Editor Steve Cavendish announced that he will leave Washington City Paper at the end of June to become the editor of the Nashville Scene.

Calling it a “very difficult decision” in a memo to the City Paper staff, Cavendish cited the sudden death in April of his friend, Scene Editor Jim Ridley, as a factor.

“The Scene is a paper I love very much, one that I grew up reading, and it’s an important voice in my hometown,” he said. “It means a lot to me, personally, to help a place where Jim devoted his entire career. I love D.C., but home has a powerful pull.”

Cavendish joined the City Paper a year ago, having previously served as the news editor of the Scene. SouthComm owns both papers.

Publisher Eric Norwood said the paper would move quickly to name a successor.