Int’l Country Music Festival Returns to Belmont

The 27th Annual International Country Music Festival will be held at Belmont University Thursday, May 27 through Saturday, May 29. Co-Chairs for the event are Don Cusic and James Akenson.

This year’s program features over 40 scholars of country music from across the nation presenting a wide variety of topics. 

The Keynote, Rounder Records at 40: History, Present and Future by Ken Irwin and Marian Levy, co-founders of Rounder, and scholar Dr. Michael Scully, will be on Thursday evening.

On Friday evening, there will be a panel, Backing the Hits: Backup Singers Reflect On Their Role in Making Hits Happen, moderated by Dr. John Rumble, Senior Historian at the Country Music Hall of Fame. This event will be held at Historic RCA Studio B and feature background singers Gordon Stoker, Millie Kirkham, Delores Edgin and Louis Nunley.

At the Friday luncheon, the Belmont Book Award, given annually for the Best Book on Country Music published the preceding year and the Lifetime Achievement award “for linking books with country music” will be given along with the Charlie Lamb Excellence in Country Music Journalism Awards.

Scholars and writers speaking at the conference include Dr. Bill Malone, Dr. Neil Rosenberg, Dr. David Pruett, Dr. Don Cusic, Dr. Ray White, Mr. Packy Smith, Dr. Jocelyn Neal, Dr. Wayne Daniel, and Mr. Tony Russell.