Celebrating the Arts

BY SHANNON HOLBROOK

There’s a mountain of musical talent tucked into the Appalachian foothills of Eastern Kentucky, and the Mountain Arts Center (MAC) in Prestonsburg is their beacon of hope. The stateof-the-art facility hosts live shows by national headliners, the Kentucky Opry, and the Kentucky Opry Jr. Pros, and serves as the area’s musical arts education hub.

The MAC is a pipe dream-turned-pathway for hundreds of musicians. It opened in 1996 to fill the need for local students to receive music lessons and performance opportunities, while providing a home for the Kentucky Opry.

The dreamer was Billie Jean Osborne, a recently retired local band director and widow. The MAC was her passion project, and along with local businesswoman Lucy Kinzer, she fought hard to fundraise for the facility. “She knew we had the talent here but needed the venue,” said Kay Hall, the MAC’s board chair, Osborne’s niece, and a retired local music teacher. “She always told me it only takes one person to say yes, and that person was Hal Rogers.”

Congressman Hal Rogers helped secure half of the funding needed through federal monies, while Osborne and Kinzer lobbied state legislators, local officials, and corporate and private donors, often going door to door. The result: a $7 million 1,044-seat theater, commercial recording studio, arts education room, art gallery, individual practice rooms, and large meeting rooms under one roof. It’s used for private lessons, performances, education, and rentals, positively impacting local talent, tourism, and economic development.

Prestonsburg native Joe Campbell is one example of that impact. “I served on the technical crew as a high school senior, running the spotlight,” Campbell said. “It was just something cool to do.”

Two decades later, he’s in his eighth year as the MAC’s executive director. After college at the University of Kentucky, his passion for the area brought him back. “I just fell in love with the industry; I thought I’d made it bigtime,” he said.

Campbell’s not alone, as the MAC has inspired and featured musicians from many genres. Eastern Kentucky’s own Loretta Lynn, Billy Ray Cyrus, Patty Loveless, Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam, Chris Stapleton, and Tyler Childers have performed there. As mentioned, Osborne’s The Kentucky Opry and feeder program, Kentucky Opry Jr. Pros, perform here. Local students can receive individual and group musical instruction, too. “It’s a huge value to the community,” Campbell said. “People do not realize we are basically a music school 9–10 months a year.”

MAC alumni are currently playing with Childers, Stapleton, Blake Shelton, and Justin Moore. And 12-yearold Adalyn Ramey, a MAC student from Paintsville, recently signed a contract with a Nashville-based recording company.

Big Sandy Community and Technical College offers technical classes and general education at the MAC also. This fall, HVAC students will maintain the building. Event interns have even been hired as MAC staff.

The MAC is home to the first pathway in media art with Floyd County Schools. Students will learn how to produce a show firsthand, including livestreaming.

The MAC also celebrates Appalachian artists with an awards show, the Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Awards, or APPYs, and a rotating art gallery displaying works by regional artists.

Osborne’s vision and tenacity helped realize her dream to foster and celebrate local talent, giving many musicians hope. “She didn’t have any kids of her own, but she had thousands that she claimed as her own,” Hall said.

Learn more about the MAC at macarts.com. The MAC will be a part of Christian Appalachian Project’s 60th anniversary celebration by hosting the We Are CAP exhibit March 3 to April 30.