News Category: Special Projects

An Evening of Song and Story with Jack Beck, Wendy Welch Kicks Off Series

The Arts Alliance Mountain Empire (AAME) Public Speaker Series, in cooperation with the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, will host two events coming to the museum in November and December. The first in the series, An Evening of Song and Story with Jack Beck and Wendy Welch, takes place on Tuesday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the Performance Theater at the museum.

Scots balladeer Jack Beck (a native of Dunfermline in Scotland) is an honorary life member of the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland and was external examiner in Scots Song for the Degree programme in Scots Music Performance at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow.

Wendy Beck is a storyteller who founded the American Folklore Society’s Storytelling Section and was the former branch secretary of the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland. Her best-selling memoir The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book is now in its fourth printing.

A recent venture for Jack and Wendy is an “infotainment” called “Stranger in This Country” in which Jack and Wendy examine Scots and American versions of the same songs and ballads. This has been performed both in Scotland—twice at the Celtic Connections Festival—and in the United States from South Carolina to New York and all points in between.

The second event in the series—featuring excerpts from The Book of Mamaw by Eugene Wolf—will take place on Tuesday, December 5. Eugene Wolf has been performing since he was two years old, when he won his first talent contest at the Capitol Theatre in Greeneville, Tennessee. Wolf studied music and theater at the University of Tennessee and worked for The Road Company, a professional acting ensemble in Johnson City, Tennessee, which was the first group of American artists to visit Bashkiria, Russia in 1994.

Many will recognize Wolf as one half of The Brother Boys, a critically acclaimed duo he and Ed Snodderly formed over 30 years ago. The Brother Boys are featured on the album On Top of Old Smoky: New Old-time Smoky Mountain Music alongside Dolly Parton. On November 9 at 7:00 p.m. the duo will perform on the bill with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band founder John McEuen to a sold-out crowd at Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun Time live variety show. Listeners may tune into the program on 100.1 FM in the Bristol area or stream the event live online at ListenRadioBristol.org or through Radio Bristol’s free mobile app.

For two decades Wolf has been a member of the Acting Company of Barter Theatre where he originated the role of A. P. Carter in the play Keep On the Sunny Side. In 2013 he traveled again to Russia to collaborate with Russian musicians on American spirituals and recorded a CD, Where We’ll Never Grow Old. Wolf has adapted his years of songs, photographs, and musings into a heartfelt, hilarious, one-man show paying homage to the person who has influenced his life the most, his Mamaw.

The public speaker series events at the museum on November 7 and December 5 are free and open to the public; doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information on the Arts Alliance Mountain Empire Public Speaker Series visit aamearts.org. For more information about events coming up at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, click here.

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!