For the Love of Branson: The Music Mountains

Music has always been the lifeblood of the Ozarks. The original Scots-Irish settlers of this region brought with them their folk ballads and fiddle tunes. But above and beyond that, they brought with them their family traditions. It became customary for early Ozarks families to gather on the front porches of their homesteads and pass down their oral traditions through song.

And while country and bluegrass music had its roots in the ethnic groups of this region, the true genre that was born here became known as MOUNTAIN MUSIC. This type of music, of course, being showcased by the early performing families of Branson, namely the Presleys and the Mabes. And they weren’t just musicians. This form of cultural exposition included the classic Ozarks archetype of the hillbilly comedian…think Droopy Drawers and Herkimer.

So it begs the question, shouldn’t our native section of the Ozarks claim this particular type of cultural expression as our own? As mountain music evolved towards the Branson Boom of the 1990s, certain elements of those original country hoedowns remained. Even as the shows transitioned from caverns and hollers to state-of-the-art theatres on the Highway 76 strip, they still had hillbilly performers, fiddle tunes and tributes to God and country.

That is a much different performance than takes place in Austin, Texas, or even Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville has the Grand Ole Opry and traditional concert halls while Austin generally consists of gigs in bars and the occasional music festival such as South by Southwest. But Branson, like I said, is different. We have always called ourselves the Live Music Show Capital of the World because that’s exactly what we put on, music shows. Not necessarily concerts (although we have those, too) and you’d be hard pressed to find too many bars in Branson. But the live music shows which evolved from mountain music shindigs and country hoedowns is what this community is known for. They last almost universally for two hours with a 15-minute intermission and nearly 100% of the time include a gospel segment and a tribute to American veterans. There’s a formula that makes a Branson show unique and the best of them follow that script to a tee, broken up intermittently by that classic hillbilly comedian interrupting the ceremonies.

And when you, once again, think about Mountain Music, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the experience of going to an outdoor Branson show where the backdrop wasn’t a curtain but instead the beautiful and ancient peaks of the Ozarks. I’m thinking specifically of Silver Dollar City’s Echo Hollow and the Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Theatre.

So therefore, I’d like to put forth a proposal. If Los Angeles is known as Hollywood and Nashville carries the name Music City, wouldn’t it be fun to colloquially name the White River Hills that surround our wonderfully scenic town, the Music Mountains. I, for one, would buy the t-shirt and I think Grandma would, too.