Star-studded Nashville Tornado Relief Concert Raises Estimated $500K

The sold-out charity benefit concert To Nashville, With Love was held last night (March 9) at Marathon Music Works and raised an estimated $500,000 for the people of Middle Tennessee whose homes and lives were devastated by last week’s tornadoes. Every dollar raised from ticket sales, sponsorships, donations and auction items including signed guitars from all performers, was donated to the To Nashville, With Love Fund, and will be allocated to both disaster relief and mental health organizations.

Performers for the event included Aaron Lee Tasjan, Ashley McBryde, Brandi Carlile, Brothers Osborne, Dan Auerbach, Jason Isbell, Katie Pruitt, Kendell Marvel, Margo Price (with Erin Rae), Old Crow Medicine Show, Sadler Vaden, Sheryl Crow, Soccer Mommy and Yola. The concert also featured a performance from members of The Highwomen including, Carlile, Crow, Natalie Hemby and Yola, and a performance with all of the artists gathered on stage covering Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World.”

 

Local station WRLT/Lightning 100 was the event broadcast partner. A watch party took place at Yee-Haw Brewing Company.

Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, stated, “We know when disasters strike, there are no quick fixes. We are grateful to our partners from the entertainment industry for their tireless work in making these special events a reality. Thanks to these efforts through the work of nonprofits on the ground helping victims address their needs, we will be able to better respond to the damage caused by these disastrous storms.”

The To Nashville, With Love Fund was created by a group of music industry professionals to help raise vital funds after the devastating March 2020 tornadoes that struck Middle Tennessee. Funds raised will be dispersed between organizations helping with disaster relief and mental health after tragedy. All donations to this fund will be administered by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The Founding Board of Advisors includes Charlie Pierce, Doug Hall, Jay Williams, Jonathan Insogna, Marissa Smith and Tom Osborn.

On behalf of the fund, Pierce stated, “Myself, Marissa, Jonathan, Doug and Tom and the rest of the team would like to send our love and thanks to the people of Nashville, who donated their time, money and love to their neighbors who deeply needed it at time of great crisis. We will regroup and distribute the funds as soon as humanly possible as many are in critical need. I don’t believe there is any other city in the world where this would be possible. We were devastated to see the destruction following the tornadoes last week across the greater Nashville and middle Tennessee region. What the community has achieved is astonishing. When we called, everybody answered and said yes! Our greatest thanks to all of the artists, sponsors and partners for this event—but most of all to every single person who bought a ticket or donated.”