Odessa designated as music-friendly community

ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) - When people think about Odessa, they don’t usually think about the arts.

A group of West Texans like those at the Ector Theatre is trying to change that, and they just hit a major milestone.

“This is to help us all come together and build the community.”

Adam Nunley has made a career out of music, and he’s done a lot of it in Texas.

“I’m from here. I’m proud to be from here.”

Nunley has worked tirelessly to grow the music scene in Odessa. That’s partly why he’s the head honcho on the Odessa Music Community Advisory Board.

“Our main goal is to make West Texas a spot to stop at on the map for entertainment.”

But when people think of Texas music, Odessa isn’t one of the places that comes to mind. That might be changing.

Odessa has now been designated as Texas’ 25th ‘Music Friendly Community.’

In essence, it’s the state’s seal of approval that Odessa is making a concerted effort to grow its art scene.

“If you’ve got a band that’s in Dallas, and their next tour stop is two days later in El Paso, they’re going to see our music-friendly certification and say, ‘Hey, I could probably entertain a few people in Odessa along the way and break up that trip,” said Randy Ham, the Executive Director of Odessa Arts.

That opens new avenues to attract artists, as well as provide a way for local artists to get recognized around the state and country.

For people like Nunley, who can make a career out of the arts, the sky is the limit.

“We can only go up. We can’t turn around. We can’t fall.”

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