Museum Volunteer Training - June
2022-06-11 09:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
We want YOU to join our wonderful team of volunteers at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum!
Date: Saturday, June 11, 2022
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Learning Center
If you have a passion for Bristol and its musical legacy and love helping others, our museum volunteer program is the perfect fit for you!
Museum volunteers play a vital role in a number of key areas behind the scenes and on the front lines, such as working as a gallery assistant, helping out in The Museum Store, working with the public at events and programs, and so much more! Our Museum Volunteer Training session gets you acquainted with every aspect of the museum to help you find your area of interest. Volunteer schedules are flexible and fun!
If you are interested in coming to our Museum Volunteer Training, email Erika at volunteercoordinator@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.

"In Good Keeping in 2022" Film Premiere
2022-06-15 17:30 - 20:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
When: Wednesday, June 15, 5:30pm
Where: Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Performance Theater
Cost: Free and open to all, but registration is required to attend
REGISTER HERE

Join us on Wednesday, June 15 for the Virginia Folklife Program’s screening of In Good Keeping in 2022. Since its inception in 2002, the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program has served over 150 two-or-more person teams of mentor artists and apprentices representing the breadth of cultural expression in the Commonwealth. This feature-length documentary film showcases the artists and tradition bearers from the 2021-2022 apprenticeship class, followed by a discussion (and a little music) from participating artists, including: Walter “Skip” Herman & K. T. Vandyke, Emily Spencer & Lisa Ring , Chris Testerman & Sophia Burnett & Karlie Keepfer, Eddie Bond & Andrew Small, and Mac Traynham & Ashlee Watkins.
This event is co-presented by the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and Mid Atlantic Arts’ Central Appalachia Living Traditions. The museum featured the special exhibit Real Folk: Passing on Trades & Traditions through the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program in 2020; you can learn more about that exhibit and experience a virtual tour of it HERE.
Reception with refreshments will start at 5:30pm, the screening will begin at 6:00pm. Following the film, stay to hear discussion and music by the featured artists.
VIRGINIA FOLKLIFE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
The Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program has supported artists who are masters in traditions ranging from instrument repair in southwest Virginia to Mongolian mask-making in Northern Virginia to growing and grinding heirloom cornmeal on the Eastern Shore. By awarding teacher-student teams financial support and providing a platform to share their work, the Virginia Folklife Program works to sustain the community traditions that entertain, nourish, inspire, and define Virginians. The Virginia Folklife Program, based at Virginia Humanities, is the state center for the documentation, presentation, support, and celebration of Virginia’s rich cultural heritage.

Speaker Series (Hybrid): Dr. Daniel Pierce on Myth, Reality, and Moonshine in the Southern Mountains
2022-06-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, June 21, 7:00pm

Cost: Free and open to the public
Virtual: Click here to register
In-Person: Click here to register
On Tuesday, June 21 at 7:00 PM, we are continuing our hybrid Speaker Series with Dr. Daniel Pierce, Professor of History and Distinguished Interdisciplinary Professor of the Mountain South at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Dr. Pierce will join us in-person at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and via Zoom for a conversation about ”That’s Why All the Folks on Rocky Top Get Their Corn From a Jar: Myth, Reality, and Moonshine in the Southern Mountains.”
This program is supplementary programming to go along with our current special exhibit “It’ll Tickle Yore Innards!”: A (Hillbilly) History of Mountain Dew. All Speaker Series attendees will be able to visit the special exhibit for FREE between 6:00 and 7:00pm before the program.
We request that in-person attendees present their COVID-19 vaccine card or proof of a negative test when checking in for the program.
About Daniel (Dan) Pierce
Dr. Daniel Pierce is the author of Tarheel Lightnin’: How Secret Stills and Fast Cars Made North Carolina the Moonshine Capital of the World (UNC Press, October 2019), The Great Smokies: From Natural Habitat to National Park (UT Press, 2000), Corn From a Jar: Moonshining in the Great Smoky Mountains (Great Smoky Mountains Association, 2013), Hazel Creek: The Life and Death of an Iconic Mountain Community (Great Smoky Mountains Association, March 2017), and the first truly comprehensive history of early NASCAR, Real NASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay, and Big Bill France (UNC Press, 2010). He has also recently collaborated with renowned Nashville, Tennessee poster artist Joel Anderson to produce the Illustrated Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Illustrated Guide to Exploring the Grand Circle: Utah and Arizona.
Pierce is Professor of History and Distinguished Interdisciplinary Professor of the Mountain South at the University of North Carolina Asheville where he teaches courses in Appalachian, North Carolina, Southern, and Environmental History, and the National Parks and serves as “Resident Professional Hillbilly”!

Monthly Bluegrass Jam
2022-06-25 14:00 - 17:00, 2022-07-23 14:00 - 17:00, 2022-09-24 14:00 - 17:00, 2022-10-22 14:00 - 17:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in partnership with the East Tennessee Bluegrass Association is hosting a monthly gathering of local musicians for a bluegrass jam session! The jam events are intended to provide a space for local musicians to gather and pick, collaborate, share their experiences, and—most importantly—to have fun. The jams are acoustic and only feature traditional bluegrass instruments: acoustic guitar, upright bass, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and dobro.
The jams are free and open to the public. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Those just interested in listening are also welcome!
Bluegrass Jams will be held on the fourth Saturday of each month from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m., serving as a great warm-up for Saturday night gigs! Musicians are asked to bring their own instruments.
The sessions will be held in the Learning Center at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.
For more information call 423-573-1927.

2022 Pick Along Summer Camp - Intermediate
2022-07-11 09:00 - 2022-07-15 15:00 | VA
At the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s Pick Along Summer Camp, students will learn foundational skills from expert instructors on the same style of acoustic instruments played on the 1927 Bristol Sessions recordings – banjo, guitar, or fiddle. Campers also get to explore the museum, learn about the music of Bristol and our region, receive instruction in singing and dancing, and work on projects with WBCM Radio Bristol while also making new friends! Students are given the opportunity to hone their skills as budding musicians while busking in Historic Downtown Bristol and will give a final performance for parents at the museum at the end of camp week.
Our Intermediate level Pick Along Summer Camp is designed for students aged 10-16.
June 20-24, 2022
Beginner Level – First time campers and those wanting a refresher in the basics
July 11-15, 2022
Intermediate Level – Return campers & those who already have basic skills in music

Times & Fees
Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Friday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
$175 for Birthplace of Country Music Museum members
$225 for non-members
Instrument Rental
$25

*Discounts are available for families with multiple campers. Sponsorships may be available upon request.
* Pick Along Summer Camp COVID protocols: Instructors, volunteers, and campers will be required to wear masks and social distance when in inside spaces during camp hours. Hand sanitizer and frequent handwashing opportunities will be available. These protocols are subject to change.
If you are selecting the Intermediate option July 11-15, see below to pay registration fee and fill out registration form:
CLICK HERE to pay registration fee for museum members
CLICK HERE to pay registration fee for non-members
CLICK HERE to pay instrument rental fee

Public Performance: Berea Festival Dancers
2022-07-12 15:15 - 16:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
When: Tuesday, July 12, 3:15pm
Where: Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Performance Theater
Cost: FREE
Please join us at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum on Tuesday, July 12, 3:15pm for a FREE dance performance by the Berea Festival Dancers!
The Berea Festival Dancers are a community folk dance group for youth in 7th through 12th grade. The group performs English Country Dances, Danish and Irish dances, English Ritual dances, Appalachian dances, and other American folk dance styles. International travels have taken them to England, Scotland, Wales, Spain, Ireland, Italy, China, Australia and Fiji, to present solo performances and to participate in international festival events. Domestically, the group has performed at Walt Disney World three times, toured from coast to coast, and danced in several Canadian provinces. We are excited to welcome them to the museum on July 12!
This dance demonstration/program will last around 30 to 45 minutes.

Teacher In-Service Workshops: Museum Education & Your Classroom
2022-07-18 - 2022-07-19 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
This summer the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is offering a Teacher In-Service Program in partnership with the Tennessee State Museum. The workshop will be divided into two sections:

The Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s lesson plans tied into Tennessee and Virginia state standards, educational resources, classroom and outreach activities, and field trip opportunities
The Tennessee State Museum’s resources, activities, and lessons for teaching students about the Reconstruction Era (while this is a Tennessee-focused museum, the materials TSM shares will also be helpful and appropriate to Virginia educators)

Event Details
Dates: Monday, July 18 (elementary) and Tuesday, July 19 (middle and high school)
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, Virginia
Times: 9:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. (lunch included)

9:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. – Tennessee State Museum (TSM) on the Reconstruction Era
11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. – Lunch
12:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m. – Birthplace of Country Music Museum (BCMM) lesson plans, educational resources and activities, and a museum tour

Cost: Free
Certificate: An in-service certificate for five (5) hours will be presented to attending educators
Registration: Space is limited so register early to attend!
Description:
Are you hoping to jumpstart your teaching game and find new ways to make learning enjoyable and relevant in the fall? Do you want to explore topics of local, regional, and national importance and interest that intersect with your classroom teaching? Are you interested in how museums can support your teaching goals and your students’ educational needs?
If so, then we invite all local and regional educators to attend one of our in-person workshops this summer at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum (BCMM). These professional development opportunities will be offered July 18 (elementary) and July 19 (middle and high school) from 9:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
The teacher in-service workshops will engage educators in a variety of topics. Highlights of the Tennessee State Museum’s session include accurate content and background knowledge about the Reconstruction Era; classroom activities and materials designed to meet state standards; an exploration of TSM’s newest traveling trunk, The Three Rs of Reconstruction: Rights, Restrictions, and Resistance; and an overview of free classroom resources offered by TSM. The Birthplace of Country Music Museum will share new lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high school levels about the artists and personalities who recorded at the 1927 Bristol Sessions story, the songs and music of early country music, and the technology that impacted the music of that era. These lessons will enable teachers to make connections between museum resources and will include Virginia and Tennessee state curriculum standards. Additionally, we will share a variety of resources that you can access to supplement lesson plans and student projects.
Licensure credit will be provided; see your district or school licensure representative for details. All attendees will also receive a door prize!
Sign up today for a music-filled, distinctively fun professional development opportunity to learn more about museum education and resources. We look forward to seeing you at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum!
REGISTER HERE NOW!

Speaker Series (Virtual): Ralph Peer II on the legacy of the 1927 Bristol Sessions
2022-07-18 19:00 - 20:30 | VA
Date: Monday, July 18, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: Free and open to the public
Virtual: Click here to register
On Monday, July 18 at 7:00 PM, we are continuing our Speaker Series with Ralph Peer II, Executive Chair of peermusic.
This year marks the 95th anniversary of the 1927 Bristol Sessions. In honor of that occasion, we are excited that Ralph Peer II, the son of Ralph S. Peer, the Victor producer at those historic recordings, will be with us via Zoom to talk about his father’s career, the legacy and impact of the 1927 Bristol Sessions, and the music industry.
Please note that this program is VIRTUAL ONLY; there will be NO in-person event.
About Ralph Peer II
Ralph Peer, II grew up in a household long familiar with country music. He remembers attending Jimmie Rodgers Days in Meridian as boy and, later in life, a number of visits to the Carter Fold and Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia.
He is now Executive Chair of a global network of music publishing and neighboring rights companies operating from 38 offices located in 31 countries, which was founded by his father, Ralph S. Peer, in 1928.
He is a lifetime Board member of the Country Music Association and Vice-President and Director of the National Music Publishers’ Association (USA), and he has served on the Boards of MCPS (UK), HFA (USA), ASCAP (USA), and the GRD (UK)
Mr. Peer is past Chair and a longtime Director of the Brussels-based International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP/CIEM). He was a founding Board Member of e-Music, serving from its inception until its sale to Vivendi.
He received his bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from Stanford University. In 1999 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Witten/Herdecke University in Germany.
He is a former Trustee of the Copyright Society of the USA for whom he delivered the 1983 Jean Geiringer lecture in International Copyright Law. Numerous recognitions for his service to songwriters and publishers have been awarded to him including those from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame, National Music Publishers Association, Music Publishers Association (USA), and International Confederation of Music Publishers (Brussels).
Mr. Peer was presented France’s top cultural honor – “Officier dans Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” (“Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters”) – in 2018.

Film Screening: Hillbilly
2022-07-28 18:30 - 20:00 | VA
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022
Time: 6:30 p.m. EDT (Doors open at 6:00 p.m., film runs 1 hour, 27 minutes)
Location: Performance Theater, Birthplace of Country Music
Cost: Free and open to the public, please RSVP
($5 suggested donation, all proceeds supports museum educational and public programming)
RSVP HERE
“With an endorsement from Dolly Parton herself, this investigative look at the unfairly maligned Appalachian people draws back the curtain on years of painful media representation. Hillbilly celebrates the humanity and diversity of this misunderstood American populace at a time when we all need to understand each other a little better.” – IndieWire
Directed by Emmy-Nominees Sally Rubin and Ashley York
Featuring bell hooks, Ronny Cox and Billy Redden from Deliverance, director Michael Apted, activists and writers Frank X Walker, Crystal Good, and Silas House, and musicians Sam Gleaves and Amythyst Kiah, hillbilly arrives at a crucial moment, confronting depictions of Appalachian and other rural people on a broad, national level.

This movie is for anyone who is a hillbilly or anyone who knows one.
Appalachia is no stranger to the complexity of media representation. Since our country’s inception, there has been a palpable divide between Urban and Rural America. Within this great divide, certain regions are viewed as “other,” and blamed for America’s social ills.
Since the presidential election, the cultural divide in America has expanded. Stereotyping and slurs are rampant, finger-pointing and name-calling abound. hillbilly goes on a personal and political journey into the heart of the Appalachian coalfields, exploring the role of media representation in the creation of the iconic American “hillbilly,” and examining the social, cultural, and political underpinnings of this infamous stereotype.
Filmed in Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, hillbilly uncovers an unexpected set of artists, poets, activists, queer musicians, “Affrilachian” poets, and intersectional feminists — all unexpected voices emerging from this historically misunderstood region.
Hillbilly is a timely and urgent exploration of how we see and think about poverty and rural identity in contemporary America, offering a call for dialogue during this divisive time in U.S. history.
This film screening is complementary programming to the museum special exhibit “It’ll Tickle Yore Innards!”: A (Hillbilly) History of Mountain Dew, on display now through August 7.

Trivia Night: Mountain Dew & More
2022-08-03 18:30 - 21:00 | Michael Waltrip Brewing, 221 Moore Street, BRISTOL, VA, 242014140, United States
When: Wednesday, August 3, 7:00-9:00pm
Where: Michael Waltrip Brewing, 221 Moore Street, Bristol, VA
Cost: Free and open to the public; a donation of $10 per team is suggested (all proceeds will support the museum’s educational and public programming)
Quiz team info: No limit on the number of quiz team members! Please arrive by 6:30pm to register your team for the event.
Join us at Michael Waltrip Brewing on Wednesday, August 3, for Trivia Night: Mountain Dew & More! Quiz Maestro Eric Drummond Smith, along with the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s curatorial team, will have questions galore on history, moonshine, NASCAR, music, an infamous lime-green soda, and hillbilly lore, from easy peasy to downright diabolical. So get your dream team together and come out for an evening of trivia fun. The winning team will receive some great museum and Mountain Dew swag!
This event is complementary programming to the museum’s current special exhibit – “It’ll Tickle Yore Innards!”: A (Hillbilly) History of Mountain Dew – on display through August 7.
Trivia Night: Mountain Dew & More is free but a donation of $10 per team is suggested – all proceeds will support the museum’s free or low-cost educational and public programming. There will be a donation jar at the event for anyone who would like to contribute.
Please arrive by 6:30pm to register your quiz team.

Speaker Series (Hybrid): Dr. Malcolm Smith on "Appalachian Fiddler Albert Hash: The Last Leaf on the Tree"
2022-08-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: Free and open to the public
In-person: RSVP here
Virtual: Register for Zoom link
Join us on Tuesday, August 9, 7:00 p.m. for our next Speaker Series (Hybrid) featuring Dr. Malcolm Smith talking about renowned Appalachian fiddler Albert Hash.
Guitar-building legend Wayne Henderson credits his entire career to the mentorship of Albert Hash. “He was a true folk hero,” says Henderson in the forward to Smith’s new Albert Hash biography. Born and raised near Whitetop Mountain in extreme poverty, Hash rose to become one of the premiere old-time fiddlers in the world with the Whitetop Mountain Band, as well as building hundreds of much sought after fiddles in his shop on Virginia’s second highest peak. With this Speaker Series, Smith will share stories and memories that he learned in over 100 hours of interviews conducted while researching Albert. A local musician will also demonstrate Albert’s unique bowing style and play some of Albert’s versions of tunes like “Hangman’s Reel.” Smith’s book Appalachian Fiddler Albert Hash: The Last Leaf on the Tree will also be available for purchase.
About Dr. Malcolm Smith
Dr. Malcolm Smith is a writer and banjo player who specializes in writing about old-time musicians. Besides writing the biography of Albert Hash, he has written countless stories for The Old Time Herald, SingOut!, and other magazines. He has written recent features on banjo builder Mac Traynham, 90-year-old banjoist Rhoda Kemp, Walt Koken and Clare Milner, and many other musicians.

Radio Bristol's Farm and Fun Time
2022-08-11 19:00 - 20:30 | VA
Date: Thursday, August 11, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; audience asked to be seated by 6:55 p.m.)
Location: Performance Theater at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Tickets: $35
BUY TICKETS HERE
Join us in the intimate performance theater at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum for WBCM Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun Time live variety show with special guests Fireside Collective, Larry Bellorin and Joe Troop.
Hosted by Kris Truelsen and his house band Bill and the Belles, Farm and Fun Time is a re-imagining of the classic WCYB Radio program of the same name that aired in the 1940s and 1950s. Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun broadcasts live before a studio audience and recorded for television syndication on PBS stations across the South. It can be accessed on 100.1 FM in the Bristol area, or online at ListenRadioBristol.org and on Radio Bristol’s free mobile app. Viewers may also tune in to watch through Radio Bristol’s Facebook page.

About Fireside Collective
A quintet who cheerfully disregard every kind of one-dimensional label that might be attached to their music, Fireside Collective has been on a roll since emerging seven years ago from the fertile roots music scene of Asheville, North Carolina. In quick order, the progressive bluegrass group released its debut album, won the 2016 Band Contest at MerleFest, earned an International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum Band of the Year nomination and embarked on an ambitious touring schedule that’s earned an enthusiastic reception from traditional bluegrass to wide-ranging, eclectic music festival audiences alike.
​Blending the characteristic interplay of bluegrass instrumentation and harmonies with strong original material and exuberant energy, Fireside Collective has drawn on folk, blues, funk and a wide variety of bluegrass sounds to create a distinctive body of work that’s all their own.

About Larry Bellorin and Joe Troop
Larry Bellorín & Joe Troop were destined to make music together. Larry hails from Monagas, Venezuela and is a legend of Llanera music. Joe is from North Carolina and is a GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass and oldtime musician. Larry was forced into exile and is an asylum seeker in North Carolina. Joe, after a decade in South America, got stranded back in his stomping grounds in the pandemic. Larry works construction to make ends meet. Joe’s acclaimed “latingrass” band Che Apalache was forced into hiatus, and he shifted into action working with asylum seeking migrants.
Currently based in the Triangle of North Carolina, both men are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters on a mission to show that music has no borders. As a duo they perform a fusion of Venezuelan and Appalachian folk music on harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, guitar, maracas and whatever else they decide to throw in the van. The program they offer features a distinct blend of their musical inheritances and traditions as well as storytelling about the ways that music and social movements coalesce.

About Bill and the Belles
Bill and the Belles is a Johnson City, TN-based band known for combining a stringband format with their signature harmonies, candid songwriting, and pop sensibilities. Their delightfully deadpan new album, Happy Again, is full of life, humor, and tongue-in-cheek explorations of love and loss. Bill and the Belles is Kris Truelsen on guitar, fiddler Kalia Yeagle, banjo/banjo-uke player Aidan VanSuetendael, and bassist Andrew Small. The group has a knack for saying sad things with a bit of an ironic smirk, and anyone who’s been to one of their shows can attest that you leave feeling lighter and refreshed. This is a band that revels in the in-between: deeply engaged with the stringband tradition and eager to stretch those influences to a contemporary setting. A timeless place where Jimmie Rodgers and Phil Spector can overlap, and a driving fiddle and banjo tune makes way for a sentimental parlor song. And while Bill and the Belles’ latest chapter offers a bigger, moodier, and more decade-ambiguous sound, they maintain their status as the most refreshing stringband around. Visit the band’s website at BillandtheBelles.com for touring and more information.

VMFA on the Road Artmobile at Birthplace of Country Music Museum
2022-09-07 - 2022-09-11 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Event: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on the Road Artmobile at the Museum!
About: The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is bringing traveling art exhibitions and educational offerings to audiences across the state with VMFA on the Road: An Artmobile for the 21st century! This state-of-the-art mobile museum and education studio will be at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and open to school groups, drop-in visitors, and Bristol Rhythm festivalgoers for several days in September.
Dates: Wednesday, September 7–Sunday, September 11, 2022
Wednesday, September 7–Thursday, September 8 (for school visits and drop-in visitors)
Friday, September 9–Sunday, September 11 (for drop-in visitors and Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion festivalgoers)
Location: Parked on Country Music Way in front of the museum
Exhibit Description: This year’s VMFA on the Road exhibition is titled Revealing and Obscuring Identity: Portraits from the Permanent Collection. It examines the complex role of portraiture across cultures and time periods. Beginning with the Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro, and concluding with American artist Gordon Stettinius, the exhibit explores how artists have used portraiture as a means to both reveal and obscure their sitter’s identity. Traditionally, portraiture has been used to highlight the sitter’s wealth, power, beauty, virtue, and intelligence and has been reserved for the elite of society. Several of the works in this exhibition maintain this tradition while others employ it as means to explore truths about the nature of art, the way we perceive beauty, and the way culture influences and reflects personal identity.
Family Visit Guide: A Family Visit Guide is available online, and paper copies will be available at the Artmobile for visitors to use and take with them.
COVID Protocols: The VMFA on the Road Artmobile is following these protocols:
*Not requiring visitors to wear masks on the artmobile
*Have a maximum of 15-20 persons on board at the same time
*There’s no time limit on general visits
*30-minute school tour group visits
*Hand sanitizer will be available
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DROP-IN VISITORS
Drop-in visitors can view the Artmobile for free on Wednesday, September 7 and Thursday, September 8, 2021 at times when school groups are not booked, see below (BOOKED and OPEN FOR DROP-IN VISITORS times will be marked as such).
Drop-ins are also welcome Friday, September 9–Sunday, September 11 (see open times below) because the Artmobile will be just outside the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion festival gates, but entry into the festival footprint requires a BRRR 2022 wristband.
Take an art break! Bring your friends, family, kids, grandma, or whoever you know who would enjoy a wonderful art experience and drop-in on the VMFA on the Road Artmobile. This is a FREE opportunity!
The Artmobile will be closed Wednesday and Thursday 11:50am–12:50pm for lunch.

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School Information
School groups can visit the Artmobile on Wednesday, September 7 and Thursday, September 8, 2022. This is a FREE visit!
The VMFA on the Road Artmobile will be open to middle school, high school, and college groups on September 7–8, 2022. A field trip to the Artmobile exposes students to multiple art mediums and concepts using visual thinking, sketching, and writing. Admission is free to the Artmobile.
Several time slots are available for school group visits (please get in touch if you need another time than the ones shown below, e.g. later in the day):
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
10:00–10:30am BOOKED
10:40–11:10am BOOKED
11:20–11:50am BOOKED
12:00 pm–12:30pm BOOKED
12:30–1:30pm CLOSED FOR LUNCH
1:30–2:00pm OPEN FOR DROP-IN VISITORS
2:10–2:40pm OPEN FOR DROP-IN VISITORS
2:50–3:20pm OPEN FOR DROP-IN VISITORS
3:30–4:00pm OPEN FOR DROP-IN VISITORS
4:30-5:00pm BOOKED
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
10:00–10:30am BOOKED
10:40–11:10am BOOKED
11:20–11:50am BOOKED
11:50am–12:50pm CLOSED FOR LUNCH
12:50–1:20pm OPEN FOR DROP-IN VISITORS
1:30–2:00pm BOOKED
2:10–2:40pm BOOKED
2:50–3:20pm OPEN FOR DROP-IN VISITORS
3:30–4:00pm OPEN FOR DROP-IN VISITORS
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum has some funds available to help schools with transportation costs on a first come-first served basis. Please contact ebarker@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org for more information.
Educators can pick from a variety of learning activities for their student visit, including Looking to Learn, Sketching to Learn, Moving to Learn, and Writing to Learn.
A tour of the Artmobile is a 30-minute experience. An optimum visit has 10–12 students (with one adult); larger groups will be divided into groups of 20 (with two adults). Teachers can also add a FREE guided tour of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s special exhibit 1968: A Folsom Redemption (also a 30-minute experience) to your visit to the Artmobile. 1968: A Folsom Redemption exhibit presents a collection of photographs and memories of two journalists lucky enough to be among a handful of eyewitnesses to the historic Johnny Cash concerts at Folsom Prison. Highlighting Cash’s golden era from the January 1968 Folsom Prison album recording to a March 1, 1969 concert in Anaheim, California, when he was getting ready to launch his network television show, the collection include a wide range of intimate photos with friends and family to a backstage meeting with country music legend Merle Haggard with the Man in Black., making it a wonderful companion to the Artmobile. If you would like to also book a tour of the museum’s permanent exhibits, our usual student group admission applies.
For further information about a VMFA on the Road Artmobile experience for your students and to book a tour, please contact Erika Barker at ebarker@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org, providing the following information: Date of tour, preferred time of tour, name of school, teacher’s name, grade level, and size of group.
Bookings must be made by September 1, 2022.

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Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Information
Festivalgoers can visit the Artmobile on Friday, September 9– Sunday, September 11, 2022
The VMFA on the Road Artmobile will be free and open to festivalgoers on September 9—11, 2022, just one more way to make your Bristol Rhythm experience even more special! It will be open at the following times:
Friday, September, 9: 1:00–7:00pm
Saturday, September 10: 9:00am–6:00pm (closed 1:00–2:00pm for lunch)
Sunday, September 11: 10:00am–5:00pm (closed 1:00–2:00pm for lunch)

Bristol Sessions Super Raffle Prize Drawing
2022-09-11 12:00 - 16:00 | VA
Join us in-person or tune in to WBCM Radio Bristol for the Bristol Sessions Super Raffle live drawing at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum during Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion – where we’re giving away up to $250,000 in cash and big prizes!
Date: Sunday, September 11, 2022
Time: Noon – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Raffle Ticket Price: $100
BUY RAFFLE TICKETS
BROWSE RAFFLE PRIZES
The Birthplace of Country Music (BCM) will hold its fourth annual Bristol Sessions Super Raffle as a fundraiser to benefit the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. The Super Raffle drawings will take place on Sunday, September 11, 2022, from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. The Super Raffle is an opportunity for patrons to support the Museum while creating an opportunity to win one of 49 great prizes.
A winner will be drawn every five (5) minutes and prizes include vehicles, a vacation, jewelry, a motorcycle, and much more – plus LOTS OF CASH! Only 5,000 tickets are available for purchase, and ticket buyers do not have to be present to win.
Winners will be announced during the live event at the Museum. Winners will also be notified via phone or mail. Additionally, winners will be listed on the Bristol Sessions Super Raffle website and Facebook event page on the day of the Raffle.
Raffle tickets are for sale for $100 each and include two ticket numbers on each ticket. BCM is offering an incentive to ticket purchasers who buy multiple tickets. The “Buy 10 Get 1 Free” offer gives the buyer a free ticket with the purchase of 10 tickets. The “Buy 10 get 1 free” option must be purchased by a single buyer, and those 11 tickets must all be in one individual’s name, or in no more than two names designated by the buyer (if, as example, a male Buyer wants to put 5 in his name, and 6 in his wife’s name).
Tickets can be purchased online or at one of the following locations:

Birthplace of Country Music Museum (Bristol, VA)
Progressive Tractor (18044 Lee Hwy. Abingdon, VA)
The Travel Shop (339 W. Main Street, Abingdon, VA)
Friendship Ford (3192 W. State Street, Bristol, TN)
Abingdon Olive Oil Company 102 E Main St Suite #1, Kingsport, TN
Abingdon Olive Oil Company 335 Cummings St. Abingdon, VA
Friendship Motorsports (2033 W. State Street, Bristol, TN)
Wallace Kia of Bristol (340 Volunteer Parkway, Bristol, TN)
Wallace Nissan of Kingsport (2733 East Stone Drive, Kingsport, TN 37660)
Cranberry Lane (623 State St, Bristol, VA 24201)
Online at BristolSessionsSuperRaffle.org

Tickets for the Raffle will be on sale until September 10 or when 5,000 tickets are sold.
If tickets are still available, they will be sold at the Museum and online until 11:59 PM on Saturday, September 10, 2022. Tickets may not be sold by other ticket sellers after 11:59 on September 7, 2022.
The Raffle drawing will be held on Sunday September 11, 2022, and the drawing will take place at the Museum at 101 Country Music Way, just outside Festival gates.
For a complete list of rules, frequently asked questions, a list of all the prizes, and to purchase tickets, click here.

1968: A Folsom Redemption Talk with Journalist Gene Beley
2022-09-29 19:00 - 21:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Thursday, September 29, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: $15 +tax
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Join us on Thursday, September 29, 7:00pm for an in-depth talk with journalist Gene Beley about his time with Johnny Cash at the January 13, 1968 Folsom Prison concerts and recordings!
It was early January 1968 when Gene Beley and Dan Poush, a writer-photographer team working for the Star-Free Press out of Ventura, California, and national magazine freelancers, were invited to go to Folsom Prison. Beley notes: “In those days, before the At Folsom Prison album changed the singer’s life, our newspaper tended to write only negative stories about Cash. His own infamy had begun to overshadow the musical accomplishments of his earlier years; in short, Cash’s career was truly on the skids at that time.”
Though Johnny Cash was the star of the show and his visit to Folsom Prison was hugely impactful on his career, the concert was also the story of supporting players—from the connections laid by his good friend, Revered Floyd Gressett, to the adventurous nature of Columbia Records’ maverick A&R man Bob Johnston, to the calming influence of June Carter (not yet Cash), to the meaningful contributions of Folsom Prison inmate Glen Sherley, whose song “Greystone Chapel” ended up on the historic album.
Gene Beley will share memories, photos, personal stories, and audio clips from that fateful weekend, giving attendees behind-the-scenes access to Johnny Cash’s redemptive visit to Folsom State Prison on January 13, 1968, along with other successful concerts in 1968 and 1969.
This program is complementary programming for 1968: A Folsom Redemption, a special exhibit on display at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum from September 1 to October 20, 2022. Ticket-holders to the Gene Beley talk can tour the exhibit for free from 6:00 to 6:45pm before the program begins at 7:00pm.
1968: A Folsom Redemption is a Program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts.
About Gene Beley
Gene Beley has an M.S. from U.C.L.A. 1967, and a B.A. from San Jose State College, 1963. He was lucky enough to have U.C.L.A. professors like William Dozier, producer of Batman and The Green Hornet. While a student at U.C.L.A., Beley worked at NBC TV in Burbank as a videotape coordinator and assistant to the elections unit manager. After U.C.L.A., he went to work for the Ventura Star Free Press daily newspaper as a general assignments reporter and photographer. During his tenure there, he became friends with writer Ray Bradbury and singer, Johnny Cash. Cash invited Dan Poush, the chief photographer on the paper, and Beley to go to a weekend concert with him at Folsom Prison on January 13, 1968. That day has had a lifetime influence on Beley’s life. Beley got to hang out with Johnny Cash, June Carter and the band at many other concerts during the following two years. In more recent years Beley became the go-to guy for media photos on Cash and sold thousands of them through the Folsom Prison Museum’s gift shop.
Beley was also the only one who recorded the “Night Before Rehearsal” of the now historic Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison concert. Sony Music made the rehearsal into a separate album and packaged it into a box set for the 50th anniversary celebration—all in 78 RPM records for collectors. Beley has also appeared in three Johnny Cash documentary movies as a commentator on Cash’s life during his redemption years of 1968-1969.
Beley founded his own newspaper, Country News, from 1989 to 2005 in Morgan Hill, CA where he did it all… sold the ads, wrote the articles, took the photos, and supervised the printing on a big press at the Salinas, Ca newspaper. In 2005, while waiting for his editor wife, Jill, to retire, Beley lived on a boat in the California Delta and finished writing his first book, RAY BRADBURY UNCENSORED, the only unauthorized biography on his late, great mentor and author of books like Fahrenheit 451 and the screenwriter for Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space, a 1953 3-D pioneering science-fiction movie.
In addition to his writing and publishing career, Beley has been an entrepreneur. In the 1960s, while still a reporter-photographer, he began learning the game business with Foosball tables when no one knew what they were. When he moved from Ventura to Los Angeles to take a job as the West Coast Editor for ARCO’s publications, he continued this side coin-op business and began a specialty of converting aging billiard rooms in bowling centers to electronic game arcades. That’s back when pinballs were illegal but a California Supreme Court case changed all that and exploded his business. Beley quit ARCO and never looked back from self-employment again. Beley diversified into radio controlled show-entertainment robots just before the Star Wars movie and surfed that wave with Fortune 500 type companies and department stores hiring his robots as an attention-getter at trade shows, sales meetings and special events. One of the first 5’ 2” fiberglass robots was sold to the Playboy Mansion for Hugh Hefner’s 1980 Christmas present and was featured in the January 1981 Playboy Magazine.
Today Beley and his wife recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and enjoy their retirement life in another lakefront home in Stockton, California.

Speaker Series: Spooky Stories and Terrifying Tales with the Haint Mistress of Abingdon
2022-10-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: Free and open to the public
In-person: RSVP here
Virtual: Link here
Join us on Tuesday, October 4 at 7:00pm for an evening of spooky stories with Donnamarie Emmert, the famous Haint Mistress of Abingdon. Donnamarie will share local and regional tales of goosebump-raising ghosts and witches, horrifying historical happenings, and more with our audience – the perfect way to get ready for Halloween later in the month!
About Donnamarie Emmert
Donnamarie Emmert has been sharing Abingdon, Virginia’s secrets, legends, and ghostly tales for over 25 years. Having a Masters Degree in Storytelling, an outrageous love for of all things Halloween-y and that go bump in the night, and a ferocious attraction to history, she combines these skills into a memorable entertainment.

Museum Volunteer Training
2022-10-11 17:00 - 20:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
We want YOU to join our wonderful team of volunteers at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum!
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Learning Center
If you have a passion for Bristol and its musical legacy and love helping others, our museum volunteer program is the perfect fit for you!
Museum volunteers play a vital role in a number of key areas behind the scenes and on the front lines, such as working as a gallery assistant, helping out in The Museum Store, working with the public at events and programs, and so much more! Our Museum Volunteer Training session gets you acquainted with every aspect of the museum to help you find your area of interest. Volunteer schedules are flexible and fun!
If you are interested in coming to our Museum Volunteer Training, email Myrissa at volunteercoordinator@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.

DBVI "Out of Sight" Experience
2022-10-12 12:00 - 16:00 | VA
Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum
FREE EVENT!
The Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired brings it’s “Out of Sight” Experience to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month and White Cane Day. Drop in anytime during the day, or make it a point to hear DBVI success stories during a special presentation at 2:30 p.m. in the performance theater. There will be free activities and drawings for door prizes.
Visit DBVI on Facebook for more information.

Radio Bristol's Farm and Fun Time
2022-10-13 19:00 - 20:30 | VA
Date: Thursday, October 13, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; audience asked to be seated by 6:55 p.m.)
Location: Performance Theater at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Tickets: $35
SOLD OUT!
Join us in the intimate performance theater at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum for WBCM Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun Time live variety show with special guests Sunny Sweeney and Ferd.
Hosted by Kris Truelsen and his house band Bill and the Belles, Farm and Fun Time is a re-imagining of the classic WCYB Radio program of the same name that aired in the 1940s and 1950s. Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun broadcasts live before a studio audience and recorded for television syndication on PBS stations across the South. It can be accessed on 100.1 FM in the Bristol area, or online at ListenRadioBristol.org and on Radio Bristol’s free mobile app. Viewers may also tune in to watch through Radio Bristol’s Facebook page.

About Sunny Sweeney
Sunny Sweeney, a genre-bending, songwriting spitfire who has spent equal time in the rich musical traditions of Texas and Tennessee, returns with Married Alone, the celebrated singer-songwriter’s fifth studio album and the follow-up to 2017’s critically acclaimed Trophy. Co-produced by beloved Texas musician and larger-than-life personality Paul Cauthen and the Texas Gentlemen’s multi-hyphenate Beau Bedford, Married Alone is Sweeney’s finest work yet, bringing together confessional songwriting, image-rich narratives and no shortage of sonic surprises for a loosely conceptual album about loss and healing.

About FERD
Ferd is a man and a band creating a fresh and vibrant interpretation of American music. Ferd is set to release their first album, Feelin’ Like the Wind, in 2022. The album is a musical journey into the toils of joy we all find while stumbling our way to forgiveness.
Ferd Moyse the man was raised in the Mississippi Delta. Born in the land of the Blues, he was exposed to music from the beginning. Sometimes his parents might take him to parties where the likes of Sam Chatman may have been playing, but when he was old enough to be left alone, his job was staying home flipping cassette tapes for his father’s weekly ritual of recording a Mississippi Public Radio show called, “Grass Roots.” The 3-hour show was young Ferd’s introduction into bluegrass and old time music.
At the same time, music was all over the Delta and he would see things from Son Thomas playing at his church or John Hartford at an old high school auditorium. Ferd began playing guitar at an early age and began performing with various blues bands around Mississippi. A chance encounter with a Doc and Merle Watson CD turned his attention to acoustic music and into Appalachia. He moved to western North Carolina and crossed paths with the fiddle, eventually becoming fiddler and singer with the Virginia based Hackensaw Boys.The band was turning heads making original music with a punk-rock spirit. With the Hackensaw Boys, Ferd traveled nationally and internationally playing every festival and club stage they could find, creating an unpretentious version of our folk music. They eventually released albums for Netwerk and Free Dirt Record labels and even working with grammy-winning producer Larry Campbell. Ferd is also know all over by his work with the New York based bard, Morgan O’kane. Together, Ferd and O’kane have traveled extensively busking and playing stages from Brazil to Belfast.

About Bill and the Belles
Bill and the Belles is a Johnson City, TN-based band known for combining a stringband format with their signature harmonies, candid songwriting, and pop sensibilities. Their delightfully deadpan new album, Happy Again, is full of life, humor, and tongue-in-cheek explorations of love and loss. Bill and the Belles is Kris Truelsen on guitar, fiddler Kalia Yeagle, banjo/banjo-uke player Aidan VanSuetendael, and bassist Andrew Small. The group has a knack for saying sad things with a bit of an ironic smirk, and anyone who’s been to one of their shows can attest that you leave feeling lighter and refreshed. This is a band that revels in the in-between: deeply engaged with the stringband tradition and eager to stretch those influences to a contemporary setting. A timeless place where Jimmie Rodgers and Phil Spector can overlap, and a driving fiddle and banjo tune makes way for a sentimental parlor song. And while Bill and the Belles’ latest chapter offers a bigger, moodier, and more decade-ambiguous sound, they maintain their status as the most refreshing stringband around. Visit the band’s website at BillandtheBelles.com for touring and more information.

Film Screening: Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison
2022-10-20 18:30 - 20:00 | VA
Join us for a free screening of the motion picture “Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison” at the museum!
Date: Thursday, October 20, 2022
Time: 6:30 p.m. EDT
Location: Performance Theater, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: FREE Event!
RSVP HERE
“Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison”
Directed by Crane Wilbur
1951, Warner Brothers
Remastered in 2011; run time 87 minutes.
Companion programming to the special exhibit “1968: A Folsom Redemption,” “Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison” is a 1951 American film noir crime film starring Steve Cochran and David Brian. Set in Folsom State Prison in California, the film was seen both in the United States and Europe. Set during the 1920s, before the 1944 California prison reform, the story follows a sadistic prison warden who rules with a ruthless hand and the prison guard who crusades to stop him. Johnny Cash saw this movie while serving in the United States Air Force in West Germany in October 1951; and the film inspired him to write what would become his hit song “Folsom Prison Blues.”
The film screening will be held on the final day of the special exhibit “1968: A Folsom Redemption.” Those in attendance for the film screening will be given the opportunity to tour the special exhibit for free just prior to the film at 6:00 p.m. The film begins promptly at 6:30 p.m.

Free Community Day at the Museum
2022-10-29 10:00 - 18:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Join us on Saturday, October 29, 10:00am-6:00pm for the museum’s Community Day! As a way to give back to our community, we will be offering FREE admission all day long. Visitors can explore the museum’s permanent exhibits throughout the day and participate in a variety of family-friendly activities from 12:00pm to 3:00pm. Activities will include:

Instrument Petting Zoo – Learn about and play different stringed instruments with Boppin’ Bailey George and Jukebox Jess
Square Dancing – Do-si-do with square dance caller Tyler Hughes
Spooky Stories – Join our readers for some great spooky and Halloween-themed reading
3D Printing – Make a guitar pick with T.J. DeWitt from the Bristol Public Library
Takeaways – Take the museum home with you with our banjo craft kits and music-related activity sheets

This is a great opportunity to have a fun day out with family and friends! Kids and the young-at-heart can experience other cool events in Historic Downtown Bristol on October 29, including Pumpkin Palooza, Downtown Trick-or-Treating 10am–12pm, a Costume Contest at Cumberland Square Park 10:30am–12:00pm, and Comics and More at Mountain Empire Comics and along 6th Street throughout the day.

Square Dance at the Museum is BACK!
2022-11-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
UPDATE: EVENT SOLD OUT!
Time to “do-si-do”! You’re invited to a square dance at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum!
Date: Friday, November 4, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Tickets: Free, but please RSVP HERE
After a two-year break, Square Dancing at the Museum is back! Join us for an evening of old-fashioned square dancing with caller Tyler Hughes, who will lead the evening with live music to get your feet moving. No partner or experience necessary – just a desire to have a great night out!
This square dance is free and open to the public, though donations will be greatly appreciated!
Get your dancing shoes on and spread the word! For more information, email info@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org or call 423-573-1927.

* The square dance will be held in the museum’s Special Exhibits Gallery, and we ask participants to wear sturdy, comfortable shoes (no heels please!) to protect the wooden floor.

Speaker Series: Jason Ahner on Martin Guitars
2022-11-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: Free and open to the public
Virtual only: REGISTER HERE
Join us on Tuesday, November 8 at 7:00pm for our conversation with Jason Ahner, archivist and museum manager for Martin Guitars! Jason will give insight into the role Martin Guitars has played – and continues to play – in country music and beyond, and why Martin has became synonymous with top quality acoustic instruments. Please note: This Speaker Series is VIRTUAL ONLY.
About Jason Ahner
Jason Ahner is a native Pennsylvanian who has lived his entire life within a half hour drive of the Martin factory. He has been with Martin Guitar for 10 1/2 years, serving as the company’s archivist since 2018 and managing its museum since 2019. Prior to his role as archivist, Jason held positions in customer service and the polishing department in the factory. He’s had a fascination with the guitar for as long as he can remember and started playing guitar when he was 6. He’s also always loved history and hasbeen studying the history of Martin Guitar and other guitar manufacturers for over two decades.

Bluegrass Jam
2022-12-03 14:00 - 17:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in partnership with the East Tennessee Bluegrass Association is hosting a monthly gathering of local musicians for a bluegrass jam session! The jam events are intended to provide a space for local musicians to gather and pick, collaborate, share their experiences, and—most importantly—to have fun. The jams are acoustic and only feature traditional bluegrass instruments: acoustic guitar, upright bass, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and dobro.
The jams are free and open to the public. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Those just interested in listening are also welcome!
Bluegrass Jams will be held on Saturday Dec. 3 from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m., serving as a great warm-up for Saturday night gigs! Musicians are asked to bring their own instruments.
The sessions will be held in the Learning Center at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.
For more information call 423-573-1927.

Speaker Series: "All Aboard!" Inside Appalachia's Santa Train with Don Royston
2022-12-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: Free and open to the public; we encourage all in-person attendees to bring a non-perishable food item for the Bristol Emergency Food Pantry
In-person: RSVP here
Virtual: LINK here
Join us on Tuesday, December 13 at 7:00pm for an evening with Don Royston a.k.a. Santa Claus from the Appalachia’s Santa Train! Royston will share the program’s history and his memories from his time on the Santa Train over the years.
The train, which is set to make its 80th trip from Pikeville, Kentucky, to Kingsport, Tennessee, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving in celebration of the holiday season, makes 14 stops in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, distributing more than 15 tons and $300,000 worth of clothing, food, candy, toys, and gifts to thousands of people in the Appalachian region.
This event is free and open to the public, but you will need to register for the Zoom link if you attending virtually. We ask that you RSVP at the link above if you will be joining us in-person. We also encourage all in-person attendees to bring a non-perishable food item for the Bristol Emergency Food Pantry!
About Don Royston
Don Royston was with Dent K. Burk Associates, P.C. from 1974 and a principal from 1982 until 2016 when they merged their firm with Brown Edwards & Company, LLP. He retired from the full-time practice of public accounting in 2018. He is a graduate of Tennessee High in Bristol, Tennessee and East Tennessee State University (ETSU). He now maintains his active CPA license.
Don is a member of Colonial Heights Baptist Church. In addition, he serves in numerous professional andcommunity organizations, including the Appalachian Chapter of TSCPA; the Tennessee Society of CPAs; Kingsport College Foundation, which serves as the advisory committee for ETSU at Kingsport; the Inventor Center of Kingsport; Kingsport Homeless Ministry Inc.; Appalachian Miles for Smiles, Inc.; Kiwanis Club; Tennessee Baptist Association; and Microloans of Belize.
He has been actively involved in the Kingsport Chamber/CSX Transportation Santa Train, playing Santa Claus since 1999 (24 years!). He also supports the Santa Train Scholarship Program.
Don and his wife Vicki (deceased) have two children, Audrey and Rachael, and five grandchildren.

NEW! Museum Story Time!
2023-01-06 10:30 - 11:15 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, January 6, 2023
Time: 10:30 AM
Cost: Free and open to the public
Join us in the museum’s Learning Center for our new monthly Museum Story Time program! Aimed at toddler-age children and their grown-ups, we will come together on the first Friday of each month for a music- or Appalachia-related storybook, a tune or two, and a related activity or coloring sheet.
This month we will be reading Coat of Many Colors written by Dolly Parton and illustrated by Brooke Boynton-Hughes.
Country music legend Dolly Parton’s rural upbringing in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee provides the backdrop for this special picture book. Using lyrics from her classic song “Coat of Many Colors,” the book tells the story of a young girl in need of a warm winter coat. When her mother sews her a coat made of rags, the girl is mocked by classmates for being poor. But Parton’s trademark positivity carries through to the end as the girl realizes that her coat was made with love “in every stitch.” Beautiful illustrations pair with Parton’s poetic lyrics in this heartfelt picture book sure to speak to all young readers.
About the Author
Dolly Parton is an internationally renowned superstar who has contributed timeless classics to the world of music entertainment, including “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and the mega-hit “I Will Always Love You.” She has garnered seven Grammy Awards, ten Country Music Association Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and is one of only five female artists to win the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award. She has written over 3,000 songs and authored four books, including the inspirational Dream More (Putnam) and the children’s book I Am A Rainbow (Penguin).
Ms. Parton’s Dollywood Company provides family entertainment and hospitality to five million guests per year at Dollywood, Splash Country, Dixie Stampede, Pirate’s Voyage, Lumberjack Adventure, and the Dream More Resort.
In 1988, she began the Dollywood Foundation to inspire children in her home community to dream more, learn more, do more, and care more. Currently the foundation offers Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to communities across America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Belize. The program works with local partners to give every preschool child a book each month from the time he or she is born until the child reaches kindergarten. Currently over 90 million books have been gifted to preschool children.

Speaker Sessions: Kristina Gaddy on the Banjo's Hidden History
2023-01-10 19:00 - 20:30 | VA
Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: Free and open to the public
In-person: RSVP here
Virtual: LINK here
Join author Kristina Gaddy for a discussion of her new book Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History. In an extraordinary story unfolding across two hundred years, Kristina uncovers the banjo’s key role in Black spirituality, ritual, and rebellion. Learn about the earliest history of the banjo through music, images, and a reading, with a special focus on the history of the banjo in Virginia and the resurgence of Black banjo players in American music today. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
About Kristina Gaddy
Kristina R. Gaddy, author of Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History and Flowers in the Gutter: The True Story of the Edelweiss Pirates, Teenagers Who Resisted the Nazis, is a Baltimore-based writer and fiddler. She has received the Parsons Award from the Library of Congress, Logan Nonfiction Fellowship, and a Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Rubys artist award. She holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Goucher College, and her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Baltimore magazine, Washington City Paper, Baltimore Sun, Bitch Magazine, Narratively, Proximity, Atlas Obscura, OZY, Shore Monthly, and other smaller history and music publications.
