Western Edge examines the close-knit communities of Los Angeles-based singers, songwriters and musicians who, from the 1960s through the 1980s, embraced country music, frequented local nightclubs, and created and shaped the musical fusion known as “country-rock” – ultimately making an indelible and lasting impact on popular music.

To commemorate CMA Fest’s fiftieth year, the Museum exhibition In the Hands of the Fans: Fifty Years of CMA Fest opens Tuesday, June 6. Nashville’s annual CMA Fest—four days of live music, autograph signings, photo opportunities, and fan club parties—has been uniting country music fans and artists since 1972 when it was called Fan Fair. Don’t miss the chance to relive the festival’s most memorable moments through expertly curated photographs and artifacts. The exhibit, housed in the Museum’s Community Corridor, is free of charge.

Known for his expressive baritone voice and hard-traveled authenticity, Dick Curless was one of the most versatile and powerfully eloquent singers of his time. Dick Curless: Hard Traveling Man from Maine explores the singer’s life and career, from his rural Northeast upbringing and popular truck-driving songs of the ’60s-’70s, to his critically acclaimed 1995 album, Traveling Through.

A dynamic singer, songwriter, and musician, Chris Stapleton proved his musical mettle as an in-demand songwriter in Nashville for more than a decade before his breakout success in 2015. The exhibition “Chris Stapleton: Since 1978,” presented by Ram Trucks, highlights the breadth of his musical contributions.

Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See, an exploration of the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s life and musical legacy, from childhood through his contributions as one of the most decorated recording artists, songwriters, and entertainers in history. Stocked with historic photographs, significant artifacts, instruments, manuscripts, interactive multimedia, and more, the exhibition is scheduled to run through March 19, 2023.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum offers perspective on country music’s latest chapter with the exhibition American Currents: State of the Music. Presented annually, American Currents takes a broad view of the genre over the past year to explore musical developments, artist achievements, and notable events, as determined by the Museum’s curators and editorial staff.

For more than twenty-five years, Martina McBride has been creating substantive, socially aware country music, her anthems of personal empowerment—including “Independence Day” and “A Broken Wing”—contributing a much-needed perspective to the genre. The exhibition Martina McBride: The Power of Her Voice explores one of country music’s most distinctive voices.

One of the best-selling female country singers of the twentieth century, Patsy Cline achieved iconic status following her tragic death at age thirty in 1963. Cline was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973, and is frequently invoked as a standard for female vocalists, having inspired scores of singers including k. d. lang, Loretta Lynn, Linda Ronstadt, Trisha Yearwood, and Wynonna Judd.

DeFord Bailey was an influential harmonica player in both country music and blues, one of the Grand Ole Opry’s most popular early performers, and country’s first African-American star.

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn—performing together as Brooks & Dunn—charged onto the country music scene in 1991. They went on to become the best-selling country duo of all time, with forty-one Top Ten hits (including twenty #1s) and two decades of packing concert arenas. They collected a mountain of music-industry honors, including two Grammys, nineteen CMA awards, and twenty-five ACM awards.

Reba McEntire ranks as the most successful female country performer of her generation, and she has been cited as a role model by nearly every successful woman to follow in her wake. She has achieved more than fifty Top Ten singles and more #1 country albums than any other female artist. McEntire has won CMA Female Vocalist of the Year four times and was CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1986. She also has won three Grammy Awards, and in 2018 received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for her lifetime of contributions to American culture.

Hank Williams’s legend has long overtaken the rather frail and painfully introverted man who spawned it. Almost singlehandedly, Williams set the agenda for contemporary country songcraft, but his appeal rests as much in the myth that even now surrounds his short life.