From the Bayou to Broadway: How Louisiana Is Turning Country Music Into Cultural and Economic Impact

By Louisiana Country Music

A grassroots movement and the state of Louisiana are beginning to pull in the same direction. With a new partnership between Louisiana Country Music and Explore Louisiana, the backing of Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, and growing support from tourism leaders across the state, something special is taking shape around Louisiana's homegrown talent.

Louisiana has always had the talent. What it has not always had is a connected system to help that talent get seen, create opportunities, and turn Louisiana music into an even greater cultural and economic asset for the state. That is starting to change.

Louisiana Country Music was built to connect the bayou to Broadway by bringing artists, songwriters, venues, fans, businesses, tourism leaders, and industry voices together in ways that have rarely happened before. Now that mission has a powerful ally.

In a recent Louisiana Country Music Live interview, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser sat down with us to talk about the state's new partnership with our platform through Explore Louisiana and why he believes this moment matters for Louisiana artists, communities, and tourism.

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser joins Louisiana Country Music Live to talk tourism, culture, and the Explore Louisiana partnership.

We have also been fortunate to have people inside Louisiana's tourism industry who believed in the vision early. Chris Landry with the Louisiana Travel Association has been a tremendous supporter and champion for what we are building, helping strengthen the connection between Louisiana music and the larger tourism community. That growing alignment matters.

This is not about helping artists simply for the sake of helping artists. A stronger Louisiana music ecosystem can benefit musicians, venues, festivals, businesses, tourism, local communities, and the cultural identity of the state at the same time.

The State Steps Up

As Lieutenant Governor, Nungesser oversees culture, recreation, and tourism, and he has made Louisiana music an important part of the state's larger cultural strategy. He recently helped recreate the Louisiana Music Commission so people from inside the industry can have a voice in how Louisiana develops and promotes its musical talent.

"I recently got the legislature to recreate the music commission because I figured we need musicians and people in that industry to have a voice in how we promote and really get these artists known," Nungesser said. "Every aspect, from the people that make the instruments, to promoting them, to making sure they get exposed to opportunities around the world."

When we asked him directly what platforms like Louisiana Country Music can mean to the state, his answer was clear.

"What y'all are doing to bring exposure to those in the industry is going to be huge," he said. "It's going to be so important to getting their name, their talents out there. We're looking forward to doing all we can to promote it and share it and make sure we're sharing it with the world."

For us, that is the exciting part of this moment. State leaders, tourism organizations, businesses, communities, venues, and artists are beginning to see how their interests can overlap. Everyone does not have to do the same job. We just have to start pulling in the same direction.

Proof of What Can Happen

Kylie Frey, Alex Smith, Dan Smalley, and Hadlie Jo at Songs for St. Jude in Alexandria, where more than $30,000 was raised for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

We have already seen glimpses of what that collaboration can produce.

At Somerset House in Alexandria, Louisiana Country Music partnered with KRRV-FM and Songs for St. Jude to bring Kylie Frey, Alex Smith, Dan Smalley, and Hadlie Jo together for an intimate songwriter round. By the end of the night, the community had helped raise more than $30,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

The night worked because everyone brought something to the table. Artists brought the music. Local businesses supported the event. Community leaders helped make it happen. Fans showed up. A venue came alive. An important cause benefited.

That is the model we believe has enormous potential across Louisiana. Music can create opportunity for artists while also bringing people into communities, supporting local businesses, strengthening events, and giving visitors another reason to experience Louisiana.

Supporting Louisiana artists is not charity. There is a real cultural and economic win when the ecosystem works.

Building Something Bigger

Songs for St. Jude is only one example.

Over the past year, Louisiana Country Music has brought Louisiana artists to Nashville during Mardi Gras, hosted and supported events across the state, created millions of social media interactions, built relationships throughout the industry, and continued developing a network that connects artists with fans and opportunities.

Our research has identified Louisiana country artists and writers responsible for more than 160 number one hits, more than 30 billion streams, and more than 35 million social media followers. The talent was already here. The opportunity is to connect it.

And while Louisiana's musical identity reaches far beyond any one genre, Louisiana Country Music intentionally focuses on country music because that is where our team's network, experience, relationships, and expertise are strongest. We are not trying to be everything to everyone. We are trying to do one thing exceptionally well.

Our belief is that if we can connect Louisiana country music properly, create real collaboration between artists and communities, and build a sustainable model around it, Louisiana can create something other states will eventually look to as an example.

Music as a Louisiana Asset

Lt. Gov Nungesser has already demonstrated how Louisiana culture can become an economic driver.

He has put Louisiana performers on stages ranging from the Rose Parade and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to CMA Fest, and he has insisted that Louisiana talent be included when the state participates.

"I wouldn't sign the contract at Macy's or the Rose Parade if they didn't allow us to bring our own performers," he said.

He has also supported grants and programs designed to get Louisiana musicians working and in front of new audiences. The principle behind those efforts is simple. Louisiana culture has value.

When people travel for music, they also stay in hotels, eat in restaurants, visit attractions, discover communities, and experience the people and places behind the songs. When Louisiana artists succeed outside the state, they carry Louisiana with them.

Their hometowns, accents, stories, food, culture, and identity become part of their story. That makes music more than entertainment. It makes it part of Louisiana's tourism and economic-development story.

One Louisiana Story

That is why this partnership with Explore Louisiana feels significant. It is bigger than one platform or one organization.

Chris Landry and the Louisiana Travel Association have been important supporters of the movement. Lieutenant Governor Nungesser and Explore Louisiana have now added another major piece. Businesses, venues, communities, artists, and fans are contributing in their own ways.

We hope that circle continues to grow, including greater involvement from local and regional Convention and Visitors Bureaus across Louisiana. Each region has its own artists, venues, festivals, history, food, and character. Bringing those pieces together can help tell a richer story about the places these artists come from and give visitors another reason to experience those communities for themselves.

Nobody has to carry the entire load. The opportunity is for everyone to contribute the piece they do best.

Louisiana has the artists. Louisiana has the songs. Louisiana has the culture. Louisiana has the destinations. And, increasingly, the people responsible for each of those pieces are starting to find one another. That may be the most exciting part of all.

"I love Louisiana, but more importantly, I love the people," Nungesser said. "We treat strangers like family, and you leave here with a friend for life, and you just keep coming back for more."

That is the Louisiana story. If we can tell it together, through the artists, communities, businesses, tourism organizations, and people who make this state unlike anywhere else, we believe Louisiana music can become an even greater cultural and economic force for generations to come.

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