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
  • Luke Bryan • Songs and Interview, 2015

    Luke Bryan traces his career milestones and creative inspirations—many of which were detailed in the exhibition “Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diary”—during a 2015 interview with “Rolling Stone Country” senior editor Joseph Hudak, held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

    The singer, songwriter...

  • Mike Reid • Poets and Prophets, 2017

    During his 2017 Poets and Prophets program, songwriter Mike Reid—whose catalog includes hits for Ronnie Milsap, Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna, Tim McGraw, and many others—talks about his life and music, interspersing a handful of performances, including “Everywhere,” “Stranger in My House,” “Walk on Fait...

  • Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer on ‘Not Dark Yet’ • Hosted by NPR’s Ann Powers

    Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer discuss and perform songs from their collaborative album “Not Dark Yet” in this 2017 program, hosted by NPR music critic Ann Powers. The conversation delves into the song selections for the record and the process of creating arrangements that highlight their harmon...

  • Producer Mark Bright • Music Masters, 2013

    Producer Mark Bright gives insight into his working relationship with Carrie Underwood and explores achievements with BlackHawk, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, and others on stage at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

    The program—held July 27, 2013, in conjunction with the “Carrie Underwo...

  • Booker T. Jones • Interview with Robert Gordon, 2012

    Multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones recalls milestones in his music career—including scoring a massive hit in 1962 with the organ-driven “Green Onions”—in this interview with Memphis-based music historian Robert Gordon. Jones shares stories of recording with Soul music legends as part of the re...

  • Terri Clark • Interview, 2013

    Terri Clark recounts her early experiences in Nashville, her 1990s breakout, and new music during an interview held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on October 12, 2013 (in support of the exhibit “Terri Clark: Canadian Country Star”). She also performs several hits and classic songs b...

  • Conversation and Performance: Lyle Lovett • Live at the Hall, 2022

    Four-time Grammy winner Lyle Lovett sits down with Elizabeth Cook to discuss his new album, 12th of June, his first album in ten years. Lovett explains how growing up in Houston, Texas, and fatherhood affect his music, and performs songs including “Pants Is Overrated,” “12th of June,” and “Pig Me...

  • Eric Andersen • Songs and Interview, 2015

    One of the prominent figures to rise from the Greenwich Village contemporary folk scene in the 1960s, Eric Andersen performs and discusses his career here, in a program hosted by steel guitarist Pete Finney, co-curator of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s exhibition “Dylan, Cash, and th...

  • Marty Stuart • Interview With Scott Goldman, 2014

    Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, photographer, historian, and five-time Grammy winner Marty Stuart sits down with Scott Goldman—vice president of the GRAMMY Foundation and the MusiCares Foundation—to discuss his life and career during the 2014 Americana Fest.

    Over the course of the nea...

  • Mac Wiseman • Songs and Conversation, 2015

    During this conversation and performance with Mac Wiseman—recorded when Wiseman was ninety, three years and five months prior to his 2019 death—the Country Music Hall of Fame and Bluegrass Hall of Fame member talks with the Museum’s Peter Cooper about a remarkable life in music.

    Raised in povert...

  • Indigo Girls • Interview and Performance, 2015

    Indigo Girls bandmates Amy Ray and Emily Saliers explore their musical approach in a conversation with journalist Jewly Hight and producer Jordan Brooke Hamlin, recording at the Museum on September 23, 2015. A two-song performance follows the interview.

    Ray and Saliers, friends since elementary ...

  • Ry Cooder • Interview, 2014

    Ry Cooder offers insight on his wide-ranging musical influences and his extensive catalog of albums during this September 19, 2014, interview at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, held during the Americana Music Association conference.

    After a sample of Cooder’s recording of “Goodnight, ...

  • John Prine • Interview, 2014

    In this wide-ranging conversation, master songwriter John Prine offers unique windows into his classic creations, speaking with journalist Peter Cooper about his rise from Maywood, Illinois, mailman to beloved icon of American music.

    During the 2014 interview—the first held at the Museum’s CMA T...

  • Don Henley of the Eagles • Interview, 2015

    Songwriter, musician, and founding member of the Eagles Don Henley sits down for an interview at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, sharing stories from his career and insights into his 2015 album, “Cass County.” The album, named for the northeastern Texas county from which Henley hails, ...

  • Jo Walker-Meador • Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum, 2014

    Jo Walker-Meador, former longtime executive director of the Country Music Association, reflects on three decades as one of the most influential female executives in country music in this wide-ranging 2014 interview. During her tenure, the CMA built the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 196...

  • Duane Eddy Songs and Interview • Nashville Cats, 2016

    Rock & roll guitar great Duane Eddy reminisces about his career and performs five of his classic songs during this February 2016 program at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, part of the Nashville Cats series, recognizing musicians and session singers whose careers have made an indelible ...

  • Producer Byron Gallimore • Interview, 2018

    Byron Gallimore speaks about his lengthy role as a producer for Tim McGraw and his work with Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, Sugarland, and Lee Ann Womack during this interview at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, held on January 27, 2018. He also explains how Charley Pride and James Stroud ...

  • Spirit and Sounds of Springfield, Missouri • Panel and Performance, 2018

    Musician Eric Ambel, filmmaker Dave Hoekstra, engineer Vance Powell, music publisher Scott Siman, and singer Abbey Waterworth explore the oft-overlooked musical history of Springfield, Missouri, during this May 19, 2018, program—held the day before the premiere of “The Center of Nowhere (The Spir...

  • Don Bryant, Yola, Raul Malo, Joan Osborne • Concert and Conversation, 2017

    Four potent voices in Americana music—Don Bryant, Yola Carter, Raul Malo, and Joan Osborne—discuss their influences and perform songs during this “Southern Streams” program, taped at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on September 14, 2017, and presented in partnership with the Americana M...

  • Joey Miskulin • Nashville Cats, 2018

    Joey Miskulin—considered among the all-time great accordion players—discusses his career as a polka band member, studio player, and member of the Grammy-winning cowboy band Riders in the Sky during this April 14, 2018, program, part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Nashville Cats se...

  • Bob Neuwirth • Interview, 2016

    Bob Neuwirth—a singer, songwriter, and producer associated with artists including Joan Baez, T Bone Burnett, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Kris Kristofferson, and Patti Smith—discusses his decades-long music career during an interview at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

    Held on May 7, 2016,...

  • Bob Dylan’s Nashville Recordings, Revisited • Panel Discussion, 2017

    Princeton University history professor Sean Wilentz speaks about Bob Dylan’s strong ties to Nashville and country music as part of “Is It Rolling, Bob?,” a panel discussion at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum focusing on Dylan’s 1966 Nashville-made album, “Blonde on Blonde.”

    Wilentz wro...

  • Andrea Zonn • Nashville Cats, 2017

    Accomplished fiddler and violinist Andrea Zonn—who has toured with Vince Gill, James Taylor, and Lyle Lovett, among others—discusses her career as a backing musician and solo artist during this June 17, 2017, program, part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Nashville Cats series.

    The...

  • Richard Bennett • Nashville Cats, 2016

    Richard Bennett recaps his long career as a studio guitarist and producer—from his teenage years in Los Angeles playing on an array of sessions, to his work in Nashville with Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and others—during this July 30, 2016, program, part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Mus...