Iconic Instruments & Big Stars to Benefit Country Hall of Fame
Along with being the preeminent location to learn about the history of country music, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville also boasts the biggest archive of country music memorabilia, mementos, and instruments, with the most important being the Hall of Fame’s “Precious Jewels” collection.
It’s within this collection where the Hall of Fame has assembled some of the most iconic instruments in country music history, such as Mother Maybelle Carter’s Gibson L-5 guitar, Bill Monroe’s Gibson F-5 mandolin, the fiddle of Charlie Daniels, the banjo of Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt’s Martin D-28, the Martin 00-18 of Jimmie Rodgers, and the Martin D-28 of Hank Williams.
Like so many musical institutions and destination spots in music, the Country Music Hall of Fame has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, having to shut its doors for seven months, and only recently re-opening to reduced capacities. The Hall of Fame was forced to lay off or furlough nearly half of its staff in May, and is still trying to recover, along with the rest of the industry.
So to help in the recovery effort, the Hall of Fame is planning a special live streaming event on October 28th at 8:00 p.m. Central that they hope will be one of their biggest fundraisers ever, called “Big Night (At The Museum).” The event will match up many of the iconic instruments in the “Precious Jewels” collection and other displays with many of the best artists and players of today. The lineup of instruments and performers includes:
· Country Music Hall of Fame member Ricky Skaggs plays Bill Monroe’s 1923 Gibson F-5 mandolin
· Country Music Hall of Fame member Marty Stuart plays Lester Flatt’s 1950 Martin D-28 guitar
· Alison Brown plays Earl Scruggs’s 1930 Gibson RB Granada banjo
· Brad Paisley plays Don Rich’s 1964 Fender Telecaster
· Carlene Carter plays the 1928 Gibson L-5 guitar that belonged to her grandmother Maybelle Carter
· Rodney Crowell pays tribute to songwriters Guy Clark and Boudleaux and Felice Bryant
· Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmylou Harris uses Boudleaux Bryant’s 1961 Martin guitar to partner with Crowell on a Bryant classic
· Miranda Lambert plays John Prine’s David Russell Young custom-made guitar
· Ashley McBryde plays Loretta Lynn’s 1956 Gibson J-50 guitar
· Tim McGraw plays Keith Whitley’s C.W. Parsons acoustic guitar
· Keb’ Mo’ plays the 1928 custom Weymann guitar that belonged to Jimmie Rodgers
· Country Music Hall of Fame member Reba McEntire pays homage to Patsy Cline
· Kane Brown sings a Randy Travis hit with accompaniment on Travis’s Gibson J-185KOA guitar
· The War and Treaty pays tribute to Ray Charles
· Dan Tyminski joins Paisley in performance, using Buck Owens’s red, white and blue American acoustic guitar
· Lucinda Williams plays Johnny Cash’s customized Martin D-35S guitar
The presentation will stream via the embedded player below, or on the Country Music Hall of Fame’s YouTube channel, and will be hosted by Hall of Fame-elect member Marty Stuart, with Dave Cobb acting as the audio supervisor. It will be free to view to the public, but donations will be encouraged.
October 27, 2020 @ 11:17 am
This seems like it will be pretty good.
October 27, 2020 @ 1:01 pm
Thanks, Trigger- love free live streaming
October 27, 2020 @ 1:08 pm
This sounds great where exactly is it streaming?
October 27, 2020 @ 1:15 pm
You can watch via the player that’s embedded in this article, or on the Country Music Hall of Fame YouTube page.
October 27, 2020 @ 1:14 pm
What I would give to play one of Don’s teles
October 27, 2020 @ 1:52 pm
If anyone has an extra $20,000 to spend, DjangoBooks.com has a 1929 and 1934 Gibson L-5 for sale! They also have a ’32 Selmer Maccaferri for a lean $50k!
I can’t even imagine playing something like that, not that I’m worthy to begin with!
October 27, 2020 @ 2:23 pm
Yeah vintage guitar prices continue to rise. Wish I’d had the capital when I was a teen to invest in some back then, when great deals were everywhere. I remember when 1k got you a top end Martin. Hah…those days are gone. And those Gibson acoustics you speak of were considered junk and could be found in pawn shops for cheap. (And reality is they aren’t as good as Martins) Seriously, no one cared about those 30 years ago. Now they are fetishized in the same way Martin’s are. And don’t get me started on electrics. Telecasters used to be so cheap they almost gave them away, now they command a high tag. And Jazzmasters and Jags were considered total crap and you could grab them for 300 or less, but like everything, collectors started seeing them as desirable and up went the prices. Collectors ruin everything. Guitars are meant to make music, not be worshipped.
October 27, 2020 @ 3:37 pm
Trigger,
I emailed the Hall of Fame again last night about the formal induction ceremony (aka The Medallion Ceremony) for this year’s Hall of Fame inductees (Dean Dillon, Marty Stuart and Hank Williams, Jr.) asking them to combine the 2020 Medallion Ceremony with 2021 next fall (October) and in their reply back to me this morning, they said:
We are hoping to honor this year’s inductees when it is safe to do so.
What do you think?.
October 28, 2020 @ 7:55 am
My eyes gravitated to “Kane Brown” and my brain immediately said “WTF!”, but the guy has a good voice – he just chooses to use it for evil rather than good. Maybe singing some Randy Travis will knock some sense into him.
(I know it won’t, but hope springs eternal…)
October 28, 2020 @ 1:49 pm
Actual Kane Brown fan comments that will be heard during this event :
Whats that thing Kane is playing? It’s strange, its got silver string thingys on it…its like old timey or somethin…
Randy Who?
What is this crazy weird music? Don’t sound like country…
How come my boy Kane is hanging with these old people? And who are these people anyway? Their old enough to be like his great grandparents or something…
Who’s this crazy looking hillbilly with the mullet?
Whats The Ryman? Is that in New York?
October 29, 2020 @ 7:51 am
He did great.
October 30, 2020 @ 10:48 am
I was actually shocked at how good he sounded. Kid has a great voice, just wish he would use towards actually country music.
October 28, 2020 @ 9:19 am
Trigger,
I emailed the Hall of Fame again Monday night about the formal induction ceremony (aka The Medallion Ceremony) for this year’s Hall of Fame inductees (Dean Dillon, Marty Stuart and Hank Williams, Jr.) asking them to combine the 2020 Medallion Ceremony with 2021 next fall (October) and in their reply back to me yesterday morning, they said:
We are hoping to honor this year’s inductees when it is safe to do so.
What do you think?.
October 28, 2020 @ 6:14 pm
Keb’ Mo’ is killing it on Jimmie Rodgers’ guitar.
Killing it.
October 28, 2020 @ 6:19 pm
Good stuff so far. Really enjoyed Marty Stuart’s introduction. “I’m a radical preservationist.”
October 28, 2020 @ 6:30 pm
If they have any sense, they’ll release a CD of the performances. I’d be in.
October 28, 2020 @ 6:32 pm
The sound is great.
October 28, 2020 @ 6:45 pm
That trio was worth the price of admission. Love to hear a whole two hours of that. Or more.
October 28, 2020 @ 7:00 pm
This is one of the best events of 2020. Everyone is killing it. Even Kane Brown impressed me.
October 28, 2020 @ 7:06 pm
I’ve always said Kane Brown’s got a great voice for traditional country, when he chooses to sing it.
October 28, 2020 @ 7:27 pm
Only song this could end on. Pretty powerful stuff right there.
October 30, 2020 @ 2:43 pm
oh neat, I’m glad it’s online so I can check it out. Thanks for letting us know where Trigger.