances have been moved to the War Memorial Auditorium and the historic Ryman Auditorium.

Here are a couple of photos making the rounds:

The Tennessean has flood benefit and music venue info, including closings.

The 9513’s Ken Morton had to reschedule his interview with Julie Roberts after receiving word she had to be rescued from the second floor of her Nashville home.

10:00 AM

This past weekend, Nashville experienced a devastating natural disaster. National media coverage does not do it justice.

On Saturday and Sunday, Middle Tennessee experienced more than 13 inches of rain—shattering the previous two-day record of 6.68 inches. Tens of thousands of families have been displaced and state representative Jim Cooper called the event a “multi-billion dollar disaster.”

In addition to that, Nashville landmarks took crippling blows. The Opryland Hotel, including the Grand Ole Opry House, has experienced millions of dollars worth of damage. Irreplaceable exotic plants from Asia were swept away. Flood waters from the Cumberland River cover the infamous pews at the Opry House.

Downtown Nashville has also taken a hit. Riverfront Park, where the CMA Fest is held, is completely engulfed. The waters have taken over 1st and 2nd avenue. The Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater is three feet deep in water. A 2.5 million dollar organ at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center was destroyed.

More important is the residential areas. Bellevue, Goodlettsville, and Antioch are hurting badly. Historic downtown Franklin and Lebanon are completely underwater. Cities are lakes and streets are rivers.

Ten people have been found dead in Nashville alone. Authorities expect to recover more bodies when the water recedes.

Nashville needs your help. Here’s how:

Nashvillest Guide to Helping the Effort

Middle Tennessee Red Cross

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