Program Will Feature Tommy Emmanuel, Eddie Pennington,
Joe Robinson and Striking Matches
American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection
Ends July 17
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – June 22, 2016 – The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will host a special program on Saturday, July 16, at 2 p.m. featuring Tommy Emmanuel, Eddie Pennington, Joe Robinson and Striking Matches. The Gretsch Sound: A Guitar Pull is presented in support of the exhibition American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection which ends its run July 17.
Through this casual musical performance, these master players will discuss the unique features of Gretsch design and demonstrate their individual musical styles with their own instruments. Tommy Emmanuel is regarded as one of the world’s leading fingerstyle guitarists. He is a two-time Grammy nominee and one of only five guitarists named Certified Guitar Player (CGP) by Chet Atkins. Kentucky native Eddie Pennington, a perpetuator of the “Muhlenberg Sound” of Merle Travis, is a recipient of the NEA National Heritage Fellowship and a member of the National Thumb Pickers Hall of Fame. Virtuoso guitarist and singer-songwriter Joe Robinson is an Australian Guitar Magazine award winner and a winner of Australia’s Got Talent. Striking Matches, the songwriting, guitar-wielding, alternative-country duo of Justin Davis and Sarah Zimmerman, has been featured on the ABC series Nashville,and their debut album, Nothing but the Silence, was produced by T Bone Burnett. The program participants will sign commemorative Hatch posters following the performance.
The guitar pull will be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming. Attendees must have a program pass to guarantee admission to the event. Program passes are free with museum admission or membership. Museum members may reserve their program passes in advance by phone (615-416-2050) or via reservations@countrymusichalloffame.org.
Additional programs include Gretsch Guitar Demonstrations at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, through Sunday, July 17, featuring Richard Smith, Pat Kirtley and Lance Allen. Hands-on activities in the Taylor Swift Education Center will provide fun for children of all ages. Create embellished instruments in the Gretsch style from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, July 15 and learn to play electric guitar in the Beginner Electric Guitar workshop on Saturday, July 16, at 1 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.
The Bachman-Gretsch Collection was amassed by Canadian guitarist and songwriter Randy Bachman, a key member of rock bands the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Bachman acquired more than three hundred historic and rare Gretsch guitars in the 1970s and 1980s. His collection was purchased in 2008 by the Gretsch Foundation, the charitable arm of the Gretsch family.
American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection is the largest exhibition of stringed instruments ever mounted by the museum. The seventy-five guitars presented also offer the most comprehensive look at the Bachman-Gretsch Collection ever made available to the public. For additional information about the exhibition, visit countrymusichalloffame.org. Follow @countrymusichof on Twitter and join the conversation using #BachmanGretschExhibit.
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The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves, and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibits, publications, and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. The museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and in 2015 welcomed over one million patrons, placing it among the ten most-visited history museums in the U.S. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio BTM, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive, and CMF Press. Museum programs are supported by the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and the Tennessee Arts Commission.More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001.
