By Ryan Murphy

I'm no stranger to musical destination tourism. As a general manager for Venue Group, I’m always traveling to different cities and spaces to savor exceptional entertainment and hospitality experiences and attempt to define what it is that makes them special. 

Through the years, my travels have revolved around discovering the places where significant things have happened to move the needle in the music world. From Joshua Tree to Abbey Road to the Ryman to Sun Studios and the old RCA studios, I have dedicated much of my time to seeking out these musical, spiritual destinations. 

 But nothing could have prepared me for my move to Huntsville and experiencing North Alabama for the first time, specifically Muscle Shoals, as there is truly something in the water -- the "Singing River," to be precise.

 You just don't get a more quintessential Muscle Shoals experience than sitting in the basement of Shoals Studio, eating Bunyan's BBQ and listening to David and Judy Hood wax poetic on the rich and brilliant history of the artists who have graced that little corner of the world to change music history forever. But that's where I found myself, my parents and my three-year-old daughter -- three generations sitting on the floor, fingers sticky with BBQ. We listened to my father chatting with David Hood, the legendary Swamper, and admitting that he would go into record stores and flip albums over to read the liner notes as a young man. If David Hood was listed as bass player on a record, he would immediately buy it as he knew it meant that it would undoubtedly be an incredible record. He was right every time.

 You’ve likely heard the phrase "there must be something in the water" uttered while witnessing some form of jaw-dropping innovation and creativity coming from a group of artists that inhabit a specific area at a particular time. I don't think I ever really understood that phrase more than I have over the last three years of exploring and genuinely getting to know the rich musical heritage (and future) of North Alabama. And these waters run deep.

 As it winds its way through North Alabama, you can truly see how the Tennessee River -- the “Singing River” -- has worked its way into the tapestry of the area's music, art, culture and heritage. There is something magical about it.

Sometimes there's a magic that can only happen when time and place converge. We find ourselves here in a cradle of innovation and creativity that is beginning to bear the fruit that was worked into the fertile soil so many years ago. While NASA engineers knuckled down on their boards and built the rockets that put the first man on the moon, the music engineers just down the road in Muscle Shoals were equally focused on changing the world forever. To bear witness and be part of the remarkable renaissance that this area is embarking on is truly special.

I look forward to the staff, crew, artists, innovators and all the great people involved with the Orion Amphitheater sharing stories, insights, adventures and inspiration for many months and years to come. Hopefully, one day, a family will make a pilgrimage to the Orion, just as I did with my family to Muscle Shoals, and walk the ground where the magic happened that changed the trajectory of musical history for North Alabama forever.