News Category: Special Projects

The Birthplace of Country Music is proud to present the return of Grammy Award-winning artist and powerhouse vocalist Mike Farris to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum for an intimate Friends of 1927 Concert experience on September 7.

“Mike Farris is an unforgettable performer,” said Leah Ross, Executive Director of the Birthplace of Country Music. “This is the second Friends of 1927 Concert he will have done, and the last sold out. I urge everyone interested in attending to order their tickets. There’s nothing like seeing him in an intimate setting.”

Among the greatest voices of our time, Mike Farris was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album for his release Shine for All the People in 2015. Mike’s spirited, soul-gospel fusion and goosebump-inducing live performances are evocative, spiritual, and thoroughly entertaining. Among his accomplishments, Farris achieved an Americana Music Award for New/Emerging Artist in 2008, followed by a Dove Award in 2010. His live performances at Bonnarro, SXSW, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, and Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion drew rave reviews. Revered artists like Rodney Crowell, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, and Marty Stuart have been struck by his incomparable voice. He was also among those invited to honor Aretha Franklin at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 16th Annual American Music Masters Concert, a true testament to his immense gifts.

Friends of 1927 Concerts are intimate performances where fans have the opportunity to interact with artists in a relaxed setting. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres are included in the ticket price. Concert doors open for cocktail hour at 6:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now to the public for $80 per person, Bristol, Virginia admission tax and fees included.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Congratulations to BCM Marketing Director Kim Davis and Charlene Tipton Baker, our Marketing Specialist in Communications, on achieving their Tourism Marketing Professional certification from the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) upon graduation from STS Marketing College.

STS is dedicated to improving the economic vitality of the Southeast by uniting all segments of the travel and tourism industry, promoting tourism within their member states, fostering cooperation, sharing resources, and providing continuing education.

For one week each year, STS Marketing College hosts tourism professionals at the University of North Georgia where students participate in a curriculum of courses designed to teach marketing techniques from all facets of the tourism industry. STS Marketing College is a 3-year program.

Now you can buy a GIFT-A-TAG voucher for the purchase of any of Tennessee’s Specialty License Plates. There are over 100 to choose from! Vouchers are $35 and you can purchase as many as you want.

Tennessee Specialty License Plates support over 100 different organizations and charities including colleges and universities, branches of the military, nonprofits, and other topics.

Each GIFT-A-TAG is good for the purchase of a Specialty License Plate, the renewal of a Specialty License Plate or the personalization of any license plate.

Visit www.tngiftcenter.com/giftatag/ to browse the selections and learn more.

The Arts Alliance Mountain Empire has partnered with the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and the William King Museum of Art to present its 2016-2017 Speaker Series. Five speakers will present six talks around the common theme: “Art in Appalachia, Appalachia in the World.” A number of events will be held over the course of the series including a film screening of “Banjo Romantika: American Bluegrass Music & The Czech Imagination” at the museum on Tuesday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Filmmaker and ETSU professor Shara Lange will lead the discussion of the documentary “Banjo Romantika” which broadcast on PBS across 40 states in the country. Czechs first heard bluegrass during World War II when the Armed Forces Network broadcast American music for soldiers. The music represented freedom to dissatisfied Czechs living in a communist state. Inspired by classic American bluegrass sounds, an assortment of musicians from across the formerly communist Czech Republic have melded the past, the political, and the present into lively musical tradition entirely its own.

Click here to view the entire listing of AAME’s Speaker Series events.

The Birthplace of Country Music is excited to announce that Bristol, Virginia native Brett Davis will be joining the nonprofit organization as its new Operations & Logistics Manager. With more than a decade of professional experience in the outdoor industry, Davis brings a variety of valuable skills to the position including his experience with the organization as a volunteer for the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival; he has served on the Logistics Committee since 2007. Brett is excited to return to his hometown with his wife and young son after working and living for several years in Blacksburg, Virginia where he served as General Manager of Back Country Ski and Sport, Inc. A dedicated advocate of Bristol’s vast music heritage, Davis enjoys spending time with his family, supporting live music, and bicycling in his spare time.

For every gift you purchase through AmazonSmile, AmazonSmile gives back to the nonprofit organzation of your choice. This holiday season, we hope you’ll consider setting up your AmazonSmile account to donate to the Birthplace of Country Music every time you make a purchase.

Log on to https://smile.amazon.com/, select the Birthplace of Country Music as your charity, then shop as you normally would. There is no added cost to your purchases and it helps BCM with funding for the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival, and Radio Bristol. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Thank you to everyone who registered and cast a vote in support of the Birthplace of Country Music for the Levitt AMP Grant Awards. The Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Awards is a matching grant program made possible by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national private foundation dedicated to strengthening the social fabric of America through the power of free, live music. Grantees receive $25,000 in matching funds to present a minimum of 10 free outdoor concerts presented over 10 to 12 consecutive weeks during 2017. If the Birthplace of Country Music is the chosen winner, BCM and Believe in Bristol will use the funds to expand Border Bash, Bristol’s premier free summer concert series that takes place May through August annually.

Now that the Birthplace of Country Music has been named among the Top 25 finalists—chosen by you!—the Levitt Foundation will review each applicant and announce 15 winners on January 5, 2017.

Each Levitt AMP Music Series will feature a musically diverse lineup of high caliber entertainment, in keeping with the permanent Levitt venue program. Since Levitt AMP is a matching grant program, each applicant must show a minimum dollar for dollar match of $25K from other sources such as foundations, municipalities, businesses, etc. Up to half of the matching grant requirement may be in-kind, such as donated sound equipment or contributed marketing.

Visit Levitt AMP website.

Give the Gift of Music

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Be a part of Giving Tuesday by making a tax-deductible donation to the Birthplace of Country Music, Inc.  Your gift will go towards supporting our many projects and outreach programs, including the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, and Radio Bristol.

CLICK HERE TO GIVE