Museum

Eddie Pennnington is a Kentucky guitarist dedicated to preserving the traditional styles of Merle Travis. His performance mixes stories, traditional folk songs and Travis-style arrangements of contemporary tunes. Pennington is a member of the Thumbpickers Hall of Fame and a two-time National Thumbpicking Champion. Presented in support of the exhibit Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player, made possible by the Gretsch Company. Additional support provided by GAC. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.

Gary Nicholson wrote "Lone Star Blues" (George Strait); "Lucky Me, Lucky You" (Lee Roy Parnell); "More Love" (Dixie Chicks); "My Kind of Crazy" (John Anderson); "One More Last Chance" (Vince Gill); "She Couldn't Change Me" (Montgomery Gentry); "That's the Thing About Love" (Don Williams); "The Trouble with the Truth" (Patty Loveless); "When Love Starts Talkin'" (Wynonna Judd); "When You Gonna Come Around" (Dierks Bentley); "Working Without a Net" (Waylon Jennings); and many others. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.

March 10, 2012
Renowned keyboardist John Hobbs-who has recorded hits in pop, R&B, and rock as well as in country music-confessed that he tended not to notice borders between musical genres.

David Coe plays fiddle for Michael Martin Murphey and Nashville-based Irish band the Rogues. Josh Culley will sit in on guitar. The duo will demonstrate old-time Appalachian and Irish fiddle tunes. Included with museum admission. Free to museum members.  Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation.

Bobby Tomberlin wrote "A Good Day to Run" (Darryl Worley); "Angel's Hands" (Rodney Atkins); "I Want You" (Faith Hill); "If Only" (Eddy Arnold); "One More Day" (Diamond Rio); "She Misses Him on Sunday the Most" (Diamond Rio); and others. Jim Glaser wrote and performed the hits "If I Could Only Dance with You," "The Man in the Mirror," "When You're Not a Lady," and "You're Gettin' to Me Again."  His songs have also been recorded by Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Hank Snow, Skeeter Davis, and Bill Anderson. At nineteen, Glaser gained recognition when he sang high harmony on the Marty Robbins' classic "El Paso."  Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.

March 17, 2012
Friends and colleagues of the late Chet Atkins remembered the guitarist with fondness and admiration during a panel in the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum's Ford Theater on Saturday, March 17, 2012.

As RCA Nashville's manager of operations, Chet Atkins was pivotal in convincing RCA Records to build a Nashville studio in 1957 and in making Studio B one of Music City's landmark recording facilities. After the studio opened, Atkins logged many hours at "B" as a musician and as a producer, cutting records that helped to define the classic Nashville Sound. This unique guided tour will show how Atkins worked in his longtime recording home. Led by Atkins acolyte and museum staffer Ben Hall. Presented in support of the exhibit Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player, made possible by the Gretsch Company. Additional support provided by GAC. Tickets can be purchased as an add-on to museum admission or for $9 for museum members. Reservations are required, and seating is limited. The shuttle departs from the museum promptly at 3:30 p.m. For information call 615-416-2001.

Dick Boak is a guitar player, designer, builder, and historian. In his 35-year career with the Martin Guitar Company, he has collaborated with artists such as Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, and Willie Nelson on the conception of more than 140 signature guitars. In this demonstration, Boak will offer an interactive overview of the acoustic guitar as it relates to country music and will showcase several important examples in the evolution of acoustic guitars. Bresh and Starkey will also provide music. Bresh is a member of the Thumbpickers Hall of Fame. He has played alongside Atkins, James Burton, Les Paul, and Jerry Reed, as well as his father, Merle Travis. Starkey is a flatpick guitarist who plays in the style of Doc Watson and Clarence White. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.

Southern California music journalists Scott B. Bomar, Randy Poe, and Robert Price will discuss essays they wrote for the Museum's new exhibition companion book, The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country. Free. Pick up a $7 box lunch at the Museum's Two Twenty-Two Grill & Catering before the program. To place your order in advance, please call 615-291-6759.

Musicians who were active at the dawn of the Bakersfield Sound (1940s-1960s) discuss their involvement in California's country music scene. Songwriting legend Dallas Frazier began his career in Bakersfield, where he was mentored by Ferlin Husky and appeared on the television show Cousin Herb's Trading Post. Fiddler Don Maddox is the only surviving member of Maddox Brothers & Rose, one of the first country acts to attain widespread popularity in the Golden State. Rose Lee Maphis appeared on West Coast TV broadcasts with her late husband, Joe Maphis, with whom she recorded "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (and Loud, Loud Music)"-a classic inspired by Joe's visit to Bakersfield honky-tonk the Blackboard Cafe. Buddy Mize, brother of Bakersfield luminary Billy Mize, worked on the Trading Post (on and off camera) before achieving songwriting success with "(You Keep Me) Hangin' On" and other hits. Country Music Hall of Fame member Jean Shepard topped the charts in 1953 with "A Dear John Letter," the first national hit created by Bakersfield songwriters and musicians. Known as the Bard of Bakersfield, Red Simpson wrote over forty songs for Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, while charting with his own recordings of "I'm a Truck" and "The Highway Patrol." California-based music journalist Scott B. Bomar will moderate. The program will be streamed live on CountryMusicHallofFame.org. Included with Museum admission and free to Museum members. 

The Bakersfield Sound is fun, loud, and makes you want to get up and dance. It was influenced by the people, environment, and economic circumstances of Southern California in the 1940s and 1950s. In this program, family visitors will create artwork that represents country music and California though block images from Hatch Show Print, one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in the U.S. For ages 5 and up. Takes place at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. 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.

March 24, 2012
Several musicians with ties to California discussed the origins of the historic music scene in Bakersfield, California, during the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's gala opening weekend for its new exhibit, The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country.

In celebration of our new exhibition, Pete Finney and Jon Byrd will demonstrate musical styles associated with the Bakersfield Sound. Discussion will highlight pedal-steel guitarists Tom Brumley, Norm Hamlet, and Ralph Mooney, and Fender Telecaster stylists James Burton, Roy Nichols, and Don Rich. The program will feature songs by Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Wynn Stewart. Finney's resume includes work with Trace Adkins, Bobby Bare, the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, and Reba McEntire. Byrd is an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. Presented in support of The Bakersfield Sound:  Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.  Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation.

Through performances and interviews with key Bakersfield artists Merle Haggard, Fred and Rose Maddox, Buck Owens, and Henry Sharpe, this documentary traces the social and economic factors present in southern California that fostered the hard-edged, amped-up dance music that characterizes the classic Bakersfield Sound. The artists describe growing up and picking cotton in the "Okie" migrant communities, spending late nights singing at legendary clubs like the Blackboard, and the excitement of creating a music scene that challenged Nashville as the center of country music. 58 minutes. Free.  Made Possible by Iron Mountain Film and Sound Archives.

Singer-songwriter Jeff Black wrote songs for his acclaimed albums, including his latest release Plow Through the Mystic. Black also penned "King of the World" (Blackhawk); "Same Ol' River" (Sam Bush); "That's Just About Right" (Blackhawk), "They're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" (Jon Randall); and songs recorded by Dierks Bentley, Iris Dement, Waylon Jennings, and others. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.