After musician Buck McCoy lost all of his possessions as a result of the bombing in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day, he got an unexpected surprise from fellow artist Brad Paisley. McCoy told WTVF that he wasn’t sure when he would be able to get back on stage until he got an Instagram message he didn’t quite believe at first.
“This message came through and said, ‘Hey, it’s Braid Paisley’. I was like, ‘These are my friends gagging me to try and get me to feel better,’” McCoy recalled, sharing that the message was followed by a phone call. “Now when you pick up the phone and you know that voice, it’s like ‘Hey Buck, it’s Brad,’” he said.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“But he said, ‘I know you want to get back to work, I know all your stuff is gone, but I want to send you one of my brand new guitars that I just had a prototype done of and I think if you get this guitar you’re going to want to play again,’” McCoy continued, sharing that the back of the signed guitar reads, “Twang on pal.”
My friend Buck McCoy lost everything in the #christmasdaybombing in #nashville. @BradPaisley stepped up and gave him a new guitar 😭 I love my city and #countrymusic. pic.twitter.com/JFG7zKsufy
— Kelly Sutton (@thekellysutton) January 2, 2021
McCoy lived in an apartment on 2nd Avenue in downtown Nashville, where a suicide bomber parked an RV that exploded in the early hours of Christmas morning. McCoy was able to leave the area and was unharmed but the damage to his apartment caused him to lose all of his belongings, according to a GoFundMe page. He also thought he had lost his cat, Molly, but Metro Police found her in the apartment and she was transferred to a specialty hospital.
“My life has changed so dramatically since that moment. In a way it’s changed horrifically but in a way it’s changed good,” McCoy said. “This has been like an overwhelming response of people just reaching out to me and I don’t think this would happen in any other city anywhere.”
On Facebook, Paisley shared a link to the GoFundMe and wrote, “Hey y’all, let’s help Buck. It’s Nashville. That’s what we do.” As he prepared to welcome 2021, the singer reflected on the past year in the caption of an Instagram photo of himself Zooming with fans.
“Here at the end of 2020, there are so many things that stand out for me,” he wrote. “Most especially, I’m so thankful for the connection I have felt with all of you. Thank you for inviting me into your zooms and your lives In the middle of this craziness. Someday we will all gather again, knowing each other better, rock out together, and never again take things like that for granted. May that be our 2021. God bless and Happy New year. #2021.”
