Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum Launches Television Show – My Bluegrass Story.
The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum has developed a television show titled My Bluegrass Story scheduled to premiere on RFD-TV later this year. Filmed within the four walls of the Hall of Fame in Owensboro, Kentucky, each episode highlights a specific artist as they tell their story, interact with artifacts pertaining to bluegrass music, and perform songs important to their career. Most of the artists featured in the first season of My Bluegrass Story have played the Hall of Fame’s ROMP Festival, so highlights from their festival performance are also featured in the television show.
A nationally distributed television show is part our vision to make the Hall of Fame a premier destination for bluegrass music and to help Owensboro, Kentucky live out its reputation as the Bluegrass Music Capital of the World. During the pandemic we launched Bluegrass Unlimited magazine with subscribers in all 50 states and 17 countries and filmed the television show that will reach even more fans of this music.” Joslin further commented, “Although the pandemic slowed some aspects of our operations, it also created the bandwidth to press the accelerator on several projects that will enable us to attract even more visitors from outside the region – Chris Joslin, Executive Director of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.
Some of the artists who travelled to Owensboro to film the television show include Hall of Fame members Del McCoury and Doyle Lawson. Others included Dan Tyminski, Grammy Award winners Rhonda Vincent and Tammy Rogers of The Steeldrivers, IBMA Award winners Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Russell Moore, Becky Buller, and Joe Mullins. The Hall of Fame also filmed episodes with emerging artists Noah Wall of The Barefoot Movement, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, and Tony Kamel.
My Bluegrass Story will be distributed on RFD-TV beginning later this year. The cable channel’s content includes agribusiness, equine, rural lifestyle, and traditional country music and entertainment. RFD-TV is distributed on 100+ cable providers, satellite, and numerous streaming services with a reach of over 52 million homes.
RFD-TV is pleased to work with the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, and we feel it’s very authentic that a show about bluegrass music comes from Kentucky and from the genre’s most important destination. The production quality it top notch, and we feel certain our audience will be drawn to the show. We are excited about adding My Bluegrass Story to our programming schedule – Jeremiah Davis, Programming Director with Rural Media Group.
The Hall of Fame is partnering with an Owensboro, Kentucky based production company, Tanner + West, to direct, produce, and edit each episode of My Bluegrass Story. A seven-time regional Emmy Award-winning creative agency, Tanner + West produces content for regional clients including Independence Bank and Owensboro Health but also works with worldwide brands, including Four Seasons Hotels.
The artists seemed to appreciate getting to the heart of their story through the interview process. Part of my job was to dig deeper into the artists’ background stories, childhood memories and influences, the meaning behind certain songs, and the other insights that most people have never heard before – Jason Tanner.
One of the early backers of the television show is Mike Simpson, former Board Chair of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum. Mike Simpson who has commented that “A nationally distributed television show about bluegrass music produced in Owensboro further strengthens the Hall of Fame’s position as a world-class destination for the music. I am impressed the Hall of Fame can deliver this kind of content using local resources and production talent! Ultimately, projects like this translate into economic impact for Owensboro and Daviess County.”
The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum is in the storytelling business, and we do this with exhibits, programming, the Hall of Fame’s video oral history archive, and Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. My Bluegrass Story is simply another tool we will use to highlight the journey of these incredible bluegrass artists. Since live music energizes everything that we do, television is a great medium for tying the stories together creatively with live performances. In addition, I felt it was important to feature a broad spectrum of artists in season one because bluegrass music is very diverse today. My Bluegrass Story reflects that diversity – Chris Joslin.
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