Interviews

Interviews

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum regularly hosts illuminating interviews with country artists, songwriters, and industry players, both in its Nashville home and on location.

The Museum’s regular interview series include Poets and Prophets, which spotlights the artistry and achievements of songwriters who have made significant contributions to American music, and Nashville Cats, which showcases musicians and singers who have played important roles in support of hit artists in either the studio or on tour.

The Museum's collection also offers thousands of video and audio interviews with country legends, mainstays, and rising stars, spanning from the 1920s to today.

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Interviews
  • Concert and Conversation: Terry Allen (On Everything) • 2024

    For six decades, recording artist, songwriter, and visual artist Terry Allen has been sharing his various forms of conceptual art. This program, recorded on July 20, 2024, and hosted by the Museum’s RJ Smith, digs into Allen’s career and discusses and showcases multiple works.

    Allen and musician...

  • CMT’s Next Women of Country • Concert and Conversation • 2024

    : Recording artist, songwriter, and CMT Next Women of Country mentor Kimberly Perry hosts this showcase and discussion featuring CMT Next Women of Country acts Tanner Adell, Mae Estes, Kylie Frey, Emily Ann Roberts, and Tigirlily Gold. This program was recorded on June 7, 2024, during CMA Fest 20...

  • Conversation and Performance: Prine Time Chicago • 2023

    The city of Chicago, Illinois, has supported a diverse arts and entertainment landscape, including singer-songwriter John Prine. Recorded on October 8, 2023, during the annual “You Got Gold: Celebrating the Life and Songs of John Prine” event, this program shares the impact Chicago had on Prine’s...

  • Songwriter Session • Carter Faith • 2024

    North Carolina native Carter Faith performs songs she’s written, answers questions, and shares stories from her songwriting career during this Songwriter Session, recorded on February 10, 2024. Faith has co-written songs with Tofer Brown, Kat Higgins, Lauren Hungate, Lori McKenna, Ashley Monroe, ...

  • Panel Discussion: The British Archive of Country Music • 2024

    British-born Dave Barnes began acquiring records as early as the 1930s and ‘40s and spent decades assembling the vast collection that became the British Archive of Country Music (BACM). This conversation about Barnes and the archive and its accompanying listening session were recorded on April 16...

  • Musician Spotlight • Mark Fain • 2024

    East Tennessee native, bassist, and producer Mark Fain performs songs and shares stories from his career during this Musician Spotlight program, recorded on April 14, 2024. He is accompanied by Brent Rader on keys and John Leventhal on guitar.

    During this program, seven-time Grammy-winner Fain a...

  • Panel Discussion • Night Train to Nashville • 2024

    R&B singers Jimmy Church and Frank Howard, along with Katie Blackwell—wife of the late Noble Blackwell—and Tracye Blackwell, Noble and Katie’s daughter, recount the origins and cultural impact of Noble Blackwell and his creation, “Night Train,” the nation’s first syndicated R&B television series ...

  • Meet the Eric Church Band • 2024

    Many of the same musicians have backed Eric Church, both on his albums and during live performances, since he got his start as a signed artist. In this program, Church’s current band—Jeff Cease, Lee Hendricks, Jeff Hyde, Billy Justineau, Driver Williams, and Craig Wright—discusses working with Ch...

  • Thomas Hart Benton’s “Sources of Country Music” at 50 • 2024

    Thomas Hart Benton—lauded American painter, muralist, and print maker—and his iconic mural “The Sources of Country Music” are expertly examined fifty years later in this fascinating, in-depth panel discussion. Moderated by Seth Feman, executive director and CEO of Nashville’s Frist Art Museum, th...

  • Altan and Jerry Douglas • Celtic and Country Music Connections • 2024

    Masters of traditional Irish folk music Altan and world-renowned dobroist Jerry Douglas bring together their deep collective knowledge of Celtic musical traditions for an insightful conversation and powerful musical performance. This program, which took place in the museum’s Ford Theater, was rec...

  • Kelsey Waldon • Songwriter Session • 2024

    Recording artist and songwriter Kelsey Waldon performs songs she has written and recorded and shares the stories behind them as part of the Museum’s Songwriter Session series. This program was recorded on March 2, 2024, in support of the Museum’s exhibition “American Currents: State of the Music....

  • Mark Miller & Mac McAnally • Songwriter Session • 2024

  • Poets and Prophets: Salute to Legendary Country Songwriter Sonny Curtis

    Crickets member Sonny Curtis began his career in Texas as the lead guitarist for Buddy Holly, for whom he wrote “ Rock Around with Ollie Vee” in 1956. One year later Curtis scored his first chart hit as a songwriter with Webb Pierce’s “Someday.” Curtis toured with the Everly Brothers and wrote th...

  • Audio Engineering Society Lifetime Achievement Awards • 2024

    The Nashville Section of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) pays tribute to the city’s trailblazing engineers during this award ceremony, their first since 2019. This program was recorded on June 2, 2024, in the Museum’s Ford Theater, and hosted by AES representatives Mike Porter, former Central...

  • Dan Dugmore • Nashville Cats • 2024

    Multi-instrumentalist Dan Dugmore, best known as a pedal steel guitarist, shares stories from his career as part of the Museum’s Nashville Cats interview series, which highlights legendary musicians. This live interview was recorded on March 9, 2024, in support of the Museum’s exhibition “Western...

  • Musician Spotlight • C. J. Lewandowski • 2024

    Mandolin player C. J. Lewandowski performs songs and shares stories from his career as part of the Museum’s weekly Musician Spotlight series. This program, recorded on March 3, 2024, was presented in support of the 2024 edition of the Museum’s exhibition “American Currents: State of the Music,” w...

  • Ashley Cooke • Songwriter Session • 2024

    Recording artist and songwriter Ashley Cooke performs songs she’s written and recorded and shares the stories behind them as part of the Museum’s Songwriter Session series. This program was recorded on March 23, 2024.

    Accompanied by guitarist Chauncey Arner, Cooke performs songs included on her ...

  • Chris Hillman and Bernie Leadon • Conversation • 2023

    Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members Chris Hillman and Bernie Leadon share stories from their music careers, from their beginnings in California as bluegrass musicians to their pioneering songwriting and time making music in the folk-rock and country-rock scenes. This conversation was recorded on Oct...

  • Jackie DeShannon • Poets and Prophets • 2024

    Jackie DeShannon shares stories from her pioneering songwriting career as part of the Museum’s Poets and Prophets interview series, which highlights legendary songwriters. This live interview and performance was recorded on April 6, 2024.

    During the interview with the Museum’s Michael Gray, DeSh...

  • Gabe Lee • Songwriter Session • 2024

    Singer-songwriter Gabe Lee performs his original songs on acoustic guitar and piano. During the program, recorded on February 24, 2024, he discusses his experiences growing up in Nashville, telling stories, and making music.

    During the program, Lee performs “Rusty,” from his album The Hometown K...

  • Morgan Wade • Concert and Conversation • 2024

    Viriginia-born songwriter and recording artist Morgan Wade, accompanied by Clint Wells, performs songs she has written and shares stories with the audience. This program was recorded on February 3, 2024, and was presented in support of the 2023 edition of the Museum’s exhibition “American Current...

  • Willie Cole • Artist Talk • 2024

    To celebrate the opening of his Haley Gallery exhibition “Lyrical Reconstructions,” American sculptor and printmaker Willie Cole discusses his career and creative process and answers audience questions. Recorded on March 28, 2024, this interview was moderated by Anne Collins Smith, director of th...

  • Mike Stoller • Poets and Prophets • 2023

    Mike Stoller shares stories from his life and career as part of the Museum’s Poets and Prophets interview series, which highlights legendary songwriters. This live interview was recorded on December 3, 2023.

    During the interview with the Museum’s Michael Gray, Stoller shares about his childhood ...

  • Kostas • Songwriter Session • 2023

    Kostas Lazarides, known professionally as Kostas, performs and shares the stories behind some of his hit songs as part of the Museum’s Songwriter Session series. This live performance was recorded on October 14, 2023, and presented in support of the exhibition “Patty Loveless: No Trouble with the...