Claims professionals from around the country will soon congregate in Nashville, Tenn. for the annual PLRB/LIRB conference, but Music City looks—and arguably feels—much different than it did less than a year ago. Last May, torrential rains battered the Greater Nashville area, as well as other parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi. Devastated by the resultant flash flooding, the waterlogged city more so resembled a Katrina-ravished New Orleans than a bustling Mecca for talented artists representing a wide swath of musical genres.

That's because more than 13 inches of rain caused the Cumberland River to rise 52 feet and spill over its banks into Nashville. Middle Tennessee sustained the brunt of the storm's wrath. In its January 2011 assessment, the National Weather Service reported that flood waters claimed 24 lives and that property damages in the Nashville area alone had swelled to $2 billion.

Of course, this figure does not take into account the detriment to the rich musical heritage and infrastructure or the anguish of working musicians stripped of their livelihoods. The city's ruthless tempest swept away priceless relics—including vintage guitars, mandolins, and, as the Schermerhorn Symphony Center reported, two Steinway pianos—silencing them forever and sending lingering reverberations throughout the music industry.