Tennessee Tourism Celebrates 95 Years Since The Bristol Sessions In New Docudrama

Tennessee Tourism is partnering with Circle Network and DittyTV for Born in Bristol, a one-hour docudrama to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the “Big Bang” of country music. The upcoming special is set to premiere on Saturday, July 30 at 9 p.m. CT on Circle Network with repeats throughout August. It will also debut on connected devices on Ditty TV on Saturday, July 30 at 7 p.m. CT.

Born in Bristol relives the 12 days in 1927 when musicians descended upon the Tennessee-Virginia state line. Musical pioneer Ralph Peer brought “hillbilly music” to life in a warehouse in the town, recording such artists as the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. The special takes viewers into the modern-day studio and all the way back to the warehouse as it may have looked nearly 100 years ago when Peer convinced 19 acts to let him record their music.

“If you’re a country music fan, we’re offering you a glimpse into the genesis of the genre as told by some of country’s most iconic artists,” says Circle Network’s Senior Vice President of Content, Evan Haiman.

The docudrama also features cinematic reenactments and new interviews with artists, including Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Eric Church, Marty Stuart, Shannon Campbell, Ashley Campbell, Ashley Monroe, Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle and Vince Gill, as well as Grammy-winning producer Carl Jackson.

“Those were songs that I grew up with and knowing and it influenced the way I write,” shares Parton. “But they’re really simple songs—ordinary songs about ordinary people. But they’re told in such a sweet, extraordinary way.”

“It was the first time [country music] was recorded, it was documented, and it was the bible of country music,” Church adds. “It is still the bible for country music.”

In 2014, Tennessee Tourism and Virginia Tourism Corporation, in partnership with the Birthplace of Country Music museum in Bristol, recreated the Bristol Sessions with the release of Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited, featuring new recordings of the original songs by modern-day stars including Country Music Hall of Famers Gill, Harris, Parton and Stuart.