Country Music Hall of Fame Explores the Genre’s Recent Changes in New Exhibit
The year 2020 was undoubtedly a fascinating one for country music. Taking it all into consideration, Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will plumb the depths of the genre's latest metamorphosis in a new American Currents: State of the Music exhibit opening soon.
The exhibit, which opens on March 12 and is scheduled to run through February 2022, will present the fruits of "ongoing research and analysis among curators and museum staff to determine the most significant developments in country music over the previous year," according to a press release. To that end, plenty of big-name singers and songwriters who've helped shape the genre will be represented in the exhibit.
The artists, songwriters and other figures in the genre who will have artifacts on display as part of the upcoming exhibition are Luke Combs, Mickey Guyton, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Ashley McBryde, John Prine, Gabby Barrett, Sister Sadie, Billy Strings, Rissi Palmer, famed Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs and songwriter Casey Beathard.
"As a museum, we document and report on country music history — past and present," says Kyle Young, the Hall of Fame's CEO. "Each year, through the American Currents: State of the Music exhibit, we explore the music and events that helped to shape it. Amid a global health crisis, a renewed push for social justice, and more, the powerful role of country music and the stories told through it remained constant."
One part of the exhibit, Unbroken Circle, will acutely examine the relationship between country music's past and present by pairing contemporary artists with one of their formative influences. There, represented through historical objects will be Ingrid Andress and Faith Hill, Jimmie Allen and Darius Rucker, Charley Crockett and Freddy Fender, and Dierks Bentley's Hot Country Knights and the Statler Brothers' Lester "Roadhog" Moran and the Cadillac Cowboys.
American Currents will also feature a video compilation of important country music moments from 2020, including clips of the Chicks, Maren Morris and Country Music Hall of Fame member Dolly Parton.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is located in downtown Nashville. Plan your visit and get more information about the American Currents exhibit by visiting CountryMusicHallOfFame.org.