Drowned guitars

Nashville quietly flooded.

Steve Buchanan, president of the Grand Ole Opry Group, said workers stayed late on Sunday night, just before the building flooded, rescuing material from the Opry’s tape and photo archives and its museum.

“The real high-quality stuff, the stuff we were concerned about, was saved,” Mr. Buchanan said. Musicians’ instrument lockers at the Opry were flooded, however.

The Opry, which is relocating its performances to downtown areas not affected by the flooding, is becoming a focal point for the country music industry’s recovery efforts. Mr. Paisley scheduled a last-minute performance there Friday.

“It’s time to rally, and that’s exactly how it feels,” Mr. Paisley said. “I see why tonight, our performance in the Opry is maybe more important than the first time I ever played it.”