Students in the museum's camp enjoy time with farm and Fun Time. (© Birthplace of Country Music; photo by Billie Wheeeler)
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Bristol, Virginia, offers many programs throughout the year to educate and entertain the public.
Some highlights of the past 10 years include.
The Speaker Sessions are a free monthly lecture series held on the second Tuesday of every month featuring experts on topics related to country music, music history or Appalachian history and culture. The Sessions began as a part of the museum’s effort to continue providing valuable educational and engaging content during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and were initially designed as a virtual program. The caliber of speakers and quality of topics quickly gained a dedicated virtual following. When it was safe to gather inside again, the Speaker Sessions welcomed audiences to the museum while also continuing to provide access to those viewers who did not live locally or were otherwise unable to attend events at the museum. They host sessions in the museum’s Performance Theater and also stream them on the Radio Bristol YouTube page.
The museum has hosted open community jams for many years. This program began as a way to connect with the current music scene in Bristol and fill a need for the community by providing a place for people to gather and enjoy music. There are currently two jams held once a month. A country jam is held on the second Saturday and has been hosted by several different volunteer musicians over the years and, most recently, BCM staff member and local musician Ella Patrick. This jam is currently on pause for the summer with plans to resume in the fall. In 2022, BCM partnered with the East Tennessee Bluegrass Association to start a second jam led by the ETBA President Evie Andrus.
The Junior Appalachian Musicians program is a regional program that helps provide communities with the tools and support they need to teach children to play and dance to traditional, old-time and bluegrass music. In October 2023, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum became an affiliate of the JAM program. Every Saturday from 10:30-11:30 a.m., they offer weekly lessons in fiddle, banjo and guitar for $5 a lesson. The JAM program is designed for children in grades four through eight and beyond, and it introduces music through small group instruction on instruments common to the Appalachian region. Current instructors are Brian Read (director), Donna Coffee (beginner guitar), Chloe Campbell (fiddle), Harrison McBride (banjo) and Hayden Spangler (intermediate guitar).
Museum Story Time is a family program designed for toddler-aged children and their grown-ups. It meets on the first Friday of every month at 10:30 a.m. Children hear a book based on country music, music history or Appalachian history and culture. Then local musician Ella Patrick A.K.A “Momma Molasses,” performs a song related to the theme of the book and children make a craft related to the theme of the book.
The museum hosts regular school and youth group tours and outreach programs throughout the year. The museum tours can also include a variety of extra learning activities, including Instrument Petting Zoo, Banjo Bingo, History of Listening and Science of Sound, and an Earnest Tube experience. Outreach consists of bringing museum programs to schools and other organizations and participating in local and regional community events like Heritage Day in Jonesboro, career days for middle and high school students, Juneteenth, Tri-Pride, ETSU’s Latino Festival and many others.
The museum has also hosted several one-off programs and workshops over the past 10 years, such as cardboard dulcimer building, songwriting, a poetry slam, oral history methods, letterpress printing, photography, musical performances and more.
Film screenings are a popular program at the museum. These are sometimes tied to special exhibits (e.g. the Lakota language during the “American Ballads: Photographs of Marty Stuart” exhibit), the permanent exhibits’ content, or one-off films related to Appalachia and music history. The museum has also partnered with the Smithsonian Channel to share several of their films to reach a wider audience and tie into other museum partnerships. For instance, they screened a film about the moon landing to mark its 50th anniversary (including sharing Moon Pies and Tang with audience members) and screened a film about Green Book travel to complement Bristol’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in January.
The museum curatorial team hosts two Radio Bristol shows. Museum Talk airs every Thursday (except the fourth Thursday) at 12 p.m. This show is focused on interviewing folks from other museums, historic sites and cultural organizations about their work. On the fourth Thursday of the month (also at 12 p.m.), the museum partners with the Bristol Public Library to present Radio Bristol Book Club, where four BCMM and BPL readers discuss a book together live on air, often followed by an interview with the author. The books are themed around music, history, and Appalachian stories and traditions.
Each year, the museum hosts at least one Community Day (usually the last Saturday of October) On that day admission is free, and a variety of family-friendly activities are offered, such as square dancing, Instrument Petting Zoo, music-related crafts, 3D printing with the Bristol Public Library, coloring activities and more.
To keep track of what’s happening at the museum, visit their events calendar on their website, www.birthplaceofcountrymusicmuseum.org.
