Like everything else in 2020, country music was full of unexpected moments—many of them painful. Even before the coronavirus pandemic started spreading wide in the U.S. and forcing shutdowns, Nashville, Tennessee—country music’s epicenter—was fighting its own share of battles. A tornado whipped through The Music City the first week of March, causing severe damage to the East Nashville neighborhood, where many country artists live and work. Even when engulfed by damage and sickness, the country community rallied. Even when they lost some of the greatest among them, like John Prine, Kenny Rogers and Charley Pride, country musicians found the strength to stay engaged with fans (if only through livestreams), fight for much-needed change and share some truly stellar records in the process.