SHRINK Las Vegas by 85% and move it from the desert to Missouri. Swap the showgirls for modestly clad matrons, the raunchy comics for bluegrass bands and the casinos for churches. There you have Branson, Missouri: No-Sin City. It calls itself the live-music capital of the world. To match its theatre-to-resident ratio, New York would need 41,000 theatres. Avant-gardists will find little to applaud, but if you have ever wanted to board a 700-seat showboat to see a violinist in a sequined leotard hang upside down to play "Stairway to Heaven" and then right herself to thank America's troops while belting out "My Country 'Tis of Thee", then Branson is for you. Live music in Branson began around 1959 with the Baldknobbers Hillbilly Jamboree (named for the local 19th-century masked vigilantes). Nostalgia and religion have proved a winning formula ever since: in 2010 roughly 8m tourists paid a visit. Numbers are down this year, because petrol is pricey (most visitors arrive by car). Still, Branson has weathered the downturn better than many rivals. Its modest charms are well-suited to an age of austerity.
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