Above: Visitors enjoy the Music Makers exhibit at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum (© Birthplace of Country Music)
Held in Bristol in 1927, the Bristol Sessions are often referred to as the “big bang of country music,” because they laid the foundation for the commercial country music industry. This month the Birthplace of Country Music Museum celebrates the 10th anniversary of its opening.
The Sessions are revered for the vast talent contained within those recordings and include the first recordings of The Carter Family (the First Family of Country Music) and Jimmie Rodgers (the Father of Country Music). The state-of-the-art technological developments of the era also influenced their impact and reach.
The invention of the Western Electric microphone, used on the Sessions, resulted in higher-quality recordings with more vibrant and nuanced sound. Ralph Peer, the producer who came to Bristol to produce the sessions, was highly skilled in finding and marketing music and artists that would sell, and his approach to copyright and artists payments was instrumental in creating the way the music industry works today. In short, the 1927 Bristol Sessions revolutionized the country music industry, ushering the genre into the mainstream — a perfect storm of extraordinary events that, for decades, was relatively little known and went largely uncelebrated.
In 1998, the U.S. Congress designated Bristol as the “birthplace of country music.” In 2001 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunionwas established by the cities of Bristol, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennessee, to honor the sessions and Appalachian music. BRRR became volunteer-run in its second year and is now a branch of the nonprofit Birthplace of Country Music organization, which emerged from the merger of BRRR with Birthplace of Country Music Alliance in 2012.In August 2014, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum opened its doors to the public
The Smithsonian-affiliated Birthplace of Country Music Museum is one of three branches of the Birthplace of Country Music, along with Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival and WBCM Radio Bristol. The museum’s mission is to explore the history, impact and legacy of the 1927 Bristol Sessions — one of the most influential commercial recording sessions in American music history — through educational, engaging and fun experiences.
The museum explores how evolving sound technology shaped the success of the sessions and highlights how this rich music heritage lives on in today’s music. Through multiple theater experiences, interactive displays, rich text panels and artifacts — along with a variety of online resources, educational programs, music performances and community events — the exciting story of these recording sessions and their far-reaching influence comes alive for visitors young and old.
BCM is dedicated to educational outreach to local schools to pass on our region’s music culture to future generations. The museum offers free resources for educators including teacher in-service classes, school group tours and online resources for students. Its popular Pick Along Summer Camp, designed for children ages 8 to 16, offers an introduction to playing traditional instruments such as guitar, banjo and fiddle and gives instruction in Appalachian music culture and history. Students can also dabble in broadcasting as they work on projects with WBCM Radio Bristol. Scholarships are offered to underserved children who wish to attend the camp.
In 2023, the museum hosted group tours for more than 900 students and teachers from 26 area K-12 schools, home-school groups and universities from across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. For the last two years, the museum has brought students in Virginia Middle School’s after-school program to the museum or brought museum programs to them once a month. The museum has also positioned itself as an authority on the music heritage of our region and the origins of American music, presenting at numerous conferences. For instance, curatorial team members Rene Rodgers and Toni Doman gave a talk on the museum’s women in old-time music special exhibit, “I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music,” last year at the International Country Music Conference in Nashville.
Rotating special exhibitions are featured throughout the year in the museum’s Special Exhibits Gallery. These exhibits are either created in-house by museum staff or from guest curators and other institutions, including the Smithsonian. The museum is also building a digital archive that BCM hopes to make accessible to the public in the future. Tourists from 48 foreign countries and every state in the United States have visited the museum since it opened.
In 2023 the Birthplace of Country Music Museum earned Tripadvisor’s coveted Travelers’ Choice Award and was listed among the Top 10 pop culture museums in the country by USA Today. The museum welcomed more than 34,000 visitors, including bus tour companies, civic and church organizations, clubs and senior groups, student groups, local community members and tourists. One visiting tour bus brought 36 visitors from Australia to learn more about Bristol’s impact.
“BCM and the museum have helped to inspire a renewed sense of community pride in Bristol’s authentic music heritage — resulting in major economic impact for the region, a big boost in tourism and an increase in community events. It is also considered hallowed ground for musicians with an eye on history and has become a source of inspiration for many.
“Two new boutique hotels, The Bristol Hotel and The Sessions Hotel, were opened by investors looking to capitalize on the cities’ unique music history. Bristol Casino, a casino project to be managed by Hard Rock International, is also open within city limits. The Earnest Tube, a direct-to-lacquer disc recording studio, also moved their music mastering business, Well Made Music, to Bristol due to its music heritage.
“The museum has helped to create a year-round music tourism market, based on the authentic music history and culture of our region, joined by other regional music organizations, the cities, downtown bars and restaurants and Believe in Bristol. As an organization, BCM continues to nurture growth, stability, education and community, while also fostering the talents of local and regional musicians. The success of BCM has given tourists a reason to visit Bristol year-round, opening a number of opportunities for other businesses in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia as a whole,” says Charlene Baker, communications manager.
