For the past seven years, some of Nashville’s most talented songwriters have traveled to Hope Town on the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas every year for a “Songwriters in Paradise” music festival. They have a deep and lasting relationship with the people who live there and even wrote a song called “Hope Town,” in their honor.
“It’s a very small community and those people are like family to us,” says singer/ songwriter Patrick Davis, the creator of “Songwriters in Paradise” (also called SIP). “Those little islands have around 500 to 1000 people year-round without the tourists. It’s like Mayberry, just in the Bahamas. And Hope Town was part of the first group of islands hit by Hurricane Dorian.”
After the storm, Davis set up a GoFundMe Campaign and was surprised by how quickly the total began to climb. The fund has collected nearly $420,000, so far. Then, he got a text message from one of his fellow SIP members who suggested they do a benefit show at the Ryman, the music venue in Nashville that once housed the Grand Ole Opry.
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The list of artists now set to perform also includes Florida Georgia Line, Kristian Bush of Sugarland, LOCASH, Chip Esten (from the TV show “Nashville”), and many, many more. It IS a sold out show.
Read more on Forbes.com here.
