Dierks Bentley photo courtesy of artist.

It rained. And rained. And rained some more.

Nashville took in over 13 inches of water in a 48-hour period in May, and some areas of the region were swamped with as much as 20 inches. It was more than the rivers and streams could handle, and by May 3, the drainage system was overflowing. The stage and much of the floor seating at the Grand Ole Opry House was covered, water seeped into one room at the Country Music Hall of Fame, LP Field — the site of the CMA Music Festival — became a swamp, and an instrument storage unit was drowned, destroying guitars and equipment owned by Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Toby Keith and Vince Gill, among others.

It took a while for people to notice outside of Middle Tennessee. The focus of the major news organizations at the time was on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. So Music City rolled up its sleeves and started digging out on its own.

The Nashville flood is No. 1 on the list as GAC concludes its countdown of the top country news stories of 2010.

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Pictured L-R: Tenn. Governor Phil Bredesen, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. Photo credit GAC staff.

As predicted, Garth Brooks will perform a major concert in Nashville to benefit victims of the May flood in Middle Tennessee. In fact, it might turn into a bundle of shows, depending on demand.

Garth will play the Bridgestone Arena Dec. 17 with Trisha Yearwood, with every dime of every $25 ticket earmarked for flood relief. Not only is he performing for free, he booked the venue at no charge, and every person taking part in the production is working for no pay.

And it’s not a stripped-down version of Garth’s show. It’s a return to the same full-blown production he last presented at the arena in 1998.

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Lady Antebellum on stage at the Ryman Auditorium during the Music City Keep On Playin' benefit concert. Photo credit: Rick Diamond

Lady Antebellum already announced that proceeds from their sold out fan club party on June 10 during the CMA Music Festival will be donated to Nashville flood relief efforts. Now, office supply chain OfficeMax has announced it is committing $50,000 to a fundraiser challenge as part of the fan club event.

“Our Nashville-based associates have participated in relief efforts since the flood occurred and we are very excited to join Lady Antebellum in doing even more for this community,” says Paul Hertz, OfficeMax, executive vice president, retail operations, “As a company, we are acutely aware of challenges schools face in the best of times and we wanted to bring additional support to Nashville schools at this time of dire need.”

OfficeMax will match every dollar donated by Lady Antebellum fans for Nashville schools up to a total of $50,000. OfficeMax is committed year-round to helping schools and teachers, most notably through their annual event, “A Day Made Better,” where more than 1,000 teachers at 1,000 schools across the country receive $1,000 worth of classroom supplies.

While tickets to attend the Lady Antebellum fan club party may be sold out, fans can still stream the event live online through www.livestream.com for a minimum $5 donation.

Lady A has been heavily involved in efforts to help Nashville recover from record flooding and recently took part in GAC’s Music City Keep on Playin’ – A Benefit for Flood Relief at the historic Ryman Auditorium where more than $1.8 million dollars was raised. Visit our photo gallery to see all the highlights from the event!

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Dolly Parton with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. Photo courtesy of the Mayor's office.

Dolly Parton managed to mix community stewardship and a healthy dose of humor as she contributed $250,000 to Nashville’s flood-relief efforts on Wednesday.

Dolly collected the money from admissions at Dollywood and her Dixie Stampede along with funds that were donated by fans through her website, The Tennessean reported. Wednesday’s check was given to the United Way’s Restore The Dream Fund to help residents of Middle Tennessee dig out from the horrific flood that deluged Music City a month ago.

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Lady Antebellum on stage at the Ryman Auditorium during the Music City Keep On Playin' benefit concert. Photo credit: Rick Diamond

Lady Antebellum is doing their part to help Nashville recover from record flooding. The award-winning trio recently performed and answered telephones at GAC’s Music City Keep on Playin’ benefit at the Ryman Auditorium and now they are giving their fans a way to help in the effort. All proceeds from Lady Antebellum’s sold out fan club event on June 10 during this year’s CMA Music Festival will go towards the Nashville flood relief.

“It was great to be a part of the benefit at the Ryman…to see how everyone is coming together for Nashville and the surrounding areas is really inspiring,” Dave Haywood said. “We want to keep doing our part because it isn’t over yet. Music City has a long way to go.”

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In this week’s episode of Martina Moments, you’ll get a backstage look at the recent GAC benefit concert: Music City Keep On Playin’: A Benefit for Flood Relief. Martina McBride brought down the house with her version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” as well as worked the phone bank like a pro: Continue Reading

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Brad Paisley photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

It’s been one crazy run-up to Brad Paisley’s H2O World Tour, which starts Friday in Virginia Beach. Brad developed an appropriate charitable component for the tour by teaming with Hope Through Healing Hands, an agency dedicated to solving clean-water issues. He put together a Water World Plaza that includes a dunk tank and a fishing simulator. And he built new staging.

Mother Nature, however, got carried away with the water theme. Some of Brad’s set was ruined when Nashville was flooded earlier this month, and he lost many of his guitars, which were in storage. The Bridgestone Arena, where he had intended to rehearse, took in water, and he was forced to wait 10 days to prep for H2O with his band. In the aftermath of it all, Brad was one of the key performers when GAC presented Music City Keep On Playin’ — A Benefit For Flood Relief, and he and Kimberly Williams-Paisley chipped in $100,000 to help kick-start the fund-raising, which currently stands at $1.8 million.

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Scripps Networks Interactive check presentation (l to r:) Ellen Lehman, president CFMT, Ed Hardy, president GAC, GAC’s Storme Warren, Suzanne Alexander, Food Network’s Pat Neely, Gina Neely, HGTV’s Vern Yip, Travel Channel’s Samantha Brown, Adam Richman. Credit: Ed Rode/edrode.biz

From large corporations to small kids, their goal was the same: help middle Tennesseans rebuild after devastating floods. Donations from Sunday night’s live concert event and telethon, Music City Keep on Playin’ – A Benefit for Flood Relief on Great American Country Television, have reached $1.8 million and that amount will grow as donations made at www.gactv.com/help and through a texting component will continue through this Sunday, May 23.

With an all-volunteer production staff, crew and talent line-up, 100% of the money raised is going to help those most affected by what has been estimated to be $1.5 billion in damages.  Organizers GAC, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau and Gaylord Entertainment incurred all necessary expenses tied to the event.

The televised concert included performances by Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Rodney Atkins, Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler, CeCe Winans, Keb’ Mo’, Jaci Velasquez, Randy Montana and Will Hoge.  NASCAR stars Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer also appeared. Hosts James Denton and Kimberly Williams-Paisley were joined by on-air personalities from GAC, Food Network, The Travel Channel and HGTV. Stars also spent time manning phone banks alongside a fleet of volunteers. Click here to see photos from the night.

Music City Keep on Playin’ – A Benefit for Flood Relief will re-air tomorrow, Thursday, May 20, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m./Eastern on GAC. Phones will be open during the re-air and donations can also still be made at www.gactv.com/help or by texting “GAC” to 501501 to make a $10 donation to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Continue Reading

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Lady Antebellum on stage at the Ryman Auditorium during the Music City Keep On Playin' benefit concert. Photo credit: Photo by Ed Rode/edrode.biz.

The stars came out in a big way, as did a number of companies and the American people when GAC presented Music City Keep On Playin’ — A Benefit For Flood Relief.

Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and Dierks Bentley were among the artists who delivered nearly 20 songs during Sunday’s three-hour live special from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The event raised more than $1.7 million as of midnight CT and counting.

Music City Keep On Playin’ was the first national fundraiser organized to aid victims of a devastating flood that engulfed much of Nashville two weeks ago. In a scant 48 hours, the city took in over 13 inches of rain, more than the Middle Tennessee ground could absorb. The Cumberland River swelled over its banks, damaging some of the city’s landmarks, including the Grand Ole Opry House, LP Field, Bridgestone Arena and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Sheryl Crow will perform at the Music City Keep On Playin' benefit concert presented by GAC on Sunday, May 16 at 8p ET.

Sheryl Crow has just been added to the incredible list of performers for GAC’s Music City Keep on Playin’ - A Benefit for Flood Relief, a live concert and telethon to aid middle Tennesseans affected by the recent flood disaster.  The concert and telethon will be aired live and commercial-free from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium this Sunday, May 16, 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. Eastern (live in all time zones) on GAC and will re-air at 11:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.  The concert will also be available online via a live stream at GACTV.com/help.  Plus, the event will be carried live on Sirius/XM satellite radio.

Artists previously announced to perform include Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Kellie Pickler, Rodney Atkins, CeCe Winans, Jaci Velasquez, Keb’ Mo’, Randy Montana and Will Hoge. Continue Reading

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