Ralph Peer
During this brief period in 1927, dozens of artists, responding to what they heard and read about Peer's recording sessions and the previous successes experienced by Earnest V. (Pops) Stoneman, who had gone to New York to record some songs, descended on Bristol from the surrounding hills and hollers in Virginia and Tennessee to record and get paid for recording their music to provide Peer with content for the burgeoning popularity of the Victrola, for which he was seeking to find new markets. The Carter Family, from nearby Maces, VA and Jimmy Rodgers, who became the "Singing Brakeman," kicked off what became two strands within the larger world of country music: country and bluegrass.
Jimmie Rodgers with the Carter Family
In a delightful interactive setting, The Birthplace of Country Music Museum tells the story of the origins and spread of traditional music as well as its development into commercial areas that have since become concentrated in Nashville and other centers. As a major stop on the Crooked Road, however, it stands as a venue that tells where country and traditional music came from while suggesting where it might be going. Along the way it showcases, through films, recordings, and artifacts the fascinating story of how peoples' love of their music and the commercial needs of the growing recording industry met and expanded to the country and the world.
Interactive Table Explores Early Recordings
Film of Ralph Stanley Recorded at the Museum
Space for Special Exhibits
Visually Attractive Exhibit
Museum Director: Dr. Jessica R. Turner
Bristol has become a bustling center for the celebration of country music. Three areas of activity focus the city's centrality and maintain its relevance. The Birthplace of Country Music Museum explores the story of the development of country music in this city and region. Radio Bristol, located physically and emotionally within the museum, broadcasts locally and world-wide on three channels covering all the country music bases. Bristol Rhythm and Roots, held each September, is a large, eclectic music festival drawing thousands to the streets of Bristol.
Kris Truelsen - Producer of Bristol Radio
Emily Robinson
An Early Electronic Microphone
Various Primitive Instruments Including Bones
and a Jaws Harp
Harp Guitar
The collection also includes old audio tapes, recordings, and sheet music. The Museum is always glad to consider relevant contributions to its ever-widening archives. Such contributions are tax deductible, for anyone interested.
What Is Genre?
The placard above takes up little space in the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, but suggests one of the major emphases represented there. Beginning with simple country people appearing at a recording session to share their music, country music, along with blues, has influenced music around the world. Once separated into distinctive radio genres, the barriers between varieties of music are being erased by wide availability of all kinds of music. An engrossing film shown in a small space in the museum shows performers from the Carter Family through Johnny Cash to contemporary roots bands, showing how the idea and the song dominates. Bristol Rhythm & Roots Festival in September raises and, perhaps, answers the same question.
Bristol Rhythm & Roots
How to Get to the
Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Place Your Current Location in the O and Click
Admission to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum ranges from $13.65 for adults, $11.55 for seniors, children, military and groups, and free to children under 5. The Museum is a Blue Star Museum free to military personnel from Labor Day to Memorial Day.
Our visit took place early on a weekday morning, when few people were in town and fewer still at the Museum. During the high season, which lasts from mid-May through late October, you can expect to see many more people at the Museum. However, museum spaces are well-designed to separate crowds and increase movement through them. Depending on how thoroughly you wish to explore this deeply involving museum, you should plan to visit for a minimum of a full day. Check the events schedule for special events and ticketed ones. The museum programs and opportunities are more widespread than what's been covered here. Take a good, careful look at its web site.
