- July 1, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Business
For two weeks, Chris Cobb checked the weather forecast obsessively. Exit/In, the historic Nashville music venue he owns, was set to host its first live event since Covid-19 shut it down.
He had been plotting a return for months, rehiring staff, negotiating with artists and transforming an old shipping container into an outdoor stage with a new 40-foot mural. Money flowed out of the club’s checking account. Revenue from ticket sales trickled in.
On June 1, a day before the first two bands were scheduled to perform, forecasters called for a greater than 90% chance of rain, as well as thunder. “It’s 444 days that we’ve been closed. We are going to get rained,” said Mr. Cobb. “It’s a cancel-the-show forecast.”
Covid-19 devastated the live-events business as venues went dark due to lockdowns and a lack of demand. In metropolitan Nashville, home to a vibrant live-music scene, revenue and employment fell…
