Every music genre has its mecca, a most revered and venerable venue that every performer must play as part of their initiation into their respective genre's pantheon. For country, it's the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, TN, which on Monday (May 3) was hit with flood waters that gushed their way over most of the city and surrounding area.
As Billboard reports, shows scheduled to happen at the iconic venue this week have been moved to other Nashville venues, and many are fearing the destruction of the venue's stage, of which a small circle in the centre is constructed from floorboards salvaged from the stage of the original Opry's former home of Ryman Auditorium.
This isn't the first time the building has had to relocate. Flooding from the same river, the Cumberland, forced the venue to move to the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in 1975, just a year after the current Opry opened.
Talking with CBC, country singer Dierks Bentley commented on the building and its importance. "We've all been affected by it," he said. "There's devastation all over the city. But to see the Grand Ole Opry affected, that just really hit home for me, even more than having water in my house."
There's no word yet on the condition of the stage and the extent of the damage the flooding has caused for the Opry.
As Billboard reports, shows scheduled to happen at the iconic venue this week have been moved to other Nashville venues, and many are fearing the destruction of the venue's stage, of which a small circle in the centre is constructed from floorboards salvaged from the stage of the original Opry's former home of Ryman Auditorium.
This isn't the first time the building has had to relocate. Flooding from the same river, the Cumberland, forced the venue to move to the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in 1975, just a year after the current Opry opened.
Talking with CBC, country singer Dierks Bentley commented on the building and its importance. "We've all been affected by it," he said. "There's devastation all over the city. But to see the Grand Ole Opry affected, that just really hit home for me, even more than having water in my house."
There's no word yet on the condition of the stage and the extent of the damage the flooding has caused for the Opry.
