The Birthplace of Country Music

Radio Bristol's Farm and Fun Time
2022-10-13 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | 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.

Monthly Bluegrass Jam
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.

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.

Monthly Country Jam
2023-01-14 14:00 - 17:00, 2023-02-11 14:00 - 17:00, 2023-03-11 14:00 - 17:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
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!
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.
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 sessions will be held in the Learning Center at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.
For more information call 423-573-1927.

Film Screening -- Seizing Justice: The Greensboro Four
2023-01-17 11:00 - 12:00, 2023-01-17 15:00 - 16:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Time: 11:00 AM; 3:00 PM
Cost: Free and open to the public
Length: 47 minutes
Join us on Tuesday, January 17, at 11:00 AM or 3:00 PM for a FREE screening of the Smithsonian Channel documentary Seizing Justice: The Greensboro Four. Learn how four African American college students began a nonviolent sit-in at a Woolsworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and started a revolution.
This programming is part of Bristol’s MLK Jr. Day events for 2023. The Smithsonian Channel documentary is provided free to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum as a Smithsonian Affiliate.

Film Screening - Black Wings
2023-01-18 11:00 - 12:00, 2023-01-18 15:00 - 16:00 | VA
Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Time: 11:00 AM; 3:00 PM
Cost: Free and open to the public
Length: 51 minutes
Join us on Wednesday, January 18, at 11:00 AM or 3:00 PM for a FREE screening of the Smithsonian Channel documentary Black Wings. For early aviators, conquering the forces of gravity was a daunting challenge. But Black aviators had an additional challenge – conquering the forces of racism. Meet the men and women who took to the skies throughout the 20th century, proving to a segregated nation that skin color doesn’t determine skill level. From biplanes to commercial jets, from barnstormers to wartime fighters, meet the path-breaking pilots who opened the skies for all – and contributed in countless ways to the development of aviation.
This programming is part of Bristol’s MLK Jr. Day events for 2023. The Smithsonian Channel documentary is provided free to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum as a Smithsonian Affiliate.

Film Screening and Discussion - The Green Book Guide to Freedom
2023-01-19 18:30 - 20:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2023
Time: 6:30 PM
Cost: Free and open to the public
Length: 51 minutes
RSVP to attend HERE
Join us on Thursday, January 19, at 6:30 PM for a FREE screening of the Smithsonian Channel documentary The Green Book Guide to Freedom. By the turn of the 20th century, the motor age was dawning all across the United States. African-Americans embraced the automobile and the promise of the open road, but they faced a world of danger driving to unfamiliar locales. In the 1930s, a black postal carrier from Harlem named Victor Green published a book that was part travel guide and part survival guide. This is the story of The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide to navigate the sometimes treacherous highways of a segregated nation. See how it became a roadmap to some of the most significant people, successful businesses, and important milestones of the Civil Rights Movement.
After the film, local community members Tina McDaniel, Jewell Bell, Lawrence Bell, and Vivian Releford will share stories and insights into their experiences traveling and how the Green Book was a part of those journeys.
For the safety of participants, masks are encouraged at this event.
This programming is part of Bristol’s MLK Jr. Day events for 2023. The Smithsonian Channel documentary is provided free to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum as a Smithsonian Affiliate.

Film Screening - Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier
2023-01-21 11:00 - 12:00, 2023-01-21 15:00 - 16:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Saturday, January 21, 2023
Time: 11:00 AM; 3:00 PM
Cost: Free and open to the public
Length: 51 minutes
Join us on Saturday, January 21, at 11:00 AM or 3:00 PM for a FREE screening of the Smithsonian Channel documentary Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier. America’s experiences during the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race are well documented. However, few know about the moment these two worlds collided, when the White House and NASA scrambled to put the first Black astronaut into orbit. This is the untold story of the decades-long battle between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to be the first superpower to bring diversity to the skies, told by the Black astronauts and their families who were part of this little known chapter of the Cold War.
This programming is part of Bristol’s MLK Jr. Day events for 2023. The Smithsonian Channel documentary is provided free to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum as a Smithsonian Affiliate.

Monthly Bluegrass Jam
2023-01-28 14:00 - 17:00, 2023-02-25 14:00 - 17:00, 2023-03-25 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.

NEW! Museum Story Time: The Little Black Truck
2023-02-03 10:30 - 11:15 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, February 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 new 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, and a related activity or coloring sheet.
This month we will be reading The Little Black Truck written by Libba Moore Gray and illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles, read with permission from Simon & Shuster.
A charming tale depicted in luminous pastels recounts the history of a trusty pickup truck left out in the woods after it gets too old to work anymore, until the owner’s grandson restores its original beauty.
About the Author
Libba Moore Gray has been an actress, a dancer, and for twenty 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. 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.

Square Dance at the Museum
2023-02-04 18:30 - 21:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Time to “do-si-do”! You’re invited to a square dance at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum!
Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Tickets: Free, but please RSVP HERE
Join us for the first Square Dance at the Museum in 2023! An evening of old-fashioned square dancing with caller Tyler Hughes and live string band music is sure 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 at the door are greatly appreciated and help the museum to offer free and low-cost programming to our community.

6:30pm – Half-hour of instruction on basic square dance steps
7:00–9:00pm – Do-si-do and promenade in our lively square dance

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.

NEW DATE: Speaker Sessions: Musician Greg Cornett on Jimmie Rodgers & Other Influences with Special Guest Wayne Henderson
2023-02-21 19:00 - 20:30 | VA
NEW DATE! Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Location: Performance Theater, Birthplace of Country Music Museum & Via Zoom
Free Event!
RSVP (in-person)
REGISTER (online)
About Greg Cornett
Greg B. Cornett is a fourth generation musician, born and raised in one of the most musically rich areas in the country – east Tennessee. It is there that he heard his father and grandfather play the songs of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. His great-grandparents played fiddle and banjo. Greg’s influences are woven into his guitar, mandolin, and banjo to create is own distinctive style.
Wayne Henderson
Wayne C. Henderson is an American guitar maker who specializes in the crafting of handmade, custom acoustic guitars. He also occasionally makes other stringed instruments, such as mandolins, banjos, and fiddles.
Henderson’s guitars are inspired by the great pre-World War II guitars of C.F. Martin & Company, and are hand-built in limited quantities; by October 2012, over five hundred Henderson guitars had been constructed. As of the year 2022, Henderson has built nearly nine hundred acoustic guitars, over one hundred mandolins, and has also built several banjos to add to his name. Henderson was originally exposed to the art of luthiery by a local of Grayson County, Albert Hash. Hash was a violin builder and repairer who gave inspiration to Henderson and helped him learn about different types of wood and how to work with wood.

NEW! Museum Story Time: Cowboy Dreams
2023-03-03 10:30 - 11:15 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, March 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 new 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 Cowboy Dreams written by Dayal Kaur Khalsa and read with permission by Penguin Random House.
About Cowboy Dreams
All little May ever wanted to be was a cowboy, for as long as she can remember. At the movies each Saturday, she studies how to be a cowboy, how to push her hat back and squint in the sun, or ambush something on her bike. All she needs is a horse, but her parents won’t even let her have a dog. So May builds her own horse from a blanket and a piece of clothesline on the basement banister. On her banister horse, she dreams of the world of cowboys, the open trail, and her favorite cowboy songs.
About the Author
Dayal Kaur Khalsa both wrote and illustrated picture books that celebrate the joys in life: the love between grandparents and grandchildren, the togetherness of a family holiday, the ingenuity of a girl who wants a dog, the thrill of discovering a new and delicious food. Her books have won numerous awards, including being chosen twice for the New York Times Best Illustrated Books of the Year and twice as a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. Dayal Kaur Khalsa died in 1989.

Speaker Sessions: Insider Access to The Opry Archives with Jen Larson (Virtual)
2023-03-14 19:00 - 20:30 | VA
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Location: Online Via Zoom
Free Event!
REGISTER (online)
Join us on Tuesday, March 14, 7:00pm for our next Speaker Sessions when we will be hosting Jen Larson, the Grand Ole Opry’s Archives Manager. For this virtual program, Jen will be providing a behind-the-scenes view of the Grand Ole Opry archives, sharing several interesting country music artifacts and collections that represent nearly a century of legendary programming with an iconic roster artist members.
The Grand Ole Opry archives are comprised of thousands of photographs and live recordings from some of the most significant artists in the history of American music. The archive spans decades and includes photographs, interviews, performances, and appearances by both country artists and non-country talent at the height of their careers.
About Jen Larson
Jen Larson is the Archives Manager for the Grand Ole Opry Archives, and she also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum. While simultaneously developing her career in museum collections and archives management, over the years she also garnered critical praise with the bluegrass band Straight Drive, and she’s performed widely in concert series and music festivals. Additionally, Jen has shared her passion for bluegrass music through educational programs through Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, a U.S. State Department goodwill tour, and the Augusta Heritage Center.

I've Endured: Women in Old-Time Music Special Exhibit
2023-03-23 - 2023-12-31 | VA
March 23 – December 31, 2023
Location: Special Exhibits Gallery, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
“Congratulations to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum for honoring the women of old-time music with their own exhibit. These women were from the hills and hollers of the rural south, who helped plant musical seeds for all of us. My momma could have been in that exhibit, since she taught us kids old ballads and immigrant songs, gave us a love for music, and access to banjos, fiddles, and a wash-tub bass. It’s great to see the seeds growing, from Mother Maybelle Carter all the way to my fellow-Tennessean Amythyst Kiah.” ~ Dolly Parton
Visit the “I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music” website.
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Historic Downtown Bristol honors the hidden heroines, activists, and commercial success stories of women who have impacted the roots and branches of old-time music in a new special exhibit, “I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music,” on display March 23 – December 31, 2023. Created by a women-led content team, this will be the first exhibition curated by the museum that will eventually travel to other institutions.
A commercial career in music may never have occurred to many women tending large families and domestic responsibilities. Women were frequently tied to the home. Others were discouraged or even forbidden by their husbands to keep their music going at home or to play in public. Some women were influenced by their church leaders to stay away from dancing and the music that surrounded it. In many cases women had fewer opportunities than men to make a viable career from their music. Nonetheless, several found ways to work within these challenges – and move beyond them – in order to pass on old-time music, and the related genres of country and bluegrass, as performing musicians or in other roles in music.
“I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music” spotlights commercial success stories and iconic musicians like Mother Maybelle and Sara Carter, Ola Belle Reed, Elizabeth Cotten, Lily May Ledford, Hazel Dickens, Etta Baker, and Alice Gerrard. It also includes women who have impacted the genre in other ways, such as Audrey Hash Ham, Florence Reece, Helen White, Anne Romaine, and Bernice Johnson Reagon. By showcasing today’s torchbearers and innovators, the exhibit also illuminates the ways that women are carrying the old-time genre forward and the work still to be done to open it up to other underrepresented communities. Women like Rhiannon Giddens, Martha Spencer, Carla Gover, Suzy Thompson, and Amythyst Kiah are but a few examples of students of old-time who are blazing new trails. The content development team interviewed dozens of contemporary female old-time musicians and industry professionals as part of the exhibit.
Special Thanks
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.

Teacher Introduction To I've Endured: Women In Old-Time Music
2023-03-27 16:00 - 17:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Join us on Monday, March 27 from 4:00-5:30 PM EST for a FREE educator introduction to our new special exhibit – “I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music”
We will share information about booking school group visits, related resources and lessons, a curator-led tour of the exhibit (starting at 5:00pm), and refreshments!
Date: Monday, March 27, 2023
Time: 4:00 p.m. EST
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: Free and open to all educators
RSVP HERE

About The Exhibit
Old-time music is described and experienced in different ways and for different purposes, but at its heart, old-time is mountain folk music with strong ties to Appalachia and the diverse peoples who have called it home. While old-time music has primarily been related to “hillbilly music” and its roots and branches can be found in the development of country and bluegrass, it is one of the melting pots of American culture, connecting to multiple genres, influences, and instruments.
Women have always been central to old-time music – in the home and on the stage, and as instrumentalists and singers, preservationists, activists, promoters, and cultural memory keepers. I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music 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.
*Image courtesy Earl Neikirk
