Branson

City in southwestern Missouri, on Lake Taneycomo, on the Ozark Plateau, 61 km/38 mi south of Springfield; population (1990) 3,700. It is a country music centre and a leading resort. Nearby are several theme parks, Table Rock Dam (1959, impounding the White River), and Table Rock State Park.

Branson was settled at the turn of the 20th century. Point Lookout, to the south, is home to the College of the Ozarks (1906).

Developing from concerts given by local bands in 1960, by the early 1990s the city had some 30 theatres lining a neon-lit strip, offering performances by most of the best-known country entertainers. Some of them own establishments in Branson.