The Soundtrack of Mason City

There’s a phrase from The Music Man that always makes me smile: “You’ve got trouble…” – and sometimes it feels like that’s how some people react when they hear, once again, about music in our town.

I get it. When something is talked about often, it can start to feel overplayed. The references to Meredith Willson, the nods to “Seventy-Six Trombones,” the celebrations tied to our musical roots – it can make some folks want to say, “We’ve heard this song before.”

But here’s the thing: this isn’t just a song we’re replaying. It’s who we are.

We are truly incredibly lucky to be the hometown of someone like Meredith Willson. He didn’t just go on to become a celebrated composer; he carried Mason City with him and poured that pride back into the community. That kind of loyalty, that kind of love for a hometown, has shaped generations.

Because of that legacy, music isn’t just something we appreciate here – it’s something we live.

All three of my children play multiple instruments. Not because they’re prodigies or headed for Broadway (though, who knows?), but because here, they can. In our community, kids are given the chance to pick up an instrument, join a choir, audition for a show, or simply discover a love for the arts. That’s not the case everywhere.

Between local productions, school programs, and organizations like Mason City Community Theatre and Stebens Children’s Theatre, there’s almost always an opportunity to step into the spotlight, or at least hum along from the audience. Honestly, I’m not sure there’s a single week that goes by without live music happening somewhere in town. Think about that for a second. That’s not ordinary. That’s a gift.

And yet, because it’s always been there, it’s easy to take it for granted.

Maybe that’s why some people feel like saying, “Shipoopi, enough already!” when another musical event rolls around. But instead of rolling our eyes, what if we leaned in? What if we recognized that this constant rhythm of music, performance, and creativity is something many communities would love to have?

Music is art. It’s connection. It’s identity.

So yes, when people ask what our town is known for, you could say Meredith Willson or The Music Man. But it’s bigger than that. It’s the culture that grew from it. It’s the pride, the participation, the way music is woven into everyday life here.

We don’t just have a story – we have a soundtrack.

And personally? I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Not for a quiet town with no “trouble,” no trombones, and no chorus of voices rising together.

Because here in North Iowa, we’ve got music… and that’s something worth singing about.