“Hometown Stars” Special Exhibit

“Hometown Stars: Southwest Virginia’s Recording Legacy, 1923–1943,” is a special exhibit from the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College on display at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum February 7, 2017–June 4, 2017.

The talents and repertoires of Southwest Virginia musicians proved to be a deep musical well for the nation’s growing recording industry. Few other parts of the country produced so much commercially recorded rural music in the pre-World War Two era. Still, only a handful of Southwest Virginia performers saw real fame or money. Most were simply hometown stars, playing music locally and living average lives. “Hometown Stars,” an exhibit produced by the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, tells the stories of these artists – including the Powers Family, Dock Boggs, Carl Martin, The Roanoke Jug Band, Jack Reedy & His Walker Mountain Stringband, and several Bristol Sessions artists – through text, photographs, and artifacts.