NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess) — Nashville’s Metro City Council have launched an initiative to help secure the future of some of Nashville’s best known historic live music venues.
According to the Nashville Tennessean, members of the Metro Council voted to approve funding for several key areas, including $260,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to help fund a study exploring preservation strategies for venues.
Additionally, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation have pledged to contribute $30,000 and $10,000, respectively, to help subsidize the study, the Tennessean reported.
The study, which will be conducted by external consultants, will evaluate ways in which other municipalities have helped independent live music venues to thrive amid increasing pressures of urban gentrification.
The Metro Council also voiced their support for efforts to revive Nashville’s Music City Music Council and provided a $50,000 grant toward the restoration of the Elks Lodge on Jefferson Street, formerly Club Baron.
The Metro Council’s pledge of support for the city’s live music community comes after several iconic Nashville live music venues have shuttered amid spiraling rent costs.
As the Tennessean noted, the Exit/In, a Nashville fixture for much of the last 50 years, is facing a potential closure after their lease expires at the end of 2022, and Mercury Lounge is leaving its longtime home on Cannery Row as its lease expires at the end of May 2022.
