Nashville Bars Get National Attention as TMZ Calls Music City “No Mask-Ville”

Nashville got called out by celebrity gossip mavens TMZ yesterday, as a captioned video from crowded Lower Broadway Saturday night gave Music City a new, far less flattering nickname — “No Mask-Ville”.

In reality, Downtown Nashville’s Broadway and Midtown have seen nights like this for a few weeks, even after Mayor Cooper’s mask mandate and forced bar shutdowns. All establishments are supposed to be open only at half-capacity, but this video plus many other circulating downtown photos look like that just isn’t the case downtown.

Bars that don’t make the majority of earnings from food are supposed to be closed given the mayor’s orders, but many local business owners have been vocal about many Broadway bar owners’ blatant disregard for the new rules. The video shows Metro police cars near the end, but as has been the situation for weeks, no one is taking action on the non-socially distanced crowds or the disregard for mask orders.

Younger people in Nashville (specifically the 21-30 range) are contracting coronavirus at a higher rate than older people. Current COVID-19 Davidson County cases total 17,836, with 159 deaths.

• Here’s why coronavirus is out of control [TMZ]