The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will offer free admission, as part of their Ford Community Day, on Sunday, December 11. The annual event, now in its 14th year, will also include performances by Runaway June, a Songwriter Session with Parker Welling, and a Musician Spotlight with new Grand Ole Opry member, Charlie McCoy. Tours of Historic RCA Studio B will also be free and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Runaway June will likely perform their new holiday song, “Cowboy for Christmas.” The song was written by all three Runaway June members, Jennifer Wayne, Natalie Stovall, and Stevie Woodward, along with producer Paul Sikes.
“We are so excited about our new Christmas song,” Wayne says of the festive song.. “I’ve had this idea stirring around in my head since we released our Christmas album a few years ago and was just waiting for the right time and right people to write it with. There is such a beauty and romance in the American West, and we wanted to capture that imagery combined with Christmas spirit.”
Welling is credited with writing some of country music’s biggest hits in recent years, including Russell Dickerson‘s “Love You Like I Used to,” Thomas Rhett‘s “What’s Your Country Song” and more.
McCoy, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009, was thrilled to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry as well.
“This organization is so much like a family, from the top leadership, the band, the singers, the stage hands, the sound guys, the light guys, the guards in the back, the ushers out front, it’s just all such an amazing group of people,” McCoy said during his induction. “This is the longest-running live music show in history of the world. It’s very cool. I have been so blessed in my career, and this is icing on the cake, and all I can say is, I know from where the blessings come.”
A complete schedule of events is available below. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will be open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Sunday, December 11. Reservations for the Runaway June performance, Songwriter Session and Musician Spotlight are available here. Discounts for annual memberships will also be available as well. More information can be found by visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s website.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Musem Ford Community Day Events:
Songwriter Session: Parker Welling (11 – 11:45 a.m., Ford Theater)
Performance: Runaway June (12:30 – 1:15 p.m., CMA Theater)
Musicians Spotlight: Charlie McCoy (2 – 2:45 p.m., Ford Theater)
Family programs in the Taylor Swift Education Center include:
Creative Zone: Sparkle, Fringe and Rock & Roll: Wearing the Western Edge (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
Ukulele Workshop and Blues Jam with Harmonica Player Carlos DeFord Bailey (10:30 – 11 a.m., 11:15 – 11:45 a.m. and Noon – 12:30 p.m.)
Velvet Elvis Painting (1:30 – 3:30 p.m.)
Musical Instrument Petting Zoo (2 – 4 p.m.)