Nashville has lengthy been often called the “Music Metropolis.” And for a lot of, Austin additionally enjoys appreciable cachet as an American music capital. However myriad different city aspirants covet a fame as up-and-coming meccas for music lovers.

On this 111^th anniversary of the start of iconic “Mud Bowl Troubadour” Woody Guthrie, we practice a white-hot highlight on the music-oriented actual property within the fast-growing metro proper up the street from Guthrie’s birthplace, in addition to the music-focused constructed environments of two different rising music metropolises.

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Guthrie was born in Okemah, Okla., not 24 hours however relatively 65 miles from Tulsa, on July 14, 1912. T-City noticed that legacy and proximity by christening the Woody Guthrie Heart public museum and archives within the Tulsa Arts District a decade in the past. It is sensible, then, that Bob Dylan Heart, devoted to the life and works of the larger-than-life singer-songwriter whose biggest affect was Guthrie, opened in Tulsa final yr.

“I hear each day, ‘Tulsa wasn’t actually on the map for me earlier than, however I heard in regards to the Bob Dylan Heart and determined to come back go to,’ and so they go on to go to the opposite music sights,” says Steve Jenkins, director of The Bob Dylan Heart.

“The Dylan Heart has turn into a bonus for folks coming via Tulsa on tour. These band members routinely say, ‘Tulsa is basically taking place.’ There’s a fantastic ecosystem right here of stay music and music sights.”

The erstwhile Oil Capital of the World is dotted with a protracted checklist of shrines for lovers of music and music historical past. Cain’s Ballroom, unveiled in 1930 as “Cain’s Dance Academy,” has hosted such storied acts as Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, and lives on as we speak as a standing-room-only music setting, with reserved seating for particular exhibits. Different magnets for music lovers embody The Colony, the place George Harrison as soon as performed an impromptu set; the jazz speakeasy LowDown; and Mercury Lounge, the setting for performances by the town’s biggest trendy folks, nation and rock musicians.

One other treasure is The Church Studio, a church inbuilt 1915 that Tulsa-raised rock icon Leon Russell purchased in 1972 and transformed right into a recording studio and workplace of Shelter Information. Proprietor Teresa Knox stories Tom Petty was found at The Church Studio, and Willie Nelson, Stevie Surprise, J.J. Cale and Harrison all recorded there. Guests are welcome 10 to three p.m. Monday via Saturday to view a 6,000-piece assortment of memorabilia, starting from devices to handwritten lyrics.

Fort Wayne, Indiana

For those who’re out to earn a fame as a metropolis recognized for music, it helps to be house floor for the most important on-site stock of any music retailer within the U.S. That’s the enviable distinction of the Hoosier State’s second-largest metropolis. Fort Wayne native Chuck Surack based Sweetwater Sound, which has grown to virtually 40,000 sq. toes of prime gear. In 2020, Sweetwater unveiled a brand new $52.5 million distribution middle 4 instances as massive as its former hub.

The brand new middle is house to Sweetwater’s Guitar Gallery and Guitar Store, electronics restore, installations and extra. Sweetwater’s worldwide affect is such that 40 p.c of its workforce has moved to Fort Wayne from origins throughout the globe. Surack additionally owns Fort Wayne’s The Clyde Theatre at Quimby Village, a postwar-era film palace reworked right into a state-of-the-art stay music efficiency corridor.

“Sweetwater and its 2,500 staff have performed an integral half in revitalizing the native and regional music scene,” mentioned CEO John Hopkins. “Because the nation’s largest on-line music instrument and professional audio gear retailers, we now have recruited a few of the most gifted musicians from everywhere in the world and helped them relocate to Fort Wayne. They type bands, they write and file authentic music and so they carry out stay at varied venues . . . The Sweetwater Academy has over 1,200 college students and is dedicated to growing and galvanizing the subsequent era of music makers, who will guarantee a vibrant music scene in Northeast Indiana for years to come back.”

Chattanooga, Tennessee

The burg often called “Scenic Metropolis” gained’t let Nashville garner all of the Tennessee glory as a music metropolis. The downtown district options the Chattanooga Choo Choo campus, house to an array of music-centric settings. Amongst them is Songbirds Basis, a museum showcasing guitar collections spanning the Nineteen Twenties to the ‘70s. The Sign music venue, internet hosting stay music and creative performances, is transferring to the previous Chattanooga Choo Choo Conference Heart to welcome extra artists and company and revitalize an present downtown cultural area. Historic Tivoli Theatre, Troopers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium and Walker Theatre are architecturally splendid music venues internet hosting scores of performances yearly.

Says Barry White, president and CEO of Chattanooga Tourism Co., “The Chattanooga Choo Choo is woven into the material of our metropolis’s wealthy historical past and can endlessly have a spot within the Nice American Songbook, due to the legendary Glenn Miller.”