McKinney named a Texas Music Friendly Community

It’s not uncommon to hear the strain of an old country tune or some rock and roll when walking around historic downtown McKinney, but now it’s official — the city has been certified as a Texas Music Friendly Community.

The designation, bestowed upon McKinney in a virtual event last week, is issued by the Texas Music Office and backed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

"I congratulate the City of McKinney on earning the Music Friendly Community designation,” Abbott said in a statement. “Music is a big part of the Texas brand, and I thank the Texas Music Office for helping communities like McKinney on the road to economic recovery.”

Visit McKinney, the city’s tourism arm, began the certification process earlier this year, at a Texas Music Friendly Community Workshop in January. TMO Director Brendon Anthony attended the meeting and took questions from members of the city’s local music scene about the process.

After the workshop, the city had to establish a music office or liaison to provide monthly reports for the TMO on the progress of the local music industry, register for the Texas Music Office’s Texas Music Industry Directory, show partnerships with music-related nonprofits in the community, collaborate with music education programs and create an advisory board of members involved in the local music community.

McKinney ticked all those boxes, establishing a seven-member board that will work with Visit McKinney to continue working with the TMO and maintaining the certification.

It also can’t hurt that McKinney’s mayor, George Fuller, is a dedicated musician and even owns a guitar shop.

“As a musician myself, our designation as a Music Friendly Community is an honor to be a part of,” Fuller said in a news release. “Music touches the soul and heart. It is a language of its own that comforts, invigorates and motivates. It brings people together, and in our world today, there is not much more important than that.”

McKinney becomes the 11th certified Texas Music Friendly Community and the fourth in the DFW area after Fort Worth, Stephenville and Denton. Dallas and Waxahachie are among cities working through the certification process, according to the TMO website.