”…. It’ s been tremendous to take my history and apply it here. It’ s my chance to do something unique.”

— Christian Webb

nine percent of everyone leaving a music venue is happy. Plus people in the Midwest are just handsdown nicer,” he says.

Things were going great at Live Nation, but a few years in, Christian had to step away unexpectedly. His parents, who had followed him to Indiana, were now in poor health, and he chose to focus on helping them instead. What he didn’ t know at the time was that another opportunity would soon present itself, as the new Brown County Music Center’ s Executive Director. It was a more workable prospect given his family obligations, and he started in this new role in December 2019.

Starting from scratch was a change Christian welcomed.“ That was one of the things that was so

intriguing with this brand-new venue,” he recalls.“ As an operator, you always want to put your personal stamp on something, to be the leader and decisionmaker. It’ s been tremendous to take my history and apply it here. It’ s my chance to do something unique.” And while executive directors at larger companies might be out of view day to day, staying hidden in an administrative office, that’ s not the case at the Music Center, which employs only a handful of staff.“ I oversee all of the contracts and bookings, liaison with all the contractors like concessions and security, and even do things like change light bulbs and unclog toilets,” Christian explains. Along with his staff,“ We’ re all willing to do what it takes to make things happen.”

Another key difference with the Center— unlike at a privately-owned for-profit venue, there’ s no pressure to pack the calendar as full as possible. The result is a more carefully-curated schedule of events, which Christian sees as a huge benefit. He can respond to homegrown popular demand for country and americana acts, he says, while also presenting the community with genres outside the norm.

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For additional shows and tickets visit: www. BrownCountyMusicCenter. com Health check required for all shows

May / June 2022 • Our Brown County 33