Tuesday, February 16 | 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Help is needed in a number of areas at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum including gallery assistant, archives, special events, and curatorial. Your level of involvement can include meeting the public or working behind the scenes. Participate in our free volunteer training and join a winning team!
Tickets go on sale March 1.
Saturday, April 30 | 7:00 p.m.
David Gans—the singer/songwriter and author widely known for his work surrounding the Grateful Dead, including hosting the popular nationally syndicated radio show “The Grateful Dead Hour,” will perform an intimate concert in the Performance Theater at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum on April 30.
Tickets for the event will be $10 in advance, $15 at the door.
The Birthplace of Country Music is excited to announce the winners of the “16 Tons” Music Competition. The competition began last year in November and encouraged artists from the region to submit video performances of the Merle Travis hit made famous by Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Patrick Long and The Wicked Pines of Clarksville, Tennessee earned first place in the competition. Second place honors went to Marlené Pigford of Johnson City, Tennessee, and Kingsport, Tennessee’s The Real Life Heavies received third place.
“Patrick Long has an incredible career in front of him,” stated Buck Ford, Tennessee Ernie Ford’s son and a contest judge. “Hands down, one of the coolest takes on this song I’ve ever heard!”
Submissions were judged by a panel of Birthplace of Country Music Museum staff and musicians from The Paramount Chamber Players, as well as members of the Tennessee Ernie Ford and Merle Travis families. The cover versions were judged on the quality of the performance as well as musical creativity and originality.
“We had such a huge range of unique entries, from a heavy metal band to a Sweet Adelines barbershop group, that comparing them was really difficult,” said Dave Lewis, Curator of Collections and Digital Media at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. “Ultimately though, our judging panel settled on these three winners—though they were different in style and approach, each was inventively arranged and skillfully performed.”
As part of the winning prize package, the first-place winner was asked to perform their version of “16 Tons” at the exhibit’s closing concert, co-produced by The Paramount Chamber Players. A scheduling conflict prevents Patrick Long and The Wicked Pines from performing at the show; however, second-place winner Marlené Pigford will step in to fill the slot.
The concert is scheduled for Saturday, February 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the Paramount in Bristol on what would have been Ford’s 97th birthday. The show will feature songs from Ford’s vast repertoire performed by The Paramount Chamber Players, special guests The Jeff Little Trio, a choral ensemble and vocal soloists, along with accompanying narration.
The tribute concert is companion programming to the “Tennessee Ernie Ford: A Life On Stage” special exhibit at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum which will come to a close on Sunday, February 14.
Tickets to A Tribute to Tennessee Ernie Ford at Paramount Bristol are on sale now for $20 per person at the Paramount box office and online at www.BirthplaceofCountryMusic.org.
Winning artist submissions can be viewed on YouTube using the following URL addresses:
Patrick Long and The Wicked Pines: https://youtu.be/L_ILxhLfexQ
Patrick Long and The Wicked Pines are a Clarksville, Tennessee-based band that was founded in 2014. Patrick Long, vocal and guitar, and the two “Wicked Pines,” Daniel Walker on bass and Jacob Markus on lead guitar, enjoy making music together and with others in Tennessee and Kentucky. Also joining the band on this cover are Ian Matthew Harper on drums and Aaron Tagliaboschi on piano.
Marlené Pigford: https://youtu.be/_R_V8PSF4U8
Originally from Florida, Pigford moved to Johnson City, Tennessee, in 2005 with her family. Music is her calling; she came by it naturally thanks to her parents, who are both musicians. Pigford has a heart for people and animals and plans to use her time on this earth to help them in any way she can.
The Real Life Heavies: https://youtu.be/2bM9gWiwjl8
The Real Life Heavies are a relatively new trio formed in 2015, designed for energetic live performances and to freely move between genres with an infectious touch of R&B/groove. Although the group’s focus is original with upbeat rock and blues-infused soul music, front man and songwriter Jeffrey A. Lane has a real passion for “reworking” classics into other genres, and along with drummer Brian Seiler and bassist Johnny Nat Rasar, The Heavies create an ingenious style that is outright infectious!
If you are interested in working behind the scenes at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, become a volunteer! Help is needed in a number of areas including gallery assistant, archives, special events, and curatorial. Your level of involvement can include meeting the public or working behind the scenes.
The Volunteer Overview Session allows you to discern your area of interest at the museum. The session takes place on Tuesday, February 9 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. An In-Depth Training Session is scheduled for the following week, Tuesday, February 16 from 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.
For more information, email volunteercoordinator@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.
With our permanent exhibits and a rotating Special Exhibits Gallery, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is a great place to bring your students. Educators are invited to visit the museum for free to learn more about school group visits at two Open Houses in February and March.
· Wednesday, February 10, 4:00—6:00pm
· Thursday, March 3, 4:00—6:00pm
Staff will be on hand to answer questions about school group visits to the museum and our upcoming special exhibit
”Made in Tennessee: Manufacturing Milestones”
(March 1August 14, 2016), and to speak to you about curriculum needs.
Educator and one guest will receive free admission.
If you are interested in attending either of these open houses, please email education@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.
Offer Includes Special Ticket Pricing on Tuesdays & Thursdays During February
In honor of Punxatawny Phil’s shadow detecting skills, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is celebrating Groundhog Day throughout the month of February with repeat ticket deals and a furry keepsake giveaway that includes Tenneva Phil, Punxatawny’s cute southern cousin. It remains to be seen if Tenneva Phil, a limited edition plush toy, can predict the weather but he looks amazing in his Birthplace of Country Music t-shirt.
The limited offer includes buy one, get one free admission on Tuesdays and Thursdays to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum throughout the month of February.
In addition, folks are urged to visit the Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s Facebook page to enter the museum’s Groundhog Day giveaway for a chance to win a museum gift package containing two (2) plush Tenneva Phils, two (2) passes to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, two (2) $10 gift cards to The Museum Store, and (2) BCM t-shirts. The contest will begin on February 2, 2016 and will run throughout the month of February. A winner will be selected once a week.
Visitors are encouraged to use their buy one, get one free passes to explore the special exhibit “A Life on Stage: Tennessee Ernie Ford” which comes to an end on February 14. Tickets bought during promotion can only be used on Tuesdays and Thursdays in February.
Tickets available at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.
Take time to visit the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and take advantage of our special offer! Now through January 31, 2016 you can receive two (2) additional day passes to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum with the purchase of a new museum membership or a renewal of membership. Perfectly timed for you to take in our special exhibit “Tennessee Ernie Ford: A Life On Stage.”
In cooperation with Tennessee Ernie Ford Enterprises, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum will screen Tennessee Ernie Ford’s Amazing Grace on Tuesday, January 26 at 6:30 p.m. The film features Ford singing a variety of favorite hymns and sacred songs.
This event is free and open to the public. Regular admission fees apply for visiting the museum exhibits and the “Tennessee Ernie Ford: A Life on Stage” special exhibit.
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum wants to record and preserve your Tennessee Ernie Ford stories, photographs, and memorabilia during a “history harvest”!
Do you have a story about a personal connection with Tennessee Ernie Ford, his parents, or his family? Do you or your family have photographs – particularly candid photos – of Ernie on his visits to Bristol, or other Ford-related memorabilia? We would love to add a digital copy to our archive at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum! Come to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum on Thursday, January 28 from 1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. with your item or story to share.
We will record your stories or memories, and scan or photograph the items that you bring with you to add to BCM’s digital archive. These items will help to tell the story of Tennessee Ernie Ford and his connection to Bristol to future generations, and the recordings or digital images will be available to community members, museum staff, and researchers for years to come. BCM will not keep your originals, though museum staff members are happy to discuss the process of donating items to the museum. BCM will send History Harvest participants who provide their email addresses a digital copy of their scanned image, photographed item, or recorded story after the event.
Please contact Dave Lewis (dlewis@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org), our Curator of Collections and Digital Media with any questions, or if you have a particularly large collection of items.
We hope to see all you pea-pickers there!
