Nashville’s The Basement East Reopens One Year After Tornado

This is such great news!

Nashville’s The Basement East Reopens One Year After Tornado
NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 05: Damage to the Basement East music venue near the Five Points area is seen on Thursday March 05, 2020 in Nashville, TN. Tornados hit the area early Tuesday morning. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

During a time when some of Nashville’s famous stages are being forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the city’s most iconic music venues is making a triumphant return. The Basement East is reopening on Thursday, March 4 after being nearly destroyed during the deadly EF-3 tornado that hit the city one year ago on the morning of March 3, 2020. The storm, which greatly impacted Germantown, East Nashville and Mount Juliet, pummeled the building, causing much of the roof and walls to cave in and leaving only the front façade and the ‘I Believe In Nashville’ mural still standing. Today, the building is rebuilt and will be opening for socially distant shows this weekend.

“The Beast’s doors are flinging open this Thursday, March 4 through Saturday, March 6 for a much needed socially distanced hang to commemorate one year since the tornado ravaged our city,” reads an announcement on The Basement East’s Instagram page. “With 5,000 square ft of space inside and almost 2,000 ft on the deck, we have plenty of room to distance a bunch of mismatched tables and chairs loaned by friends (thank you Mercy Lounge, Nashville Urban Winery and Marathon Music Works) to provide much needed healing and camaraderie at this time.”

The venue will welcome DJ performances on March 4th and 5th from DJs including Spice J, Jerry Pentecost, Patrick Sweany and more. On March 6th, it will host musical performances from The Minks, The Tigerbeats, Lilly Hiatt, Adams Street Trio, India Ramey and Tim Easton, followed by DJ sets.

The March 3, 2020 tornado damaged countless other business and many homes throughout East Nashville, Mount Juliet and onto Lebanon, TN. A separate tornado also continued east into Putnam County and Cookeville, TN, causing much damage there. The entire tornado outbreak resulted in 25 deaths and 309 injuries.