Special Exhibit: Ellen Elmes, The Art of Music and Mountains
2025-03-08 - 2025-09-30 | VA
Dates: March 8-September 30, 2025
Location: Special Exhibits Gallery, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Artist Ellen Elmes moved to Appalachia over five decades ago, intrigued by the beauty of people and place. She continues to admire the close-knit kinship of families and neighbors, and the reliance of mountaineers on hard work, community, nature, and the grace of God to build a life, and every day she finds wonder in the ethereal beauty of misty mountains, the rhythms of changing seasons, and the expanse of the night sky unobscured by city lights. Many of these elements became the substance of her art.
Ellen Elmes: The Art of Music and Mountains features her creativity across a variety of mediums and themes, from traditional instruments, musicians, and songs to the grandiosity and minutiae of nature. The core of this exhibition – a series of acrylic on canvas, large-scale paintings entitled “Tribute to the Stanley Brothers” and inspired by their songs – is an example of a body of work that awakened in the artist a deeper understanding of the roots, stories, and expression embodied in old-time and traditional songs of the mountains.
Artwork will include examples of acrylic, watercolor, and murals. Objects related to the Stanley Brothers will be on display, including several on loan from the Ralph Stanley Museum in Clintwood, VA. The “Tribute to the Stanley Brothers” series is on loan from the Clintwood Community Hall.
Additional free and low-cost complementary programming supported by the United Company Foundation will be scheduled during the exhibit.

Museum Talk
2025-09-04 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | VA
Do you want to know more about the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s exhibits and programs? Go behind-the-scenes into the museum vault and learn about how museums work? Get acquainted with other museums and cultural hotspots? And sometimes just have a complete nerd-a-thon about history and culture with some geeky museum folks? Then Museum Talk is the show for you! Merging with BCM’s Radio Bristol Book Club (every fourth Thursday of the month), you can join hosts Erika Barker, Sam Parker, and René Rodgers on the other Thursdays at Noon to explore all things museum-y, hear some tunes, and meet interesting people across the airwaves!

Outside The Box
2025-09-04 14:00 - 15:00 | VA
Join Roxanne Thursdays at 2pm for an eclectic mix of all things country and country-adjacent. From iconic hits to obscure treasures, from the world stage to local artists, Roxanne brings along a little bit of everything. With a blend of music, talk, live performances, and interviews, you’re sure to encounter old favorites while discovering new ones.

Pressing Matters
2025-09-04 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-09-07 15:00 - 16:00 | VA
Dive into the ever expanding world of vinyl records with host Clint Holley. Vinyl records, once considered a “dead” format, have exploded in popularity during the last decade. Join Clint Thursdays at 6pm as he plays new music being released on vinyl, explores newly pressed re-issues, and dusts off some lost classics. As a bonus, find out more about vinyl culture as Clint interviews the people who are driving the new found enthusiasm for vinyl through their passionate work and collecting. Show replays Sundays at 3pm.

Diggin' with Big Lon
2025-09-04 17:00 - 18:00 | VA
Diggin’ with Big Lon discovers the rich musical heritage of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia one dusty record at a time. Big Lon has combined his love of history and music to build a collection of local 45rpm and 78rpm records. Tune in every Thursday at 5pm! Check out his story on Facebook at Big Lon’s Crateful Dig.

Museum Storytime - Books & Appalachian History
2025-09-05 10:30 - 11:30 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Date: Friday, September 5, 2025
Time: 10:30 a.m. EST
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: Free and open to the public
Theme: Books & Appalachian History
Join us in the museum’s Learning Center for our monthly Museum Storytime 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. The craft will be creating folded paper books.
Books that will be featured at Storytime include:

Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile by Gloria Houston (Author), Susan Condie Lamb (Illustrator)
That Book Woman by Heather Henson

Plum Wild
2025-09-05 11:00 - 12:00 | VA
Buckle up! Plum Wild with Ole Justin Chambers is hittin’ the airwaves on Radio Bristol! He’s spinnin’ full-throttle country gold: current cuts, timeless classics, and the wonderfully weird. From oddball outlaws to cowboy poets, deep-cut songwriters to cosmic crooners—if it howls, twangs, or stirs the soul, it’s fair game. It’s country radio the way it oughta be. Tune in every Friday at 11a EST and get Plum Wild!

Country Song Round Up
2025-09-05 12:00 - 15:00 | VA
Craving country authenticity? Tune in on Fridays, 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET for Country Song Round Up. From Roy Acuff to Dwight Yoakam, it’s twang aplenty and songs of substance. Your host and longtime music journalist, Tom Netherland, will present a good natured riot every week.

Blowin' The Fuse
2025-09-05 16:00 - 17:00 | VA
Get with the program every Friday starting at 4pm as we get crazy with fuzz toned garage rock and jump into blues with a feeling and of course, a back beat. All vinyl, all the time!

The Pocket
2025-09-05 17:00 - 18:00 | VA
“The Pocket” is an hour-long, weekly show that hopes to introduce the listener to soul music, or at least remind them of something they might have forgotten about along the way. Playing his favorite soul songs on the radio is not something host Jared Bentley thought he’d get the chance to do, but he’s certainly reveling in the opportunity, so tune in and see what it’s all about. Tune in every Friday at 5pm EST.

Indie This Indie That
2025-09-05 18:00 - 19:00 | VA
‘Indie This Indie That’ brings you indie folk, Lo-Fi, and indie pop chillness with Swirly guitars, soothing vocals, and sounds that will make you say “what instrument was playing that cool riff?” Get ready to gently head bang to bands like Big Thief, Slow Pulp, Julia Jacklin, and Andy Shauf. Every Friday at 6p EST with host Ash Wright!

Woodsongs
2025-09-06 09:00 - 10:00 | VA
Folksinger Michael Johnathon’s WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour is an hour long, weekly live-audience, Americana format show that presents the best grassroots and acoustic music to our global audience. Tune in every Saturday morning at 9am!

Weekly Music Lessons with JAM Kids at the Museum!
2025-09-06 10:30 - 11:30 | VA
Date: Weekly on Saturdays
Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ET
Location: The Learning Center, Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Cost: $5 per class or $45 for 10 lessons
Through a new partnership with Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM), the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is a new affiliate location for the program, offering weekly music lessons at the museum for children grades 4-8 and beyond. JAM Kids introduces music through small group instruction on acoustic instruments common to the Appalachian region, such as guitar, banjo, and fiddle. Students may bring their own instruments, or they can be provided as a loan while your child is participating in the program. Other instruments may be introduced as to be determined by instructors. Weekly classes will be held throughout the year, and students can join the program at any point in the year.
Registration is required to participate in this program. You can download the Registration Forms and bring it with you when you drop off your child for their first lesson or complete it at the museum’s front desk upon arrival. Each week, lessons will be filled based on arrival and capped at 30 students. Registration allows you to participate but does not guarantee your spot each week.
We do not offer online registration or spot reservations for this program. Lessons can be purchased as-you-go for $5 or as a bundle of ten pre-paid lessons for $45. The bundle is a discounted rate and will expedite your check-in process, but does not guarantee your spot each week. The class will be closed if capacity is reached before your arrival. Scholarships are available upon request. For more information about signing up for JAM or to inquire about scholarships, email Erika Barker at ebarker@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.
Registration Forms: Please bring all three forms with you when you arrive for your first lesson.

Registration Form
Student Contract
Media Release Form

Junior Appalachian Musicians is a non-profit and the parent organization for 50+ after-school programs for children in grades 4 – 8. We provide communities with the tools and support they need to teach children to play and dance to traditional old-time and bluegrass music. JAM introduces music through small group instruction on instruments common to the Appalachian region, such as fiddle, banjo and guitar. Each JAM program is individually operated and funded. By affiliating with the JAM organization, each program is eligible to receive support and resources for free and is licensed to use “Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM)” to identify their traditional music education program.
Be sure to check out JAM Kids on Facebook and Instagram!

The JAM Program Model
JAM is an after-school program for children in grades 4 – 8 and beyond that introduces music through small group instruction on instruments common to the Appalachian region, such as fiddle, banjo and guitar. Each JAM program is individually operated and funded. By affiliating with the JAM organization, each program is eligible to receive support and resources for free, and is licensed to use “Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM)” to identify their traditional music education program.
Junior Appalachian Musicians ® is a registered trademark of Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc.
In JAM, instrument instruction is often augmented by dance and vocal instruction as well as string band classes and group enrichment lessons, which introduce children to additional Appalachian culture and history. The JAM program model provides children with opportunities to not only learn traditional music, but to also perform in small and large groups. Field trips, visiting artists and an introduction to the rich history of music unique to each local community further supplement program offerings. Each JAM program is encouraged to foster musical traditions by teaching local styles of traditional mountain music and dance to children. Instructors are also encouraged to teach students to learn music by ear, as to preserve oral traditions as much as possible. Other teaching methodologies and instructional skills are covered in regional professional development and training sessions held multiple times per year and hosted by JAM. JAM also encourages student engagement across programs with regional performance and learning activities throughout the year. For a full list of benefits to affiliates, click here.
JAM believes that all children should have access to traditional old time and bluegrass music. It is recommended that each program provide financial assistance through scholarships to children in need. The program model bases tuition fees on student lunch status: $10/week for full pay children, and $5/week for reduced pay children.
Class sizes typically have a student teacher ratio of 8:1 or less. JAM mandates that each affiliated program conduct criminal background checks on their instructors, directors, and other staff members and volunteers. Programs must be held in public facilities accessible to the community. Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc prohibits discrimination against any persons on the bases of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, political beliefs, familial or parental status, and sexual orientation.
For a full listing of affiliation requirements, click here.
History of JAM
Realizing the need to preserve a vital aspect of mountain culture as well as the need for positive activities to underserved youth, Helen White, then a guidance counselor at Sparta Elementary School, founded the first JAM program in Alleghany County, NC in the spring of 2000 with help from other local musicians and educators. Interest in the program spread rapidly with assistance from the National Endowment for the Arts, NC State Arts Council, Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and “The Crooked Road – Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.”
In 2007, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation provided funding to allow the development of a regional infrastructure. The Dana Foundation, Virginia Commission for Arts, the Virginia Foundation for Humanities, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Harris and Frances Block Foundation and the Tides Foundation have provided funding for materials development.
“Junior Appalachian Musicians” was incorporated in 2008 as a non-profit 501(c)3 tax exempt corporation to promote a shared vision of JAM and to provide an umbrella through which to offer resources, training materials and activities to benefit programs individually and collectively. Currently in nearly 30 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, JAM affiliates are providing access to the joy of music to thousands of youth while instilling renewed interest and pride in their heritage.
Interested in learning more about JAM? Click here.

Big Al and Sandy Show
2025-09-06 13:00 - 15:00 | VA
Hosted by Big Al Wheetley and Sandy Shortridge. Every Saturday 1-3p EST.

Art & Music Workshop for Adults
2025-09-06 13:00 - 15:00 | Birthplace of Country Music Museum, 101 Country Music Way, Bristol, VA, 24201, United States
Join Ellen Elmes for an Art & Music workshop for adult artists or artists-to-be! With this program, you’ll get the chance to nourish your artistic side through hands-on art exercises and live music. Ellen will guide participants in the creative process using a variety of materials to explore line, shape, color, and texture, which can be tapped into and inspired by music – singer-songwriter Ella Patrick will play a tune or two while the art is being made. The cost of this program includes the necessary art supplies. Participants are also welcome to visit Ellen Elmes: The Art of Music & Mountains for free before or after this workshop.
Date: Saturday, September 6
Time: 1-3 p.m.
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum Learning Center
Cost: $26 (includes related taxes and all art supplies)
Class Size: Limited to 16 participants

REGISTER TO ATTEND HERE
This event is complementary programming to the Ellen Elmes: The Art of Music & Mountains exhibit on display at the museum through September 30. Special thanks to the United Company Foundation for their support of programming related to this exhibit.

Random Rules
2025-09-06 16:00 - 17:00 | VA
Tyler Moody brings you the best in indie rock, from the heyday of college radio through the present. You’ll hear everyone from Dinosaur Jr. & Pavement to modern rockers like MJ Lendermann and Courtney Barnett. So, throw on your headphones and waste the day away with “Random Rules” every Saturday at 4pm EST!

In The Pit
2025-09-06 23:00 - 23:59 | VA
From Legends to local, Mike V. delivers a different show every week taking you straight to the pit!! Including punk, metal, doom, and much more!

Righteous Fuzz
2025-09-07 00:00 - 01:00 | VA
Righteous Fuzz is where the gritty howl of garage rock meets the soul-stirring twang of classic country gospel. Tune in for a wild ride through fuzz-drenched riffs and heavenly harmonies—think dusty amplifiers cranked to eleven alongside heartfelt hymns that echo through the ages. This show blends the raw, rebellious spirit of garage legends with the timeless redemption of gospel classics. Whether you’re a sinner, a saint, or somewhere in between, Righteous Fuzz delivers a sound that’ll shake your bones and lift your spirit.

Stained Glass Bluegrass
2025-09-07 10:00 - 11:00 | VA
Probably more than any other popular music, bluegrass has always embraced gospel. The harmonies of church hymns and hand-clapping songs of praise are part of the roots of bluegrass. Many festivals still devote the Sunday morning stage to gospel sets, and it’s common for bluegrass radio shows to play a gospel number or two every hour. Bluegrass fans have enjoyed the sounds of Sunday morning gospel since 1974, when Stained Glass Bluegrass first aired on WAMU-FM. The show has been continuously broadcast every Sunday since then, and is a mainstay of Bluegrass Country Radio. Over the years, we have heard from listeners from just about all faiths and those who somehow relate to or simply enjoy the vocal harmonies, melodies, or the instrumentation and sincerity of this music. We invite you to join host Cindy Baucom every Sunday morning at 10 AM EST, and become a part of the Stained Glass Bluegrass family right here on Radio Bristol!

Tennessee Farm Table
2025-09-07 13:00 - 13:30 | VA
The Tennessee Farm Table is a weekly radio show featuring the people of the state of Tennessee who produce, prepare and preserve foods and agricultural products. The radio show ends with a bluegrass gospel song, usually from a regional musician or band. The show is hosted by Amy Campbell, who is the founder, owner, and producer of The Tennessee Farm Table. Tune-in to listen every Sunday at 1pm EST.

Ozark Highlands Radio
2025-09-07 14:00 - 15:00 | VA
Ozark Highlands Radio is an hour-long public radio program that features live musical performances recorded at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. With archival recordings from native Ozark musicians to the contemporary Roots/Old Time performers of today, Ozark Highlands Radio explores the history, tradition and current trends in traditional and modern acoustic music.

County Sales Radio Hour
2025-09-08 12:00 - 13:00 | VA
County Sales Radio Hour features the best in bluegrass and old time music and introduces listeners to new releases as well as classic recordings from the archives. County Sales has been delivering the best old time and bluegrass to listeners via vinyl and CD for well over 50 years! This program will showcase new releases on various labels that feature the finest bluegrass and old time music by today’s artists. We will also include timeless bluegrass and old time classics. Every recording featured on this program is available for purchase through the County Sales website and the Country Sales Store located in downtown Floyd, VA. Sit back and prepare to enjoy the best loved bluegrass and old time music!

Roots Veritas
2025-09-08 17:00 - 18:00 | VA
Roots Veritas is an hour of music focused on new and independent artists who carry on a legacy of authentic storytelling; drawing their inspiration from the founders of roots music, stretching the boundaries while remaining true to those who came before. A radio show of new releases and vintage songs, featuring local, regional, and national artists sharing their music through performance and conversation very Monday at 5p EST.

Lightnin' and Mango Tango
2025-09-09 11:00 - 12:00 | VA
A life retrospective from two men who developed an early love for music and pursued making/promoting music as their careers. Each episode of the show will feature music, conversation, and backstories of their experiences. Lightnin’ Charlie has been a touring musician for over 40 years. Mango Mike is a music industry veteran with over 40 years of promoting music. The Lightnin’ & Mango Tango will draw upon their collective wealth of knowledge andpersonal experiences with entertaining tales of life in the crazy carnival called the music business.

Born in the Mountain
2025-09-09 12:00 - 14:00 | VA
Two hours of rare records and field recordings from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee and beyond with host Ivy Sheppard. Tuesdays from Noon to 2pm Eastern.

Dollar Country
2025-09-09 15:00 - 16:00 | VA
On Dollar Country, Frank the Drifter shares country gems mined from the dusty corners of America’s record bins. The show focuses on lesser known artists and labels from the gigantic world of country music. Tune in to hear some things you’ve never heard before from the golden age of country music. Every Tuesday at 3pm EST.

Off the Beaten Track
2025-09-09 16:00 - 18:00 | VA
Join Marshall Ballew Tuesdays 4-6pm for Off the Beaten Track. A musical foray onto the back roads and secret places of the American musical landscape, where roots grow deep and hybrids flower into a thousand different varieties. All from seeds blown in from Britain, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and elsewhere, and simmered in the melting pot of cultures known as the USA.

Old Time Jam
2025-09-09 18:00 - 20:00 | VA
From traditionally-rooted performers to artists pushing the boundaries of stringband music and everything in between, The Old Time Jam is a celebration of today’s diverse Old-Time music landscape. Grab an instrument and join the jam as host Brad Kolodner features the latest releases from contemporary Old-Time music torch-bearers.

Speaker Session: Emily Hilliard on Making Our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia
2025-09-09 19:00 - 20:30 | https://www.youtube.com/@radiobristolwbcm/streams
Join us on Tuesday, September 9 for a Speaker Session with Emily Hilliard. In this Speaker Session, the folklorist talks about the future-focused and collaborative approach to cultural work she explores in her book, Making our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia. From diverse examples such as the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike, non-professional women songwriters, hot dogs, and the tradition of independent pro-wrestling, Hilliard paints a picture of folklore as a unifying concept that puts diverse cultural forms in conversation and creates a framework that helps us understand our past and shape our future.
Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Location: In-person at the Birthplace of Country Music, Performance Theatre and streamed on Radio Bristol’s YouTube Channel

Cost: Free and open to the public
REGISTER TO ATTEND IN PERSON

Emily Hilliard is a Folklorist at Berea College and the former West Virginia State Folklorist and Founding Director of the West Virginia Folklife Program. Her book, Making Our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia (UNC Press, 2022) was named a finalist for the 2022 Weatherford Award in nonfiction for books “best illuminating the challenges, personalities, and unique qualities of the Appalachian South.” She is also the co-founder and co-owner of the feminist record label SPINSTER. Find more of her work at emilyehilliard.com.
