Blog | Birthplace of Country Music

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Instrument Interview: The Kazoo

“Instrument Interview” posts are a chance to sit down with the instruments of traditional, country, bluegrass, and roots music – from different types of instruments to specific ones related to artists, luthiers, and songwriters – and learn more about them. […]

By: Rene Rodgers

Head Curator at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum

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Recent Posts

Radio Bristol Book Club: Where the Dead Sit Talking

March 1, 2021

By Summer Apostal

Welcome to Radio Bristol Book Club! Readers from BCM and the Bristol Public Library come together each month to celebrate and explore a book inspired by our region’s rich Appalachian cultural and musical heritage. We invite you to read along […]

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The Root of It: Brad Leftwich on John Dykes and the Magic City Trio

February 25, 2021

By Kris Truelsen and Brad Leftwich

Radio Bristol is excited to share “The Root of It,” a new series connecting today’s influential musicians to often lesser known and sometimes obscure musicians of the early commercial recording era. The sounds and musicians we hear today on platforms […]

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Speaking Up! Advocate to Highlight Your Museum’s Impact on the Community, State, Nation, and Beyond

February 21, 2021

By Summer Apostal

Each year the American Alliance of Museums organizes Museums Advocacy Day, an event aimed at preparing and enabling public history professionals and individuals who are passionate about museums to speak directly with their Congressional representatives about policy issues that directly […]

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Safer Travels to Bristol, Above and Below!

February 10, 2021

By Charlene Baker

Exploring safer, must-see attractions in and around Bristol during the pandemic.

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Radio Bristol Book Club: The Devil’s Dream

February 1, 2021

By Tonia Kestner

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Walk the Line in Bristol, TN-VA

January 21, 2021

By Charlene Baker

Exploring the Birthplace of Country Music & Beyond Navigating travel during a pandemic can be tricky, but it’s not impossible. So if you’re itching to get out on the open road for an overnight or weekend, why not visit Bristol […]

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Radio Bristol Book Club – I Saw the Light: The Story of Hank Williams

January 2, 2021

By Rene Rodgers

Welcome to another year of Radio Bristol Book Club! Each month, readers from the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and the Bristol Public Library come together to celebrate and explore one book inspired by our region’s rich Appalachian cultural and musical heritage. We […]

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Pick 5: Songs to Ring in the New Year

December 26, 2020

By Rene Rodgers

For our “Pick 5” blog series, we ask members of the Radio Bristol team or our BCM staff to pick five songs within a given theme – from heartsongs to murder ballads and everything in between! Once they pick their […]

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Thomas Edison: From “Mary Had a Little Lamb” to Recorded Music

December 22, 2020

By Rene Rodgers

On December 24, 1877, inventor Thomas Edison filed for a patent for his “talking machine” or cylinder phonograph. This technology was transformative, successfully reproducing recorded sound and thus setting the stage for our experience of listening to the music we […]

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Museum Store Artisan Spotlight: Debbie Grim Yates, Susan Prior Fields & John Gunther

December 16, 2020

By Charlene Baker

Back in November, we began our first in a series of blogs highlighting three talented artisans whose work we have commissioned to sell in The Museum Store at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. These creatives elevate the idea of […]

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“Enjoy the Pluck:” The Farm and Fun Time Heirloom Recipe with Michael Henningsen

December 9, 2020

By Kris Truelsen

For the Scots, extra-ordinary food would have to wait for special occasions, and one such dish was what Burns dubbed the ‘chieftain of the puddin’ race’ – the haggis!

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Radio Bristol Book Club: Mama, Me, & the Holiday Tree

December 3, 2020

By Brenda G'Fellers

Welcome to Radio Bristol Book Club! Each month, readers from BCM and the Bristol Public Library come together to celebrate and explore one book inspired by our region’s rich Appalachian cultural and musical heritage. We invite you to read along and then listen […]

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Museum Store Artisan Spotlights: Johnny Glass, Paula Kahn & Anne Vaughan

November 24, 2020

By Charlene Baker

The Birthplace of Country Music Museum prides itself on its world-class exhibits, but did you know that attention to detail also carries over into The Museum Store? The goal: To create a gallery-like shopping experience for visitors by offering one-of-a-kind […]

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Once Upon a Time: Remembering and Sharing Family Stories

November 20, 2020

By Rene Rodgers

“Do you remember when…?” “Let me tell you about your grandmother’s apple butter…” “Uncle Roger, I want to hear the story about the time you thought you’d swallowed a water dog!” November is Family Stories Month, and even though we […]

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Radio Bristol Book Club: Woman Walk the Line

November 3, 2020

By Rene Rodgers

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Pick 5: The 1928 Bristol Sessions

October 27, 2020

By Nathan Sykes

If you are reading this blog post, you are probably familiar with why Bristol is considered by many to be the Birthplace of Country Music. During late July and early August of 1927, Ralph Peer of the Victor Talking Machine […]

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Jamie Lee Curtis wearing a mask in the movie Halloween

Cardio, Double Tap, and Other Stuff Scary Movies Taught Us About Avoiding COVID-19

August 7, 2020

By Charlene Baker

I think we can all agree 2020 has been one giant dumpster fire. As we enter the Halloween season, you might be thinking reality has become a little like living a scary movie. This got me to thinking: if this were a scary movie, how could we flip the script? Hasn’t the horror genre taught us everything we need to know about surviving until the credits? And because every good Halloween flick needs a killer soundtrack, I’ve included a Spooktacular Bristol Rhythm playlist on Spotify to aid in your assault on COVID-19, with nearly five hours of music by your favorite festival artists! Enough to get you though a double feature!

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