What A Week In Nashville!

To say the least, Music City has seen March come in like a lion: A killer tornado to start the week, the stock market on a wild ride, all but two of the Democratic candidates wiping out, and now, the first Middle Tennessee case of the Coronavirus.

That final event falls into the “that’s all we need” category.

The middle of the night twister was frightening and produced a great deal of sadness. Many knew the couple killed in East Nashville.

Yet the Nashville “can do” spirit has kicked in just like it did 10 years ago during the flood. You heard on text, email or phone from people you haven’t heard from in 20 years. The national news coverage made it look like the town had been blown away. It wasn’t, but it WAS bad.

From the $100 million plus devastation at the general aviation airport to the hip condos of Germantown and East Nashville, multiple twisters, including one that stayed on the ground for 50 miles, killed more than two dozen people and injured many more.

Eighty miles East from downtown Nashville is the Baxter community that lost as many as 19 people, including five children. It was an EF-4 killer. Fundraisers are already being held and Tennessee will rebuild. The music community will rally around the victims.

Now the Coronavirus. Williamson County is where it starts. No one really seems to know if this is just a super version of the flu or something far worse. CAA in Los Angeles told its agents to Skype, Facetime and have no guests this month in the building. Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, and Apple all pulled out of South by Southwest. The airlines are cutting flights and sports teams are among those worrying about what may be ahead. Maybe no fans in the stands for the games, just TV.

The concert booking people have played down the fear. On the other hand, the cruise ship folks are more than concerned. One ship is at sea not allowed to port. It’s fear of the unknown.

The word virus is a scary one. Now that Tennessee has a Corona case, the fear factor heightens in an already rattled city. Bank on the virus concern increasing. The SEC basketball tournament at the Bridgestone is starting March 11. It’s a go, but a few Nashville conventions have already been cancelled looking further into the year.

No one is talking about it, but the “what ifs” are in the whisper mode for tours, films, schools, you name it. International touring is on the books for several Nashville acts this Summer.

The new James Bond movie has been moved from April to November over fears of people not wanting to go to movie theaters. If nothing else, you would think meet and greets would be out.

But in true Texas tradition, RodeoHouston reports over 70,000 people for Willie Nelson Wednesday night show, and 56,000 for Midland. Big numbers, and numbers not reflecting fear.

Crazy politics, a killer virus and a storm. Stressful. Nashville STRONG is the motto. It is and will continue to be. But is Nashville a little stressed? Oh yeah!