The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Historic Downtown Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee celebrated its reopening to the public last month following a 13-week closure due to the threat of COVID-19. Visitation to the museum has been steady, with strict safety protocols that include face coverings being warn by guests, volunteers and staff, heightened cleaning duties and a limit of 100 people in the museum at once (including staff). Now that museum workers are easing in to this "new normal," they are also taking steps to offer new programming in the form of Summer Music Workshops.
The first Summer Music Workshop for kids ages 8-18 is for beginners and will offer instruction on fiddle, guitar, and banjo. Participants will also tour the museum and take part in other activities. The beginner Workshop
will be held on Monday, July 20th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The all-ages Workshop will offer a lesson in songs of Southwest Virginia and a storytelling session about Southwest Virginia Jack Tales. It will be held on Saturday, July 25th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
An intermediate-level Workshop for youth ages 8-18 if for participants with a little more experience with an instrument or for those whom have previously attended the museum's Pick Along Summer Camp. The Workshop offers music instruction in addition to creating a podcast for WBCM Radio Bristol. This Workshop will take place on Monday, July 27th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The cost for Summer Music Workshops at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is $75 per person. Instruments rentals are also available for an added fee. To learn more click here.
