Nashville’s imperiled Exit/In club thanked Paramore for raising nearly $50,000 to help save the venue via sales of its “Tiny Hot Topic B**ch” shirt. The club, which has been closed to the public since the pandemic started in early 2020, was in talks to be sold by co-owners Chris and Telisha Cobb to North Carolina-based real estate company Grubb Properties.
In a tweet on Friday (May 14) the venue thanked fans for buying the shirt, which raised $45,000, writing, “Wow, I’m astounded! Thank you all and Hayley for the intention, action and for delivering in such a huge way! It means so much … we’re working towards reopening and were able to hire the entire full time team back. Everyone started yesterday and I shared this info at our first meeting in over a year. Your generosity was so moving for the entire team.”
The goal, owners said, is to keep the venue independent. “It must remain independent to best serve Nashville’s creative working class,” they added. After launching a GoFundMe to keep the doors to the 50-year-old club open — blowing past the $200,000 goal by nearly $70,000 — the Cobbs said that if the purchase is not successful, the funds will be donated to Music Venues Alliance Nashville to #Keep615Live and the National Independent Venue Association.
Hotel developer AJ Capital has been facing off with Nashville politicians and musicians who have been protesting the company’s acquisition of the building housing the Exit/In. In their note, the Cobbs said that AJ Capital has publicly stated their intent to keep the venue open, “but have no track record owning and operating independent music venues. They also have a poor track record of working with communities.”
They said they are “deeply concerned” that AJ Capital will be “extremely detrimental” to the club’s future, announcing they’ve partnered with a financial backer who is willing to help them raise the same amount the developer is paying for the site.
See the statement below.
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