NASHVILLE, Tenn., – Nov. 17, 2016 – Crystal Gayle, who was invited Tuesday night to join the Grand Ole Opry in January 2017, will kick off Deck the Hall—a full schedule of holiday activities—at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on Friday, Nov. 25. Festivities begin at 4 p.m. with a performance by the Grammy-award winning artist that will include hits as well as some holiday classics. She will then light a thirty-foot Christmas tree in the museum’s Mike Curb Conservatory. Following the performance and tree lighting, Gayle will sign copies of her CDs available for purchase in the Museum Store.

Gayle’s performance launches a month filled with music and cheer at the museum. As part of its annual Deck the Hall festivities, the museum will host a holiday performance with Wynonna & the Big Noise on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m., in the museum’s CMA Theater. The concert will include a mix of holiday favorites, Wynonna’s biggest hits and new music.

Tickets for the concert start at $55. A limited number of VIP packages are available, including premier seating, artists meet-and-greet, and a limited edition Hatch Show Print poster. For more information and to purchase tickets visit countrymusichalloffame.org/deckthehall2016.

The museum will offer many free activities that blend music, art, education and even Santa Claus, promising fun for the entire family.

Santa Claus will pose for free photos with children of all ages every Saturday and Sunday during Deck the Hall. Don’t miss Santa Nov. 25–27, Dec. 3–4, Dec. 10–11 and Dec. 17–18. String City: Nashville’s Tradition of Music and Puppetry, a puppet show created by a partnership of the Nashville Public Library and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, returns to the museum for a two-day run, Nov. 25–26.

On Dec. 4, kids of all ages can get hands-on with a letterpress for free at Hatch Show Print. Participants will learn about letterpress printing in one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in the United States. Hatch staff will help participants create their very own letterpress art using carved wood, linoleum and metal block images from the Hatch collection.

Additional hands-on activities in the Taylor Swift Education Center (TSEC) will provide fun throughout Deck the Hall, including cookie and ornament decorating on Sundays, Nov. 27, Dec. 4 and Dec. 11. Museum admission or membership is required for programs in TSEC. Cookies, icing and edible decorations will be provided.

The museum will again present A Legendary Holiday at Historic RCA Studio B, which will include a tour of the studio and a holiday concert with guitarist Meagan Taylor, great-niece of Chet Atkins, pianist Jason Coleman, grandson of Floyd Cramer, and Country Music Hall of Fame members Charlie McCoy and Brenda Lee.  Dates are Dec. 10 and 11. Seating is limited and tickets are $25. Tours departing from the museum at 3:00 p.m. have sold out. Due to popular demand additional 4:15 p.m. tours have been added.

Admission to most holiday programs is free with museum admission and free to museum members. Individual membership starts at $50 and makes a great holiday gift.
The museum’s retail shops also have items for every shopper’s budget this season, including LPs and CDs, specialty books, Nashville-made gifts, food and home accessories, men’s and women’s apparel, jewelry and much more. 

For additional details and a comprehensive list of all Deck the Hall performances, films and hands-on activities for kids and families, visit countrymusichalloffame.org/deckthehall2016. Follow @countrymusichof on Twitter and join the conversation using #DeckTheHall.

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About Crystal Gayle:

Crystal Gayle is an award-winning country music living legend whose reign in the music business includes 20 number one country hits, six albums certified Gold by the RIAA and the first female artist in country music history to reach Platinum sales with her 1977 album, We Must Believe in Magic. Her her 1977 country-pop crossover hit song, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” became an iconic staple and solidified her as one of the top female vocalists during the 1970s and 1980s. Her list of platinum and gold was to be matched only by her awards and accolades. CMA's "Female Vocalist of the Year," for two consecutive years, she became a Grammy Award Winner for "Best Female Vocal Performance," thanks to her beloved "Brown Eyes" - a song that she today admits she has never grown tired of singing. Crystal swept the Academy of Country Music Awards for three of their "Top Female Vocalist" statuettes. She is the recipient of three "American Music Awards," voted by the nation as America's "Favorite Female Artist." Perhaps nothing sums up Crystal's career achievements as well as being awarded with a star on the fabled Hollywood Walk of Fame in October 2009. Also famous for her nearly floor-length hair, she was voted one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People Magazine in 1983. She is the younger sister (by 19 years) of singer Loretta Lynn, and a distant cousin of singer Patty Loveless. Gayle also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame near Lynn's star. For more information, visit crystalgayle.com.

About the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum: 

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves, and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibits, publications, and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. The museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and in 2015 welcomed over one million patrons, placing it among the ten most-visited history museums in the U.S. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio BTM, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive, and CMF Press. Museum programs are supported by Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001. 

The Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums