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2020 started with hopeful thoughts for many, but soon, premature hopes would be dashed on the proverbial rocks as 2020 tumbled down the cliff, moving ever more rapidly to becoming the worst year in recent history for the entire planet. Nashville suffered one of the earliest big blows of 2020, literally and figuratively, when in the early morning of March 3, a deadly and unpredicted tornado outbreak ravaged Northern and East Nashville, as well as outlying areas. In East Nashville, where Kenny Schick, and his wife, Sabine Heusler-Schick run Basement 3 Productions, a music production company, many of the businesses that made East Nashville vibrant(including a very popular music venue, The Basement East) were torn to pieces, just a few blocks from the Schick’s ‘compound’.

Immediately following this tragedy, the whole planet went into lockdown because of the COVID 19 pandemic. Nashville, being a town where music, entertainment, tourism, and restaurants make it the destination it is, and being a town full of musicians who rely on gigs and touring, immediately felt the full impact of the shutdowns. Followed immediately by BLM protests and riots, Nashville unravelled quickly as opposing ideologies and contrary opinions about how to ‘carry on’ clashed in grand fashion. Musicians and the music industry that gives Music City it’s identity, an industry who’s employees often struggle to eek out a living even in the best of times, hangs on the verge of extinction in Nashville, and many wonder if the clubs, the artists, the hotels, the restaurants will survive. Even before 2020 reared its ugly head, concerns of rapid growth and rising housing costs had threatened the survival of an already challenged music industry, as well as the charm and history of Nashville.

It is with this whirlwind of thoughts and fears that Kenny Schick penned the song, The Ghost Of Nashville, a tribute to his hometown of just 3 years. Schick and his wife had fled the San Francisco Bay Area as some of the highest costs of living in the country had gutted the once thriving community of artists there. Schick and his wife knew Nashville was growing quickly, but both were surprised to see a place called ‘Music City’ on a trajectory to let economic growth alone potentially devour the very industry that attracts so many to Nashville from around the world. ‘The Ghost Of Nashville’ leaves listeners with lots of questions, but Schick hopes it inspires thoughts and new ideas that will lead to preserving the heart and soul of Music City.