WASHINGTON DIGNITARIES ATTEND COUNTRY MUSIC CELEBRATION AT LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

WASHINGTON D.C. – The Library of Congress and the Country Music Association hosted a day-long program for the CMA Board of Directors at the nation’s library, including a comprehensive tour of the historic Jefferson Building; an extensive orientation to the Library’s music, sound recording, and folk collections; a reception with members of the House of Representatives, Senate, and invited dignitaries; followed by a concert in the Coolidge Auditorium featuring some of Country Music’s finest hitmakers.

Following the reception, the invited guests attended an intimate evening of acoustic music in the Coolidge Auditorium in the Library’s Jefferson Building performed by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, Lorrie Morgan, John Rich, of Big & Rich, and three time CMA Musician of the year Randy Scruggs with noted songwriters Victoria Shaw and the host for the evening Bob DiPiero.

Performances included the hits that made them format favorites, with a couple of surprises including a performance from Rich of the Webb Pierce classic “There Stands the Glass,” a personal favorite of Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billington’s from his days in the U.S. Army in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and a moving rendition of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” by the full cast and audience.

Story Tellers and Story Keepers: Creating and Preserving Country Music
The Library of Congress and the Country Music Association (CMA) are working to celebrate, preserve, and share the singular role of Country Music in American culture with a global audience. Country Music is a true storyteller’s genre, chronicling American cultural, economic, and social ups and downs for nearly a century. Building on the historic support of Country Music by both institutions and the Library’s vision of global access to its unparalleled collections, the Library and the CMA seek to ensure that the milestones and contributions of this uniquely American art form are preserved and recorded for future generations both in America and around the world to study, understand and enjoy.

About the Photo: (l-r) U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, Lorrie Morgan, CMA Board President-Elect Gary Overton, Victoria Shaw, and John Rich. Photo: Mitchell Layton
Photo Provided by Country Music Association