Rob Hajacos • Nashville Cats • 2025
Interviews
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1h 28m
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum honors acclaimed fiddle player Rob Hajacos in this instalment of Nashville Cats, a series that spotlights musicians who have made significant contributions to the country music genre. Museum writer-editor Jon Freeman moderates the program, which was recorded on June 21, 2025, in the Museum’s Ford Theater.
During the interview, Hajacos retraces his storied career chronologically, beginning with his introduction to the fiddle through his parents in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of four and touring with Little Jimmy Dickens at nineteen. Since moving to Nashville, Hajacos has worked with some of country music’s biggest names, including an up-and-coming George Strait, Shania Twain and producer Robert John “Mutt” Lang, and Kathy Mattea.
Hajacos also discusses his cherished time as a member of the G-Men—the tight-knit group of musicians who have played on all of Garth Brooks’s studio albums—including the band’s induction into Musicians Hall of Fame and “playing the beer can” on Brooks’s hit “Friends in Low Places.” The program concludes with Hajacos reminiscing about touring with Neil Diamond overseas, his initial thoughts about Taylor Swift when he was hired to play on her early hits, and his later-in-life passion for motorcycle racing.
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