Jerry Douglas—considered among the all-time great dobro players—shares songs and stories from across his illustrious career as part of the Museum's “Nashville Cats” series, which spotlights musicians who have made significant contributions to country music. This program, hosted by the Museum’s Jon Freeman, was recorded on March 7, 2026.

During the conversation, Douglas retraces his musical journey from the revelatory moment he first heard Uncle Josh Graves’s dobro to his present status as a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station. The Ohio native touches on his time performing with the Country Gentlemen, J. D. Crowe & the New South, and the Whites, who relocated Douglas to Nashville in the 1980s. Douglas also talks about his love for producing records; past collaborations with bluegrass luminaries Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, and Ricky Skaggs; the “Transatlantic Sessions” musical collective; his award-winning group Earls of Leicester; and his experience on the set of the Coen Brothers film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Throughout the program, Douglas performs solo renditions of “Fire Ball Mail,” his original composition “A Peaceful Return,” and a medley of “When You and I Were Young, Maggie” and “Cincinnati Rag.”

As mainstream country music celebrated a revival of traditional sounds, Douglas’s fiery dobro licks showed up on recordings by Marty Stuart, Randy Travis, and Hank Williams Jr. He has also appeared on albums by artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Sierra Ferrell, and Mumford & Sons. Among Douglas’s accolades are sixteen Grammys, three Country Music Association Musician of the Year honors, ten International Bluegrass Music Association Dobro Player of the Year awards, and a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He was the Country Music Hall of Fame’s artist-in-residence in 2008, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association in 2015, and he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2024.

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