New TPAC to look like a ‘manifestation of music’

In a few years, when Nashvillians and tourists look down Lower Broadway toward the river, they’ll see sweeping waves of metal encasing a new Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Tennessee legislature narrowly passes school voucher expansion, raising total spots to 35,000

A bill that nearly doubles the number of school vouchers in Tennessee narrowly passed both chambers of the state legislature this week amid concerns that this rapid expansion jeopardizes the state’s financial future.

NashVillager Podcast: Nashville’s architect

Who was the man who designed much of 19th century Nashville, and do any traces of his work survive? Plus, a roundup of the news for April 17, 2026.

Veronique Medrano, Kacey Musgraves and Gillian Welch want to let their roots show | Key Changes

Artists including Kacey Musgraves, Gillian Welch and Veronique Medrano are giving credit where they feel it’s due, and connecting their work to musical and cultural lineages.

f you’re simultaneously taking care of children and aging parents, we want to hear from you — because you’re in good company.

HealthQ co-host Cara Anthony had a sandwich generation moment when she found herself balancing work, taking her mom to the doctor, and looking out for her daughter who was home sick from school. For others, it’s when they started packing pillboxes for Dad or fielding medical questions from Mom — or when their families had to adjust to their parents moving in.

Share your experience in the comments or as a DM for an upcoming show from HealthQ, a collaboration between Nashville Public Radio and KFF Health News. It is designed to boost your healthcare know-how.

Tap link in the bio for more and follow along for more from HealthQ.

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f you’re simultaneously taking care of children and aging parents, we want to hear from you — because you’re in good company.

HealthQ co-host Cara Anthony had a sandwich generation moment when she found herself balancing work, taking her mom to the doctor, and looking out for her daughter who was home sick from school. For others, it’s when they started packing pillboxes for Dad or fielding medical questions from Mom — or when their families had to adjust to their parents moving in.

Share your experience in the comments or as a DM for an upcoming show from HealthQ, a collaboration between Nashville Public Radio and KFF Health News. It is designed to boost your healthcare know-how.

Tap link in the bio for more and follow along for more from HealthQ.

A rural Tennessee Emergency Medical Services team is taking action to fight infections. It is something that ambulance teams have not done before. And it could save lives across America.

Untreated infections are still one of the leading causes of hospitalization in the U.S. If people with infections go without antibiotics, they can enter sepsis – a severe, life-threatening condition that disproportionately affects people in rural areas who don’t have easy access to hospitals or clinics. Rural hospital closures spurned by cuts to Medicaid are making it worse.

But one emergency medical service agency in Tennessee might have an answer. Hawkins County EMS is giving paramedics and EMTs the training and antibiotics they need to identify and treat sepsis in patients before they even reach the emergency room.

This is a departure from the way people have historically been treated on ambulances. For decades, paramedics and EMTs were trained to treat symptoms and stabilize patients all while getting them to a hospital as quickly as possible. But in rural areas, ambulance rides average 30-45 minutes. By the time they reach a hospital, it could be too late.

Now, Hawkins County EMS is improving outcomes for patients in rural Tennessee, say local medical providers.

Tap link in bio for more info, and follow along for more stories from our Healthcare Hollow series.

Photos: Pierce Gentry / WPLN News

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A rural Tennessee Emergency Medical Services team is taking action to fight infections. It is something that ambulance teams have not done before. And it could save lives across America.

Untreated infections are still one of the leading causes of hospitalization in the U.S. If people with infections go without antibiotics, they can enter sepsis – a severe, life-threatening condition that disproportionately affects people in rural areas who don’t have easy access to hospitals or clinics. Rural hospital closures spurned by cuts to Medicaid are making it worse.

But one emergency medical service agency in Tennessee might have an answer. Hawkins County EMS is giving paramedics and EMTs the training and antibiotics they need to identify and treat sepsis in patients before they even reach the emergency room.

This is a departure from the way people have historically been treated on ambulances. For decades, paramedics and EMTs were trained to treat symptoms and stabilize patients all while getting them to a hospital as quickly as possible. But in rural areas, ambulance rides average 30-45 minutes. By the time they reach a hospital, it could be too late.

Now, Hawkins County EMS is improving outcomes for patients in rural Tennessee, say local medical providers.

Tap link in bio for more info, and follow along for more stories from our Healthcare Hollow series.

Photos: Pierce Gentry / WPLN News

What can you do with the bills you had during the winter storm in Nashville? You can apply for reimbursement. The aid can help reimburse temporary housing and living costs if you were displaced, as well as home repairs.

Tennessee has now been approved for a major disaster declaration for the January ice storm.

This allows individual residents in 29 counties to apply for cash assistance from FEMA. It applies to Nashville and most surrounding counties (see the list below).

You can apply by:
visiting DisasterAssistance.gov
calling 800-621-3362
using the FEMA app

Eligible counties: Benton, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Clay, Davidson, Decatur, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Henderson, Hickman, Lewis, Macon, Madison, Maury, McNairy, Montgomery, Perry, Robertson, Rutherford, Shelby, Sumner, Trousdale, Wayne, Williamson and Wilson.

Tap link in bio for more.

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What can you do with the bills you had during the winter storm in Nashville? You can apply for reimbursement. The aid can help reimburse temporary housing and living costs if you were displaced, as well as home repairs.

Tennessee has now been approved for a major disaster declaration for the January ice storm.

This allows individual residents in 29 counties to apply for cash assistance from FEMA. It applies to Nashville and most surrounding counties (see the list below).

You can apply by:
visiting DisasterAssistance.gov
calling 800-621-3362
using the FEMA app

Eligible counties: Benton, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Clay, Davidson, Decatur, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Henderson, Hickman, Lewis, Macon, Madison, Maury, McNairy, Montgomery, Perry, Robertson, Rutherford, Shelby, Sumner, Trousdale, Wayne, Williamson and Wilson.

Tap link in bio for more.

Senior music writer Jewly Hight has been covering what`s happening with AI in music for for the last two years. From the passage of Tennessee`s ELVIS ACT, to the rollout of Suno and Udio, litigation, and the quietly expanding use of AI in sessions.

So when she got a press release about Soundbreak — a new AI music-generating platform launching in Nashville with songwriters behind it — it seemed too different to ignore.

Behind the app is Kevin Griffin, who came to fame leading the alt-rock band Better Than Ezra and became a player in the music business ecosystem of middle Tennessee. He decided to channel his concerns about apps like Suno into action.

What’s notable about Soundbreak is the fact that it’s built around a roster of established writer-artists who signed on to participate and help shape AI models that reflect their signature styles. And they get a portion of both the subscription earnings and song ownership when users choose to “co-write” with them.

Watch Jewly in our reels as she creates a song called “Control” on the app. Do you like Song Option 1 or Song Option 2? Drop a comment to let us know.

Tap link in bio for more. And be sure to check out Key Changes, a “reporter’s notebook” view of the trends in the music industry.

Photos: Jewly Hight

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Senior music writer Jewly Hight has been covering what's happening with AI in music for for the last two years. From the passage of Tennessee's ELVIS ACT, to the rollout of Suno and Udio, litigation, and the quietly expanding use of AI in sessions.

So when she got a press release about Soundbreak — a new AI music-generating platform launching in Nashville with songwriters behind it — it seemed too different to ignore.

Behind the app is Kevin Griffin, who came to fame leading the alt-rock band Better Than Ezra and became a player in the music business ecosystem of middle Tennessee. He decided to channel his concerns about apps like Suno into action.

What’s notable about Soundbreak is the fact that it’s built around a roster of established writer-artists who signed on to participate and help shape AI models that reflect their signature styles. And they get a portion of both the subscription earnings and song ownership when users choose to “co-write” with them.

Watch Jewly in our reels as she creates a song called “Control” on the app. Do you like Song Option 1 or Song Option 2? Drop a comment to let us know.

Tap link in bio for more. And be sure to check out Key Changes, a “reporter’s notebook” view of the trends in the music industry.

Photos: Jewly Hight

When Senior Music Writer Jewly Hight got a press release about Soundbreak — a new AI music-generating platform launching in Nashville with songwriters behind it — it seemed too different to ignore.

Behind the app is Kevin Griffin, who came to fame leading the alt-rock band Better Than Ezra and became a player in the music business ecosystem of middle Tennessee.

What’s notable about Soundbreak is the fact that it’s built around a roster of established writer-artists who signed on to participate and help shape AI models that reflect their signature styles. And they get a portion of both the subscription earnings and song ownership when users choose to “co-write” with them.

Watch Jewly as she creates a song called “Control” on the app. Do you like Song Option 1 or Song Option 2? Drop a comment to let us know.

Tap link in bio for more.

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When Senior Music Writer Jewly Hight got a press release about Soundbreak — a new AI music-generating platform launching in Nashville with songwriters behind it — it seemed too different to ignore.

Behind the app is Kevin Griffin, who came to fame leading the alt-rock band Better Than Ezra and became a player in the music business ecosystem of middle Tennessee.

What’s notable about Soundbreak is the fact that it’s built around a roster of established writer-artists who signed on to participate and help shape AI models that reflect their signature styles. And they get a portion of both the subscription earnings and song ownership when users choose to “co-write” with them.

Watch Jewly as she creates a song called “Control” on the app. Do you like Song Option 1 or Song Option 2? Drop a comment to let us know.

Tap link in bio for more.

Hundreds of cherry trees were given away for free today at the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival.

The festival, held downtown in Public Square Park, across the river from the Nissan stadium, was full of sound, art, and commerce. There were food vendors. Taiko drumming and bamboo flute performances. Tea ceremonies. Bonsai trimming. Sumo suit wrestling. And of course, Japanese Elvis - an Elvis impersonator who flew in from Japan..

Music and culture reporter Justin Barney gives the festival highlights and a bit of the economics that connect Tennessee and Japan. For instance, there are 200+ Japanese businesses statewide that employ over 50,000 Tennesseans, and Bridgestone has had a headquarters in Nashville since 1983,. The Nashville - Japanese ties are undeniable, and maybe correlates to the fact that the FIFA soccer team from Japan chose Nashville as its base camp before the World Cup.

There`s more more to come after the Cherry Blossom Festival. Follow us for coverage on the Japanese soccer team`s base camp here in Nashville.

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Hundreds of cherry trees were given away for free today at the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival.

The festival, held downtown in Public Square Park, across the river from the Nissan stadium, was full of sound, art, and commerce. There were food vendors. Taiko drumming and bamboo flute performances. Tea ceremonies. Bonsai trimming. Sumo suit wrestling. And of course, Japanese Elvis - an Elvis impersonator who flew in from Japan..

Music and culture reporter Justin Barney gives the festival highlights and a bit of the economics that connect Tennessee and Japan. For instance, there are 200+ Japanese businesses statewide that employ over 50,000 Tennesseans, and Bridgestone has had a headquarters in Nashville since 1983,. The Nashville - Japanese ties are undeniable, and maybe correlates to the fact that the FIFA soccer team from Japan chose Nashville as its base camp before the World Cup.

There's more more to come after the Cherry Blossom Festival. Follow us for coverage on the Japanese soccer team's base camp here in Nashville.

Even if your knowledge of classical music comes from listening in dentist waiting rooms, you know the music of Yo-Yo Ma.

He`s been famous since he was five years old when he played for President John F. Kennedy as a child prodigy. He`s 70 now and this Sunday at the Grand Ole Opry, he will play a 293-year-old cello and give his, "report card on life," in a show titled "Reflections in Words and Music."

Ma told our reporter Justin Barney: "I will share with you everything that I have learned in my 70 years of life. Here`s my report card — this is my report to you on what I`ve seen and what some of my conclusions are. We have it within us to be hopeful. To be collaborative, and to constantly renew ourselves so that we can actually keep our American experiment going strong."

Tap link in bio for more.

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Even if your knowledge of classical music comes from listening in dentist waiting rooms, you know the music of Yo-Yo Ma.

He's been famous since he was five years old when he played for President John F. Kennedy as a child prodigy. He's 70 now and this Sunday at the Grand Ole Opry, he will play a 293-year-old cello and give his, "report card on life," in a show titled "Reflections in Words and Music."

Ma told our reporter Justin Barney: "I will share with you everything that I have learned in my 70 years of life. Here's my report card — this is my report to you on what I've seen and what some of my conclusions are. We have it within us to be hopeful. To be collaborative, and to constantly renew ourselves so that we can actually keep our American experiment going strong."

Tap link in bio for more.

Tennessee will be one of the first states to pilot the White House’s immigration agenda, reports Marianna Bacallao (@ba.marianna). Statehouse Republican leadership collaborated with U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and the Justice Department to craft the legislation.

The package of bills focuses on increasing verification for legal residents and requiring local law enforcement to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Nobody in Tennessee is asking for this. Everybody`s asking for affordable housing, right? Everybody`s asking ... to be able to afford the groceries,” said Cesar Bautista, member of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

Tennessee already has laws against sanctuary city policies that may shield immigrants from ICE, but House Speaker Cameron Sexton said the city’s Democratic-leaning cities are using a “loophole.”

Tennessee will be one of the first states to pilot the White House’s immigration agenda, reports Marianna Bacallao. Statehouse Republican leadership collaborated with U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and the Justice Department to craft the legislation.

The package of bills focuses on increasing verification for legal residents and requiring local law enforcement to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Tap link in bio and follow along for more. Subscribe to the NashVillager, our 5-day-a-week newsletter with local and national news.

Photos: Bruce Newman (AP) George Walker IV (AP), Marianna Bacallao (WPLN)

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Curious Nashville Returns!

Back by popular demand, the WPLN fan favorite series Curious Nashville is here to investigate oddities, share local history, tell stories of interesting people, and explain how local institutions operate.

You ask the questions, and we answer.

ASK YOUR QUESTION