Museum

Join us for Cookin' Out Country, a lunch experience including cookout favorites, live entertainment, autograph signings, and your chance to win a gas grill, courtesy of Embers Grill & Fireplace Store! Jim Lauderdale will entertain the lunch crowd with a performance and autograph his product.

May 5, 2012
Seven accomplished guitarists, all deeply influenced by the late Jerry Reed, took turns paying tribute to the Georgia-born picker in a program held Saturday, May 5, in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Ford Theater. Reed, who died in 2008, would have been seventy-five on March 20 this year. John Knowles-like Reed a Chet Atkins-designated cgp (certified guitar player)-opened the concert, which was hosted by guitarist and Reed devotee Richard Smith. A jacket and guitar that belonged to Reed were placed stage left, in Reed's honor. "Some of the best times in my life were spent learning a new Jerry Reed tune," Knowles told the capacity audience.

May 9, 2012
Kenny Rogers set aside his usual concert agenda to reflect on a career of more than fifty years of music-making in the first of two special performances in the 213-seat Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Join us at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum for Cookin' Out Country, a lunch experience including cookout favorites, live entertainment, autograph signings, and your chance to win a gas grill, courtesy of Embers Grill & Fireplace Store! Richie McDonald, Lead Singer of Lonestar, will entertain the lunch crowd with a performance and autograph his CD, Slowdown.

May 10, 2012
Kenny Rogers illustrated the vastness of his catalog of well-known hits by presenting a markedly different set of songs for the second of two consecutive nights of concerts at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Leslie Satcher wrote "Bread and Water" (Vince Gill); "Gypsy Boots" (Terri Clark); "High Tone Woman" (George Strait); "I Said a Prayer" (Pam Tillis); "Politically Uncorrect" (Gretchen Wilson); "Tough" (Kellie Pickler); "Troubadour" (George Strait); "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues" (Martina McBride); "You and You Alone" (Randy Travis); and songs recorded by Deana Carter, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Blake Shelton, and others.  Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.  See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program.

Learn to play guitar like Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. This hands-on workshop will teach the basics of thumbpick guitar. This program will be led by versatile guitar player Sean Weaver, recipient of awards from Home of the Legends Thumbpickers Contest and the Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Competition. Guitars will be provided.  Ages 6 to 18. No reservations required. Free. Families are encouraged to tour the museum at a discounted rate following the program. Visit the information desk or ticket window for more information.  Presented in support of the exhibit Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player, made possible by the Gretsch Company. Additional support provided by GAC.

Alabama-based guitarist, writer, and composer Craig Dobbins has authored many books and recordings about fingerstyle guitar and has contributed to the magazines Acoustic Guitar, Acoustic Guitar Workshop, Fingerstyle Guitar, and Just Jazz Guitar. Dobbins also writes a regular column for Mister Guitar (the journal of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society).  Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.  Presented in support of the exhibit Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player, made possible by the Gretsch Company. Additional support provided by GAC.  See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program.

Join us at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum for Cookin' Out Country, a lunch experience including cookout favorites, live entertainment, autograph signings, and your chance to win a gas grill, courtesy of Embers Grill & Fireplace Store! Sweethearts of the Rodoe will entertain the lunch crowd with a performance and autograph their product purchased from the Museum Store.

Alan Rhody wrote "I'll Be True to You" (Oak Ridge Boys); "Trainwreck of Emotion" (Lorrie Morgan); "Wild-Eyed Dream" (Ricky Van Shelton); and songs recorded by Don Gibson, George Jones, Toby Keith, Del McCoury, Michael Martin Murphey, Tanya Tucker, and others. Jim Parker wrote "Chicken Truck" and "Bigger Hands" (both by John Anderson). Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program.

Chet Atkins is one of the most admired musicians of the 20^th Century. His intricate fingerstyle guitar playing continues to influence country, rock, and jazz guitarists such as Tommy Emmanuel and Mark Knopfler. This hands-on workshop will teach the basics of thumbpick guitar. Led by versatile guitar player Sean Weaver, graduate of Belmont University and recipient of awards from Home of the Legends Thumbpickers Contest as well as the Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Competition. Guitars provided.  Nashville Public Library, Goodlettsville Branch. 205 Rivergate Parkway, Nashville, TN 37072. (615) 862-5862. Ages 13 to 19. No reservations required. Free.  Presented in support of the exhibit Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player, made possible by the Gretsch Company. Additional support provided by GAC.

Mike Webb was a Dobro student of the late Bashful Brother Oswald. He has performed or recorded with Wilma Lee Cooper & the Clinch Mountain Clan, Buddy Jewell, Charlie Louvin, the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, Tanya Tucker, and others. Robert Montgomery is a banjo player and past winner of several regional and national contests including the Old-Time Banjo National Championship. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.  Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program.

Sonny Throckmorton wrote "I Wish I Was Eighteen Again" and "Middle Age Crazy" (Jerry Lee Lewis); "The Way I Am" (Merle Haggard); "Trying to Love Two Women" (Oak Ridge Boys); "The Cowboy Rides Away" (George Strait); "Why Not Me" (The Judds); and songs recorded by Emmylou Harris, Kenny Rogers, T. G. Sheppard, and Willie Nelson. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.  See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program.

May 26, 2012
Mark D. Sanders can pinpoint the moment he evolved from an acoustic singer-songwriter focused on downcast, personal works into a Nashville hit-maker known for up-tempo toe-tappers and uplifting anthems.

Renaé Truex is a fiddle player who has performed or recorded with Charlie Daniels, Little Jimmy Dickens, Ronnie McDowell, Bret Michaels, Lorrie Morgan, and Ray Price. Carco Clavé is a guitar player who has performed with Asleep at the Wheel, BR549, Little Jimmy Dickens, Tex Ritter, Merle Travis, and Dale Watson. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.  Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation.  See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program.