SWEETWATER, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The City of Sweetwater may soon be designated as a music and film friendly city; something believed to largely increase tourism in the community.
The man who spearheaded the application process, Scott Morgan, is a broker at Morgan real estate, who loves music. A wall full of pictures of musicians may not be what you might expect in a real estate broker’s office, but for Morgan, music is just a part of him.
In fact, he was one of the founders of the Sweetwater House Concert Association, which has brought about 40 artists into Sweetwater within the last six years.
“We want the music world to know that Sweetwater means business,” said Morgan.
Morgan said he wants to bring in more, not only because he loves music, but because musicians coming into Sweetwater helps the entire city by increasing tourism which, in turn, should increase the city’s and local businesses revenue stream.
That’s why he joined up with the Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce to get the city designated as a music friendly city through the Office of the Governor in Austin.
“It puts your name out there in front of the music industry,” Morgan explained.
This designation would put Sweetwater on the radar of artists looking to perform through a database.
“As they come here, so does their fanbase,” detailed Executive Director of the chamber of commerce, Karen Hunt.
The chamber will soon host a workshop to take the next step in completing this process, and on the same day, they are taking the paperwork to city council to become a designated film friendly city, as well.
“If a producer is wanting to come film in Texas, they might call the Texas Film Friendly Office,” Hunt hinted. “The Texas Film Friendly Office is able to send them photos, so maybe something in our photo portfolio would attract them.”
If both designations pass, Hunt told KTAB/KRBC this will help tourism increase more than it already has recently, and Morgan said this will give more artists he loves a better chance at coming to his city.
The day of the workshop and the day the city council will receive the paperwork to become a film friendly city is June 13. Abilene was also designated as a music friendly city in 2019.