Iconic Instruments & Big Stars to Benefit Country Hall of Fame

Along with being the preeminent location to learn about the history of country music, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville also boasts the biggest archive of country music memorabilia, mementos, and instruments, with the most important being the Hall of Fame’s “Precious Jewels” collection.

It’s within this collection where the Hall of Fame has assembled some of the most iconic instruments in country music history, such as Mother Maybelle Carter’s Gibson L-5 guitar, Bill Monroe’s Gibson F-5 mandolin, the fiddle of Charlie Daniels, the banjo of Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt’s Martin D-28, the Martin 00-18 of Jimmie Rodgers, and the Martin D-28 of Hank Williams.

Like so many musical institutions and destination spots in music, the Country Music Hall of Fame has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, having to shut its doors for seven months, and only recently re-opening to reduced capacities. The Hall of Fame was forced to lay off or furlough nearly half of its staff in May, and is still trying to recover, along with the rest of the industry.

So to help in the recovery effort, the Hall of Fame is planning a special live streaming event on October 28th at 8:00 p.m. Central that they hope will be one of their biggest fundraisers ever, called “Big Night (At The Museum).” The event will match up many of the iconic instruments in the “Precious Jewels” collection and other displays with many of the best artists and players of today. The lineup of instruments and performers includes:

· Country Music Hall of Fame member Ricky Skaggs plays Bill Monroe’s 1923 Gibson F-5 mandolin
· Country Music Hall of Fame member Marty Stuart plays Lester Flatt’s 1950 Martin D-28 guitar
· Alison Brown plays Earl Scruggs’s 1930 Gibson RB Granada banjo
· Brad Paisley plays Don Rich’s 1964 Fender Telecaster
· Carlene Carter plays the 1928 Gibson L-5 guitar that belonged to her grandmother Maybelle Carter
· Rodney Crowell pays tribute to songwriters Guy Clark and Boudleaux and Felice Bryant
· Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmylou Harris uses Boudleaux Bryant’s 1961 Martin guitar to partner with Crowell on a Bryant classic
· Miranda Lambert plays John Prine’s David Russell Young custom-made guitar
· Ashley McBryde plays Loretta Lynn’s 1956 Gibson J-50 guitar
· Tim McGraw plays Keith Whitley’s C.W. Parsons acoustic guitar
· Keb’ Mo’ plays the 1928 custom Weymann guitar that belonged to Jimmie Rodgers
· Country Music Hall of Fame member Reba McEntire pays homage to Patsy Cline
· Kane Brown sings a Randy Travis hit with accompaniment on Travis’s Gibson J-185KOA guitar
· The War and Treaty pays tribute to Ray Charles
· Dan Tyminski joins Paisley in performance, using Buck Owens’s red, white and blue American acoustic guitar
· Lucinda Williams plays Johnny Cash’s customized Martin D-35S guitar

The presentation will stream via the embedded player below, or on the Country Music Hall of Fame’s YouTube channel, and will be hosted by Hall of Fame-elect member Marty Stuart, with Dave Cobb acting as the audio supervisor. It will be free to view to the public, but donations will be encouraged.

© 2023 Saving Country Music