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
  • 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...

  • Tony Russell • Book Talk • 2023

    Tony Russell discusses his book “Rural Rhythm: The Story of Old-Time Country Music in 78 Records,” explains how he came to write the book, and recounts the stories behind some of the most iconic country records of the 1920s and ’30s. This program was hosted by the Museum’s Patrick Huber and was r...

  • Interview and Performance: A Celebration of Merle Travis

    Deke Dickerson discusses his book “Sixteen Tons: The Merle Travis Story,” which paints a vivid and unvarnished portrait of the guitar innovator, hit songwriter, and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Joining him to share music and memories are master guitarists Tommy Emmanuel and Eddie Pen...

  • Luke Laird • Poets and Prophets • 2023

    Luke Laird 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 and performance was recorded on October 28, 2023.

    During the interview with the Museum’s Dave Paulson, Laird shares about hi...

  • Opry Memories: Bill Anderson, Jeannie Seely, Bud Wendell, and Mark Wills • 2023

    To celebrate his achievement as the longest tenured member in Grand Ole Opry history (sixty-two years as of 2023), Bill Anderson is joined by fellow members Jeannie Seely and Mark Wills, and E.W. “Bud” Wendell, former Grand Ole Opry manager and CEO of radio station WSM and Gaylord Entertainment, ...

  • Where the Action Is • Americana Artists and Activism • 2023

    During this conversation and performance moderated by music journalist Jewly Hight, Americana artists Adeem the Artist, Mya Byrne, Autumn Nicholas, and Allison Russell perform and discuss how they use their platforms as songwriters and musical artists to affect change. This program was recorded o...

  • The Bob Pinson Recorded Sound Collection at Age Fifty • 2023

    This program celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Museum’s acquisition of record collector Bob Pinson’s matchless collection of country music recordings. In the program, Nathan D. Gibson, folklorist and University of Wisconsin-Madison’s audio-visual preservation archivist; Bill Ivey, folklo...

  • William Prince • Songwriter Session • 2023

    Hailing from Manitoba, Canada, singer-songwriter William Prince shares songs he’s written and the stories behind them during 2023’s AmericanaFest. His performance was recorded on September 23, 2023, and presented in partnership with the Americana Music Association.

    William Prince has released fo...

  • Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum • Lorianne Crook • 2023

    Lorianne Crook is one half of the broadcast hosting duo Crook & Chase, as well as a television and radio producer, a writer, and the president of Jim Owens Entertainment. She was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2013; received the Grand Ole Opry’s Bob Kingsley Living Legend Award i...

  • The Black Country Music Association and the Black Opry • 2023

    Black Opry founder Holly G and her co-director, Tanner Davenport, along with Frankie Staton—who led the Black Country Music Association from the mid-1990s into the early 2000s—discuss their organizations’ histories and impact, as well as their future goals for representation and expanding diversi...