Noon Edition airs on Fridays at noon on WFIU.

Nashville, Ind. and Brown County have a long history with the arts.

Over the years, famous artists such as T.C. Steele and Marie Goth called Brown County home and the area became known for its colony of talented creators.

Brown County has a strong tradition of live performance as well, with venues like the Brown County Playhouse and the Little Nashville Opry, which burned down in 2009.

Now, Brown County and Nashville are looking to attract more visitors with the construction of the Brown County Music Center, which is set to open in August of this year.

Join us this week on Noon Edition as we discuss arts and entertainment in Brown County.

You can follow us on Twitter @NoonEditionor join us on the air by calling in at 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send us questions for the show at news@indianapublicmedia.org.

Guests

Dana Beth Evans, Executive Director of the Brown County Music Center

Chuck Wills, Vice President of the Nashville Arts and Entertainment Commission

Nancy Crocker, Nashville Town Council member

Conversation

Nancy Crocker highlights the importance of the arts to the financial well-being of Nashville and Brown County.

"Art is our economic development focus in Brown County," says Crocker.

"Our nature, our music, and our art," says Crocker. "The Brown County State Park obviously brings in a lot, and we're working continuously to collaborate with them to pull the campers over to Nashville and get the Nashville people over to the campground. Tourism, art, and nature, that's what supports our economy."

Dana Beth Evans says they'll be strategic in planning concerts at the Brown County Music Center so that they can draw people to the area during months that are typically slower for local businesses.

"We're probably not going to be bringing in a show like Vince Gill in October," says Evans. "We've already got heads in beds, we've already got people in the town. We don't need to do that then. But we do need a show like Vince in February, because then we're down."

Chuck Wills reminds listeners that the Brown County entertainment and art scene is more than just the larger institutions and projects.

"It's great to talk about the big things, but truly we are a community of artists and artisans," says Wills. "There are things going on all the time on a small level, and one thing that's important to hit on is the innovation that we're seeing."