There is only one city named "Music City", but any city can be a music city with the right connection between music, people and place. But in addition to Nashville, there are other cities that when you think of them, music often is your very next thought. Cities that are known for specific genres, like country, jazz or grunge, and cities that are known for certain types of music expression, like live music or recording. These are our initial...
There are thousands of places around the country that have music, but there are a few special places that were actually made by music. Places that would not exist, at least not as they are now or were at a special moment in time, without the presence of music that infiltrated everything around it. Sunset Strip, West Hollywood 6th Street, Austin Haight Ashbury, San Fransisco Lower Broadway and Printer's Alley, Nashville Fort Worth Stockyards...
There are some cities that are defined by their musicians. That when you think of the city, that musician might come to mind, and when you think of that musician, it is likely that their city, or something about their city, pops into your head. Our initial list of city defining musicians is here. Louis Armstrong, New Orleans Motley Crue, Los Angeles Grateful Dead, San Fransisco Elvis, Memphis Jimmy Buffett, Key West Bonus: Detroit is definitely...
There are thousands of music related events around the country every year, but very few even make the cut for consideration for TheMusicCities inaugural list. We're not interested here in the big, famous music festivals like Coachella or Ultra. We want events that contribute year-round to a place's identity as one of TheMusicCities. Music events that make you think of a place, and make you want to visit that place for its music even when the...
Our inaugural entry for this category is the City of North Miami, Florida. As we worked in the community to help assist with revitalization and redevelopment, we started looking for things that were present, but unseen, and making connections to them. As I started looking, the connections quickly became apparent. I realized that as a musician, I visited North Miami to rehearse. To record. To buy my gear. To get my gear serviced and to shoot the...
There are many types of musician entrepreneurs. They go into ventures that are as diverse as there are genres of music. They include investments in record labels and production, real estate, beer and spirits and many other industries. But our interest is in those musician entrepreneurs that build brands around places. Places where people can engage with each other as part of a community, and places that contribute to the area as a whole. Sammy...
Often, songs are the connection that people make to a place, either through an event that happened while the song was playing, and sometimes because the song itself is about a place where the lister would rather be. Our first entry on this list defines placemaking through song, because it started only as an idea of a place, a fantasy of an ideal place that for its legions of fans became a defining lifestyle. It also eventually became real...
There are some music related businesses that help define TheMusicCities. These are places that even non-musicians seek out or find when they are visiting these places and are embedded as part of the city's character. Our inaugural list of businesses that help define music cities is: Ernest Tubb's Record Store (Nashville) Gruhn's Guitars (Nashville) The Haight Ashbury Music Center (San Fransisco) Rudy's Music Soho (New York City) Goner Records...
