Weekend Will Include Appearances by Andy Babiuk, Fred Gretsch, Lindsay Ell and Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson

American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection
Ends July 17

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – June 2, 2016 – The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will host a weekend of special programs during Summer NAMM, June 23 to 25. The programming is presented in support of the exhibition American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection which ends its run July 17.  

On Thursday, June 23, at 2 p.m., the museum will host a Gretsch bass demonstration with Tom Petersson. For over thirty-five years, Petersson has played bass for Cheap Trick, and he has written a few of their biggest hits, including “Can’t Stop Falling into Love.” The band joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year. An avid guitar collector, Petersson will highlight some of his favorite guitars, including the twelve-string Gretsch White Falcon bass he helped design. Musician, author, producer and vintage guitar expert Andy Babiuk, who has consulted with Gretsch on bass and pickup designs, will also speak and perform. 

On Friday, June 24, at 2 p.m., the museum presents The Gretsch Fred and Joe Show: The Story of the Gretsch Guitar. Fred Gretsch, President of the Gretsch Company, and Joe Carducci, Gretsch Guitars Product Marketing Specialist, will host a multimedia presentation tracing the history of the innovative guitar maker. They will discuss the musicians who have woven the Gretsch sound into the fabric of modern pop culture by playing the guitars on classic hits, and they will examine several of the instruments on display in the exhibition American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection.

On Saturday, June 25, at 11:30 a.m., the museum will host a Songwriter Session with Lindsay Ell. The Calgary native began playing guitar and writing songs as a child. At age thirteen, she was discovered by Randy Bachman, who pushed her to learn new guitar styles and co-wrote and produced her first record. Ell moved to Nashville in 2013 and signed with Stoney Creek Records.

At 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 25, Andy Babiuk will host Beatles Gear: The Gretsch Invasion. When the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, George Harrison played a Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman model, and aspiring guitarists across the United States clamored to get one. In Beatles Gear The Ultimate Edition: All the Fab Four’s Instruments from Stage to Studio, author Babiuk explores the story of the legendary band, as told through the equipment they used. This program will focus on the Beatles’ fondness for Gretsch instruments and the subsequent impact their embrace had on the company.

All programs will be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming. Attendees must have a program pass to guarantee admission to some events. Program passes are free with museum admission or membership. Museum members may reserve their program passes in advance by phone (615-416-2050) or via reservations@countrymusichalloffame.org.

Hands-on activities in the Taylor Swift Education Center will provide fun for children of all ages. Create embellished instruments in the Gretsch style from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. each day. Additional family programs include Beginner Electric Guitar on Friday, June 24, at 1 p.m. and Everybody Jam Session on Saturday, June 25, at 1 p.m.

The Bachman-Gretsch Collection was amassed by Canadian guitarist and songwriter Randy Bachman, a key member of rock bands the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Bachman acquired more than three hundred historic and rare Gretsch guitars in the 1970s and 1980s. His collection was purchased in 2008 by the Gretsch Foundation, the charitable arm of the Gretsch family.

American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection is the largest exhibition of stringed instruments ever mounted by the museum. The seventy-five guitars presented also offer the most comprehensive look at the Bachman-Gretsch Collection ever made available to the public. For additional information about the exhibition, visit countrymusichalloffame.org. Follow @countrymusichof on Twitter and join the conversation using #BachmanGretschExhibit.

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