Nashville artists help out on stage and off after tornadoes
NASHVILLE, TENN. (AP) » Members of the Grammywinning string band Old Crow Medicine Show put down their fiddles and banjos and picked up chainsaws last week after deadly tornadoes hit middle Tennessee.
“When I am doing this relief work in north Nashville and east Nashville and Donelson, the guys in Old Crow got their chainsaws out,” said lead singer Ketch Secor on Monday night, nearly a week after the severe storms. “We love our concerts and our audience, but when this happens in our town, we’re out there leading the charge.”
Nashville musicians banded together both in their community, but also on stage during a benefit concert Monday night called “To Nashville, With Love” featuring a dozen artists playing to raise money for relief efforts. Some of the musicians who performed don’t live in Tennessee fulltime, but record there and have close connections.
British singer-songwriter Yola got to work immediately, helping organize the concert in less than a week. Performers included Old Crow Medicine Show, Sheryl Crow, Dan Auerbach, Jason Isbell, Soccer Mommy, Brothers Osborne and Ashley McBryde. The proceeds from Monday’s concert were going to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. At least six tornadoes hit the state and killed 24 people.
“That tornado whipped out a lot of precious things, a lot of mementos, a lot of things that signify a family life or a loved one,” said Yola backstage. “You need to put that love back in.”
Many in the town’s musical community were impacted. Country star Dierks Bentley and his crew showed up in gloves and boots to help his drummer, Steve Misamore, whose home was severely damaged. Dualtone Records’ Nashville office was directly hit, as well as a popular club called The Basement East.