[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S21-S22]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING OWENSBORO, THE ``BLUEGRASS CAPITAL OF THE WORLD''

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, few Kentucky creations have had as much 
impact on American culture as Bluegrass music. It is the spring from 
which all other country music flows and one of our State's most world-
renowned exports. Owensboro, KY, has played an important role in 
maintaining and promoting Bluegrass history, style, and heritage and, 
in recognition of that work, was recently named the Bluegrass Capital 
of the World. Today, I honor Owensboro for earning this title and 
helping preserve Kentucky's proud Bluegrass culture.
  Owensboro's deep connection to Bluegrass music dates back to the 
genre's earliest days. Bill Monroe, widely recognized as the ``Father 
of Bluegrass'', was born just outside Owensboro in Ohio County, KY. His 
musical group, the Blue Grass Boys, adapted the unique style of music 
they found in Scotch-Irish communities in Kentucky's Appalachian 
foothills and popularized it for a mainstream audience. Listeners, 
entranced by Blue Grass Boys' soaring melodies, jaunty rhythm, and 
homespun style, started a craze for Bluegrass music that brought 
national fame to generations of Kentucky artists.
  Owensboro's leaders have recognized their unique role in Bluegrass 
history and sought to capitalize on that connection. City officials 
ushered in the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown 
Owensboro in 1991, inviting both tourists and locals to learn about and 
enjoy Bluegrass history. The city's annual ``River of Music Party'', or 
ROMP, welcomes more than 20,000 visitors to the banks of the Ohio River 
to celebrate Bluegrass artists and help sustain this proud Kentucky 
tradition. And just recently, Owensboro Mayor Tom Watson signed the 
official proclamation naming his city the Bluegrass Capital of the 
World, cementing Owensboro's important place in Bluegrass history.
  Owensboro's leaders have also initiated a strong campaign to educate 
and popularize Bluegrass among the next generation of Kentuckians. The 
Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum features rotating exhibits 
highlighting key parts of Bluegrass history and hosts artists that 
promote the genre. The museum offers lessons in musical instruments 
like the mandolin, banjo, and fiddle, helping ensure the survival of 
their unique sounds and style. The museum's Bluegrass in the Schools 
program has introduced Bluegrass music to nearly 10,000 elementary 
students, including in 24 Owensboro-area schools, connecting young 
Kentuckians with their State's culture and history.
  Bluegrass music is the soundtrack of Kentucky. From the first pluck 
of the banjo, strum of the guitar, or drone of the fiddle, the genre is 
immediately recognizable. Owensboro's leaders have done incredible, 
extensive work to preserve and promote this unique Kentucky music and 
are incredibly deserving of their city's recent designation as 
Bluegrass Capital of the World.
  Mr. President, the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer highlighted the 
city's new title in a recent article. I ask unanimous consent the 
article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

         [From the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, Nov. 24, 2021]

                     Bluegrass Capital of the World

       The City of Owensboro has officially been designated the 
     ``Bluegrass Capital of the World'' after more than a year of 
     effort by the city and the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum.
       Mayor Tom Watson officially signed the proclamation 
     permanently linking Owensboro and bluegrass music during a 
     Nov. 12 ceremony at the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum.
       ``About 15 months ago we started talking about this idea, 
     and it has taken a little while to get it to this point, but 
     we are here today to declare the City of Owensboro as the 
     Bluegrass Music Capital of the World,'' Watson said during 
     the event.
       Watson called Chris Joslin, museum executive director, to 
     the stage and asked him to turn around so he could officially 
     sign the proclamation on his back, telling him, ``a lot of 
     this is going to be on your back.''
       ``The idea is to create a sustainable structure and utilize 
     our bluegrass music presence to build out economic 
     development opportunities and increase tourism,'' Watson 
     said.

[[Page S22]]

     ``In short, attract new businesses that manufacture or 
     provide services that are consumed outside our community 
     connected to bluegrass music and attract people to Owensboro, 
     the epicenter of bluegrass music.''
       Joslin said Owensboro began celebrating its bluegrass 
     heritage during the early 1980s, when a concert series was 
     formed pairing bluegrass artists with the Owensboro Symphony 
     Orchestra.
       ``I think it demonstrated that bluegrass music could be a 
     differentiator for this community, creating something unique, 
     creating something that no other community has,'' he said.
       Joslin said the opening of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and 
     Museum at 311 West 2nd St. in Owensboro in 2018 signaled to 
     the world that the organization means business and is part of 
     an economic strategy that begins with cultural tourism, and 
     can grow as more and more people and industry related to the 
     music industry comes to the city.
       ``I have said before that I believe that most communities 
     like ours, they want to be known for something,'' Joslin 
     said. ``Something that matters, something that is authentic 
     and compelling, something that has a positive, tangible 
     impact on their community. I can tell you that if the news of 
     that something extends beyond the city limits and the county 
     line, well there is opportunity there, and opportunity 
     attracts people, it attracts investment.''
       ``Friends, I can tell you that this is our time, this is 
     our opportunity, and we are claiming it today as the 
     Bluegrass Music Capital of the World.''
       Mike Simpson, chairman of the International Bluegrass Music 
     Association, provided a brief history of the bluegrass 
     musical genre.
       ``The odyssey of this original American art form started 
     right down the road here in Ohio County, and much of its 
     history can be traced right here to Owensboro, Kentucky,'' 
     Simpson said.
       Simpson cited early bluegrass musicians Arnold Schultz, 
     Pendleton Vandiver and his grandfather, Cleveland Baize, as 
     forging a music combining Irish, Scottish and blues music.
       ``Pendleton Vandiver had a nephew by the name of William 
     Smith Monroe that listened to that music, and he and his 
     brothers, Charlie and Birch, they left Ohio County and they 
     took it to the world,'' Simpson said. ``In 1936 they signed a 
     record deal with RCA Victor, and soon the bluegrass music was 
     being spread across radio airwaves across this country.''
       Simpson said in 1945, bluegrass came to the Grand Ole Opry 
     at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium when Chubby Wise, 
     Howard Watts, Lester Flat and Earl Scruggs stepped onto the 
     stage.
       ``That was bluegrass' sonic boom,'' Simpson said.
       Today, bluegrass is a celebrated part of Owensboro's 
     culture. With the only dedicated Bluegrass Hall of Fame and 
     Museum, the annual ROMP Festival attracting 25,000 annually 
     to enjoy bluegrass and roots music, as well as bluegrass-
     themed media being created in Owensboro, it has become 
     ingrained in the city's culture.
       Simpson said Owensboro being officially known and 
     celebrated as the ``Bluegrass Capital of the World'' was ``a 
     long time coming.''

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