The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has set its 2020 roster of new exhibitions. The museum’s annual American Currents: State of the Music exhibition will return next year, opening March 6, 2020.
The museum will also devote separate exhibits to Martina McBride, Chris Stapleton and Country Music Hall of Fame member Bill Anderson.
“Each of these artists achieved country music stardom in a different era, and each has a compelling story to tell about early exposure to music, about the decision to pursue music as a career and about the struggle to overcome the challenges created by such a decision,” said Museum CEO Kyle Young. “In 2020, we will offer our visitors insight into the life of a Country Music Hall of Fame member who has been writing hits for more than 60 years; a magnificent singer who owns four CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards; and a singer-songwriter who made his way from small clubs to sold-out arenas and four CMA Male Vocalist of the Year awards.”
Stapleton’s exhibition will open June 26, 2020. Before he achieved solo success with the 2015 release of triple-Platinum album Traveller and the hits “Tennessee Whiskey” and “Parachute,” Stapleton had already established himself as a hit songwriter, with 150 songs recorded by an array of artists including Adele, Luke Bryan, Alison Krauss and George Strait. This exhibit will explore Stapleton’s personal and musical influences and his climb to stardom, including his time in the SteelDrivers.
An exhibit exploring McBride’s career and musical influence opens Aug. 21, 2020. For more than 25 years, McBride—known for hits including “Independence Day” and “A Broken Wing”—has ranked as one of country music’s most powerful voices. The Kansas native released her major label debut in 1992, and had her first top 10 single in 1993 with “My Baby Loves Me.” Inspired by forerunners such as Linda Ronstadt and Country Music Hall of Fame members Reba McEntire and Connie Smith, McBride brought a powerful voice and style that set her apart from her peers. In 2019, the Academy of Country Music presented her with the Cliffie Stone Icon Award for her contributions to country music.
On Nov. 20, 2020, the museum will open a special exhibition looking at the life of Country Music Hall of Fame member Bill Anderson. Anderson has logged 37 top 10 hits as a recording artist, and has earned more than 50 BMI awards for songwriting. His first success came in 1958, when he wrote “City Lights,” a No. 1 single for Country Music Hall of Fame member Ray Price. Anderson’s songs have been recorded by James Brown, Kenny Chesney, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dean Martin, and hundreds of others, among them Hall of Fame members the Louvin Brothers, Roger Miller, Jim Reeves, Connie Smith, George Strait, Porter Wagoner and Kitty Wells. In 2005, Anderson and Jon Randall Stewart wrote “Whiskey Lullaby,” recorded by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. It was CMA Song of the Year, and in 2007, Anderson won the CMA and ACM Song of the Year awards for “Give It Away,” written with Buddy Cannon and Jamey Johnson and recorded by George Strait. A Grand Ole Opry member since 1961, Anderson entered the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002 and the New York-based Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
The museum’s continuing exhibition Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ‘70s, looks at the relationship between Austin, Texas, and Nashville during the 1970s, an era of freewheeling cultural and artistic exchange that skirted the status quo and changed country music. The exhibition opened in May 2018 and continues through Feb. 14, 2021.
Alan Jackson is heading out on tour beginning in January, and has announced he is bringing rising artist Tenille Townes along for the ride as his special guest.
