The Bass Street neighborhood was first settled by some of the formerly enslaved people who had helped build Fort Negley and defend it against the Confederacy. Today, Bass Street is barely a street at all, a stretch of just a thousand feet or so.
Etta James once rocked the New Era Club, one of North Nashville’s most famous stages. Today only a few pieces remain.
The resulting live album is probably the most enduring musical artifact of this storied venue. It didn’t keep the city from demolishing it to make way for I-40.


