Bright & Early: It’s A Cluster Edition

Good morning, Nashville. If ever there were a perfect storm of traffic congestion downtown Nashville, tonight would be the night. Road closures for the Titans’ final preseason game will start at 4:30pm, followed by the wave of folks pouring into the Bridgestone Arena for Brooks & Dunn’s last-ever show (well, until the inevitable reunion tour). The Ryman will also be hosting the Opry Country Classics, and together, all of these things will bring an estimated 125,000 extra bodies into the downtown area right around rush hour. Plan accordingly! On the upside, business owners are expecting some much-needed extra love from the tourists tonight.

• Amazing weather alert. Did someone say “fall?” Highs on Saturday are expected to stay in the upper-70s with plenty of sun, and although it will probably be blistering hot again by next week, it’s nice to know we’re moving in the right direction.
• Save a mural, ride a…? As we all know, John Rich is passionate about a lot of things apparently including a mural on West End that shows the faces of Vanderbilt coaches. When no one stepped up to fund an update of the mural to include new coach Robbie Caldwell, our favorite local celeb recognized the injustice and shelled out the cash on his own.
• Bits & pieces. Hey Nashville Zoo, where’s our ice rink? … Tennessee’s honey bee population is being threatened by a highly-contagious bee disease … The fancy new website for the Tennessee General Assembly won an award this week … The Murfreesboro mosque situation just keeps getting worse.

Photo by Richard Call.