Owensboro consultant reports $300,000 private investment, $500,000 state allocation and projects for Bluegrass Music Initiative

Steve Johnson, the consultant leading the Bluegrass Music Initiative, gave the Owensboro Board of Commissioners an update on the program’s three-year effort and the projects it has advanced.

Johnson told the board the initiative began under a $300,000 private consulting pledge spread over three years and that the Kentucky General Assembly provided a separate $500,000 appropriation in 2024 to support infrastructure work. “If you’re from Owensboro, we’re famous, particularly outside of Owensboro,” Johnson said, describing national and international interest generated by the city’s music projects.

The update summarized work across six strategic imperatives Johnson said were developed during an initial assessment: brand development, increasing visitation, recruiting music businesses and artists downtown, creating events, promoting higher-education music programs, and identifying sustainable funding. Johnson said the privately funded consulting engagement was set to sunset on Nov. 11 and that about eight projects were in the budget pipeline, with three nearly complete and two actively underway.

Johnson described a $140,000 initial investment tied to Kentucky Guitar Works and Ferris Guitars that helped transform a vacant building into a flagship project. He said the initiative expects “nearly an 8 to 1 return on investment” and cited $2,370,000 as a working estimate of returns tied to completed and anticipated projects. Johnson credited partners including Mike Simpson, Matt Hayden, Scott Napier and others for pledges and support.

He also noted efforts to leverage Owensboro’s existing institutions, including the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, and to coordinate with higher-education partners. Johnson said the initiative’s projects aim to move visitors and music-related business to downtown and to support a broader “nighttime economy” strategy. He announced an upcoming Greater Owensboro Music Census and asked commissioners and staff to remain engaged as the next phase is finalized.

The update was informational; no votes were taken during Johnson’s presentation.