Museum Story Time: Lorraine, The Girl Who Sang the Storm Away by Ketch Secor
2023-09-01 10:30 - 11:30 (America/New_York) | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, September 1, 2023
Time: 10:30 a.m. EST
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: Free and open to the public
Join us in the museum’s Learning Center for our monthly Museum Story Time program. Aimed at toddler-age children and their grown-ups, we will gather on the first Friday of each month for a music- or Appalachia-related storybook, a tune or two by WBCM Radio Bristol show host Ella Patrick, and a related activity or coloring sheet.
This month we will be reading Hello Crow written by Jeff Daniel Marion and illustrated by Leslie Bowman.
About Lorraine, The Girl Who Sang The Storm Away
Old Crow Medicine Show founder and Grammy award-winning musician Ketch Secor teams up with Ashley Bryan Award-winning illustrator Higgins Bond to create this sweeping, epic Americana story about the power of music and family.
“Who needs a whistle or some shiny thing
when you’ve got a voice and a song that can sing!”
Lorraine and her Pa Paw spend their days celebrating life with the music of the Tennessee hills. With Pa Paw’s harmonica and Lorraine’s pennywhistle, the pair can face just about anything. But when a fearsome storm rolls in and their instruments are nowhere to be found, can Lorraine find the music inside herself to get them through?
About the Author
Ketch Secor is the founder of the band Old Crow Medicine Show. He won a Grammy for his involvement in the concert film, “Big Easy Express.” Old Crow Medicine Show has sold over 700,000 albums. Ketch lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Learn more at crowmedicine.com.
“Lorraine was inspired by the Appalachian people I met when I lived in eastern Tennessee during the infancy of my band, Old Crow Medicine Show. The folktales they told stayed with me for years until I finally wrote my own.”
About the Illustrator
Higgins Bond received the 2009 Ashley Bryan Award for outstanding contribution to children’s literature. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit her at higginsbond.com.
Higgins was drawn to Lorraine’s story because of the devotion between the girl and her grandfather and the magic of the sounds they create. “To feel the healing power of music is something everyone can identify with.”

VMFA on the Road Artmobile at Birthplace of Country Music Museum
2023-09-06 - 2023-09-10 | 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 6–Sunday, September 10, 2023
Wednesday, September 6–Thursday, September 7 (for school visits and drop-in visitors)
Friday, September 8–Sunday, September 10 (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 6 and Thursday, September 7, 2023 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 8–Sunday, September 10 (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 2023 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 6 and Thursday, September 7, 2023. This is a FREE visit!
The VMFA on the Road Artmobile will be open to middle school, high school, and college groups on September 6–7, 2023. 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, and schools can book multiple/consecutive time slots if needed (please get in touch if you need another time than the ones shown below, e.g. later in the day):
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
10:00–10:30am BOOKED
10:40–11:10am BOOKED
11:20–11:50am BOOKED
11:50–12:50pm CLOSED FOR LUNCH
12:50–1:20pm
1:30–2:00pm
2:10–2:40pm
2:50–3:20pm
3:30–4:00pm
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
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 BOOKED
1:30–2:00pm
2:10–2:40pm
2:50–3:20pm
3:30–4:00pm BOOKED
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 I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music (also a 30-minute experience) to your visit to the Artmobile. This exhibit is a wonderful companion to the Artmobile experience, giving students and teachers the chance to explore women’s history and stories more deeply. Women have always been central to old-time music – in the home and on the stage, and as instrumentalists and singers, preservationists, activities, promotors, and cultural memory keepers. I’ve Endured highlights the many women who have been integral to this music, exploring the challenges they’ve faced making a career in the field, the ways they have impacted the genre, and their vision for the future of old-time. 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, 2023.

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Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Information
Festivalgoers can visit the Artmobile on Friday, September 8– Sunday, September 10, 2023
The VMFA on the Road Artmobile will be free and open to festivalgoers on September 8—10, 2023, just one more way to make your Bristol Rhythm experience even more special! A fun arts & crafts table will also be set up outside the Artmobile for anyone who needs a creativity break!
The Artmobile will be open at the following times:
Friday, September, 8: 1:00–7:00pm
Saturday, September 9: 9:00am–6:00pm (closed 1:00–2:00pm for lunch)
Sunday, September 10: 10:00am–5:00pm (closed 1:00–2:00pm for lunch)

Monthly Bluegrass Jam
2023-09-23 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, hosts 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 joining as a spectator are welcome at no charge.
Bluegrass Jams will be held every fourth Saturday of the 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. Beginner-focused hour from 2:00-3:00.
The sessions will be held in the Learning Center at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.
For more information call 423-573-1927.

Film Screening: Reel 'Em, Boys, Reel 'Em w/ Filmmaker Q&A
2023-09-29 18:30 - 20:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, September 29, 2023
Time: 6:30 p.m. Eastern
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum Performance Theater
Cost: Free and open to the public but please register HERE
Join us on Friday, September 29, 6:30 p.m. for a screening of the documentary Reel ‘Em, Boys, Reel ‘Em followed by a live Q&A with filmmaker Becky Hill.
Reel ‘Em, Boys, Reel ‘Em features West Virginia traditional square dancing and step dancing and follows the Mountain Dance Trail as it winds across the Mountain State. Interviews with callers, musicians, dancers, and dance historians, along with current square dance footage and archival footage from Augusta Heritage Center are combined to create a film that celebrates the importance of old-time music and dance. Centuries old dance customs are discussed and revealed in the traditions as they exist today. This film documents the exceptional endurance of traditional dance in West Virginia.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Becky Hill.
This program is complementary programming to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music exhibit, on display through December 31, 2023. This exhibit has been funded in part by grants from Virginia Humanities, the Massengill-DeFriece Foundation, and the IBMA Foundation, along with local women-led business sponsorship from Friends of Southwest Virginia, The Crooked Road, Artemis Consulting Services, LLC, Bristol Ballet, Suzi Griffin (Studio 6), Kim Sproles (KS Promotions), and Kayla Stevenson (Matte Nail Bar). East Tennessee Foundation Arts Fund provided grant funding for related public programming, and the Virginia Tourism Corporation provided grant funding for the exhibit’s website.
About Becky Hill
B​ecky Hill is a percussive dancer, square dance caller, choreographer, community organizer, and educator.
She grew up in Michigan, spent extensive time in West Virginia and now resides in Brentwood, Maryland. Becky has worked with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, Good Foot Dance Company and Rhythm in Shoes, and has studied with an array of percussive dance luminaries.
In 2013, she was involved in Wheatland Music Organization’s Carry It On… Project where she was commissioned to choreograph two works under the mentorship of Sharon Leahy in honor of the festival’s 40th anniversary. In 2014 and 2106, she was awarded a West Virginia Division of Culture and History Professional Development Grant to further her study of percussive dance. Becky served as the Artist in Residence at Davis & Elkins College from 2013 – 2015 where she coordinated The Mountain Dance Trail of Augusta Heritage Center and co-directed the Appalachian Ensemble. She became the Events Coordinator for Augusta Heritage Center from 2015 – 2019 organizing their summer intensives. Together with noted folklorist Gerry Milnes, she produced a documentary film on West Virginia dance traditions, Reel ‘Em, Boys, Reel ‘Em. Becky has organized Helvetia Hoot, formally known as Dare to be Square West Virginia since 2013. She is currently a Programming Manager for the National Council for the Traditional Arts.
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Becky directed her first evening length music and dance work inspired by Appalachia, Shift, with an all-star cast Nashville. Shift debuted November 2017 and it expanded for the 2018 Wheatland Music Festival. In 2018 she was selected a fellow for OneBeat, a U.S. State Department Cultural Diplomacy Program and conducted an artist residency at Basin Arts. She completed her M.F.A in dance at University of Maryland, College Park in May 2022. She was an Artist-in-Residence at Strathmore in 2021, John C.Campbell Folk School in 2022, Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences in 2023 and Loghaven in 2023. She is involved with Dance Exchange’s Dance On Creative Aging Program, and can be found performing with T-Mart Rounders, calling square dances, and teaching dance throughout the country.
As an avid organizer and teacher, Becky’s work is deeply rooted in the connections between music and community. She believes there is always more to learn and is dedicated to creating innovative choreography rooted in Appalachian music and dance.

Community Square Dance: A Partnership with Bristol Ballet with Caller Becky Hill
2023-09-30 18:30 - 21:00 | VA
Date: Saturday, September 30, 2023
Time: 6:30 p.m. Eastern
Location: Bristol Ballet, 330 Buford St, Bristol, VA 24201 (Please park at the back of the building and go in the entrance framed by columns)
Cost: Free but any donations at the door will support the museum and Bristol Ballet. Please RSVP here
Come do-si-do and promenade with us!
Join the Birthplace of Country Music and Bristol Ballet for a community square dance on Saturday, September 30. Caller Becky Hill will lead a short introduction to dance steps, followed by a full square dance with a lively string band led by Gina and Jason Dilg.
This event is open to all ages and no experience or partner is required; we recommend sturdy shoes so you can dance all night! Space is limited so sign up to participate soon!
This program is complementary programming to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music exhibit, on display through December 31, 2023. This exhibit has been funded in part by grants from Virginia Humanities, the Massengill-DeFriece Foundation, and the IBMA Foundation, along with local women-led business sponsorship from Friends of Southwest Virginia, The Crooked Road, Artemis Consulting Services, LLC, Bristol Ballet, Suzi Griffin (Studio 6), Kim Sproles (KS Promotions), and Kayla Stevenson (Matte Nail Bar). East Tennessee Foundation Arts Fund provided grant funding for related public programming, and the Virginia Tourism Corporation provided grant funding for the exhibit’s website.

Museum Story Time: Piggies in a Polka by Kathi Appelt
2023-10-06 10:30 - 11:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, October 6, 2023
Time: 10:30 a.m. EST
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: Free and open to the public
Join us in the museum’s Learning Center for our monthly Museum Story Time program. Aimed at toddler-age children and their grown-ups, we will gather on the first Friday of each month for a music- or Appalachia-related storybook, a tune or two by WBCM Radio Bristol show host Ella Patrick, and a related activity or coloring sheet.
This month we will be reading Hello Crow written by Jeff Daniel Marion and illustrated by Leslie Bowman.
About Piggies in a Polka
It’s time for the annual holler hootenanny, and these little piggies know how to party! “The drummer piggy hits a groove,/ he keeps the polka beat./ It’s a hoopy-shoopy rhythm/ and the pigs all stomp their feet,” writes Appelt (Oh My Baby, Little One). The star of the barn dance is Porcina, a Rubenesque chanteuse whose high notes make “all the bachelor piggies sigh.” But the real show is in Pham’s (Before I Was Your Mother) suedelike, digital illustrations. She crowds the barn floor with ecstatic couples—and an occasional singleton—carried away by the music and merrymaking (in one scene, a pig can be spotted floating in the punch bowl; throughout, a duck quacks with abandon). Hues of rose and gold emanate from the footlights and lanterns, bouncing off the walls and illuminating the angular planes of the pigs’ plump bodies. Investing her porcine participants with an individual personality, Pham makes the pages pulsate with the heady crush and buzz of a joint that’s jumpin’. Ages 3-7.
About the Author
Kathi Appelt is the author of the Newbery Honoree, National Book Award finalist, and bestselling The Underneath as well as the National Book Award finalist The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, Maybe a Fox (with Alison McGhee), Keeper, and many picture books including Counting Crows and Max Attacks. She has two grown children and lives in College Station, Texas, with her husband.

Speaker Sessions: Ballad Singer Donna Ray Norton on Murder Ballads
2023-10-10 19:00 - 20:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA 24201
Cost: Free but please RSVP HERE
Join us on Tuesday, October 10, 7:00pm for our next Speaker Sessions as we explore balladry and murder ballads as part of “spooky season.” Eighth-generation ballad singer Donna Ray Norton will explore the history of murder ballads in story and song, and share examples of ballads that have flipped the narrative of female victim to protagonist.
This program is offered in-person at the museum and virtually via YouTube (rather than our usual Zoom). When RSVPing at the link above, please indicate how you will be attending, and if you will be joining us virtually, the YouTube link will be sent to you on the Monday prior to the event.
This program is complementary programming to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music exhibit, on display through December 31, 2023. This exhibit has been funded in part by grants from Virginia Humanities, the Massengill-DeFriece Foundation, and the IBMA Foundation, along with local women-led business sponsorship from Friends of Southwest Virginia, The Crooked Road, Artemis Consulting Services, LLC, Bristol Ballet, Suzi Griffin (Studio 6), Kim Sproles (KS Promotions), and Kayla Stevenson (Matte Nail Bar). East Tennessee Foundation Arts Fund provided grant funding for related public programming, and the Virginia Tourism Corporation provided grant funding for the exhibit’s website.
About Donna Ray Norton
When Donna Ray Norton thinks about Appalachian music, she says, “I think about home.” Home for Donna Ray is Revere, also known as Sodom Laurel, in Madison County. It’s hard to imagine a deeper musical heritage than Norton’s. She is an eighth- generation ballad singer, the granddaughter of fiddler Byard Ray and Morris Norton, who played the banjo and mouth bow, daughter of singer Lena Jean Ray, and cousin to Sheila Adams and many other prominent Madison County musicians.
Like her forbearers, Donna Ray grew up hearing her family’s music and stories in her home; but it did not always appeal to her. It was just one of those things that you grew accustomed to, and you learned from hearing them. When she was seventeen, however, a senior project in high school was what really got me interested in my heritage. Researching the tradition of ballads led to learning them—from her mother, from Adams, Marilyn McMinn McReadie, and Bobby McMillon—and then to performing.
Norton is now a highly regarded member of the younger generation of Madison County ballad singers and storytellers. She was featured in the documentary Madison County Project, which won the 2005 Audience Choice Award at the Asheville Film Festival. She has performed at the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival, Mars Hill University Heritage Day, and at many other venues in western North Carolina every year since she began her musical journey. In 2005, she was honored with the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Youth Award for Balladry. In 2006, Donna Ray performed with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra in their Blue Skies/Red Earth concert series in Raleigh. She also toured western North Carolina with the Symphony concert at the end of May 2007 and received The Key to the City of Hickory for her contributions to musical heritage. In September 2007 Donna Ray performed at the Berkeley Old Time Music Festival in Berkeley California and was scheduled for a return performance there in September of 2019! She has been performing across North Carolina at several different venues, including a show at the NC Museum of History. She performed at the 50th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C. in July of 2017 with her cousins, Sheila Kay Adams and Melanie Rice Penland. She and Melanie performed in Washington at the Folklore Society of Greater Washington’s Getaway in October of 2018. She has been a part of many different performances celebrating the 100-year anniversary of Cecil Sharp traveling through the Appalachian Mountains and collecting a ton of old ballads from people in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These shows were in Blowing Rock and Mars Hill, NC and at The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol. Most recently Donna Ray has added hosting events to her long list of accomplishments. She, alongside her cousin Sheila Kay Adams, hosts a monthly Ballad Swap at the historic Old Marshall Jail Hotel and Zadie’s Restaurant.
Donna Ray has three albums for sale. Her newest album was produced by Grammy nominated, highly accomplished old time, bluegrass, and swing musician, Josh Goforth. Josh also provides the musical accompaniment for Donna Ray’s first ever old time song, featured on this album. A special treat for any listener, for sure! One of her songs was used by Sarah Council, an independent choreographer, in a piece that she created telling the story of her southern roots and personal history, in New York City. She was featured on an album called “Big Bend Killing, The Appalachian Ballad Tradition”, with artists such as Sheila Kay Adams, Bobby McMillon, Alice Gerrard, Amythyst Kiah, Roy Andrade, David Holt, and Roseanne Cash. This album was released in the fall of 2017 and won a Grammy in 2018 for Best Album Compilation!

Monthly Country Jam
2023-10-14 14:00 - 17:00, 2023-11-11 14:00 - 17:00, 2023-12-09 14:00 - 17:00, 2024-01-13 14:00 - 17:00, 2024-02-10 14:00 - 17:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Dates: Monthly every 2nd Saturday
Time: 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET
Location: Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: FREE EVENT
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum hosts a monthly gathering of local musicians for a country jam session focusing on country, old-time and blues music. 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!
Country Jams will be held on the second 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 jams are free and open to the public. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Those just interested in attending as a spectator are also welcome at no charge.
For more information call 423-573-1927.

Museum Volunteer Training
2023-10-18 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: Wednesday, October 18, 2023
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 or docent, helping out in The Museum Store, working with the public at events and programs, assisting with behind the scenes administrative or collections work 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.

Community Day at the Museum - With Performances by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer!
2023-10-28 10:00 - 18:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: FREE and open to the public!
Join us on Saturday, October 28 for our annual Community Day at the Museum. Admission is free all day long, and visitors can enjoy the museum’s permanent exhibits, our current special exhibit I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music, and a variety of family-friendly activities!
Activities will include:

Singing, yodeling, and rope tricks with old-time and bluegrass musicans Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. in the museum’s Performance Theater. Children (and the young-at-heart) can try their hand at rope tricks with Marcy outside the museum following the performances.
Instrument Petting Zoo with Bailey George and Jukebox Jess from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the museum’s Learning Center, a chance to try out a variety of stringed and other instruments including the fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, autoharp, spoons, and washboard!
Spooky and Appalachian story time from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., a new book every half hour
“Busking” from our friendly bluegrass jammers throughout the day
Coloring and activity sheets to takeaway

Be sure to stop by the museum for a day of fun and engagement! And check out these other family-friendly activities happening downtown that day:

Pumpkin Palooza, Downtown Center – 9:00 a.m. until supplies run out!
Trick-or-treating – 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (you will find us handing out candy near 606 State Street, Bristol, TN)
Halloween Parade, State Street – 6:30 p.m.

About Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer
Two-time Grammy winners Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are master musicians with a career spanning over 35 years. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, cello-banjo, and more. Their repertoire ranges from classic country to western swing, gypsy jazz to bluegrass, and old-time string band to contemporary folk (including some original gems).
CATHY & MARCY are trailblazers in children’s music and have been connecting families through music for over 30 years. Over 5,000 shows in performing arts centers, schools, folk festivals, community centers, libraries and children’s festivals have given Cathy & Marcy the superb skills to deliver a show that is fun, wacky, energetic, participatory, and meaningful.
About Bailey George & Jukebox Jess
Bailey George & Jukebox Jess are multitalented – as a musical duo, the opening act and the Master and Mistress of Ceremonies at the Boones Creek Opry, and preservers of vintage music memorabilia. Bailey is also the host of Radio Bristol’s Honky Tonk Hit Parade, one of our most popular shows. Frequent hosts of the museum’s Instrument Petting Zoo, they are sure to inspire kiddos to love music!

Special Thanks
Special thanks to the East Tennessee Foundation’s Arts Fund for providing grant funding for public programming related to the I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music exhibit, including the performances by Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer.

Screening: All Wigged Out: The Musical
2023-10-29 14:30 - 16:00 | Bristol Regional Medical Center, 1 Medical Park Boulevard, Bristol, TN, 37620, United States
Date: Sunday, October 29, 2023
Time: 2:30 p.m. Eastern
Location: Walnut Willow Spruce Classroom, Bristol Regional Medical Center, 1 Medical Park Boulevard, Bristol, TN 37620 (From the hospital’s main entrance, go down the stairs behind the check-in/information desk. This will put you at the cafeteria. Go to the right, and through the first set of double doors to the left.)
Cost: FREE and open to the public; donations are encouraged and all money raised at the screening will go to the Cancer Center Foundation – Patient Assistance Fund
Attendees are encouraged to RSVP due to space: RSVP HERE
Join the Birthplace of Country Music and Ballad Health for a screening of All Wigged Out: The Musical on Sunday, October 29, 2:30pm in the Walnut Willow Spruce Classroom. This heartwarming musical comedy takes us through Marcy Marxer’s many stages of discovery and diagnosis of breast cancer and neuropathy tempered by her wacky sense of humor and ability to make the personal universal. Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Marcy, along with her musical and life partner Cathy Fink, have shared All Wigged Out with audiences nationwide, helping us to navigate the cancer maze while showcasing the power of hope, love, and advocacy.
The screening of the stage show of All Wigged Out will be followed by a Q&A with Marcy and Cathy, along with a representative from one of Ballad Health’s cancer centers.
The film is 58 minutes long.
“ALL WIGGED OUT is heartwarming, touching, hilarious and SO relatable! A true ‘must see’ for us all.“ ~ Doreen Bickel, American Nurses Association
This program is complementary programming to go along with the museum’s current special exhibit, I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music, on display through December 31, 2023. Special thanks are due to the East Tennessee Foundation Art Fund for programming support, along with sponsors Robert and Rene Rodgers in memory of Joyce Rodgers.
About Marcy Marxer and Cathy Fink
Two-time Grammy Award winners, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are master musicians with a career spanning over 35 years. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, cello-banjo, and many other instruments. An eclectic folk festival on their own terms, their repertoire ranges from classic country to western swing, gypsy jazz to bluegrass, and old-time string band to contemporary folk including some original gems. Their versatility defies a brief description, perhaps “well rounded Americana” does it best.
Cathy & Marcy have performed at hundreds of bluegrass and folk festivals and taught at close to 100 music camps. The Washington Area Music Association has recognized the duo with over 60 WAMMIE Awards for folk, bluegrass and children’s music. They have performed with Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, Tom Paxton, Patsy Montana, Riders in the Sky and a wide range of musical luminaries.
They are happily known as “social music conductors” ready to start a jam session, a community sing or to cre- ate a music camp helping others learn to play and sing. Past students include Kaki King and Rhiannon Giddens. Through their long relationship with the Music Center at Strathmore they collaborated with positive hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon. They continue to mentor up-and-coming artists on navigating the professional music world.
They have entertained the Queen of Thailand, been keynote singers for the AFL-CIO, performed at hundreds of folk festivals, and appeared on the “Today Show” and National Public Radio. They have advocated in Washington for unions, health care for children, and the rights and livelihoods of artists.
As curators, performers and hosts, Cathy & Marcy produce A Tribute To Hank Williams at The Birchmere Music Hall, 2019 was their 23rd annual concert. Their annual weeklong Ukulele & Guitar Summit at The Music Center at Strathmore went into its 11th year in 2019.
Cathy & Marcy have earned two GRAMMY® Awards for their recordings “cELLAbration: a Tribute to Ella Jenkins” and for “Bon Appétit!”. Their CDs “Postcards” and “Banjo Talkin’” were both GRAMMY® nominated in the Best Traditional Folk Album category.
Cathy & Marcy have toured worldwide from Japan to New Zealand, Vancouver to New York and everywhere in between. Shows include The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (OH), Smithsonian Institution and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. American Voices Abroad chose Cathy & Marcy with fiddler Barbara Lamb to perform in China, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu for the U.S. Department of State.

Museum Story Time - Life in Knifely: The Hawk by Virginia Cooper
2023-11-03 10:30 - 11:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, November 3, 2023
Time: 10:30 a.m. EST
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: Free and open to the public
Join us in the museum’s Learning Center for our monthly Museum Story Time program. Aimed at toddler-age children and their grown-ups, we will gather on the first Friday of each month for a music- or Appalachia-related storybook, a tune or two by WBCM Radio Bristol show host Ella Patrick, and a related activity or coloring sheet.
This month we will be reading Hello Crow written by Jeff Daniel Marion and illustrated by Leslie Bowman.
About Life in Knifley
Follow life in 1940’s in the mountains with Sweet Ginny.

Speaker Sessions: Damean Mathews on Appalachian Folklore
2023-11-14 19:00 - 20:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum (in-person) and YouTube (virtual)
This event is FREE and open to the public, but we encourage you to RSVP here.
Have you lived your life hearing tales of the strange goings on in the mountains? Did your grandparents warn you about what might lurk in the dark after the lights go out? Or do you want to learn about some of the mystery and magic our Appalachian culture is built on? Then step into the world of Appalachian folklore with local author Damean Mathews to hear about many such myths and legends. Join us on Tuesday, November 14, 7:00pm – in-person or virtually via YouTube – for this interesting program!
If you are attending via YouTube, the live stream will originate on the Radio Bristol YouTube channel after 6:50pm EST. The link to the channel page is HERE. If you load the channel page before 6:50pm, and the live stream does not automatically appear, please refresh the page after 6:50pm.
About Damean Mathews:
Damean Mathews was born in Tazewell, Virginia and almost immediately fell in love with literature. From an early age he preferred to be in the company of books than most anyone else, taking books with him everywhere he went. The only thing that matched his love of the written word, was his fascination with the paranormal. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves and monsters make up much of Damean’s life.
It only made sense that, at some point, Damean began to write. At first he would toy around with rewriting some of his favorite stories, or coming up with ideas for sequels to tales where none existed. In his junior year of high school, Damean got a story idea that “absolutely demanded to be written. I had no idea how something in my own head could be so powerful. It was in that exact moment that I knew I had to write.”
Taking this urge by storm, Damean started his first novel, quickly turning one idea into nearly half a dozen. While working on novels, he also put out a few short stories, one of which earned him his first publication in a literary journal. That first publication inspired him to write more than ever, leading to more publications in more journals, while somewhere along the way Damean managed to finish three novels.
Specializing in the paranormal, the self-proclaimed vampirologist, attended symposiums, learning more about the craft and eventually teaching lessons about how to relate worldwide legends to local lore in the Southwest Virginia region in particular.
Damean is incredibly proud of his Appalachian culture and loves to explore the region his ancestors lived in. He often emphasizes elements of that culture within his writing and makes it a mission to seek out as much mountain lore and legend he possibly can, both for personal enjoyment and to use in his writing.
He independently published his first print collection, “Tales of the Mysterious and the Macabre: Stories From the Appalachian Foothills,” in 2019, his Appalachian werewolf novel “Moonlight” in 2020, and his much awaited and beloved Appalachian vampire novel, “Maverip” in 2021.
Damean teaches high school English and continues to write while loving every second of life with his incredible wife, who provides endless support and encouragement, in their mountain home.
Visit Damean’s website at dameanmathews.com.

Hoot and Holler Live: Soundtrack of My Life
2023-11-16 19:00 - 21:00 | VA
Roanoke’s Hoot and Holler live storytelling event at the museum!
Date: Thursday, November 16, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT
Location: Performance Theater, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Tickets: $15+ tax/fee
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Do you have a theme song? A concert story that shook your very soul? A make out or break up ballad that seems to play at just the right time? The record you played until you wore the grooves out? A band that changed your life? A tale about that time at that music festival? Maybe it was the slow dance with your prom date? Your church hymns? That punk band you started in your parent’s basement? A story about the way music maybe, just maybe, saved your life?
On Nov. 16, Hoot and Holler will gather to honor those stories in a lively, rollicking, poignant, and life affirming way at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.
Hoot and Holler is a live storytelling event series based out of Roanoke, Va. If you are a fan of NPR’s The Moth, This American Life, Mortified, and other storytelling events and podcasts, then you will love being a part of Hoot and Holler. We build up our community by encouraging all people to step up and share their stories in a supportive, diverse, and empowering format. We believe that all stories matter and that all people have thousands of stories within them to tell.
A little Vaudeville, a smidge of irreverent rock ‘n’ roll, a dash of freakshow, a heap of hilarity, and a massive infusion of soul, Hoot and Holler will restore faith in the way we, as humans, share and listen to stories.
***Interested in submitting a story pitch to be considered as a storyteller? We ask for a detailed outline to be submitted in a private message through the Hoot and Holler Facebook Messenger. Deadline for submissions is Oct. 10.
We look for a beginning, middle, and end, lots of juicy details, humor and truth, conviction and confidence, and the willingness to step up in all of your brave glory to share your story.
What compels you to want to tell it? Dazzle us!

Museum Story Time: The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
2023-12-01 10:30 - 11:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, December 1, 2023
Time: 10:30 a.m. EST
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: Free and open to the public
Join us in the museum’s Learning Center for our monthly Museum Story Time program. Aimed at toddler-age children and their grown-ups, we will gather on the first Friday of each month for a music- or Appalachia-related storybook, a tune or two by WBCM Radio Bristol show host Ella Patrick, and a related activity or coloring sheet.
This month we will be reading Hello Crow written by Jeff Daniel Marion and illustrated by Leslie Bowman.
About The Relatives Came
In a rainbow-colored station wagon that smelled like a real car, the relatives came. When they arrived, they hugged and hugged from the kitchen to the front room. All summer they tended the garden and ate up all the strawberries and melons. They plucked banjos and strummed guitars.
When they finally had to leave, they were sad, but not for long. They all knew they would be together next summer.
About the Author
An author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children and young adults as well as an author and author/illustrator of picture books for children, Cynthia Rylant is recognized as a gifted writer who has contributed memorably to several genres of juvenile literature. A prolific author who often bases her works on her own background, especially on her childhood in the West Virginia mountains, she is the creator of contemporary novels and historical fiction for young adults, middle-grade fiction and fantasy, lyrical prose poems, beginning readers, collections of short stories, volumes of poetry and verse, books of prayers and blessings, two autobiographies, and a biography of three well-known children’s writers; several volumes of the author’s fiction and picture books are published in series, including the popular “Henry and Mudge” easy readers about a small boy and his very large dog.
Rylant is perhaps most well known as a novelist. Characteristically, she portrays introspective, compassionate young people who live in rural settings or in small towns and who tend to be set apart from their peers.

Workshop: Songwriting in the Tradition with Alice Gerrard
2023-12-09 10:00 - 2023-12-10 16:00 | VA
Dates: Saturday, December 9 – Sunday, December 10, 2023
Times: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. daily
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost Per Person:
$150+ tax/fee for adults
$100+ tax/fee for high school & college students with discount code ALICESTUDENT
(limited student tickets available)
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Join us at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum for a two-day Songwriting in the Tradition Workshop with legendary singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Alice Gerrard. With a career spanning some 50 years, Alice has known, learned from, and performed with many of the old-time and bluegrass greats and has in turn earned worldwide respect for her own important contributions to the music. This two-day workshop will be an opportunity for attendees to dig deep into their creativity and muse in a safe and supportive environment. Students will explore the songwriting process (different for everyone) and have fun sharing their creations. Participants are encouraged to bring along a rhyming dictionary or thesaurus, notebook, their own instrument, recording devices, and fragments of inspiration, both melodic and lyric.
A limited number of scholarships are available to attend; please send inquiries to Toni Doman at tdoman@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.
“The Tradition”:
“I define ‘the tradition’ loosely as southern traditional music including unaccompanied ballads, country ballads, and blues to George Jones…as opposed to pop. But I’m not going to quibble about style except that I’m much more familiar with songwriting in that tradition. However, you will be free to choose the kind of song you want to write. The main goal is to write something and hopefully to grab onto a melody to go with it. Building on the bedrock of “three chords and the truth” is a good way to start. You should be able to accompany yourself (nothing fancy but just know keys and their chords and be able to change chords with ease). This will be easier on a guitar, mandolin, piano, autoharp, etc. But I (we) can guide you in case you have a melody or fragment of melody but are not sure what chords to use. At the end of the two days, students will have an original composition and we’ll do a small performance for each other. No particular level is required, just the desire to write a song or finish a song you’ve started. Songwriting is personal and everyone will have different ideas. There are as many different approaches to songwriting as there are songwriters. You are not alone!” ~ Alice Gerrard

Speaker Sessions: McKenzie Isom on Women in Country Music -- VIRTUAL ONLY!
2023-12-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Location: Virtual via Zoom
This event is FREE and open to the public, but you will need to register HERE.
Join us on Tuesday, December 12 for our next Speaker Session featuring Dr. McKenzie Isom as she examines the experience of women in country music. Throughout the long 1970s, country music sought to cultivate a traditional, “authentic,” and conservative image and sound that would be commercially competitive. Though the study of country music continues to develop, very little attention has been paid to how this adherence to authenticity and traditionalism impacted its artists’ personal and professional lives, particularly among its roster of female artists. In her presentation, Dr. Isom will provide a more nuanced look into the inner workings of the country music industry, one that sheds light on the highly restrictive atmosphere and working culture that female country artists regularly struggled against during this period.
About McKenzie Isom
McKenzie L. Isom is an instructor of History at Trine University, where she teaches courses related to American history. She received her Ph.D. in History from Purdue University, where she specialized in 20th-century US history, gender studies, and popular culture. Her dissertation, “Rustic Roots and Rhinestone Cowboys: Southern Identity, Authenticity, and the Gendered Construction of Persona in the Long 1970s Country Music Industry,” examined the evolution of the term “authenticity” within the country music industry and its impact on female artists and their careers over time. Her most recent article about Bob Dylan’s connections to country music will be included in The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan’s Live Performance (Routledge Press). She is also currently working on an article discussing Welsh mythology’s impact on Stevie Nicks’ lyricism and stage persona that will be included in Classic Rock and Ancient History (Bloomsbury Publishing).

Museum Story Time: When Uncle Took the Fiddle
2024-01-05 10:30 - 11:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, January 5, 2023
Time: 10:30 a.m. EST
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: Free and open to the public
Join us in the museum’s Learning Center for our monthly Museum Story Time program. Aimed at toddler-age children and their grown-ups, we will gather on the first Friday of each month for a music- or Appalachia-related storybook, a tune or two by WBCM Radio Bristol show host Ella Patrick, and a related activity or coloring sheet. This month we will be doing a fun banjo-art craft!
For January we will be reading When Uncle Took the Fiddle written by Libba Moore Gray and illustrated by Lloyd Bloom.
About When Uncle Took the Fiddle
When the entire family declares they are exhausted, Uncle reaches for the fiddle, and before you know it, Grandpa’s feet are stomping, grandma’s hands are clapping, and everyone finds good cheer. This book explores the wonderful power of music!
About the Author
Libba Moore Gray has been an actress, a dancer, and for 20 years a teacher of high school English and drama. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in a number of literary magazines, and Miss Tizzy was her first book for children. When Uncle Took the Fiddle was published in 1999. Ms. Gray’s four children include a businessman, a ballerina, a teacher, and a professional clown. With her husband, Robert, she makes her home in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Special Exhibit: A Cardboard History of Blue Ridge Music
2024-01-16 - 2024-07-21 | VA
Dates: January 16 – July 21, 2024
Location: Special Exhibits Gallery, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
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A Cardboard History of Blue Ridge Music highlights the history of old-time, country, and bluegrass music in the Blue Ridge region through vintage show cards, concert posters, Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame plaques, and related objects. Originally, window cards and other announcement posters were created to advertise upcoming entertainment events staged by troupes of traveling performers. By design, they were printed on inexpensive paper or cardboard to last only a few months as they were nailed to telephone poles, plastered onto the sides of buildings, and placed in store windows. After the event, most were discarded or left to deteriorate outdoors. This display features 52 rare, original concert announcements, dating back to as early as 1939, that somehow survived over these many years.
Based on the vast and wide-ranging collection of Tom Murphy, the exhibit will give visitors a window into the careers and impact of numerous well-known musicians, such as Roy Acuff, Kitty Wells, Flatt & Scruggs, The Monroe Brothers, Lulu Belle and Scotty, Mac Wiseman, Clarence “Tom” Ashley, Jim and Jesse McReynolds, and many others. The connection between many of these artists to early radio and barn-dance style shows – including Bristol’s very own Farm and Fun Time – is also explored.
Tours of the special exhibit “A Cardboard History of Blue Ridge Music” are included in the price of regular museum admission to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, or you may visit the special exhibit only at a reduced cost. Reduced museum admission pricing for seniors, students, active military, and groups of 20 people or more are available. Additionally, the museum is a participating member of Museums for All, supporting those receiving food assistance (SNAP) benefits who may tour the museum for a minimal fee of $3 per person for up to four people.

Speaker Sessions: Holly G on the Black Opry
2024-01-16 19:00 - 20:30 | VA
Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Virtual via Zoom; please pre-register via the link below to attend.
Cost: Free and open to the public
REGISTER HERE
Join us on Tuesday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m. for our first Speaker Sessions of 2024! Holly G will be with us via Zoom to talk about the Black Opry, the home for Black artists, fans, and industry professionals working in country, Americana, blues, and folk music.
This program is also connected to Bristol’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration event.
About Holly G
Holly G is a country music industry disruptor. In April 2021, she founded the Black Opry, which began as a website and Twitter account celebrating the Black performers working in country, Americana, folk, and other adjacent musical styles and quickly grew into a “vital voice” (Billboard) within those genres, devoted to advocating for Black entertainers and helping the marginalized group reclaim its place in the American musical canon. The Black Opry Revue, the organization’s national touring showcase, began in October 2022, and Holly G launched Black Opry Records, in partnership with Thirty Tigers, in September 2023. Holly’s writing has appeared on Grammy.com, Holler, Taste of Country, and The Boot, as well as in the quarterly roots music journal No Depression.
About the Black Opry
Black Opry is a home for Black artists and Black fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music. Country music has been made by and loved by Black people since it’s conception. For just as long, they have been overlooked and disregarded in the genre by fans and executives. Black Opry wants to change that. They invite you to discover, support, and enjoy the Black artists that make magic in this space. One of the most valuable aspects of country music is its versatility and diversity in sound. Country, blues, folk, and Americana music often overlap or weave together – these artists explore all of those sounds and intersections. .
The organization and its work are featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibition American Currents: State of the Music 2022, has a year-long collaboration with Wrangler, and, in early 2023, partnered with Philadelphia public radio station WXPN for the first Black Opry Residency, which brought five acts together for virtual workshops and a week of creative work in Philadelphia. (A podcast documenting the residency is forthcoming.) The “hub for Black talent” (Grammy.com) has devoted itself to advocating for Black entertainers and helping the marginalized group reclaim its place in the American musical canon.
The Black Opry Revue, the organization’s national touring showcase, began in October 2022 and has since staged performances at Nashville’s Exit/In; Los Angeles’s Troubadour; the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Berkeley, Calif.’s non-profit venues Freight & Savage; and several City Winery venues. The Revue has also earned slots at festivals including the Newport Folk Festival (2022, 2023), Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (2022), AmericanaFest (2022), the 30A Songwriters Festival (2023), Cayamo (2023), MerleFest (2023), and the High Water Festival (2023).

Monthly Museum Volunteer Orientation
2024-01-27 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-02-24 10:00 - 12:00 | 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: Every 4th Saturday except for June (no training), October & November (3rd Saturday) and December (no training)
Time: 10:00 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 or docent, helping out in The Museum Store, working with the public at events, concerts, and programs, assisting with behind the scenes administrative or collections work and so much more! Our Museum Volunteer Orientation 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, call 423-573-1927 or email Myrissa at volunteercoordinator@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.

Museum Story Time - "Coat of Many Colors" by Dolly Parton
2024-02-02 10:30 - 11:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, February 2, 2024
Time: 10:30 a.m. EST
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: Free and open to the public
Join us in the museum’s Learning Center for our monthly Museum Story Time program. Aimed at toddler-age children and their grown-ups, we will gather on the first Friday of each month for a music- or Appalachia-related storybook, a tune or two by WBCM Radio Bristol show host Ella Patrick, and a related activity or coloring sheet. This month we will be doing a fun banjo-art craft!
In February we’ll read from Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors!”
About “Coat of Many Colors”
“Coat of Many Colors” is a children’s picture book written by country music icon Dolly Parton. Published in 1994, the book is based on the autobiographical song of the same name, which Dolly wrote and recorded in 1971. The story, illustrated by Judith Sutton, recounts Dolly’s childhood experience of her mother sewing a coat for her out of colorful rags. Despite the coat being made of simple materials, Dolly cherishes it for the love and sacrifice it represents. The narrative emphasizes themes of family, resilience, and the intrinsic value of cherished memories, offering young readers a heartwarming glimpse into Dolly Parton’s humble upbringing in the Appalachian region.

ONE SLOT LEFT! Cardboard Dulcimer Workshop with Musician Roxanne McDaniel
2024-02-10 13:00 - 2024-02-11 16:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Register now, there’s only one slot left!
Dates: Saturday, February 10 & Sunday, February 11, 2024
Time: 1:00–4:00 p.m. each day
Location: Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Registration: :$30+taxes/fees
REGISTER HERE
Have you ever wanted to learn how to play the mountain dulcimer? Here’s an opportunity to not only learn, but also build your very own cardboard dulcimer!
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum is partnering with dulcimer player and instructor Roxanne McDaniel to offer a two-day, weekend class in which you will be able to build a cardboard dulcimer using simple tools. No previous musical or technical experience is necessary.
Participants will learn about the dulcimer, its history, and its importance as they actively take part in keeping this uniquely Appalachian instrument relevant for younger generations. It’s a perfect opportunity for anyone who wants to learn a new instrument, from experienced musicians to complete beginners. The dulcimer is among the most accessible stringed instruments, making it especially suitable for beginners.
This class is open to all ages and will introduce participants to a number of simple playing techniques and beginner-friendly dulcimer tunes. Space is limited to 15 participants, so be sure to reserve your spot before it’s too late!

About Roxanne McDaniel
Roxanne McDaniel is a singer/songwriter and dulcimer player based in Johnson City, Tennessee. A graduate of East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies program, she has a passion for the dulcimer and for teaching others about it. She leads classes, hosts dulcimer workshops, and incorporates the instrument heavily in her music. She was a 2023 Central Appalachian Living Traditions (CALT) Tradition Bearer Fellow, and her work has seen her featured in (and on the cover of) Dulcimer Players News. She and her band The Big Bad Buzz are currently working on their debut album.

Speaker Sessions - You and Me: A Journey through Country Music’s Rich Duet Tradition
2024-02-13 19:00 - 20:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum (in-person); YouTube (virtual)
Cost: Free and open to the public
RSVP HERE
Join us at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum on Tuesday, February 13, 7:00 p.m. for our February Speaker Sessions with Bailey George and Jessica Stiles. With “You and Me: A Journey through Country Music’s Rich Duet Tradition,” Bailey and Jessica will explore the winding stream of country duets from brother acts of the 1930s to chart topping country pop of the 1970s. Hear the stories and witness the harmonies that birthed an American tradition.
Please note: For those attending virtually via YouTube, the live stream will originate on the Radio Bristol YouTube channel after 6:50pm EST. If you load the channel page before 6:50pm, and the live stream does not automatically appear, please refresh the page after 6:50pm.
Bailey George
Bailey George is a musician, historian, and radio personality. Becoming interested in roots music at a young age, Bailey began collecting, performing, and chronicling the history of American vernacular music, as well as hosting various radio programs across the southeast. Bailey has been hosting Honky Tonk Hit Parade weekly on Radio Bristol since 2016, as well as developing a steady career as a musician with various groups including Bailey George and Jukebox Jess and Bailey George and the Oscillators.
Jessica Stiles
A Yale graduate, Jessica Stiles has had a multi-faceted career in music across many aspects of the industry. As a musician, she has led her own band and has performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ernest Tubb Record Shop, Bluebird Cafe, and on Music City Roots. As an engineer and technical consultant, she has worked on broadcast shows Bluegrass Underground and American Masters on PBS, as well as being a freelance broadcast engineer at 650 AM WSM, home of the Grand Ole Opry. In addition, she has interviewed country music icons such as Mac Wiseman, Ramona Jones, and Marty Stuart. Jessica is a broadcaster and songwriter, currently performing as part of Bailey George and Jukebox Jess as well as under her own name.

Museum Story Time - "Swamp Angel" by Anne Isaacs
2024-03-01 10:30 - 11:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, March 1, 2024
Time: 10:30 a.m. EST
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: Free and open to the public
Join us in the museum’s Learning Center for our monthly Museum Story Time program. Aimed at toddler-age children and their grown-ups, we will gather on the first Friday of each month for a music- or Appalachia-related storybook, a tune or two by WBCM Radio Bristol show host Ella Patrick, and a related activity or coloring sheet. This month we will be doing a fun bear-art craft!
About “Swamp Angel”
Swamp Angel can lasso a tornado, and drink an entire lake dry. She single-handedly defeats the fearsome bear known as Thundering Tarnation, wrestling him from the top of the Great Smoky Mountains to the bottom of a deep lake. Caldecott Medal-winning artist Paul O. Zelinsky’s stunning folk-art paintings are the perfect match for the irony, exaggeration, and sheer good humor of this original tall tale set on the American frontier.
A Caldecott Honor Book
An ALA Notable Book
A Time magazine Best Book of the Year
A New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year
Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
About the Author

Anne Isaacs (born March 2, 1949) is an American writer of children’s and young adult literature. Isaacs is known as the writer of “Swamp Angel,” a picture book illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky and published by Dutton Children’s Books in 1994. Zelinsky was a runner-up for the annual Caldecott Medal for this work. Her book “Torn Thread,” based on the true story of her mother-in-law who survived a Nazi labor camp, received numerous awards including the Outstanding International Book, Notable Book for a Global Society 2000 from the American Library Association, and Smithsonian Notable Book for Children, among others.
