While winter storms caused major power outages in Nashville, the downtown music scene saw a lot more visits from displaced locals as they took up hotel rooms usually occupied by tourists.
So Broadway kept beating — but in the wake of the ice storm, not everything felt like the norm.
Tens of thousands are still without heat in their homes more than a week after the ice storm. Power outages have presented challenges for work and life for Nashvillians. Yet the neon lights of Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk, Tootsie’s and the other bars of Lower Broadway stayed on.
They’ve had power all week because the power lines here are buried underground, guarded from the ice.
The locals have become tourists
As Broadway has grown as a tourist destination, more locals are working on Broadway, but fewer locals hang out there. Though Robert’s Western World bartender Conway Dickinson, AKA “Cadillac Conway,” noted a new crowd this week.
“We had a lot of local people in here cause power’s out,” he said. “We’re glad that we’re open and the heat was on. And we’re serving warm bologna sandwiches.”
It’s because locals took up the rooms usually booked by tourists downtown.
“It’s just been, a lot of people from the areas where they are out of power. They’re in these hotels,” said Teeter Brenden, a daytime bouncer at Alan Jackson’s Good Time Bar, just across the street from where Paige Cross works: “It’s cool to kind of see the people we live around out here,” she said.
Trapped tourists
There are still a lot of tourists.
They helped keep the music economy going in this tough time for Nashville.
Scott Bois is a syrup harvester from Vermont who was committed to this trip.
“We had too much invested to say, ‘Let’s turn around and go back home. Right?’ It’s like, we weathered the storms in Vermont. It’s like, we’re gonna take Nashville and the weather.”
His friend, Mike Eman, was once a lineman in Vermont. He knew the gravity of what’s going on in the city and was sympathetic.
“You’re not expecting an ice storm down in Tennessee. We’re not even ready for them in Vermont. Just think of all that ice on the powerlines and you’re trying to pull that wire back up that’s broke. It’s a pain in the butt. So, you know, you guys are doing good down here,” he said.
Everyone pitching in
Tourists and locals were going out of their way to support those working on lower Broadway.
Mathew Berninger had just gotten off the stage at The Stage and was counting tips on the bar.
“People were so happy to be out of the house, man. And there were a lot of people that didn’t cancel their flights. So they just came here and they just had a blast, man. Like, we’re tipping the band extra. That’s what they said.”
Walking downtown was mandolin player Sam Bush, who also lost power. He was grateful for the trapped tourists and the locals coming out in the storm. “The people who come here help those of us who play music make a living. So thanks for coming to Nashville.”
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