Museum

Jay Knowles wrote "Love You" (Jack Ingram); "Self Made Man" (Montgomery Gentry); "She Don't Love Me" (Blake Shelton); "She'll Leave You with a Smile" (George Strait); "So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore" (Alan Jackson); and songs recorded by Trace Adkins, Luke Bryan, Chris LeDoux, Joe Nichols, and others. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

Randy Kohrs is a renowned multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer who has performed or recorded with Dierks Bentley, Sara Evans, Jim Lauderdale, Little Big Town, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, Randy Travis, Hank Williams III, and others. Kohrs won a Grammy for producing Jim Lauderdale's Bluegrass Diaries. Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

September 6, 2012
Four-time Grammy winner and 2012 CMA nominee Keith Urban stressed the values of hard work and perseverance when speaking to more than 200 students from four Metro Nashville high schools in a forum organized by the education department of the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum.  Watch the complete video here.

The Museum presents a full day of bluegrass-inspired performances, featuring top players Wil Maring and Robert Bowlin, and others. Songwriter Maring has won the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest. She is joined by Bowlin, a national finger-style guitar champion and renowned flat-picking guitarist. Presented by the Crump Family and Cotten Music Center, Honoring George A. and Marjorie S. Crump.   See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

The Museum presents a full day of bluegrass-inspired performances, featuring the Kenny and Amanda Smith Band, and others. Kenny Smith is a two-time Guitar Player of the Year for the International Bluegrass Music Association and Kenny and Amanda Smith were named IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year in 2003.Presented by the Crump Family and Cotten Music Center, Honoring George A. and Marjorie S. Crump.   See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

The Museum presents a full day of bluegrass-inspired performances, featuring Jim Hurst, and others. Hurst, who will host the day, is a two-time IBMA Guitar Player of the Year.  Presented by the Crump Family and Cotten Music Center, Honoring George A. and Marjorie S. Crump.   See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

Robin Ruddy has performed or recorded with Lynn Anderson, Sherrié Austin, Suzy Bogguss, Vince Gill, Lee Greenwood, Ray Stevens, Rod Stewart, Randy Travis, Shania Twain, and others. Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

Septermber 13, 2012
Legendary keyboardist Booker T. Jones discussed his career and influences during a public program at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on September 13, 2012. In a conversation with Memphis-based author Robert Gordon, Jones talked at length about his work at Memphis's Stax Records, and creating the 1960s instrumental hits "Green Onions" and "Time Is Tight" with his group Booker T. & The MG's. He also discussed producing Willie Nelson's 1978 classic album, Stardust, and his more recent collaboration with Americana band the Drive-By Truckers. The museum held the program in collaboration with the Americana Music Association during the trade organization's annual music festival and conference. Jones, who lives in Los Angeles, received a lifetime achievement award during the Americana Honors & Awards Show at the Ryman Auditorium on the previous night.  Watch the complete video here.

In Dwight Yoakam, award-winning music journalist Don McLeese offers the first biography of this acclaimed artist and torchbearer of the Bakersfield Sound. McLeese traces the disparate influences in Yoakam's music and shows how Yoakam has combined rock & roll, rockabilly, country, blues, and gospel into a seamless whole. The book draws on extensive interviews with Yoakam, his management, producer-guitarist Pete Anderson, and others. Followed by a signing in the Museum Store. Presented in support of the exhibit The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country, Support Provided by Academy of Country Music, Ford Motor Company Fund, and Suntrust and  in partnership with the Americana Music Association. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members and AMA badge holders. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

Tift Merritt is a North Carolina native who has been nominated for four Americana Music Awards, as well as for a Grammy for Best Country Album. Over the course of her career, she has built a distinctive sound and won critical acclaim for her commitment to expressing her own poetic voice. Her fifth studio album, Traveling Alone, is due in October. Presented in partnership with the Americana Music Association. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members and AMA badge holders. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

September 15, 2012
Richard Thompson wrote songs recorded by David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Patty Loveless, Del McCoury, Robert Plant, Bonnie Raitt, and many others. He was a founding member of the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention, and has recorded more than forty critically acclaimed albums. He was named one of Rolling Stone's Top 20 Guitarists of All Time, and his 2010 live CD was nominated for a Grammy. Watch the complete program video.

Rory Hoffman is a Nashville-based guitarist who works as a session musician and with the band Swing Street. In October 2011, he released his newest CD, Swing Expedition. Hoffman was recently inducted into the South Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame. Paul Kramer is a fiddler who has performed onstage with Gary Allan, Suzy Bogguss, Sammy Kershaw, Riders in the Sky, Pam Tillis, Travis Tritt, and many others. Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

Alissa Moreno wrote "Every Day," recorded by Rascal Flatts, and has had her music featured on the TV shows Laguna Beach, The Hills, and Army Wives. Mallary Hope wrote "Georgia Peaches" and "The Locket" (Lauren Alaina) and "King of Apology" (Jana Kramer), as well as her own singles "Love Lives On" and "Blossom in the Dust."  See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

Jelly Roll Johnson has recorded with Guy Clark, Alan Jackson, Etta James, The Judds, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis Travis Tritt, Shania Twain, Lee Ann Womack, Trisha Yearwood, and many others. He has twice won an ACM Award for best Specialty Instrument. Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

Ricky Skaggs will sign his new CD, Music to My Ears, purchased from the Museum Store, on Tuesday, September 25 at 12:00 p.m.  Live from the Museum Store is presented by CMT.

This new documentary traces the tradition of Appalachian music from front porches to festival stages. It features interviews and performances by some of the most revered veterans of the genre, as well as emerging talents who are pushing the music into new territory. The filmmakers will be on hand to answer questions after the screening. Presented in partnership with the International Bluegrass Music Association. Made Possible by Iron Mountain Film and Sound Archives. 90 minutes. Free.

Join us at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum for Cookin' Out Country, a lunch experience including cookout favorites, live entertainment and an autograph signing! The Roys will entertain the lunch crowd with a performance and autograph their new CD, New Day Dawning, purchased from the Museum Store.

In this introductory workshop, participants learn country dance history and fundamentals, from squares to Bakersfield Sound swing. Dancers Larry and Cheryl Chunn will lead this program. The Chunns have performed as members of the Grand Ole Opry Square Dancers for more than fifteen years. For ages 7 to 18. No reservations required. Free. Program support provided by Jackson National Life Insurance Company.

Jerry Salley wrote "Breaking New Ground" (Wild Rose); "How Do You Sleep at Night" (Wade Hayes); "I Fell in the Water" (John Anderson); "I'm Gonna Take That Mountain" (Reba McEntire); and songs recorded by the Del McCoury Band, the Greencards, Patty Loveless, Loretta Lynn, Joe Nichols, Brad Paisley, the SteelDrivers, Rhonda Vincent, the Whites, and others. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members and IBMA badge holders. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program. 

September 28, 2012
High soprano Millie Kirkham has contributed angelic vocals to a number of hit recordings by country, pop, and rock & roll artists. Among them are Rosemary Clooney, Perry Como, Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, and Charley Pride. The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum's quarterly program series Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Musicians served as an opportunity to honor Nashville's "on-call soprano."  Watch the complete program video.

Fiddler Matt Combs has worked with Elizabeth Cook, Jerry Douglas, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Ray Price, Curly Seckler, Mike Snider, and others. He is an adjunct instructor at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. Rachel Combs will sit in on guitar. Made possible by Gibson Guitar Corporation. See new Program Pass guidelines for admission to this program.