Amplify Nashville Festival

Brown County Music Center, Saturday, December 2, 2023

~by Jeff Tryon

Amplify Nashville Festival will be held at the Brown County Music Center on Saturday, December 2, 2023, showcasing five local/ regional bands that are rising up in the Midwest music scene and on their way to becoming national touring acts.

The show will feature Cody Ikerd and The Sidewinders, King Bee & The Stingers, Bleu Django, Flick N Rainwater, and The Hammer and the Hatchet with their full band, The Implements of Destruction.

Proceeds from the event, organized by the Brown County Music Association, will benefit Mother’s Cupboard Community Kitchen and local musicians.

Bob Blass, president of Brown County Music Association, said the idea of Amplify Nashville is to give exposure to promising musicians on the cusp of going to the next level, “bringing future stars to the big stage in Nashville, Indiana.” Music label representatives and other music industry people will be in the crowd along with local music lovers.

“We feel like as a community we have an amazing amount of talent per capita,” Blass said.

The Brown County Music Association was recently formed to provide advocacy and financial support to local students and musicians seeking music endeavors.

Blass said the organization will provide support for a variety of needs, such as stipends for student lessons and instrument purchases, or possible funding of a band’s recording session.

“So, we’re going to be supportive not only in advocacy, but also in trying to take some of the proceeds from our event and other fundraisers to promote the local music community.

“Everybody involved is doing this on a pro-bono basis, so nobody’s getting paid,” Blass said. “We’re going to essentially split the proceeds between Mother’s Cupboard, our local food kitchen.”

The Brown County Music Center is putting up the facility for the event and staffing it free of charge, saving the organizers thousands of dollars. As a part of its charter, the venue contributes back to the community after expenditures are met.

Additional underwriters of the event will have booths in the lobby area.

The Amplify Nashville show will take place on the evening of the Christkindl Market, which will be held from 10 to 6, and following the Holiday Light Parade/Toy Drive. “It’s perfect because in years past, after the light parade people have been kind of ‘Well, what do we do now?’ And now we have something right after that, something people can go to for a really nice night of music,” said Blass.

Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30. The tickets are $15. Kids under 12 are free. Tickets may be purchased at the Brown County Music Center box office and through their website <browncountymusiccenter.com> or through the Amplify Nashville Facebook page.