On the stage of the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, George Jones wailed what many consider to be the greatest country music song ever—“He Stopped Loving Her Today.”
Loretta Lynn delivered in song what it was like to be a “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
The Temptations crooned about “My Girl,” and Billy Ray Cyrus had young girls dancing in the aisles with his foot-tapping “Achy Breaky Heart,” which led the line dance into the national mainstream.
Aside from bringing in flashy national headline acts over the years, the Eastern Kentucky entertainment venue became home to Billie Jean Osborne’s Kentucky Opry, a live show featuring talented musicians, classic country, gospel, bluegrass tunes, family-friendly comedy and professional artistry.
Maybe more importantly, it has nurtured the abilities of local artists and put them on the path to showcase their gifts in music meccas such as Nashville.
Some doubted the MAC, sometimes called “a cultural beacon in Eastern Kentucky,” saying it would never be possible. Skeptics said it would not last.
It has.
Happy 30th birthday, Mountain Arts Center!
How It Started
The MAC was the brainchild of the late Billie Jean Osborne. A native of Betsy Layne in Floyd County, Osborne taught music and directed bands and choral groups in schools in Betsy Layne, Wheelwright and Wayland for 30 years. She often regretted that her students had to leave home to find a career in music.
“Why did all the talent have to leave here?” Osborne asked in a 1994 Lexington Herald-Leader article. “We had all these talented people, from Flatwoods to Elkhorn City, but there was no place to ever perform in Eastern Kentucky but a gymnasium. It was terrible.”
In 1990, five years after retiring, Osborne formed the Kentucky Opry, an Eastern Kentucky performance group. She also set up a group to support the talent of young musicians. She started lobbying for money for a performing arts center in Eastern Kentucky, where area artists could pursue their careers close to home.
“She was a persistent lobbyist,” said Greg Stumbo, a Floyd County native who was the Democratic floor leader in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1995. “She came to me, and I thought her plan would never work. I had seen other plans like this in the state, and they did not work out. I told her ‘no,’ that it would not pay for itself.
“She got some federal dollars from Hal [Rogers, the area’s congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives].” The state eventually provided financial support.
“After that,” Stumbo said, “every time Billie Jean saw me out in public, she would point at me and say, ‘There is the fellow who did not help us with the Mountain Arts Center. He would say it would never work.’ ”
The $7.2 million facility, with a 1,044-seat theater, classrooms, practice rooms, art gallery, meeting rooms and a recording studio, opened in October 1996.
It has worked, Stumbo said recently. “Billie Jean was a dynamo,” he said. “She is a credit to the music industry. The MAC not only holds musical shows but community events like graduations for the community college in Prestonsburg [Big Sandy Community and Technical College].”
A year after the MAC’s opening, Osborne told the Herald-Leader, “If I die today, I’ll know I went down swinging for the talented kids in Eastern Kentucky.”
Osborne died in June 2014 at 82. Services for her were held in the Mountain Arts Center—with good music, of course.
Prominent MAC Alumni
Big names have performed at the MAC, but it prides itself on nurturing homegrown talent with Billie Jean Osborne’s Kentucky Opry.
Its prominent alumni in the Opry are listed on the center’s website— macarts.com/bjos-kentucky-opry/alumni. They include Josh Martin, Chase Lewis, Jesse Wells and Kory Caudill.
Martin, from Eastern Kentucky, is an accomplished singer, songwriter and guitarist. He blends the traditional bluegrass sounds of his Appalachian heritage with elements from rock, country and pop music. He is a member of the esteemed bluegrass group Wood Box Heroes.
Based in Lexington, Lewis is a musician and keyboardist known for playing with Tyler Childers and The Food Stamps. He has worked as a guest entertainer and musician with Princess Cruises and Holland America Line cruises.
Wells, a native of Redbush in Johnson County, is a traditional multi-instrumentalist, music educator and critically acclaimed folk/roots singer-songwriter. He studied music at Morehead State University and is a founding staff member and music archivist at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State.
Caudill, a Grammy-nominated pianist and composer who is among the most popular keyboard musicians in the country, has deep roots in the Mountain Arts Center.
“I was with the Opry there at 4 or 5,” he said during a recent break while on tour in Chicago with Childers, a Lawrence County native and multiple Grammy Award nominee. “My mom was good friends with Billie Jean, and my dad helped launch the MAC.” Caudill’s mom, Kathi Caudill, is a retired teacher, and his dad, Keith Caudill, is a professional musician who has accompanied Kory on some of his work.
The performance center “was like a playground to me,” said Kory Caudill, who now resides in Nashville with his wife, Amanda, and their three children.
“It showed me that strong music with folks is a service,” Caudill said. “It was unique to me because it taught me how to play a room. You must let a room breathe. You must be in it, enjoying it, to get the audience into it.
“The MAC has done many things for many people, especially those in the mountains.”
The MAC Today
Joe Campbell, who grew up in Prestonsburg, has been executive director of the MAC since July 2019. He started working there in 2016. His first venture to the site was to see a Christmas show when he was 16.
When he talks about the music hall, Campbell likes to start with Osborne. “She had taken a trip to Myrtle Beach and saw an opry-like show there,” he said. “She told everyone around here that we could do it better. She held a fundraiser and started knocking on legislators’ doors.
“She wanted a place with all local talent, all local music. She started about four to five variety shows a year, plus a Christmas special. She got some special grants. She got the place started. That is why we call the opry ‘Billie Jean Osborne’s Kentucky Opry.’ ”
Another reason for adding Osborne’s name to the shows, Campbell said, was to distinguish it from the Kentucky Opry in Benton in Western Kentucky’s Marshall County. It was started in 1988 by Clay and Barbie Campbell.
The MAC is faring well on its 30th birthday, Campbell said. He reports its annual operating budget at about $1.3 million and that it is owned by the city of Prestonsburg. “I think we are going to be OK, bringing music to the mountains and showcasing its talent,” he said.
Campbell mentioned that there is no fee to enroll or be a participant in Billie Jean Osborne’s Kentucky Opry or the Kentucky Opry Junior Pros program at the Mountain Arts Center.
“Unlike traditional after-school programs or community theater workshops that charge seasonal tuition, the Kentucky Opry acts as a premier regional performance troupe. Members are chosen exclusively through a competitive audition process,” he said.
“Rather than paying to participate, selected musicians, vocalists and comedians focus on performing in high-production summer and holiday showcase series.”
While enrollment is free for the performers, there are fixed ticket prices for the public and families to watch the seasonal performances, Campbell said.
Campbell is working out details for a 30th birthday celebration for the MAC on Saturday, Oct. 24. He said it will be “a mix of the Opry, special guests and archival footage.”
WHEN YOU GO
Mountain Arts Center
50 Hal Rogers Drive
Prestonsburg