Exhibits Archives - The Birthplace of Country Music

Dolly Parton’s Enduring Connection to Bristol and the Birthplace of Country Music

Exhibits Museum Personalities Tourism Uncategorized

September 10, 2026

Posted on September 10, 2026September 11, 2026 by Guest Blogger

I never once considered living in a world without Dolly Parton, but here we are. From her art to her heart, Dolly embodied the qualities we should all strive for as human beings: kindness, compassion, humility, authenticity, generosity, and acceptance. She was an angel here on earth, and though her legacy will live on through her prolific catalogue of music, her philanthropy, and the countless lives she touched simply by being Dolly, losing her is akin to losing a dear family member—especially to those of us here in East Tennessee, where her light shone the brightest.

Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love Dolly, my Appalachian Queen. For years, Dolly’s 60-watt smile has greeted me every morning from my screensaver. I keep her photo by my desk at home and a little St. Dolly prayer candle so that I’m always reminded of what she stood for and what she overcame to become the person she was; my favorite coffee mug is emblazoned with the words “What Would Dolly Do?” I can’t count the number of people who reached out to me the day she passed; many of them were former colleagues at the Birthplace of Country Music (BCM).

Charlene Baker, Dolly obsessed loud and proud. Photo by Emily Champagne.

After her passing, stories of Dolly’s good deeds began flooding the algorithm. It was around that same time that my dear friend Dr. Rene Rodgers, director at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, asked me to share a blog about Dolly’s connection to our little corner of the world.

I am deeply grateful for the chance to honor my Queen and share stories about some of the truly special things that wonderful woman did for BCM—things that continue to elevate our region’s remarkable music legacy.

I’m also excited to spill a little Dolly tea! Read on to the end for the scoop!

Flashback to 2013, I was serving as Marketing Director at BCM. We were working toward the grand opening of the museum when Rusty Morrell (a relation of the late Joe Morrell family of Morrell Music) approached us with the idea of recreating the 1927 Bristol Sessions with some of country music’s biggest names, with Grammy Award-winning producer Carl Jackson.

While reinterpreting the 1927 Bristol Sessions for new audiences had long been a dream of the organization, the opportunity had never presented itself in such a winning package. Like the legendary recordings of Ralph Peer so many decades before, it felt like a perfect storm—the right people, in the right place, at exactly the right time.

As a nonprofit, BCM’s mission centers on music and music history—not the record business. The project would require the necessary funding and the right connections to bring the vision to life. Having a powerhouse like Carl Jackson at the helm gave the project significant credibility; his participation and overall vision was the catalyst for turning the project from an idea into reality.

BCM tourism partners Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) and the Tennessee Dept. of Tourist Development (TDTD) ultimately backed “Orthophonic Joy” and Carl began assembling his cast of characters who would breathe new life into those old songs.

(L to R) Charlene, Rusty Morrell, Carl Jackson, and BCM Board Member John Rainero, August 2013 in Nashville in early conversations about Orthophonic Joy. Photo courtesy of Charlene Baker.

From our first meeting with Carl, there was one singular, burning question: “Can we get Dolly?” His answer came quickly and without hesitation: “Yes.”

I gave Carl a call when I started writing this piece, because I didn’t trust my own memory with some of the details. As much as I miss Dolly as a fan, he is mourning the loss of a very dear friend.

“She was somebody I was really close to overall,” Carl said. “I was 14 years old working with Jim & Jesse McReynolds at the Opry, and that was the first time I met Dolly. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I probably couldn’t speak! I fell in love with her immediately.”

Dolly sang the hymn ‘When They Ring Those Golden Bells’ for “Orthophonic Joy,” a hymn that was sung by Baptist minister and gospel singer Alfred G. Karnes on the 1927 Bristol Sessions. I asked Carl if Dolly had chosen the song herself.

“Actually, that song reminded me of my mom, so I talked to her about it,” said Carl. “She loved that song, and so did Dolly. We talked about it, and that’s how it happened.”

The love was certainly reciprocated—platonically—over many decades working together in Nashville.

“There was only one project I asked Dolly to be part of that she said ‘no’ to,” Carl recalled. “She was busy doing a movie. If she had the time, she always said yes.”

Dolly also said yes to being part of a documentary of the 1927 Bristol Sessions, a companion project to “Orthophonic Joy.”

Former BCM Executive Director Leah Ross in the studio
with Dolly as she recorded for Orthophonic Joy.
Photo courtesy of Charlene Baker.

While Carl had the artists in the studio, a film crew stood by to record interviews for an accompanying docudrama about the Sessions entitled “Born in Bristol: The Untold Story of the Birth of Country Music,” produced by TDTD and Asheville-based Plan A Films. Released in August of 2017 on the 90^th anniversary of the 1927 Bristol Sessions, VTC promoted the film internationally, sending Marty Stuart and former BCM Executive Director Leah Ross on a press tour of the U.K. The 53-minute film earned shortlist honors at the 63^rd Annual Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France. BCM held a private red carpet event for its release in Bristol at Marquee Cinemas with beloved WSM Radio and Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs in attendance, along with other cast and crew members who worked on the project.

I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music Special Exhibit

In March of 2023, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum opened its first traveling exhibit, “I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music.” The exhibit honors the hidden heroines, activists, and commercial success stories of women who have impacted the roots and branches of old-time music, and the integral role women played in the development of country music as we know it.

“Women in Old-Time” is a crowning achievement for the museum, and Dolly gave it her stamp of approval simply by providing a quote.

My wonderful friend Cindy Dupree, a publicist who worked with TDTD for many years, is often contracted by BCM to help secure media coverage on certain projects, including the opening of “Women in Old-Time.” She has a top-secret contact within Dolly’s team and was able to secure a quote from her for the release of the exhibit.

Having Dolly’s endorsement—provided at no cost—was a major victory for the exhibit and its promotional campaign. Her personal support brought an extraordinary level of credibility and star power to the project, while also providing a powerful marketing asset that money could not easily buy. Dolly’s name and reputation helped elevate the exhibit’s profile, generate public interest, and give the campaign an authenticity and reach that would have been difficult to achieve through conventional advertising alone.

When I say that Dolly’s participation in all these projects is priceless, I mean just that. She, along with each of the artists who participated in “Orthophonic Joy” and the “Born in Bristol” documentary, accepted no payment for their work on either project. They did it for Carl, for BCM, and for the reverence each of those artists has for the 1927 Bristol Sessions and its important place in music history.

Ella Patrick managing 90-degree heat for our beloved Dolly. Photo by Charlene Baker.

Dolly’s Bristol Memorial

These days I am Associate Director at Believe in Bristol (BiB), the twin cities’ accredited Main Street program, literally two blocks away from my old office at BCM and the museum. The organizations have held a close partnership since BiB was incorporated 20 years ago, and I love that I get to continue my work serving our downtown community.

When Dolly passed, BiB immediately began receiving calls about a memorial for her. We got together with BCM and Explore Bristol, our local tourism office, to organize something special to honor her in time for the 25^th annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion this weekend.

The amazing and multi-talented Ella Patrick—better known as singer-songwriter and fellow Dolly fan Momma Molasses, who works at BCM at Radio Bristol—was commissioned to create a larger-than-life memorial to Dolly across the museum’s glass windows. It’s the perfect Bristol location for locals and visitors in town for the festival to stop, reflect, and pay tribute to our beloved Appalachian Queen.

Dolly Everlasting

Carl revealed to me that he is working on a very special, new project. I don’t want to give away any spoilers or get ahead of any official statements, but I can share this much: Dolly recorded the perfect song for him “in the key of A,” Carl said, before she passed. In a way, it’s like the unbroken circle—a continuation of the musical legacy that has been woven through our region for generations. And when the time is right, I think what Carl is working on will add another beautiful chapter to that story. Stay tuned!

Then he left me with this golden nugget:

“I was talking to Vince (Gill) about her the other day and he said ‘If there’s one thing everybody agrees on, it’s that we all love Dolly Parton.”

No lies detected.

P.S.: There is a lot of conversation happening downtown about the possibility of creating a more permanent memorial to Dolly in Bristol, and we’d love to dream big and create something truly worthy of her legacy as a thank you for the gifts she has given to us. As with any project of this scale, bringing an idea like that to life takes time, planning, and the financial support of people who believe in its importance. If you’d like to contribute to such a project, I’d love to hear from you. Drop an email to info@believeinbristol.org.

Charlene Tipton Baker is Associate Director of the nonprofit Believe in Bristol, our dually accredited local chapter of the Tennessee Main Street and Virginia Main Street programs and the National Main Street Center™. Charlene has a long history with BCM and is among the organization’s first employees, previously serving in the roles of Marketing Director and Communications Manager.

Celebrating America250 at the Museum

Education Exhibits Museum

July 14, 2026

Posted on July 14, 2026July 16, 2026 by Erika Barker

This year, across the country, communities are commemorating America’s 250th anniversary through a variety of programs and events. Cultural organizations have been planning for this national milestone for years. Groups such as the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) have been holding regular meetings, preparing resources such as handbooks and field guides, sending periodic updates and reminders about what is going on nationally, and otherwise helping smaller organizations across the country connect on a national scale to best plan how to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary in their own communities.

For our part, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is hosting two exhibits related to America 250, a mobile museum, several film screenings, and Songs of the Revolution(s), a concert that will combine history and music in an engaging extravaganza!

Several years ago, as the 250th had just begun to appear on the horizon, national organizations like the Smithsonian and AASLH tasked all American museums and cultural centers with highlighting the connections between their content and the story of America’s birth. The Birthplace of Country Music Museum, which centers around a 20th-century event, doesn’t have an obvious direct connection to the American Revolution. However, music connects us all. So the museum’s curatorial team put their heads together and, in partnership with the Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, Mountain Empire Children’s Choral Academy (MECCA), and Theatre Bristol, developed a program that will take participants on a journey through America’s many revolutions by exploring the music of those movements.

Songs of the Revolution(s) will explore revolutionary moments in American and Virginian history through song and spoken word – from the American Revolution and the Civil War, to the fights for civil rights and women’s suffrage, to the evolution of industry and internet, and more. This concert will connect important moments when groups, communities, and even individuals brought about change throughout our nation’s history to musical pieces that reflect those changes.

From May to December, we are screening a special Smithsonian Channel Film Series exploring America’s 250th through a variety of subjects. Starting on the first Saturday of the month, each film will air daily at 2:00 pm for a full week (except Mondays), providing multiple opportunities to check out the film. These screenings are free and open to the public. July’s film was called A Star Spangled Story: Battle for America and a complete list of films can be found on our website, where we have created a central hub for America 250th events in Bristol, TN/VA. On the 26th of this month, in addition to the documentaries, we are also screening one of our favorite films that taps into both museums and national history, National Treasure!

This fall, we have teamed up with the City of Bristol, Virginia to bring three unique 250-themed exhibitions to Bristol. The exhibitions, Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation, and We The People: The World in Our Commonwealth, were curated by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) and will be supplemented with regional research conducted by museum staff to include Tennessee and related local history. The VA250 Mobile Museum Experience, titled Out of Many, One, was curated by VA250, The American Revolution 250 Commission.

Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation explores the unique and essential Virginian people, events, and sites that helped bring liberty and democracy to a nation. By highlighting the complex, diverse, and inspiring history that is America’s story, the exhibition provides context for the coming of the Revolution and brings visitors into the core of the action from 1774 through 1776, spotlighting how the American Revolution was a war, and more than a war. Give Me Liberty will be on display October 12–November 23, 2026.

We The People: The World in Our Commonwealth is hosted by the City of Bristol, Virginia, and will be on display at the BCMM October 26–December 7, 2026. The exhibition brings together distinct voices and perspectives on the immigrant experience and presents the deeply personal narratives of individuals born across the world who sought freedom, opportunity, and refuge by immigrating to the United States. Pairing historic accounts with contemporary stories, the exhibition highlights the profound way immigrants have both shaped and been shaped by this nation.

Out of Many, One is a hands-on, interactive, and immersive “museum on wheels” housed in an expandable tractor-trailer that has been traveling throughout Virginia and beyond since 2025. Hosted by the City of Bristol, Virginia, this VA250 Mobile Museum Experience is free and open to the public. It will be parked at BCMM from October 27–31, 2026. The exhibit explores the true meaning of America’s first motto, e pluribus unum, and demonstrates that the American Revolution isn’t just the story of a war, it is the story of world-changing ideas, courageous men and women, and a belief in the promise of freedom. Out of One, Many brings all of these stories together in one place and provides a more complete picture of the American Revolution.

As you can see, the Museum is looking forward to celebrating America250 with our community. We hope to see you at any (or all!) of these exhibits and programs so we can share this moment together.

Fireworks showing VA250 over a mobile museum truck — The Mobile Museum parked at the “Fourth at the Fort” event at Fort Monroe in Hampton, VA. Photo credit to Aileen Devlin.

Erika Barker, Curator of Exhibits and Outreach at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum

The Carrying Stream: A Musical Heritage Journey Through the Eyes of a Museum Docent

Exhibits Music & Songs

April 24, 2026

Posted on April 24, 2026April 23, 2026 by Guest Blogger

Mary Geiger has been one of the longest-serving volunteer docents at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, from its opening until her retirement last year. She wrote this article as a resource for her fellow docents and has given us permission to share it here for a wider audience. The article highlights some of the same themes as our current special exhibit, Charles Vess: The Book of Ballads, which explores the history of the Appalachian ballad tradition and its origins in England, Scotland, and Ireland, through seven featured ballads that have been reimagined by some of the best fantasy authors of our time and illustrated by the award-winning comic artist Charles Vess.

“The Wayfaring Strangers” by Fiona Richie and Doug Orr is a wonderful book chronicling the history of the ballad from its origins to our Appalachian Mountains. Beautifully written, with equally beautiful artwork and photographs, it tells the story in a meandering manner, mimicking the ballad journey itself.

I endeavor here to share this ballad history in a simplistic, straightforward manner. Still yet, I encourage you to read this book; it captured my heart.

The origins of the ballad go further back in pre-recorded history than initially thought, to seafaring civilizations sharing cultures via storytelling and music. There is no one single point of ballad origin, but rather points as dispersed as Scandinavia, Germany, Western Europe, Scotland, Ireland, England, and the Mediterranean. For example, there is an old-style epic narrative performed in Connemara, Ireland that is nearly identical to a Bedouin style.

Scottish poet/folklorist/songwriter Hamish Henderson called the ballad journey the “carrying stream,” an analogy that perfectly represents the meandering ways ballads have traveled through ages, cultures, and configurations. Ballads were an oral tradition for disparate, largely illiterate populations, providing stories, news, commerce, commentary, protest, and even dance. As they traveled, ballads were subject to many influences and variations, both words and music, i.e., the same ballad ay have different tunes or one tune may be associated with several different ballads. Over time and travel, it was the best lyrics and tune fits that had the durability to continue along the carrying stream.

The ballad, as it is known today, is traceable back to the Middle Ages. European minstrels (12th-17th century) and troubadours in southern France (12th – 13th century) contributed to the birth and growth of ballads as they evolved and migrated from an oral to a written tradition.

As to the Scots-Irish ballad tradition here is Appalachia, it begins with a Nordic-Baltic influence arriving on the Scottish shores. Northeast Aberdeenshire, long inaccessible by land, is considered the cradle of Scottish balladry with distinct language, customs, and folklore created out of isolation and seafaring influences. Western Scots and Irishmen shared their traditions as well via the short sea route between them. Scots and English border countries added further influences, all of which contributed to the oral-to-written evolution of the ballad.

The ramifications of politics and palace intrigue over the course of balladry history were many and varied, and the resulting diaspora impacted the story. One such dispersing was the Scots to Ulster, Ireland and then from there to the colonies. It is this carrying stream that brought the ballad tradition to our mountains.

The majority of these immigrants arrived at various American ports in the north and then traveled down the Wilderness Road to the Appalachian Mountains. The pioneers settled in valleys and coves throughout the mountains, bringing their musical heritage with them and defining the tradition with their point of origin.

painting of several white people dancing in a barn. One man is seated playing a fiddle. A young balck man is tapping a rhythm on the barn door from the outside. — William Sidney Mount’s “Dance of the Haymakers” (1845) depicts farm workers sharing a tune and dancing. Image is from The Long Island Museum of Art, History & Carriages. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ward Melville, 1950.

Music was a reward at the end of a long day’s work. It was shared in front of a winter fire or on a summer porch. It was used to teach succeeding generations about life and about their musical heritage. As pioneering neighbors with different origins interacted via barn raising, harvests, market days, etc. they shared their musical heritage. A Scottish ballad here with that Irish ballad there and so forth. They also folded in Native American and West African rhythms, chants, and sacred music and instruments. It is this mixing that evolved to be recognized today as country music.

colorful painting of several slaves dancing in front of a barn. One seated with a banjo and one dancing with a stick. — The Old Plantation (Slaves Dancing on a South Carolina Plantation), ca. 1785-1795. watercolor on paper, attributed to John Rose, Beaufort County, South Carolina. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA.

“The Wayfaring Strangers” shares, “Music provided the social fabric, creating a sense of community amid isolation and reinforcing identity. That said, while the Scots-Irish origin is clearly the dominant one, it is the braiding and weaving of European, African, and Indigenous American influences that creates the unique tapestry of Appalachian music today.”

Black and white cropped photo of a white man in a suit with glasses. — **“Bascom Lamar Lunsford, director of the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina.” Public Domain via Wikimedia.**

Bascome Lamar Lunsford, western North Carolina Minstrel of the Mountains, said, “…that though the words changed from country to country, and generation to generation, even from valley to valley in the same range of hills, the essence of the music changed not at all. It formed a link, unbroken, back through time, tying to the past.”

The ballad heritage is what the artists brought to the Bristol Session, sharing it for the first time on a national scale. Their music was a continuation of the carrying stream, and this musical migration continues through today’s carriers and tradition bearers; they, too, are immersed in the carrying stream. Old-time country music and the storytelling genre derived from it, music festivals the world over, our Museum visitors from every state and over 44 countries testify to the continuing journey.

Toe-Tappin’ Terminology for Boot-Scootin’ History

Exhibits History

September 13, 2025

Posted on September 13, 2025September 11, 2025 by Guest Blogger

Lisa Sorrell is an award-winning master bootmaker and fine artist whose canvas is the cowboy boot. Based in Oklahoma, her works are inspired by the art of the cowboy boot and its heritage and tradition, and distinguished by intricate leather inlay, overlay, and topstitching.

This fall, the museum will host a cowboy boot exhibition featuring my work entitled Boot Scootin‘ History: The Craft and Stories of Cowboy Boots. In advance of the exhibit, let’s learn some cowboy boot-making terminology!

We’ll start with one of the most important phrases: BOOT TOPS. The upper part of a boot, where most of the decorative work happens, is the boot top. Each boot has one front panel and one back panel; together, they form the boot top. The boot tops are not called the Shaft.

The original embellishment to grace the tops of cowboy boots, the least expensive and the most common, is DECORATIVE STITCHING. The stitching can range from one single row to around ten rows. In my shop, the rows of stitching are done one row at a time on a single-needle, uncomputerized sewing machine. The machine that I personally use is a Singer from the 1940s. In this example, you can see ten rows of stitching, done on my old Singer.

The first design technique that includes additional pieces and colors of leather, in addition to stitching, is INLAY. If you cut out a hole, such as a star, a flower, or a butterfly, and you put a different color of leather behind that hole, that’s inlay. It wasn’t long before cowboy boots sprouted colorful inlaid flowers and butterflies. It’s important to note that flowers and butterflies are traditional themes for cowboy boot tops. They were not considered feminine; they were simply common and accepted boot designs.

OVERLAY is an alternate way to add different colors of leather to a design. Inlay involves cutting a hole into a piece of leather and laying another piece of leather behind; overlay is cutting a shape and laying it on top. Once you master stitching, inlay, and overlay, they can be combined to create incredibly intricate designs.

Since cowboy boots are pull-on boots, with no laces or buckles to adjust the fit once they’re on, there is resistance for the proper fit when pulling them on, so the heel doesn’t slide around once it’s inside the boot. You need something to grab as you’re pulling on your boots, and those are called PULLS or EARS.

A cowboy boot sole is PEGGED with small wood pegs. Have you ever heard the saying “A square peg in a round hole?” Perhaps you thought that referred to someone who’s out of place, but really, it’s a good thing. The awl that punches the hole is round, but the wood pegs are square and larger than the awl. When you drive a square peg into the slightly smaller round hole, the tension created holds them tightly.

In closing, let’s talk more about that high cowboy boot heel. Jay Griffith, my first boot-making mentor, was born in Texas around 1920, and he made his first pair of boots at age 13. He worked in multiple boot shops over the course of his career, for and with some of the original architects of the cowboy boot. In other words, he was closely

connected to the origin of cowboy boots. I remember one day when a would-be customer came into the shop and unwisely began explaining to Jay the function of the high heel on a cowboy boot. Jay didn’t suffer fools gladly. I can clearly recall him practically chasing the guy out of the shop while yelling, “The purpose of a high heel is to look purty! And that’s spelled P – U – R – T – Y — PURTY!”

The Special Exhibit, Boot Scootin‘ History: The Craft and Stories of Cowboy Boots, will be on display at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum from October 14, 2025 – April 6, 2026.