Nashville Rock + Metal Venue Destroyed by Tornado
Nashville was rocked overnight by a tornado that inflicted plenty of damage in its wake, including taking out a portion of the Nashville music venue The Basement East.
According to The Tennessean, the venue had hosted a benefit concert for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders earlier in the evening, but the tornado struck after the show had concluded at 1:15AM.
Basement East co-owner Mike Grimes revealed to the paper that five employees were still at the venue when the tornado arrived, finding shelter “with seconds to spare before the roof blew off." He added that the building was "a total loss."
While a good portion of the building is currently in rubble, a wall with the club's "I believe in Nashville" mural remains standing, as seen in the photo above. “Building is destroyed, but we will be back," venue officials stated on Facebook.
Basement East books a variety of musical performers. Among the shows on the books for the rest of the month were a Rage Against the Machine tribute show that has already been canceled, a gig for Damon Johnson, The Black Lips, The Ataris, Life of Agony with Doyle and The Birthday Massacre with Julien-K among others. Stay up to date with the venue's calendar here.
The club's social media also tweeted that they are working diligently to either relocated or cancel the immediate shows and updates will be sent to their website and social media as action is taken on the upcoming events.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency confirmed that at least 22 people died from storms and tornados that affected the Nashville area including four counties.
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