Owensboro Kentucky is synonymous with Bluegrass Music. Now they will be recognized as part of the "Americana Music Triangle."
The story of Americana music is a tale of struggle told with the sounds of survival. Defining it is difficult, but one thing is for sure, it cannot be told without Bluegrass music. Now, in order to include bluegrass, Ownesboro is set to be a new point on the Americana Music Triangle.
For the last two years, the Triangle which has its southern most point in New Orleans and over 1,500 miles of twang and soul throughout Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, has not included Kentucky, the birthplace of Bluegrass Music. The addition will make the trail less of a triangle and more of an offshoot, but Terry Woodward former Chair of the Bluegrass Museum thinks it is a good move nonetheless:
“We are doing exactly what they'd like the other communities to do. We're building an international bluegrass center here. We hope to start construction on that before too long. And I think we're going to be an important piece to that whole music trail.”
Owensboro has become a hub for bluegrass music and tourism. It is home to the International Bluegrass Music Museum and holds an annual bluegrass festival that draws about 20,000 people. Woodward notes that the success is not just for the local folk, saying that international fans are “enamored with Americana Music.” The tourism value and international attention has bluegrass enthusiasts excited about the future. The website for the trail is under construction but should be up soon.