Where Music Meets Place

Music cities are special places. They don’t develop and grow through the analysis of market data and the implementation of local government ‘strategies’. No. Rather, they emerge through the connection people make to a place where they can engage with other likeminded people. There are many things that can make a place one of TheMusicCities, and at the end of the day, if you connect to a place through music, or to music through a place, that’s all you need.

Please tell us if you think your city is one of The Music Cities!

We’re not talking about stadium concerts, huge festivals out in a cornfield, or cover bands playing in a biker bar. We’re talking about authentic places where musical creativity drives entrepreneurship, quality of life, and placemaking. Places that people want to be because of the music. Places that people think of because of music. Musicians that people think of because of a place. Places where music drives economic growth and quality of life. Places where music improves the public realm.

This is about placemaking and driving entrepreneurship and cultural arts through the universal language of music. We talk a lot about art and culture and how they are important drivers of economic growth. However, not all genres of art are for everyone, and art is seen through the eye of the beholder. That’s what makes music unique, and first among equals in the arts.

Not everyone is into museums. Not everyone is into the opera. Not everyone is into theater. Not everyone appreciates visual arts or sculpture. But EVERYONE has their favorite type of music. Each person’s musical preference may differ, and there may be genres that someone dislikes, but have you ever met anyone who dislikes all music? We certainly haven’t.

Music stirs emotions. It helps us relive important events in our lives. It triggers deja vu for people and places. And that musical connection to place is how people engage with one another. It is what helps make a place open and welcoming. It is how we discover things we like about other cultures we may not understand and meet people we would not otherwise get to know. It is how strangers find their tribe when they arrive at a new place. It is also a strong economic driver that often supports a hidden economy that needs to be exposed.