Gibson Offers a Free Guitar to Any Musician Who Lost Their Instrument in the Tennessee Tornado
In the wake of the deadly, tornado-producing storms that ripped through Nashville and Middle Tennessee early on Tuesday morning (March 3), many members of the country music community were left to sort out the wreckage of their homes, local businesses and streets. However, it wasn't just the loss of beloved venues like the Basement East that impacted the local music scene -- many musicians lost their instruments in the storm.
Now, Gibson Guitars is hoping to provide new instruments to those whose guitars were damaged by the tornado. The brand's charitable arm, Gibson Gives, has pledged to give a guitar to any musician who lost their instrument.
"Our goal is to get a guitar back into the hands of anyone who has had their guitar damaged or destroyed in the Tennessee storm," Executive Director of Gibson Gives Dendy Jarrett explains in a press release. "As a Nashville, Tenn.-based company, we are also engaging with our artists and other partners to provide support across many areas."
After the storm, Gibson established the Gibson Gives Guitar Recovery Plan in the interest of quickly helping out those hit by the tornado. Musicians who lost a guitar during the storm can contact Gibson Gives by emailing donation.request@gibson.com and telling their story.
Gibson says that they will provide guitars at their discretion based on proof of damage or loss. The replacements they send out may be demo models or prototypes.
After touching down in Music City, the tornado damaged the East, North and Germantown areas of Nashville before moving east into nearby Wilson County, Benton County and Putnam County. More than 20 people are dead throughout the affected areas, and even more are injured; dozens of buildings have collapsed, and plenty of others sustained anywhere from minor to major damage. Go here to learn how you can help those affected.
LOOK: Scenes From the 2020 Nashville Tornado