Bio

TENNESSEE… MUSIC LIVES HERE With historic recording studios, iconic live-performance venues, living legends still playing the clubs and a culture of creativity where artists thrive, Tennessee owns a music scene like no other. For music fans, Tennessee is where music meets the road. From Bristol to Nashville to Memphis, the state lays claim to events that changed the course of musical history and defined new sounds. It’s a place that echoes with a rich heritage, while remaining at the forefront of the entertainment industry today. It’s where music lovers can enjoy all genres – country, bluegrass, rock, blues, soul, gospel, contemporary Christian, folk, jazz, classical and more. Tennessee is the undisputed capital of country music, tracing its roots to east Tennessee, where vocal harmonies blended with Appalachian string of “hillbilly” music during The Carter Family’s Bristol Sessions. Those landmark sessions included the debut recordings of Jimmie Rodgers, helping seal Bristol’s destiny as the “Birthplace of Country Music.” Meanwhile in Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry began in 1925, introducing a cast of singers, musicians and comedians to radio listeners, including east Tennessean Roy Acuff. Mixing acoustic music with gospel hymns and Scotch-Irish influences, bluegrass came to prominence during the Opry’s early years at the hallowed Ryman Auditorium. A National Historic Landmark and Pollstar Theatre of the Year, the Ryman presents concerts ranging from the Black Crowes to Harry Connick Jr. Memphis is the “Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Home of the Blues.” In Memphis, Sam Phillips and Sun Studio welcomed Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, along with Johnny Cash. B.B. King moaned the blues along Beale Street, and Stax Records’ roster included Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. Memphis even inspired W.C. Handy to write the breakthrou