Transparent Christian Magazine

According to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Cumberland river reached a crest Monday night around 8:30 a.m. The highest water level was 51.63 feet, nearly 12 feet above flood stage. The water level has slowly begun to fall.

I want you to imagine for one minute what keeps our city turning.

Music.

Now think about this.  In a matter of 3 days, over half of our major touring and production dollars have been submerged.  With no flood insurance.

Think about this.  Our major tourist attractions were almost 10 feet under water:

Opry Land is closed until Christmas.

The Grand Ole Opry is temporarily shut down.

Broadway was filled up to 2nd Avenue and still has water.

Bridgestone Arena was submerged up to their loading docks.

LP Field (where the Titans play) had water up to the first row of seats.

Power is out on the Riverfront where The Hard Rock and The Hilton reside.

Nashville’s trademark “Batman Building” from AT&T is out of power and still bucketing water.

Think about this.  Our major tour and production warehouse district is still under 2 feet of water.  That means lights, staging, sound, cases, tour buses, guitars, drums, EVERYTHING.  All under water.

So what does this mean for Nashville?

It means we have over a billion dollars in damage, 29 known fatalities, shelters and universities that are past capacity and a city that’s going to hurt for months to come.  The only thing we can do is what we know best, come together as a community, write songs, rebuild each others homes and do what we can to send everyone back on the road.

The company I work for, Audio Space has partnered with United Way for “Restore The Dream”.  This program specifically funds the disaster relief agencies that this city depends on like Red Cross, Salvation Army, Second Harvest Foods and countless others.  We’re currently organizing a tour called Music For Music City that will directly benefit United Way and Restore The Dream.  The first date is Thursday, May 20th at Rosa Parks Circle in Grand Rapids, MI.

The media doesn’t show it, but our city is hurting.  I know you who are reading this have a Facebook, an email list, Twitter and access to hundreds if not thousands of people.  I’m asking you on behalf of Nashville for your help.  We need homes rebuilt, we need people with skilled trades to put our city back together, we need supplies, we need food sent, we need blankets for the shelters, we need you.  You reading this, I need you to come help.  If you can help monetarily, that will provide more supplies for our hands to work with.

If you’re out of work, out of a car, a house, a hot shower, contact me at joshw@audiospacellc.com or my phone at 616-350-0700.

Love,
Josh