Kentucky Opens New Governor’s Office of Music at Bourbon & Beyond to Back Artists, Venues and Festivals, Making the State Only the Nation’s Second With a Music Office
LOUISVILLE, KY — Kentucky has launched a new state office aimed at strengthening the people and businesses behind live music, from musicians and festivals to venues and the wider industry that supports them. Gov. Andy Beshear announced the move Friday from the stage at Bourbon & Beyond, placing music at the center of one of the state’s best-known festival settings.
The new Governor’s Office of Music was created by executive order. State officials say it is meant to promote Kentucky’s musical legacy while helping artists build careers and keeping the state attractive to live entertainment. Beshear tied the effort to the artists who shaped the state’s reputation, including Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn, Tyler Childers and Chris Stapleton.
A state office built around music careers and live venues
The office is designed to do more than celebrate Kentucky’s music history. It is meant to support the practical side of the industry, including the clubs, arenas, festivals and other venues where shows happen, along with the businesses that make performances possible.
Officials say the goal is to help artists and companies create more opportunities across the commonwealth. That could mean a stronger pipeline for performers trying to turn music into a career, while also helping the local infrastructure that keeps audiences coming through the door. Kentucky leaders have framed the office as a way to keep the state competitive as a destination for music.
Beshear’s announcement made clear that the new office is supposed to work across the industry, not just act as a promotional arm. By linking artists with the broader economy around live performance, state officials are betting that music can keep delivering both cultural identity and business growth.
Kentucky becomes only the second state with a music-specific office
The governor’s office says Kentucky is now just the second state in the country to create an office specifically focused on supporting musicians and the music industry. That distinction gives the commonwealth a rare place in state-level arts policy and puts it in a small group of states making music an official economic and cultural priority.
State officials have not said in the announcement which state was the first to establish a similar office. Even so, the Kentucky version is being presented as a model for how government can help nurture a sector that is both creative and economic.
The office was created through executive action rather than legislation, which allowed Beshear to move quickly. The announcement also signals that the administration sees music as an area where state government can play an active role without changing the character of the industry itself.
Sebastian Kitchen will lead the new office
Sebastian Kitchen, the deputy secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, will serve as the office’s executive director. That places an established state official in charge of getting the new effort moving and connecting it with Kentucky’s existing tourism and arts structure.
By folding the office into that broader cabinet network, state leaders are signaling that music will be treated as part of the state’s cultural and economic identity. The arrangement also suggests the office may work closely with other agencies already involved in promoting Kentucky as a place to visit, perform and invest.
Officials did not lay out a full list of programs or deadlines in the announcement, but the leadership choice shows the office is intended to start with administrative and promotional work already familiar to state tourism and arts officials.
A new license plate and a familiar slogan reinforce the message
The office is also working with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on a new license plate reading “Kentucky: Sounds Like Home.” The plate is meant to celebrate the state’s musical heritage and extend the campaign beyond a single announcement.
That phrase gives Kentucky a public-facing symbol for the effort, turning the music initiative into something drivers can literally carry on their cars. It also reinforces the theme that the state wants music to feel like part of everyday identity, not just a concert-season marketing push.
Officials have framed the office and the license plate as connected pieces of the same message: Kentucky wants to honor its musical past while using that legacy to strengthen its present and future.
Officials point to music’s $6.9 billion impact across Kentucky
State officials say Kentucky’s arts industry, including music, has a $6.9 billion economic impact and supports more than 51,000 jobs across the commonwealth. Those figures help explain why the administration is treating music as more than a cultural calling card.
The numbers suggest the industry reaches far beyond performers alone. Festivals, venues, production crews, tourism-related businesses and other local employers all benefit when music draws crowds and spending into the state.
For Kentucky leaders, the new office is being positioned as a way to protect that economic engine while keeping the state’s artistic identity visible. The announcement at Bourbon & Beyond tied the policy move directly to a live-music setting, underscoring how closely the cultural and business sides of the industry are linked.
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