The tragedy of a major destructive tornado to Nashville, Tennessee city, occurred on March 3, 2020, when the disaster emerged along its path, with its wide destruction and numerous heartbroken victims.
The music group, the long-time loyal ones who have been maintaining the city’s pulse, were quick to respond.
During this terrible period, artists from Nashville acted in a very wonderful way by proving unity and promotions.
They raised funds for the victims by holding awareness campaigns, which you will explore in this article.
The Response
Fundraising Efforts
Artists from Nashville quickly arranged fundraising for those in need before the tornado.
One highly successful event was the “Nashville Tornado Relief” benefit concert, which brought in more than $500,000 for the Middle Tennessee Community Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund.
One of its highlights was the impressive performance line-up with the most appealing artists, such as Keith Urban, Brandi Carlile, and Jason Isbell.
Apart from these, other artists like Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves also contributed in the form of fund allocation, with Swift donating 1 million dollars to help the victims of this natural disaster.
Multiple artists gave up their best hours so they could aid in the pick-up and restoration operations.
The well-known country music singer Dierks Bentley was seen helping to clear the debris in the damaged areas.
Besides, musicians also donated essential supplies to the poor, including water, clothing, and food.
The CMA (Country Music Association) donated $100,000 to relief efforts.
Awareness and Community Support
Artists translated the pain of the tornadoes into their music, creating songs that raised awareness about the consequences of those natural disasters and the call to help.
Nashville social media spaces are flooded with messages of comfort and hope using hashtags like #NashvilleStrong and #TornadoRelief.
The music community also stepped in and gave not only emotional but also social assistance.
The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) organized a benefit performance where singers who are also songwriters performed, representing the local talent.
Benefit Concerts and Events
Ryman Auditorium Benefit Concert
Ryman Auditorium witnessed a historic concert called “To Nashville, With Love“, where Keith Urban, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow and Jason Isbell played for over $500,000 to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund.
Marathon Music Works Benefit Concert
This event had performances in the name of “Nashville United” by influential country artists like Reba McEntire and Ashley McBryde, among others.
The proceeds from the concert went to United Way of Greater Nashville for their tornado relief efforts.
Virtual Benefit Concert
A virtual benefit concert, “Music City Cares,” was held on live social media outlets where country singers like Luke Combs and Kelsea Ballerini were featured.
Through this event, the Music City Inc. Foundation raised money to support its tornado relief activities.
Auctions and Fundraising Initiatives
Guitars of Tornado Relief
The music community developed a benefit concert, “Guitars of Tornado Relief,” to help the tornado victims.
That night, the stars aligned, and there were celebrities of all genres – such as Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, and Brad Paisley, who sang songs and auctioned off their instruments.
Through this concert, the nonprofit organization raised over 100,000 dollars, which will be used by the United Way of Greater Nashville to help its affected communities recover from the tornado.
‘Nashville Is Strong’ T-shirt Campaign
A fund drive is started, and they raise money by selling “Nashville is Strong” shirts in it.
This fund was dedicated to helping families, businesses, and others who have been adversely affected by this crisis. In a few days, the campaign raised over $50000.
Music City Inc. Foundation’s Tornado Relief Fund
The Music City Charities Foundation has kick-started the tornado relief fund, the proceeds of which will be given to people in the music industry who lost their jobs due to tornadoes.
Community Efforts
Volunteer Work
Residents affected by the tornado were addressed unanimously by the music community with their time and resources.
Many artists and industry experts made a huge effort to remove debris, cook, make meals, and deliver resources.
Organizations similar to the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM) had their members and staff do volunteer days that they organized.
Food Drives and Donations
As a way of offering food to those who lost everything, the music community organized food drives, supplied donations to people affected by tornadoes, and helped the community through this difficult time.
The singled-out artists and singers like Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd send food and supplies to the local shelters and organizations.
Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), residents organized a food drive that resulted in tons of nonperishables for Second Harvest Food Bank.
Benefit Singles and Albums
Several singles and albums have been released by Nashville artists, and the beneficial proceeds of their sales are going to help those in need of aid.
For instance, a benefit single was recorded by a group of artists from the community, with the proceeds donated to the Music City Inc. Foundation, as its tornado-relief funds.
Total Impact
The music community contributed hugely to the tornado relief efforts, with over $2 million being raised in just one year.
The donated funds assisted organizations such as the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, the United Way of Greater Nashville, and the Music City Inc., among others.
This total amount includes:-
- $750 000 obtained by the means of benefits given and events.
- $500,000 from the auction and other financing initiatives.
- $250,000 gained through community mobilization of resources and contributions.
- $500,000 obtained from other partnering institutions and a cooperative approach.
Lasting Effects
Some of the lasting effects include:-
- Creating a special fund that will be permanent for the development of necessary resources for future catastrophe mitigation.
- Establishing a network of community volunteers with expertise in disaster management who are ready to help during critical hours.
- The launch of new partnership ties between music business associations and local groups forms the basis of community initiatives.
- The bond between community members in difficult circumstances, as in cases when they see other communities uniting and helping in times of need, expecting mutual support.
Conclusion
- The Music Community response of the widespread tornadoes in 2020, and it showed that music acts as a great consolation.
- Nonstop benefit concerts, auctions, and other events with community alliances among musicians and affected residents were organized to show that such catastrophes could be faced and served as a huge moral boost to them.
- It indicated that other folks can listen to music and experience the same anger and targeted sentences simply as he does and that community is very significant and is similarly essential during sad days.
- The fundraising from the musical exposition of the tornadoes depicts the amazing power of these artists as they transform the lives of people united for the sake of a common cause.