Those with an interest in American music history will already be familiar with Bristol, TN/VA. It was in the Bristol area that the Carter Family got its start, along with Jimmy Rogers. That start came in 1927 with the historic Bristol Sessions. From the 1930’s through the 1950’s, local radio broadcasts featured performances by bluegrass legends Flatt and Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, Jim and Jesse McReynolds, Mac Wiseman, Jimmy Martin and countless others. The musical heritage of the Bristol area is quite a story.

The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance (BCMA) is an organization dedicated to preserving and telling that story.

One new way of telling the story is a planned Cultural Heritage Center in downtown Bristol. In 2004 the BCMA came into possession of a 24,000 square foot historic structure at 520 Cumberland Street. Since that time, plans have been moving forward for restoration and renovation of the building.

The new facility will include temporary and permanent exhibits that trace the history, cultural influences, and development of country music through a sequence of audio-visual experiences which will allow visitors the opportunity to listen to the melodies and encounter the rich musical tradition first hand. The facility will also include space for educational initiatives through educational programming for all ages, live musical performances, lecture and film series, and other outreach activities.

Desiring to get area musicians more involved in the center, the BCMA has put together an Artistic Council comprised of artists and industry persons, for the purpose of supporting the center and its events, as well as serving in an advisory capacity.

Among the musicians involved are Tim Stafford and Ralph Stanley. I had a chance to visit briefly with Tim regarding the Artistic Council. (more…)

Students of the history of commercial country music in the United States have a special fondness for Bristol, TN and the story of the Bristol Sessions in 1927. It was in July of that year that Ralph Peer journeyed there from New Jersey to make recordings of southern Appalachian music for release by the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the most prominent record company in the world.

These Bristol Sessions marked the first recordings of The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, and introduced a business model that paid artists not for the sessions, but as a percentage based on sales. The folks at The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance (BCMA) in Bristol, formed to preserve and promote this important musical milestone, like to refer to the Bristol Sessions as “the big bang of country music,” the single event that lit the big fire.

To commemorate 2007 as the 80th anniversary of the Bristol Sessions, the BCMA has planned a year long awareness drive to help educate people all over the world who love Appalachian and traditional country music about their region’s important contribution to the music’s roots. They are also trying to raise funds for a new museum and cultural center to be built in downtown Bristol. The site will house their administrative offices as well, and be the center for their educational activities and live music programming.

As an inducement to music lovers who might be willing to offer a donation, they have some special offerings in place.

To celebrate the 80th Anniversary of this historic event, the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance will give away monthly prizes to individuals who make a donation of $19.27 or greater to the organization. In addition to the monthly drawings, each donor will receive one entry for a grand prize of 2 tickets to the Food City 250 and Sharpie 500 and lodging. February’s monthly drawing for 2 tickets to a 2007 Masters Practice Round. Through contributions the organization is able to carry out its mission to "To tell the story of the musical and cultural heritage of the region, its role in the birth and development of country music, and its influence on music around the world" through the preservation, education, and continuation of our region’s musical heritage and those cultural traditions which sustain that living legacy.

You can find more details about the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, and how you can assist their efforts, on the BCMA web site.

Mountain Stage, the long-running roots music radio show hosted by Larry Groce, and now also offered on television, will travel to Bristol (TN/VA) to record shows in honor of Bristol’s status as “The Birthplace Of Country Music.” An organization by that name (Birthplace Of Country Music Alliance – BCMA) has been in operation in Bristol since 1994, and was successful in having that designation formally declared by the US Congress in 1994.

This theme was stressed in the press release issued by the Mountain Stage folks:

It will be 79 years ago on July 25 in a warehouse on State Street that the first recording kicked off what would be 12 days of sessions. These historic Bristol Sessions included local and regional musicians like the now legendary Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers plus perhaps the first inter-racial recording with African American El Watson and his partner Charles Johnson. The Bristol Sessions also became a crucial step in the beginning of what was to become RCA Victor Records.

Mountain Stage will be working with the local community putting together programs that reflect where country music has come from, its influences and some of the directions it is taking.

Two live stage shows will be taped July 22-23 at The Paramount Center in Bristol, and each is expected to generate one radio show, and two for television. The first show (7/22) has a folk music theme, with guests Darrell Scott and Ramblin” Jack Elliott, while the other features bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley and Tim O’Brien. Roni Stoneman will also appear on the July 22 show, and Yonder Mountain String band on the 23rd.

Mountain Stage is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, and is normally recorded before a live audience in Charleston. The show is carried on more than 100 radio stations in the US, and is distributed by PRI. Support for the Bristol event is provided in part by the Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail and the Virginia Tourism Corporation.

The radio programs recorded in Bristol are expected to run in September of 2006.

We found a nice article in The Blue Ridge Gazette on the contributions of Patrick County, VA residents to traditional Appalachian and bluegrass music. The article is specifically about the opening of a historical marker and information kiosk in Meadows Of Dan, VA along The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. The article includes some info on Lonesome River Band’s Sammy Shelor, a Meadows Of Dan native, and both his and his family’s contributions to the music.

We have posted once before about The Crooked Trail, a tourist and promotional effort, funded by both private and governmental sources. They describe the Road as:

…a driving route through the Appalachian Mountains from the western slopes of the Blue Ridge to the Coalfields region of the state. The trail connects major heritage music venues in the Appalachian region such as the Blue Ridge Music Center, Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, and the Carter Family Fold.

You can read the article online.