Photo Credit: Courtesy of Beaver Dam
In 2013, I stood in the new downtown park in Beaver Dam, Ky., with Commissioner Kevin Davis, surveying its progress. As our eyes made their way to a hillside in the Western Kentucky town of 3,500, we both noticed the same area and simultaneously exclaimed, “That’s a great spot for an amphitheater!” Two years later, the new amphitheater was hosting acts from Merle Haggard to 38 Special.
This amphitheater was a natural fit for Beaver Dam, as music is a major component of the community’s heritage. Bluegrass legend Bill Monroe and Grammy-winning Christian performer Jason Crabb and the Crabb Family were all born in Ohio County. Another selling point for moving forward with the construction of the amphitheater was the location—within a 30-mile radius of Beaver Dam, the population exceeds 100,000. Coupled with the city’s location at the junction of major north/south and east/west highways and its proximity to Nashville, this was an ideal site for such a venue.
Attention To Detail
The key to making the amphitheater a success was to build a facility that would be unique. Beaver Dam was fortunate that Jason Tierney, the chairman of the Tourism Commission, had a background in music and sound. Tierney worked with the architect on each detail of the design. The finished product was a $2-million state-of-the-art facility.